Ren Yu immediately became alert.
"When did I ever say that if I lost, I had to give you my Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs?"
"Isn't that right? It's a tradition in our dorm! The loser of a game has to give one dish to the winner."
Kiana explained as if it were only natural.
"Since you lost to me just now, Assistant Teacher, your Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs are mine. Is there a problem with that?"
"..."
Was that really a thing?
Ren Yu said nothing and simply kept staring at Kiana with a half-smile.
"A-Assistant Teacher, why do you keep staring at me? Is there something on my face?"
Kiana awkwardly touched her cheek, but found nothing there. She could not help snapping, "Come on, just give me the ribs already!"
But Ren Yu shook his head. "No. Let's play again. I didn't perform well just now."
"Eh... really?"
Kiana drew out the last word, suspicion filling her eyes. Clearly, she did not believe Ren Yu's nonsense.
How could that be?
If someone was truly skilled at fighting games, their playstyle would carry at least some trace of their own habits. It was impossible for them to button-mash like a complete newbie, as he had just done.
"Don't believe me? Then let's try."
Ren Yu picked up the controller and waved it in front of her, tempting her.
"If I lose, I'll give you the other dish too. How about it?"
"Fine!"
Kiana immediately nodded, secretly delighted.
Looks like I'll get another dish!
A few minutes later...
As a flashy finishing move came to an end, a line of English appeared on the TV screen.
Kung Jin Wins!
Ren Yu set down the controller and shot Kiana a provocative glance.
This time, the character he controlled, "Kung Jin," had won!
"..."
How was that possible?
Beside him, Kiana pressed her lips together tightly and stared hopelessly at the controller in her hands.
She remembered that only Bronya had ever been able to beat her at Dummy Fighter.
And Assistant Teacher had clearly been unable to beat her at first, yet after only a few rounds, he suddenly seemed like a completely different person.
He was insanely good!
Kiana considered herself a fighting game expert who had played for years, yet this guy was even fiercer than she was!
At that thought, she suddenly turned to him and eyed Ren Yu suspiciously. "Hey, you stinky teacher, did you use cheats?"
He had been getting absolutely destroyed by her just now, so why had he suddenly become so good in the middle of the match?
Something was definitely fishy!
Meanwhile, Ren Yu's expression did not change in the slightest. He argued confidently, "We switched controllers, and we switched sides too. Tell me, then—how exactly did I cheat?"
Kiana's words caught in her throat.
That did seem to be the case.
But why did she still feel like something was off?
"I'm not convinced! Let's play another round. This time, we'll switch seats and controllers!"
"Sure." Ren Yu nodded without objection and switched places with Kiana.
Naturally, they switched controllers too.
A few minutes later.
'Kung Jin Wins!'
As the English words appeared, Kiana lost once again.
"Again!"
She shouted defiantly.
'Kung Jin Wins!'
'Kung Jin Wins!'
"Still want to continue?"
With a side kick from his in-game character that emptied the last sliver of Kiana's health bar, Ren Yu turned to the white-haired girl beside him and asked with a smile.
"I..."
Kiana's expression did not look good.
She wanted to say one more round, but when the words reached her lips, she suddenly realized she had nothing left to wager!
Each round only took a few minutes, yet after five or six rounds, she had lost every single one!
Kiana stared blankly at her fair hands, as though questioning her entire life.
—Am I going to have to eat plain rice tonight?
Before you continue