The Seed of Malice

After the match, Wu Jin took down her twin ponytails. Her hair had been tied up so long that it stuck out on either side of her forehead, looking ridiculous. To make matters worse, Clear and Wantonly were laughing at her.

Wantonly volunteered to tie Wu Jin's hair, and Clear, unwilling to be outdone, joined the ranks of the Tonys.

In the end, Wu Jin's hair was tied up crookedly and looked even funnier. Clear laughed even louder and, happy to stir up more trouble, took a photo of her.

Shi Mu chuckled as he watched Wu Jin's face darken. He walked behind her, his distinctively jointed fingers moving through her sleek black hair as he carefully and clumsily tied it into two low ponytails.

Her high ponytails had become low ponytails. It didn't seem much different.

Forget it, whatever. Wu Jin's hair had worn her down until she had no temper left.

The GOD Team went out for a meal at a locally famous hot pot restaurant.

To reward them properly, Brother Qian waved his hand, and premium beef, abalone, sea cucumber and everything else were brought out. They'd only won a regular-season match, but their opponents carried weight.

Last year's world championship runners-up! What did that mean? It meant GOD had beaten the runners-up, so they could be champions this year!

Wantonly whispered in Wu Jin's ear.

"It's rare to see Brother Qian being so generous. A-Jin, eat plenty later."

Wu Jin nodded, half understanding, and committed three words to memory: eat plenty later.

Brother Qian handed the menu to Wu Jin. His precious darling daughter had to come first.

"Daughter, order whatever you want to eat."

Wu Jin's hand paused as she flipped through the menu.

?

Clear looked at Brother Qian with contempt. "You call this young master your good eldest son, and now you're calling A-Jin your daughter. What are you trying to pull, Old Qian?"

"Maybe he's reached that age."

Shi Mu's eyes curved with a smile, but his words were full of barbs.

"Then I want to be the older brother."

"You're that eager to be his son?"

Shi Mu's retort left Clear speechless. He snorted and lowered his head to play on his phone.

The main reason Brother Qian called Wu Jin his daughter was that she was young and looked young too.

When she first arrived, she had been quiet and reluctant to speak, making her utterly endearing. And today's ponytails had struck straight at the heart of Qian Xiang, who had always wanted a daughter.

Wu Jin was the "daughter" destined for him!

As for Clear, he was just a brat. Calling him his son had simply rolled off the tongue. If he really had a brat like that at home, wouldn't he be driven to death by anger?

When the server brought out ice cream and little cakes, everyone knew without guessing who was behind it.

The young girl was especially fond of sweets, so she and Clear had hit it off at once.

Shi Mu could only offer a reminder. "Eat less. You're getting your tooth filled next week."

Wu Jin nodded and continued eating. After every bite of meat, she had to take a bite of ice cream to cool down. Although her hometown was recognized nationwide for its tolerance for spicy food, Wu Jin was an exception; she had been unable to eat spicy food since childhood.

Looking at the girl beside him, whose lips were vividly red, Shi Mu ordered her a cup of yogurt to ease the spice, then went to ladle her a bowl of snow fungus soup.

"Eating spicy food and ice-cold food together will upset your stomach again tonight. Drink this."

Remembering the last time her stomach hurt, Wu Jin hesitantly put down the ice cream in her hand. Reluctantly, she pushed the bowl of ice cream forward, picked up the snow fungus soup and took a sip.

Not bad. It was sweet.

Wantonly couldn't stop eating. Between swishing slices of meat in the hot pot, he saw Shi Mu smiling so gently at Wu Jin that his eyes never opened wide, remaining curved all the while.

Since when did Brother Mu look so harmless?

In the regular-season matches that followed, GOD advanced with the unstoppable force of a blade splitting bamboo at its joints. Their group points climbed rapidly, securing them the top spot, with Wind close behind. Both advanced smoothly to the playoffs.

There were ten spots in the playoffs to compete for the spring championship. The top eight teams by points advanced directly, and the remaining two spots were decided through matches.

There were still ten days until the playoffs. As the first-place team, GOD had a less packed schedule and could train without worry.

Shi Mu took Wu Jin to have her tooth filled. Looking at her restored, flawless tooth, Wu Jin finally felt relieved. She no longer had to wear a mask during matches.

Lately-

The team members had noticed that Wu Jin was always up early. Then, one day, Clear spotted a familiar, detestable blue study guide on her desk.

"Little sister, why are you doing practice questions? Are you taking the college entrance exam?"

Ever since their last match, Clear had started calling Wu Jin little sister. It seemed he really had accepted becoming Brother Qian's good eldest son.

Wu Jin didn't care what he called her, so she let him.

Hearing them, Brother Qian also walked over and picked up the study guide to flip through it. Quite a few esports players started competing at a very young age and fell behind in their studies, but the world had gains and losses; one couldn't have both fish and bear's paw.

He wasn't against Wu Jin studying. After all, it wasn't as though nobody on the team had done it before. But he worried that the intense training and time spent studying might be too much for her body to handle.

Only after Wu Jin assured him that she wouldn't neglect her training or let her health suffer did Brother Qian drop the subject.

"If there's anything you don't understand, ask Time. He went to a prestigious university."

Wu Jin looked in Shi Mu's direction. Shi Mu happened to turn around and meet his gaze, his beautiful peach blossom eyes smiling with an alluring charm, like an enchantress.

In a way, Shi Mu was actually a freak. His good looks went without saying, and he was good at gaming too. What made it even more unfair was that his grades were good as well.

Back then, he had found time to take the college entrance exam while competing, and had even gotten into a 985 university. It really made people green with envy.

Clear was about the same age as Wu Jin, but he couldn't get any studying done. His head swam the moment he looked at a book. He was a heaven-chosen study scum, and his family had long planned to send him abroad to study once he quit esports.

As for Wantonly, he didn't even know which subjects were on the college entrance exam.

So, amid the noise of gaming at GOD Club, Shi Mu's voice tutoring Wu Jin could also be heard from time to time.

Brother Qian and Coach Ming occasionally joined in the fun too. They were university graduates themselves, after all.

One evening, Wu Jin felt a tightness in her chest and took the elevator to the rooftop for some fresh air. She sat on the swing, looking at the scattered starlight in the distance.

The villa complex was in a prime location halfway up a mountain. Looking out, one could see the city's busiest district, and before she knew it, Wu Jin had fallen into a daze.

"Clatter."

The sound of something falling to the ground pulled Wu Jin from her thoughts. She turned and saw bin nervously picking something up off the ground. He hurriedly met her eyes, then left.

Wu Jin calmly looked away and paid it no mind.

In the elevator, bin braced himself nervously against the wall, panting for breath. His face was deathly pale, and on closer inspection, fine beads of sweat had even formed on his forehead. He shut himself in his room, his hands trembling nonstop.

It's over. Wu Jin saw me.

I'm finished.

Terror filled bin's eyes, and his whole body shook uncontrollably. He couldn't be finished. He couldn't!

Then a strange smile appeared on his face. If he couldn't be finished, then he'd make sure Wu Jin was. Hahahahaha!

Wu Jin had forced him to do this. Wu Jin had ruined everything. She had stolen his endorsement and taken all the team's attention.

She was nothing more than a woman. What right did she have to compete on the same team as him?

A flash of viciousness crossed his eyes.

Once a seed of malice was planted in the heart, it would keep sprouting.

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