Chapter 4: Lu Juan

After finishing her message, Yu Ning put her phone aside and smiled apologetically at the camera. “Sorry, I just sent a message just now. The lottery countdown has started. Let’s see which lucky person will take me to eat chicken.”

“I think it’s me! Let’s eat chicken in reverse together!”

“Ahahaha, why did Zhou Jue decline the double team invitation?!”

“Sister, don’t get excited. It’s not said that Baby must be in a double team with someone.”

“Please let Zhou Jue go! The lessons from before are still fresh in our minds. Sisters, don’t say it out loud.”

Yu Ning didn’t respond to these comments but started the lottery directly.

“Let me see. Does winning the prize mean girls can’t play games?”

After Yu Ning finished reading, someone immediately claimed their prize. It was a girl.

……

……

Yu Ning’s livestream didn’t last long. Just a few hours, and he already felt exhausted. Playing games wasn’t enough; he also had to worry about the quality of his livestream.

Seeing the darkening screen, Yu Ning finally took a sigh of relief.

The house was very quiet, and it wasn’t yet dark outside. He went to the kitchen to cook, then returned to the bedroom.

The messages she sent back to Lu Juan still hadn’t been replied to.

He stared at Lu Juan’s profile picture for a while. Just as he was about to leave, he received a friend request.

Zhou Jue: “I’m Zhou Jue.”

Yu Ning was stunned for a moment.

Zhou Jue’s real name is Zhou Jue. You know that, but they haven’t crossed paths before. The only time Yu Ning saw Zhou Jue’s business card was a few times in the streaming group. Moreover, before becoming a streamer, Yu Ning did watch Zhou Jue’s streams. However, Zhou Jue succeeded through his skills, and Yu Ning couldn’t learn that style of streaming.

He hesitated for a while before adding him as a friend.

Zhou Jue must be waiting, sending a message immediately.

Zhou Jue: [Yu Ning?]

Yu Ning frowned slightly, not thinking much about how he might know her real name, just replied that she was there.

Zhou Jue: [Do you know about the “Partner Match” event on the platform?]

Yu Ning had seen it before. Essentially, it’s when two streamers work together to compete for popularity. Usually, big streamers wouldn’t involve smaller ones.

Before he could reply, Zhou Jue sent another message.

Zhou Jue: [I didn’t mean anything else. I just want to ask if you’re willing to connect with me. You only need to act during streams, which will help boost your popularity.]

Zhou Jue: [You can consider it.]

What Zhou Jue said was quite subtle, but Yu Ning understood. It’s common for streamers to flirt or create romantic relationships between themselves. They might give viewers some sweet words during streams, but after the show ends, they might not even remember those words.

But since Zhou Jue was a big streamer, there was no need to involve him.

Yu Ning frowned, waiting for half a minute before seriously typing her refusal.

Yu Ning: [Sorry, senior, I have no intention of participating in this event. You can find someone else.]

One reason was that he didn’t want to participate, and the main reason was to avoid being associated with anyone.

This time, Zhou Jue didn’t reply immediately.

Without thinking further, Yu Ning picked up a textbook from the nearby bookshelf and began reading. This semester, he was in his third year, and his coursework had become much more demanding, so he needed to spend more time preparing for exams.

Only when it became dark outside did Yu Ning realize how much time had passed.

He checked his phone to see the time, only to find that Lu Juan had sent a message back.

LUJU: [Mr. Lu, do I look old?]

It was two minutes ago.

Just with that single sentence, Yu Ning suddenly felt a burning sensation in his ears, recalling the time in the restaurant when Lu Juan stared at him.

Even now, he still couldn’t understand why someone like Lu Juan would need to participate in blind dates.

He hurriedly tried to type an explanation, but before he could send it, Lu Juan sent another message.

LUJU: [Just call me Lu Juan.]

Yu Ning: ……

Unconsciously, Yu Ning touched his earlobe; the temperature was indeed higher than his palms, not his imagination.

He slowly deleted the message and started over, trying to figure out what to reply. Since he kept typing, Lu Juan seemed impatient and sent another message.

LUJU: [My parents would like to have you dinner next month. Do you have time?]

Upon seeing the message, Yu Ning stood still for a few seconds.

Earlier, during the blind date, he had told Lu Juan that they didn’t seem suitable for each other.

Although, to be fair, Lu Juan’s face is indeed very handsome, and Yu Ning, being a traditional natural curve, really likes this kind of appearance in people. However, liking someone’s face isn’t the same as choosing to date them.

It’s not that Lu Juan and Yu Ning met through a blind date; even if they had met beforehand, Lu Juan still gave off an impression of being somewhat untrustworthy. Moreover, Lu Juan is a professional athlete.

After some thought, he finally replied to Lu Juan.

Yu Ning: “I’m sorry, Mr. Lu, but I think we really aren’t a good match for each other. I’ll talk things through with my maternal grandmother. Could you please tell my uncle and aunt as well?”

His words were quite straightforward.

After sending the message, Yu Ning took a deep breath. He randomly touched the book he was holding under his arm. After waiting for a while, when Lu Juan still didn’t reply, he glanced at the air conditioner in the room. The temperature was indeed 23 degrees. Why did he feel it was hotter today than usual?

After a few minutes, Lu Juan sent several messages back.

LUJU: “I understand.”

“You know, it’s not easy to find a partner for a professional athlete. They spend their days sitting in front of computers, with no other forms of entertainment. Their personalities are also quite rigid.”

“I came out about early on. My parents were very anxious, fearing that I wouldn’t have anyone to date after I retired. That’s why they arranged a blind date.”

“Our team manager is 31 years old this year. You’ve probably heard of him before. He was also a professional athlete and remains single to this day.”

“My parents will definitely try to find me another partner.”

Xu Ming was discussing live streaming with Nan Bei. Suddenly, his nose itched, and he sneezed. Then he glanced at the air conditioner in the training room and muttered, “That’s strange. It’s over thirty degrees outside. Shouldn’t I catch a cold?”

Nan Bei let out a sigh and slowly shifted his gaze back to Lu Juan. “With the speed the captain uses, when can I keep up?”

He had just watched as the captain typed away at the computer, without even glancing down. In the blink of an eye, several lines of text appeared on the screen.

Although he couldn’t read what was written, he felt it was incredibly impressive.

Xu Ming snapped, “I’m telling you, what are you doing? Watch what the captain is doing!”

His voice was loud. After speaking, Lu Juan turned to look at him. Xu Ming’s nose itched again. Just as he wanted to ask what was wrong, he saw Lu Juan giving him a vague smile.

Xu Ming was completely confused.

After sending the message, Lu Juan leaned back comfortably in his chair, continuing to watch Chen Jie practicing gun pressure using a mini-program.

It took a while before a WeChat notification appeared on the screen.

Yu Ning: “Sorry, I think this is a bit abrupt.”

The corners of Lu Juan’s slightly pursed lips sank slightly. He hummed softly, “Haven’t you slept yet?”

Chen Jie shuddered and subconsciously glanced at the captain. Seeing that he was still staring at the computer, she quietly exhaled with relief. Before she could retract her gaze, she saw the captain looking at her with a hint of displeasure in his eyes.

“C—Captain, who else should I talk to?” Chen Jie shook the flesh on her face.

Lu Juan sneered. “Who else? Besides you, who else can’t be woken up by twenty alarms?”

Chen Jie: “……Oh……”

He immediately went back to practice.

After practicing for a while, he felt something wasn’t right. Why had he just seen something on the team leader’s computer that said “it’s hard to find partners for professional athletes”?

Wasn’t there enough people who delivered goods to the team leader every day? Even those who were overweight had female fans who followed them.

–

Yu Ning waited for a while, but seeing that Lu Juan didn’t reply, she took her phone out to eat dinner.

The dinner was simple. With the hot weather, Yu Ning didn’t have much appetite. He took a photo, found his maternal grandmother’s WeChat account, and sent her a message before carefully eating a little.

Not long after dinner, the phone rang.

It was his grandmother calling.

Yu Ning had lived with his grandmother since he was young and was raised by her. He only separated from her after starting college.

His grandmother lived in another city and usually had busy lives. Only when she had time would she call to check on him. But Yu Ning knew that his grandmother did this to avoid making him worry too much.

Since Yu Ning returned home for his 20th birthday, his grandmother mentioned going on a blind date. Since then, they hadn’t spoken on the phone. Yu Ning wanted to call himself, but the old lady had difficulty hearing and always didn’t answer his calls.

“Grandmother!” Yu Ning’s tone became much lighter when she answered, and her face showed more smile.

The old lady on the other end laughed. “Ah, Ning, I saw your dinner message. Eat more, you’re too thin. You’re much thinner now than when you were in high school.”

Yu Ning responded twice, “I know, Grandmother, you’ve come back from playing cards, right?”

The old man answered, and they discussed each other’s lives for a while. Then the old man suddenly asked, “How was that matchmaker last time?”

Yu Ning paused for a moment before softly saying, “Grandmother, I think we aren’t very suitable for each other…”

To be honest, he wouldn’t have gone if it wasn’t for the matchmaking request from his grandmother.

Since childhood, her grandmother never asked him to do anything; she only got stubborn when it came to finding a partner for him.

Yu Ning thought his grandmother would try to persuade him, but instead, after he finished speaking, she said, “No worries, there are several candidates here. You can send me the photos later and choose by yourself. Go meet them when you’re free over the weekend, okay?”

Yu Ning: “…?”

“What’s wrong, Ningning? You’re sure, right? Grandmother will definitely find someone you’ll like.”

Yu Ning remained silent.

He thought his grandmother had only prepared one candidate, since when she first told him, she praised Lu Juan as being unmatched in the world. But that was just a trick the matchmakers used.

Yu Ning didn’t say anything, but his grandmother continued, “There’s also a graduate student from your school. She’s pretty attractive, and she’s even happy to meet you again. How about meeting them this weekend?”

Without waiting for Yu Ning’s reply, his grandmother had already made arrangements. Everything she said was meant to persuade him.

The smile on Yu Ning’s face had faded significantly. He really didn’t want to go on blind dates or date at all. He was still young, and it wasn’t yet time when his maternal grandmother expected him to be without someone by his side.

Besides… he didn’t believe there could be anyone better-looking than Lu Juan for a blind date.

It seemed that his grandmother was genuinely eager, and he couldn’t refuse her request.

After a long pause, Yu Ning hesitantly said, “No… Grandmother, I think I and Mr. Lu can still continue our conversation.”

Grandmother’s voice paused, clearly with a smile, “That’s good! By the way, don’t give me money. Your father gave me money a few days ago. If you need it, I’ll transfer it to you.”

Hearing this, Yu Ning’s previously faint smile turned cold. But he didn’t want to say anything in front of his grandmother, so he simply replied, “Okay.”

After hanging up, Yu Ning stared at his phone, lost in thought.

Half an hour later, he opened the chat with Lu Juan, feeling somewhat awkward about sending a message.

Yu Ning: [Lu Juan… are you still serious about what you said just now?]

[Is it too late to regret now?]

If he had known earlier, why had he been so decisive in refusing in the first place?

Yu Ning was on the verge of crying.