Shanghai Bigshot's Journey with MaiMai and Wrist Tendonitis

That glance made Liu Yuanyuan flush with anger.

Wait, what do you mean by that?

Are you implying I’m not charming enough, so Su Bai is cold to me?

Honestly, reason told Liu Yuanyuan this interpretation might be correct.

Deep down, she had no scruples when it came to romance—having a boyfriend never stopped her from flirting with others. So, she had tried to hit on Su Bai.

But the results were disastrous. That day at the café, Su Bai had politely but firmly turned her down.

Yet, being judged so bluntly by another woman stung.

Her face immediately turned red, and she stiffened her neck defensively. "Su Bai has principles. He doesn’t mess with girls who already have boyfriends."

"Oh, is that so? Then I won’t bother you anymore."

It was clear that Liu Yuanyuan was still too green compared to these seasoned socialites.

A few well-placed barbs were enough to throw her off balance, leaving her fuming but unable to retaliate—stuck stewing in her own frustration.

Women who navigated high-society circles and charmed wealthy men were no pushovers.

Every one of them was sharp as a tack, ruthless, and knew how to devour others without leaving a trace.

Liu Yuanyuan was still too naive.

Though, compared to her, Xue Tao was even greener…

So when the dinner ended, Xue Tao, still slightly tipsy, recalled the scene of Young Master Liu being surrounded by a crowd of young elites in the VVIP lounge. Leaning back in the worn-out second-hand Cayenne, he couldn’t help but sigh:

"Young Master Liu has this roguish, magnetic charm—almost feminine. If only he were a girl."

"...What kind of weird thought is that? Oh, so you’re saying if Liu Chen'ang were a girl, you’d go after her?"

Liu Yuanyuan crossed her arms, suddenly turning aggressive.

Xue Tao was baffled. "Huh? When did I say I’d go after her?"

"Aren’t you into cheating? Isn’t that why you went to that bar before?"

"...That’s in the past! Why are you bringing it up again?"

"Oh, so just because it’s in the past, it never happened? Xue Tao, I misjudged you. You’re such a scumbag!"

Seeing Liu Yuanyuan about to blow up again, Xue Tao quickly softened his tone. "Hey, hey, that’s not what I meant! I’m saying I won’t cheat again—"

"Hmph. Who knows?"

Liu Yuanyuan brushed him off.

The alcohol, mixed with his girlfriend’s unreasonable accusations, left Xue Tao suffocating.

Damn, bro, this is terrifying—I can’t breathe.

Xue Tao called a designated driver to take Liu Yuanyuan back to her dorm.

When she got out of the car, her mood was clearly still foul, her face stormy.

Back in his own dorm, Xue Tao was utterly dejected.

Just thinking about the energy he’d have to expend later to placate her gave him a headache.

Something’s off here. Aren’t relationships supposed to be sweet?

At the very least, a mix of sweet, sour, bitter, and spicy—but where’s the sweet part? I’d really like to know.

In Dorm 510, Xue Tao posed this philosophical question.

"You’re asking me? No idea. I think gacha games are pretty sweet," Wang Haoran said with a straight face.

"But don’t a lot of gacha game plots have major controversies these days?" Xue Tao seized the weak point.

"They can mess up their plots all they want. I’ll enjoy what I like. If the story’s bad, I’ll skip it. If it’s really terrible, I’ll just write my own fanfic. No point suffering through garbage."

"But the money you spend on those games—"

"I’m F2P. Oh, those maxed-out accounts? Those are Su Bai’s. I’m just managing them for him."

"..."

Right.

There was no talking to a low-maintenance, easygoing otaku like Wang Haoran.

Xue Tao couldn’t help but look down on people like him—too complacent, too weak.

Wang Haoran noticed the disdain but chose to ignore it.

No point caring about a clown’s opinion of you.

Someone like Xue Tao? In a deck of jokers, he’d be the +20x multiplier or the +100-chip wild card.

So Xue Tao turned to Chu Mingzhe instead—only to find his spot empty. Wait, where’d he go?

"Old Chu went out to pick up girls?"

"No idea, meow. Maybe? He spent a long time getting ready before leaving."

"...Damn. You think he’s actually scoring tonight?"

If Chu Mingzhe succeeded before him, Xue Tao would genuinely lose it. The two of them had always been rivals!

He was the one who got a girlfriend first—how could Chu Mingzhe overtake him?

This isn’t fair!

As for Su Bai… Xue Tao didn’t even have the energy to envy him anymore. That guy’s stats were too broken. It wouldn’t be surprising if he wasn’t just dating but practically holding auditions at school.

So Xue Tao messaged Su Bai privately, asking him to check on Chu Mingzhe’s progress.

It took a while for Su Bai to reply.

[FluffyWhiteGoose: ?]

Despite the blunt question mark, Su Bai humored him and asked Chu Mingzhe what he was up to.

Not out of concern—just for the laughs.

The answer he got was hilarious.

[FluffyWhiteGoose: Mystery solved. Chu’s playing MaiMai with the chuuni girl.]

[XueTheTao: The hell is that?? [eyeroll][eyeroll]]

[FluffyWhiteGoose: Think arcade rhythm game.]

Xue Tao didn’t get it.

Luckily, Wang Haoran, the resident otaku, was there to explain.

After some thought, Wang Haoran offered an absurd but accurate description: "It’s the kind of game where if you tell a doctor you play MaiMai, they’ll diagnose you with tendonitis without even an X-ray."

Xue Tao: "..."

I’ll never understand you weebs.

"So, do you think if he’s playing that game with a girl, the chances of them ending up in a hotel later are… high?"

"...Is there even a correlation between those two things?"

"There isn’t? Chu’s only playing with her to get laid, right? What else could it be?"

"Not necessarily. Maybe they just click?"

"Seriously? Isn’t dating all about guys bending over backward to entertain girls?"

Xue Tao looked genuinely baffled.

Wang Haoran thought his mindset was way too rigid—or maybe he was just projecting his own situation onto others.

Sure, Chu Mingzhe sometimes took his brooding act too far, but honestly? Wang Haoran could totally see him vibing with that chuuni girl.

A music-loving artsy guy (who hadn’t quite grown out his hair yet) and a Kuromi-obsessed, knife-modding chuuni (still in the theoretical phase of blade customization).

A match made in heaven, if you asked him.

Meanwhile, the real power couple was in the "gaming room" of their duplex, grinding ranked matches together.

Chen Yusheng stretched her feet over to Su Bai’s side—

Mischievously.

Making full use of the room’s design to maximize her antics.

After a victorious round, she suddenly glared at Su Bai.

"Fluffy Goose, do you not love me anymore?!"

"??"