WCG Chapter 61

Kinda long rant, feel free to skip:

Sorry for the late updates, my work has been hectic. Long story short, my country’s economy is getting even shittier (thanks govt), and my job is cutting personnel. Well, I’m one of them… 

So!

Now I have more free time because I’m still searching for my next job. Because of that, I spent a lot of time translating and have finished quite a number of chapters. If you have extra money to spare and want to help me, please donate to my ko-fi! I’m lowering the donation-to-bonus chapters requirement until 11 Jan. So every 1 ko-fi ($3), I’ll post 1 bonus chapter. Thank you for reading this long note~

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It must be said that speaking in Jiang Lele’s tone really can disgust people. Even with a mask on, Jiang Shi could tell that the streamer looked pale, angrily pounding the keyboard.  

[Team Chat] Little Bear TV.X.u: Are you messing with me?  

[Team Chat] Your Dad is Here: Huh? You’re just figuring that out? I didn’t think you’d be this slow. Sorry. 

Bamboo burst out laughing at this point.  

The two’s dialogue was too entertaining. Their mid-laner stood idly under the tower, while the support stayed AFK at the fountain, clearly uninterested in playing seriously.  

In contrast, while the opposing team was giving up, Jiang Shi was both trash-talking and engaging in fights all over the map with dazzling mechanics.  

Jiang Shi’s thought process was simple:  

The more they gave up, the more this impostor wanted to carry the team to victory and remind them of their place.  

Even with headphones on, Bamboo could hear Jiang Shi’s keyboard clattering like fireworks. He couldn’t help but sigh and thought, ‘Looks like TLG really has been suffocating this kid.’ 

Amid the chaos, their mid-laner timidly sent a message:  

[Team Chat] Strawberry Jam: Does Xu like TLG’s AD? But isn’t that marksman a guy?  

Through the screen, Bamboo could imagine the confusion and disbelief on her face. Clearly, rather than believing Xu liked a guy, she was more inclined to think that this streamer was actually Xu himself.  

The clattering of the keyboard quieted down. The marksman, who had been chasing down enemies in the jungle, stopped in his tracks.  

Then Bamboo heard even heavier keyboard strikes.  

[Team Chat] Your Dad is Here: None of your business!  

The intimidating tone scared the mid-laner into staying silent for the rest of the match.  

Thanks to Jiang Shi’s carry performance, the game ended in victory.  

At the end, the mid-laner mustered up the courage to thank Jiang Shi and mentioned that she almost got tricked.  

Jiang Shi, with a sullen expression, ignored her and exited the game immediately.  

Watching Jiang Shi’s triggered reaction, Bamboo laughed uncontrollably, “Is it necessary to get mad at a little girl? She obviously just asked casually.”  

Jiang Shi rolled his eyes at him, “None of your business.”  

The more thoughtless the words, the sharper they stabbed into Jiang Shi’s heart.  

In the public’s eyes, someone as serious and steady as Xu couldn’t possibly like men.  

“Actually, I’m really curious. Didn’t you join TLG for Xu? How come you still don’t know his sexual orientation after all this time?” Bamboo was puzzled, “Haven’t you tested the waters?”  

Jiang Shi didn’t respond. He clammed up whenever he faced Xie Xu.  

Seeing Jiang Shi’s expression, Bamboo understood everything.  

He gave Jiang Shi a complicated look, then suddenly remembered something, “Didn’t your fans say you two spent a night together? And nothing happened?”  

Thinking about that night, Jiang Shi slumped, “We did sleep together, in two separate beds.”  

Bamboo: “…”  

Even though he knew Xie Xu was hard to win over, he hadn’t expected it to be this difficult.  

“He doesn’t just see you as a junior[mfn]OG Chinese: as a didi/younger brother.[/mfn], does he?” The more Bamboo thought about it, the less it made sense. “Why don’t you just ask?” 

Jiang Shi shook his head, firmly refusing, “No.”  

Asking Xie Xu out of nowhere if he liked men would be too strange. With Jiang Shi’s history, Xie Xu, being so smart, would instantly catch on.  

Right now, Xie Xu could interpret Jiang Shi’s possessiveness as fan adoration or the natural exclusivity of a bot lane duo.  

That’s what Yuan Yang and the others thought too — they figured Jiang Shi was young, and since Xie Xu didn’t stop him, they let him act out.  

But if that layer of ambiguity[mfn]OG Chinese: window paper. This is a common way to say a romantic ambiguity. Breaking the ambiguity is “Breaking/ripping (the) layer of window paper (open)”[/mfn] was completely shattered and Xie Xu didn’t reciprocate, what then? Could Jiang Shi still stay on TLG? Even if Yuan Yang was good to him, it couldn’t compare to TLG’s ace, Xu.

He didn’t want to experience heartbreak again.  

Bamboo was more anxious than him. “Isn’t Xie Xu your ideal type? How can you stand not pursuing him?”  

Jiang Shi thought seriously about it. “It’s fine, I guess?”  

Xie Xu occasionally threw him a bit of sweetness, which was enough for him.  

It was better than his days after his last heartbreak.  

Bamboo suddenly understood. He scrutinized Jiang Shi up and down, then concluded, “You’re truly a real scum.”  

Although Jiang Shi seemed to be chasing fervently, he actually wasn’t fully invested — it was more like a game to him.  

But Jiang Shi clearly didn’t care about Bamboo’s judgment and remained lost in his own thoughts.  

Resting his chin on his hand, Jiang Shi sighed, “So, does Xie Xu like guys or not? Does he have feelings for me? He seemed jealous of me before.”  

After the last match before the Spring Festival, Xie Xu seemed jealous of his interaction with that Yaowan guy.  

At that time, Jiang Shi felt something, but it wasn’t clear.  

Seeing Jiang Shi so lovesick, Bamboo rolled his eyes and ignored him.  

They played a few more matches until both were hungry, deciding to make instant noodles after finishing the last game.  

In this match, someone picked the same position as Jiang Shi. Jiang Shi flaunted his win rate and successfully secured the marksman role, while the other went support.  

That player picked Snowman right away.  

The team collectively spammed question marks.  

Everyone knew Snowman was hard to play well — most players would end up feeding the enemy team.  

Meanwhile, on the other side, a boy excitedly turned to the person next to him, “Ge, quick, let me watch you play Snowman live.”  

The “ge” he was addressing was none other than Xie Xu.  

Xie Xu and his parents came to a family gathering at his maternal grandmother’s house. His grandmother lived with his uncle, and this boy is his uncle’s son.[mfn]specifically, this grandmother is 外婆 (wài pó), maternal grandmother. The uncle is 舅舅 (jiù jiu), your mother’s brother. The cousin is 表第 (biǎo dì), a maternal younger male cousin.[/mfn]

After saying a few words to the adults in the living room, Xie Xu was dragged into the bedroom under the guise of tutoring, but it was actually so his cousin could show off his gameplay. Unfortunately, his cousin’s role got taken in the first match.  

Xie Xu clearly wasn’t interested in his cousin’s suggestion. Looking down at his phone, he casually replied, “You play by yourself.”  

[Xu: There’s a wonton shop near the internet café that tastes pretty good. Want to take your friend to try it?]  

But minutes passed, and Jiang Shi hadn’t replied. He was clearly in a game.  

Xie Xu set down his phone and looked up, seeing his cousin red-faced.  

The cousin, feeling wronged, said, “Ge, they doubted my Snowman!”  

Xie Xu glanced at the screen. Snowman had just reached level 4. Judging by cooldowns, his cousin had just used the ultimate skill.  

As a support, Snowman dealt decent damage in the early game. Level 4 was a power spike—if you chained skills properly, you could easily secure kills with teammates.  

The basic combo was 22131.  

But his cousin had clearly just dropped the ultimate directly, missing all crowd control effects.  

And the ultimate’s landing point was right under the marksman’s feet, the snowflakes from the skill had just dissipated.  

[Team Chat] Your Dad is Here: What did you say when you picked? Guaranteed win, we can just lie down. 

[Team Chat] Your Dad is Here: Turns out by “lying down,” you meant bury us in a snow pit, right?  

As soon as the message was sent, the idle Snowman got wiped out by the enemy jungler, only managing to land one basic attack—on a river minion.  

His cousin, shocked at his own incompetence: “…” 

He sheepishly glanced at the screen, only to see the marksman starting up again.  

The marksman pinged Snowman’s summoner spell, triggering a robotic female voice:  

[Flash is ready.]  

[Team Chat] Your Dad is Here: “Are you saving your Flash for New Year tomorrow?”  

While dissing, Jiang Shi didn’t forget to use all his abilities to kill the enemy jungler, leaving the Snowman with no chance of even getting an assist.  

The enemy marksman, with their health nearly depleted, didn’t dare leave the tower. Jiang Shi casually used the jungler’s corpse to recall, and a small “[Thank you kindly]” popped up above his head.  

Jiang Shi’s cousin heard a low chuckle beside him, turned to Xie Xu, and complained, “Ge, are you laughing at me too?”  

Xie Xu suppressed the curve of his lips. “Not at you.”  

He had recognized Jiang Shi.  

It wasn’t hard to tell—Jiang Shi’s personal style was very distinct, and his in-game ID looked familiar. Xie Xu had seen it before that night Jiang Shi drunkenly joined a group chat with the same name. He had even seen it when helping Jiang Shi hang up a call.  

Xie Xu stood up. “Move over. I’ll play this game for you.”  

A few minutes later, Jiang Shi noticed something odd.  

Logically, after what he had said, the support should’ve stopped helping him in the bottom lane. But not only did the Snowman not talk back, he began sticking to Jiang Shi like glue.  

Jiang Shi’s gut told him there was a scheme at play. But when he saw the Snowman standing in that familiar bush and using Flash to initiate a teamfight with consecutive crowd-control abilities, muscle memory took over, and he instinctively followed up with damage.  

In the end, it was a 0-for-3 exchange. The Snowman, low on health, recalled in the bush.  

[Flash Engage!]  

[Freeze  x3!]  

[Perfect Damage Soak!]  

The in-game announcer highlighted the Snowman’s spectacular play.  

A question mark slowly appeared above Jiang Shi’s head. This operation was too familiar.  

Even the preferred bush for recalling was exactly the same.  

If not for the recent incident involving impersonators, Jiang Shi would have almost believed the person behind this account was Xie Xu.  

Irritated, he pulled at the corner of his mouth. “Why are there so many fakes lately? And they’re getting pretty detailed.”  

Bamboo replied, “Maybe you just don’t see enough. People have been imitating Xu forever.”  

Jiang Shi angrily slammed his mouse.  

His frustration peaked when both teammates and opponents began asking if the Snowman was Xu, and the player responded with a simple “Yes.”  

[Team Chat] Your Dad is Here: Can we be done with this already?

[Team Chat] Your Dad is Here: Your Snowman plays decently, but you’re still miles away from Xu. If you want to impersonate Xu, train for a lifetime, and maybe then you’ll catch up.

Xie Xu glanced at Jiang Shi’s explosive tone, healed him, and typed:  

[Team Chat] Summer Night Dark Tune: Who upset you?

[Team Chat] Your Dad is Here: You.

[Team Chat] Summer Night Dark Tune: .

[Team Chat] Summer Night Dark Tune: Did you duo with Bamboo and lose?

[Team Chat] Your Dad is Here: ?

Bamboo widened his eyes at the response. “How does he know my name? Is it really Xu?”  

“Impossible.” Jiang Shi’s tone was firm. “Xu’s at a relative’s house. Where would he find the time and equipment to play?”  

Watching the Snowman adeptly step forward and position himself, Jiang Shi squinted as a thought occurred to him. “I’ve figured it out.”  

[Team Chat] Your Dad is Here: Stop pretending. You’re one of my fans, aren’t you?

It wasn’t a secret that TLG had the day off. Jiang Shi had even mentioned during his morning stream that he’d spend the day playing games with Bamboo. His in-game ID had appeared in the fan group before. Combined with the Snowman’s playstyle, it wasn’t surprising that someone recognized him.  

Besides, Bamboo had also streamed with this account before.  

Jiang Shi unwrapped a lollipop, stuck it in his mouth, and propped up his legs to type.  

[Team Chat] Your Dad is Here: Still trying to outsmart your Dad? No chance.

His fans were always like this.  

Xie Xu felt both helpless and amused but didn’t bother explaining further.  

After realizing it was a fan, Jiang Shi’s mood lifted significantly.  

[Team Chat] Your Dad is Here: But there really was an idiot earlier trying to scam red-envelope money from little girls. I just scolded him. 

[Team Chat] Your Dad is Here: Can’t Little Bear TV do a better job reviewing their streamers? Letting them wear similar outfits to scam people for money?

After that game, Jiang Shi reported the streamer, but customer support said the report didn’t hold up, citing the need to “respect a diverse streaming environment.” It made his blood pressure spike.  

Xie Xu’s cousin, having nothing else to do, searched Little Bear TV and quickly found a streamer dressed similarly to Xie Xu.  

“Is this the guy the marksman was talking about? His voice is so grating.”  

The streamer hadn’t yet recovered from being roasted by Jiang Shi earlier. Seeing a teammate pick the same champion as Jiang Shi’s last game, he began ranting, “Anyone playing Senna is an idiot.”  

He mumbled angrily to himself, muttering, “And they even asked me whether Xu’s favorite person is his little AD. Disgusting.”  

The stream had just one viewer — Xie Xu’s cousin — and the streamer didn’t care, venting wantonly.  

After listening for a bit and glancing at the streamer’s pinned comment, Xie Xu quickly pieced things together.  

No wonder Jiang Shi was so annoyed by people imitating Xu.  

Xie Xu picked up his phone and contacted Cheng Lei, his connection at Little Bear TV, asking him to handle the streamer.  

Within five minutes, Cheng Lei responded, saying he’d looked into it. Not long after, the streamer’s channel was banned.  

Distracted by all this, Xie Xu subconsciously stood in the same bush as Jiang Shi.  

[Team Chat] Your Dad is Here: Stop sticking so close to me. Go up front and start the fight.  

Xie Xu put down his phone and moved forward.  

Soon after, the enemy team presented another opportunity. Xie Xu initiated a perfect teamfight, but in the end, he died blocking damage for Jiang Shi.  

Jiang Shi stared at the fallen body in front of him and the Snowman’s used Flash. He fell silent.  

Since when had his father-son relationship with fans progressed to the point where they’d use Flash to take a hit for him?  

Jiang Shi felt something was off. This guy wasn’t giving up on imitating Xu!  

[Team Chat] Your Dad is Here: Alright, tell me, how long have you been watching me duo with Xu?

[Team Chat] Summer Night Dark Tune: Every single game.

Jiang Shi raised an eyebrow. No wonder the imitation was so on point.  

He looked at the Snowman walking ahead of him and briefly felt like it really was Xu, but the feeling quickly faded.  

[Team Chat] Your Dad is Here: Earlier, you said you were Xu. Let me ask you a simple question.

Remembering the banned streamer’s rant, Xie Xu arched an eyebrow.  

[Team Chat] Summer Night Dark Tune: Go ahead.

[Team Chat] Your Dad is Here: Does Xu like men? If you say yes, I’ll believe you.

Jiang Shi smirked. He was just trying to bait the person.  

That earlier question from a fan had hit a nerve, and now he wanted a definitive answer.  

But when he saw the support’s response, he froze.  

[Team Chat] Summer Night Dark Tune: I think Xu likes his little AD.

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T/L: someone asked me in discord, so: Spring Festival and Chinese/Lunar New Year are basically the same holiday, so I’m using them interchangeably.