Chapter Two: Everything Has Been Arranged

The more Yuan Zhong watched the school heartthrob, the more handsome he seemed. She tried her best not to stare, but every so often she lost herself in his presence and grew a little annoyed at her own lack of restraint.

During halftime, it seemed the school heartthrob glanced their way—perhaps their seats were too conspicuous, or perhaps it was more that Feng Duoduo stood out.

“Hey, this guy’s pretty good-looking. How did I never notice him before?” Feng Duoduo remarked.

“If you notice him, he’s doomed,” Zhang Cheng joked.

“Watch your mouth,” Feng Duoduo shot back, rolling her eyes.

“I mean, leave some for the other girls,” Zhang Cheng stuck out her tongue.

“Zhong Zhong, what do you think? Someone like him—do you like him?” Feng Duoduo ignored Zhang Cheng and leaned in close to whisper in Yuan Zhong’s ear.

“Don’t say such things,” Yuan Zhong lowered her head, her ears turning red.

Feng Duoduo laughed, “Rare to see you interested, Zhong Zhong.”

Yuan Zhong protested, “I told you not to say that, I don’t even know him.”

“Got it, let me arrange for you to meet,” Feng Duoduo nodded seriously.

“What—what do you mean?” Yuan Zhong grew nervous. With Feng Duoduo, she didn’t even dare imagine some things, but the girl truly had the nerve to do them.

“Nothing, just wait, after the game I’ll introduce you,” Feng Duoduo promised, flashing a smile at the stage.

“You know him?” Yuan Zhong asked.

Feng Duoduo nodded, “Not yet, but soon I will.”

Yuan Zhong lowered her head, picturing the possible scenarios, then decisively stood up and left.

She exited the classroom, went downstairs, and glanced back to find only Lin Hui had followed.

“Stop looking, they didn’t come,” Lin Hui shrugged.

Yuan Zhong felt at a loss—now what was she supposed to do?

“Do you really like him?” Lin Hui suddenly asked.

“No, no, not at all! Why are you sounding like Feng Duoduo?” Yuan Zhong stubbornly denied it.

Lin Hui was quiet for a while, letting Yuan Zhong finish her string of denials, then said, “You’re too obvious.”

Yuan Zhong felt like crying.

“No experience, it’s understandable,” Lin Hui looped her arm through Yuan Zhong’s. “Come on, let’s talk back in the dorm.”

All the way back, Yuan Zhong wondered what the usually taciturn Lin Hui would say, but once they returned, Lin Hui showered and then started gaming, showing no interest in conversation.

A bit disappointed, but also relieved, Yuan Zhong realized she wouldn’t have known what to say anyway. It all felt a little magical: a Sunday, coming back to campus from home, catching someone’s glance, and then being unable to forget.

Ah, what a headache!

After her shower, with Feng Duoduo and Zhang Cheng still absent, Yuan Zhong had nothing to do. Lin Hui was deep in her game, so Yuan Zhong curiously peeked over her shoulder.

“Damn idiot! Go die!” Lin Hui suddenly cursed.

Yuan Zhong jumped—she’d never heard Lin Hui swear before.

Seeing Yuan Zhong watching, Lin Hui took off one wireless earbud and explained, “Ran into a hopeless teammate. So bad, lost several matches in a row.”

“Oh, I get it—you’re upset about losing,” Yuan Zhong sympathized.

“Hey, want to play?” Lin Hui suddenly asked.

“Me? I’ve never played games before.”

“You’re so smart, playing a game is nothing. Give it a try,” Lin Hui checked the time. “I’ll teach you a few rounds, then we’ll team up with a few friends—five-man queue, guaranteed win. As long as you don’t feed, you’ll win by just being carried.”

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“Really?” Yuan Zhong considered it, shook her head, “Maybe not, I don’t want to drag you guys down.”

“Just play in match mode, it doesn’t matter if we lose,” Lin Hui urged.

Clearly frustrated by losing, Lin Hui’s pestering wore Yuan Zhong down. With nothing else to do, she downloaded the game. King of Glory—not the glory of a single king, but the honor of a team. She savored the name, finding it rather interesting.

What should her username be? She thought for a moment and typed: “The Original Thousand-Gold Zhong.”

“Interesting,” Lin Hui chuckled.

Yuan Zhong giggled sheepishly. She didn’t actually like the “Zhong” character in her name, but her parents always told her it was chosen by her grandfather, meaning “daughter worth a thousand gold,” representing the family’s doting affection. She couldn’t really complain. So in the game, she decided to make a joke of it.

The interface was beautiful. Following Lin Hui’s advice, she started with the marksman character, Luban.

“The number one god—easy to play,” Lin Hui said.

Following instructions, Yuan Zhong entered the training camp to familiarize herself with the hero’s skills. Once comfortable, she and Lin Hui entered match mode.

In the first round, Lin Hui played the support hero, Zhuang Zhou, accompanying Yuan Zhong’s little Luban along the development lane.

“Who’s the opponent?” Yuan Zhong wasn’t familiar with all the heroes yet.

“Gongsun Li—a squishy one, but agile. You’re short-legged, so be careful,” Lin Hui explained. “Also, the enemy has Jing Ke, an assassin who loves targeting squishy, short-legged marksmen. Be extra careful—marksmen get targeted a lot. If you don’t get kills early, that’s fine. Focus on clearing minion waves and defending towers, and avoid dying. Later, when you have more gold, with support and tank in front, Luban becomes unstoppable.”

Yuan Zhong slowly absorbed what she could, cautiously holding her lane. There was grass nearby; she’d hide there whenever she could to avoid assassin ambushes.

Soon enough, Jing Ke showed up. Yuan Zhong noticed a dark shadow, ducked into the grass, and walked a few steps in the opposite direction to dodge the enemy’s skill. When Jing Ke approached again, she activated Luban’s second skill, Sand Spit Cannon, pushing him away, then flashed behind her support, attacking with basic strikes. Jing Ke’s health dropped quickly, further slowed by Zhuang Zhou’s first skill, and was finished off by little Luban.

Gongsun Li came to assist, but Yuan Zhong now had her third skill ready. Using Zhuang Zhou’s cover, she attacked while retreating, dropped half of Gongsun Li’s health, and teamed up with their jungler Zhao Yun to secure another kill.

“Told you, you’re good at this!” Lin Hui praised, and other teammates sent “666.”

Yuan Zhong nodded, “Not bad, you’re a good teacher.”

“Too modest. Your instincts are sharp—the reverse movement in the grass took the enemy by surprise, wasted their skill. Relax a bit; why so tense? Gaming should be fun,” Lin Hui said.

“Am I tense?” Yuan Zhong asked.

“Yes, you’re so silent and serious.”

Yuan Zhong laughed, loosened her grip, and joined Lin Hui in mocking the other team’s rookie mistakes.

Soon, the game ended. Seeing “Victory” flash across the screen, Yuan Zhong felt genuinely happy. She played two more rounds, tried different heroes, and won them all.

“I think you have real gaming talent,” Lin Hui said. “Girl gamers get mocked like female drivers, but you’re great—I never would’ve guessed…”

“At first, I didn’t get how you liked gaming,” Yuan Zhong laughed, “You always seemed so cool, like you didn’t even have hobbies.”

Lin Hui rolled her eyes, and Yuan Zhong snickered.

Lin Hui’s friends wanted to play ranked, but Yuan Zhong’s rank was too low, so she played solo, exploring and trying out different heroes.

Time slipped by. Feng Duoduo and Zhang Cheng returned.

“Zhong Zhong, thank me! I’ve arranged everything—dinner tomorrow,” Feng Duoduo announced dramatically.

“What’s going on?” Yuan Zhong was startled, accidentally feeding a kill.

“She arranged dinner with him—probably wants you to go,” Zhang Cheng explained.

“Ah!” Yuan Zhong froze, and soon her phone announced the enemy’s triple kill.

Her teammates were annoyed: What’s going on! Can you play or not? Are your hands broken?

Yuan Zhong, in a bad mood, replied: Shut the hell up! Anyone else yapping and I’ll quit.

Teammate: Quit then! If not, you’re my kid!

Yuan Zhong: If I quit, you’re my grandson!

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She quit the game outright. Real life was scarier—she weakly asked Feng Duoduo, “Is what Zhang Cheng said true?”

“It’s true! You know how many people wanted to invite him? It wasn’t easy—I deserve your thanks,” Feng Duoduo said, wiping off her makeup.

Yuan Zhong swallowed, summoning courage, “I—I’m not going.”

“Why not? It’s just dinner. Get to know each other, see if it works, if not, move on. You’re a senior, there’s no time to waste,” Feng Duoduo argued.

“I’m not ready,” Yuan Zhong shook her head.

“I’ll help you get ready, trust me. I’ll make sure you look gorgeous.”

“It’s not that—I’m not ready in my heart,” Yuan Zhong persisted.

“It’s just dating, and it hasn’t even started yet. Just treat it like dinner with a classmate, it’s nothing,” Feng Duoduo encouraged.

“It’s not that simple. What if he doesn’t like me…” Yuan Zhong hesitated.

“That’s why you need to spend time together—give him a chance to like you,” Feng Duoduo interrupted.

“That’s twisted logic,” Zhang Cheng interjected.

“They don’t even know each other. Pushing Yuan Zhong out like this isn’t right,” Lin Hui added.

Yuan Zhong nodded, “He agreed to dinner for your sake, not mine. What am I supposed to do?”

“No, not really. I said our dorm wanted to eat with him, and he agreed—he didn’t mention me,” Feng Duoduo rolled her eyes. “How about we go with you?”

“That might work,” Zhang Cheng and Lin Hui agreed. “He won’t know it’s you—you can observe up close, then decide what to do.”

Yuan Zhong wanted to cry. She knew Feng Duoduo would “betray” her in the end—it was so embarrassing!

The next day, with Feng Duoduo “escorting” her, Yuan Zhong had no chance to escape. The restaurant loomed ahead, and she could taste the feeling of “marching bravely to her doom.”

“Hey, walk on your own, or it’ll look weird,” Feng Duoduo advised, letting go of her hand.

“Don’t you dare tell him it’s me,” Yuan Zhong pleaded once more.

“Relax, I haven’t vetted him myself yet. There’s nothing definite—I won’t be unreliable,” Feng Duoduo promised.

But you are that unreliable! Yuan Zhong could only say it in her heart.

She wondered: How were they so sure it was the school heartthrob? There were so many boys on stage—how did they guess it was him? She hadn’t said anything, right? Try as she might, Yuan Zhong couldn’t figure it out. Feng Duoduo’s intuition was just too sharp!

Before they entered, voices from the private room revealed people had already arrived. Feng Duoduo opened the door, dragging Yuan Zhong inside. She scanned the room—two boys, but not the heartthrob. Yuan Zhong finally relaxed.

Four girls, two boys—it wasn’t about numbers. With Feng Duoduo around, it was always lively.

The conversation never strayed far from the school heartthrob. Feng Duoduo always found ways to bring up topics that piqued Yuan Zhong’s interest; she listened intently, wishing she could take notes.

After dinner, one of the boys suggested a second round: “I’ll call the school heartthrob over.”

“That’d be great,” Feng Duoduo replied, clearly interested.

“I’m heading back,” Lin Hui stood up.

“I’ll go with you,” Yuan Zhong quickly followed.

“She’s going to game—what about you?” Feng Duoduo held Yuan Zhong back.

“I’m gaming with her,” Yuan Zhong answered.

“Little one, you’re actually playing games now?” Feng Duoduo frowned, “Aren’t you supposed to be busy?”

“I’m leaving!” Yuan Zhong grabbed Lin Hui’s hand and dashed out of the room, afraid Feng Duoduo would say any more.

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