The Last Time

"Why did his eyes turn red again the moment Jin was mentioned? Damn, could it really be what I think?"

"Jin bullied her teammate! Get out of GOD! Get out of GOD!"

"Jin didn't give bin any face on stream today, talking about our bin like that. She was so mean."

"Bin, don't cry, don't cry. Tell us what happened and watch us go demand an explanation from the officials!"

"Stop clout-chasing off our Jin. Where's the proof? You say we bullied him, well, I say you're slandering us!"

It was late at night, and bin's livestream had originally had only a few thousand viewers, all fans. After Jin was mentioned, quite a few people flooded in, and the viewer count shot past ten thousand.

The two sides' fans tore into each other in the chat, and quite a few netizens came to watch the drama. Bin's eyes darkened, and the corners of his mouth lifted imperceptibly. This was exactly the effect he wanted; the more people came, the better.

Bin forced a smile and gave an ambiguous, self-deprecating laugh. "Maybe it's because I'm not as good as her. It's okay, though. At least you guys like me."

His fans watched their idol look as though he had suffered a tremendous injustice but didn't dare speak of it, the very picture of a victim. They flew into a rage and rushed to Wu Jin's Weibo to demand an explanation.

Ripples stirred across the tranquil night. Hashtags such as #JinBulliedHerTeammate and #GODFavoritism appeared on Weibo. As time passed, the ripples swelled into waves, growing ever more turbulent.

Seeing that the effect was about right, bin chatted warmly with his fans for a while longer before ending the stream.

"Thanks for chatting with me tonight, everyone. Good night, and sweet dreams~"

The moment the camera switched off, bin's pitiful mask shattered. A crazed grin and a sickly expression revealed his true self.

He snorted disdainfully. All it took was a few words to coax these brainless fans into doing his bidding.

Once the truth came to light, all he had to do was quietly disappear and say the fans had misunderstood, that it had nothing to do with him. Then he could dump the blame on that bunch of idiots.

With that thought, he smoothed his brow, lay down in bed at ease, and soon fell asleep.

At noon the next day, Wu Jin still didn't know that her Weibo had fallen.

A well-known gossip blogger in the esports circle-Esports Princess-had "carefully" edited footage from two of Wu Jin's streams and posted it. In the video, Wu Jin was expressionless.

In particular, whenever bin's voice came on, Wu Jin's little expressions, such as her cold stare, were blown out of proportion and maliciously interpreted.

Most infuriating of all, the post included the hashtag #JinBulliedHerTeammate.

In the comments, netizens grasped at shadows and cursed Wu Jin. They had also made quite a few malicious memes with vile captions. Brother Qian felt as though the sky had fallen the moment he woke up and opened his eyes, and he hurriedly had people control the comments.

Wantonly was furious after watching the video. He didn't even have an appetite for food. It was pure malicious editing.

"People these days really don't care about anything for traffic. What's with this hashtag? Who did Jin bully? Isn't this bullshit?"

"Just watch me curse him to death. He's got nothing better to do than stir up this crap."

Shi Mu calmly took a sip of tea. "And then people will say you're bullying netizens."

Clear: ...

"Aaaaaah, I can't take it, ****!"

The moment everyone saw Wu Jin come downstairs, they stopped talking and carefully watched her expression. She sat down at her usual spot and opened the game as if nothing had happened.

Wantonly edged over to Wu Jin one step at a time. "Little A Jin, have you seen Weibo?"

Without stopping, Wu Jin entered her account and password to reach the game interface. She turned to look at Wantonly's kindly face, a little puzzled. "Is there something I need to see?"

As she spoke, Wu Jin reached for her phone. Wantonly hurriedly shook his head. "No, no, no, it's nothing. Just don't look."

Shi Mu set some toasted bread and hot milk on Wu Jin's desk and smiled inscrutably.

"It's a boring little matter. A photo of your Brother Cheng in his floral boxers got posted online, and he's afraid you'll see it."

Oh, I see... Wu Jin gave Wantonly a long look. It really was rather boring. Though her gaze was as indifferent as ever,

Wantonly still caught a hint of pity for him in it.

No wonder he had come over just to ask whether she had been on Weibo. He was afraid she would see the photo of him in his floral boxers.

Wantonly: ? Why was it him again?

Bin came downstairs looking refreshed. He picked up a slice of bread and sat down at his spot, humming a tune, then sensed the hostility in the others' gazes.

He smiled as he looked around at everyone. His smile grew wider when his eyes met Wu Jin's.

They couldn't stand him, but there was nothing they could do about it. They couldn't get rid of him; the team still needed him, their ADC, to compete.

It was precisely because he was certain of that that bin had dared to stir up trouble against Wu Jin in his livestream the night before.

Shi Mu glanced at a message on his phone, then looked at bin and said in a low voice, "Bin, come with me to Old Qian's office."

The hand bin held his mouse with trembled. They were coming for him so soon?

Hmph. Sure enough, the team gets anxious whenever Wu Jin is involved.

Brother Qian slapped the desk hard. He started to throw the book in his hand, then pulled it back, shouting angrily.

"Bin, what exactly are you trying to do?! You stirred up trouble against Jin in your livestream. You really prepared a huge surprise for me first thing this morning!"

"She's a young girl who just got here. Why can't you leave her alone? I already explained what happened yesterday to you. How could you be so impulsive?!"

Brother Qian was furious. If he hadn't still had some reason left, he really would have launched into a tirade. News of discord within the team wouldn't do bin any good either.

That morning, the higher-ups had sent several messages in a row telling him to handle the matter properly. Both openly and between the lines, they had said that if he didn't, they would reduce funding for the team.

Discord within a team would lead to a loss of trust and affect its performance in matches. No investor would put money into a team with no prospects, even if the company was...

Brother Qian tugged at his tie, feeling somewhat irritated.

Bin sneered, his hands in his pockets, and said nothing. He didn't believe Brother Qian could give him any serious punishment. If he had the guts, he could stop bin from competing.

Shi Mu narrowed his eyes slightly. Those who knew him were aware that this was an unconscious expression he wore when he was in an extremely bad mood.

He kicked bin in the knee. With a thud, bin dropped to the floor, clutching his knee and sucking in a sharp breath, his eyes bloodshot.

"Shi Mu, how dare you hit me?! Aren't you afraid I'll report you to the league?"

"Oh, for heaven's sake!"

Brother Qian sprang over to block Shi Mu. How could he hit someone without so much as a warning? Ahem, no, how could he hit someone at all?!

If bin ignored all sense of sportsmanship and actually reported him, what would become of his professional career? And what about GOD's spring split?

Shi Mu looked down at him. He was smiling, but his expression was terrifyingly cold, enough to send a chill down anyone's spine. Bin looked away, not daring to meet Shi Mu's eyes.

"Take it if you don't want your creditors beating down your door. This is your final warning."

Bin's pupils contracted sharply. How did he know he owed money?!

He hadn't told anyone, and he was always careful. Now his hands gripped his pants tightly, his face went pale, and his lips trembled slightly.

Brother Qian was shocked too. With all that prize money and salary, how could bin still owe money to people outside?

With his back to bin, Shi Mu turned his head and glanced at him coldly. "Go apologize to Wu Jin."

With that, he opened the door and walked out.

Bin lay on the floor, unwilling to accept it, staring fixedly at Shi Mu's retreating figure.