After a full three days of 1v1 practice, Yu Tu started taking her to play 3v3 against AI, claiming it was to practice small-scale team fights. Qiao Jingjing found herself winning effortlessly, which greatly boosted her confidence.
Then they began actual 3v3 matches, which immediately turned into hard mode. It wasn't that she was particularly bad—mainly because Yu Tu simply refused to join team fights! He kept running off alone to the jungle area to kill birds, pigs, and creeps, leaving her and their poor random teammate to fight two against three. Only when she and the pitiful teammate were barely holding on would he show up to display his skills.
He called it "training her pressure resistance."
But after all, a genius student was still a genius student. Qiao Jingjing still learned quite a bit—not just hero usage techniques. While playing, Yu Tu would explain details she had never paid attention to before but were actually very important. For example, last hitting, or adjusting item builds based on opponents...
She used to play Wang Zhaojun with the same set of equipment from start to finish.
The afternoon sun was just right, warming up the living room. Qiao Jingjing curled up on the sofa, playing the game seriously.
It was another 3v3 match, and she was playing Sun Shangxiang.
Her teammate had already died when Yu Tu's Zhang Fei finally emerged from the jungle area. With a roar under the tower, he blew away all three opponents. Just as Qiao Jingjing was about to charge forward to attack, she heard Yu Tu's phone ring.
Qiao Jingjing immediately retreated under the tower.
Whenever there was an incoming call, the game would lag. Even if hung up immediately, the character would freeze for a few seconds—during team fights, freezing for a few seconds basically meant certain death.
She gave up on pursuing the attack and unintentionally glanced at Yu Tu's phone beside her, only to see a familiar name flashing on the caller ID—Xia Qing.
It was actually Xia Qing?
Before Qiao Jingjing could process this, she saw Yu Tu quickly press the decline button. Qiao Jingjing was somewhat surprised, "Aren't you going to answer?"
Yu Tu calmly continued controlling Zhang Fei, "After the game."
The match ended quickly. Yu Tu stood up, "I need to make a call."
He went to the balcony to make the call and soon returned, telling Qiao Jingjing, "I'm going out for a bit."
Qiao Jingjing couldn't contain her curiosity, "Does Xia Qing work in Shanghai too?"
Yu Tu's answer was somewhat intriguing, "She should still be in Beijing."
"Should"?
Qiao Jingjing became thoughtful, waved goodbye to him, and continued playing her own game. When the match ended, she put down her phone and suddenly felt a bit worried—even though it was "should," some things were hard to predict. Would she lose her teacher starting tomorrow?
The place Xia Qing chose to meet wasn't far from Qiao Jingjing's home. Yu Tu wasn't late, but when he arrived, Xia Qing was already in the café.
He nodded in greeting and sat down. Xia Qing said, "I ordered an Americano for you."
"Thank you." As the waiter served the coffee, Yu Tu asked, "Here for business?"
"Actually, I'm on a business trip in Hangzhou."
She paused mid-sentence, but Yu Tu picked up his coffee without asking why she had come to Shanghai.
Xia Qing curved her lips slightly, "Why are you in the Lujiazui area?"
"Just had some matters to attend to."
"Oh, I thought you might be here for an interview."
Yu Tu's hand holding the coffee cup paused slightly.
"I had a meal with Bao Bao in Hangzhou. He said you're planning to resign from the aerospace institute." She looked intently at Yu Tu, "Is it true?"
"I'm considering it.""Why?" Xia Qing's tone suddenly sharpened. "The place you insisted on going to even at the cost of breaking up with me back then—are you giving it up so easily now?"
Yu Tu remained silent.
Xia Qing leaned back against the sofa with a laugh. "I actually hope you persist. Otherwise, it would seem I meant nothing to you. So it wasn't impossible for you to give up—it's just that I wasn't worth it."
Yu Tu sighed. "You knew I was preparing for graduate school in aerospace even before we got together."
Xia Qing said self-mockingly, "There's a saying, isn't there? The most ridiculous fantasy in the world is thinking you can change someone."
Yu Tu took a sip of coffee and changed the subject. "Are you still at QE?"
"I changed jobs long ago. Just got promoted to MD. My salary has multiplied several times since graduation, and so has the workload."
"You've always been outstanding."
"But it's exhausting. I often wonder—why should I, as a woman, push myself so hard?" Xia Qing lowered her head to stir her coffee. "Which field are you planning to switch to? I heard DF's headquarters made you an offer."
DF's headquarters was in Beijing.
Yu Tu paused before saying, "I've already turned it down."
Xia Qing's tone was calm. "Is that so?"
She took a few more sips of coffee, put down her cup, and checked the time. "My flight is in two hours. I should get going."
The café was inside a shopping mall. To leave, they had to pass through the crowded shopping area. Walking silently through the crowd, Xia Qing suddenly stopped and looked up at a huge poster hanging in the mall.
"Look, Qiao Jingjing."
Yu Tu lifted his gaze. On the enormous poster hanging from the third floor, Qiao Jingjing was pressing her cheek against a phone, smiling charmingly at the crowd.
"Do you think if she remembers us now, she'd find it ridiculous? The top students from our class probably can't compare to even one of her fingers now."
Yu Tu looked away from the poster. "No."
Xia Qing seemed surprised, having expected him not to answer at all. "You're quite confident."
After exiting the mall, Yu Tu said, "I'll walk you to the subway station."
Xia Qing was taken aback, then shook her head with a laugh. "Yu Tu, you're still stuck in the past."
She smoothed her hair. "I haven't taken the subway in years. I have to meet someone right after landing, so I'd rather not squeeze in with the crowd."
Yu Tu nodded and hailed a taxi, politely seeing her off.
As she pulled the car door open, Xia Qing paused and turned back. "You knew why I came today, didn't you?"
Yu Tu could only remain silent.
"In your eyes, only the sky above matters. Things like feelings are as insignificant as dust, not even worth mentioning, right?"
Yu Tu frowned slightly. "There's no need for sarcasm."
Xia Qing let out a soft "heh." "It's not sarcasm—it's realization. Yu Tu, you shouldn't hold others back."
Qiao Jingjing was startled when she opened the door and saw Yu Tu. She had thought it was Xiao Zhu. "Why are you back?"
She glanced at the decorative clock in the living room. It hadn't even been an hour. Did things go exceptionally well, or did they part on bad terms?
Yu Tu said, "Didn't you say you'd finish by nine tonight?"
She had only said that casually before, but Yu Tu really had been leaving after nine every day...
"I was just saying random things. If you have something else to do..."
"Nothing. Let's continue." As he spoke, Yu Tu took off his coat, hung it up, and walked inside. Qiao Jingjing followed behind, pondering. It seemed they had indeed parted on bad terms.The two returned to their previous seats. Yu Tu had Qiao Jingjing use Bian Que to play 3v3 matches with random players while he observed from the side. After a few rounds, he had her try using Shiranui Mai. Just as Qiao Jingjing noticed Hao Huang coming online, she invited him to join.
Upon entering the game, Hao Huang complained disdainfully, "Why are we playing 3v3? It's boring."
"Practicing small-scale team fights."
"You're quite diligent, but~~" Hao Huang dragged out his tone with a mischievous smirk, "Little Mian Hua, have you considered switching to me as your master?"
Qiao Jingjing found it strange, "Why?"
Hao Huang: "Because your Jade Rabbit God is about to be taken."
Qiao Jingjing: "..."
She glanced at Yu Tu.
Hao Huang continued gossiping excitedly, "He's been leaving early and returning late lately. I was wondering what he's up to, and today I heard from Shilaimei Bao that there's something going on. I can't reveal the details, but you should stick with me from now on. He probably won't have time to coach you anymore."
You've already revealed way too much...
Qiao Jingjing's beautiful eyes shifted slyly as she grinned and said, "Really? He's already leaving early and returning late, so restless..."
A slender finger suddenly brushed through her hair, turning off the speaker and microphone on her phone screen, instantly plunging the world into silence.
Yu Tu's deep voice sounded beside her ear, "Focus."
His hand withdrew, but a faint sensation lingered on her hair strands. Qiao Jingjing suddenly felt a numbness on one side of her cheek, and the Shiranui Mai she was controlling inexplicably lost the low-health enemy and ran toward the jungle area.
She quickly turned her body to prevent Yu Tu from seeing her messy gameplay. Fortunately, the doorbell rang just then. Qiao Jingjing cleared her throat, "Xiao Zhu probably brought dinner."
"I'll get it."
Yu Tu stood up to answer the door, but when it opened, the person standing outside wasn't Xiao Zhu—it was a stranger almost as tall as him.
The man was dressed in a sharp suit, his handsome face showing a hint of surprise upon seeing Yu Tu. His gaze then shifted past Yu Tu into the room. Unsure of the man's intentions, Yu Tu subtly shifted to block the view.
Since 3v3 matches are fast-paced, Qiao Jingjing quickly finished the round, tossed her phone aside, and walked toward the door. "Xiao Zhu, did you bring the yogurt I asked for—"
Her voice cut off abruptly when she saw the man outside, leaving her momentarily stunned.
What's going on? Why is he here?
The man's eyes swept over Qiao Jingjing's slightly disheveled hair, casual loungewear, and bare feet in slippers before he nodded and said, "I saw the lights on while driving past, so... sorry to disturb."
Then, with perfect composure, he left.
Qiao Jingjing: "..."
Yu Tu looked at Qiao Jingjing, "Aren't you going to explain to him?"
"Who wants to explain to an ex-boyfriend I broke up with two years ago?" And one who's so pretentious too~ But what kind of day is this? Ex-boyfriends and ex-girlfriends popping up everywhere—is it World Nostalgia Day?
Xiao Zhu, who was running late, rushed out of the elevator, "Jingjing, Jingjing, I think I saw... uh, Teacher Yu."
She immediately fell silent upon seeing Yu Tu.
Qiao Jingjing turned to her, "How could he come up? Wasn't his fingerprint deleted from the elevator?"
Xiao Zhu: "But he could still use the passcode. The code was changed before, but you kept forgetting the new one, so we changed it back.""Go to the property management and change it again, make it 1316, go now." Qiao Jingjing urged her.
"What is this?"
"My best record so far, 13-1-6." Qiao Jingjing felt proud whenever she thought about it, "I definitely won't forget it, don't worry."
Xiao Zhu was shooed off to change the password, while Qiao Jingjing and Yu Tu sat facing each other on the floor by the floor-to-ceiling window, eating. As usual, Yu Tu had a calorie-packed meal with three dishes and a soup, while Qiao Jingjing had her lifeless fruits, greens, and egg whites. The contrast was so bleak that they desperately needed some conversation to add nourishment.
Qiao Jingjing felt that both she and Yu Tu were awkward today, so by embracing the awkwardness, no one would feel awkward anymore. Since Yu Tu had already witnessed it, she couldn't help but vent a little.
"I dated him for over half a year, and one day he suddenly told me that his family is quite conservative and might not like my profession. He wanted me to quit the entertainment industry first, and then he would talk to his family."
"So I said, my family doesn't like people in business either—they think it's too risky, with all the bankruptcies and such. Why don't you resign first? Otherwise, my family wouldn't agree either."
Yu Tu smiled, "Mr. Su is actually very talented and has a good reputation."
Qiao Jingjing was a bit surprised, "You know him?"
"I studied finance in college, so I still keep up with news in that field."
"Oh Then you probably don't know how narcissistic he is." After two years, Qiao Jingjing wasn't angry anymore, but she still stabbed her fruit with a bit more force. "What about you?"
"What about me?"
"You and Xia Qing, why did you break up?"
Yu Tu looked up at her, meeting Qiao Jingjing's eyes full of curiosity.
"I heard from Peipei that you two got together in your third year of college. Oh, Peipei often gossips with me about our classmates." Qiao Jingjing didn't hesitate to throw her friend under the bus. "If it's inconvenient to talk about, just pretend I didn't ask."
Playfully, she pressed her chopsticks to her lips.
It wasn't really inconvenient to talk about. In fact, the reason was similar to hers. After graduating with his bachelor's degree, he had several high-paying job offers, but he still wanted to pursue the path his parents had forcefully vetoed. He and Xia Qing had started dating in their third year of college. At that time, he was already preparing for graduate school entrance exams. He thought she had accepted it, and she thought he would change. But in the end, neither of them changed the other.
"Due to work, I left Beijing after graduating with my bachelor's degree and chose to pursue a master's in aerospace." Yu Tu said simply.
So it was a long-distance relationship. Qiao Jingjing shifted her curiosity to something else. "Actually, I was quite surprised when I heard you applied for a finance major for college entrance exams. I always remembered your dream was the stars and the sea. Why did you suddenly study finance?"
Yu Tu's gaze flickered. He was somewhat surprised at how she knew, but then he remembered something, and a strange understanding flashed through his mind.
"When filling out the college applications, my parents didn't agree, and I thought I could handle both. At that time, I was a bit young and arrogant."
"But you actually managed it. You even went on to grad school later. You really are the genius student of our class." Qiao Jingjing was quite enthusiastic: "Then why do you have such a long vacation? Shouldn't scientific research be very busy?"
"Because," Yu Tu paused and said, "I plan to give up on the stars and the sea."
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