"'Cheng Ge told Smiling to stream with face cam, what's the point of hiding when they'll see you eventually'—Hmm, Comrade Smiling, come take a look. Don't you think this live comment bro has a point?"
Xiao Rui leaned on the table with one hand, staring at the computer screen next to Lu Sicheng—currently unused and displaying Cheng Ge's live stream homepage.
"Once the Summer Split starts, you'll have to go on stage for matches. They'll see your face sooner or later—what are you hiding for?"
"I-I'll wear a mask!"
"Oh, you'll wear a mask, sure. What about the official team photos for Summer Split? We're getting new jerseys this year, so we have to reshoot the lineup photos—you think the club will let you wear a mask for those? Are you here to play professionally or star in an urban horror legend like 'Slit-Mouthed Woman'?"
Tong Yao twitched the corner of her lips, about to retort, when Lu Sicheng interjected coolly, "Compared to Slit-Mouthed Woman, you'd fit 'Female Pervert' better."
"Oh?" Rui Ge narrowed his eyes and leaned closer to the screen, reading more live comments. "'Female Pervert 23333,' 'Cheng Ge you're so mean hahaha,' 'Cheng Ge why bully my wife'—Huh, this one's new. You even have male fans, Comrade Smiling."
Lu Sicheng: "They'll disappear once they see your face."
Tong Yao: "?????!"
Xiao Rui pointed at the back of Lu Sicheng's head and asked Tong Yao, "You're just gonna take that?"
Tong Yao: "What else can I do? Unplug his internet?"
Xiao Rui: "Why not start streaming to prove your charm? Weren't you on Yellow Fish Live before? Did you sign a streaming contract?"
Tong Yao: "No."
Xiao Rui: "Our team streams on Bear Cat Live. You might as well join us. All official team members have to stream anyway. I'll get you a contract tomorrow..."
Tong Yao: "??? Wait, when was this decided?"
Xiao Rui: "Just now."
Tong Yao: "..."
Xiao Rui said seriously, "This is work."
"Oh." The ever-professional Tong Yao immediately caved at the mention of work, nodding obediently as she retracted her resistance. "Fine."
Xiao Rui looked satisfied, bent down to pick up Da Bing—who had just finished licking his paws after drinking yogurt and was now rolling around Lu Sicheng's ankle—and floated away... The clicking of Lu Sicheng's mouse echoed nearby, while Tong Yao sat cross-legged on her chair, still baffled at how she'd been roped into this.
The man glanced sideways at her. "You had the perfect chance to negotiate just now. You could've used your 'girls need early sleep' nonsense to convince Xiao Rui to cut ten hours off your monthly streaming quota."
—According to Riot Games' regulations, active professional esports players were generally required to stream no more than 45 hours per month. Contracts were signed directly between clubs and streaming platforms, and players only needed to fulfill the stipulated hours at their convenience.
Tong Yao counted on her fingers. "What's the difference between 45 and 35 hours?"
"No difference? You'll find out when you're scrambling to make up hours at the end of the month."
"???"
"It's like leaving your kindergarten summer homework till the last day and then frantically rushing to finish it."
"What kindergarten? Speak properly."
"This is a senior's warning. I'm only doing this good deed once in my life."
"..."
A once-in-a-lifetime good deed?
Damn, coming from Lu Sicheng, that was way too convincing.
So Tong Yao was persuaded yet again.
She immediately scrambled off her chair. Hearing the commotion, Lu Sicheng turned his head slightly and gave her a sidelong glance. "What?"
"Going to find Rui Ge," Tong Yao said with a look that screamed Thanks, senior, you're right , slipping on her slippers. "To negotiate."
With that, she clattered away in her slippers. Lu Sicheng snorted coldly and turned back to his game. After a while, as if remembering something, he alt-tabbed to check his live stream chat—and, as expected, it was flooded with:
[WTF since when is our Cheng Ge so considerate??? Did he eat rat poison?! ∑(Dノ)ノ]
[666666 who was that just now? Which kind-hearted ghost possessed Cheng Ge?!]
[Teaching the newbie how to bully Xiao Rui??? The sky must be falling!!!]
[Q: Why did the Huangpu River turn green? A: Because Li Junhe (Pope) washed his hair upstream, heh.]
[Husband why are you so nice to another girl qaq I'm unsubbing and turning into a casual fan!!!]
[Poor Little Fatty, two years with Cheng Ge and not a single kind word, yet all the gentleness goes to that girl smh.]
[Poor Little Fatty 1]
[Poor Little Fatty 2]
[Poor Little Fatty 10086]
[No one gonna spare a thought for Li Junhe?]
[Girl I don’t even have time to pity myself!!!]
Lu Sicheng: "..."
Lu Sicheng: "One more word and I'm ending the stream."
Instantly, the chat froze as if someone had hit pause.
The man glanced at the suddenly silent stream, then calmly switched back to his game, his expression unreadable.
The next day.
When Lu Sicheng came downstairs after waking up, he immediately spotted someone sitting cross-legged on the sofa, brows furrowed so tightly they could crush a fly. A pen dangled from her lips as she glared at a stack of papers on the coffee table—undoubtedly the streaming contract Xiao Rui had brought over earlier.
Lu Sicheng walked past the coffee table, grabbed a yogurt from the fridge, downed it in two gulps, and tossed the empty carton into the trash. "Just sign it. What's there to read?"
The person on the sofa finally noticed his presence and looked up, her face full of resentment. "Negotiations failed."
Lu Sicheng: "Oh."
Tong Yao: "The 'girls need early sleep' excuse didn't work."
Lu Sicheng glanced at her. "What did Xiao Rui say?"
Tong Yao: "He said, 'There are 22 hours in a day before 10 PM. An hour and a half of streaming per day is nothing—you could squeeze that out by farting one less time.'"
"Crude analogy," Lu Sicheng remarked. Then, after a pause, "So?"
"I actually think he has a point," Tong Yao said despairingly. "Cheng Ge, am I too easily swayed?"
Lu Sicheng slowly walked over, then suddenly reached out and pinched her earlobe—his fingers still cold from the yogurt. Tong Yao hissed and jerked back, but he'd already retracted his hand, concluding flatly, "Yes. You're soft-hearted."
Tong Yao's face flushed red. Rubbing her tingling earlobe, she quickly signed the contract, tossed the pen aside, and leaned back on the sofa, declaring primly, "Cheng Ge, even though I admire you and think you're a good person, you should know that men and women shouldn't touch unnecessarily. There should be a safe distance—you can't just casually manhandle people—"
Lu Sicheng picked up the cat—who had taken over his seat and was snoozing soundly—and unceremoniously dumped it onto its rightful owner's chair. He then glanced at said owner, who sat ramrod straight, chin slightly raised.
The man smirked briefly. "Oh."
Tong Yao sensed impending doom—
Sure enough, he continued leisurely, "What woman? You're a kindergarten kid."
"What kindergarten kid?!"
Tong Yao shot up from the sofa—barefoot, standing on the cushions—now at eye level with Lu Sicheng. She puffed up, radiating the aura of someone ready to throw hands.
"I'm live."
Lu Sicheng pointed at the webcam and deadpanned, making a show of turning it toward her.
"..."
The person on the sofa immediately plopped back down, then flopped onto her side—smooth and swift, as if she'd just undergone military training.
After a long pause, a pair of resentful eyes peeked over the armrest, and a hushed, hissing voice followed: "You're evil."
Lu Sicheng chuckled faintly and lazily clicked into the game client to start his daily ranked grind. Meanwhile, Tong Yao—still hiding behind the sofa, terrified he'd actually turn the camera—remained oblivious to one crucial fact:
He had gone live.
But today, his stream had no camera.
Nor audio.
The chat was in chaos:
[He’s live!!! But no camera!!!]
[No-camera Cheng Ge today (╥﹏╥)]
[Turn on the cam, pls pls pls~]
[No cam no life!!!]
[My roommate’s dying wish is to see Cheng Ge’s face and hear his voice!!!]
For a full hour, Tong Yao remained a silent, motionless beauty—until Little Fatty came over to ask about runes for a certain Mid Laner champion. She wordlessly pulled up the game interface and gestured. Little Fatty blinked. "Just tell me, I’ll understand."
Tong Yao glanced at Lu Sicheng’s focused profile and whispered, "He’s streaming."
Little Fatty: "No cam. Pretty sure his mic’s off too."
Tong Yao: "Huh?"
Tong Yao: "..."
Tong Yao: "LU SICHENG!!!!!!!!"
OpenNovel