Chapter 1: Blind Dates

“I’m sorry, I think we don’t really match.”

After saying this, Yu Ning instinctively glanced up at the person sitting opposite him.

The person was very attractive, with a classic “peach blossom eye” that made them look captivating even when they remained expressionless. However, when they didn’t smile, it gave the impression that they were somewhat cold and intimidating.

The person didn’t respond to Yu Ning’s words. Instead, they barely opened their eyes, their gaze drifting past Yu Ning’s features, as if they were either thinking or observing.

Their eyes carried a sense of distance and slight scrutiny.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Yu Ning lowered his head slightly and blinked repeatedly, not daring to look back at the person. After all, anyone who was rejected so quickly by such a person would definitely feel upset.

This was Yu Ning’s first blind date. Normally, he had just celebrated his 20th birthday a few days earlier, so he was still young and not yet ready for a blind date.

But Yu Ning was openly gay. Since middle school, he had realized his sexual orientation was different from others, and he had confessed to his family. Even after many years, Yu Ning had never been in a relationship. Not to mention having a crush on anyone—he hadn’t even experienced that.

Perhaps because he had spent so many years feeling neglected, his family couldn’t bear to see him suffer anymore, so they forced him to go on a blind date.

Before meeting the person, Yu Ning had already made up his mind in his heart: he didn’t want to find a boyfriend right now, and he didn’t want either party to waste time.

But after meeting the person, Yu Ning thought, “Why would I choose a professional athlete for a blind date?”

Thinking this, Yu Ning secretly glanced at the person sitting opposite him again.

The person was looking down at their phone, clearly dealing with some issues. Their brows were furrowed tightly, and their long, beautiful fingers moved rapidly across the screen, occasionally making light taps.

Perhaps sensing his gaze, the person raised their head again, their eyes directly fixed on Yu Ning. Their frown gradually disappeared, and they asked, “What did you just say?”

Under such attention, Yu Ning’s mind momentarily froze. Fortunately, he quickly recovered and repeated, “I’m sorry, Mr. Lu, but I think we aren’t a good match.”

It wasn’t clear if he understood, as he asked, “Where do you mean we’re not a good match?” His tone showed confusion.

Yu Ning wondered if it was an illusion, but he felt like the person was looking at his ears. Uncomfortable, he moved his neck slightly. After a moment of thought, he replied seriously, “I don’t currently have any plans to date.”

The person nodded, tapped the table lightly a few times, and didn’t continue with Yu Ning’s reply. Instead, they asked, “What would you like to eat?”

“Do you prefer Chinese or Western food? The dishes here are quite good…”

Yu Ning paused for a few seconds. Since the person had changed the subject, he didn’t want to continue with what he had said earlier.

Seeing that the person started flipping through the menu, Yu Ning let out a long sigh and interrupted before they could say anything. “Mr. Lu, please order two servings of vegetables.”

The person glanced at him without refusal and quickly ordered from the waiter.

The two fell silent again.

Yu Ning touched his phone, but the person across from him wasn’t looking at it; instead, they were staring at him, making Yu Ning feel awkward and reluctant to look down at his phone. The phone kept vibrating in his hand, with messages from unknown sources. He didn’t want to look at them.

The atmosphere was extremely awkward. Yu Ning took several deep breaths, trying to say something to break the awkwardness, but his gaze was blocked by the person’s fixed stare.

It had to be admitted that his date was indeed very handsome. No wonder he was considered the hardest man to find in the entire esports community.

The man’s name was Lu Juan, and he was the captain of TVT Team. A week ago, TVT Team won the championship in the global tournament. For a time, everything about TVT Team became a hot topic of discussion in the esports community.

Especially the captain, Lu Juan, who came from the LOL academy. However, since there were no opportunities for young players in the team, he couldn’t join the main team. So, he switched to the then-unknown TVT Team and joined the PUBG division.

But what was most discussed about Lu Juan was his looks.

Unlike other professional players, Lu Juan was very handsome. Both in the esports community and the entertainment industry, his looks were impressive. But at the same time, he had a very bad temper. He treated both teammates and fans with the same attitude. Because of his impressive looks, few dared to date him improperly.

Yu Ning really couldn’t understand why such a person would agree to date him.

Fortunately, the food arrived soon after.

Lu Juan ordered Chinese food, simple home-cooked dishes. Yu Ning had already eaten before he arrived, so he intended to leave after finishing his meal, without planning to share a lunch with his date.

During the meal, Lu Juan didn’t speak much. He ate attentively, without even glancing at Yu Ning once. This gave Yu Ning some relief.

Midway through, Lu Juan’s phone rang.

Frowning and lowering his eyes, Lu Juan seemed impatient, as if he wanted to hang up the phone. But after seeing the caller ID, he reluctantly picked up the phone and glanced at Yu Ning. “I’ll take this call.”

Yu Ning had no objections. Since Lu Juan wasn’t there, he felt more relaxed.

Just then, the phone vibrated several times.

The person sending messages to Yu Ning was his college roommate and good friend, Song Zhao.

[Why isn’t you streaming today?]

[Are you really going on a blind date?]

[Bao Ding, if you get kidnapped, just blink.]

Yu Ning: ……

Yu Ning glanced at Lu Juan’s back. He was leaning against the window, talking on the phone, with one hand in his pocket. Even in casual clothes, he still stood tall, with broad shoulders and a slender waist. Just by looking at his back, Yu Ning thought he was very handsome.

Yu Ning: [I’m going on a blind date.]

Thinking for a moment, Yu Ning frowned and typed, [What if we meet a professional athlete on that date?]

Song Zhao, seemingly having nothing better to do, replied instantly, [Do I look easy to deceive? Which professional athlete would have time to go on blind dates?]

Yu Ning: [……]

Song Zhao: Even professional players aren’t suitable for those chubby guys; they can’t compete with you. I’ve heard that before.

Like Yu Ning, Song Zhao is also a natural curves-person. They have known each other since middle school and have been friends for several years. As soon as he said this, Yu Ning had a bad feeling.

Song Zhao: Men who play games well usually don’t last long, as they’re very sensitive.

Yu Ning: ……

Song Zhao: And look, professional players are all fat; what about the stamina and endurance of chubby guys? Do you understand?

Yu Ning glanced at Lu Juan again, her gaze landing precisely on his back.

He touched his slightly hot earlobes. Song Zhao continued to give some random information, but she didn’t want to continue reading and quickly typed, “But my date is Lu Juan.”

Song Zhao: If your date were Lu Juan, then my husband would be Wu Yanzu!

Yu Ning: I’m serious. Do I look like I’m lying?

Song Zhao: You’re not the only one who deceives me. With an innocent face, who knows what’s really inside you?

Yu Ning remained silent for a while, deciding not to pay attention to Song Zhao anymore.

But Song Zhao kept posting.

“If your date is really Lu Juan, can you check if his nose looks as good in video?”

“I have some matters to take care of at the base.” As soon as Yu Ning finished reading the message, she heard Lu Juan’s voice in her ear.

Yu Ning hurriedly put away her phone, and when she looked up, she met Lu Juan’s eyes.

Lu Juan was standing on the right side of the table, unsure if he had seen the messages on his phone. His eyelids were half-closed, and his expression wasn’t very pleasant. Before Yu Ning could respond, he continued, “Let’s talk on WeChat after we get back.”

Yu Ning remained silent for a brief moment. “I think we…”

Before he could finish, Lu Juan had already put on his mask, leaving only his eyes visible. His expression was even more indifferent than before.

“What?” Through the mask, Lu Juan’s voice sounded slightly nasal and hoarse.

Yu Ning instinctively shook her head. Before she could react, Lu Juan nodded and glanced at her again. “Let’s go.”

It seemed the team had urgent matters to handle, so Lu Juan left quickly.

–

“So it ends here? No further contact? No messages on WeChat?” Song Zhao’s voice came through the phone.

Yu Ning closed the door and turned on the light.

Even in August, the room was still quite quiet. Yu Ning glanced at the somewhat messy sofa. “No.”

It had been almost a week since the blind date. On that day, Lu Juan had indeed added Yu Ning to his WeChat. It was probably done by her elders, and Yu Ning didn’t dare to refuse directly.

Fortunately, Lu Juan seemed to have other plans as well. Neither of them contacted the other.

Song Zhao clicked twice. “Sure enough, those who play games well have more stubborn hearts. They say they’ll keep in touch, but actually cut off all contact.”

While cleaning the sofa, Yu Ning replied, “It’s good that I’m not good at playing games, so I don’t have such stubborn hearts.”

“I won’t say more. I need to start broadcasting now. I still have a long way to go this month.”

When there were no classes, Yu Ning would stream on the Wild Leopard streaming platform. He was attractive, had a decent voice, and his streams gained some popularity. He signed a contract with the platform early on, which provided a fixed monthly salary along with required streaming hours. To avoid disturbing his roommates, Yu Ning rented a house with others outside the school.

Fortunately, his roommates rarely came; only occasionally would they make the common living room a mess.

After finishing the call with Song Zhao, Yu Ning cleaned up the living room. As soon as he turned on his computer, a bunch of messages appeared in the streaming group. It almost caused a crash to his computer.

Usually, very few people participated in this QQ group, as the streamers who got along well had their own smaller groups, and only the platform administrator occasionally posted messages there.

After the computer recovered, Yu Ning found the new posts by the group announcement. There were two messages in total.

“Dear streamers, the ‘Streamer Matchup’ event is coming up…”

“We have received notice that the TVT PUBG division will join this platform. During the first month, streamers and professional players will interact through interactive streams randomly…”

The Yebao Platform is an established platform, and many professional teams actually join it every year. However, it’s well known that since its establishment, TVT has never signed any contract with any streaming platform. Yu Ning also heard some rumors earlier, saying that the platform offered TVT a large amount of payment for signing, but they still refused. At that time, there were also rumors that TVT was supported by wealthy individuals, who didn’t want to spend that much money on streaming services, and even refused to take on any advertising endorsements.

Most of the discussions in the group were about how TVT suddenly joined the platform. With TVT’s current strength and popularity, it really doesn’t need to waste too much time on streaming. Some people even asked the admin how this arrangement was decided, as taking advantage of professional players’ popularity is a great opportunity. Moreover, TVT also has Lu Juan among their team members. If anyone gets lucky enough to stream with Lu Juan, their popularity will surely skyrocket.

Yu Ning glanced through it briefly and decided not to pay further attention. He wasn’t very interested in these matters.

The only thing that attracted him to streaming was his low salary. After all, his gaming skills weren’t very good.

Just as he closed QQ, and hadn’t even had time to open the streaming software, a new message appeared on his phone.

LUJU: [Alive?]