Chapter Seventeen: You Have Graduated

Yuan Zhong heard the explanation about the “Not-a-Petty-Guy” ID, her voice weak and uncertain, clearly lacking confidence. She pondered seriously, trying to make sense of the situation. Reflecting on it, she realized her initial reaction was accurate—this person had never mentioned their gender; she had simply guessed, and he hadn't corrected her, so things had progressed as they did.

In the virtual world, there’s really no need to be so exacting or to insist on truth at every turn. Conversely, if someone else guessed something about her, even if they were wrong, she didn’t necessarily have to correct them. After all, it was just a game.

Turning off her mic, Lin Hui waited a moment before asking Yuan Zhong, “So, are we playing or not?”

Yuan Zhong glanced at her and replied, “Let’s play, strike while the iron is hot.”

Lin Hui asked, “You’re not upset?”

“About what?”

“He’s a guy.”

“In the online world, doesn’t everyone have their secrets? Didn’t you say I’m not quite myself when I play, either? Forget it, he just wants to play games.”

Lin Hui nodded, “I’ll follow your lead.”

“Once we reach King rank, our master-disciple relationship is over. A promise is a promise,” Yuan Zhong decided.

Qi Leyu was nervously waiting for a response. When the next invitation finally came, he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Two more games,” Yuan Zhong said. “Petty Guy, keep your mic on. I’ll teach you how to support and ambush.”

Lin Hui asked, “Will you play support and I’ll stick to marksman?”

“I’ll team up with Petty Guy as mages. I’ll take the support gem and roam with him. You can play marksman or warrior, depending on the lineup.”

“I don’t know how to jungle, though. What if we’re missing a jungler?” Lin Hui reminded her.

“Hopefully we’ll get one. If not, split the jungle resources in the side lanes and develop quickly to push towers,” Yuan Zhong said. For these last two games, she’d guide Petty Guy hand in hand—it was only fitting after being master and disciple.

Yuan Zhong had “Not-a-Petty-Guy” pick Zhou Yu; she chose Wang Zhaojun, a dual element, push-heavy combo.

At the start, Yuan Zhong led Zhou Yu. “Stick with me, stay hidden along the edge, and crouch in the bush. With two of us, we’ll win the lane. When their Gan Jiang arrives, I’ll freeze him with a skill—you focus on clearing the wave and leveling up.”

Petty Guy replied, “Okay. Does it matter which side we crouch on?”

“No, either side is fine. When they come, I’ll initiate, you clear the wave, and then focus Gan Jiang. Try to force him to recall,” Yuan Zhong instructed.

Zhou Yu leveled up, and together with Wang Zhaojun, pushed Gan Jiang back under tower, where he could only clear waves in safety.

“Don’t idle, come on, let’s take these three jungle creeps,” Yuan Zhong directed.

Petty Guy said, “Enemy jungler’s doing red buff.”

“Don’t worry, with two of us, unless their mid shows up, he won’t risk it. Signal your team so they know where their jungler is,” Yuan Zhong explained.

After clearing the jungle, Yuan Zhong and Zhou Yu pushed another wave. “No time to waste—let’s rotate to bot lane.”

“Why bot?” Petty Guy asked.

“Usually, you protect the marksman lane for better scaling, and their jungler’s probably heading for blue buff. After that, most likely he’ll gank bot for kills,” Yuan Zhong explained patiently.

Their marksman, Marco Polo, had brought support to invade the enemy jungle.

“This marksman’s not bad—dominating lane and invading blue. Let’s help out,” Yuan Zhong said.

With four grouped, the enemy jungler didn’t dare contest; they secured blue easily.

“This jungler is hopeless,” Petty Guy commented.

“Not really. It was four against two—their mid was busy, bot lane was on the way back, only their jungler and support were there. Giving up blue was the right choice,” Yuan Zhong said.

“I see,” Petty Guy said, eager to learn.

“After blue, crouch in this bush and see if we can catch their marksman,” Yuan Zhong said as she moved.

Petty Guy followed closely.

The enemy marksman was cautious, staying under tower and refusing to venture out.

“Let’s go, if we can’t catch him, rotate mid. Don’t waste time,” Yuan Zhong instructed.

Petty Guy said, “All this running around—mid lane is hard work.”

“You think mid is easy?” Yuan Zhong retorted, then directed, “Push the wave, use your fire to burn the tower. Use each hero’s unique mechanics—this is a tower-pushing game, after all.”

“Got it, Master,” Petty Guy replied earnestly.

“Now, let’s head top for a gank,” Yuan Zhong led Zhou Yu, choosing not to clear the wave but to hide in the enemy’s bush. “Remember, ganking is about ambush, not stealing farm. Stay hidden, and if we catch Sun Ce off guard, focus him—if their jungler comes, we fight together.”

Qi Leyu followed “Yuan’s Weight in Gold,” realizing how strategic gaming could be. His master’s movements were deliberate, skills always well-timed.

As Yuan Zhong predicted, they pushed quickly and won the game.

With momentum on their side, just one star away from King rank!

Yuan Zhong checked Petty Guy’s stats. “You played Zhou Yu well—pick him again next game.”

So, when picking heroes, Qi Leyu instantly locked in Zhou Yu. Wang Zhaojun was taken by the enemy, so Yuan Zhong chose Zhen Ji.

“Remember the plan—you lead, I’ll follow,” Yuan Zhong said.

“Got it, Master. If I mess up, just say so.”

Yuan Zhong realized she might be too strict and reassured him, “No need to be nervous. Focus on vision control, roaming, stealing enemy jungle camps, and fast scaling.”

Petty Guy said, “Before, I just played by instinct, mindlessly. I wish I’d learned these strategies from you earlier.”

“It’s just a game, for fun. Don’t take it so seriously that it exhausts you,” Yuan Zhong said.

Lin Hui, not on voice chat, muttered quietly, “Your instincts are pretty terrifying.”

Yuan Zhong heard and laughed, encouraging Petty Guy, “You’ve improved a lot. Honestly, before I couldn’t tell what you were trying to do—so many mysterious moves. Now your thought process is clear.”

“Thank you, Master,” Qi Leyu said, genuinely happy—finally, someone acknowledged his gaming skills.

This match, the enemy jungler was skilled, but fortunately, their own jungler was just as good. After securing two Storm Dragon Kings, they managed a hard-fought victory.

Qi Leyu stared at his new rank—King. Just one star, but he’d finally made it!

Yuan Zhong exhaled in relief. “Alright, congratulations. We’re logging off now. Goodbye.”

Petty Guy quickly asked, “Master, when will we team up again?”

Yuan’s Weight in Gold replied, “Next time we meet in queue.” In other words, no more scheduled games.

Petty Guy sent a waving emoji, “Master, are you still mad at me?”

Yuan’s Weight in Gold explained, “Not at all. You’re King now—you’ve graduated.”

So, that’s it—the master-disciple relationship was over. Qi Leyu felt a little sad but then thought, Master hadn’t said they’d never play again. There’d still be chances.

Looking at her King rank badge, Yuan Zhong felt little satisfaction, even a touch of disappointment. Lin Hui, however, was busy checking her friends list.

“It’s late. Let’s call it a night?” Yuan Zhong yawned.

“Wait, his roommate is online. I’ll ask,” Lin Hui insisted.

But Yuan Zhong was yawning nonstop. “I can’t anymore.”

“Oh, please, you were just full of energy.”

“No, really, tomorrow. I’m going to shower,” Yuan Zhong said, grabbing clothes and heading to the bathroom.

Feng Duoduo and Zhang Cheng returned. Feng Duoduo shot Lin Hui a look, clearly unfriendly. Zhang Cheng seemed odd too, eyes darting away.

Lin Hui was puzzled. Had she seen Feng Duoduo roll her eyes at her?

With a “bang,” Feng Duoduo slammed her bag on the desk.

Lin Hui frowned, not wanting to provoke this tempestuous heiress.

Next, Feng Duoduo fetched water, slamming her cup down as well.

“Take it easy,” Lin Hui chided.

“What’s it to you how I set my cup?” Feng Duoduo snapped, voice full of gunpowder.

“You’re disturbing me,” Lin Hui replied coldly.

“So what if I am? I’d like to curse you out!” Feng Duoduo shot back.

“Are you crazy? You come back to the dorm and start acting up,” Lin Hui retorted.

Zhang Cheng jumped in, “Come on, stop fighting! There are other people here.” She glanced at Feng Duoduo.

Feng Duoduo snorted, pointing at Lin Hui, “You—come outside with me!”

“Fine, let’s go!” Lin Hui stood up.

Zhang Cheng waved her hands, trying to stop them, “What are you two doing? It’s late!”

Feng Duoduo stormed out, Lin Hui following. Neither paid Zhang Cheng any heed.

When Yuan Zhong came out, she found Zhang Cheng leaning over the balcony, peering down with great concentration. Curious, Yuan Zhong joined her.

“You scared me!” Zhang Cheng jumped like a startled cat.

Yuan Zhong was startled herself. “Sorry, what are you looking at?” She’d made enough noise coming out of the bathroom; Zhang Cheng hadn’t noticed.

“Oh, nothing,” Zhang Cheng patted her chest. “I, uh, need a shower.” She darted into the bathroom.

Yuan Zhong was left baffled. She looked down again—nothing there.

After drying her hair, Yuan Zhong crawled into bed, about to message Lin Hui to ask where she’d gone, when Lin Hui returned, face cold, with Feng Duoduo right behind.

“So late—where did you go?” Yuan Zhong poked her head down from the top bunk.

“If you know it’s late, get back in bed and sleep,” Feng Duoduo snapped.

Yuan Zhong blinked; the tension in the air was palpable—stifling.

Feng Duoduo realized it and softened her tone. “It’s nothing. I ran into Lin Hui outside and we grabbed a late-night snack.”

Yuan Zhong glanced at Lin Hui, who met her gaze, glanced at Feng Duoduo, and nodded, “Yeah.”

“Any leftovers? I’m hungry too,” Yuan Zhong asked.

“It’s too late to eat—you’ll gain weight. Go to sleep,” Feng Duoduo said, shoving Yuan Zhong back onto her bed.

“Alright, fine. I am tired,” Yuan Zhong mumbled as she settled in, though sleep didn’t come.

The four of them had lived together for a while. Lately, Zhang Cheng had been acting strange, clearly preoccupied. Now, with the way Feng Duoduo and Lin Hui were behaving, something was definitely up—and they were all keeping her in the dark. So, whatever it was, it probably involved her.

The question was, what could it be?

While Yuan Zhong nursed a headache, Qi Leyu was basking in his achievement, admiring his new King badge and sending it to “Unreliable.”

Soon, “Unreliable” called him on WeChat voice, “Did you get hacked?”

Qi Leyu retorted, “Get lost! I ranked up myself.”

“Lucky you. I’ve been deranking nonstop, almost depressed.”

Qi Leyu laughed, “My master and I have had good luck lately—smooth climb to King. Of course, it’s mainly skill. Didn’t even break a sweat.” As he boasted, he showed no shame, as if the repeated struggle for those last two stars had never happened at all.