Rise

Lin Feng obediently took off his shoes, then sat down at the table with Su Xue and the mystery guest.

“Wash your hands,” Su Xue glared.

Lin Feng hurriedly shot up to his feet to go wash his hands.

The red-headed guest couldn’t help but break out into laughter. “Ah, Xue Xue, is there a need to be so aggressive? You’re practically radiating killing intent.”

“That’s the only way to get this brat to listen. I won’t hover over him like some kind of nice nanny.”

Lin Feng returned from the kitchen. He obediently sat back down at the table and reported, “I washed my hands.”

“Why are you home so late?” Su Xue asked with a look of askance.

“Oh, I was playing ranked with a classmate,” Lin Feng explained.

“That girl you wanted to recruit to your team?”

“Yeah.”

“Hoh, this kid is pretty good. Didn’t you say he just transferred the other day? He’s already convinced a girl to play games with him. Quite slick,” the red-headed guest chimed in.

“Who is she?” Lin Feng asked.

“Ah, she’s-”

“I’m Xue Xue’s best friend, Zuo You,” the red-headed guest answered in Su Xue’s stead, beaming a bright smile. “Lin Feng, right? Aren’t you a cutie.”

Lin Feng scratched his head. “Oh, nice to meet you.”

Su Xue knocked on the table. “The introductions are over, right? The food’s getting cold. Come on, eat.”

Lin Feng picked up a bowl and some chopsticks and started gorging himself on all the dishes, while Su Xue and Zuo You continued chatting on the side. They’d already finished eating.

“What were we talking about? Oh, right! Have you found a new job yet?” Zuo You asked.

“Ahem… uh, no, not yet…” Su Xue coughed.

“Still? It’s already been almost two months! How are you planning to pay rent? Do you need me to lend you some money?” Zuo You was dumbfounded.

Su Xue hurriedly shook her head. “No need. No need. I can still scrape by. If things really get bad, I’ll come to you.”

Zuo You vigorously nodded. “Mhmm. Just let me know, I’ll help you out. So, you really haven’t found any work yet? That’s so weird.”

Su Xue hesitated for a moment before meekly explaining, “Actually, I’ve uhh been trying to become a streamer.”

“A streamer!?” Zuo You’s eyes widened in surprise. “My god! Don’t tell me you’re trying to become one of those League gamer girls on Huya? You know, the ones that show more of their ‘face’ cam than their actual gameplay to trick thirsty guys out of their money?”

Lin Feng raised his head from his bowl and curiously stared at Su Xue’s chest. “I don’t think she has the assets to pull that off.”

“Shut up! Eat your food!” Su Xue snapped.

Zuo You burst out in laughter before coming to the help of her best friend, “Hey hey, don’t say such mean things. She might not fill a sweater out very much, but those legs go on for days!” She then turned her attention back to Su Xue. “Really? A streamer?”

Su Xue forced a hollow smile. “Yeah.”

Zuo You was speechless. “I say, aren’t you a little in over your head here? There’s plenty of proper, honest jobs out there, but you want to become a streamer? Even you know how competitive that scene is, and there are so many unwritten rules, not to mention petty drama going on behind the scenes. Do you think someone with your personality is cut out for it? You’re like a lamb trying to mingle with a pack of hungry wolves! You’ll be eaten alive! You’re just wasting your time!” Her voice grew increasingly bitter and resentful.

“Eh, I think it’ll be alright.”

Zuo You grew more frustrated. “Really? It’ll be alright? It’s not like I don’t know how good you are at the game. At best, and I mean at best, you’re a Gold player. Not even as good as me! You can’t attract viewers with your skills, and given your personality, there’s no way you can cut it as a cutesy e-girl. So, tell me, where do you see a future in streaming?”

“You play League too?” Lin Feng asked in surprise.

Zuo You turned to Lin Feng with a bright smile. “Yep. I’m Plat 3! Pretty good, right?” She quickly swung her head back to Su Xue. “Answer me. How do you see yourself making a career out of this?”

“But I really like this game, and I enjoy being a streamer. Don’t worry, I’ll make a lot of money when I become popular.”

“A lot of money? You think it’s that easy? Only a handful of the very best streamers make good money!” Zuo You harshly said. “So what if you like it? Does liking something pay the bills? Does liking something put food on the table?”

“I think it’s good that she has a dream. As long as she tries hard, anything is possible!” Lin Feng butted in.

“Shut up! Eat your food!” Zuo You snapped.

However, Su Xue immediately latched onto Lin Feng’s words like a midlaner at their jungler’s mistakes. “No, wait! He’s right. I think so too. I know I’m not the best player, but I can get better!”

Zuo You rolled her eyes. “Get better? How are you going to get better? Throw a magic die?”

Lin Feng patted his chest. “I can help her!”

Su Xue vigorously nodded. “Right! He can help me!”

“Are you really good at the game? What rank are you?” Zuo You asked, a hint of surprise and doubt in her eyes.

“I’m a Challenger!” Lin Feng proudly declared.

“PFT!” Zuo You burst out into laughter. “Challenger? A kid like you? Who are you trying to fool? Haha!”

✹

After Lin Feng finished dinner, the trio went into Su Xue’s room.

“Didn’t you say you were a Challenger? How about you show some of your skills to big sis over here?” Zuo You teased.

“Hey, what? I’m supposed to be streaming right now!” Su Xue protested. She had already opened the League client and her stream. 

“Who would want to watch a Gold rank player like you play? You might actually bore your viewers to death if you aren’t careful.” Zuo You brushed her off.

“No way! My viewers love watching my stream!” Su Xue argued.

At this moment, Su Xue clicked on the ‘Go Live’ button. Several dozen regular viewers entered the stream. Seeing Su Xue on the facecam, they all stirred.

「our luck…… we get the maid」

「why does she keep trying to hog the stream????/ All she’s good for is bringing water!」

「Where’s li’l bro?」

「Get outta way! We wanna watch li’l bro play ranked!」

Su Xue was speechless.

“Hahaha! Maid? What’s that about? Oh my god, Xue Xue, you really do have it hard. Your viewers all came to watch the kid!”

“Not another word! These traitors need to learn about loyalty!”

Lin Feng and Zuo You had both pulled up chairs and sat down beside Su Xue.

「guysguysgusy it’s lil bro!!」

「Play ranked! Play ranked!」

「Get the maid to move aside! Hey, there’s someone else?」

「huh? Who’s that girl? We haven’t seen her before right?」

The viewers took notice of Zuo You and her attractive figure in the corner of the webcam.

「Wowzers! What a pair!」

「DO A FACE REVEAL!!!!!!」

Reading the chat, Zuo You giggled. She inched herself closer to the webcam and greeted, “Hihi, guyyys.”

The chat exploded with dozens of messages flooding in every second!

「Wow, so hot!」

「short-haired girls are the best!」

「sorry Li’l bro, I changed my mind. Let the red-head stream!」

The fickle viewers had all shifted their attention to Zuo You. However, Lin Feng ignored them as he switched seats with Su Xue. Zuo You took a minute to talk to the viewers about how eager she was to see Lin Feng's supposed ‘Challenger’ level skills. It was obvious that she was only teasing him, and didn’t actually believe that he was that good. At League or anything else...

“Alright, I’ll start queing up,” Lin Feng said, full of fighting spirit.

Lin Feng quickly got matched into a game. Before he even started picking his champion, the chat stirred.

「Hey! Look at the summoner name of the person in third pick!」

「HOLY SHITSTIDDLES!!! IS THIS FOR REAL?」

「Third pick is also a streamer!」