Chapter 5: Oh My God, That's Too Sweet — I'm Dying!

Call me Master, my ass!

Jiang Wan ground her back teeth together, stabbing at the screen so hard it clattered.

Nice2MeetYou: [No can do. You have to agree to be my boyfriend first.]

The man replied instantly.

Lie: [Scram.]

As expected — this guy would never cave!

Nice2MeetYou: [(｡-﹏-｡)]

Nice2MeetYou: [I'm ignoring you. Going to the library to study.]

Boston. The apartment next door to Shang Shixu's.

Pei Heyun reclined in a gaming chair, eyes on the screen showing the competitive game AZ.

He was solo-queueing ranked. Teammate after teammate cycled through — not a single one worth a damn.

"Boring."

He muttered, picked up his phone, and opened a gaming companion app — TT.

The homepage pushed a lineup of companion profiles. Good-looking guys and girls across the board, but Pei Heyun was immune to all of it.

He tapped into the companion leaderboard. Sitting at number one was an ID: "CurlyMeatball."

Profile picture: a puffed-up orange tabby cat.

Bio: Skilled gaming companion. Sweet or sassy, your call. No feeding, no acting. Not satisfied? No charge.

Approval rating: ninety-eight percent.

Pei Heyun raised an eyebrow and placed an order for one hour without hesitation.

Meanwhile, S University library, Haicheng.

Jiang Wan sat at a third-floor window seat, laptop open in front of her.

On screen was the writing contest Li Zhile had sent her.

She opened a document and was about to start typing when her phone buzzed on the table.

She glanced down — a TT backend notification.

[New order received. Please accept promptly.]

Jiang Wan picked up her phone and opened the app.

She scanned the client's profile: low account level, but a hefty top-up balance. Definitely someone with money to burn.

She fired off her standard greeting:

CurlyMeatball: [Hi there, boss! When would you like to start?]

Boston.

Pei Heyun checked the time — past nine at night.

SickMovesOnly: [Half an hour from now. Gonna grab a shower first.]

CurlyMeatball: [Got it, boss~]

Pei Heyun tossed his phone onto the desk and whistled his way into the bathroom.

Back in Haicheng, Jiang Wan closed her laptop and slipped quietly out of the library.

She cut through the cherry blossom avenue, skirted half the athletic field.

Reaching the dorm building, she bumped into a few underclassmen she recognized.

The girls' eyes lit up when they saw her.

One of them stepped forward. "Senior, do you have a link for that dress?"

Jiang Wan blinked, then smiled. "Bought it in a store."

The girl's face fell, unable to hide her disappointment.

Jiang Wan tilted her head. "Why don't you take a photo and search for a similar one online?"

The girl brightened immediately. "Thanks, senior!"

"No problem."

Jiang Wan stood still and let her snap the photo. The girl was thoughtful — kept her phone low, deliberately avoiding Jiang Wan's face.

Afterwards, the girl thanked her again.

Jiang Wan headed back to the dorm in good spirits. Inside, only Zhou Feiyan was there.

She sat in her chair, feet planted on the seat, knees drawn up to her chest — hugging her legs and gnawing on a duck neck.

A phone stand on the desk held her phone, playing a hit idol drama.

She glanced up fast when Jiang Wan walked in, eyes immediately glueing back to the screen. "You're back?"

"Got a client order for a gaming session."

Jiang Wan set down her laptop bag and pulled out a chair as she spoke.

Zhou Feiyan gave an "Oh."

Jiang Wan had been doing gaming companion work for over two years. The whole dorm was long used to it.

"Ahhh!"

Zhou Feiyan suddenly shrieked, startling Jiang Wan.

"What?"

She turned to see Zhou Feiyan excitedly holding up her half-eaten duck neck, turning sideways to show off her phone screen.

"Look at Shen Che's smile right here!"

"He's so gorgeous!"

"First actor I ever stanned, and he still delivers!"

Using her pinky finger — the only one not greasy — Zhou Feiyan rewound the progress bar by seven or eight seconds.

Jiang Wan glanced at her screen. On it, the male lead played by Shen Che stood in sunlight, turning back to flash the female lead a brilliant smile.

Clean. Gentle. Impossibly beautiful.

More dazzling than in her memory.

Jiang Wan watched the clip, then met Zhou Feiyan's sparkling eyes and smiled. "Very handsome."

"Right?!" Zhou Feiyan wore the satisfied look of someone whose taste had been validated. She continued, "Shen Che is the kind of man who gets more addictive the more you look at him!"

"Wanwan, I'm telling you — you need to stan him."

"Trust me, you will fall for him."

Jiang Wan's dimples appeared. "No need to sell me. I'm already a little fan of his."

"Huh?"

Zhou Feiyan blinked. "How come you never mentioned that before?"

Jiang Wan's tone stayed light. "You never asked."

"Fair point." Zhou Feiyan nodded, then dove in with keen interest. "When did you start stanning him?"

Jiang Wan blinked. Her pace of speech slowed without her noticing. "Um... a long time ago."

She didn't say more. Instead, she turned and pulled out her laptop, then grabbed a mechanical keyboard from the shelf and connected it via an adapter.

Seeing her enter work mode, Zhou Feiyan sensibly put on her earbuds and went back to her drama.

Jiang Wan opened TT. The client "SickMovesOnly" had sent a new message.

SickMovesOnly: [Add me in-game. I'll host the room.]

CurlyMeatball: [Copy that, boss. One moment.]

Jiang Wan quickly logged into the game, typed in the ID, and sent a friend request.

It was accepted almost instantly.

She picked up her over-ear headset and adjusted the mic.

"Boss, can you hear me?"

Her voice was clear and sweet — soft in just the right measure, but never cloying.

This was her "service voice," something she'd spent a long time perfecting.

Boston.

Pei Heyun, dressed in designer boxer briefs, sat in his gaming chair. One hand on the mouse, smoothly swapping gear in-game.

A female voice came through his headset without warning — and his hand froze mid-click.

"Damn, this voice is so pure it makes your imagination run wild."

He blurted it out under his breath, then thanked his lucky stars he hadn't turned on his own mic yet.

He quickly hit the push-to-talk, cleared his throat. "Uh... yeah, I hear you."

"So... don't call me boss, it feels weird."

Jiang Wan: "Then what should I call you?"

Pei Heyun's eyes darted. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-one."

"Heh. I'm twenty-two."

"Call me bro. I'll keep ordering from you."

Two seconds of silence.

Then the girl's voice came through the headset — sweet, unforced, natural.

"Okay, bro."

Pei Heyun clamped a hand over his mouth, eyes crinkling into slits.

Oh my god.

That's too sweet — I'm dying!

Two hundred an hour for this companion was absolutely worth it!

Joy flooding his chest, he couldn't wait to share it with the guy in the apartment next door.

"Meatball, hold on a sec. Let me send a message."

Jiang Wan: "Sure, no rush."

Pei Heyun grabbed his phone and fired off a message to Shang Shixu.

[Xu-ge, come play AZ with us!]

Five or six seconds later, the reply came:

[Hold on.]

Pei Heyun saw the response, tossed his phone aside, and spoke into his mic. "Meatball, I'm pulling in a friend to play with us. You mind?"

"Not at all."

Jiang Wan said it casually, picking up a yogurt from her desk, puncturing the seal, and taking a sip.

Pei Heyun created a four-player matchmaking room.

Two slots sat empty — one waiting for Shang Shixu, the other for a random fill once the game started.

He pulled Jiang Wan in, and was about to go nag Shang Shixu again, when a prompt suddenly popped up on screen.

X has entered the room.

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