There seems to be something dirty on your foot.

As soon as she entered the room, Lin Wanwan acted like she was in her own home. With practiced ease, she took off her off-white puffer jacket, tossed it onto Chen Zhi's bed, and collapsed right into his ergonomic chair.

"This chair is really comfortable. I'll have to ask my dad to buy me one later."

She spun around twice, her long legs kicking back and forth on the floor.

Chen Zhi closed the door and locked it behind him.

"Get up, that's my throne."

Chen Zhi walked over, grabbed Lin Wanwan by the back of her collar, hoisted her up, and plopped himself down. In the same motion, he pushed her onto the round stool next to him.

"You are the audience. The audience needs to know their place. Sit there and don't move."

Lin Wanwan curled her lips. As soon as her butt touched the hard round stool, she felt displeased.

Her eyes darted around, and she dragged her stool closer to Chen Zhi, scooting over until their knees were almost touching.

"I want to sit right here. It's closer, so I can see better."

Chen Zhi couldn't be bothered to argue with her. He skillfully booted up the computer and logged into Steam.

As the familiar steam valve icon lit up, a chat box instantly popped up in the bottom right corner.

[Pei: You're here?]

Chen Zhi had just placed his hands on the keyboard, but before he could type, a small, pale hand reached over from the side and pressed directly onto his Enter key.

"Hey, hey, hey, I want to talk too!"

Lin Wanwan leaned her head over, staring at the profile picture on the screen with a hint of vigilance in her eyes.

Helpless, Chen Zhi took off the headphones hanging around his neck, put one side on his ear, and handed the other side to Lin Wanwan.

"Let's get one thing straight. A true gentleman watches in silence. Don't disturb me while I'm playing."

"I don't understand that. I'm just a woman."

Lin Wanwan righteously took the half of the headphones, put it on her ear, and cleared her throat before Chen Zhi even connected to the voice chat.

The voice channel connected.

Pei Ningxue's cold and clear voice came through the headphones. The background was very quiet, with only the faint sound of keyboard typing.

"Get online, I'll invite you."

Chen Zhi was just about to reply "OK," when Lin Wanwan suddenly leaned into the microphone and spoke in a sugary, overly innocent voice:

"Good evening, Classmate Pei~ I'm Wanwan. I'm right here watching Chen Zhi play games too."

The air seemed to freeze for a second.

There was a noticeable pause on the other end of the line.

Chen Zhi felt his temples throbbing. He turned his head and shot Lin Wanwan a warning look: Don't cause trouble.

Lin Wanwan gave him an innocent blink in return: I'm just saying hello.

A few seconds later, Pei Ningxue's voice sounded again. There was no discernible emotional fluctuation, but Chen Zhi felt it wasn't that simple.

"Oh, Classmate Lin is here too. Are you sharing a mic?"

"Yeah." Lin Wanwan smiled playfully and leaned against Chen Zhi's shoulder, deliberately creating the rustling sound of clothing rubbing together. "Chen Zhi only has one pair of headphones at his place, so we're wearing one side each. We're just making do."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the headphones.

Then, Pei Ningxue's faint voice came through: "Let's start then. Don't waste time."

The game loaded into the screen.

The classic Dust2 map.

Chen Zhi chose the Counter-Terrorists, bought a molotov, and prepared to just wing it in the first pistol round.

"Hey, Chen Zhi, why is this gun so ugly?" Lin Wanwan pointed at the screen. "Swap it for that one. The one with the pattern looks nice."

"That's a skin. It costs money." Chen Zhi casually brushed her off while controlling his character.

"Buy it then! I have money!" Lin Wanwan said with deep pockets. "I'll top up for you. Which one do you want?"

"Shh, don't talk. I need to listen for footsteps."

Chen Zhi frowned. He heard heavy footsteps coming from A Long.

He held his breath and concentrated, keeping his crosshair pre-aimed at the corner.

Bang!

A flashbang flew over from A Long, and the screen instantly went completely white.

Chen Zhi retreated relying on muscle memory. The moment his vision recovered, he took out the rushing enemy with a precise burst.

However, being outnumbered, he was still taken down by a follow-up shot.

The second round began.

Chen Zhi's economy was poor, so he could only save money for an eco round.

Just then, a "clack" sound came through the headphones.

An M4A1 appeared at the feet of the character Chen Zhi was controlling.

Pei Ningxue's character stood in front of him, holding only a basic starting pistol.

"For you."

Pei Ningxue's voice was cold. "You have good skills. I'll drop you a gun."

Chen Zhi froze for a moment.

They didn't get much money from losing the last round. Pei Ningxue had spent all her money on this, not even able to afford armor for herself.

"Thanks."

Chen Zhi didn't act coy. He picked up the gun, instantly feeling much more confident.

Beside him, Lin Wanwan noticed something was up. Although she didn't understand the game, she understood the action of "dropping a gun."

Wasn't this just sucking up to him?

Alarm bells rang wildly in Lin Wanwan's heart.

No way, she couldn't lose.

She couldn't help in the game, but in reality... hmph.

Lin Wanwan's eyes darted around. She reached out and grabbed an orange from the fruit bowl on Chen Zhi's desk.

Taking advantage of the gap when Chen Zhi retreated behind cover to reload, she swiftly stuffed a slice of orange into his mouth.

"A reward for you."

Chen Zhi chewed the orange and replied indistinctly, "Stop messing around, I'm holding an angle."

Through the headphones, Pei Ningxue's voice remained calm, but her actions in the game suddenly became extremely fierce. She used her small pistol to clear the B site with two consecutive headshots, then said faintly, "Chen Zhi, there's an AK here."

Lin Wanwan looked at the female character on the screen who was constantly guarding Chen Zhi's side, and her competitive spirit flared up again.

Seizing the moment when Chen Zhi was repositioning, she pulled out a wet wipe and gently wiped the orange juice from the webbing of his left hand, while speaking softly into the microphone: "Chen Zhi, take it easy playing, don't tire your hands out. Let me wipe that for you."

Through the headphones, a faint sneer came from Pei Ningxue's end.

While making his character jump onto a box, Chen Zhi said helplessly, "I'm not tired, just don't distract me."

Pei Ningxue suddenly spoke up on the other end: "Chen Zhi, someone's on A Short. I'll throw a flash, you peek immediately."

"Copy that."

The two coordinated perfectly. Pei Ningxue's flashbang was timed flawlessly, and Chen Zhi swung out to instantly reap the kill.

"What great teamwork," Lin Wanwan commented sarcastically. She then deliberately leaned close to Chen Zhi's ear and said at a volume Pei Ningxue could definitely hear, "Chen Zhi, your classmate is so good at playing games. Unlike me, who only knows how to feel sorry for you."

"Chen Zhi."

"What is it? What orders do you have now, my lady?" Chen Zhi put his hands back on the keyboard.

On his left was his childhood sweetheart in reality, and on his right was his ice-cold desk mate on the other end of the internet.

Was this a battlefield of love?

"I want to play too." Lin Wanwan stared at the screen with a determined look.

"Play what, do you even know how?" Chen Zhi rolled his eyes.

"You teach me!" Lin Wanwan tugged at his sleeve. "How hard can it be? Isn't it just clicking a mouse? I want to kill people like her too!"

Chen Zhi sighed. "This takes practice. You need to practice counter-strafing, recoil control, and pre-aiming. Just watch for now..."

"No, I want to learn." Lin Wanwan tugged at the hem of his shirt and shook it, her tone softening. "Teach me, please. I want to have some common ground with you too, so certain people don't think she's the only one who can keep you company."

He glanced at the score on the screen.

14:14.

Match point.

"Alright, alright, I'll teach you after this round," Chen Zhi compromised.

"Really?" Lin Wanwan's eyes lit up.

"Really, as real as it gets."

Just then, Pei Ningxue, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up.

"Chen Zhi."

"Ah? I'm here."

"I want to practice our coordination in the next game." Pei Ningxue paused and said in a seemingly casual tone, "I heard there's a two-person crossfire tactic in this game that requires two people to stick very close to each other. Can you teach me?"

Chen Zhi's hand trembled, almost throwing a grenade at his teammate's feet.

Stick very close?

Isn't it just a double-peek? Is there a need to make it sound so ambiguous?

Hearing that Lin Wanwan wanted to learn the game, she immediately launched a counterattack.

Lin Wanwan obviously understood as well. She widened her eyes and said loudly into the microphone, "Classmate Pei, Chen Zhi just promised to teach me! It's first come, first served, right?"

A chuckle from Pei Ningxue came through the headset.

"Oh? Is that so? But we're still playing ranked. Isn't it a bit inappropriate to teach a newbie right now? If we lose, Chen Zhi's rank points will drop."

"You wouldn't want Chen Zhi to lose points, would you?"

Lin Wanwan bit her lip. Although she didn't understand the game, she knew that boys took their ranks very seriously.

Lin Wanwan puffed out her cheeks in anger.

She turned her head and looked at Chen Zhi eagerly. Her eyes seemed to say: Just try abandoning me for the sake of your rank!

Chen Zhi felt like his head was going to split open.

How did playing a game turn into this?

...

Two hours later.

The game ended.

Lin Wanwan couldn't play the game with Chen Zhi, but she kept intentionally making some suggestive noises for the person on the other end to hear.

Pei Ningxue seemed to have noticed something too. In the end, she just said, "See you tomorrow," and hurriedly went offline.

"Alright, are you satisfied now?"

Chen Zhi slumped in his chair, looking at Lin Wanwan, who was still enthusiastically examining the weapon skins.

"It's alright."

Lin Wanwan was in a good mood. Even though she didn't learn how to play the game, she had successfully ruined Chen Zhi and Pei Ningxue's sweet duo queue, and that was enough.

She stood up and stretched. The hem of her off-white sweater lifted slightly with her movements, revealing a sliver of her fair waistline.

"I'm sleepy. Going home to sleep."

Lin Wanwan grabbed her down jacket from the bed, walked to the door, and suddenly stopped in her tracks.

She turned back and looked at Chen Zhi.

"Chen Zhi."

"What now?"

"Tomorrow morning..." Lin Wanwan's lips curled up slightly, "I want to eat the breakfast you make. As a punishment for actually hesitating about whether to teach me today."

Just as Chen Zhi was about to refuse, Lin Wanwan added another sentence.

"Otherwise, I'll tell Auntie Zhang that you play with female classmates until this late every night."

"..."

Lin Wanwan giggled, opened the door, and ran out.

With a bang, the door closed.

The room finally returned to silence.

Chen Zhi looked at the greyed-out avatar on the computer screen, and then at the cushion on the round stool next to him, which was still a little warm from Lin Wanwan sitting on it.

He shook his head helplessly and was just about to shut down the computer and go to sleep.

His phone screen suddenly lit up.

It was a WeChat message.

Sender: Pei.

Chen Zhi tapped it open, and his pupils instantly quaked.

The other party had sent a photo.

The background was the bedroom carpet of the Pei family's mansion. A pair of legs was stretched out and crossed in front of the camera, slender, straight, and blindingly white.

Immediately after, a text message came through.

[Pei: Let's continue tomorrow morning]

Chen Zhi swallowed hard and replied with a message.

[There seems to be something dirty on your foot. Take a closer picture so I can see.]

The other party sent another photo.

Chen Zhi long-pressed to save it, and then deleted the chat history.