Lu Xiangyang's eyelashes twitched, then he gripped the warm cup of milk tea in his hand and turned his head to look out the window.
Shen Kuangye's Weibo was only downloaded today.
At this moment, he realized that his own account had suddenly gained a large number of followers. His inbox was full of messages. Back when he had just started playing professionally, Shen Kuangye might have replied to them one by one—but now, he had grown indifferent to many things. He went into the settings and turned on "Do Not Disturb" for messages, then followed Lu Xiangyang's Weibo account.
Lu Xiangyang's profile picture was still the default Weibo one; his following count suddenly jumped from 0 to 1.
When the two of them arrived at the club, Xing Xing was talking about something, but Shen Kuangye could tell he was in a really good mood today.
"You're back?"
Xing Xing glanced at them, then stepped forward to pat their shoulders. His eyes shone brightly:
"Our goal this season is to make the playoffs! Confident?"
Xing Xing had also been a professional player, though his performance had never been great—he had been pinned down at the water cooler.
Even during his five active years, he never won a championship. Now, as manager, his obsession with winning remained.
Shen Kuangye only said lightly, "Even the Abyss Grand Champion isn't impossible."
Xing Xing was stunned for a moment, then laughed loudly:
"You little rascal, didn't expect your heart to be so wild."
He said, "Alright! Then let's aim for the Abyss Grand Champion!"
For him, though, as long as EAR could improve, that was already the best outcome.
Xing Xing always felt that their team had effort and diligence, but lacked opportunity. He looked at the two new players on the team and wondered: Could this be the opportunity?
——
Shen Kuangye and Lu Xiangyang's first broadcast day was on the first day of the new season.
Shen Kuangye's biological clock had him awake by around seven. The club was almost empty; everyone else was still asleep.
He poured himself a cup of warm water and sat at the edge of the bed, sipping while watching Lu Xiangyang with his eyes lowered.
Lu Xiangyang was still very thin; his cheeks were slightly hollow.
Shen Kuangye sighed. How was it so hard to fatten him up?
They had known each other for almost a month. Shen Kuangye had been supervising Lu Xiangyang every day, making sure he ate enough high-quality protein and carbs. Snacks and drinks were kept to a minimum. Yet, after all this time, Lu Xiangyang hadn't changed much—only a little taller.
He still habitually slept in the corner, but every time Shen Kuangye got into bed, he would pull him toward the center and place a hand on his waist to prevent him from kicking off the blanket.
He also gradually noticed that Lu Xiangyang seemed to have poor circulation—his hands and feet were always cold at night. Sometimes Shen Kuangye would hold his hands to warm them.
Lu Xiangyang was particularly obedient. Shen Kuangye had only once mentioned that he shouldn't stay up late, and he had never done so again. Every day, after finishing ranked games, he would obediently go to bed.
At this moment, Lu Xiangyang's small face was buried in the soft blanket, his eyes tightly shut. His hand groped at the edge of the bed, as if searching for something, but didn't find it.
Then, Lu Xiangyang suddenly woke up. When his eyes focused, he saw Shen Kuangye wearing a simple black T-shirt, holding a glass of water, his dark eyes quietly watching him.
Sunlight streamed through the window, casting him in a cold yet gentle light.
"Kuang…"
Lu Xiangyang tried to speak but found his throat dry. Shen Kuangye handed him the glass: "Drink some water."
Instinctively, Lu Xiangyang took it. He noticed a damp spot on the glass wall.
Compelled by some impulse, he drank a few sips from that spot. After finishing, his face flushed with embarrassment.
Lu Xiangyang felt strange lately—he liked being close to Shen Kuangye, liked the way he smelled, and simply felt at ease whenever they were together.
After Shen Kuangye made sure he finished the water, he ruffled his hair: "It's only nine. Not going back to sleep?"
He only monitored Lu Xiangyang to prevent him from staying up late; he never cared when he slept during the day. After all, Lu Xiangyang was only 18, in the prime of growing.
Lu Xiangyang was now a little more awake and shook his head: "Let's train alone."
Recently, he had been waking up early to train solo with Shen Kuangye.
Lu Xiangyang was confident in his skills, but Shen Kuangye always managed to read him perfectly, like he knew him inside and out.
Thanks to Shen Kuangye, Lu Xiangyang had achieved second place with 50 stars and became the first Overseer in Identity V to reach 200 stars at Peak Rank 7.
This caused a small stir online, increasing fans' anticipation for EAR's new season. With such a strong hunter, they couldn't possibly finish at the bottom again, right?
Their follower count continued to grow. After following Lu Xiangyang, Shen Kuangye uninstalled Weibo—he didn't care about any of it.
Lu Xiangyang, however, constantly checked, still finding all this a novel experience.
They trained for two hours before going downstairs for lunch.
After eating, Xing Xing began teaching them how to start a live broadcast and the precautions involved.
He instructed: "No swearing! One curse, 1000 deduction. Got it?"
Lu Xiangyang obediently nodded. He wasn't the type to swear; even after years of gaming, he had never been muted. When he got angry or mocked, he would just block them and move on.
Shen Kuangye simply acknowledged.
Still, Lu Xiangyang was a little nervous as the broadcast approached.
Shen Kuangye noticed early, adjusting the streaming setup while quietly asking: "Nervous?"
This time, Lu Xiangyang was truly nervous and nodded obediently.
"Worried about what?"
Shen Kuangye asked in his usual calm tone, but it had the effect of putting people at ease.
"I'm worried I'm not what they expect me to be," Lu Xiangyang confessed.
"Don't worry about disappointing others," Shen Kuangye said. "Just be yourself."
Lu Xiangyang thought for a moment, then nodded slowly.
By noon, a large group of fans was waiting for their stream.
As soon as Shen Kuangye finished adjusting the camera and went live, many people joined.
[Hubby, I'm here! Huh? Why isn't the camera on?]
[If you don't know how, I can guide you step by step.]
Shen Kuangye glanced at the chat and replied: "Camera off."
[Your voice is so nice. Can you talk more?]
[What QAQ sob sob, I want to see your face.]
[Streamer, don't keep the camera off.]
[Hmm, is the streamer being aloof?]
[I knew he was a cool guy from the announcement photo. Liking him more now hehe.]
[Totally different from Sun.]
Although the chat kept trying to lure Shen Kuangye into turning on the camera, he focused on ranked matches and ignored the messages.
At first, viewers wanted to see his face, but soon they were captivated by his skills.
Simply put—he was dazzling.
In the first game, Shen Kuangye chose the Explorer (skills: shrinking and digging for pages to speed up machine repair, but repair and control were weakened; discovered = downed instantly).
Chat:
[Explorer in Lakeview? Why?]
[Not afraid of being caught huh.]
He calmly shrunk under the Overseer's nose, found almost two machines without being discovered, then secretly went to his teammate at the exit. While the Overseer was busy with the nearby Antiquarian, he applied the Rescue skill—ultimately four survivors escaped.
Second game: Red Church, he picked the Doctor.
Chat:
[?? Did I see that right? Doctor? Isn't that just sabotaging the team?]
[One hit and you're useless.]
Still, Shen Kuangye's Doctor skillfully evaded four machines from S1 Red Madame, even jumped the basement at the exit.
Third game: he chose the Little Girl.
Chat:
[I bet WILD will get three escapes this round!]
[Be confident—four escapes.]
All afternoon, the chat went from skepticism to admiration. Unusual characters, flashy plays—all executed flawlessly by him.
Shen Kuangye was silent while playing ranked. Whether winning or losing, his mindset was steady.
Lu Xiangyang, in contrast, followed the chat's encouragement to turn on his camera. Hesitant, he waved at the screen and said: "Hello, everyone."
[OMG! Such a cute voice! I can't, I can't!!]
[Baby, so adorable!]
[Really an adult? Looks so small.]
[Pretty face, obedient voice, yet plays fiercely. Sun, don't turn off the camera, I'll gift you.]
The chat scrolled hundreds of messages per minute; Lu Xiangyang could only pick a few to reply:
[Yes, adult.]
[Camera… won't be off.]
[No need to gift me, I won't turn off the camera anyway.]
Suddenly, his phone buzzed—the match was found.
He looked down, studying the ban phase.
The opponent's ID made him frown slightly.
Identity V was a mix of players; many unskilled ones could reach Peak.
As soon as he selected a character, the opponent typed: "Apostle on the other side."
Perfumer: "How do you know?"
First Mate: "Saw it, that trash new EAR Overseer."
"Did the opposing Overseer see? Don't cry when I 6-kill him haha."
Acrobat: "srds spying isn't okay."
Perfumer: "Yeah, and even if you spy, provocation? Don't drag us down, okay?"
Lu Xiangyang's chat erupted: ???
[This ID looks familiar.]
['What's wrong with picking the big room?', isn't that that Peak 7 troll? Always scaring teammates, so annoying.]
[All his stats are reported.]
[Spying is disgusting. Reported. Sun, crush him, top Overseer and he dares provoke?]
Lu Xiangyang pursed his lips, lowered his eyes, and forced himself to focus on the game.
Shen Kuangye finished one ranked match, glanced at the chat, and saw they were talking about Sun hitting a decent player and being cursed at.
He glanced at Lu Xiangyang's stream: chaotic chat, pre-game provocations from First Mate.
Lu Xiangyang kept his head down, playing, lips pressed together, looking aggrieved.
Shen Kuangye put down his phone, paused his own matches.
Chat:
[? Streamer? Where are you?]
[Bathroom?]
[Ahh, I wanted to learn Ghost techniques.]
[Same, but whatever, go watch Sun.]
Shen Kuangye glanced at Lu Xiangyang's eyes, no redness—and quietly watched him play.
The First Mate picked the big room; Lu Xiangyang's Apostle went for him.
Within 30 seconds, that person surrendered. The big room was the basement; no one rescued him.
[Justice served!!]
[That First Mate is done.]
[Did he hide during human evolution?]
[Surrender smoother than a laxative.]
[Clearly just a noob, pre-game yelling.]
[Thought he could hit 1695.]
[Gross, when will they ban him?]
Shen Kuangye waited 20 more seconds after the surrender before returning focus to his screen.
Match found instantly.
Sure enough, it was "What's wrong with picking the big room."
Shen Kuangye immediately grabbed the Explorer; the player complained: "I want Explorer."
Shen Kuangye ignored him.
What's wrong with picking the big room: I said I want Explorer.
Still ignored.
What's wrong with picking the big room: Are you blind? Can't you see me? You think I don't know you? You're just EAR trash.
Shen Kuangye quickly reported him; the next second, he was muted.
Other two teammates were speechless.
Writer: "Dude, you again? I don't even want to play."
Seer: "Same, really unlucky being with you."
What's wrong with picking the big room: Opponent muted.
But he picked Doctor.
Chat:
[What's wrong with him? His Doctor's zero cognition, right?]
[Not playing seriously, just sabotaging.]
[This type ruins the game.]
Shen Kuangye lowered his eyes, ready to play.
Breaking Wheel came for a solo chase.
Shen Kuangye evaded five machines. At the exit, he launched the Doctor toward Breaking Wheel, who carried Rescue and immediately downed him.
Writer made an OK gesture at the exit.
Breaking Wheel didn't leave a bear trap; instead, carried the Doctor to a chair, then started posturing.
Seer came to watch and danced beside the Doctor.
The Doctor probably cursed, but was already muted.
Breaking Wheel: "Disgusting."
Seer: "Exactly."
Writer: "Magnet shot was perfect! I wanted to swap with Breaking Wheel to take him down myself."
Shen Kuangye said nothing; he added "What's wrong with picking the big room" to his blacklist.
Chat:
[Wait, what did I just see?]
[Not wrong, seems only Sun in his list.]
[Ranked 5, friends list only Sun?]
[Saw a video yesterday—someone matched WILD three times in one afternoon, no friend slot given.]
[Sob sob, can't resist.]
[Just realized, Wild might have been avenging Sun.]
[Possible! Leaving earlier, waiting for Sun to down him, then rematch.]
[Haha, no wonder he grabbed that Explorer, to annoy him.]
[Love sneaky protective cool guy.]
[Can Wild play Explorer again? Want to learn QAQ.]
Shen Kuangye ignored the chat, opening Lu Xiangyang's stream on his computer.
That player went wild in Lu Xiangyang's chat.
All sorts of foul language.
[Poor loser, your account barely has any rare skins.]
[Your skills aren't great either. How did you get picked?]
[Oh, right, EAR is trash anyway, normal.]
Shen Kuangye was about to speak, then saw Lu Xiangyang's expression turn icy.
He added that person to the blacklist, voice unusually sharp:
"You're not worthy of talking to me.
EAR isn't a trash club. We'll reach the Abyss.
So, get as far away as possible."