Chapter 5: Game

【Impossible!】 The System couldn’t help but retort: 【You’ve been a ghost for too long and forgotten how to be human. Aren’t you just feeling guilty without even realizing it?】

Of course, what it really wanted to say was that Lin Zhenshuang was too uncanny. Which normal person could pull an all-nighter gaming and still work full of energy the next day?

Gu Liuguang hadn’t figured out how to respond yet when Lin Zhenshuang spoke again: “Baby wants the Blue Sapphire. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Finally, a topic she knew inside out. Gu Liuguang jumped in right away, pretending to be nonchalant: “It’s been too long. I don’t even remember any Blue Sapphire.”

As if! She remembered it perfectly. It was the most expensive thing she’d ever laid eyes on. Just imagining it dangling from her neck had kept her thrilled and sleepless.

But she also knew damn well she’d never earn that kind of money in her lifetime.

That’s exactly why not having it made her so restless!

She hadn’t bought a word from Su Tian. Little casual gifts were one thing, but an eight-million Blue Sapphire? Might as well claim the System was Qin Shi Huang.

Seeing her finally speak up, Lin Zhenshuang said casually once more: “Baby, your ex told you to delete me. Why didn’t you reply to her?”

The emphasis fell on “ex” and “delete me.” Lin Zhenshuang’s tone was perfectly calm, no different from usual, leaving Gu Liuguang unsure of her read.

Should she fan the flames or play it soothing?

Gu Liuguang mumbled into team voice chat: “Uh… we’ll talk later. Game first.”

“Heh.” Lin Zhenshuang let out a huff that sounded like angry laughter, but she didn’t say another word.

System: 【Why not just break it off with her now? Take the Blue Sapphire and block Su Tian.】

Gu Liuguang rolled her eyes. She maneuvered her hero to mid lane, helping the mage clear the minion wave: 【Everything else is fine, but blocking eight million? You want me to make pigs fly to finish quests?】

The System hesitated but still tried to egg her on: 【Don’t you have a bunch of “gifts” stashed in your room? If worst comes to worst, sell a few to cover expenses for a while.】

Gu Liuguang wavered: 【I love those too much. Can’t bear to part with them.】

They went back and forth—one insisting the gifts couldn’t follow her to the next world, the other admitting she just loved them too much to sell.

In-game.

Su Tian was still farming. While tugging lizards and the Blue Buff, she used three fingers to pull Gu Liuguang’s camera view. She spotted the soft, cute support sticking by the mage’s side. Su Tian quickly finished her blue zone and steered her tall jungler toward the mid lane river, opening all-team voice chat:

“Liuguang, why are you ignoring me? Play with whoever you want from now on. I won’t complain. Just add me back on WeChat, okay?”

Since they were all in the same match anyway, Su Tian wasn’t in a rush. She “helped” the mage clear the wave, then headed to the Pecky Family before resuming her pitch to Gu Liuguang: “Liuguang, stick with me this game. I’ll carry you to victory.”

Gu Liuguang didn’t hear a thing. She was busy fuming at the System for looking up resale prices on Idle Fish for all her stuff, ready to list them the second she agreed. It was treating her like an idiot—it had wanted to sell her treasures all along!

She missed it, but Lin Zhenshuang caught every word. She opened all-team voice chat, ignored Su Tian completely, and said to Gu Liuguang in a voice soft as water: “Baby, come down to bot and help me.”

Gu Liuguang shoved the System into the Little Black Room. This time, she heard Lin Zhenshuang clearly. She was in the habit of helping the mage snag the wave first before heading to Lin Zhenshuang anyway—even without the ask, she’d have gone. But because of Su Tian, she made a point to reply: “Baby’s coming!”

The soft, cute deer girl headed down to bot lane. As she passed the red zone, Su Tian suddenly called out: “Hold up. Take this red first.”

Gu Liuguang froze. She hadn’t even noticed Su Tian already farming the red.

The mid laner and marksman were baffled. The mid mage opened voice chat, hesitating carefully: “Su Zai, it’s only been a minute into the game. Your first red…” Giving your first red to support—what are you gonna jungle with? This wasn’t a low-rank game! Even a simp shouldn’t go this far!

Thanks to always duoing with Lin Zhenshuang and getting flamed for it, Gu Liuguang had quickly learned the game’s resources. She knew exactly what the red and blue buffs did—

Red let you stick to enemies and root them, with bonus burn damage. Blue Buff restored mana for mana-bar heroes and sped up cooldowns. As support, she got zero mileage out of them—no damage output, no self-peel.

Alone in the open, she’d be a walking buffet.

Lin Zhenshuang often yielded red and blue to her. Gu Liuguang figured they were useless, but Lin Zhenshuang called them cute, and with Lin always carrying, Gu Liuguang took them guilt-free. That said, it only felt right when Lin Zhenshuang was jungling or they were invading enemy blue together.

Gu Liuguang finally opened all-team voice chat: “No need…”

Before she finished, Lin Zhenshuang had somehow appeared. Her skill nailed the Red Buff precisely. The red gem dropped steadily at Lin Zhenshuang’s feet. Her voice turned icy yet tender as she told Su Tian: “Thanks.”

In the red zone, the soft deer girl and the tall female jungler locked eyes in silence.

The marksman had already returned to lane without missing a single minion. With the Red Buff’s damage boost and her masterful kiting, she shredded the enemy marksman and support down to scraps.

Lin Zhenshuang: “Baby, hurry down. I’ll feed you a kill.”

Gu Liuguang: “…”

She switched quietly to team chat, a bit mad at Lin Zhenshuang: “Why’d you do that again!”

Lin Zhenshuang switched back too, her tone warm and gentle: “I don’t like her making things hard for Baby. She said herself she doesn’t want the red.” No need to be polite to a rival. She still felt like she hadn’t vented enough.

…It did seem that way. Still, Gu Liuguang felt something off, though she couldn’t put her finger on it. She didn’t want to deal with Lin Zhenshuang right now.

Gu Liuguang opted to be petty: “I just don’t like it anyway!”

Lin Zhenshuang: “Fine, I won’t take her red.”

Gu Liuguang: “Oh.”

Lin Zhenshuang: “Is Baby’s tummy hungry? I ordered midnight snacks—strawberry ice cream, your favorite.”

Gu Liuguang’s mouth watered at “strawberry.” She asked right away: “When’ll it get here?”

Lin Zhenshuang: “Should arrive right after this game.”

Gu Liuguang couldn’t help but smile, her voice turning sweet: “Thanks, Baby.”

She happily hit level four clinging to Lin Zhenshuang. Seeing her exp bar a level ahead of the enemies, Gu Liuguang suddenly remembered Su Tian missing her first red and thus level four. Guilt hit her.

Luckily, Su Tian said nothing, just hustled to bot lane every wave to snag minions.

Lin Zhenshuang didn’t get mad.

In fact, she never got mad when others mooched her lane. She’d just double-dip to make up for it.

Like how Su Tian rushed lane for minions and let jungle camps expire—Lin Zhenshuang seamlessly took over her jungle.

It had been ages since Gu Liuguang blushed at Lin Zhenshuang’s farming style. Now that familiar burning flush returned.

Good thing Lin Zhenshuang carried as usual, kill feeds popping constantly.

Even more unbelievable: she only touched her own and enemy jungle resources. She didn’t even graze the other lanes’ minions. Gu Liuguang wondered if Lin Zhenshuang had swapped cores.

The System, bored in isolation, sneaked out of the Little Black Room and explained fawningly: 【Just to piss off Su Tian. Told you she’s sly.】

Gu Liuguang didn’t see it that way. She thought Lin Zhenshuang handled it perfectly this time—way less hate-magnet.

Su Tian poured everything into getting kills, but maybe the first red steal threw her off. With economy behind Gu Liuguang’s and no core items yet, she couldn’t burst anyone.

Her game sense was sharp enough for a decent score, though.

It just looked pathetic next to Lin Zhenshuang.

Enemy nexus exploded. Post-game screen: Lin Zhenshuang at 16.0, top bot laner. Gu Liuguang scraped gold support. Su Tian got silver jungler.

The other two teammates leeched the whole game.

Gu Liuguang’s fox eyes went wide. Seeing her Stars hit fifty, she snapped up the Yao title “Deer Spirit Heart Guard.” Her purple badge turned crimson.

She couldn’t stop admiring the fresh title. Gu Liuguang screenshotted it for Moments. She was just telling Lin Zhenshuang it was her first time hitting fifty Stars when the delivery call came.

Gu Liuguang: “Not playing anymore.”

She cleared her apps entirely, missing the nonstop team-up invites popping nearby.

Back with the food, Gu Liuguang ate ice cream while watching her drama, phone aside but voice chat open with Lin Zhenshuang.

Sometimes she thought Lin Zhenshuang was too clingy. Luckily, she was easygoing—just wanted voice connected, no loud noises.

Gu Liuguang binged her show. Lin Zhenshuang worked on the other end, occasionally murmuring incomprehensible foreign languages in a strangely pleasant voice.

Gu Liuguang scooped strawberry ice cream. She’d just finished episode one when episode two required prepaid unlock. She fired the link to Lin Zhenshuang, voice all sweet: “Sis, top me up.”

Lin Zhenshuang recharged it and peeked at the show.

Page refreshed. Gu Liuguang dove into episode two and asked the System: 【You sure Lin Shixia shows up this episode?】

The System had pushed this drama hard. Gu Liuguang suspected it just wanted to watch itself. But no—the System swore Film Empress Lin Shixia’s debut role was here.

System: 【It’s a TV series from the Film Empress’s agency. Lin Shixia nailed the audition because of her—the female lead’s aura sealed it. Swap her out, and it might not have blown up.】

A classic xianxia drama packed with master-disciple tension, taboos, betrayal, and more. Tight plot, fresh tropes, killer cast looks—it was a phenomenon back then, kicking off the xianxia golden age. Leads skyrocketed, and investors swarmed like sharks for a slice.

Gu Liuguang was still listening to the System hype it when a girl appeared on the tablet—like a pear blossom after spring rain, pretty enough to brighten the whole screen.

Gu Liuguang’s eyes lit up. She told the System: 【I think she’s way prettier than Lin Shixia.】

The System glanced at the screen and rolled its eyes: 【That’s Lin Shixia!!】