Xia Xin looked at the man in front of him in confusion. Although he looked lazy and sloppy, with a messy hairdo, and seemed about the same age as him, "We don't know each other, do we?"
The man smiled. "We'll get to know each other after a game. Just look at your last hits, your slashing, and your fluency in laning. You're strong."
This is what they call "a layman sees the excitement, while an expert sees the details."
In his opinion, Lu Ming was far inferior, unworthy of being his opponent. And Xia Xin... he hadn't seen such a formidable opponent in a long time, not even the runner-up AD carry in that league.
"Let's play a game. I haven't been this excited in ages. I've been so bored lately. Everyone else is busy preparing for the college entrance exam, and I'm the only one free."
The boy patted Xia Xin's shoulder with a familiar air. "How about a game?"
"Uh..."
"You...could you be Han Fei?"
Lu Ming, however, recognized the other person.
Han Fei rubbed his chin sheepishly and smiled. "I can't believe someone actually knows me. I'm quite surprised."
Lu Ming said excitedly, "Of course I do. You were the champion AD carry of the provincial League of Legends college league. You performed a sensational pentakill in the finals. I even went to watch it. It was so impressive! I even cheered you on."
Han Fei later won the college league's MVP award and was hailed as a prodigy, a superstar AD carry in Chinese colleges, and arguably a rising star in the LPL.
A renowned professional team even offered him a salary of one million yuan per year.
Han Fei waved his hands awkwardly. "No, no, no, you're exaggerating. It's the second team, and they want me to join the youth training team first. That's so much trouble. I just didn't agree."
Lu Ming's face flushed with excitement, perhaps from seeing his idol. "Why, don't you want to play professionally? With your level, you can always become a regular first-team AD carry with a professional team after some more training."
"No, no, no, I'm far from that. College is just a provincial league. I believe there will be stronger and more formidable opponents in the university league. I'm looking forward to it. University is my first stop."
Yes, he needed university as a stepping stone to climb higher and higher, to reach the pinnacle of everyone...
"Oh, no, why are you saying all this? I guess he doesn't want to play anymore. Alas, it's a rare opportunity to move."
Han Fei was about to leave dejectedly when Xia Xin grabbed his arm.
Xia Xin smiled. "I'll play. 50,000 a round, right? I'll take it."
Han Fei was immediately amused. "Interesting! That's the way it should be, a real man."
"Well, from what he said, you must be quite wealthy. I don't think you'll mind if it's 50,000 less. At least I don't have to worry about you defaulting on it."
"Huh? Huh? 50,000 less? Hahahaha." After a moment's pause, Han Fei finally realized Xia Xin wasn't joking.
He immediately clutched his stomach and burst out laughing. "You're quite interesting. Are you so confident? Don't worry, I won't default on my debt. Not counting the bonuses I receive from the university, I took 200,000 of the 1 million yuan prize money from the university league alone, and 100,000 yuan for the MVP award. It's only 50,000. I can afford it. Don't worry about me defaulting on it."
Everyone stared at Xia Xin in disbelief. Was Xia Xin crazy?
Did he not hear clearly?
Someone wondered if he should explain it to Xia Xin again. He must have been distracted and hadn't heard clearly.
The opponent was the college league champion, an MVP. Even if not the best in the country, he was at least unbeatable in the province, and a talented young man who had even been invited by a professional team.
How could an ordinary person possibly play against someone like that?
Xia Xin did look impressive, but no matter how impressive he was, how could he possibly be a match for a professional AD player? There was definitely a gap between him and Han Fei. He was probably overconfident.
Everyone was thinking, Xia Xin was too arrogant, too conceited, and he was about to suffer the consequences.
"So when do we start?" Han Fei folded his arms, looking at Xia Xin with a haughty expression.
Xia Xin said calmly, "It's late, I need to go home too. Besides, I don't have any money right now. Let's return this place tomorrow."
Han Fei said, "Okay, what's your name?"
"Xia Xin."
"Xia Xin, huh? I remember. I'm Han Fei."
"Yes, I heard."
Han Fei nodded. "Okay, I'll be here tomorrow to meet you. 50,000 yuan a round. See you there."
Han Fei then led the way out.
A group of classmates immediately surrounded Xia Xin. "Xia Xin, you're crazy!" "Don't compete with him. Do you know who he is?" "..."
A variety of exhortations flowed endlessly.
By the time Xia Xin followed Lu Ming and received the 5,000 yuan, it was already dark, and the streetlights had come on.
Xia Xin was the only one left with Shu Yuewu.
Shu Yuewu followed Xia Xin quietly, not saying a word.
The streetlights stretched their shadows long.
Shu Yuewu's mind raced through countless thoughts, but she couldn't help but ask, "Do you think you can win?"
Xia Xin shook his head. "I'm not sure, but I won't lose."
"Tsk, you're not sure. Isn't losing the same as winning? You're so arrogant. Are you blinded by money?"
"Oh, maybe. I just know I can't lose."
Xia Xin had a reason why he absolutely couldn't lose. For Xia Ye, he wouldn't lose even if he died.
Shu Yuewu felt that Xia Xin's eyes sparkled as he said this. They were particularly beautiful, more beautiful than any boy she had ever met.
She couldn't explain why, but a strange feeling welled up in her. No matter what others thought, she inexplicably felt that Xia Xin could win.
"Right." Xia Xin suddenly stopped, took out a brand new 5,000 yuan bill, and counted out 2,500 to Shu Yuewu.
Shu Yuewu was stunned, puzzled, and asked, "Why?"
"I've thought about it. I didn't win it all by myself. You suggested the bet, so we got the 5,000 yuan. So, we should split it in half."
"Are you serious? Just because I suggested it, you're really going to give me half?"
Xia Xin grabbed Shu Yuewu's fair, delicate hand, placed the money in hers, and said, "Thank you."
He knew why Shu Yuewu suggested it.
This made Shu Yuewu even more confused.
She clearly thought Xia Xin was short of money, but he wasn't the type to be greedy. 2,500 yuan wasn't a lot of money for her, but it certainly wasn't for Xia Xin. Yesterday, he even hesitated for several minutes to buy chicken wings for just over 10 yuan.
The fact that she couldn't figure this boy out made her want to see him more clearly.
Shu Yuewu didn't hesitate and shoved the money back into Xia Xin's hand. "We agreed on 8,000 for the coaching fee, but now we only have 5,500 left. Remember that."
"Okay," Xia Xin nodded. He looked around. The sky was pitch black. "Where's your home? I'll take you back."
"So kind this time? I don't believe it?" Shu Yuewu squinted at him, clearly still upset about Xia Xin pushing her to give him a ride yesterday. This had severely hurt her pride as a beautiful woman.
Xia Xin scratched her cheek sheepishly. "Girls, walking alone at night is dangerous. Let me take you there. Even if you run into hooligans..."
"You're saving me, so you can cover for me?"
"...After I run away, I'll call the police for you."
"You want to die? I'll kick you to death."
Shu Yuewu's eyes widened. She kicked him angrily, angrily saying, "You'll be single forever."
Xia Xin smiled, and Shu Yuewu couldn't help but laugh too. "Forget it, let's go buy some groceries first. If it's any later, you'll probably just be eating leaves."
"Oh, thank you."
This girl was more considerate than he'd imagined.
In the evening, the farmers' market would become increasingly crowded. Of course, the earlier you come, the better. After dinner, who would be selling vegetables?
The problem was, while some of the vegetable vendors didn't know Xia Xin's name, they knew him. After all, he'd come home from school every night to buy groceries.
The old man smiled at him. "You're here. It's so late today."
Xia Xin explained, "Um, something delayed me a little."
"Haha, I can tell, I can tell. With such a beautiful wife, he's definitely a little slow." The old man looked at Shu Yuewu with a smile on his face. It's true, no matter who saw her, she was youthful, lively, charming, with a perfect figure and good looks, the kind of girl who was very pleasing to everyone.
Xia Xin quickly explained, "Uncle, you misunderstood. We're just ordinary classmates."
"Who said not? We're just ordinary classmates. Don't I understand? My husband and I were..."
Seeing that the other party was reminiscing about the past, ready to launch into a long, hours-long lecture, Xia Xin quickly grabbed Shu Yuewu and ran away.
Change to another place.
The old woman looked at Shu Yuewu with the same scrutiny as if she were her daughter-in-law.
"That's great, young man! Where did you find such a beautiful wife? She's so pretty, much prettier than that guy at the south gate's girlfriend."
"No, I'm just a classmate passing by."
"Don't lie to me. Any wife who can go grocery shopping with you is a good wife. From an aunt's perspective, I can tell. A big butt, easy to bear, and big breasts. She won't mistreat her children. You're so lucky..."
Xia Xin blushed and quickly pulled Shu Yuewu away, running straight away without looking back.
Shu Yuewu asked, "Are these people familiar to you?"
"We bought a lot, so we just chatted occasionally. They're all very friendly, but... there were some misunderstandings. Don't mind."
"I don't mind. They're just complimenting me. Why should I mind?"
"That's good."
Xia Xin walked along the sidewalk to a familiar butcher shop.
"Half a pound, no, a pound of pork belly, Uncle Liu."
Uncle Liu, the butcher, lived quite close to his rented apartment, but Aunt Liu was managing the place, so the price was three yuan higher than at the farmers' market.
"Great."
"Less fat."
"Okay, I'll chop it up for you, Xiaoxin."
"Thank you, Uncle Liu."
Uncle Liu expertly cut a row of meat and checked it with his hand, not even needing to weigh it. It was just the right amount.
While cutting, he observed Shu Yuewu. "Haha, this girl is so nice, so smiling, so happy."
Xia Xin had to explain again, "No, it's a classmate who just happened to be passing by."
Xia Xin was sweating profusely. Why did everyone keep bringing this up? Were they vegetable vendors or matchmakers?
Uncle Liu's honest face flickered with a faint smile. He said, "Classmate, I don't think so. Why is she holding your hand?"
Xia Xin looked down and realized that Shu Yuewu had somehow wrapped her arms around his, half leaning against him like a sweetheart.
Shu Yuewu's expression was one of pure curiosity and amusement, like a child discovering a new toy. She gave him a charming smile and leaned her small face against his shoulder. "Don't we look like a newlywed couple shopping together?"
Before Xia Xin could reply, Uncle Liu was already beaming. "Yes, very much so. We're a perfect match. Xiaoxin, I've known him for a long time. He's a simple man, and you'll be very endearing after spending time with him. He'll definitely treat you well."
"Xiaoxin, let me tell you from my experience: this cheerful-looking girl is much better than that girl from the Leng family. You must cherish her. That girl is indeed beautiful, but she always has a sullen look on her face. She's so fierce, I'm afraid of her. You can't control her. A man without dignity at home suffers. Alas, I'm a living example..."