Cheng Che stood in the living room, watching the three girls open his refrigerator with practiced ease.
Su Miaoyin pulled a box of strawberries from the refrigerator, held it up, and waved it at Yan Ruanning: "Want some?"
Yan Ruanning nodded, then pulled a bag of potato chips from the snack cabinet.
Su Qingyue stood next to the water dispenser, poured herself a glass of warm water, and casually asked, "Do you want some?" Su Miaoyin and Yan Ruanning simultaneously handed her their glasses.
After the three of them finished getting their things, they naturally sat down on the sofa and began to share the strawberries.
Cheng Che turned his gaze away from them and towards Guo Xin in the corner of the living room.
Guo Xin stood there, his hands hanging down in front of him, a sheepish smile on his face.
To save trouble, Cheng Che gave each of the three girls Guo Xin and Su Miaoyin, an access card and an elevator card, so that when they came to visit him, the security guard wouldn't have to call him and he wouldn't have to go and call the elevator, which he found troublesome.
As a result, this brat with thick eyebrows and big eyes pulled this stunt on him.
Goodness, this is big enough to play mahjong!
"Just trying to build rapport," Guo Xin said, rubbing his hands together, his voice trailing off. "I just informed them of your situation... who knew they'd actually come."
Cheng Che glanced at him and said speechlessly:
Do they play League of Legends?
Guo Xin opened his mouth, glanced at the three people on the sofa eating strawberries, and swallowed his words.
Cheng Che sighed, turned and walked towards the e-sports room. Guo Xin quickly followed.
The gaming room was the one at the very back of the apartment. Pushing open the door, you could see five computers arranged in an arc, all with high refresh rate gaming monitors. Keyboards, mice, and headsets were all in their places, and there was even a small refrigerator on the corner of the table, specifically for keeping drinks chilled.
Three girls carrying strawberries followed us in and sat down in front of the computers, one for each of them.
Su Miaoyin touched the monitor, Yan Ruanning picked up her headphones, put them on briefly, then took them off again. Su Qingyue sat in her chair, moved the mouse a couple of times, and looked at the desktop on the screen.
All three of them were quite curious.
Cheng Che leaned against the doorframe and asked, "Do you guys play League of Legends?"
"Of course!" the three of them said in unison.
Cheng Che raised an eyebrow.
Then Su Qingyue raised her hand shyly. "Um... I need to create an account first. Which server?"
Yan Ruanning turned her head. "I want to create one too."
Su Miaoyin raised her hand and asked, "Should I create this on QQ or WeChat? I only know how to Li Bai."
Cheng Che closed his eyes in pain.
He opened his eyes again and glared at Guo Xin hatefully. Guo Xin shrank back and retreated to the corner of the wall.
For the next hour, Cheng Che became a nanny.
Help Su Qingyue register an account, help Yan Ruanning register an account, and help Su Miaoyin choose a hero.
Guo Xin tried to help, but Cheng Che glared at him and sent him back to the corner.
I've entered the human-machine game.
Su Miaoyin chose Sona, Yan Ruanning chose Ashe, and Su Qingyue chose Garen.
The three people sat in front of the computer, staring intently at the screen.
"Ugh, why is this person hitting me?" Su Miaoyin's voice came through the earpiece, carrying a sense of offended grievance.
"Run!" Cheng Che said, standing behind her. "When he comes, back away."
Which key do I press to go back?
Right-click on the floor.
"Oh." Su Miaoyin nodded, then the Sona took two steps back, then stopped. "He's still chasing me."
"Keep going."
"Ugh, this guy keeps chasing me."
Yan Ruanning chimed in from the side, "Why can't I shoot this arrow?"
"Point the mouse at the person and right-click." Cheng Che turned his head and glanced at Ashe Yan Ruanning, who was standing there in a daze.
"Oh." Yan Ruanning nodded, then fired another arrow. "Still missed."
Su Qingyue's side was the quietest. Cheng Che thought she was playing seriously, but when he went over to take a look, Garen was standing in the spring without moving.
Why don't you go out?
Su Qingyue looked up, a little embarrassed. "I don't know where to go."
"Just keep walking along this road."
"Okay." Su Qingyue nodded. Garen started walking forward, but after two steps he bumped into the wall. "It won't move."
"Go around in a different direction."
How do we get around it?
Cheng Che took a deep breath.
By the third game, Cheng Che had completely given up.
The three players were being relentlessly attacked by the computer in the AI match. Su Miaoyin's Sona died seven times, Yan Ruanning's Ashe died five times, and Su Qingyue's Garen, although he only died three times, had a single-digit number of last hits.
Guo Xin, unable to bear it any longer, muttered under his breath, "How about I take care of them?" but was silenced by a glare from Cheng Che.
"Don't speak," Cheng Che said painfully, "You've done enough for today."
Guo Xin shut up.
They played until after 11 p. m., and all four of them were exhausted.
Cheng Che stood up, rummaged through the closet and took out several quilts, giving one to each person.
"Stay here tonight. There are plenty of rooms, choose one."
The four nodded, grabbed their blankets, and left the e-sports room.
Su Miaoyin and Yan Ruanning chose the two rooms closest to the corridor, while Su Qingyue chose the one furthest inside.
Guo Xin made a makeshift bed on the living room floor, saying, "I'll just sleep on the sofa."
Cheng Che returned to his room, closed the door, and lay down on the bed.
He wasn't tired; with all his attributes at 90, his body wouldn't get tired from this little bit of exertion.
But I'm mentally exhausted.
He closed his eyes, his mind still replaying Su Miaoyin's words, "Ugh, why does this person keep chasing me?"
He drifted off to sleep.
Then he woke up.
The room was dark, with only a little light coming in from the streetlights outside the window.
He heard a rustling sound, very faint, but exceptionally clear in the quiet room.
He squinted and saw a dark figure standing by the bed, head bowed, as if checking if he was asleep.
Then the dark figure moved, lifted a corner of the blanket, climbed onto the bed, and carefully snuggled into his arms.
Cheng Che did not move.
He went over it in his mind. Su Miaoyin and Yan Ruanning were the boldest. If it were them, he wouldn't be too surprised.
Su Qingyue wouldn't.
She hesitated for a long time even when asking him out, so there was no way she would climb into his bed in the middle of the night.
He glanced down.
The person in his arms hunched over, their face buried in his chest, their hair brushing against his chin.
The sliver of light that peeked through the curtains fell just on her profile.
Su Qingyue.
Cheng Che froze.
Su Qingyue didn't speak or move, just nestled in his arms, breathing very softly, as if afraid of being discovered.
But her fingers were gripping the collar of his pajamas tightly.
Cheng Che remained silent for a moment, then pretended to be asleep. Su Qingyue chuckled and comfortably drifted off to sleep.