A man's youth was still youth.
With that settled in his mind, Gu Qing clicked to accept the payment.
He left the café.
Gu Qing didn't feel like going anywhere else and headed straight back to his dorm.
Although he'd been quite calm during the breakup, the feelings clearly hit him all at once afterward.
Now, all he wanted was to hurry back to the dorm and play some games with his roommates.
That would help settle the emotions beginning to stir inside him.
On the way back.
Gu Qing kept observing the labels above passersby's heads.
[Idol trainee] [Model] [Salesperson] [Cross-dressing master] [Delivery rider]
Hmm, he'd spotted another strange label.
The girl with the [Cross-dressing master] label was a well-known influencer cosplayer from the university's anime club.
She was definitely female.
And yet.
The label insisted on calling her a cross-dressing master.
That made no sense at all.
Back at the dorm.
Gu Qing called out to his three roommates inside:
"Shurima, your emperor has returned! Log in, quick! Let's play a few games and have some fun!"
"Yes, yes, yes! We've got to play a few!"
"Come on, let's queue up together!"
"Then turn on your computers and log in already! I've been waiting forever."
Seeing Gu Qing like this, all three roommates guessed that he and Bai Ningyu had probably officially broken up, and eagerly answered his call to game together.
He sat down at his computer.
Gu Qing glanced at the tops of his three roommates' heads.
[Professional gamer] [Big Eater] [Basketball player]
The labels still made no clear sense.
The roommate beside him with dyed blond hair, the one labeled [Professional gamer], was good at games, but only good enough to earn some pocket money boosting accounts in low-ranked lobbies. He had absolutely nothing to do with professional gaming.
The chubby roommate a little farther away, labeled [Big Eater], merely had a bigger appetite than most people. He hardly qualified as a big eater.
As for the buzz-cut roommate farthest away, he just liked playing basketball in his spare time. At most, he was a basketball enthusiast, nowhere near a [Basketball player].
He didn't dwell on it.
Soon.
Gu Qing and his three roommates queued up for League of Legends.
An hour later.
"That felt amazing! Three straight wins, and we crushed them in under twenty minutes every time!"
"Well, look who's carrying you. I'm Diamond on Server One!"
"Diamond bro, here's a little goal for you: carry us to ten straight wins!"
His roommates chattered away, their faces filled with the pleasure of their winning streak.
Only Gu Qing was staring at the lines of text before him, utterly stunned.
[You have played games with your roommate Chen Zijie for over one hour] [Gaming skill +1] [Reaction speed +1] [Accumulate 100 points in reaction speed to obtain the attribute—Lightning-Fast Reflexes] [Current points obtained: 1]
The Chen Zijie mentioned in the text was the blond-haired roommate sitting beside Gu Qing.
A skilled gamer who could earn money boosting accounts.
PS: Holding out my bowl, begging for monthly votes and recommendation votes!
Chapter 2: No beef
"Gu Qing, what are you spacing out for? The countdown's almost over! Pick a champion!"
Seeing Gu Qing suddenly sitting there in a daze, his blond-haired roommate Chen Zijie reached over and gave him a pat.
His chubby roommate Qian Duole and buzz-cut roommate Gao Fei also turned to look.
"Nothing, I just remembered something."
Gu Qing snapped out of it and answered.
With that, he casually picked a champion, then turned his attention back to the lines of text before him.
Playing games with Zi Jie for over an hour gave me +1 reaction speed?
Was that [Professional gamer] label floating above his head taking effect?
Could it be...
These labels in front of me are my cheat?
Gu Qing occasionally read webnovels, so he knew about systems, cheats, and hacks.
Soon.
The game began.
Gu Qing was surprised to discover a clear improvement in his gaming ability, and his mind reacted considerably faster.
He barely missed any last hits.
He dodged enemy champions' abilities with casual movements.
Only +1 to gaming skill and reaction speed, and the improvement is this noticeable?
Gu Qing's heart jolted, then excitement swept through him.
This mysterious label cheat might completely change my utterly ordinary life!
Another hour passed in the blink of an eye.
The familiar text popped up before his eyes again.
[You have played games with your roommate Chen Zijie for over one hour] [Gaming skill +1] [Reaction speed +1] [Accumulate 100 points in reaction speed to obtain the attribute—Lightning-Fast Reflexes] [Current points obtained: 2]
The instant the text appeared, Gu Qing distinctly felt his reflexes improve again.
And the next game proved it.
Despite being only Silver, he actually solo-killed the opposing Platinum player, crossing a gap of two full ranks.
"Holy shit, awesome! You actually dove the tower and solo-killed their Platinum player!"
"Sick!"
"Quick, send question marks to taunt him!"
His roommates were all stunned.
They spammed question marks at the opposing Platinum player.
They really let him have it.
The opposing Platinum player defended himself, saying his younger cousin had been playing just then. Now he was back in control, and he was going to destroy Gu Qing.
But when he returned to lane, Gu Qing solo-killed him again.
His roommates were delighted and piled on the taunts.
That's it? That's all you've got?
How come you're just as bad as your cousin?
You paid someone to boost you to Platinum, didn't you?
Gu Qing didn't join them in typing taunts in all-chat.
Normally, he would have joined in, sending the enemy a question mark or something.
Because that was part of the fun of gaming.
But at that moment.
All his attention was on his cheat.
His thoughts kept churning.
By playing with Zi Jie, who has the [Professional gamer] label above his head, I can improve my gaming skill and reaction speed.
Then if I do things matching other people's labels with them, can I gain the corresponding attribute boosts?
For example-
If I study with someone labeled [Top student], can I improve my learning ability?
If I make money with someone labeled [Tycoon], can I improve my ability to make money?
Thoughts kept running through Gu Qing's mind, and the more he thought, the more excited he became.
Only at that moment did he truly realize that his life was about to change completely. Perhaps in the future, he could even refuse to eat beef.
"I'm getting hungry. Come on, let's go eat."
"I can't be bothered to go downstairs. How about delivery?"
"Delivery sounds good. Let's get some barbecue and beer. I'm sick of eating the same cafeteria food every day."
After they finished that game.
His roommates chatted back and forth.
They decided to order barbecue delivery.
Gu Qing had no objections and placed an order with them.
Less than half an hour later.
Before you continue