After that heated conversation with his father,Li Yang wanted something to distract him, something to make him forget his father's harsh words. Like other times before Li Yang was planning to get rid of the negative energy by playing games in the studio all day. He normally did it alone to an extent that his friends thought it was unhealthy. But when Chen Hao suggested a match,he suddenly considered it dismissing the fact that he liked to stay alone after such incidents.
"How do you want us to play?"
"You can come to our studio it'll be fun playing in the same space,"Chen Hao suggested flashing him a warm smile.
"Sounds like a good idea,"Li Yang agreed.
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The RDS leader stepped in to the Ocean Emblems' gaming studio and his beautiful eyes immediately started scanning around, taking in whatever little detail that intrigued him. The studio was bright themed reflecting the members' common character; bright walls , well furnished tables and the gaming chairs were of different colours some white, some black and even blue. Su Zhiying was the only one playing in the studio. He sat there with his headphones on,his eyes focused on the screen of the computer as his trained fingers moved the mouse strategically.
"You can use Siyuan's computer,"Chen Hao instructed and the two boys settled beside each other.
"Do you want to play live?"Chen Hao asked as he loved playing on live stream.
"I usually turn the camera off when playing live,"Li Yang said feeling slightly embarrassed by his confession.
"Why? With your handsome face? Why would you hide your face?"Chen Hao queried.
Now that was unexpected. Li Yang was taken aback by the younger's compliments. He didn't know how to respond. Normally he would dismiss compliments whenever he was showered with them.
"Handsome face...?" he questioned back, trying to maintain his composure.
"Yeah. Everyone says you're handsome," Chen Hao said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"If we play live what would you do if your fans see you losing?"Li Yang teased.
"I won't lose,"Chen Hao replied cockily.
"Too confident, huh?"
"Anyway if I lose my fans will understand. You can't always win every time, "the younger defended himself.
"Too much trust in your fans,huh?"
"What's with you saying huh?"Chen Hao asked in annoyance.
"Let's start the game."
At the end of the day Li Yang still refused to turn the camera on so Chen Hao also didn't turn on his. They put on their headphones, logged in and began playing Celestial Clash- a standard video game.
Their first task was to pick the gaming characters. Li Yang picked Zulong (Celestial Dragon) whose abilities included ; Vision of the Heavens which reveals all enemy locations and Spirit Orbs for a limited duration and summons a storm of stars that deal AoE damage to enemies.
Chen Hao picked Huanglong (Yellow Dragon) with abilities such as the Seismic Quake which creates shockwaves that knock back opponents and interrupt their abilities and Golden Radiance which temporarily enhances defense and reduces damage taken by allies.
In the first and second round Li Yang won due to Zulong's Tactical Superiority.
They agreed to play a third round. By that time,Chen Hao's teammates had gathered to spectate the match. The match was exciting and the tension and anticipation was more palpable during their final round of the game. Chen Hao knew he had already lost but he couldn't give up just yet. He at least wanted to win even in one round so he wouldn't be considered a mediocre by the older. Losing for two rounds was already embarrassing enough for him. And to make matters worse,there were other people in the room to witness his failure. He felt ashamed.
Ren Siyuan was louder than ever cheering on his best friend to not give up but he almost cried when the RDS leader easily crushed his friend like he was eating some candy.
"I told you I won't go easy on you,"Li Yang smirked victoriously.
"Next time I won't go easy on you too,"Chen Hao declared pouting.
Li Yang snickered at the younger's words before replying,"Don't tell me you went easy on me this time?"
"Go back to your studio,"Chen Hao said in dismissal. He was a little sensitive after losing and he was betting the older was dying to mock him like the loser he was.
Li Yang gasped in disbelief. He was getting kicked out by the Ocean Emblems' leader. It was just game why would the younger suddenly act hostile towards him.
The younger leader was still fuming after losing the match . His ego was crushed .He felt like a loser,he felt disappointed and embarrassed with himself. But that didn't last long because Shu Meihun walked in a few minutes later carrying a full open box. They immediately guessed what the box contained- gifts from their fans. Chen Hao was excited to unwrap the gifts,he was excited to seethe gifts , there were also letters from his fans.
Li Yang walked out of the studio silently leaving the younger players in their little world. He felt guilty for mocking the younger about losing. He also regretted not giving the other an opportunity to even win for one round.
His train of thoughts was interrupted when he came face to face with his best friend who had just ended a call and was about to go back inside.
"Why were you at the Ocean Emblems' building?"Bai Yiran questioned eyeing his best friend suspiciously.