Chapter 45: The End
“Grumble—”
“Your stomach is growling,” Xi Qin reached over and rubbed Jiang Zhong’s stomach.
“Yeah,” Jiang Zhong weakly lifted his eyelids, “Look at the time, we haven’t had dinner yet.”
Jiang Zhong and Xi Qin had been fooling around since they got back, intermittently for about two hours.
Finally, Xi Qin stopped pressing him and got up to grab a tissue from the bedside to clean up Jiang Zhong.
“I forgot my phone,” Xi Qin casually put on his clothes, “Rest for a bit. I’ll order takeout. What do you want to eat?”
“Anything, I want to take a shower,” Jiang Zhong propped himself up, “Help me get my pajamas.”
Whenever Xi Qin bought clothes or daily necessities, he’d always get Jiang Zhong’s share too, so Jiang Zhong’s personal belongings at Xi Qin’s place were growing. Coming over with empty hands and staying for ten days or half a month was no problem.
Jiang Zhong’s legs were a little weak from standing, and after doing so much physical activity on an empty stomach, he felt like he had been drained of energy.
“Sorry,” Xi Qin picked up Jiang Zhong, holding him in a frog-style embrace, “I lost track of time. You’re hungry, right?”
“I’m fine.” Jiang Zhong wrapped his arms around Xi Qin’s neck, letting him carry him downstairs. He actually forgot that he hadn’t eaten, and didn’t expect his stomach to start growling like that.
The apartment’s bathroom only had a shower. Xi Qin set Jiang Zhong down on one side and adjusted the water temperature. “Wait for a minute, I’ll order the takeout, and then help you wash.”
“Go away,” Jiang Zhong chuckled, “I’m not at that level yet.”
“I want to,” Xi Qin emphasized again before heading out to get his phone. “Let’s wash together, saves time. Don’t move, wait for me to come back.”
“Fine,” Jiang Zhong couldn’t be bothered to refuse, “I suddenly want fried chicken.”
“Okay.”
It was perfectly timed—when Jiang Zhong and Xi Qin finished their shower and blow-dried their hair, the fried chicken Jiang Zhong wanted was delivered.
“You ordered so much?” Jiang Zhong looked at the bulging bags Xi Qin brought in. “Are you going to finish all that?”
“I’ll finish it, it’s to replenish the nutrients you lost.”
“Go away,” Jiang Zhong, finally smelling the food, felt his hunger. He opened the bag without hesitation. “You need to replenish, not me.”
“I still have a lot of stock,” Xi Qin squeezed next to Jiang Zhong, “I can order a few more times and still be fine…”
“Shut up,” Jiang Zhong pinched a piece of chicken and stuffed it into Xi Qin’s mouth, “Don’t talk while eating.”
“What’s wrong with that? At the core, it’s all about eating…”
Jiang Zhong widened his eyes and glared at Xi Qin.
“Alright, alright,” Xi Qin stifled his laughter. “I won’t say anything. Eat quickly.”
Jiang Zhong snorted and lowered his head to focus on the food.
“Your fans on Weibo are urging you to ‘get to work,’” Jiang Zhong, with one hand wearing a disposable glove, swiped his other hand across the phone screen on the table.
“I’m not going,” Xi Qin fed him a piece of tender chicken leg meat. “I want to stay with my boyfriend.”
“I’ve noticed that since we got together, you’ve become particularly lacking in career ambition,” Jiang Zhong took a bite. “You used to livestream several times a week, but now the frequency has dropped significantly.”
Xi Qin gave him a mournful look, silently saying, “Who do you think I’m doing this for?”
“Ahem,” Jiang Zhong smirked. “Go ahead and stream. You won’t have anything to do soon anyway, so streaming won’t affect spending time with me.”
Xi Qin thought for a moment. “Then you play with me. I’ll give you my laptop.”
“I’m too bad at it…”
“Then I won’t stream.”
“Yo, are you threatening me?” Jiang Zhong asked, laughing in disbelief.
“Yes,” Xi Qin replied shamelessly. “What are you going to do about it?”
“Fine, I’ll play with you,” Jiang Zhong gave in. “But don’t drag me along all the time. Play properly yourself. If I die, you can’t blow me up.”
“Okay,” Xi Qin agreed readily. “I’ll play well. I want to carry you to chicken dinner.”
“Great, when do we start? Should we announce it on Weibo first?”
“Mm,” Xi Qin glanced at Jiang Zhong’s phone. “Help me reply to the person who urged me to ‘get to work,’ just tell them the livestream will start in forty minutes.”
“Just reply like that? Don’t we need to pin something or anything?” Jiang Zhong questioned while typing the reply for Xi Qin’s fan with one hand. After finishing, he realized something was off. “Wait, why am I replying for you? They don’t know who I am.”
Xi Qin smirked triumphantly, and before Jiang Zhong could delete the message, he quickly reached over and hit “send.”
“You…” Jiang Zhong gritted his teeth. “Your hands are greasy.”
Three minutes after Jiang Zhong’s reply was sent, Xi Qin posted a new Weibo, announcing the livestream time.
A fan, surprised, noticed the time was the same as what the person Jiang Zhong had replied to had said.
Xi Qin started the livestream on time. Within three minutes, over a thousand people had joined, and the chat was lively.
Jiang Zhong moved a stool and sat next to Xi Qin at the computer desk, clicking on the game icon on Xi Qin’s laptop to log into his account.
“Today, duo queue,” Xi Qin replied on the microphone to the questions in the chat. “Not carrying anyone.”
Jiang Zhong shook his head vigorously. Every time Xi Qin had streamed before, he would randomly carry three people, and afterward, he would receive a large number of gifts.
“Mm?” Xi Qin looked at him in confusion.
Jiang Zhong didn’t want the microphone to pick up any sound, so he leaned close to Xi Qin’s ear and whispered, “You carry, you can take two.”
Xi Qin mimicked him, whispering back, “It’s fine, we’ll duo queue.”
Jiang Zhong continued softly, “We can earn more money.”
“Alright.” Xi Qin smiled, then turned and spoke normally, “I’ll carry two random players per game.”
After the game started, Xi Qin didn’t do as he had before, taking Jiang Zhong wherever he went.
Although Jiang Zhong still lacked some practical experience, he had watched most of Xi Qin’s streams and had a good theoretical knowledge. His gameplay had improved a lot, and at least he could keep himself alive for a while.
On the two computer screens, the game scenes were completely different in the same match.
Xi Qin’s desktop was filled with explosions of gunfire, while Jiang Zhong’s laptop was calm and peaceful.
Jiang Zhong could even let go of his mouse and spectate Xi Qin’s game.
From time to time, Xi Qin would check to see if Jiang Zhong was in danger, and after finishing a chaotic battle, he found a motorcycle and rode towards Jiang Zhong’s character in the game.
“Get down,” Jiang Zhong, with one earphone in, said. “I’ll take you into the circle.”
Jiang Zhong nodded, guiding his character downstairs.
“Me?” teammate number 3 in the nearby building asked. “Is God Xi talking to me?”
“No,” Xi Qin said coldly. “I’m talking to teammate 2. I can only carry one person here.”
“It’s fine,” teammate 3 responded casually. “I’ll find a vehicle myself.”
Jiang Zhong bit his lip and hopped onto the motorcycle that Xi Qin had driven over.
After entering the circle, Xi Qin placed Jiang Zhong in a relatively safe position, then drove the vehicle farther away after making sure Jiang Zhong was well hidden.
Jiang Zhong searched for supplies within a very small area, but considering his combat abilities… it wasn’t worth mentioning.
In contrast, Xi Qin quickly fully equipped his weapon. After entering another house, he looked at the items on the ground and said, “Do you want a four-time scope?”
After a pause, Xi Qin added, “Teammate 2.”
Jiang Zhong shook his head, seemingly not needing it.
There were no other players at this location, and teammates 3 and 4, after looting the house, moved on to another place.
Xi Qin once again hopped on the motorcycle and rode back to Jiang Zhong’s side. Without needing a reminder, Jiang Zhong jumped on.
When they arrived at the next location, they were ambushed. As soon as Jiang Zhong got off the motorcycle, a burst of bullets knocked him to the ground.
“Ah,” Jiang Zhong let out a short cry.
“Get inside.” Xi Qin reacted quickly, opening the door. Fortunately, he had parked the bike right at the door for Jiang Zhong’s convenience.
Since there was still one enemy left alive, they didn’t dare rush in to finish off the shot. Xi Qin took the opportunity to crouch down beside Jiang Zhong and help him up.
Once Jiang Zhong was saved, a medical kit appeared in front of him.
Jiang Zhong shook his head, signaling with his eyes for Xi Qin to pick it up, as his backpack already had plenty of healing items.
“What?” Xi Qin pretended not to understand.
Jiang Zhong opened his inventory to show him.
“Oh, you’re quite rich,” Xi Qin sighed. “But this one’s for you.”
Fine, Jiang Zhong picked up the medical kit from the ground.
Since it was from his boyfriend, it felt like the healing effect was much better.
What Jiang Zhong didn’t notice was that the live stream’s bullet comments had become quite confused.
【Who is God Xi talking to?】
【Probably teammate 2.】
【Hmm… I don’t think I’m seeing things right.】
—
Xi Qin glanced at the bullet comments a few times without showing any reaction, then smiled contentedly.
Just as Jiang Zhong finished using the medkit, a few footsteps were heard in his headphones.
“It’s fine,” Xi Qin naturally heard it too. “Stay hidden.”
Jiang Zhong trusted Xi Qin’s skills wholeheartedly. Even if Xi Qin wasn’t that great, at times like this, he wanted to support his boyfriend, so without a word, Jiang Zhong ran to the corner and crouched down.
In less than three minutes, three lines of messages popped up in the top-right corner of the game interface:
【xixixi eliminated woshishei with an AKM.】
【xixixi eliminated wozaina with an AKM.】
【xixixi eliminated wozaizuoshenme with an AKM.】
After eliminating the opponents, Xi Qin’s first move wasn’t to loot, reload, or heal, but instead, he turned to look at Jiang Zhong, waiting for praise.
Jiang Zhong gave him a thumbs-up and mouthed the words: “Impressive.”
Xi Qin smiled, showing all eight of his teeth.
“Come over and loot,” Xi Qin’s voice was filled with joy. “Baby.”
Jiang Zhong instinctively nodded and took a few steps before his eyes widened. “What did you say?!”
“Come over and loot,” Xi Qin said with a smile.
“No,” Jiang Zhong couldn’t keep his voice low anymore, “You’re live streaming, pay attention.”
What was this about looting? Jiang Zhong glanced at the other phone screen, where the bullet comments were flying by rapidly.
【God Xi is awesome.】
【Awesome.】
—
【???】
【I’ve said it’s not my corrupt eyes seeing things wrong.】
【Sexy streamer, coming out online.】
【The little brother’s voice sounds familiar.】
【What happened?】
【Let me explain for the sisters who missed it last time…】
…
“You…” Jiang Zhong gritted his teeth. “Was that on purpose?”
Xi Qin nodded without even a hint of embarrassment, “Yes, it was on purpose.”
Jiang Zhong: “…”
Since Xi Qin so openly admitted it, Jiang Zhong didn’t even know what to say.
The comments in the live stream were getting wilder, and the number of viewers was rapidly increasing. Jiang Zhong couldn’t help but feel a bit worried. “Will the live stream be banned like this?”
“It won’t,” Xi Qin chuckled, “We haven’t done anything.”
“Alright then.” Jiang Zhong finally glared at Xi Qin.
Actually, this was fine too. He didn’t have to hold back from speaking anymore.
“By the way,” as they continued playing, Xi Qin suddenly said, “He’s beside me.”
Jiang Zhong immediately realized that Xi Qin was answering a question from the comments. Since there was no immediate danger around them, Jiang Zhong turned to glance at the bullet comments.
In the comments, some people had recognized that Jiang Zhong’s voice was coming through the live stream microphone and began guessing whether he and Xi Qin were living together.
Then Xi Qin just said, “Yes.”
It was ridiculous.
“You really are…” Jiang Zhong was actually quite happy inside, “Take it easy.”
“Did I say something wrong?” Xi Qin’s gun was held steadily, “You’re right beside me.”
Jiang Zhong had no retort: “You’re not wrong.”
Just then, the game reached its final stage, and Jiang Zhong didn’t expect that with his skill, he would make it to the final circle.
What’s it like having a boyfriend who’s good at games?
Jiang Zhong: Being a noob feels really comfortable.
After Xi Qin called Jiang Zhong “baby,” teammates 3 and 4 stopped chatting and focused on the game. They too made it to the final circle alive.
The advantage of having a full squad in the final circle was significant, and their team undeniably secured the final victory.
The game ended, and Jiang Zhong, with zero kills, successfully got a chicken dinner!
As both computers popped up the final screen, Jiang Zhong and Xi Qin exchanged a kiss that had no romantic intent.