Little Fish and Mint - Chapter 14
Xu Yitong was practically bouncing off the walls, her excitement contagious, even in the YY channel.
“This girl is interesting,” Awen chuckled. “I’ve heard fans call Fish ‘Fish God,’ ‘Fishy,’ ‘Xi-ge’… but ‘Xiao Yu’ (Little Yu)? How old is she?”
Roy mimicked Xu Yitong’s excited tone, “Little Yu is the best ADC in the whole wide world~!”
Yu Ge glanced at them indifferently, his face impassive, his usual icy demeanor firmly in place.
Awen, impressed by his composure, said, “A cute girl praises you like that, and you don’t even react? Truly a monk.”
“Xiao Yu, even your Luo-ge has to say something about this,” Roy slung an arm around Yu Ge’s shoulder.
Yu Ge shrugged him off.
“With such a strong Dao heart, can you even feel joy?” Roy wondered. [A “strong Dao heart” refers to a state of emotional detachment and unwavering focus, often associated with monks and cultivators in Chinese novels.]
“He might not feel joy, but he still knows how to carry girls and accept solo queue challenges. Terrifying,” Awen commented.
Little C remained silent, lost in thought.
A strong Dao heart?
Did I just imagine that smile? No… he was definitely smiling… Was it a sneer?
That doesn’t seem right.
Knowing Yu Ge, if he were in a bad mood, he wouldn’t tolerate their teasing.
But if he was in a good mood…
Why was he pretending to be aloof?
A terrifying thought crossed Little C’s mind—
Is Fish secretly… a tsundere? [A tsundere is a character archetype, typically someone who appears cold and aloof but has a hidden warm and affectionate side.]
…
As Xu Yitong finally calmed down, Will suddenly said, “That Changde Wan guy is hilarious. He’s reviewing the game on his stream, saying Fish was scripting.” [Scripting refers to using third-party programs to cheat in online games.]
“What?” Xu Yitong quickly grabbed her phone and opened the streaming platform.
The streamer’s chat was a chaotic mess of mockery and insults.
[Just admit defeat and call him daddy.]
[Streamer’s clearly Bronze, playing in Challenger. Confirmed.]
[Your Lucian got solo killed by a level three Jinx? Is that even possible?]
[Squidward is scripting! Squidward is scripting!]
[Script kiddie and princess cat. How fitting. XD]
Xu Yitong’s bl00d boiled.
The streamer, Changde Wan, didn’t show his face, only a 2D anime avatar in the corner of the screen. His voice was as annoying and high-pitched as the other gaming companions she’d hired.
He played the recording, whining, “I admit I lost, but look at this play at three minutes. I just used my ability, and he immediately turned around. That’s obviously scripting.”
Xu Yitong couldn’t take it anymore.
She still had leftover virtual currency on her account. She bought the most expensive on-screen message and unleashed a barrage of insults:
[You stupid cartoon! What nonsense are you spewing?!]
[Accusing someone of scripting just because you lost? Shameless!]
High-level accounts like hers were highlighted in chat. Combined with the premium message, her comments were impossible to miss.
“Who’s this righteous person?” Will wondered. “One of ours?”
“Idiot, look at her badge. She’s a Conquer fan,” Little C said, also watching the drama unfold.
Xu Yitong: “…”
The stream viewers, mostly League of Legends fans, quickly recognized her. [Isn’t that Conquer’s top fan?]
Gradually Cold ignored her comments. “This has nothing to do with Conquer. Don’t stir up trouble.”
“Conquer’s top fan is here for the show,” Will commented, amused.
“Tongtong, is that your account?” Yiyi asked.
“Yes,” she admitted sheepishly.
“Huh? Yours?” Will stammered. “But… aren’t you a Fish fan?”
“I forgot to mention, Chen Yuzheng is my cousin…”
Silence.
Gradually Cold continued analyzing the replay, frame by frame, trying to prove Yu Ge was cheating.
A viewer commented: [Check the ‘Canyon of the Kings’ WeChat mini-program. See who Squidward’s main account is before you talk.]
[Holy sh1t! It’s Fish!]
[？？？？？？？？？？？？？？？？]
[Fish. ‘Nuff said.]
[Streamer, take off your clown nose. You just accused Fish of scripting.]
[What a joke! Accusing Fish of cheating! What a clown!]
The chat exploded, the viewer count skyrocketing. The moderators couldn’t keep up with banning people.
Gradually Cold silently closed the replay and ended his stream.
“Fish’s fans are scary,” Will chuckled. “Too bad. No more entertainment.”
Awen, picking up the earlier thread, asked, “Xiao Zhen, aren’t you worried about Conquer’s opinion, liking Fish?”
“He’s my cousin, not my dad,” she said without hesitation. “Besides, even my dad can’t control who I like.”
Silence.
“I mean… like a fan, you know?” she quickly clarified.
“We know,” Roy said.
“We know,” Little C echoed.
Will, glancing at the still aloof Yu Ge, started singing loudly, “Xiao Yu, Xiao Yu, the most amazing Xiao Yu, if you dare open your eyes and look at me~ I don’t believe you’ll see nothing~”
They continued teasing Yu Ge, calling him “Xiao Yu.”
Even Xu Yitong, usually thick-skinned, felt embarrassed.
Why did I say that out loud? she thought, burying her face in her hands, but not removing her headset.
She remembered the “shipper” videos she’d seen online, feeling both envious and annoyed.
Now, she was the subject of esports gossip.
Yu Ge, however, remained silent, unfazed by their teasing.
He’s so composed, she thought.
“Stop teasing Yu Ge,” she said, feigning concern. “He’ll be upset.”
Please, tease him more. Spread the rumors, she thought secretly.
She suddenly remembered something, picking up her phone.
She was still on a voice call with Yu Ge. It had been almost an hour, but he’d been silent, probably muted.
Did he forget to hang up?
She quickly took screenshots, then, inspired by her current mood, changed her WeChat nickname.
The renovation company messaged her, scheduling a site visit for Wednesday afternoon.
She replied “OK.”
This Wednesday… she thought excitedly. Will I see Yu Ge again? I need to dress up!
Another message arrived.
Conquer: [Someone in my stream said you were arguing with Fish’s fans?]
She rolled her eyes.
Conquer: [Don’t piss off my brother, okay? Yu Nuo hasn’t told Fish about us yet. What if she’s just playing with me?]
Conquer: [How can Yu Nuo have a brother like that? I’ve never met anyone more arrogant. Last time, after the match, I tried to be friendly, and he completely ignored me!]
Looking at his complaints, she replied—
[I have no idea what you’re talking about.]
[But how did you know Yu Ge and I played together today? O.o]
He disappeared after reading her messages.
…
Xu Yitong chuckled, pleased with herself.
Sipping her milk tea, she replayed their earlier teasing in her mind.
She decided to strike while the iron was hot.
Miraculous Zhenzhen: [I wasn’t calling you Xiao Yu earlier.]
Miraculous Zhenzhen: [I don’t mind that you ignore me. I even gave you a cute nickname. Want to know what it is?]
She waited.
Five minutes.
She checked the chat. Still no reply.
She felt a twinge of disappointment.
He must not have seen it. He wouldn’t ignore me on purpose, she reassured herself.
She waited some more.
Staring at her phone, she thought, I have my pride, too. If he didn’t reply by midnight, she wouldn’t message him for a week!
She’d just made this vow when she heard his voice from her phone—
“What?”
She froze, staring at her phone in disbelief.
He was still there!
All her frustration and sense of grievance melted away.
Then she realized how quiet it was on his end.
Removing her headset, she pressed the phone to her ear. The usual background noise of Awen and the others was gone.
He was alone.
Just the two of them on the call.
Her heart raced.
“Did you step out?” she asked tentatively.
A soft thud. “Getting water,” he replied.
Suddenly shy, she hesitated to speak.
Afraid he’d hang up, she mumbled, “Hold on.”
She typed a message, then nervously sent it—
[Hai Tang is Big Fish, Yu Ge is Little Fish. [peeking]] [Hai Tang is a homophone for sea bream, a type of fish. This is a play on his ID, Fish.]
“Cute, right?” she whispered.
After a moment, he replied, “Mm.”