It Wasn't His Imagination—Chu Tian Seemed Afraid of Him

"Sweetie, where did you go? Don't go AFK! We still have a chance to turn this around!"

"You guys defend the base. I'm going to sneak-attack their tower!"

"You're a support—what tower are you sneaking? Can't you just stay on my head and stop running around?!"

"..."

Chu Tian stood at the door facing Gu Shiyan. The wailing and howling behind him made him so embarrassed his toes curled into the floor. He lowered his head, not daring to meet Gu Shiyan's eyes.

Gu Shiyan looked at the top of Chu Tian's head and raised a brow. "Busy?"

"N-No, I was just playing a game with my friends." Chu Tian turned aside in a flustered gesture. "Why don't you come in first?"

Gu Shiyan narrowed his eyes and stared at Chu Tian for a long moment. Only when he had watched him to the point where he seemed ready to dig a hole and crawl into it did he slowly step into his room.

It wasn't his imagination. Chu Tian really did seem afraid of him.

But what was he afraid of?

Compared to Chu Tian, who came from a prominent family and could have him removed from a variety show with a flick of his finger, Gu Shiyan truly couldn't figure out what he had ever done to make Chu Tian fear him.

Tian Qianqian and Zhou Han still had no idea what had happened on Chu Tian's end. Seeing that he remained motionless at the respawn point after reviving, they both shouted at the top of their lungs.

"They're about to hit the crystal! You liability, stop going AFK and defend the base already!"

Chu Tian jolted. His obsession with winning overtook everything else, and before he could even invite Gu Shiyan to sit down, he rushed over and grabbed his phone, trying to put up one last stubborn fight.

In his panic, though, he accidentally knocked over his cup and drenched himself.

Chu Tian: "..."

Chu Tian liked keeping the air conditioner warm while wearing short sleeves. At that moment, he only had on a thin white T-shirt. The instant it got wet, the fabric clung to his body and turned slightly see-through, making it look like he was practically wearing nothing.

This was humiliating!

Chu Tian's face instantly turned bright red. He stammered so badly he nearly bit his tongue. "I-I'm going to clean up."

Without daring to look at Gu Shiyan's expression, he buried his head and dashed into the bathroom.

Inside the bathroom, Chu Tian paced in circles like a trapped beast in a fury. He even threw a few punches at the air. Only after venting did he change clothes with a red face, psyching himself up before going out to face Gu Shiyan.

Then he heard the excessively fawning voices of two utterly shameless people.

"Wow, Sweetie's husband, you're amazing! You carried the whole match!"

"God-tier player, do you need a bootlicker who can eat, drink, and do backflips? As long as you can help me rank up and let me live the good life, I'll do anything!"

"One against five, turning the tide and winning! As expected of Sweetie's husband!"

"..."

Chu Tian: "???" What kind of nonsense were those two spouting?!

With a grim expression, Chu Tian quietly crept closer and poked his head out from behind the sofa to watch the livestream. At last, he pieced together what had happened from the comments scrolling across the screen.

After he had spilled water all over himself and rushed into the bathroom, those two idiots had been beaten so badly they wailed and screamed for help.

Annoyed by the noise, Gu Shiyan had frowned, picked up Chu Tian's phone, and swiftly wiped out all the enemies who had pushed to their crystal, easily securing a pentakill.

Those two hopeless people instantly switched sides, scrambling to praise Chu Tian for "finding a good man." Their sycophantic faces were on full display.

Furious, Chu Tian slapped the back of the sofa as he condemned the traitors. "You're going too far! Is winning or losing a game really that important? I really misjudged you two!"

Tian Qianqian and Zhou Han fell silent at Chu Tian's accusation.

Chu Tian thought they were reflecting on themselves. Just as he smiled in satisfaction, Tian Qianqian spoke weakly.

"Isn't it important?"

Chu Tian: "..."

A-Although he also thought winning was important, as his friends, how could those two have so little loyalty?

They had switched sides so quickly. It was utterly humiliating!

Chu Tian's face reddened as he tried to defend himself, but then he remembered his embarrassing 0-9 score before going to the bathroom...

Chu Tian bared his teeth in frustration. Meanwhile, Tian Qianqian and Zhou Han were still shouting and clamoring to start another match, eager to experience the thrill of being carried.

"We have things to do, so that's it for today's stream." Chu Tian quit the game angrily. "Thank you all for watching. See you next time~"

The instant he finished speaking, he ended the livestream with lightning speed.

The room fell quiet again. Chu Tian rubbed his nose and apologized to Gu Shiyan guiltily. "Sorry, you had to see that."

"It's fine." Gu Shiyan was every inch the gentleman. "I should be the one apologizing. I used your phone without your permission."

Chu Tian became even more awkward at that, repeatedly waving his hands. "It's okay, it's okay."

If anyone heard their polite, distant conversation—less natural than that of ordinary friends—their status as a "couple" would probably be exposed.

Seeing Chu Tian uncomfortable at every turn, Gu Shiyan's eyes darkened slightly. He took the initiative to explain why he had come. "I heard you're selling sports cars?"

Chu Tian: "Huh?"

He never would have imagined that Gu Shiyan had come over for something so minor.

The original owner had never lacked spending money and had never had any sense of saving.

As a result, Chu Tian now wanted to invest in making a drama but had little capital. So he set his sights on the limited-edition sports cars under his name.

Chu Maoming doted on his younger brother and gave him anything he wanted.

Those sports cars all had two things in common: flashy colors and exorbitant prices.

Chu Tian had no interest in sports cars, and he happened to need money right now. Rather than letting those limited-edition cars gather dust in the garage, he might as well put them to good use.

So he had asked Little Cai to handle it and see whether he could sell one or two of them to free up some capital.

But not even his own older brother knew about such a trivial matter. How had Gu Shiyan found out?

"I heard it from Cao Ying." Gu Shiyan didn't hide it, smiling faintly. "He was worried that something had happened to the Chu family and that you might be going bankrupt, so he asked me to sound you out."

Cao Ying was a shameless schemer with no bottom line. When he had seen that Chu Tian was interested in Gu Shiyan, he had coveted the Chu family's immense wealth and urged Gu Shiyan to win over the Chu family's second young master.

Now, he had somehow heard that Chu Tian was selling sports cars. Afraid it was a sign that the Chu family was about to go bankrupt, Cao Ying had hurriedly informed Gu Shiyan and urged him to probe for the truth.

If the Chu family really was about to collapse, Gu Shiyan would have to ditch Chu Tian quickly and prepare a way out.

"That bitch!" Chu Tian was so angry that he blurted out whatever came to mind. "The Chu family would never go bankrupt even if he did! I knew he was no good!"

Gu Shiyan raised a brow as he watched Chu Tian angrily curse, repeating the same limited insults over and over. A trace of amusement flashed in his eyes.

After venting his anger, Chu Tian remembered his plan. He suddenly looked at Gu Shiyan with an extremely serious expression.

"Do you really like the original novel of Nine Provinces Sword?"

Gu Shiyan paused. His gaze on Chu Tian deepened as he answered with another question. "Why do you ask?"

"If—just if," Chu Tian said solemnly, "an opportunity to play the male lead in Nine Provinces Sword were placed in front of you, would you be interested in fighting for it? Not the garbage version that's been butchered by the editors, but a role and script that are closer to the original novel."