Qiao Jingjing was dejected for no longer than a meal.
Then she was brimming with confidence again. Seriously, back when her acting skills were poor, she had hired a tutor and after half a year of diligent training, hadn’t she… well, become passable? When she weighed ninety-five jin and people mocked her for being chubby, hadn’t she managed to develop (the beginnings of) abdominal definition in just three months?
Oh wait, those beginnings had vanished recently due to her diligent (addicted) gaming.
…That wasn’t important. The point was, she would become a Conqueror.
Yu Tu was eating across from her and could visibly see Qiao Jingjing transform from a wilted little blade of grass back into a confident young poplar tree. After finishing her meal, Qiao Jingjing pushed her bowl aside and looked at Yu Tu with complete trust. "Shall we begin?"
Yu Tu stood up to clear the dishes. Qiao Jingjing felt too embarrassed to say that Xiao Zhu would come by later to help clean up, so she stepped in to assist. After they tidied everything, Yu Tu picked up his phone and entered the game.
"Let’s do some 1v1 practice matches."
"Ah, me against you? There’s no way I can win."
"Through practical matches, you need to familiarize yourself with each hero’s skills, damage output, Ultimate skill cooldown times, and some operational details."
Qiao Jingjing: "…Every hero? Honor of Kings has over seventy heroes, right?"
Yu Tu gave an "mm" of acknowledgment. "So it’s not that many."
Qiao Jingjing: "…"
Yu Tu created a room and invited her. "Come in. Besides, I also need to see which type of hero suits you."
After being thoroughly beaten by Yu Tu all afternoon, Qiao Jingjing began to doubt whether hiring him as her tutor had been the right decision. She put down her phone and said seriously, "I don’t think it’s fair."
Yu Tu waited for her to continue.
"I haven’t reached level thirty yet, and my Runes aren’t maxed out. You have more Runes than me, so of course I can’t beat you."
Yu Tu showed her his phone. "I don’t have many Runes either."
Qiao Jingjing tapped to check and saw that he really didn’t have many—quite a few were only tier three or four… So he had been playing so impressively all this time without many Runes?
Having nothing more to say, Qiao Jingjing endured a few more rounds of brutal defeat before decisively using a bathroom break as an escape. When she returned, she saw Yu Tu holding his phone and watching something—judging by the sound effects, it was probably a Honor of Kings video.
Walking over for a closer look, she realized it was that viral video of her playing Xiao Qiao. Qiao Jingjing hurriedly covered the screen with her hand. "Don’t watch that."
This was practically blackmail material, especially now that she understood how to play the game properly
Yu Tu obediently closed the video, looked up calmly, and said, "Let’s practice with Xiao Qiao."
Qiao Jingjing: "…"
At six o’clock, Xiao Zhu arrived with dinner. As soon as Qiao Jingjing opened the door, she declared, "I want meat today."
"There’s plain boiled chicken breast."
"No, braised."
Xiao Zhu looked troubled. "But I didn’t prepare any for you. There’s only Teacher Yu’s portion. Besides, you already had two pieces at noon—you can’t have more tonight. Be good."
Just like at noon, Xiao Zhu left right after delivering the meal. Qiao Jingjing and Yu Tu sat facing each other in the dining room. When the meal boxes were laid out, the contrast between their dinners was stark.
At noon, Yu Tu had only noticed she ate very little, but the food itself seemed normal. In the evening, however, her meal consisted of leafy greens, protein, and a few thin slices of chicken breast.
He suddenly found it hard to lift his chopsticks. Pushing his meal box toward the middle of the table, he asked, "Do you want to take some?"
Uh, had he overheard her conversation with Xiao Zhu?
Qiao Jingjing glanced at his abundant meal box, her heart yearning, but she restrained herself and shook her head. "No need, you eat it."She sighed and said self-deprecatingly, "I've gained a bit of weight these past few days."
Yu Tu looked at her slender wrists that seemed as if they would break with a single touch: "..."
After finishing their meal, they continued practicing the game. As soon as she opened the game interface, Qiao Jingjing received a 5v5 match invitation from Hao Huang. She glanced at Yu Tu, who nodded and said, "Let's play for a while."
Playing in a party with others now was truly relaxing. Qiao Jingjing was practically moved.
Upon entering the game, Hao Huang chattered incessantly: "Yu Tu, where did you go today? You disappeared early in the morning."
Yu Tu hadn't turned on his speaker or microphone at all, so naturally, he didn't respond to him.
Qiao Jingjing also turned off her microphone. "What does Hao Huang do? He seems pretty free too."
"He's my university classmate. He used to work at a fund company, but he's going abroad next month."
Oh, no wonder he's so free.
After one round ended, Yu Tu said, "The opponent had Zhuge Liang just now. When you're at full health, you should block his Ultimate skill for your teammates."
Qiao Jingjing: "...I didn't know that."
Yu Tu: "These are the most basic details. You must know them."
Qiao Jingjing nodded, then asked hopefully, "Have you figured out which type of hero suits me?"
Yu Tu glanced at her: "Let's play for a couple more days."
Qiao Jingjing automatically translated this as two more days of being unilaterally abused by him. Her vision went dark, and she felt utterly hopeless.
The second day repeated the story of the first. After losing continuously for two days, Qiao Jingjing grew frustrated and said angrily, "Can't you let me win just once?"
Yu Tu glanced at her, then stopped moving his fingers.
The previously agile Shiranui Mai stood quietly in the middle of the map...
Qiao Jingjing: "...Not that kind of win."
Yu Tu thought for a moment: "Then your requirements are a bit high."
Qiao Jingjing felt like crying.
She opened her stats page and showed it to Yu Tu. "Look at my record."
Yu Tu glanced at it—her win rate was indeed a bit pitiful. "Then we can only play against others."
...Wanting to win meant having to play against others. Although this was the truth, wasn't it a bit too narcissistic to say it so calmly?
Qiao Jingjing inwardly complained, feeling both eager and worried: "Solo against others? Can I win?"
Yu Tu: "If you can't win, just hand me the phone."
Qiao Jingjing immediately brightened up and happily went off to fight others.
Qiao Jingjing chose Yu Ji, a hero she had enjoyed playing over the past two days. Her opponent was Wang Zhaojun, whom Qiao Jingjing was quite familiar with. She skillfully dodged Wang Zhaojun's abilities, reached level four, used her second ability to close in, followed up with basic attacks, her Ultimate skill, and then her first ability. Wang Zhaojun was instantly eliminated. Qiao Jingjing couldn't believe she had won so easily and couldn't help but glance at Yu Tu. Yu Tu...
Yu Tu showed no reaction.
Alright. Qiao Jingjing suppressed her excitement and calmly played a few more rounds, forcing the opponent to surrender.
When the match ended, she was a bit dazed. Had she really won so easily?
"Continue."
With shining eyes, Qiao Jingjing started another match. This time, she still used Yu Ji but was utterly defeated by the opponent's Sun Wukong. Qiao Jingjing felt a bit indignant and kept frantically tapping the screen, completely forgetting that she could hand the phone to Yu Tu. It wasn't until their Crystal was about to explode that she remembered there was an expert beside her and immediately shoved the phone into his hands.
By then, they were already at a significant disadvantage.Yu Tu took the phone, swiftly performed micro-dodging, and rapidly cleared the minion wave, forcing Sun Wukong to retreat and wait for the next wave. He had likely underestimated his opponent, standing motionless right in front of the Crystal. Yu Tu executed a combo and eliminated him instantly.
Qiao Jingjing stared in astonishment. When Sun Wukong respawned and returned, Yu Tu merely harassed him while maneuvering, explaining, "You died too many times early on, so your economy and equipment are inferior. At this stage, avoid engaging directly—focus on positioning to harass him and clear minion waves to prevent them from reaching the tower."
Qiao Jingjing nodded.
Though it took some time, Yu Tu managed to turn the tide. The opposing Sun Wukong was convinced and couldn’t resist asking in the end.
Can Long Ao Xue (Sun Wukong): Were you toying with me earlier?
Qiao Jingjing couldn’t hold back a chuckle. Yu Tu didn’t respond. After the match ended, he handed the phone back to Qiao Jingjing.
"Yu Ji’s second skill can nullify all physical damage. Save it during laning and use it at the right moment."
"I’ll play as an assassin; you use Yu Ji. Let’s continue," he said, checking the time. "We’ll keep going until you can reliably evade damage."
By the time Yu Tu left, it was almost 10 p.m. Xiao Zhu scurried upstairs to help clean up the leftovers, only to find the kitchen and dining area spotless, while Qiao Jingjing was happily humming and playing on her phone.
Xiao Zhu: "Did the practice go well?"
Qiao Jingjing nodded, her delighted expression almost making her want to cradle her cheeks. "The top student didn’t just teach me math—he also helped me fight... oh, I mean, do homework."
Xiao Zhu: ???
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