When Xu Qingqing stormed out in a huff, the secretarial staff couldn’t help but wonder how long it would take their CEO to coax her back this time.
Yet, in the underground parking lot, the very subject of their gossip, Xu Qingqing, had already been pacified the moment she got into the car. The reason? Xie Lianqing had promised to play video games with her today.
Xu Qingqing was notoriously bad at gaming but hopelessly addicted. She had sworn to reach Platinum rank, only to plummet straight down to Gold—earning herself the glorious title of "Gold Gatekeeper."
Watching her Platinum dreams slip further away, Xu Qingqing, now a Silver-tier player, was growing desperate.
Zhou Chenyu had been too busy lately to game with her. Staring at her defeat-streaked match history late at night, she was filled with regret. If only she hadn’t picked that fight with Xie Lianqing—if she’d just played a few more rounds with him, she might’ve ranked up by now.
So when Xie Lianqing offered to carry her to victory, she instantly forgot all about their office squabble and brightened right up.
Xu Qingqing’s temper flared as quickly as it faded. Now cheerful again, she leaned over the passenger seat, tilting her head at Xie Lianqing and wheedling, "Can we play a few more rounds, please?"
Xie Lianqing, reversing the car, spared her a glance in the rearview mirror and said flatly, "Seatbelt."
"Oh! Right." She immediately straightened up and buckled in, obedient as could be.
Normally, she’d have made a fuss, demanding he fasten it for her. But today, she had favors to ask.
Eyes wide with hope, she added, "I have to get to Platinum, okay?"
Xie Lianqing, focused on driving, smirked faintly. This young miss might throw tantrums like a hurricane, but she was surprisingly easy to appease.
As the car pulled out, he said softly, "Sure. Just don’t lose your temper in front of others again." He didn’t mind her outbursts, but others might misunderstand her.
Xu Qingqing, thoroughly satisfied, conveniently ignored the second half of his remark.
Though Xie Lianqing wanted to spend more time with his girlfriend, work called. After a game or two, he had to return to the office.
To lure Xu Qingqing into joining him for overtime, he casually threw Zhou Chenyu under the bus: "Why not ask Zhou Chenyu to play with you? I’ll join for a couple rounds during my break."
Zhou Chenyu wasn’t as skilled as Xie Lianqing, but carrying Xu Qingqing was still a breeze for him.
Prompted by her boyfriend, Xu Qingqing immediately called Zhou Chenyu, summoning him online.
Zhou Chenyu groaned upon answering, "Miss Xu, am I your free gaming buddy now?"
Xu Qingqing blinked. "What’s a gaming buddy?"
Zhou Chenyu was stunned. "You’ve never heard of paid gaming companions?"
Xu Qingqing had no clue. With few friends and hobbies limited to tormenting her boyfriend and gossiping in online celebrity groups, her gaming circle was pitifully small.
Zhou Chenyu quickly explained the concept, hoping to offload this troublesome task. He’d been out clubbing all night and just wanted to crash.
Xu Qingqing’s eyes lit up. "So they can help me rank up?"
Zhou Chenyu nodded vigorously.
Intrigued, Xu Qingqing followed his instructions, downloaded a gaming companion app, and splurged on four top-tier players—all King-tier pros.
For the first time, Xu Qingqing, usually flamed as a noob, was treated like royalty. Her teammates showered her with praise, surrendered buffs, and funneled her gold—even when she died three times in the first minute, they cheered her on, claiming her deaths were artistic.
Drowning in their flattery, Xu Qingqing experienced gaming bliss. Already lacking self-awareness about her skills, she nearly floated away from the ego boost.
With their help, she finally clawed her way to Platinum.
After the match, the companions asked for her WeChat, offering future sessions. Delighted, Xu Qingqing added them all and sent each a 1,000-yuan red envelope.
The players, now her biggest fans, convinced her to pre-pay tens of thousands for future games.
Now hooked on her new hobby, Xu Qingqing gamed obsessively.
Xie Lianqing had no issue—until one day, her phone speaker blared a sugary male voice: "Qingqing, want the blue buff? I saved it for you!"
Xie Lianqing, reviewing documents, froze.
Oblivious, Xu Qingqing chirped, "Yes! Gimme!"
Never mind that she’d waste the buff—she just wanted it.
In the past, even breathing near the blue buff would earn her 300 insults. Stealing it? Instant friend requests for hate-mail.
But now? The entire map was her playground. Buffs, lanes, jungle camps—everything was hers to claim, even if she just wandered aimlessly.
Xu Qingqing was ecstatic.
Xie Lianqing side-eyed her glowing expression.
Then the voice cooed, "Qingqing, I’ll protect you! Hide behind me—no one’s touching you!"
Xie Lianqing set down his files. "Xu Qingqing, who are you playing with?"
Distracted, she giggled, "Paid companions!" (She’d muted her mic, at least.)
Xie Lianqing hummed, then checked his watch. "Wrap it up. We have the auction soon."
Xu Qingqing, engrossed, considered skipping. The auction list looked boring anyway.
Slumping on the couch, she whined, "Let’s stay home and play!"
Gaming was way more fun.
"Fine," Xie Lianqing said mildly. "But Zhou Chenyu mentioned his cousin’s under house arrest lately..."
Xu Qingqing leapt up. "Really? I’m going!"
Zhou Chenyu’s cousin was her sworn frenemy—a fellow socialite whose beauty and wealth matched hers, making them the circle’s most toxic "besties."
Last time, the cousin flaunted front-row seats at a Paris fashion show, taunting Xu Qingqing for "not getting invited."
Xu Qingqing had rage-rolled in bed for hours, screaming into the phone.
So this time, when Xu Qingqing found out that the other person couldn’t make it, she absolutely wouldn’t let go of this perfect opportunity to reclaim her pride.
Upon hearing the inside scoop, Xu Qingqing immediately bounced off the sofa in excitement, rushing to change her clothes and contact her stylist.
As for her phone, it was left forgotten on the couch.
Xie Lianqing picked up the phone, where a guy’s voice cautiously asked, "Was that your boyfriend just now, sis? If you play games with me, won’t your man get mad?"
Xie Lianqing raised an eyebrow, scoffed lightly, and with a flick of his fingers, deleted all those gaming companions.
Xu Qingqing remained completely unaware that her gaming buddies were gone—tonight, she was swamped.
She contacted her stylist for a fabulous makeover and, upon arriving at the auction, immediately started snapping photos. She took pictures of the invitation, the auction items, the venue’s decor, and finally topped it off with a stunning selfie.
After returning from the auction, Xu Qingqing busied herself posting on her social media and group chats, specifically tagging Zhou Chenyu’s cousin, Le Jiaojiao, with a faux-innocent caption: "Since I know you didn’t get an invite, Jiaojiao, I took some pics to help you live vicariously~"
Zhou Chenyu commented below: "Damn, savage."
It wasn’t hard to imagine the storm that was about to unfold.
A minute later, Xu Qingqing’s phone rang. Seeing it was Le Jiaojiao calling, she immediately blocked the number—no way was she giving the other girl a chance to yell at her.
Then her WeChat started blowing up with notifications, a clear testament to the other’s fury. Xu Qingqing frantically screenshotted her post, sent it to Le Jiaojiao, and then swiftly deleted her contact.
She even went as far as blocking Le Jiaojiao from their mutual "plastic sisters" group chat.
Ten minutes later, Zhou Chenyu commented again under Xu Qingqing’s post: "Le Jiaojiao told me to curse you out for her. Are you insane?"
Xu Qingqing promptly blocked Zhou Chenyu too, adding, "She’s the insane one."
After all this, Xu Qingqing hugged her phone and laughed triumphantly, hands on her hips. "Hmph, try to mess with me!"
She was notorious for holding grudges. When it came to being extra, no one in this world could outdo her.
Xie Lianqing, who had witnessed the entire spectacle, thought to himself, Is this really something to be proud of?
Hesitating, he could only gently hint, "Didn’t you promise to play games with Zhou Chenyu tomorrow?"
Generally, guys didn’t involve themselves in girls’ drama, but this time, Xu Qingqing had essentially thrown Zhou Chenyu under the bus. Xie Lianqing could already imagine Le Jiaojiao, unable to reach Xu Qingqing, redirecting her rage at Zhou Chenyu instead.
So Xie Lianqing felt a faint twinge of guilt for Zhou Chenyu—though, admittedly, it wasn’t that important.
Xu Qingqing replied matter-of-factly, "I’ll just unblock him when it’s time to play."
Having emerged victorious in her petty feud, Xu Qingqing happily hummed a tune as she headed off to shower. As for the abandoned game and gaming buddies? She’d totally forgotten about them.
Her phone was packed with contacts—she could never keep track of who she’d added. Usually, those gaming companions were the ones initiating play sessions. If they didn’t reach out, she’d simply forget about them. Besides, playing games every day was exhausting.
A few days later, on the weekend.
Xie Lianqing specifically visited the Xu household to see Xu Qingqing. The two sat on the sofa watching TV, waiting for Bai Youlan’s talent show to air.
Xie Lianqing absentmindedly played with her hair and casually asked, "Haven’t seen you gaming much lately?"
Xu Qingqing, lying on his lap while focused on the TV, replied offhandedly, "No idea why, but no one’s been asking me to play."
Mostly, she’d also found some people annoying. Last time, she’d added a gaming companion who kept pestering her with weird, overly personal messages.
The guy, probably hoping to score with a rich girl, bombarded her with daily "good morning," "good afternoon," and "good night" texts, along with endless photos of his cat, dog, and abs.
But who was Xu Qingqing? She was drop-dead gorgeous, the kind of beauty who could star in movies, and she dumped boyfriends like yesterday’s leftovers. Despite her famously high-maintenance personality, she still had a legion of admirers lined up, waiting for their turn.
So she was completely immune to such tactics. She paid for gaming, not romance.
Seeing her indifferent reaction, Xie Lianqing finally relaxed. Gently stroking her hair, he offered, "Work’s been busy lately, but I’ll have more free time soon. I’ll play with you then."
He’d expected Xu Qingqing to jump at the offer—after all, this Platinum-ranked player had been whining about reaching Diamond not long ago.
To his surprise, Xu Qingqing hesitated. "Uh… maybe I’ll just play solo for now."
Her rank had risen recently, matching her with more skilled teammates and opponents. As a self-admitted noob, she’d been getting roasted nonstop by her teammates.
These days, she only dared to play against bots—at least in bot matches, everyone was equally bad, and no one cursed her out.
Just as Xie Lianqing was about to press further, the TV’s commercials ended, and the show began.
This was the reality show Bai Youlan had participated in. From filming to airing, nearly half a month had passed.
Xu Qingqing immediately sat up, eyes glued to the screen. "Do you see Bai Youlan yet?"
Xie Lianqing sighed. "No, the show just started."
The same conversation was happening at the Xu residence.
The entire Xu family—all four members—sat neatly in front of the TV. Xu Tianbao, clutching a toy, asked impatiently, "When’s sis coming on?"
Bai Youlan smiled warmly, anticipation in her voice. "Probably soon."
Since returning from filming, Bai Youlan had been eagerly awaiting the show’s premiere. Thanks to the previous scandal, she hadn’t gained fans but instead attracted a swarm of haters, causing her "favorability points" to drop significantly.
She was counting on this show to win over new fans and finally give her stagnant "luck points" a much-needed boost.
