18. Chapter Eighteen (Supplemented)

Even though he had already sent the other person photos of himself dressed as a girl, he still didn’t have the courage to send the one where he wore the necklace.

After washing his face, he went to class. Returning to school for Cell Biology, he thought about the cross-dressing incident and casually asked Xu Ye sitting beside him.

“What do you think about guys sending pictures of themselves in girl’s clothes?”

“Cross-dressing?” Xu Ye clicked his tongue. “What kind of normal person wears that stuff? And actually sends pictures of it.”

Ning Nanzhou used to agree with Xu Ye’s viewpoint, but today it sounded unusually harsh.

“Why do you have to be so rude? Someone wearing girl’s clothes doesn’t bother you at all. Are you begging to see it or begging to wear it yourself?”

Xu Ye looked aggrieved. “That’s what you said last time. I suggested you dress as a girl to gain more followers, and you cursed, ‘What kind of decent person wears that stuff?’ Not all men’s clothing companies are going bankrupt, so why blame me for speaking harshly?”

Ning Nanzhou was speechless.

Seems like that’s true.

He suppressed the blush creeping up his ears and went back to queue for ranked matches after class.

Xiao Longnv sent him a message.

[Xiao Longnv] I see you’ve been grinding ranked matches non-stop. Are you trying to join the homepage event on the site? Let’s team up?

Chen Long had known South for almost three years and understood how tough South’s life was. Even while studying, South was still streaming, unlike other streamers who loved socializing and forming cliques.

The event had generous rewards; first place even got site-wide promotion. The more serious streamers had already formed teams early on. Chu Yuan had even teamed up with members from Blue Flame’s second team.

He didn’t think their duo could beat the professional second team, but he didn’t want the young man to queue alone.

He shared what he knew with Ning Nanzhou: “There are already a bunch of Grandmaster-level players, plenty at Master III as well. Some even hired Blue Flame’s second team players, who reportedly won the secondary league championship — really strong.”

Ning Nanzhou remained expressionless.

Blue Flame was an established powerhouse, having only lost to FKW at the world championship. Even Blue Flame’s star player, Oliver, didn’t impress him that much.

Playing seriously was serious, and feeding was truly feeding.

He and Xiao Longnv started duo queueing, while Qin Yong’s fans kept taunting.

[Even with one more person, you won’t break into the top 100 nationally.]

[Waiting for the day you call me daddy.]

[Daddy's gonna watch you cry.]

He ignored these pitiful insults and picked the fastest climbing hero—the Paladin.

Just by the name, it was clear the Paladin was a warrior hero. The gameplay wasn’t complicated: gain lane advantage, then lead the team fight and slash enemies.

He and Xiao Longnv often teamed up to play games. Their synergy in team fights was excellent—when he slipped into a gap, Xiao Longnv immediately knew he was about to engage.

But the opposing AD was a rank slave, raging every time he died.

[12:07] I’m the Best: Damn your grandpa! Damn your ancestors! Just bought this damn Oathblade!

[12:07] I’m the Best: I underestimated you just now. Next time I’ll go all out. Try killing me once more!

[17:04] I’m the Best has been slain by South!

[17:05] I’m the Best: Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Sneak attacks aren’t skill. Got the guts? 1v1 your grandpa. You’re on my death list now, prepare for my wrath.

[21:03] I’m the Best has been slain by South!

[21:03] I’m the Best: You’re done! You’re done! You’re done! Do you even know who you’re surrendering to? If I don’t make you kneel and call me daddy, I’ll spell my name backwards!

Qin Yong’s fans might as well send a banner to the enemy.

[Purging the scum, I’m satisfied!]

[South finally met his match today.]

[Good trash talk! I love it!]

Even Xiao Longnv was amazed: “Wow! This guy’s typing speed is unreal—so many messages in a second, reading pinyin is killing me.”

Ning Nanzhou didn’t want to waste time with these schoolchildren and replied, “I’ll carry you next round.”

The opponent immediately messaged back.

[21:04] I’m the Best: Thanks, daddy.

[??? Is that all your backbone???]

[Just praised you and now you’re kneeling???]

[Damn, I despise you.]

[AD players are all softies!]

Xiao Longnv asked uneasily, “You’re really going to carry him?”

Ning Nanzhou finished the game and hummed in agreement.

Though this AD raged on the public chat, his skill was the strongest Ning Nanzhou had seen—his risky, bloodthirsty style reminded him of Blue Flame’s mixed-race AD.

But that blond American “little wolf” never queued, claiming only bad players do.

After a hard practice, Xiao Qiao wasn’t happy watching the stream. South carried his old friend; he accepted that. But why carry a newbie who couldn’t even type a word? He refused to team up with him!

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He wanted South to know his strength.

His previous account got rejected by the noob, so using a main account would scare this inexperienced streamer. He secretly created a smurf account, even changing the avatar to a nine-tailed fox, a favorite among girls.

He tried to queue ranked matches at the same time as South, but the server was too crowded—he failed to match several times.

Xiao Qiao quit and re-entered repeatedly until his fingers went numb. When he finally saw South’s name in the team interface, tears of excitement welled up. He hadn’t been this thrilled since the S-tier championship win!

To solidify his soft girl image, he intentionally picked the nine-tailed fox and rushed to the top lane as soon as he reached level six.

The newbie AD was displeased.

[11:04] I’m the Best: Fox, whose support are you?

[11:04] I’m the Best: There are two Ren players; you want me to 1v2?

[11:04] I’m the Best: I’m not bad at 1v2—don’t you know how to play?

Xiao Qiao ignored the insults, focusing on supporting South and chatting as he played.

[12:06] Cute Duck: Brother, you play so well!

[12:08] Cute Duck: I feel so safe by your side. They can’t hit me, hehe.

[12:09] Cute Duck: Brother, can you team up with me?

He tried everything to flirt, thinking South would agree out of pity for a girl. But South mercilessly rejected him.

[12:10] South: Don’t hit on a married man.

Xiao Qiao: ??? Are you married!?

Fortunately, South’s friend softened and agreed to let him join the team. Xiao Qiao worked diligently supporting, but things didn’t go as he imagined.

Before he joined, the team won almost every match; after he joined, they lost more than they won.

Of course, it wasn’t his fault.

[15:01] Cute Duck: Are the enemies hacking?

[15:23] Xiao Longnv: The high-end hacks are expensive; they can’t all be cheating.

[15:49] I’m the Best: Some IDs look familiar; I’ve been killed by them several times. Damn cheaters and their families.

[16:01] South: Probably someone sniping us.

Stream sniping is common; some even gamble on it. But sniper attacks on small streamers are rarer.

Ning Nanzhou recalled being hacked yesterday and had a good guess who it was.

[Could it be Qin Yong’s fans?]

[Sniping in high-tier games is expensive; they probably can’t afford it.]

[Who says we can’t afford it??? We just won’t spend!]

The other two were calm, but the raging AD lost it.

[16:01] I’m the Best: Dare snipe me, I’ll curse your whole family! Wait for me to hunt you down, someone owes me a favor.

Ning Nanzhou raised an elegant eyebrow. Could it be another schoolkid?

But this kid was pretty arrogant and didn’t show up until late at night. From his observations, he probably wasn’t a schoolboy.

Because the other player could type Chinese characters fluently.

[00:35] South: Middle school?

[00:35] I’m the Best: I went to university at seventeen!

[01:34] South: I asked him.

[01:34] I’m the Best: He’s eighteen.

He didn’t believe these two had attended university, though maybe their ages were true.

The new jungler was strong and typical of a tempo controller, tightly controlling the enemy’s movements—three dragons were secured by their team.

Ning Nanzhou never hesitated to acknowledge others’ skill, as he was strong himself. But this jungler, well...

He was a big fan of Chi Yu.

Chi Yu liked to cast skills in straight lines when playing the Harpist; this jungler did the same. Chi Yu liked starting with the Spirit Stone; so did this jungler. Chi Yu bought Sayre’s legendary skin; this guy bought it too.

[14:35] South: Buddy, can we talk? Could you stop copying Chi Yu?

The eighteen-year-old jungler slowly typed a question mark.

He didn’t know whether South was straight or not, so he used the most straightforward example.

[14:57] South: It’s like your wife wearing a short skirt right in front of you—can you handle that?

The other player quickly typed, “Got it.”