SMS CHAPTER 31

“I want to play a few more games with you.”

Zhen Ning heard the boy say sincerely, “That match the other day was so thrilling. I think we could try higher-ranked games; who knows what kind of surprising results we might achieve. Do you want to—”

Zhen Ning: “No.”

Yan Chengfeng was silent for a moment before casually saying, “Oh, okay. Then I’ll just watch you play. I won’t talk. That’s fine, right?”

Zhen Ning: “…”

Zhen Ning didn’t believe that a deliberately staged encounter could be considered fate, but he had to admit that the boy in front of him had an almost terrifying amount of enthusiasm and patience.

True to his word, Yan Chengfeng didn’t push Zhen Ning to play with him. Instead, he sat beside him, fully engrossed in watching Zhen Ning’s games.

Whenever Zhen Ning was farming minions, Yan Chengfeng would make a disdainful face. “Your support’s last-hitting skill is terrible. You almost missed that cannon minion. If it were me, there’s no way I’d have to waste an extra attack.”

When Zhen Ning scored a double kill in a team fight, Yan Chengfeng was generous with his praise. “Nice read! But if I’d been supporting you, I would’ve flashed in and locked down that low-health Strawberry Man. You could’ve had a triple kill!”

His intentions were so blatant, it was as if they were written all over his face.

Zhen Ning tried his best to ignore the running commentary, but it wasn’t easy. Eventually, he even found himself hesitating, wondering, “Should I play another game with him, just to see?”

But the thought was squashed almost as soon as it emerged.

He calmly and firmly told himself that he must not compromise.

At first, Zhen Ning assumed Yan Chengfeng was just desperate to climb ranks or hadn’t found a decent AD to team up with in a while, which explained his persistence.

After all, novelty wears off quickly. No one could keep coming back to face a cold attitude indefinitely.

But Zhen Ning was wrong.

For the next two weeks of winter break, every evening when Zhen Ning arrived at the internet café, Yan Chengfeng was already there, seated beside his usual spot, greeting him with a cheerful wave.

One played, and the other watched. One was reserved and silent, the other vibrant and enthusiastic. They interacted in this strange, peculiar way for a while.

Though they still exchanged only a few words, their interactions inevitably grew.

Gradually, Zhen Ning even began to remember the names of Yan Chengfeng’s friends. The chubby one was Tang Fangyuan, and the blue-haired one was Liu Qing. They were classmates from the same high school who played games together.

However, Yan Chengfeng’s skill level was leagues above theirs.

One evening, Zhen Ning overheard Tang Fangyuan suggest, “Yan-ge, how about we skip gaming tonight and go watch a movie? It’s almost Chinese New Year, and the theaters are full of new holiday releases…”

Sitting beside Zhen Ning, Yan Chengfeng hesitated.

He glanced at Zhen Ning’s screen before finally standing up and leaving with Tang Fangyuan and Liu Qing.

Zhen Ning’s hand, which had been controlling the mouse, paused slightly.

His gaze didn’t follow Yan Chengfeng’s retreating figure; instead, it remained fixed on the computer screen for a while. After a moment, he let out a breath.

Finally ran out of patience? he thought.

Yet, five minutes later, Yan Chengfeng swaggered back in. In his hands were… two steaming bowls of instant noodles.

Slurping the broth from the bowl in his left hand, he placed the other beside Zhen Ning. “Here, chicken and mushroom flavor, still hot.”

Zhen Ning: “…”

Trying to restrain himself from speaking, Zhen Ning eventually couldn’t hold back and softly asked, “Aren’t you going to watch the movie with them?”

Yan Chengfeng looked at him with an odd expression. “No.”

Zhen Ning: “…Why not?”

Yan Chengfeng: “Huh? Because your game just started. Plus, you picked Noble Frog. I rarely get to team up with Noble Frog players, so I wanted to watch your gameplay from a first-person perspective and learn more about this hero’s attack mechanics and laning strategies.”

“…And besides, if I leave, you’ll be left alone. I stayed to keep you company. What’s the problem? Isn’t that a good thing?” he mumbled through a mouthful of noodles.

Zhen Ning took a deep breath and asked, “What exactly are you trying to do?”

“Didn’t I tell you before?”

Yan Chengfeng poked at the noodles in his bowl and said casually, “I thought that match we played together the other day was amazing, so I wanted to play a few more games with you and try some higher-ranked matches. Totally up to you, though—”

Zhen Ning answered decisively, “I don’t want to.”

After a moment, he heard Yan Chengfeng say, “Oh.”

“Got it.” He stuffed a large mouthful of noodles into his mouth and mumbled while chewing, “The noodles will get cold soon; you’d better eat them while they’re hot. Hey, I think one bowl isn’t enough for me. I’m going to grab a sausage. Want one too?”

Zhen Ning: “…”

Still, the chicken and mushroom instant noodles smelled pretty good.

Zhen Ning hadn’t intended to eat, but Yan Chengfeng was persistent, throwing out excuses like “Don’t act so distant” and “You can’t let food go to waste,” before stubbornly holding it out to him. With no other choice, Zhen Ning finally took it.

The noodles were soft, and the broth was rich.

Despite his initial resistance, Zhen Ning eventually gave in to Yan Chengfeng’s enthusiastic suggestion and added a cheap starch sausage to the bowl.

The sausage tasted like rubber, but Yan Chengfeng devoured it with great relish.

After that night, their relationship didn’t seem to change in any visible way, but in places unseen, something had imperceptibly softened.

Yan Chengfeng continued to show up at the internet café like clockwork. Most of the time, he watched Zhen Ning’s games from a first-person perspective. Occasionally, when his hands itched to play, he’d queue up for a couple of rounds himself.

What Yan Chengfeng didn’t know, however, was that during those moments when he was playing, Zhen Ning would sometimes glance at his screen—only to silently look away before Yan Chengfeng could notice.

Even so, Zhen Ning never agreed to Yan Chengfeng’s repeated requests to “play one more game together.”

Zhen Ning understood himself too well. He had strict, disciplined boundaries for everything. He knew that if he crossed that line and agreed to Yan Chengfeng’s request, the nature of the whole situation would change—it would become an agreement.

And Zhen Ning didn’t like making agreements with others.

Yet, inevitably, he realized, deep down, that he had gradually grown accustomed to Yan Chengfeng’s presence.

Until one day, when Zhen Ning arrived at the internet café, only to find that Yan Chengfeng wasn’t sitting in his usual spot.

The computer next to him was on, and Yan Chengfeng’s backpack was on the chair, but the person himself was nowhere to be seen.

Zhen Ning froze for a moment, then sat down and queued up for a ranked match.

Even though the space around him was completely silent, with no one speaking or watching him, Zhen Ning found himself unable to focus, no matter what.

After hastily finishing the game, he decided to step outside for some fresh air.

The moment he walked out, he bumped into Yan Chengfeng emerging from the darkness of a narrow alley. His eyes were red, and tear streaks marred his face.

Yan Chengfeng: “…”

Zhen Ning: “…”

The instant Yan Chengfeng saw Zhen Ning, he raised a hand almost in panic, hurriedly wiping his face.

His pride made him turn away immediately, his back to Zhen Ning, unwilling to let him see.

Zhen Ning watched him in silence.

After a while, Yan Chengfeng finally composed himself. Sniffling, he sat down on the steps outside the internet café.

Zhen Ning sat down beside him.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke. Then, Yan Chengfeng broke the silence.

“I just had a fight with my mom on the phone,” he said dejectedly. “She said she doesn’t want me to go pro.”

Zhen Ning was quiet for a moment. “That’s good.”

Yan Chengfeng stared at him in disbelief. “Good?”

“I know you’ve always found me annoying.”

He sniffled, turning his face away, his voice low and muffled. “But you don’t know my mom or my dreams, so you don’t have to be so sarcastic. Maybe your parents don’t care if you play games, but you have no idea how unreasonable my mom can be—”

“My parents divorced when I was six. My alpha mother calls me once a year at most,” Zhen Ning said flatly. “I was assigned to my omega father, but now he’s about to start a new family with someone else. Every time, he uses work trips as an excuse to avoid me, thinking I don’t know the truth.”

Yan Chengfeng’s face went blank in an instant. He stared at Zhen Ning in a daze.

“I’ve been spending the night at this internet café for a month straight,” Zhen Ning added. “Not because I love gaming, but just to see how long it’ll take before someone realizes I haven’t gone home.”

“I don’t understand your family,” he said softly. “But your mom argues with you because she’s worried about your future. From my perspective, that already makes you very lucky.”

It took a long time for Yan Chengfeng to recover.

He looked at Zhen Ning’s face, stammering almost incoherently. “I’m sorry, I… I didn’t know you…”

Zhen Ning said nothing, simply shaking his head.

“…You’re right. I know my mom has always wanted the best for me.”

Yan Chengfeng paused, lowered his head dejectedly, and said, “It’s just… sometimes it’s really hard to control my emotions, especially with the people closest to me. I always hope they could understand me just a little more.”

“In a little while, I’m going to a trial for my favorite club,” he continued. “The team’s name is KYM. I don’t know if you’ve heard of it. Anyway, even their trainee players are all top-tier national server players or specialists in their roles. I don’t even know… how my tryout is going to go.”

“But my mom just told me on the phone that if I fail this trial, I can’t play games anymore. I’ll have to focus on studying and get into college,” he murmured. “But… but that just makes me even more unwilling to give up.”

“That’s also why I kept pestering you.”

He added, “Because you’re really amazing. I could tell from the start that you don’t particularly enjoy gaming—you just use it as a pastime. But your awareness and skill level are on par with professional players. You’re so calm, and… we work really well together.”

“I’ve queued for so long… and never matched with an AD as compatible as you.”

“But even if you don’t want to play with me, it’s okay. You’ve already helped me so much.”

Yan Chengfeng continued, “Even just watching your first-person perspective, I can imagine how I should support an AD as skilled as you, placing wards, controlling the lane, setting up vision properly.”

“I just want to give it my all one last time. Because I really want to make it. I want to play in real tournaments.”

He stared ahead, his eyes slowly brightening. “With teammates who are equally skilled, with strong opponents, in the team I’ve always dreamed of.”

The light in his eyes was dazzling and fervent. His thoughts were incredibly pure and straightforward. He could say things like, “I really love gaming” out loud, even if it sounded a little childish.

But how many people could be as clear and open as him, boldly declaring their dreams without a hint of embarrassment?

Zhen Ning’s heart stirred slightly—a moment of realization.

He forced himself to look away.

“My name is Zhen Ning.” After a moment, Zhen Ning spoke softly, telling Yan Chengfeng his name for the first time in the past month. “Sixteen years old, also an undifferentiated alpha.”

Yan Chengfeng was stunned.

“Although I think your skill already surpasses most people,” Zhen Ning paused briefly before continuing, “if you need it, I can practice with you—but only until your trial.”

Yan Chengfeng suspected there was something wrong with his ears.

He seemed completely frozen at first, but when he snapped out of it, the corners of his mouth curved upward uncontrollably. “Y-y-you, I-I-I—”

Zhen Ning remained silent for a moment before laying down his terms. “Don’t yell during the laning phase, and don’t give me any instructions on how to play.”

Yan Chengfeng was so happy he could almost die from it. “I won’t make a fuss, I won’t! How could I possibly lecture you? A support’s job is to always put the AD first!”

His smile grew even brighter as he raised a hand and hooked it around Zhen Ning’s shoulder. With a smug air, he leaned close to Zhen Ning’s ear and said, “The first time I saw you, I knew you were someone who’s cold on the outside but warm on the inside. There’s no way you’re as aloof and indifferent as you pretend to be. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have helped me back then…”

“Oh, so your name is Zhen Ning.”

He repeated the name aloud, then immediately began musing to himself. “Ning, as in ‘peaceful’… no wonder you’re so quiet. But if your name were Zhen Xiang, like ‘noise,’ would you be the complete opposite…”[mfn]Ning means “peaceful; tranquil.” Xiang means “noise; loud.”[/mfn]

The boy’s eyes were still red, and his voice remained slightly nasal. His whole appearance was disheveled and slightly comical.

Yet his bright eyes stayed fixed on Zhen Ning’s profile.

Zhen Ning’s body trembled ever so slightly.

He disliked physical contact with others, yet in the end, he didn’t shrug off Yan Chengfeng’s hand.

On this winter day, which didn’t feel quite as cold, Zhen Ning’s carefully planned and meticulously controlled life encountered its first variable—

Reckless and fervent, Yan Chengfeng in his youth.

And Zhen Ning made the first promise of his life.

A simple promise: to practice with Yan Chengfeng, with the condition being just “the short time before the trial.”

But no one could have predicted that this so-called “short time” would ultimately turn into the warmest and most beautiful three years of their youth.