Chapter Text
Tang Rou sighed as her right hand clutched the mouse tighter, performing micro-movements even as her left hand mechanically punched out skill inputs to solo clear the dungeon boss.
Today hadn’t been a good day.
She had spent the entire day adopting a happy, upbeat attitude: assuring everyone—including her very worried father that she was fine, soothing Chen Guo from her anger, accepting her teammates’ words of support, and laughing at Ye Xiu and Wei Chen’s good natured teasing.
To be honest, she preferred last night’s brief disappointment—before she announced that she would break her promise— to the overwhelming wave of support.
Her teammates really should be disappointed! She had failed! But then, she decided to still stay despite the loss, and now, all of them were very weirdly supportive and angry on her behalf.
It’s not normal.
Tang Rou sighed again, depositing her haul of materials and weapons to the guild storage before logging out and tossing the card to the pile on her right.
Limited dungeon entries suck, she thought with a frown. She still had much to collect for her penance, but she had already used up a lot of the alternate accounts from her current dungeoning activities.
Tang Rou leaned her head back and massaged her temples.
She really did not understand her teammates’ reactions!
She had cost Happy sponsorships and even got fined! So why were they not mad at her? There should be at least a period of anger, right?
At least a week, if they were like her mom.
So why were they so concerned and supportive? She was willing to bet she had cost Happy money that, as a grassroots team, they couldn’t have spared. But instead of blaming her, they were angry with the reporters, with the sponsors, and with the Alliance for her treatment.
That did not make any sense.
They should be mad at her!
Tang Rou reached for another Glory card from the stack to her left and fed it to the card reader.
Should she just ask her dad for a sponsorship to make up for it? She was pretty sure her dad would grant it in a heartbeat.
But that would feel like giving up, wouldn’t it?
And, she wouldn’t be cleaning up her own screw ups again.
What would her mom say?
Tang Rou shook her head and focused back on the screen, resolutely heading back to the dungeon which dropped materials for One Inch Ash’s Tachi.
She ignored the sudden rustle from the seat to her right and remained silent, even when she could feel eyes on her as she cleared the dungeon. Besides, she was fairly certain it might just be Mo Fan. Everyone else would’ve spoken already, after all.
“I would’ve guessed you’d be in the Arena.”
Oh.
Ye Xiu.
She pasted on the vague smile she’d had on for most of today, and glanced briefly to her right.
Ye Xiu was looking remarkably alert at close to 4 am, despite his rumpled sleepwear and tousled hair. She wondered if he had slept like he promised Mumu he would a few hours ago. “Hey. You’re up.”
“So are you.” He replied, “You haven’t slept.”
He stared so intently that she fought the urge to glance away, back to the computer. She resolutely kept her vague smile. “Yes.”
Ye Xiu frowned. “We were friends before I ever became your teammate and captain.”
Tell me what’s wrong was left unsaid.
“Aah.” Tang Rou shrugged.
His eyes searched hers for a moment longer, then glanced away to look at her screen. “You’re dying, by the way.”
“Ah???” Tang Rou hurriedly executed a skill combo, dodging attacks left and right as she focused solely on her screen. Her flashing health bar meant she had to concentrate to survive this run, so she was very glad that Ye Xiu waited until she was done with the dungeon before speaking again.
“Little Tang.”
She looked at him and turned her chair towards his direction. “Yes?” She asked casually, as if he hadn’t found her dugeoning alone in the dark training room at 4 am.
Ye Xiu frowned at her unusually untidy hair and slumped shoulders—a direct contrast to her slightly smiling face.
Where was the courageous, maybe even bordering on shameless, woman who, just last night, declared to everyone she didn’t agree to quitting?
Tang Rou wasn’t at all acting like he expected.
She was always so fearless and bold, rushing head first into all things and shrugging losses and disappointments off.
He didn’t think that losing the 1 v 3 bet would be a major setback.
But she had been half-heartedly play-acting as herself the entire day, while no one else seems to have noticed. And not even teasing her had brought out her fire.
“Pass me a card.” He finally said, hoping that playing with her would give him some insight.
She turned back towards her screen and passed him the next card from the stack— another battlemage. She remained silent as her avatar waited outside the dungeon until his reached her position.
They wordlessly sped through the dungeon, too used to each other to need any verbal communication for a relatively low level one.
And, Ye Xiu realized the significance.
Low level… Monotonous for someone of Tang Rou’s skill… But…
“Yifan’s Tachi.” Ye Xiu looked at the girl beside him as soon as they made it out.
“Old Guan needs too much materials.”
Ye Xiu sighed, “You should be sleeping, not running dungeons. I’m guessing you’re attempting to do everyone’s?”
Tang Rou resolutely avoided looking back at him, even as she answered his question. “Old Guan needs materials and I can’t sleep.”
She readied her avatar to enter the dungeon again.
Ye Xiu placed his hand on her wrist. “You don’t have to make up for anything.”
Tang Rou finally looked at him in frustration. “Don’t I?”
There.
At least now she had some fire.
Ye Xiu didn’t even hide his smile as he carelessly replied, “No.”
She scoffed, turning back to the computer screen. “Do you know how many sponsors I’ve lost for the team?”
“Do you know how many sponsors I’ve caused Excellent Era to lose just because I refused to show my face?”
“Not the same.” Tang Rou muttered.
“No? How about this,” He rubbed his chin, “I dared you, so it’s partly my fault.”
She sighed, “Please stop being so supportive.”
Ye Xiu was again struck with a realization. She was like Ye Qiu— the Ye Qiu who wanted to run away from home.
And, if she was, then the overwhelming support would have just made her feel worse, specially when she was clearly expecting more criticism and maybe even anger.
But who?
It couldn’t be Tang Shusen; the man was too supportive.
Mom? Grandparents?
Tang Rou never did share too much about her family.
But at least even if he didn’t know why, he isn’t so off-kilter now.
“Let’s complete Old Guan’s request list for Yifan then.” Ye Xiu finally said.
Tang Rou looked at him searchingly.
Did he know she just needed time to sulk and be even the tiniest bit useful to make up for her mistakes?
Ye Xiu smirked at her before turning back to his computer, “Let’s start. With Old Guan’s list we’ll probably be here for a while.”
Later, when the sun had fully entered their training room as they both packed up for bed, Tang Rou hesitantly tugged on the back of his shirt.
“Thank you.” She whispered.
“Anytime.”
Ye Xiu woke up to the very familiar sound of the Boss’ angry monologue. Rubbing his eyes blearily, he glanced at the bed across his and found it empty.
What time is it?
He sighed, heading out of his comfortable bed and to the kitchen where he found Chen Guo frantically waving her cellphone at Tang Rou’s face and ranting.
Tang Rou was clearly consoling the older woman to no effect.
“We should hold a press conference! They can’t say these things about you! It’s too much!”
“What things?” Ye Xiu drawled, drawing both ladies’ eyes on him as he sat down across from them.
“Another blog post.” Tang Rou replied casually.
He glanced at her, observing her silently. She looked tired, with dark smudges under her eyes. But she seemed fine.
Finally, she gave a small almost imperceptible nod.
She was really okay then.
Good.
He turned towards the Boss. “Haven’t you read those yesterday? You also went through this same phase. Just read your reporter friend’s article, so you wouldn’t be so bothered.”
“Ye Xiu!” Chen Guo’s ire turned to him, “This is serious! How can they be so mean to my Little Tang? I’ll—-“
“Guoguo, please just ignore it. It doesn’t bother me.” Tang Rou interjected, patting her back gently, “Besides, it’s the press. They always have something to say.”
“Very wise, Little Tang.” Ye Xiu complemented with a smile.
Chen Guo growled at him. “They’re ruthless!” She turned towards Tang Rou, “Little Tang, what if I call Little Chang and we give an interview?”
Tang Rou glanced at Ye Xiu for help.
She really didn’t want an unnecessary interview.
Why would she even give an interview?
She just wanted to play the game and win.
“Look, she’s more bothered by how you’re acting than the articles.” He told Chen Guo bluntly, ignoring Tang Rou’s betrayed look.
Really, what else could he have said? Chen Guo would have missed his hints if he hadn’t said it directly.
Tang Rou shot him another look.
Ye Xiu shrugged, “Little Tang is fine. You’re even more affected than she is about this.”
“You—“ Chen Guo began.
Tang Rou shook her head at him before turning to their enraged boss, cutting off what would’ve been another rant. “Guoguo, Ye Xiu could have worded it better. But he’s right; I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”
“But, did you read what he wrote?” Chen Guo asked her.
To be honest, she hadn’t, but she could guess what it would say. It would probably be nothing new from yesterday’s article, just with the added information of the fine imposed and the sponsor loss.
“Not completely?”
Chen Guo turned towards Ye Xiu, “And you?”
“I just woke up.”
“It’s close to 2pm and you just woke up?” Chen Guo nagged.
Ye Xiu shrugged.
He had a long night. He wasn’t even sure how Tang Rou woke up so early, but that probably explained the dark shadows under her eyes.
Did she even sleep?
Chen Guo sighed, then passed her phone to Tang Rou, before standing up and motioning for Ye Xiu to take her seat instead.
“You two can’t claim I’m overreacting when you haven’t even read it!” Chen Guo complained. “Read. Read.”
Heads bent towards Chen Guo’s phone, they silently read the post that raised Chen Guo’s anger. Guoguo remained beside them, tapping her foot impatiently.
“Well?” She asked them.
Ye Xiu glanced at the girl beside him, stifling a laugh.
Tang Rou coughed. “Guoguo…He… He didn’t really lie.”
“If you give an interview denying this, you’ll just make things worse for Tang Rou.” Ye Xiu firmly stated.
Chen Guo looked heartbroken. “Really?”
“I did get fined. And I did lose us sponsors.” Tang Rou quietly admitted.
“Little Tang…”
“I’m really sorry about that, Guoguo. I didn’t mean for that to happen when I lost the bet.”
“If they can’t handle you, the sponsors would’ve quit anyway with Fang Rui, Wei Chen, and I making trouble.” Ye Xiu joked. “We’ll get worthier sponsors, right Boss?”
“Yes!” Chen Guo eagerly said, “The earlier deals aren’t that good anyway. I’ll definitely find better ones.”
“Good, because that’s probably more helpful setting a press conference.” Ye Xiu drawled.
Chen Guo brightened, happy that she could at least do something about what’s happening. “Then I’ll get to looking right away!”
She snatched her phone from the table and hurriedly ran out of the room, leaving Ye Xiu and Tang Rou.
They glanced at each other and burst out in laughter.
Chen Guo was really excitable.
Finally, the laughter died down, leaving them both in an awkward silence.
Tang Rou felt a bit exposed. He understood her a bit too well this early morning, and she wasn’t ready for a heavy conversation on whatever is happening.
“Did the Boss leave breakfast?”
And he was apparently still reading her mind.
Too perceptive, Tang Rou thought, exasperated.
But as he was not bringing up this morning, she obliged. “Lunch.” She corrected, standing up to reheat the leftovers that Chen Guo left sitting in the microwave for him. “But Guoguo might be ordering snacks soon.”
“I’ll eat then too.” He replied happily, watching her as she gingerly took the now-hot bowls of food from the microwave and placed it in front of him on the table.
“Is this you still trying to make up for things?” He teased as Tang Rou handed him chopsticks, “Cause I have so many other ideas.”
“Jerk,” Tang Rou gently pushed his shoulder. “Just eat.”
He playfully raised his brows. “I was just going to ask you for water.”
“Get it yourself.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m going back to training.”
Ye Xiu watched her as she left the room, before grinning into his bowl of rice.
Esports Time
Glory Pro-scene Rundown
Season 10, Day 9, 1 November
By: Ruan Cheng
….
Happy wins against Miracle, 10-0, but the most interesting part of their victory is Tang Rou still playing in the Group and Team Challenge. Is Happy Management so desperate to win with their hodge-podge team that they will sacrifice integrity? Remember, Tang Rou had arrogantly bet retirement if she fails to complete a 1v3 in five matches, and she had already lost that bet last week, against Tiny Herb’s Wang Jiexi.
Is Happy Management really condoning her stubborn refusal to honor the bet? The Alliance seems to think so, as the team was severely fined for conduct unbecoming of a sports player.
As a grassroots team, Happy truly needs to realize winning isn’t everything. After all, have you ever heard of a championship team being fined for unsportsmanlike behavior?
….
“Little Tang!”
Chen Guo hurriedly entered the training room then dragged a surprised Ye Xiu’s rolling chair next to Tang Rou’s before giving the equally surprised girl her cellphone.
“Look! Read it!”
“What? You’re not sharing with the team?” Wei Chen teased, rolling his own chair over to Tang Rou’s, “What are we looking at?”
The rest of the team also wandered curiously towards the group.
“It’s another article!” Chen Guo complained, “That Ruan Cheng!”
“Oh.” Disappointed, Wei Chen gestured for everyone to disperse, “Everyone, back to training! We’ll probably get interrupted for a Wild Boss hunt soon.”
As everyone else studiously sat back in front of their respective computers, Ye Xiu held out a hand for the phone in Tang Rou’s hands. “Eh? He’s just repeating old news with his match analysis.” He handed Tang Rou back the phone after reading. “And, don’t worry about it. Excellent Era got fined multiple times since I refused to shake hands. And, we were the three-time champions!”
“What?”
Tang Rou suppressed a giggle at Chen Guo’s disbelief.
Honestly, Ye Xiu just seemed to enjoy riling everyone up.
Unfortunately, Chen Guo was also very susceptible.
“Yeah,” Ye Xiu continued with a wry grin, “Why are you so surprised? Aren’t you my fan? I avoided everything with cameras from season 1 until my forced retirement. How can I shake hands?”
Not for the first time, Chen Guo wondered how the man in front of her could be the glorious, admirable idol—Ye Qiu. Ye Qiu was so mysterious that she had imagined him to be a patient, hardworking, serious gentleman, like her dramas! Who would’ve thought behind the facade was this infuriating man—more shameless than anyone could have imagined!
“Not the point!” She snapped, before turning to Tang Rou, “Little Tang, are you sure you don’t want an interview to clear everything up? You did a 1 v 2 yesterday, and you still had lots of life to spare! I’m sure if there was another opponent after, you would’ve won too.”
“It’s fine, Guoguo. He’ll still write about it even if I did do a 1 v 3. Don’t mind him too much.” Tang Rou comforted, passing Chen Guo’s phone back to her. “He’ll change his tune when we win the championship.”
“When?” Ye Xiu’s lips quirked up in a teasing smirk, “So confident, Little Tang.”
“Of course. We have you, don’t we?” Tang Rou teased, “I think the other teams still need maybe fifty more years to beat you?”
“You’re still hung up on that?” Ye Xiu protested, “I told you it was exaggerated! You only need about five more years.”
"Five more years? I'm aiming for one!"
"You're too ambitious!"
Chen Guo watched in disbelief as Ye Xiu and Tang Rou laughed and bickered playfully.
“Guys! Can we focus on the article?”
“Just don’t read them.” Ye Xiu carelessly said, already logging into the game with one of the spare cards lying near the Tang Rou’s computer. And then, he spoke louder: “Yifan, I’ll just take this computer, okay?”
Yifan, deep into a discussion with Luo Ji and An Wenyi, did not even reply.
“Dungeon? Let’s start with your armor?”
“Your armor would be better, no?” Tang Rou asked, swapping Soft Mist with another card. She glanced back at Chen Guo, “Don’t worry too much about it, Guoguo.”
“Hmm..” Ye Xiu nodded at her, as if to say, listen to Tang Rou, before turning his attention to Little Tang, “Actually, let me see the list for An Wenyi.”
She immediately gave him her notebook where Wu Chen had hurriedly scribbled Guan Rongfei’s requests. “Cold Hands’ equipment is listed as a priority.”
“Let’s go then.”
Chen Guo stared confusedly as the two of them happily began a dungeon together.
She had effectively been ignored.
This actually took her back to the early days when Ye Xiu got her friend too addicted to the game.
Now, Little Tang was a pro-player, and she was a team owner and manager! Everything was like a dream! If only cockroaches like Ruan Cheng didn’t exist!
Despite knowing from experience that she’ll be ignored, Chen Guo still tried again, “Are you guys sure we don’t have to do anything about the articles?”
But both were already too engrossed in the dungeon to hear her over their headphones.
Pen, Ink, and Paper
A Blog by Esports Time Correspondent, Ruan Cheng
Glory Recap: Season 10, Day 12
Published: 23 November, 01:33 AM
….
Happy wins against an overconfident Misty Rain, triggering the hype that the team is a contender for the championship. Let’s not get too hasty. Misty Rain was a play-off team, but now they’re seemingly on the decline; so they should not be a yardstick of Happy’s alleged status of being championship-material.
On the contrary, the game showed Happy’s many glaring weakness, quite unbefitting for a Championship Team. Lucky for the team, last night’s most glaring mistake belonged to Misty Rain’s Li Hua.
Still, Happy’s Senior Wei Chen had a poor showing as his terrible positioning gave Misty Rain the chance to focus on him, necessitating Dancing Rain to provide heavy cover and placing Happy in a disadvantage. It had been very dire for Happy, but then, Li Hua’s Dark Forest rushed into a trap set by Ye Xiu’s Lord Grim.
Even then, Ye Xiu, Happy’s All-Star player and captain, was forced to trade his life, as rookie Tang Rou continues to prove that she only knows one thing: attack. Hyper-aggressive to a fault, she left Ye Xiu’s Lord Grim to die while she chased after Misty Rain’s captain, Chu Yunxiu, who had entered the fray.
Oddly enough, Happy seemed to be satisfied with her performance, judging from the high fives she had received from the team upon their victory. Doesn’t Happy realize that her hyper-aggressiveness is surely a liability? Well, might as well stop the hype-train now.
….
“He’s awful!” Chen Guo complained loudly. “We won against Misty Rain! I even thought our winning against a playoffs team would have shut him up!”
Chen Guo had quickly built a new routine.
Sometime during the day after a match, Chen Guo would find Tang Rou and Ye Xiu, and rant about Ruan Cheng’s articles and blogs and what she could do to stop it.
In fact, the team had quickly gotten used to it.
For the most part, Chen Guo would only be urging Tang Rou and Ye Xiu to read the articles and commiserate with her; but sometimes, some of them would also get unwillingly stuck in the discussion.
Just like today, when Chen Guo had caught Wei Chen and Su Mucheng having a late breakfast-early lunch with Tang Rou and Ye Xiu in the kitchen.
“I didn’t even see him at the post-match press conference!“ Chen Guo continued, giving her phone for Tang Rou to read. “I thought that meant he’d given up!
“No… Of course he wouldn’t be there. He would be thinking of how he’d spin the story instead.” Ye Xiu replied calmly.
“Well, I think we had a flawless game.” Wei Chen commented haughtily, grabbing the bottle of juice from Ye Xiu. “It’s probably just him calling you out for dying, Old Ye.”
“Actually,” Su Mucheng corrected teasingly from beside Tang Rou, peeking at the phone, “He’s poking fun at your positioning, Old Wei.”
“What?” Wei Chen exclaimed, “I did so well! I didn’t even die in the team competition. That was Old Ye!”
“As planned!” Ye Xiu protested then leaned forward to gently take the cellphone from Tang Rou’s hands, “Let me see… Happy’s Senior Wei Chen had a poor showing as his terrible positioning gave Misty Rain the chance to focus on him, necessitating Dancing Rain to provide heavy cover… Hmm.. fairly accurate wouldn’t you say, Little Tang?”
“I was bait!” Wei Chen insisted to the others’ laughter. “Little Tang! You were there! I was bait! Back me up!”
“It was so chaotic, Senior Wei, I didn’t really read the chat.” Tang Rou replied teasingly. “I just saw Captain asking Mumu to cover you. Right, Mumu?”
“Right.” Mucheng giggled.
“Last time I become bait for you guys! So much disrespect to your seniors!” Wei Chen grumbled.
“Give me that.” He roughly grabbed the phone from Ye Xiu. “Eh? I think he still hates you the most, Little Tang. See? Tang Rou continues to prove that she only knows one thing: attack. Hyper-aggressive to a fault, she left Ye Xiu’s Lord Grim to die while she chased after Misty Rain’s captain, Chu Yunxiu, who had entered the fray. Oddly enough, Happy seemed to be satisfied with her performance, judging from the high fives she had received from the team upon their victory. Doesn’t Happy realize that her hyper-aggressiveness is surely a liability?… Harsh!”
“Yes, very harsh!” Chen Guo finally said in agreement, snatching the phone from Wei Chen’s grasp. She had remained silent while the discussion played out, certain that she had found an unlikely ally in Wei Chen, “Well? Don’t you think we should do something?”
“What? What for?” Wei Chen demanded. “Just leave him be. He clearly doesn’t know anything.”
“Besides, Little Tang’s play style is hyper-aggressive. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.” Ye Xiu added.
“You also made me leave you…” Tang Rou quipped, “Just for the record… I did ask if I should stay to provide cover.”
“I did.” Ye Xiu agreed. “And, we won, didn’t we? I was bait.”
“What? Now you guys are backing him up?” Wei Chen complained. “You had poor positioning too, that’s why you died. You’re not bait.”
“He was a bit too forward for me to cover…” Mucheng teased.
Chen Guo was in disbelief as she listened to them discuss and playfully argue over what really happened during the match.
Why were they so nonchalant about this?
Is it really not a big deal to pro-players?
Fine…
“I won’t bring up having an interview again. I won’t even make you guys read it if you don’t want to. But, I’ll still read!” Chen Guo declared seriously.
Someone still has to keep up with what the reporters think of the team. Plus, Chen Guo was reasonably sure that even if the pro-players don’t care, the sponsors and fans would.
“If you want to. You’re just raising your own blood pressure.”
“Ye Xiu—“
Seeing Chen Guo get riled up again, Tang Rou quickly intervened, “Thank you for taking good care of us, Guoguo.”
“Of course Little Tang. Anything for you and Mumu.”
“And me.”
“And especially me.” Wei Chen added.
“Tsk,” Chen Guo scoffed, “You guys just get collateral benefits.”
The morning after the Conquering Clouds match, Chen Guo read Esports Time, by herself, over coffee. Taking a deep breath, she reminded herself that Ruan Cheng and his articles were all lies. Finally calm, she finished her cup and went on her day.
It took another couple of weeks for everyone in the team to realize that even if Chen Guo stopped forcing them to read, Ye Xiu and Tang Rou never stopped.
“Little Tang is with Old Ye again.” Fang Rui announced to Su Mucheng as he sank into the seat beside her, “Were they that close before?”
Mucheng immediately adopted a mischievous smile, pausing the drama playing on her screen. “Of course! They lived together, you know?”
“Before Happy?” Fang Rui’s eyes widened, “Huh. I didn’t know they had that kind of relationship.”
“What kind of relationship? Who?” As if summoned by gossip, Wei Chen, who had recently just entered the room, immediately headed towards Su Mucheng.
“Old Ye and Little Tang are dating?” Fang Rui ended in a questioning lilt, gesturing towards Mucheng.
“What?” Wei Chen gasped, “I didn’t even notice! Are they revealing themselves now?”
“Mucheng says they even lived together.”
Both turned comically at Su Mucheng, who started giggling.
“Ye Xiu lived in the Happy internet cafe with Little Tang and Guoguo when he was working as a network manager after his retirement.” She said teasingly, “Really, what were you guys thinking?”
“Pfft. That’s boring.” Wei Chen complained, “I thought we were gossiping about a secret love affair.”
“Well…” Fang Rui drawled, “Aren’t they spending more time together recently?”
“Mostly the day after the match.” Wei Chen agreed, “Oi. Su Mucheng, what do you know?” He pointed dramatically at her. “Tell us!”
Beside the noisy group, Mo Fan just rolled his eyes. However, despite himself, he still intently listened.
“You guys are terrible gossips.” Mucheng laughed. She turned back to wink at Mo Fan, who was sitting on the computer station to her right, “You too, Mo Fan. Don’t think I didn’t see you listening in.”
Mo Fan grunted. How? Did she have eyes at the back of her head?
Mucheng just smiled at him serenely, “You died shortly after Fang Rui sat down, you know?”
Mo Fan shrugged, as if to say ‘get on with it.’
“It’s really not that interesting…” Mucheng said teasingly, pausing to bring up even more anticipation.
“Just tell us!” Fang Rui insisted.
“What do I get?”
Whoever said that an angel like Su Mucheng couldn’t have been raised by a shameless devil like Ye Xiu should probably go see a doctor.
What angel?
Mucheng could rival Ye Xiu in playful shamelessness when she felt like it.
In fact, she might even be worse than Ye Xiu!
Ye Xiu is at least consistently shameless.
“I’m kidding.” Mucheng clarified at their frowns. “It’s really nothing interesting. They’re just reading the news articles together.”
“Ehh? Didn’t the Boss stop making them read those?” Fang Rui asked. “She hasn’t been ranting about that for a couple of weeks now.”
“Since the Misty Rain game.” Wei Chen confirmed.
“What would they even read about? We did fine in yesterday’s game against Void.”
“It’s Ruan Cheng. We could have a perfect game and he’ll still find something.” Mucheng rolled her eyes unhappily, “Plus, he really dislikes Little Tang.”
Wei Chen hummed in agreement.
“So…” Fang Rui’s eyes took a sudden curious gleam, “Why is Old Ye still reading then… He never cared much about write ups before, especially ones like Ruan Cheng’s.”
“Heh!” Wei Chen snickered, “Ruan Cheng’s analysis is so shoddy it’s not even remotely helpful. It’s practically gossip! Ye Xiu couldn’t care less about that!”
Mucheng shrugged, “He thinks they’re funny. And before you ask, I also asked Little Tang.”
“And?”
“She said she’s gotten used to reading them now.“
“Huh.”
“Told you it wasn’t interesting.” Su Mucheng replied, “Now, if you two can stop interrupting, I need to finish this drama before our meeting.”
Fang Rui peeked at her screen, “Mucheng, your drama has 31 episodes!”
“That’s why I need to start now!” She said impatiently.
“Physically impossible….”
“I’m more than half-way done! Shush!”