Yuuka, the Little Angel

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Yuuka's puzzled voice came through.

"Nothing. Just wait a second, Yuuka." Zhao Yu felt like his CPU was overheating.

"You can tell you haven't watched enough anime." A Shui spoke with the air of someone in the know.

"Isn't this a common trope in anime? A girl admires some upperclassman but is too embarrassed to say anything, so she can only watch him silently."

"When you put it that way, it's not impossible..." The possibility in Zhao Yu's mind grew stronger and stronger.

Yuuka attended a girls' school, where students rarely had contact with boys, so there was a high chance of some... internal pairings.

[Hmm? I think I smell citrus.]

[Good, good, good! If that's the case, I'm switching into binge-watching mode.]

[Keep talking, I'm getting a little excited.]

After hearing A Shui and Zhao Yu's conversation, the Bullet Screen caught on as well. They even seemed to be looking forward to this development?

"Ah..." Yuuka, who had been quietly fading into the background, also understood what was going on after A Shui's hints.

That couldn't be it, could it? A plain, background-character girl like her wouldn't be targeted by someone like that, right?

But there really hadn't been any rumors about Classmate Qigong having a boyfriend, and the way she dressed was also...

The image of Qigong Shiori surfaced in Yuuka's mind. Aside from occasionally wearing a pleated skirt in summer, she wore jeans or sweatpants most of the time.

Her everyday outfits mostly consisted of baseball jackets. When it got hot, she tied them around her waist, looking exactly like some athletic boy.

Come to think of it, she was totally a hardcore lesbian!

"P-probably not, right? I-I'm not Classmate Qigong's upperclassman, and I haven't had much contact with her," Yuuka stammered.

"Hard to say." A Shui shook his head.

"From what I know, soft girls like you are really popular with them."

[Shuizi Ge seems to know quite a lot.]

[Exposed at last, Shuizi Ge is totally an otaku.]

[I'm dying, everyone in the LPL is an otaku.]

"So, what do you think, Yuuka?" Zhao Yu took a deep breath and asked Yuuka nervously for some reason.

Then he couldn't help adding another question.

"Is there someone you like?"

"Well... actually, there isn't anyone I like right now. And I can say for sure that I prefer boys," Yuuka said, subconsciously glancing at her computer wallpaper.

It was a screenshot from that fan-made illustrated video on Xiaopozhan. In it, her anime-style self and Zhao Yu were holding hands.

"Then figure out a way to reject her." Zhao Yu suddenly let out a breath of relief.

"But if I reject her like that, won't she be really hurt?" Yuuka couldn't help asking.

"Then just leave her alone. Let her keep watching you every day. Once you get a boyfriend, she'll probably give up," Zhao Yu said.

"Huh? But then... I'd be really troubled," Yuuka said, shaking her head.

Being watched all the time while she lived her life would be way too creepy, wouldn't it? Yuuka didn't want things to keep going like this.

[IG Awesome sent Rocket x5]

"Thank you, boss IG Awesome, for the rockets! Thanks!"

Zhao Yu's conversation with Yuuka was interrupted by the sudden flashy gift notification.

[IG Awesome: I have an idea. If a boy pretends to be Yuuka's boyfriend, wouldn't she back off once she realizes it's hopeless?]

Tsk, was this what being rich was like? Zhao Yu showed a hint of envy. The guy even had to send a rocket before speaking. Truly inhumanly wealthy.

"Is that so? But where am I supposed to meet a boy?" Yuuka scratched her head.

[IG Awesome: Isn't there a ready-made one right in front of you?]

In Li Qingwan's room, after typing those words, a triumphant expression appeared on her face.

"If this still doesn't work, I'll just eat it!"

Although Yuuka's classmate had taken Li Qingwan by surprise, it was precisely because of her that Li Qingwan had come up with this brilliant idea.

Hehe~ Let's see how much longer you two can keep dragging this out. Hurry up and get locked together already!

"Lord Yu?" Yuuka murmured. If Zhao Yu pretended to be her boyfriend, that didn't seem impossible either?

"Hey, hey? Could you show me some respect? Are there no other boys besides him?" A Shui couldn't help saying.

[IG Awesome: Shuizi Ge, don't be so hasty. I have someone else in mind for the handsome guy. You just need to play your matches well.]

Seeing that Bullet Screen message, A Shui was about to argue, but twenty rockets suddenly appeared in the stream.

"The boss is right! How could a pro player like me have dating rumors?"

[Heh, look at that face.]

[Is this the reaction speed of a pro player? Respect, respect.]

[No wonder you like playing with that streamer. Turns out you're both masters of changing faces.]

"I don't mean Jack-kun is bad or anything. It's just... I just feel like I'm more familiar with Lord Yu," Yuuka explained as she anxiously waited for Zhao Yu's response.

In truth, she felt this was indeed a viable idea. On one hand, she wanted to get rid of Qigong Shiori's watchful eye; on the other... she didn't dislike Zhao Yu.

"Pretend to be your boyfriend? But if I'm not by your side, won't she find it hard to believe?" Zhao Yu asked after hesitating for a moment.

Honestly, the thought of pretending to be in a relationship with a girl like Yuuka did make his heart stir.

But Zhao Yu remained rational. Even if he was tempted, he at least had to be able to solve Yuuka's problem. Otherwise, wouldn't he just be taking advantage of her for nothing?

"Bro, the food's already being fed into your mouth and you still want to spit it out?" Li Qingwan complained from her room.

Wasn't this guy being way too unappreciative? She'd set things up for him so perfectly, yet he was still calmly analyzing the situation.

Couldn't he be like everyone else and claim the spot first? What if Yuuka found someone from Japan to pretend to be her boyfriend? He'd be crying by then!

No, she couldn't let this guy ruin the idea she'd worked so hard to come up with! With that thought, Li Qingwan continued typing in the livestream chat.

[IG Awesome: Are you stupid? Just say you two go to different schools.]

[IG Awesome: Besides, if you find some other stranger, isn't there a greater chance of getting exposed?]

"That does make sense. What do you think, Yuuka? If you don't mind, I can help you with this," Zhao Yu said after giving it some thought.

"I-I don't mind! Actually, I'm kind of looking forward to it..."

"Hm? What did you say after that?"

Yuuka had said the latter half in a very soft voice, so Zhao Yu hadn't heard her clearly.

"N-Nothing! I mean, other boys definitely wouldn't understand me as well as Lord Yu does. After all, we've known each other for a long time," Yuuka said.

??? We've known each other for a long time? Why did that sound a little ambiguous? It had to be his imagination, right? Yuuka was only referring to them playing games together.

Zhao Yu's ears gradually turned red. He coughed lightly twice, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"Then remember to stay in touch with me tomorrow. Since you're going to reject her, you should cut it off cleanly!"

"Okay, I understand." Yuuka nodded, the corners of her lips lifting slightly.

[Wait! You two aren't going to contact each other privately, are you?]

[Such great material, and you're not going to livestream it?]

[You can't keep all the good stuff to yourself, streamer.]

"Livestream it?" Yuuka looked at the Bullet Screen, somewhat hesitant.

"How about this: we can livestream before we go, but if she confesses to me, I'll have Lord Yu end the stream. I hope everyone can understand."

Zhao Yu had helped her, and Yuuka also wanted to give him some exposure, so she didn't refuse the Bullet Screen's request.

But to preserve Qigong Shiori's dignity, she absolutely would not livestream what happened after they arrived.

[Wuwuwu, I'm crying! Yuuka is so gentle!]

[Yuuka is such a little angel! She's still considering the other person's feelings at a time like this.]

The Bullet Screen began praising Yuuka one after another.