“What’s wrong?” If Lu Yan hadn’t been driving, he would have turned around to comfort him; as it was, he could only fret helplessly.

“Don’t cry, don’t be upset. Did something happen?”

“Sniff… It’s nothing…” Jian Xingyi managed to compose himself just in time.

Jian Xingyi took the tissue Lu Yan handed him to wipe his face, then took a deep breath and said, “I’m fine.”

Lu Yan: “…Really?”

Jian Xingyi waved his hand. “Oh, it’s just a broken heart. No big deal.” He hadn’t even met Shanhai yet; maybe it didn’t even count as a broken heart.

Lu Yan’s grip on the steering wheel tightened uncontrollably. “A broken heart?”

Who was this ungrateful jerk…

In his memory, Jian Xingyi was always cheerful and gentle— how could he possibly break down crying like this in front of a stranger?

Jian Xingyi sighed, “I met him in the game—that Shanhai from Dawn’s Break…” 

“……”

“???”

Lu·The-Unappreciative-Shanhai·Yan, looking utterly incredulous,

“What’s your ID?” 

“Xinghe.”

“……”

Isn’t Xinghe… a girl? Wait a minute.

Loves gardening, has a sweet tooth, and a cute way of speaking…

Jian Xingyi sighed, “I finally mustered the courage to confess my feelings for the first time in my life… Ah, never mind. Wait, what did you just say? Do you want to be friends? What’s your ID?”

“……”

“Mr. Lu?”

Lu Yan replied with difficulty, “Let’s… talk about it later. I forgot.”

“Huh? Oh…”

Lu Yan remained silent for a long time, with only the faint light of dawn breaking through the car window. This blind date had started way too early.

He was kicking himself, his heart was aching, and his brain was racing—trying to figure out which turn to take.

This press conference was gonna be a disaster; there was no time left.

By the time Jian Xingyi finished speaking, the car had already entered the parking garage of the press conference building. The veins on the back of Lu Yan’s hand were bulging.

Jian Xingyi turned his head and asked, “Are we here? We… Huh? Mr. Lu, why do you look so pale!” 

Just as Lu Yan was about to say something, a large group of people burst out of the building.

The person at the front held a banner reading “Welcome Shanhai,” followed by others carrying bouquets of flowers and cameras.

Lu Yan: “……”

A staff member stepped forward to help Lu Yan open the door, then invited him to get out of the car, and opened the passenger-side door for Jian Xingyi as well.

“Sir, you’re here. If you don’t mind, we’d like to turn on the camera and do a quick interview with you. Would that be okay?”

Lu Yan turned to look at Jian Xingyi. At first, Jian Xingyi looked blank, but after a moment, he simply smiled and said, “Go ahead with your work. I’ll take a look around first.” With that, Jian Xingyi strode away.

Lu Yan couldn’t leave just yet, so he turned around, suppressed his emotions, and focused on the interview.

After Jian Xingyi left, he hid in a corner, burying his face in his hands, his mind screaming in agony.

How could someone… how could someone lose face three times in front of the same person…!

Some people may appear to be alive, but they are already dead inside.

The blow was too much; Jian Xingyi felt completely dazed.

After regaining his composure, Jian Xingyi took a deep breath, opened his phone, and blocked Lu Yan on WeChat. Bastard.

On the other hand, after finishing the interview, Lu Yan was escorted to the green room.

“Big Shot Shanhai, are you really not going to do a live stream?” a staff member asked eagerly. “You’re so handsome—a live stream would definitely heat things up.”

“Wow, my follower count is skyrocketing!”

Lu Yan shook his head. “I don’t make money from live streaming.”

Besides, he didn’t even stream at first—Zhou Xiaole managed the account. He just went live periodically, and it only went viral because his gameplay was so impressive.

“So… you’re not considering it?”

“No.” He played games just for fun; his time belonged to his family, his beloved career, and… the person he liked.

“Hmm… Alright.” The staff member sensed that even though Lu Yan was still speaking politely, he seemed a bit impatient, so he tactfully excused himself and left without further disturbance.

After the staff member left, Lu Yan immediately tried to contact Jian Xingyi. The call didn’t go through—he’d been blocked.

He was blocked on WeChat, too.

Lu Yan logged into the game, and sure enough, Jian Xingyi had blocked his account as well.

…Now he couldn’t reach him at all.

Come to think of it, from Jian Xingyi’s perspective, he might just be a scumbag who’s been stringing him along…

Lu Yan could only hope Jian Xingyi was still at the venue, so he got up and started searching the area. Unfortunately, the press conference was packed with people. Lu Yan weaved through the crowd but never found him.

Lu Yan took a deep breath and called a staff member.

“Hello, I’ve changed my mind.”

On the other end.

Jian Xingyi figured that since he was already there, he might as well take a look around the venue. Right now, he was waiting in line to buy some merchandise, chatting with the couple in front of him.

But the main focus was the person in front of him. Seeing that Jian Xingyi was alone, he looked a bit downcast, so he asked him a question.

After learning his name…

“Jian Xingyi? You’re Jian Xingyi!!”

Jian Xingyi was startled. “Wh-what’s wrong?!”

One of them was named Lin Cang, and the other was Song Yun.

At that moment, the younger Song Yun exclaimed in surprise, “I’ve heard of you! A few years ago, you and Yu Shen released a groundbreaking new program about life that took the world by storm!”

“I wonder how many lives that program developed by your organization has saved!” Lin Cang said, “So even top researchers play games?”

Jian Xingyi was also surprised—so people outside his circle knew about his work?

Jian Xingyi smiled and said, “Yes, Yu Shen is my good friend and colleague. That was a project we worked on together. As for why I play Dawn’s Break, it’s simply because Yu Shen recommended it to me. But he’s been swamped with a new project lately—so busy that I’m practically turning into a single-player gamer.”

Lin Cang said, “Then you should add us as friends and play with us.” The three exchanged usernames.

Lin Cang said with a smile, “Would you like to come hang out with our guild? We’re on the Snow Mountain map, and we’ve recently teamed up with Grapevine Peak.” 

“No, no, I don’t have much to contribute…”

Jian Xingyi sighed. “Why is everything related to Shanhai?”

“Nonsense! You don’t know—most players don’t even bother with this because they’ve maxed out their management skills as you have. That’s why your resources are so scarce. We need supplies when we fight in guild wars.”

Jian Xingyi blinked, “Is that so…? I haven’t paid much attention to that… because I’m a single- player gamer.” 

“Not anymore!”

Jian Xingyi happily joined the new guild. During that time…

【Player 【Shanhai】 has sent you a friend request. Accept?】

【Player 【Shanhai】 has sent you a friend request. Accept?】

【Player 【Shanhai】 has sent you a friend request. Accept?】

Pop-up windows kept appearing.

Jian Xingyi pretended not to see them and swiped them away.

Lin Cang noticed the pop-up and exchanged a glance with Song Yun; both gave him a curious look.

Jian Xingyi gave a nervous laugh. “Maybe it’s just someone with the same last name…”

Lin Cang asked curiously, “Do you know that top player Shanhai?” 

“No, I don’t!”

Speak of the devil.

Not far away, the emcee announced that Shanhai was about to interact with players on stage and demonstrate his gameplay skills.

Jian Xingyi instinctively turned his head and saw the tall man walking slowly onto the stage and sitting down at the computer.

Unfortunately, he was a bit too far from the stage to make out Lu Yan’s face clearly.

Lu Yan’s gameplay was truly impressive; after a brief demonstration, the entire audience erupted in gasps of awe.

Jian Xingyi thought to himself, Lu Yan is a professional race car driver, so speed, precision, and control are second nature to him.

After the demo, Lu Yan stood up for an interview. The host laughed, “Amazing! Absolutely amazing! I remember that the big shot from Shanhai wasn’t planning to make an appearance originally—he’s been quite mysterious in his previous streams. Why did he suddenly change his mind? Could it be that from now on, we’ll get to see this handsome face every time we watch his streams?” 

The game’s official team, suspecting that Lu Yan might be planning to pursue streaming as a side hustle, naturally brought this up.

Lu Yan shook his head and said, “No, I’m just here to find someone.”

……?

Lu Yan looked out at the sea of viewers and said, “There’s been a misunderstanding between me and someone I like. He blocked me. If he’s still here in the venue, I hope he’ll come find me and at least hear my explanation.”

A stir rippled through the crowd.

Jian Xingyi’s eyes widened.

Lin Cang and Song Yun turned to look at Jian Xingyi, their eyes brimming with even more curiosity.

Lu Yan held the microphone and said, “I want to apologize to you right here. I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to do that. I only just realized how outrageous my behavior was. I really do like you. Please give me a chance.”

Lu Yan’s eyes burned with intensity. “I don’t want to miss out on this again.”

At that moment, a deafening roar of screams erupted from the crowd below. Lu Yan’s gaze darted around the room. “I…”

Jian Xingyi saw that he was about to continue speaking and nearly fainted. 

Help me!!!

Stop talking!!

Ah!!!

In a fit of panic, Jian Xingyi rushed onto the stage and grabbed Lu Yan’s microphone. “Bro, bro, don’t say another word!”

It’s too terrifying!!

Lu Yan chuckled softly. He’d successfully baited him.

The crowd below began to clap.

“Forgive him! Forgive him!”

“Kiss him! Kiss him!!”

Only then did Jian Xingyi realize what he’d done. He turned as red as a cooked shrimp and wished he could just sink into the ground. Lu Yan smiled as he took his hand and led him away.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

By the time they got into the car, the Dawn’s Break Forum had already exploded.

—Shocking! Mysterious Big Shot Shanhai Makes an Appearance

—Shanhai Big Shot Begs Boyfriend for Forgiveness

—Is the Big Shot from Shanhai’s Boyfriend the Research Big Shot Jian Xingyi?

【What?? The Shanhai big shot is actually this handsome?!】

【His boyfriend is handsome too—such a cutie. I was there in person, and it felt like his boyfriend was about to burst with pride, hahaha… You two are such a cute couple!】

【I was there too +1, so sweet!! The way Shanhai looks at Xinghe is so tender… They must be a couple in love!】

No one knows this is actually their first time seeing each other since they reunited.

Inside the car, after hearing Lu Yan’s explanation, Jian Xingyi pouted and said, “So when you rejected me, you didn’t know it was me?” 

“Yeah.”

Jian Xingyi’s face was still flushed. “Then… then you said you liked me…” 

“It started back when we were working on group projects.”

“Why??” Jian Xingyi asked, puzzled.

Lu Yan’s gaze settled on Jian Xingyi’s face and never wavered. “Does ‘liking’ someone from that… even make sense?”

Jian Xingyi scratched his head. “But, but I like Shanhai, not Lu Yan… I don’t know… I need some time to process this.” 

“It’s okay, we have plenty of time.”

We have all the time in the world.

Lu Yan suddenly asked, “Can I give you a hug?”

“Oh…”

Jian Xingyi found himself enveloped in a broad, warm embrace. Affection and warmth are contagious.

The sunlight outside the car window was blinding, but inside, the atmosphere was warm and cozy.

The story of Lu Yan and Jian Xingyi has only just begun.