TVDC 68: Peck

Qiu Xuning looked at the photo on the ID, and at the first glance, he couldn’t hold it in and laughed out loud.

In his imagination, no matter how He Zhiyuan’s ID photo was taken, it would look good. Yet in reality, even a handsome guy couldn’t escape the brutality of an ID photo.

On the ID, He Zhiyuan was seen with a buzz cut, his eyes still sharp, but his left cheek was swollen. The skin tone of his face also looked a bit odd. Compared to Qiu Xuning’s, this ID photo of He Zhiyuan was the real black history.

Qiu Xuning laughed so much that his eyes squinted. He looked at He Zhiyuan, extended his slender white finger, and poked his own left cheek. “Why is this part swollen?”

He Zhiyuan saw him smile and said in a low voice, “I got into a fight, and my face got bruised.”

A look of understanding appeared on Qiu Xuning’s face. “So this photo ID was photoshopped?”

The person who edited this photo clearly had no skill. They edited He Zhiyuan’s face, making some parts dark and others bright to the point where it looked unrecognizable.

The young man at the front desk watched them fussing and silently wondered about their relationship. Before he could figure it out, he saw the taller guy snatch the ID from the shorter guy’s hand, turn his head, and say, “Two hours.” While speaking, he placed a 20-yuan bill on the counter.

The young man at the front desk hadn’t checked the shorter guy’s ID yet, but he didn’t seem to care to investigate further. He let them in, turning a blind eye to the situation.

He Zhiyuan skillfully turned on the computer, then glanced at Qiu Xuning.

Qiu Xuning also followed and turned on the computer. The internet cafe’s computers were quite large, making playing games smooth with almost no lag, offering a much better experience. If there were no better options at home, most people would come to the internet cafe to play. However, it was probably still early and the internet cafe was rather empty, giving it a somewhat quiet feel.

“What shall we play?” Qiu Xuning asked softly.

He Zhiyuan downloaded a shooting competition game. Qiu Xuning followed his lead and downloaded the same game.

Qiu Xuning had an inexplicable worry about games. The “Qiu Xuning” before loved playing games, almost to the point of neglecting sleep and food. He even borrowed his classmates’ phones to play games at home, hiding under the covers. His grades dropped quickly partly because of his gaming.

Thinking of this, Qiu Xuning suddenly felt like backing out. However, with He Zhiyuan was by his side, he didn’t say anything. He quietly followed He Zhiyuan, doing whatever he did.

Soon, they quickly created their characters together.

Their seats were very close together—their arms almost bumping into each other. Qiu Xuning pulled his arm in, but He Zhiyuan’s arm still nudged over, pressing warmly against his skin with a slight itch. It made Qiu Xuning feel a bit uncomfortable and he muttered, “Your arm is in my space.”

He Zhiyuan glanced at their arms, slowly pulled his arm back, and gave Qiu Xuning some space.

“Ready.” He Zhiyuan stared at the computer and sent a team invitation to Qiu Xuning.

Qiu Xuning shifted his gaze from He Zhiyuan’s computer to his own, just in time to see a window pop up asking if he wanted to join the team. Qiu Xuning acted quickly and clicked “decline.”

He Zhiyuan turned his head to look at him, and Qiu Xuning’s cheeks flushed slightly. He said embarrassedly, “I accidentally clicked wrong, can you send it again?”

He Zhiyuan turned his gaze away and sent the application to Qiu Xuning again.

This time, Qiu Xuning successfully clicked “agree.” The two characters stood together, and Qiu Xuning didn’t know what He Zhiyuan had done. Suddenly, He Zhiyuan’s white European strongman character started dancing on the spot, swaying left and right, with a hint of flirtatiousness amidst the masculinity.

Qiu Xuning stared in shock, his heart skipping a few beats. “Wh–what is this?”

He Zhiyuan reached his hand over, and his warm palm covered Qiu Xuning’s hand. He controlled the mouse through Qiu Xuning’s hand and clicked on a spot on the screen. Immediately, a round option popped up. He Zhiyuan clicked on a shape, and soon the Asian-faced male character that Qiu Xuning had chosen started dancing, moving his hands and feet.

Qiu Xuning was amused. “How is there even such a feature?”

He Zhiyuan looked at his bright and intense eyes lit up by the computer screen. His gaze slightly lowered, and then he leaned forward slightly.

Qiu Xuning only felt a soft and warm touch on his cheek with a slight tingling and numbing sensation. He froze for a moment, but quickly came to his senses. He turned his head to look at He Zhiyuan, but just like that, he had already straightened up as if nothing had happened. The soft sound of him clicking the mouse gently echoed, almost like it was tapping on Qiu Xuning’s heart.

Qiu Xuning’s cheeks had already turned red, and a thin layer of moisture appeared in his eyes. “Y–you…”

He couldn’t say anything.

He Zhiyuan said, “Start the game, prepare.”

His voice was calm, as if nothing had happened just now.

Qiu Xuning pressed his lips together, turned his head, and his gaze landed on the computer. He grabbed the mouse and clicked ‘start game,’ entering the game.

Qiu Xuning had seen others play this game, which suddenly became popular this year. Many people in the class were playing, and it was all the rage. It had become so popular that even girls were playing it. However, Qiu Xuning had never played it and was still unfamiliar with it.

The game had a bit of a noisy sound. Qiu Xuning glanced at the headphones placed beside him, then looked away. His mind wandered back to what had just happened, that feeling—the touch of He Zhiyuan’s lips on his cheek. Qiu Xuning recalled the sensation just now. It was soft with a gentle warmth… There was still a slight tingling sensation on his right cheek.

Qiu Xuning couldn’t help but turn his head to look at He Zhiyuan. It felt like an emotion inside him was growing stronger, making him unconsciously release the mouse and rest his hand on the armrest of He Zhiyuan’s chair. Because of their height difference, his hips slightly lifted by a few inches. He slightly raised his body, trying to mimic what He Zhiyuan had done to him earlier and kiss him back.

Yet before he could lean in, Qiu Xuning quickly regained his senses. His courage deflated like a punctured balloon, making him feel so embarrassed that his cheeks turned bright red. His bottom immediately dropped back down.

His movement didn’t make any sound, and He Zhiyuan probably didn’t notice his little intentions. He was looking intently at the computer screen and said in a low voice, “Go skydiving with me.”

Qiu Xuning wiped his hot face and mumbled a soft “Mhm.” Although he didn’t know how to play games, at least he was obedient. Whatever He Zhiyuan asked him to do, he did it.

They formed a four-player team. Apart from Qiu Xuning and He Zhiyuan, there were two other people. One of them turned on the microphone and said, “Are there any girls here? Girls, turn on the mic and talk.”

It was a somewhat pleasant-sounding male voice. He Zhiyuan glanced at Qiu Xuning and said, “Turn off the mic.”

Qiu Xuning was still studying the page and finally found the microphone in a small corner. He turned off the mic, and by then, his character had almost landed.

“What do we do now?” Qiu Xuning asked, feeling a bit confused.

He Zhiyuan taught him, “Pick up a gun—the health bar is in the lower left corner. When the health bar runs out, the character will die…”

There weren’t many people where he landed, so he calmly taught Qiu Xuning how to quickly get the hang of the game.

Qiu Xuning, after all, was a boy—he had a natural feel for games. In no time, he understood the basics of the game and quickly got the hang of it.

The two teammates also landed in this desolate place with them. A white girl in a school uniform skirt ran up to Qiu Xuning, took off the green hat from her head, crouched down, then stood up, signaling.

Qiu Xuning didn’t understand what she was doing, so he turned his head to look at He Zhiyuan, but saw him killing someone. With just a few shots, he killed one person.

In this game, when a person dies, they turn into a box.

Qiu Xuning finally found it interesting. He shifted his gaze and looked at his own screen, where a line of text appeared—his teammate’s channel information, asking him to pick up the hat.

Only then did Qiu Xuning realize that the white girl had come over to give him equipment. He didn’t take it, and his character ran past him. It hadn’t run far when Qiu Xuning’s character was surrounded by a layer of green mist, and the sound of gunfire came from behind him.

Qiu Xuning jumped in shock, still not fully reacting. Then, more gunshots rang out from behind him. He turned around to look and saw He Zhiyuan fiercely attacking their own teammate, knocking the teammate down.

“Why did you shoot him?” Qiu Xuning asked.

He Zhiyuan glanced at him, controlled his character to walk over to him, and dropped an energy drink and a first aid kit. “Use these to replenish health.”

As He Zhiyuan said that, Qiu Xuning thought it over, realizing that it was probably his teammate who had attacked him. He used the energy drink He Zhiyuan gave him and skipped over to him. “What will happen to him? Will he die?”

He Zhiyuan said in a low voice, “Don’t worry about him.”

Qiu Xuning said, “…Actually, he’s pretty nice, he even gave me a helmet.”

Although it’s a green hat.

He Zhiyuan listened, then fired a few shots at his teammate, immediately turning him into a box. He then turned on the mic, and the voice behind the white girl character turned out to be that pleasant-sounding male voice. At this point, he angrily cursed in the channel.

He Zhiyuan turned off the mic and continued playing with Qiu Xuning. After one round ended, they even won the game. They played round after round, and Qiu Xuning became more and more skilled—already familiar with all the rules of the game.

This kind of game is probably very easy to get addicted to. In the blink of an eye, two hours had passed. Qiu Xuning didn’t want to leave yet, so he turned his head and asked He Zhiyuan, “Let’s play a little longer?”

They played for another two hours. Qiu Xuning played for two more hours, and his cheeks were tinged with a light excited flush. Just now, they won first place again.

He Zhiyuan said, “‘That’s enough, it’s time to go home.'”

Qiu Xuning still looked at the character page on the computer with some reluctance. He hadn’t spoken yet when an invitation to join a team suddenly popped up.

Qiu Xuning was quick with his hands and immediately clicked ‘agree.’

As soon as the afro-haired black woman appeared, a male voice immediately came through, “‘He Zhiyuan? Is that you?'”

His tone carried surprise and disbelief, as if he couldn’t believe He Zhiyuan would appear in the game.

Qiu Xuning listened, then turned his head to look at He Zhiyuan. He Zhiyuan’s expression was calm, with almost no reaction.