After Culture Month came the midterm exams. Yan Linjian handled them with ease and finally started making plans to meet God Yuè in real life.
After chatting in the game for so long, their relationship had stabilised, and they had even added each other on WeChat. Like most online couples, they exchanged good morning and good night messages, and shared the small, mundane details of their daily lives. Other than not being able to meet, they were basically just like a real couple.
Yan Linjian’s WeChat pinned chats used to just be his mum, his brother, his dad, and Qi Jingzhi. Now there was one more 【Little Moon】. Not only did little moon have a similar personality to Qi Jingzhi’s, even their profile pictures were alike, both were muted, greyish night scenes. Whenever Yan Linjian was groggy, he’d sometimes mix them up and send Qi Jingzhi a flirty message by mistake. The sudden affection looked incredibly out of place among a chat history made up entirely of food deliveries and money transfers.
Qi Jingzhi knew Yan Linjian had simply messaged the wrong person, but every time he got a message on his main account, his heart would jolt, thinking that maybe Yan Linjian had finally figured it out.
Yan Linjian had mentioned wanting to meet up a few times, but Qi Jingzhi always made up excuses to avoid it. There was a time when he’d wanted nothing more than to reveal himself, but now he was scared.
What would Yan Linjian think if he found out his online boyfriend and his roommate were the same person?
Sometimes, Yan Linjian would even share funny little stories about his relationship with “Little Moon,” confiding in Qi Jingzhi like a true friend, revealing thoughts and plans for the future which he didn’t dare say directly to little moon. Yan Linjian had once mentioned that they were quite alike, but in his heart, the line was crystal clear: Little Moon was his boyfriend. Qi Jingzhi was his friend. He had never crossed that line, not even a little.
So what was going to happen when the truth came out?
Qi Jingzhi couldn’t help but imagine the worst-case scenario: what if Yan Linjian couldn’t accept it? What if they couldn’t even be friends anymore?
That’s why before they met in person, he wanted Yan Linjian to like him a little more, to rely on him a little more. Only when he was sure Yan Linjian truly fell in love with him would he feel confident enough to take that next step.
Yan Linjian changed his in-game name. He picked the name “Yé Dú Bà Tiān Xià[mfn]Reminder: His username basically means ‘This master dominates the world alone'[/mfn]” back then because he was going through the cringy teenage phase, and later kept it just so God Yuè would recognize him. But now, as a college student, he felt a bit embarrassed to still be using that name.
He thought about it for a long time and decided to take inspiration from poetry, like God Yuè did[mfn]Reminder: God Yuè’s username(Lú Biān Rén Sì Yuè) directly translates to ‘The person by the wine shop counter is like the moon.’ Original poem is 菩萨蛮·人人尽说江南好 by 韦庄 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wei_Zhuang)[/mfn]. He settled on “Wēi Yǔ Yàn Shuāng Fēi[mfn]微雨燕双飞 Direct translation: 微雨-Drizzling rain, 燕-Swallows, 双飞-Fly in pairs. So basically ‘Under the drizzling rain, swallows fly in pairs’
Taken from this sentence: ‘落花人独立，微雨燕双飞’ which originally came from 春残 by 翁宏 during the Five Dynasties period.
But this poem itself didn’t fully capture the artistic beauty of those two lines, and it wasn’t until it appeared in 临江仙·梦后楼台高锁 by 晏几道 that they became timeless verses passed down for generations.
Source: https://wapbaike.baidu.com/tashuo/browse/content?id=c88e91fe5e860b1a8590dbf2[/mfn]”, but he didn’t expect that “Shuāng Fēi” would be a banned phrase! The game didn’t even warn him beforehand, so when he looked at the name floating above his head and saw “Wēi Yǔ Yàn # #”, he was utterly dumbfounded.
What kind of trashy name-changing system is this!
It might’ve been a little bit better than the last name, but only by that little bit.
God Yuè comforted him: 【It’s got personality.】
Yan Linjian: 【Aren’t you embarrassed to be with someone like me?】
Lú Biān Rén Sì Yuè: 【Not at all. It’s adorable. Everything about you is adorable.】
His sweet nothings came so easily that Yan Linjian sometimes wondered whether his former quietness had just been an act.
Their relationship steadily grew warmer, and it felt like only a matter of time before they met in person and became a real couple.
Because he chatted so much with God Yuè, Yan Linjian inevitably paid less attention to Qi Jingzhi. But Qi Jingzhi seemed busy too, he was constantly typing on his phone, occasionally breaking into a silly smile. Sometimes, when God Yuè made him laugh, Yan Linjian would look up and see Qi Jingzhi smiling too, he couldn’t help but feel something odd.
Was Qi Jingzhi also seeing someone?
Or was he secretly monitoring Yan Linjian’s phone and reading his chats with God Yuè?
“What are you smiling at?” Yan Linjian asked him.
“I just saw a funny video,” Qi Jingzhi handed him his phone, it was a game clip.
A monkey[mfn]t/n: referring to Sun Wukong. Wukong is an Assassin hero in Honor of Kings.[/mfn] had barely survived after taking a kill in the enemy jungle with Baili Xuance[mfn]Baili Xuance is an Assassin hero in Honor of Kings.[/mfn]. On the way back, he bumped into the enemy marksman. Before the marksman could even finish their voice line, the monkey smashed them dead. All that was left in the air was an awkward “show——”.
Yan Linjian burst out laughing and scrolled through the comments for a bit before handing the phone back. “It’s been ages since we played together. How about I ask Yuè-shen to join us tonight for a five-stack? Both of you are super good, it’ll be a complete carry.”
Qi Jingzhi looked down, scrolling aimlessly on his screen. “I don’t know… we don’t even know him.”
“What’s the big deal? It’s just a game. You can go ask around at basketball courts, how many people there actually know each other? It’s not like it’s some private thing. I don’t even care if Shen Yang and the others find out. We can just mute our mics.”
Qi Jingzhi couldn’t come up with an excuse to say no, so he nodded. “Alright then.”
Yan Linjian turned around and sent a message to Qi Jingzhi’s alt account. Qi Jingzhi quickly switched to his phone’s other system and replied:【I don’t play ranked much, my rank’s not very high】
【What’s your rank right now?】
【Platinum.】
【That’s a bit of a problem. My roommate and I are both in King, looks like we won’t be able to play together】
【It’s fine, you go ahead and play with your friends】
【Mm】
Yan Linjian was a little disappointed, “He’s still in Platinum, so he can’t queue with us.”
Qi Jingzhi carefully let out a breath of relief: “Well, it can’t be helped.”
“But we can play normal matches.” Yan Linjian only stayed gloomy for a second before quickly lowering his head to type.
Qi Jingzhi’s heart tensed up again: “What’s the point of playing normals? Shen Yang and the others might not want to.”
“It’s not a big deal, then it’ll just be the three of us.”
Yan Linjian didn’t even look up. He genuinely wanted to introduce Moon God to his friends, he wasn’t the type to hide his relationships.
Qi Jingzhi stared at the message on his phone, frowning slightly before sending a reaction sticker to muddle his way through.
“Aiya, what does he mean by this?” Yan Linjian held up his phone, showing him a sticker of an otter smacking its face that he’d just sent over.
Qi Jingzhi stammered through a vague explanation: “Maybe… he also thinks normal matches are meaningless?”
Yan Linjian stared at his phone thoughtfully: “That’s possible. Forget it then, forcing you two to meet would be quite awkward.”
【If you don’t like normals, then maybe we can play together some other time. I’ll just play with my friend tonight.】
【Okay. I’ll work hard to climb the ranks quickly, hopefully we can fight side by side soon.】
Tch, so that’s what he was planning, to climb the ranks behind his back. Yan Linjian smiled faintly and called Qi Jingzhi to go eat with him.
Thank god, Qi Jingzhi felt like a weight had finally been lifted from his chest as he stuffed his phone back into his pocket.
When he had time, he’d better buy another phone to practice playing jungle with his left hand and tank with his right.
By the time the two of them got to the restaurant, it was past mealtime. Only a few tables were occupied, and the place was mostly empty, it was so quiet that even a slightly raised voice could be carried clearly throughout the whole restaurant. So the argument from not far away reached Yan Linjian’s ears distinctly.
“You damn scumbag, begging to get back together while stringing along some junior? Have you no shame!”
“When have I ever been stringing her along? I only saw her as a junior. I’m serious about getting back with you.”
“Well, I’m serious about cutting up your 200 bucks!”
The woman’s voice sounded familiar. Yan Linjian looked carefully and sure enough, it was his ex-girlfriend that they had met at the pub. Seeing them shove each other as they came their way, Yan Linjian grabbed Qi Jingzhi and turned to leave.
But he was a step too slow, as the woman had already spotted him: “Yan Linjian!”
Yan Linjian froze mid-step, his face twisting with discomfort as he stiffly turned his head: “Hi.”
“You piece of trash! I really was blind to have liked you. You can’t even measure up to Yan Linjian’s leg hair!”
She shoved the man who was still pulling and grabbing at her. Standing beside Yan Linjian, her 165 cm height, displayed a 190 cm presence.
The man opposite looked as disgusted as if he’d eaten a fly, glaring viciously at Yan Linjian. But he was shorter than Yan Linjian and, with the much taller Qi Jingzhi behind him, his presence felt much weaker.
“I was just passing by.” Yan Linjian said in a low voice.
“I know, but I can’t take it anymore. This guy’s been pestering me for a whole week.”
Jiang Mei’s voice was just as quiet, making it seem like the two of them were sharing secrets.
The man’s face turned completely green: “You only got with me in the first place because you couldn’t get over Yan Linjian and needed someone to distract you, didn’t you?!”
Jiang Mei: “Not really. If I really wanted a distraction, I wouldn’t have picked trash like you.”
“You—”
“Trash belongs in the trash bin. Get a grip and stop bothering me.”
“You b—”
The man raised his fist and lunged at Yan Linjian’s face.
Yan Linjian instinctively lifted his arm to block, but before the man could touch him, Qi Jingzhi had already grabbed his wrist in a vice-like grip. He stepped in front of Yan Linjian, eyes sharp and fierce: “Are you trying to start a fight?”
Qi Jingzhi stood a full head taller, the man’s expression instantly shifted to fear and wariness. His wrist was in pain from being grabbed so tightly, and his hand flushed red from the lack of circulation.
“N-no… I was wrong, bro. I was wrong.”
“Get lost.”
Qi Jingzhi flung his hand away. The man turned and ran without a second’s hesitation.
When Qi Jingzhi turned back around, the fierceness in his expression faded away like a receding tide and was replaced with concern. His voice softened: “Did I scare you?”
Jiang Mei pressed her hands together, eyes full of apology: “I’m so sorry. He’s been following me for a while. He even tried to grab me just now. I couldn’t get away because he’s stronger than me, so I had no choice but to call out to you. I’m really sorry. I’ll post about this on the school forum and report him to his department too… Yan Linjian, are you alright?”
Both of them looked at him with worried eyes, but Yan Linjian’s ears were still ringing with a sound he couldn’t quite describe. His mind was blank. It took a long while before he came back to himself and nodded: “I’m fine. Don’t worry.”
“As long as you’re okay.”
“I’m really sorry. I’ll treat you to a meal sometime.”
“Alright.”
After Jiang Mei left, Qi Jingzhi asked again, “Are you really okay?”
“I’m fine, of course I’m fine. How could something like this scare me.” Yan Linjian laughed it off and quickened his pace, “Come on, let’s head back. We’ve still got another class during the second period this afternoon.”
Turning his back to him, he lifted his right hand to his ear.
If he wasn’t mistaken, that sound he’d heard just now, was his heartbeat.
