TT Chapter 24. Hit Him

An hour later, with Pei Yiyao’s help, Chen Ting had finally gathered all fifty pieces of flint and traded them in for the Forerunner outfit. Pei Yiyao’s gameplay was sharp and stylish, weaving through enemies with precision and flair. Snakes were sliced down without hesitation. Walls, no matter how solid, were phased through like mist.

The twisted corridors never slowed him, and the darkness never made him hesitate. Pei Yiyao played like he owned the game.

As Chen Ting watched him, his eyes began to fill with a trace of admiration. Just then, a deep horn blast sounded from the game, startling him into a jolt. He whipped around, eyes locking onto the crimson-skinned minotaur warrior that had just appeared on screen. He pointed immediately and shouted, “Hit him!”

The minotaur was a roaming elite that killed any player on sight. Chen Ting had already died to it several times. Sometimes he was even caught by patrolling guards mid-fight, only to be taken down by a rain of arrows or slashed to bits by swords. This grudge ran deep.

The moment Chen Ting gave the order, Pei Yiyao sprang into action. His character scaled walls and leapt across rooftops with fluid speed. He slipped into stealth, circled behind the enemy, and leapt in for the kill. His twin swords were fast and precise, and in the span of a few strikes, the monster lay flat on the ground.

“That was so cool!” Chen Ting’s voice held a trace of excitement.

Pei Yiyao glanced at the slight flush on his face, then calmly opened the world map. He began tracking down every last minotaur on the continent and cut them down one by one with ruthless efficiency.

This journey became known as the Ting Ting Revenge Tour.

Chen Ting happily took screenshots to commemorate the moment. In his excitement, he failed to notice that he had drifted even closer into Pei Yiyao’s arms. Pei Yiyao, of course, said nothing. He watched the small mop of curls swaying in front of him, and a faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“Look at this,” Pei Yiyao said. He reached out and covered Chen Ting’s hand again. His large palm wrapped around the smaller one, fitting together with rare ease.

Only then did Chen Ting realize just how close they were. He tried to pull his hand away, but it would not budge.

Pei Yiyao held him firmly and said, “This is my reward.”

“I never agreed to that,” Chen Ting replied with a deadpan expression.

Pei Yiyao’s eyes dimmed slightly, and for some reason, Chen Ting felt a twinge of guilt. But the next moment, Pei Yiyao gave his palm a gentle squeeze. Chen Ting’s hand was soft and fleshy, and in Pei Yiyao’s grip it felt just like dough.

That idle, almost toying gesture made Chen Ting flush bright red. At the same time, he felt a flicker of anger rise.

Pei Yiyao saw that he was genuinely annoyed, so he let go. But then he held out his own hand again and offered it forward. “Here. Take it.”

Chen Ting slammed his laptop shut with a loud snap. “I don’t want it.”

“The milk is going to get cold.”

“I’m not drinking it.”

“I’m sorry.”

Chen Ting went silent.

The moment Pei Yiyao apologized, Chen Ting started feeling like he was the one being unreasonable. He could not stay angry, but giving in felt even worse. He truly had no idea how to deal with someone like Pei Yiyao.

He even began to wonder if he might be the problem.

“You should go back now,” Chen Ting said.

This time, Pei Yiyao did not argue. He simply reminded him to get some rest and left the room. On his way out, he ran into Yang Shulin at the door. The two exchanged nods and passed each other.

Yang Shulin came bursting in. “Whoa, Ting Ting. What were you two doing in the dark?”

Chen Ting had no idea how to answer. His mouth opened, then closed again.

“You weren’t watching porn, were you?”

“…”

“What kind was it? Come on, share with your bro.”

At this point, Chen Ting honestly began to suspect that something must be wrong with Yang Shulin’s brain. Did it even function the same way as other people’s? But then again, watching porn was still better than being caught doing something gay.

“So what happened at English Corner tonight? Why did it run so late?”

Hearing that, Yang Shulin instantly tensed up. He leaned in close with a look of exaggerated secrecy. “Ting Ting, sit down first. Just sit. I’ll explain everything slowly.”

Chen Ting looked at him suspiciously. “What happened?”

Yang Shulin said, “Now listen, don’t be too shocked. People these days have wild imaginations. They can say the craziest things…”

“What happened?”

“Someone shipped you and Pei Yiyao as a couple.”

Chen Ting gave a light shrug. “Whatever.”

Yang Shulin was filled with admiration. This was the calm and collected Ting Ting he knew. That kind of composure was truly impressive. Since Chen Ting clearly did not care, Yang Shulin figured he did not need to leave the group chat after all.

No, actually, he told himself he was sacrificing his own dignity for the sake of a brother. He had to stay and monitor the group, just in case anyone said anything that might harm Chen Ting’s reputation.

And so, that night, Yang Shulin infiltrated the CP fan group and opened the door to a whole new world. Meanwhile, Chen Ting tossed and turned, seriously thinking over what had happened between him and Pei Yiyao.

He felt that things had reached this point because he bore a large part of the responsibility. If he had rejected Pei Yiyao firmly from the start, maybe none of this would have happened.

But still…

Curled up under the blanket with only his head poking out, Chen Ting’s cheeks turned red again. The walnut milk from earlier seemed to bubble in his stomach, releasing a thick, sugary warmth.

“This is a disaster…” he mumbled, rolling over again.

Across from him, Bai Yu and Jiang Hai peeked out from their beds and exchanged a glance. What was going on with the two bros from the English department? Did their beds have spikes?

That night, Chen Ting’s thoughts were sweet like honey, but also unripe and tart like green hawthorn, bittersweet and full of tangled emotions.

Before long, it was time for Chen Ting’s usual shift. He changed into a dress shirt and headed to the café. Only after arriving did he realize that Gao Duo was there too.

Gao Duo was a grad student, usually elusive and rarely seen. But today he had time and brought a batch of freshly made desserts.

“Well, well. Ting Ting, my favorite underclassman.” Gao Duo leaned against the counter, coffee cup in one hand, stirring with a silver spoon. His look was as polished as ever.

“Hello, senior,” Chen Ting replied, keeping his eyes straight ahead.

“Come on, try this.” Gao Duo brought out another cup of coffee and set it down in front of Chen Ting. “Just brewed.”

A gift from the boss was not to be refused. Chen Ting obediently took a sip and gave a sincere verdict. “It’s really good. Low sugar with a hint of bitterness—just right.”

Gao Duo nodded in satisfaction. Then he gave a wink and said, “Since you’ve drunk my coffee, you owe me an answer.”

Chen Ting asked cautiously, “What’s the question?”

“What’s going on with you and Pei Yiyao?” Gao Duo lowered his voice, but the sly, nosy expression on his face made Chen Ting want to roll his eyes.

“Nothing’s going on,” Chen Ting replied.

Gao Duo clicked his tongue knowingly. “So Cool Guy couldn’t seal the deal after all. This year’s campus heartthrob really can’t compete.”

But Chen Ting picked up on something hidden in his words. “Who was the campus heartthrob back in your year, then?”

At that, Gao Duo gave a huge, dramatic eye roll. “Definitely not me.”

Back in the day at N University, there were only beauties, not heartthrobs. Of course, that was a past full of wind and fire, as they say. Gao Duo had no interest in revisiting his old wild days. It would only make him sound like a nagging old man.

So Gao Duo dropped the topic, and Chen Ting narrowly avoided another ambush. But before long, Pei Yiyao showed up again. He had never gotten along with Gao Duo, and Gao Duo, in turn, always seemed to take pleasure in making things worse. The colder Pei Yiyao’s expression, the more entertained he became.

For some reason, the two of them ended up agreeing to another basketball match. As soon as it was decided, they headed straight for the court without a moment’s delay.

Chen Ting had work, so he could not go watch. But as soon as Yang Shulin heard the news, he fired off a stream of exclamation marks and rushed out from the student group to catch the action in person.

YSL: What the hell is going on? Why are Senior and Pei Yiyao going at it again?! Do they actually have some secret backstory I don’t know about???

The more Yang Shulin thought about it, the more convinced he became that it was possible. Even though everyone in the group chat had unanimously agreed that Chen Ting was the official pairing, what if Gao Duo and Pei Yiyao were actually the real thing? Wouldn’t that be the legendary trope of enemies to lovers?

YSL: Holy shit, why are there already so many people at the court?!

YSL: Ting Ting, do you want to come over?

YSL: No, wait, no no no—Ting Ting, you can’t come over!

What if there really was nothing going on between Chen Ting and Pei Yiyao? Calling him over like that would just drag him straight into the drama. Yang Shulin was fretting like a worried dad and cursing himself for ever joining that stupid group just because of English Corner.

By now, the second basketball showdown between Pei Yiyao and Gao Duo had already begun. This time, Gao Duo had no intention of going easy, so the match quickly escalated into an intense back-and-forth.

Yang Shulin’s attention was gradually drawn in. He started clapping and cheering with the crowd, fully swept up in the excitement. But a little while later, he spotted a familiar pretty girl handing a water bottle to Pei Yiyao. That snapped him back to his senses.

YSL: Tang Yin’s here too! She just gave Cool Guy some water!

YSL: He took it! He really took it!

YSL: This is looking serious!

Yang Shulin began live-broadcasting the entire thing. Not only did he message Chen Ting directly, he even recorded a video and sent it to the Winner Takes All group chat.

Chen Ting stared at the message and paused for a moment. Pei Yiyao had accepted water from Tang Yin? He actually accepted it?

Chen Ting knew better than anyone how cold Pei Yiyao usually was with other people. But now he had taken a bottle of water from a pretty girl. That kind of gesture was not something you could just ignore.

Chen Ting’s hand paused mid-motion as he was making coffee. The aroma filled his nose, but something inside felt off. When he worked this shift before, Pei Yiyao would always come by for an Americano.

“Ting Ting?” Da He looked over with a puzzled expression. “The customer’s still waiting.”

Chen Ting snapped out of it and quickly pushed Pei Yiyao out of his thoughts. He picked up his pace and continued working. Still, he could not help but glance at his phone. A new message from Yang Shulin had popped up.

YSL: You know, Pei Yiyao and Tang Yin actually look pretty good together. She’s really decent. I added her on WeChat last time. Way better than Su Luo, that campus belle.

Chen Ting didn’t respond. He quietly slid the phone into his bag and stopped checking it. No reaction, no reply, nothing at all.

The basketball match ran all the way until ten at night. After Pei Yiyao and Gao Duo’s one-on-one, more and more people joined in, drawn by the energy. What had started as a nearly empty court now buzzed like a festival.

The boys on the court were brimming with athletic confidence. Girls sat and stood around them, full of youthful energy, their laughter rippling through the night. The school forum was soon flooded with posts about the game.

But none of that had anything to do with Chen Ting. He finished his shift and went straight back to the dorm, took a shower, climbed into bed, and changed Pei Yiyao’s WeChat name back from “Liu Wa” to “Pei Yiyao.”

Not long after, a message came in.

Pei Yiyao: Did you get back?

Donghu Crab King: Yeah.

Pei Yiyao: I won.
Pei Yiyao: Get some rest. I’ll come pick you up tomorrow.

Pick me up? Chen Ting instinctively wanted to ask what for, but he stopped himself. He did not want to start a new conversation. He stared at the message, caught in that tangle of hesitation, when Yang Shulin burst through the door.

“Ting Ting, Ting Ting!” He practically exploded into the room, eyes glowing with the thrill of breaking news.

“What is it?” Chen Ting asked.

“It’s Tang Yin! Let me show you what she just posted to her Moments. I swear to God, Cool Guy is something else. I have never seen anything like this in my entire life. You’ve got to see it for yourself.” Yang Shulin shoved his phone into Chen Ting’s hands.

Chen Ting looked down. Five minutes earlier, Tang Yin had posted an update:

Big Tang Jie: I gave Cool Guy a bottle of water. Cool Guy gave me five yuan. Who needs love when you can run a water delivery business? Proudly brought to you by N University’s most reliable reseller. Fair price, no scams.

Attached was a photo of a crisp five-yuan bill.