WCG Chapter 56.2

The next morning, the holiday officially began. The sky was a dull gray, as if it might rain any minute, but the weather didn’t dampen anyone’s enthusiasm for heading home. Everyone had woken up early.  

Some were rushing to catch flights, others high-speed trains. Since Xie Xu’s route home coincided with theirs, he decided to leave with the group.  

Jiang Shi also planned to leave that day, but his departure wasn’t until the afternoon. As usual, he had stayed up late the night before playing ranked games and had just fallen into a light sleep when the sound of rolling suitcases and Jiang Lele’s not-so-quiet voice jolted him awake.  

Jiang Lele: “Do you guys want breakfast? I’ll grab some bread.”  

Yu Hui: “No, I’ll catch up on sleep later.”  

Zhao Jiu: “I’ll eat at the airport.”  

Jiang Shi: “…”  

Opting to cover his head with the blanket, he tried to block out the noise, but a sudden thought made him throw off the covers and press his ear to the wall.  

The room next door was also up.  

Realizing he wouldn’t see Xie Xu for almost five days, Jiang Shi sprang out of bed and glanced at the time. It was already nearly 5:30. If he wasted any more, everyone would leave. 

After a quick wash and tossing on a long down coat, he hurried out.  

A few of the others were standing by the door, checking to make sure they hadn’t forgotten their IDs or tickets. Yuan Yang was chatting with Xie Xu about scheduling some hand therapy sessions during the break.  

In the middle of their conversation, Xie Xu suddenly frowned and walked past Yuan Yang.  

He stopped in front of Jiang Shi, who was wearing only thin thermal pants beneath his coat, exposing his bare ankles. “Why are you dressed so lightly?” he asked.  

Jiang Shi zipped up his coat fully and replied, “I’m just seeing you off for a bit. I’ll head back up to sleep afterward.”  

He even wiggled his feet in his bear-shaped slippers for emphasis.  

Seeing that Jiang Shi’s coat was thick, Xie Xu didn’t press further.  

Yuan Yang glanced at Jiang Shi’s sleepy face and asked, “What time are you leaving this afternoon? Do you have a lot to carry? If it’s inconvenient, I’ll arrange for a driver.”  

“Yang-ge, I’m not a child,” Jiang Shi said, exasperated. “Besides, I only have a backpack.”  

After answering, he suddenly remembered something and darted into the kitchen, returning with a carton of milk.  

“Yang-ge, can I take this home for the holiday?”

He’d seen an ad claiming this milk was high in calcium, and it’s essential for growing taller.  

Yuan Yang laughed. “Take whatever you want. We’ll measure your height again after the New Year.”  

He gestured at Jiang Shi. “You do seem taller.”  

“It’s not ‘seem,’” Jiang Shi corrected him seriously. “I’m 0.3 cm taller than when I joined the team.”  

Ever since his teammates joked about him not being able to see the ceiling, he had bought a measuring tape and started checking his height every day.  

Yuan Yang chuckled. “Alright, alright. Let’s hope you grow another 0.5 cm by the end of the holiday.”  

After confirming their documents were in order, everyone grabbed their suitcases and headed toward the base entrance, where the cars were waiting.  

Jiang Shi was quicker than Xie Xu and grabbed his suitcase for him.  

He’d overheard Yuan Yang reminding Xie Xu about hand therapy earlier, and carrying heavy luggage would only strain his hands further.  

Not stopping there, Jiang Shi also lent a hand to the dawdling Jiang Lele, who was struggling to navigate the stairs with his suitcase.  

Jiang Lele stared in shock as Jiang Shi effortlessly carried both large suitcases. “Little White Hair, what did you grow up eating? Spinach?[mfn]probably a Popeye reference[/mfn]”  

His strength was unreal.  

Yuan Yang, understanding Jiang Shi’s motives, sighed softly as he watched the still-slender figure of the young man.  

At the base’s entrance, Yuan Yang couldn’t help but remind Jiang Shi, “If anything comes up, don’t hesitate to call us.”  

Jiang Shi nodded, indicating he understood.  

Jiang Lele waved as he loaded his suitcase into the car. “See you next year, T Bao! If anything happens, I’ll tag you in the group chat, remember to reply!” 

Yu Hui patted Jiang Shi’s shoulder. “Take care.”  

Seeing Zhao Jiu about to chime in, Jiang Shi quickly raised his hand to stop him. “Hold it. I’m leaving just a few hours after you, not staying behind like a left-behind child.” 

He checked his phone. “If you don’t leave now, you’ll miss your ride.”  

With that, everyone got into their cars. Yuan Yang and his wife were driving themselves home in another vehicle.  

The entrance quieted, leaving only Jiang Shi and Xie Xu outside.  

While Xie Xu was confirming the route with the driver.

Jiang Shi stood nearby, sneaking glances.  

Xie Xu wore a long black coat that accentuated his broad shoulders and long legs. A deep blue scarf was wrapped around his neck, partially covering his chin. In the chilly early spring air, he exuded a cold elegance.  

Jiang Shi couldn’t help but stare, knowing it would be days before he’d see Xie Xu again.  

Perhaps his gaze was too intense, as Xie Xu turned his head, catching Jiang Shi’s eye before walking over to him.  

Just as Jiang Shi was about to say goodbye, Xie Xu reached up, unwrapped his scarf, and looped it twice around Jiang Shi’s neck, leaving only his confused eyes visible.  

“It’s cold outside. Go back in soon,” Xie Xu said, ruffling Jiang Shi’s soft hair. “My phone will stay on. Call me anytime.”  

Feeling the lingering warmth of the scarf, Jiang Shi couldn’t help but nuzzle it lightly and hesitated before asking softly, “Even if it’s the middle of the night?”  

“Whenever you want,” Xie Xu replied, pulling the scarf up to cover Jiang Shi’s ears. “I’ll answer.”  

“Alright, it’s cold. Head back and get some sleep.”  

Their schedules were hardly suited for early mornings, especially since Jiang Shi had stayed up late the night before training.  

Jiang Shi’s small bout of melancholy at their parting was entirely dispelled by Xie Xu’s reassurance. He nodded, turned to leave, but after a few steps, suddenly remembered something and ran back.  

Stuffing something into Xie Xu’s pocket, he said, “Jiang Lele brought bread. If it’s too dry, you can drink this.”  

He waved enthusiastically, his crescent-shaped eyes sparkling. “See you next year, Captain!”  

Before Xie Xu could respond, Jiang Shi bolted away.  

Reaching into his pocket, Xie Xu pulled out a small carton of milk.  

No wonder Jiang Shi had lagged behind before they left the main building—he must have taken one out of the carton.  

The milk was still warm from being in Jiang Shi’s pocket.  

Xie Xu had thought Jiang Shi kept his hands in his pockets because of the cold.  

Watching Jiang Shi’s retreating figure, Xie Xu softly said, “See you next year.”  

---

Jiang Shi was originally very sleepy, but the cold wind outside blew him wide awake as he walked back to the main building. 

Since he joined the team, the building had never been this quiet. 

Even the base’s cleaning auntie had gone home for the New Year. 

On his way back to his bedroom, Jiang Shi changed direction and headed for the training room. 

The fact that no one was around made it the perfect time for him to get some things done. 

Some accounts needed settling.

Just before 6 AM, a long-dormant livestream channel suddenly went live with a title that read:  

[The base is empty, let’s chat about what really happened that night after the knocking~]  

It was followed by a shy blushing emoji.  

The title was so eye-catching that even at this ungodly hour, the stream attracted over a thousand viewers.  

[I just managed to deal with my mom and planned to sleep a little longer, but you actually started a stream?]  

[I’m really impressed. Your streaming schedule is harder to predict than my period. I almost thought I was dreaming…]  

[What’s this title about? Knocking on what door? T Bao, what are you talking about?]  

[Hahaha, I know! I was in that group. That night, T Bao streamed for us for 25 minutes, hehe.]  

[Drunk Time talking to Xu was the softest thing ever.]  

[I want to hear the follow-up!]  

Thanks to the enthusiastic infodump provided by fans, even viewers who didn’t know the backstory quickly caught on to the significance of the title. Everyone started clamoring for Jiang Shi to spill the story.  

While the barrage of comments filled the chat, Jiang Shi, unhurried, opened up a game and started a match.  

The comment section was filled with question marks.

[Who the hell wants to watch you play games? Open your mic and talk!]  

[Why are you acting mute? Don’t tell me you lost your voice from screaming too much in bed?]  

[It’s so over, I’m even more curious now.]  

[He’s baiting us, isn’t he?]  

[But seriously, this little idiot starts streaming and then wraps a scarf around himself? What’s with that?]  

[I advise you to show your face. This auntie is only here to see that handsome face.] 

[Wait, that scarf looks familiar.]  

[You’re not imagining it. That scarf belongs to Xu. Take a screenshot and zoom in, you can see Xu’s small tag on it. It’s custom-made]  

[Little White Hair is showing off!]  

Jiang Shi, who had been ignoring the comments, tugged the scarf down a little to reveal his mouth and casually said, “It’s Xu’s.”  

Of course, something like this had to be shown off.  

After that, he didn’t respond to any questions in the chat. Instead, he played three or four matches. 

The number of viewers in the stream didn’t drop — in fact, it increased. Many were yawning and tearing up from lack of sleep but stayed glued to the stream.  

Once the viewer count exceeded 10,000, Jiang Shi leisurely paused the game, placed his phone on the table, and opened the viewer list, scrolling through it. Satisfied, he said, “Hmm, all familiar faces.”  

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have stuck around so early in the morning.  

He then pulled up a long image on his computer screen—a list of members from a WeChat group.  

[What’s this?]  

[Weren’t you going to talk about the knocking follow-up?]  

[I want to hear about the bedroom scene! Stop playing games and get to the point!]  

As the barrage erupted in protests, someone finally noticed something unusual.  

[Wait a second, why do I see my own ID on that list?]  

[Fck! This little idiot leaked our WeChat group member list!]  

[Help! He’s planning revenge!]  

[Didn’t we kick him out of the group?!]  

[Group admin!!!]  

The WeChat group admin, an old acquaintance of Jiang Shi’s, finally showed up.  

[18 Years Old Pure Female College Student: I already kicked him! I double-checked the list, and he’s not in it!]  

Seeing them panic, Jiang Shi remained calm and said, “These days, who doesn’t have a few extra accounts?”  

He had already noticed that the group only had one or two admins but hundreds of members, with new ones joining daily. It was the holiday season, and everyone was busy with their own things, so they couldn’t verify identities that quickly.  

What reassured him the most was the group’s high activity level. After sobering up the next morning, he had gone through the chat history and found that almost everyone had participated in the conversation. There was no need to worry about punishing the wrong person.  

[18 Years Old Pure Female College Student: Don’t panic, sisters! I’ll track him down right now.]  

“Go ahead,” Jiang Shi said leisurely. “But guess how many extra accounts I have?”  

[18 Years Old Pure Female College Student: …]  

Jiang Shi didn’t bother beating around the bush and stated his demand: “That night, you all said it yourselves — if I knocked on the door, I’d be your honorable Dad.”  

“Now, everyone in the WeChat group has to send three voice messages saying ‘Dad’ to the group. For each one sent, I’ll remove one name from the list.”  

He crossed his legs and said, “Go on, call me properly. I’m listening.”  

The group went dead silent. Even the chat’s usual suspects fell completely quiet.  

Jiang Shi clicked his tongue. “No one wants to go first, huh?”  

He enlarged the screenshot on the screen. “Let’s see who’s at the top of the list.”  

“Oh, it’s the group admin?”  

Jiang Shi found the admin, “Pure Girl,” in the stream’s viewer list. He hovered his mouse over the ID with an amused smile. “You’re currently at Level 49. You’re about to level up to ‘Auntie’.”  

“You’ve been in this stream long enough to know that the streamer has the authority to give you new titles.”  

Jiang Shi tilted his head slightly. “I’ve already thought of your new ID: [Time’s Good Son]. How does that sound? Pretty good, right?”  

[18 Years Old Pure Female College Student: Don’t panic, everyone. He’s bluffing. With so many people here, there’s no way he has time to change our IDs one by one!]  

Jiang Shi raised an eyebrow. “Feel free to test me. I’ve got plenty of time today to bond with you all over some father-son time.”  

[18 Years Old Pure Female College Student: …]  

He was serious!  

The next second, a message popped up in the previously silent WeChat group.  

It was a voice message from Pure Girl, a full 8 seconds long.  

Jiang Shi smirked, brought his phone close to the microphone, and played it.  

The voice was clear, furious, and full of emotion:  

“You little idiot, if you dare change my title, I’ll privately send Xu all the dirty fanfic you’ve secretly been reading!!!”