Joining Gift

Wantonly suddenly remembered something and smacked the table hard. Everyone turned to look at him.

CLear said, "What are you making a fuss about now?"

"I just realized we haven't added Little A Jin to our group chat. Come on, Little A Jin, let's add each other."

Wantonly held his phone out to Wu Jin.

Wu Jin glanced at the QR code, then looked away. "I don't have a phone."

To be precise, Wu Jin only had a basic phone for making calls. She hadn't had the money to buy a smartphone before, and she hadn't needed one.

She had used a computer to make her Weibo post earlier, too.

Wantonly's hand froze in midair. For a moment, he didn't know what to say. Even Clear looked up at Wu Jin in surprise.

Wu Jin looked at them earnestly. "If I need one, I'll go buy a phone tomorrow."

The victory results screen appeared on Shi Mu's monitor. He took off his headset and turned to the solemn-looking girl beside him with a faint smile.

"Looks like our Little A Jin grew up in a very wholesome environment, untouched by the internet."

"It's no big deal. Let Brother Cheng buy you a phone as a welcome gift. Isn't that right, Brother Cheng~?"

Wantonly nodded hurriedly. "Right, right, right! Brother Cheng will buy you one. It can be your joining gift!"

Although the captain's tone was nauseating, Wantonly was grateful he had found him a way to avoid waking up in the middle of the night and slapping himself over this.

Jin had actually had such a hard life before. As her big brother, he had to make it up to Little A Jin.

Wu Jin remained expressionless. She didn't want to trouble anyone.

She was just about to refuse when Clear's carefree voice rang out.

"When I joined the team, Brother Cheng~ gave me a super-expensive keyboard, so don't worry about accepting it!"

Wantonly gave Clear a glare and a smile that didn't reach his eyes. How dare he bring that up?

Clear had tricked him out of that keyboard back then. Hmph, but he didn't have time to settle scores with that brat right now.

After hearing that, Wu Jin didn't refuse again. "Thank you, Brother Cheng."

The weekend arrived.

Wu Jin got ready early to visit Grandma at the hospital. Just as she stepped out of her room, Shi Mu emerged from the room next door, also dressed and ready to go.

"Going out?"

Wu Jin nodded.

Shi Mu smiled. Little A Jin really was a woman of few words.

When they went downstairs, Shi Mu took two bottles of milk from the fridge and warmed them in hot water.

"Where to?"

"City Center Hospital."

"Wait for me. It's on my way. I'll give you a ride."

Wu Jin agreed, pulled out a chair, and sat down to wait for Shi Mu.

It was a free ride, so of course she'd take it.

The captain was a good person.

Shi Mu drove the car out of the garage, and Wu Jin silently headed for the back seat.

"Are you really treating your captain like a beast of burden? Come sit up front."

Wu Jin didn't understand what Shi Mu meant by "beast of burden." All she knew was that the captain had told her to sit up front, so she did.

When they reached the hospital entrance, Wu Jin got out.

"Thank you, Captain."

"Don't mention it. Say hello to your grandma for me."

"Okay."

Shi Mu watched Wu Jin's figure disappear from sight, then turned around, put on his sunglasses, and drove off.

Wu Jin had already upgraded Grandma Wu to a private deluxe room. It had its own bathroom and was quieter, making it better suited for recuperation.

Grandma Wu had been reluctant at first, thinking it cost too much, but in the end, she couldn't win against her granddaughter and moved in.

"Grandma, I'm here."

Hearing her voice, Grandma Wu opened her eyes. After just a few days apart, her granddaughter looked much more energetic and had put some flesh on her face. Clearly, life at the club was treating her well, and Grandma Wu was finally able to set her mind completely at ease.

"You've put on some weight. That's wonderful."

Grandma Wu touched Wu Jin's face, her own full of affection.

Wu Jin thought of the food at the base. Auntie Lin was indeed an excellent cook, serving a nutritious balance of meat and vegetables every day. Wu Jin could eat three bowls of rice in one sitting, more than even Wantonly, and the captain had said she looked like a refugee from a famine-stricken region.

Wu Jin thought it was a pretty apt description.

After spending some time talking with Grandma and having lunch, Wu Jin left. Even on weekends, the team only had a short break.

Wu Jin had planned to take the bus back to the base, but when she left the hospital, she spotted some little yellow shared bikes. After two seconds of thought, she decided to cycle back. Halfway there, she suddenly heard someone call her name.

"Jin! Are you Jin?"

Two girls jogged over to Wu Jin, their eyes shining and their voices stammering slightly with excitement.

Wu Jin nodded.

The two girls grew even more excited. Aaaah, a real, live Jin!

She was just as beautiful and aloof as in the photos. Her looks were incredible!!!

"Um, can we take a photo with you?"

"Sure."

The two girls hurriedly took out their phones and posed for the camera, ready to press the shutter.

A giant dog suddenly lunged at them. Wu Jin pushed the two girls aside, her face cold.

The large Bernese mountain dog's eyes gleamed as it leaped straight at Wu Jin. Its owner turned pale with fright and let out a cry.

The Bernese mountain dog knocked Wu Jin heavily to the ground with a thud, then frantically licked her face.

Wu Jin's expression barely changed. This dog was much heavier than Qiuqiu. The two girls beside her were frightened, but once they recovered, they hurried to help her up.

"Are you okay, Jin? Quick, wipe your face."

"You didn't hurt your hands in the fall, did you? Nothing can happen to your hands. Oh my god, that scared me to death."

The dog's owner hurried over to apologize and offered to pay compensation or take her to the hospital, but Wu Jin shook her head and declined.

"I'm-"

Suddenly, a powerful force surged up from beneath Wu Jin's feet. Everyone else instinctively stepped back as fountain water poured over her.

Wu Jin: o-o

Fans: Uh...

Dog owner: Didn't she check the almanac before going out today?

When she returned to the base, everyone happened to be awake.

Shi Mu fell silent for a moment as he looked at Wu Jin's disheveled appearance.

"Did you go out cosplaying a beggar?"

Wu Jin: .

After Wu Jin cleaned herself up, Coach Ming called everyone into a room for a short meeting. It mainly concerned the team's coordination and strategy for the spring split. GOD's previous playstyle had been fairly cautious and had placed extremely high demands on the players' endurance.

But Wu Jin's playstyle was aggressive and brutal, so the old approach was clearly unsuitable. Coach Ming presented his analysis of their last match against the YH Team.

He pointed out that Wu Jin played too independently, with no awareness of how to coordinate with her teammates, and that she hadn't handled some small details perfectly enough.

Although Wu Jin was strong, she couldn't be too aggressive, because some teams especially liked to target players with her style.

And as expected, Coach Ming tore into bin. He had made too many mistakes, and they were too minor. If he played like that in a match, he would drag down the whole team.

"Adjust your mindset. We don't need you to deal a huge amount of damage. Just maintain..."

Before Coach Ming could finish, bin stood up with a dark expression and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

"So he can't take criticism now? All right, all right, go train!"

Coach Ming pressed a hand to his forehead, his head aching, and waved for them to hurry off.

Back at her seat, Wu Jin followed the coach's instructions and silently practiced her fundamentals. She went back and forth like that all afternoon, until her hands ached from pressing the keys.

That evening, Wantonly came back from outside with the new phone he had bought for Wu Jin, along with barbecue and milk tea, which he shared with everyone.

Wu Jin registered an account and added everyone's contacts. The next second, she was pulled into a group chat: Who Is Useless (5).

That group name...

Shi Mu, who was sitting beside her, took a wrapped gift from his drawer and placed it on Wu Jin's desk.

"A bribe to get you to carry me. Open it and take a look."

The gift had been wrapped with great care. Wu Jin opened it as carefully as she could. Inside was a keyboard in contrasting colors, engraved with the three letters "Jin."

"Thank you."

Clear coughed twice, swaggered over to Wu Jin, and plunked a gift down on the desk.

The gift he had carefully picked out was guaranteed to make Wu Jin jump three feet into the air with joy.

Wu Jin opened it and looked inside.

It was the crystal ball that was bound to appear when you searched "gifts for girls" on a shopping app...

"Pfft."

Shi Mu laughed out loud.

Wantonly burst out laughing too.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha, I'm dying! A crystal ball! Qin Zhou, you're such a clueless straight guy! Seriously, I'm going to die laughing."

"What are you laughing at? This crystal ball is a limited edition! It cost almost ten thousand!"

"You spent ten thousand on a crystal ball? Is there something wrong with your brain...?"

Clear flushed bright red, thoroughly indignant. He had spent ages researching before choosing it, and everyone had said girls were sure to like it!

"Quit yapping. It's not for you. Go on, tell me you don't like it."

Clear looked at Wu Jin, his eyes full of indignation. Wu Jin had never seen such a large crystal ball. There was a golden rose inside, and the whole thing glittered. When she shook it, snow swirled everywhere. She quite liked it.

"I like it."

At Wu Jin's answer, the corners of Clear's mouth shot skyward.

"Did you hear that? She likes it! You tasteless hicks!"

"Heh, Little A Jin is just being nice to you. Who but you would give someone a crystal ball these days?"

Brother Qian heard them arguing from upstairs. Their daily bickering made his ears ache, and after he warned them a couple of times, they obediently quieted down.

He had come to see Wu Jin. Today was her livestream debut. He helped her set up the camera and other equipment, then told her about some things she mustn't say on stream before leaving, satisfied.

As soon as Brother Qian left, Wantonly poked his head out again. "Your first stream's tonight? I can't wait! Just wait, I'll send you a Carnival gift!"