Chapter 92 – Old Rivals

Although Jiang Yang and Birdy were in the same legion, they didn’t interact much. Birdy left him with the impression of being cold, aloof, expressionless, and sarcastic. Even his sarcasm was something Jiang Yang mostly observed from the sidelines, rarely experiencing it firsthand, because Birdy barely spoke to him. They weren’t the same kind of people—Jiang Yang had known that from the day they met. He was the type who, whether he liked someone or not, whether they were close or not, would always try to keep the atmosphere lively and make people happy. This probably had to do with his business background—as a businessman, he had to be smooth and adaptable. But Birdy was clearly the type who would engage only if he liked you and ignore you completely if he didn’t. That such a person could hit it off with someone as shameless and foolish as Fang Zheng was beyond Jiang Yang’s comprehension.

Actually, there were a lot of things he couldn’t understand. For instance, back then, did Birdy really think Fang Zheng was ugly and thus stopped him from posting photos, or was it intentional to give him a scare so he’d back off, allowing Birdy to swoop in instead? Though it sounded a bit conspiratorial, he couldn’t completely dismiss the possibility. Also, now that Birdy had seen Fang Zheng’s photos, why would he still want to be with him? Don’t tell him it was because of some “love grows over time” or “love someone for their soul” nonsense—those lines couldn’t even fool women under twenty anymore, let alone men who thought with their lower halves. But if it wasn’t that, what else could it be? He really couldn’t see what a poor, shut-in fatty had to offer.

Yeah, just a poor, shut-in fatty. Yet, so long after their meetup, why couldn’t he stop thinking about it…?

“Hey, you still there?” The voice on the other end of the phone suddenly spoke up.

Jiang Yang quickly shook his head and refocused. “Yeah, yeah, I’m here.”

“Oh, okay. Anything else? If not, I’ll hang up. Someone just called me.”

All that emotional buildup for nothing. =_=

“Go ahead and hang up,” Jiang Yang said weakly.

Beep beep beep—

The other end hung up decisively.

Annoyed, Jiang Yang tossed his phone onto the nightstand and sprawled out like a starfish on the soft waterbed.

The crystal-clear chandelier hanging from the ceiling reflected countless images of a lonely middle-aged man.

…

Fang Zheng hadn’t lied about the incoming call. If not for that call, he might’ve actually chatted with Jiang Yang a bit longer. For some reason, now that the awkwardness between them had been broken, things felt more relaxed. He wasn’t planning to dwell on their messy past anymore but instead wanted to have a proper talk with Jiang Yang, as the legion leader, about his “slacking off” in dungeons. It wasn’t paranoia—the guy had been completely distracted and slacking off in dungeons lately! That was ten thousand times worse than ghosting him after their meetup!!!

But with someone he hadn’t seen in a while bombarding him with calls, the issue of legion members slacking off had to be put on hold.

Just as Fang Zheng was about to call back after missing the persistent calls, a text arrived:

[I broke up with that dog of a man.]

Fang Zheng didn’t know how Gou Xiaonian would feel reading this, but as far as he was concerned, those two were equally terrible. From a friend’s perspective, they were both dogs!

Exiting the contacts, Fang Zheng switched to texting his reply:

[Just believe that the next dog will be better.]

Two minutes later, the response came:

[Anyone who introduces their boyfriend to their best friend is a fucking idiot.]

Hey, this temper of mine!

Fang Zheng felt like he was about to crush his phone:

[If you’re getting senile, let me remind you—we all knew each other before you two hooked up! And it wasn’t my idea—you insisted that meeting more people would change your luck!! I should’ve recorded it at the time! I’ll fuck you in the ass…]

By the end, Fang Zheng was shaking. All his literary talent had gone into this text, a torrent of curses pouring out as his fingers flew across the screen, each insult more creative than the last. But perhaps because this long text took too much time to compose, before he could finish and send it, a second message arrived:

[Because of him, I lost you.]

Talk about social finesse. One artsy line, and all his curses died in the cradle.

Lighting a cigarette, Fang Zheng took a drag while deleting everything he’d just written. After a long silence, he typed again:

[It’s fine. We were never the same kind of people anyway.]

Xu Di never replied.

Fang Zheng knew he’d lost this friend for good. No, actually, the moment Xu Di started dating Gou Xiaonian, they could never be friends again. Back then, he’d thought it was because friendship was more fragile than love. But now he realized the deeper, more fundamental reason buried beneath all that messy drama between men. Just as he’d told Xu Di—they weren’t the same kind of people.

As the ancients said, those who walk different paths cannot work together. Even though he and Xu Di had known each other since high school, their interactions had been limited to eating and drinking together, sometimes without even a topic of conversation, just silently stuffing their faces. As for Gou Xiaonian, forget it. If he and Xu Di at least had their school days to reminisce about, with Gou Xiaonian, it was just awkward silence.

Friends were supposed to play together, share troubles and joys—like the people in the Ghost Server Legion. Even though they’d never met, they were the most reliable companions. They worried when 438 failed his finals, celebrated when Blood Bull’s graduate thesis won an award, got excited when the legion cleared a new dungeon first, and raged when their comrades were bullied. Even with Mad Lad, Fang Zheng had brooded over their misunderstandings and felt relieved when they cleared the air. But just now, when he read Xu Di’s text about “losing” him, he didn’t feel sad or happy—just a deep calm.

Gaming was 90% of his life, but Xu Di could never understand the joy it brought him, just as he couldn’t understand Xu Di’s bizarre, glamorous lifestyle. That wasn’t what friendship was. He wanted friends because he was so lonely, but in truth, Xu Di and Gou Xiaonian weren’t his friends… just acquaintances.

Fang Zheng, chain-smoking, didn’t know that at that very moment, someone else was sitting in the hallway outside his door, also smoking. When he ran out of cigarettes, he put his phone, which he had been checking constantly, in his pocket, stood up, dusted off his trousers and quietly descended the stairs.

Friendship was about fate—meeting was the fate, getting along was the luck. If the luck wasn’t there, forcing it wouldn’t help.

After confronting two old rivals in one night, the legion leader’s fragile heart felt like a glass ball baked over a fire, riddled with tiny cracks. What to do? Of course, when in trouble, turn to Birdy. If I can’t sleep, neither can you—that’s what boyfriends were for:

[Can’t sleep can’t sleep can’t sleep can’t sleep… rolling around…]

His lover’s reply was as fast as lightning-fast mobile top-ups:

[Close your eyes and sleep.]

You heartless bastard, go die TAT

[Okay.]

The legion leader finally gave up in despair, angrily turned off his phone, and went to bed!

Tomorrow morning, someone wasn’t going to hear his sweet voice again!!!

At the Overwinter Internet Cafe, the second boss put down his phone, revealing his charming fangs, and continued controlling Little Zombie to grind mobs. Below the screen, near a large rock, sat a little healer—not healing, not attacking, just sitting there like an emperor.

Overthinking before bed led to a night of chaotic dreams for the legion leader, like turning into a cabbage and being kicked around by countless scumbags. Since the dreams weren’t exactly pleasant, the legion leader decided to forget them.

Even though he’d turned off his phone, his biological clock didn’t spare him. He still woke up early and went for a run. Now, he could run the whole way without walking—no matter how slow, it was progress.

After showering, he stepped onto the scale with near-religious reverence, and it didn’t disappoint—another 2.5 kg lighter!

Holy shit, 5 pounds! If you bought 5 pounds of pork, how big a chunk would that be?!

Tears of joy welled up in Fang Zheng’s eyes.

This was why losing weight was about controlling your mouth and moving your legs. Since he started running, he’d lost almost twenty pounds!

Of course, if a smaller girl lost twenty pounds, her whole appearance would change. But for the legion leader, those twenty pounds, while not negligible, only made him slightly less voluminous. The proof was that his old clothes still fit, just a little looser, with some extra room front and back. =_=

But a good start was half the battle. At least now he could climb five flights of stairs without panting!

The frustration from his cabbage dream was thoroughly defeated by the joy of losing five pounds. Humming a tune, the legion leader logged into the game, only to find another surprise waiting for him:

Milk is Mom’s XP, lost from repeated cliff jumps yesterday, had been restored!

Fang Zheng wasn’t naive enough to think the game developers had suddenly grown a conscience and rolled back the server. That left only one explanation:

[Good morning, my prince~~~~~~~ Mwah mwah mwah mwah~~~~~~~~~]

When Meng Chudong received this text, he was munching on a piece of bread. Having woken up too late, all the steamed buns, fried dough sticks, and soy milk were sold out. The bread, bought by the front desk girl from the supermarket, was called “Caterpillar Bread”—a long loaf stuffed with ketchup. He’d barely taken a few bites before it smeared all over his mouth. The front desk girl watched from afar, thinking the second boss didn’t seem as gaunt lately, his facial features more defined—until he glanced at his phone and smiled. Suddenly, muscles and jawlines didn’t matter. Those blood-red lips and seductive fangs transported her straight to Bram Stoker’s Dracula…

Fang Zheng read the reply—[Your prince can’t breathe under your weight, thanks]—and gritted his teeth.

He was going to record every single one of these incidents in his little black book and settle the score when they finally met in person!!!

Wait.

Had he just thought about meeting?

Since when had he started looking forward to meeting that bastard?!

What the hell was this shy, giddy feeling just from thinking about it?!

Because of the legion leader’s string of kisses, the deputy leader spent half the day lost in the unfamiliar emotion of secretly blushing with joy, so naturally, he didn’t log in. But the legion leader didn’t know that—he thought the guy had been grossed out by his clinginess and was feeling a bit down. As a result, Milk is Mom aimlessly wandered the Marketplace in the Main City.

While wandering, he spotted Drink Your Sister 3X and Drink Till You Drop standing by the moat. The little healer and the Blood Warrior weren’t moving, just standing face to face, close but not intimate, with a few willow trees swaying in the wind, casting a soft glow over the scene.

Ruining a legion member’s romantic moment wasn’t something a legion leader should do, so Fang Zheng quietly turned to leave.

[Local] Drink Your Sister 3X: Legion Leader~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He was like a lighthouse on the sea—no matter how hard he tried to be low-key, it was impossible. TAT

But he didn’t remember Your Sister being this flirtatious before!!!

[Local] Milk is Mom: Ahem, I know this is just your pure and profound love for your legion leader, but keep it low-key. Low-key.

[Local] Drink Till You Drop: Hello.

[Local] Milk is Mom: No need to be that low-key. =_=

[Whisper] Drink Your Sister 3X: Legion Leader, I need to talk to you.

The sudden channel switch put Fang Zheng on alert. Had they finally reconciled, and now Your Sister was leaving for Five Peaks Pavilion?!

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Yeah, go ahead.

Stay cool. Gotta hold it together.

[Whisper] Drink Your Sister 3X: I want to help Drink Till You Drop with the Cliff quest. Is that okay?