Chapter Forty-Six: Reunion

Cong Wenbin’s words made Yuan Zhong keenly aware that he was very familiar with Unreliable.

“Do you know him? I mean, in real life—have you two met?” Yuan Zhong asked.

“If you arrange it, I can meet him,” Cong Wenbin replied.

“So have you met him or not?”

Cong Wenbin retorted, “Is there any connection between those two things?”

Fine, she couldn’t outargue him, nor outmaneuver him. Yuan Zhong didn’t want to waste any more effort—it was just a matter of a few words, and his were even shorter.

So, under Cong Wenbin’s watchful gaze, she dialed Unreliable’s WeChat voice call.

After four or five rings, there was no answer.

“Maybe he’s busy right now?” Yuan Zhong checked the time.

“Wait a moment, he’s not streaming now,” Cong Wenbin said.

Alright, he really did his homework.

After another three rings, Unreliable finally accepted the call.

Yuan Zhong noticed that Cong Wenbin, sitting opposite, immediately tensed up, reminding her of a big rabbit with its ears perked.

“Hello? Unreliable, it’s Lady Fortune,” Yuan Zhong greeted.

“Hey, hey, what’s up? Are you trying to invite Stingy to play games? Hurry up, I can’t hold it here much longer,” Unreliable sounded quite cheerful.

“Sure, the night after tomorrow should work,” Yuan Zhong was planning to rest well tonight.

“Great, we’ll play together! Come to my stream?”

“No problem.” Yuan Zhong saw Cong Wenbin urging her, and quickly said, “By the way, let’s have dinner together tomorrow. We’ve known each other for a while, but never met in person.”

“Huh? What?” From the other side came a loud noise, something seemed to have fallen, and after a burst of static, he asked, “What did you say? I didn’t catch it just now.”

“Oh, I said let’s have dinner together, since we’re in the same city. No better day than tomorrow,” Yuan Zhong added.

Cong Wenbin gave a big thumbs up, satisfied, and then quickly typed on his phone.

“Alright, is it convenient?” Unreliable confirmed.

“Very convenient. I’ll find a place, unless you have a favorite restaurant to recommend?” Yuan Zhong read out.

“I eat takeout all the time, so I don’t really have any recommendations,” Unreliable said.

“Then I’ll pick. I’ll send you the address later,” Yuan Zhong continued.

“Uh, okay. Rare for a girl to invite me, especially you, Lady Fortune—I’ve gotta give you face. Alright, I’ll treat.”

Cong Wenbin nodded eagerly.

Yuan Zhong could only say, “Okay, it’s settled then.”

After hanging up, Cong Wenbin’s face was all smiles.

Yuan Zhong looked at him, feeling there was some scheme behind this. “Hey, you don’t have any bad intentions, right? I invited him, gotta make sure he’s safe.”

Cong Wenbin shot Yuan Zhong a look. “He’s my idol.”

“Why do you idolize him so much? He’s just so-so at gaming, isn’t he?” Yuan Zhong was curious.

“What do you mean ‘so-so’? You never saw him at his peak. Back when he played professionally, he was the backbone of the team, won multiple FMVP awards.”

“Really?” Yuan Zhong hadn’t paid much attention to Unreliable’s background—she’d occasionally come across his videos, saw him explain a few hero strategies in a simple and clear way, and followed him, but rarely watched live streams.

Cong Wenbin didn’t say more. Judging by his expression, he was in a great mood, even a bit excited.

The next day at work, Yuan Zhong didn’t see Wang Shanshan. The chief editor came over to ask about yesterday’s event, and Yuan Zhong described the book signing part she witnessed, without commenting on the rest.

The chief editor nodded, looked at Wang Shanshan’s empty seat, and said nothing.

Yuan Zhong breathed a sigh of relief—the chief wasn’t nearly as scary as Wang Shanshan.

Chen Yue said that the big sister probably lost face and would need a few days to recover. Yuan Zhong thought that was just as well, spared herself being a punching bag.

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With ten minutes left before the end of the workday, Cong Wenbin was already preparing, even coming over to ask Yuan Zhong if he should wash her cup for her.

Yuan Zhong waved him off, thinking to herself that once this was over, she wouldn’t get so entangled with him again.

The restaurant Cong Wenbin chose was a bit far, so Yuan Zhong drove for once. After getting in, Cong Wenbin tried to head for the driver’s seat.

“What are you doing?” Yuan Zhong was puzzled.

“Rare to see you drive. You’re not very practiced, it’s rush hour. Let me drive for you—it’ll be easier.”

“No need. I’ve got plenty of time, I’ll drive slowly.” Yuan Zhong quite liked her little car, and didn’t want anyone else behind the wheel.

She watched as Cong Wenbin squeezed into the passenger seat—it looked tough for him, given his height, as if he had to fold himself up.

“You can move the seat back,” Yuan Zhong reminded him. “There’s an electric button on the right, just below—try it.”

Cong Wenbin nodded. “You drive.”

He seemed so impatient.

Rush hour meant some traffic, but overall it wasn’t bad. Yuan Zhong felt Cong Wenbin was anxious to the point of restlessness.

When they arrived at the restaurant, they were fifteen minutes early.

“Send Unreliable a message, say you’re here. This is table sixteen,” Cong Wenbin reminded her, then started ordering dishes himself.

Yuan Zhong followed instructions, then said, “Shouldn’t you wait until he arrives to order? At least ask his preferences.”

Cong Wenbin shook his head. “No need.”

“You!” Yuan Zhong protested again, “Then order less, leave a few for him—what if he has dietary restrictions or wants to add something special?”

“He has no restrictions. I know his taste,” Cong Wenbin answered.

Alright, so “no need” meant no need to ask.

“You’ve really studied him, huh.” Yuan Zhong sipped her barley tea.

“Told you—my idol.”

No more information forthcoming, Yuan Zhong didn’t press. Anyway, once they met, everything would become clear.

Unreliable replied: On my way, about five minutes.

Cong Wenbin started staring at the entrance, full of anticipation.

A thought flashed through Yuan Zhong’s mind, but she suppressed it—no wild guesses, no prejudices, but she really couldn’t jump to conclusions. She wasn’t a true fan, so she didn’t quite understand that level of idol worship.

Soon, a casually dressed young man appeared at the door, quite tall—estimated over 1.80 meters—wearing a blue baseball cap with white lettering, stylishly worn backward.

“He’s here!” Cong Wenbin signaled to Yuan Zhong.

Yuan Zhong had only seen him in videos, so it took her three seconds to react, then she stood up and waved.

“Hello? Lady Fortune?” Unreliable walked over.

“Hello, Unreliable.” Yuan Zhong smiled. “Feels like a secret code. I’m Yuan Zhong, glad to meet you.”

“I’m Li Jiufeng.”

Yuan Zhong nodded, introducing Cong Wenbin beside her. “My colleague, Cong Wenbin.”

“Nice to meet you.” Li Jiufeng greeted naturally.

Cong Wenbin extended both hands, very seriously offering a handshake.

Li Jiufeng saw him bow a little, felt awkward, and stiffly copied the gesture.

To ease the tension, Yuan Zhong spoke, “Sit down. I’ve been busy lately and he’s helped me out a lot, so I wanted to treat him to dinner as thanks. No better day than today, so we all came together. I’ll be paying.”

“We agreed I’d come, but if I wasn’t thinking about footing the bill, I almost didn’t show up,” Li Jiufeng admitted, a bit embarrassed.

Yuan Zhong smiled, “I was too abrupt.”

“That’s quite a word—‘abrupt’—very literary, just like Stingy,” Li Jiufeng laughed. “I was actually considering inviting him along.”

“Stingy lives in our city too?” Yuan Zhong was surprised.

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“Yeah, but that guy’s a bit shy, even embarrassed to add WeChat. He always pulls me along, saying I’m used to being out in public.”

“I actually feel awkward about adding gaming friends on WeChat too. You’re an exception, since I’ve seen you, know what you look like—makes it feel less distant,” Yuan Zhong remarked.

“Fair enough, girls should be more cautious,” Li Jiufeng understood.

“The dishes are ordered. Here’s the list,” Yuan Zhong handed it over. “Want to add anything?”

“It’s plenty, plenty. I’m worried we won’t finish it all.”

“With him here, nothing will be wasted,” Yuan Zhong gestured to Cong Wenbin, who’d lately been her companion for overtime and takeout, with a surprisingly robust appetite.

Cong Wenbin looked at Yuan Zhong, then at Li Jiufeng, lowered his head and said nothing.

Yuan Zhong thought, Why isn’t he talking with his idol right here? Shouldn’t he seize the chance?

The server brought drinks, avocado milk. Yuan Zhong paused—she hadn’t noticed what they’d ordered, and this was quite niche. She was about to ask Li Jiufeng if he wanted something else, but he spoke.

“You like this too?”

Too? Well, what a coincidence. Yuan Zhong nodded, “Plant protein is healthy. I got used to it.”

“Me too. The doctor recommended it back when I was rehabbing.”

Rehab? Yuan Zhong nodded, not daring to ask more.

Seated, Li Jiufeng’s height wasn’t obvious. Yuan Zhong found him more familiar this way.

When the food arrived, Li Jiufeng seemed surprised.

“What’s wrong? Not to your taste?” Cong Wenbin finally spoke.

“No, it’s delicious—just uncanny, all my favorites.”

“As long as it’s good, as long as it’s good,” Cong Wenbin was delighted.

Li Jiufeng looked at him, then at Yuan Zhong.

Yuan Zhong explained, “He ordered.”

“Thanks,” Li Jiufeng said to Cong Wenbin.

Cong Wenbin shook his head vigorously, just focused on eating.

Yuan Zhong sighed inwardly—such attentive idol-worship, she wondered how he knew all this.

A spell of quiet followed. Unable to rely on Cong Wenbin, Yuan Zhong had to find topics herself. “I haven’t kept up lately—have there been any hero nerfs or buffs?”

“Yes,” Li Jiufeng nodded. This was his area of expertise.

Yuan Zhong listened quietly, occasionally asking follow-ups. The meal was pleasant, with a good atmosphere.

“By the way, you said you wanted to invite Stingy earlier—why didn’t you in the end?” Yuan Zhong suddenly recalled.

“That kid’s not very considerate—went to an event without telling me, snuck off alone.” Someone else ended up telling him about the book signing, and he was annoyed, thinking friends should notify each other. So he hadn’t paid attention to the flood of messages in the group.

“Oh.” So there was a bit of a rift—sounded like they were close, but Yuan Zhong didn’t probe further.

“Do you want to meet him?” Li Jiufeng asked.

Yuan Zhong shook her head. “I’d rather not. That would be a full-on internet friends meetup—I don’t want that, just playing games is fine.”

“Alright, up to you. But if you do meet him, you’ll probably be surprised.”

“Really? Why?” Yuan Zhong was curious—was it about his looks…?

“Don’t be fooled by him calling you ‘Master’ and acting all sweet—it’s just an act, careful you don’t get tricked,” Li Jiufeng chuckled.

Yuan Zhong laughed too—online, none of it was real.

“But he’d probably be surprised to meet you as well. I never expected you’d be like this,” Li Jiufeng added.

Well, clearly a straight guy at heart—first meeting, how could he comment on a girl? Yuan Zhong mused to herself.

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