Word about the class reunion spread like wildfire.
Dong Jiaoyan's reputation was completely ruined.
Soon after, she left all the class group chats and kept a very low profile at university, but everyone knew how she operated.
No girls wanted to be friends with her, and the guys avoided her like the plague, terrified of becoming the next laughingstock.
Qiao Liuyue, on the other hand, couldn't be bothered to deal with Dong Jiaoyan anymore.
She focused on her own career.
The first time she streamed a game, her viewer count was almost nonexistent, because she was a faceless game streamer.
People have stereotypes—when it comes to game streams, they prefer watching male streamers, always assuming that female streamers just play casual matches with no real skill.
That was until one match where all four of Qiao Liuyue's teammates were throwing the game, and the enemy team was about to destroy her base. She turned it around against all odds.
She cleared the minion wave quickly, used the base turret's damage, and seized the window when the enemy was tanking tower shots.
She chain-cast her abilities and took down four kills.
While the enemy support was heading back, she raced against the clock and quickly took down the dragon. Her teammates revived soon after, and they pushed straight to the enemy's high ground in one go.
The trolls who had been laughing at her instantly shut up.
"Little Qiao Loves Jungle"—this girl has real skill.
And when she played ranked, she selected the all-roles mode.
She could play any lane. Her champion pool was deeper in jungle and ADC, but she was just as solid on support and top lane.
In her stream, there was one big spender who showed up every single day to support her.
His ID was: Yuanyuan Is Here.
Qiao Liuyue recognized him almost instantly: Zheng Qingyuan.
His pattern for gifting was one rocket per match.
Sometimes, he'd even gift two if she lost—though losses were extremely rare.
Everyone joked: "This guy's such a sucker—he doubles down when she loses? Might as well tell the streamer to lose every match."
Qiao Liuyue saw the comments and just smiled.
Intentionally losing just to get gifts? That would be a total lack of competitive spirit.
As long as there was even a sliver of a chance to win, she would never give up!
She streamed for three hours every night on a fixed schedule, from nine to eleven, gaming only—she never did PK battles.
Gradually, she built up a bit of a following.
And besides the big spender Yuanyuan Is Here, there was another person in the stream who didn't have moderator powers but would always keep the chat in check: "Monitor Chu."
Whenever curious viewers asked, "Hey, Monitor Chu, who are you?"
He would answer in a dead-serious tone: "I'm Little Qiao's class monitor."
Of course, everyone just thought it was funny.
During this time, Qiao Liuyue took things in stride, but the system had reminded her several times that Xie Linchuan's affection level hadn't budged.
When was she going to complete the seduction mission?
Qiao Liuyue's response: This little Xie Linchuan? Easily handled.
That day, she took the initiative to call Chu Xubai—knowing full well that at this hour, he was probably having dinner with Xie Linchuan.
"Hey, Monitor Chu, you've been a free mod in my stream for so long—let me treat you to a meal."
"Sure." Chu Xubai glanced at his half-eaten plate, then looked up at Xie Linchuan across the table, who had raised his head to stare at him. Without batting an eye, Chu Xubai said, "I haven't had dinner yet, actually."
Xie Linchuan: "...???"
So I'm the clown here?
You haven't eaten dinner, but the person sitting in the restaurant with you right now is a ghost?
"Okay, okay, see you later." Chu Xubai hung up the phone with a grin, then looked up to meet Xie Linchuan's reproachful gaze.
His tone was calm, but he could barely hide his excitement. "Liuyue invited me to dinner."
Xie Linchuan curled his lips slightly. "I heard. But didn't you already eat dinner?"
Chu Xubai looked at him as if to say, "Your emotional intelligence is really low."
"Forget it, I won't waste time on you. I'm off to my date."
With that, he stood up.
But to his surprise, Xie Linchuan also put down his chopsticks and got to his feet.
Chu Xubai gave him a puzzled look.
"You're not eating anymore?"
"Nah, the food here isn't great. So, which restaurant are you two hitting up? Mind if I tag along?" Xie Linchuan said with a cheeky grin, completely unbothered by being a third wheel.
Chu Xubai's face was full of disgust.
"This is a date. What are you following us for? Dude, show some sense."
"Oh!" Xie Linchuan nodded slowly.
The two parted ways at the entrance of the restaurant. Xie Linchuan watched Chu Xubai get into a taxi, then slyly made a phone call.
"Hey? Brother Zheng? Hey, don't hang up, don't hang up. I'm serious this time—last time, that was just an accident!"
It was all because Zheng Qingyuan kept using Xie Linchuan's embarrassing past against him as a joke.
So during a group dinner, right in front of Qiao Liuyue, Xie Linchuan "accidentally" brought up the story of Zheng Qingyuan flipping his vehicle in-game, wiping out the whole squad.
That move made Zheng Qingyuan so furious that every time he saw Xie Linchuan, he'd try to kill him with a glare.
Xie Linchuan continued, "I was just having dinner with Xubai, and then Liuyue called him to invite him out. Tell me, isn't that a date?"
"Wait right there!" Zheng Qingyuan said curtly, just two words.
...
Chu Xubai had no idea why he was so unlucky.
He'd deliberately picked a restaurant in a different district, hoping to enjoy a peaceful, wonderful date with Liuyue.
But no sooner had they sat down than Zheng Qingyuan showed up, wearing an absurdly oversized pair of sunglasses, strolling over with an obviously fake expression on his face.
"Liuyue! What a coincidence! You two are eating here too!"
Chu Xubai face-palmed.
He strongly suspected it wasn't a coincidence—Zheng Qingyuan must have deliberately found out their location.
But how did he know Liuyue had invited him to dinner tonight? Could it be... Xie Linchuan?
Chu Xubai hesitated at the thought. His good buddy Xie Linchuan was a simpleton, impulsive, and not the sharpest tool in the shed—otherwise, he wouldn't have been played for a fool by Dong Jiaoyan.
Besides, Xie Linchuan knew Chu Xubai liked Liuyue and had been looking for a chance to confess. Would he really stab his brother in the back like this?
Chu Xubai also knew that Xie Linchuan didn't like Liuyue. The two of them butted heads like needle against thread.
Could it be that Xie Linchuan didn't want his good brother dating a girl he despised, so he sent Zheng Qingyuan to sabotage the date?
The more Chu Xubai thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
He thought to himself: Buddy, you're a real piece of work!
Because every time Xie Linchuan ran into Qiao Liuyue, he'd say something snarky like: "Oh, look who it is! A game streamer? Heard your fan count finally hit a hundred. Congrats, congrats."
Or he'd say: "Haha, heard you lost three games in a row yesterday, and every single one had AFK teammates. Your luck is something else. Maybe get your fortune told somewhere?"
Or: "Since we're friends, I sent you a little flower. No need to be too touched—I just felt bad for you, that's all."
Basically, he'd say anything to be a jerk, purely to get under Liuyue's skin.
Chu Xubai naturally assumed his buddy still disliked Qiao Liuyue.
He never considered there might be another possibility.
That is, a childish male classmate secretly crushing on a girl.
Either tugging at her hair, or deliberately provoking her, then throwing out some edgy remarks.
Simply wanting to get her attention.
