Chapter Twenty-Three: I'm Fine with Anything

Scoring points was exhilarating—Qi Leyu was so excited she couldn’t sleep, so she went to find Unreliable again.

Unreliable was in the middle of a late-night snack, speaking with his mouth full, “Let me say this first, if Miss Money’s not here, I’m not taking you.”

“I know. I just want to chat,” Qi Leyu replied.

“That’s rare. Since when can you chat?” Unreliable laughed.

Qi Leyu laughed too. “I just can’t sleep, so I thought I’d talk about something, anything.”

“Go ahead, what’s on your mind?”

Qi Leyu thought for a moment, then asked, “Did you notice before—my master seems to prefer playing support?”

“Not exactly ‘prefer.’ Isn’t the whole point of playing games to have fun? If you can play a damage dealer, why play support? I think she wants to practice support, probably for a reason,” Unreliable analyzed.

“What do you think that reason is?” Qi Leyu pressed.

“Well, Pear had a point—most girls who play support do it for their boyfriends.”

“You mean my master has a boyfriend?”

“Mm, but she doesn’t really seem like the type,” Unreliable mused.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Qi Leyu was annoyed. “I think she’s great.”

“I didn’t say she wasn’t. Sure, her temper’s a bit much, but if she’s a beauty, she’d have no shortage of admirers. And you can’t judge someone’s real-life personality by how they are in games—maybe she’s gentle in person. Just like you. In-game, you’re like a little puppy—”

“What!” Qi Leyu warned.

“Oh, I meant a good apprentice, obedient and considerate, a real team player. Anyway, you’re totally different in real life,” Unreliable hurried to explain. “I just think, if she had a boyfriend, she’d probably play with him.”

Qi Leyu felt Unreliable’s analysis made some sense. “That’s true. I’ve played with her so many times, and only once did she bring a roommate.”

“So, probably no boyfriend. But maybe there’s someone she likes, so she’s too shy to say, and practices support to impress him,” Unreliable concluded.

That idea made Qi Leyu uneasy. He preferred to believe that his master reserved the marksman role for him. But this wasn’t something to argue about with Unreliable, so he just grunted a couple of times and fell silent.

However, Unreliable’s curiosity was piqued. “Why are you suddenly so interested in Miss Money?”

“We just finished a game, just making conversation. Aren’t you curious too?” Qi Leyu deflected.

“I’m not. I’ve met so many players. Some are good, some aren’t. I don’t care what they’re like in real life—if we team up, that’s enough,” said Unreliable.

“True. Well, carry on then,” Qi Leyu ended the chat.

Unreliable finished his snack, planned to play a couple more rounds, and do some video editing, so he said goodbye.

Left alone, Qi Leyu mulled things over and decided that, given Miss Money’s personality, she didn’t seem like someone who’d pursue others. Maybe she really did keep the marksman role for his sake. That thought made him happy again.

Meanwhile, Unreliable was also reflecting. Qi Leyu seemed quite interested in Miss Money—otherwise, he wouldn’t be so curious. Did he like her? Just for a game? Probably not. Admiration, maybe—after all, there weren’t many players as skilled as her, and she didn’t mind his shortcomings. Yes, that was it—she didn’t mind his mistakes, which was rare.

The next day, Unreliable posted his edited video online. It got a flurry of likes, so he shared it with Qi Leyu, who in turn sent it to Miss Money.

With her confidence boosted, Yuan Zhong felt ready to duo queue with Zhang Shun. But unfortunately, Lin Hui was busy that evening, so Yuan Zhong had to wait.

That night, they continued playing together and won three smooth games in a row. Miss Money finally got to play Yao, practiced diligently, and even humbly asked Unreliable for tips to better protect her marksman.

After two more rounds, Miss Money switched to jungler both times and was noticeably quieter than usual, making Qi Leyu realize she wasn’t in high spirits.

Loveless Little Miser asked, “Master, is something wrong?”

Unreliable noticed too. “Yeah, you seem distracted. When our mage Angela misfired her skills earlier, you didn’t even scold her.”

Yuan Zhong was deep in thought, wondering what she should say when she finally played with Zhang Shun. She’d asked Loveless Little Miser before what guys usually liked to talk about, but hadn’t gotten any useful answers.

“It’s nothing, just thinking,” Miss Money replied.

“What is it? Tell us, maybe we can help,” Unreliable offered warmly. “After all the stars you helped me earn, I’ll give it my best thought, all my wisdom.”

Miss Money stayed silent, unsure how to explain.

Unreliable pressed, “Come on, spill it!”

Loveless Little Miser guessed it might be a private matter, so he said, “Let it go. Girl stuff—you wouldn’t understand.”

Unreliable protested, “Hey, I do have a girlfriend, you know. Why wouldn’t I understand?”

Miss Money was curious. “Have you played games with your girlfriend?”

“Sure,” Unreliable replied. “We used to play all the time.”

Loveless Little Miser added, “They broke up a year ago, so it has to be ‘used to.’”

“Oh, I was just curious. When you played games with her, what did you talk about?” Miss Money asked.

Loveless Little Miser paused. Why was she still hung up on this chatting thing?

“What did we talk about? So many things—like, ‘Which hero are you using?’ ‘Why didn’t you flash just now?’ ‘Where’s your ult?’ ‘Why did you waste your ult there?’ All sorts of strange moves—I had to ask, in case she had some grand strategy,” Unreliable said, dead serious.

Miss Money couldn’t help but laugh, then asked, “And what would she say?”

“Oh, plenty. Like, ‘I won’t use that hero because he’s ugly.’ ‘Do I even have flash?’ ‘I realized my ultimate looks so pretty, so I want to stand alone and admire it.’ Or, ‘Why does the enemy jungler always kill me?’” Unreliable continued.

Miss Money burst out laughing. “Your girlfriend sounds fun—oh, ex-girlfriend. Why did you break up?”

Loveless Little Miser chimed in with a laugh, “Because of gaming.”

Unreliable sighed. “Yeah, mainly incompatibility. We played together a lot, and there were plenty of arguments. Gradually, it added up. For example, once she asked, ‘Why does the enemy marksman always target me?’ and I said, ‘Because you’re easy to kill.’ She got mad—I told the truth, and she was angry.”

Miss Money commented, “That’s telling her she’s bad at the game. You should encourage her.”

“How? Should I say, ‘Because you’re pretty’?” Unreliable asked.

Miss Money stifled a laugh. “That answer’s actually great—at least she wouldn’t get mad.”

“Oh, come on! I have a conscience—I couldn’t say that.”

Loveless Little Miser said, “Master, don’t mind him. He doesn’t deserve a girlfriend.”

Miss Money asked, “You broke up over such a small thing?”

Unreliable sighed. “It’s just that when you play a lot together, minor things pile up and become major. In her words, ‘You care only about the game, not me.’”

Loveless Little Miser: “That’s the pitfall of being obsessed with games.”

“Hey! My job is a game streamer—she knew that,” Unreliable shouted.

“Whoa! That scared me—my ears are ringing,” Loveless Little Miser complained. “You’ve been broken up for ages, why get worked up?”

“My bad, I’m calm now,” Unreliable said, full of grievance.

Miss Money asked, “Did you really care only about the game, not her?”

“Of course not! It’s just, when you’re losing, it’s hard not to get anxious. If she made mistakes, I just pointed them out,” Unreliable defended. “If you saw a teammate underperforming, wouldn’t you say something?”

“Other teammates, sure. But if I know them, I never scold them,” Miss Money said.

Loveless Little Miser added, “That’s true—my master has never scolded me.”

Unreliable thought back. His own plays were solid, but Loveless Little Miser often messed up, yet Miss Money never said a word. If anyone criticized her team, she’d argue back; if the opponents mocked them, she’d hunt them down in-game.

Miss Money asked, “Unreliable, you say you care, but what about your actions? When she played poorly, did you give her patience? Did you teach her? It’s not like she didn’t want to do well. If random teammates criticized her, fine—but you? How would you feel if it were you?”

Unreliable fell silent.

“And apart from gaming, did you ever show you cared about her? Not just ‘drink more water if you have a cold’ or ‘rest early if you’re bored,’ and then keep playing yourself?” Miss Money pushed.

Unreliable didn’t know how to answer.

Loveless Little Miser spoke up, “Seems like that’s the case. That’s why you deserve to be single.”

Unreliable snorted, “It’s one thing for Miss Money to say it—she has a point. But you, Loveless Little Miser, what’s your deal? Do you have a girlfriend? Have you ever had one? No! You’re even worse than me.”

Miss Money quickly mediated, “Alright, alright, no girlfriends tonight. Let’s just play and not argue.”

After that, all three fell a bit silent. Miss Money noticed Unreliable was playing recklessly, as if venting something.

Sigh, maybe it’s best not to talk during games—whatever happens, just focus and show off some skills, Yuan Zhong decided.

She took another opportunity to practice Yao and then Ming Shiyin, feeling more confident than ever now that she’d let go of her worries about chatting.

Finally, she and Lin Hui set a time, and Yuan Zhong got her chance to five-stack with Zhang Shun’s group.

In the first match, Chaplin’s Mouth picked Gongsun Li, tried to grab Da Qiao, but the other team took her. Their own team had a support Liu Chan.

Lin Hui asked, “Zhong Zhong, what hero will you use?”

Yuan Zhong wasn’t sure what the others would pick. With support taken, she said, “I’ll fill.”

A teammate said, “A jack-of-all-trades! Lin Hui, your friend is impressive.”

Lin Hui replied, “She’s my roommate, Yuan Zhong. She’s really good.”

Yuan Zhong was a bit embarrassed. “Not really, I’m just average.”

Chaplin’s Mouth: “At least your hero pool is deep. Lin Hui likes fighters and tanks, so let her have the solo lane. Will you jungle or mage? Pick one to show.”

Hearing Zhang Shun’s voice, and that he’d spoken to her directly, Yuan Zhong felt a surge of happiness. “Anything’s fine,” she replied.

A teammate said, “Not afraid to jungle—must be a pro. I’ll take mage.”

Yuan Zhong: “Alright, I’ll jungle.” Seeing that Zhuge Liang was miraculously not banned, she selected him.

Teammate: “Zhuge Liang jungle, nice! Looking forward to it.”

Yuan Zhong: “You all are making me feel pressured.”

Lin Hui: “Just play as you normally do.”

Zhang Shun: “Don’t feel pressured, we’re all here.”

Yuan Zhong grew even happier, put her phone down for a moment to rub her hands, then picked it up again, ready to play her best.