Little Fish and Mint - Chapter 29

After sending the long apology message, Chen Yuzheng meticulously checked for typos, then breathed a sigh of relief. In his youth, he’d been arrogant, unfazed by criticism. But facing Yu Ge, he finally understood what it meant to meet his match.

He waited for a reply.

Impatient, he sent another message.

A red exclamation mark appeared: [Message sent, but rejected by the recipient.]

Chen Yuzheng froze.

Blocked?

The 16-degree AC suddenly felt colder.

…

…

“How did you guys even get caught?” Xu Yitong asked.

Chen Yuzheng, still reeling from being blocked, was in no mood for details.

Pressed, he gave a brief, grudging account of what happened at the after-party.

“So, you were being overly affectionate with Yu Nuo in public, and the OG team saw you?” she summarized.

“I told you, I was drunk! It wasn’t intentional!” he protested. “Besides, is it illegal to hug my girlfriend?”

“What did you do after you were caught?”

“What could I do?” He was exasperated. “I called Fish ‘ge’ (brother), just like Yu Nuo.”

“…”

Xu Yitong paused, alternating between thinking he was an idiot and being impressed by his audacity. “And then?”

“Then I told Fish we were family now,” he said listlessly. “What’s wrong with that? Just stating facts.”

Family.

Xu Yitong’s face paled, remembering her own recent message to Yu Ge.

Too late to take it back now…

“Good luck with that,” she said dryly, hanging up.

She checked Yu Ge’s chat again. Still no reply.

She tried sending him a small amount of money.

He hadn’t blocked her, at least.

She wandered over to water her plants, lost in thought.

Should she message Yu Ge and put in a good word for Chen Yuzheng? But while she knew her cousin well, this was Yu Nuo’s relationship. She couldn’t make any promises about his behavior.

It was a headache. She decided not to interfere.

✧✧✧

Yu Nuo sat on the sofa, staring into space. Seeing Yu Ge emerge from his room, she jumped up.

“Are you hungry? I can make you something,” she offered, following him into the kitchen.

“I’m not hungry.”

“Oh…”

“I bought some apples. Want one?”

“No, thanks,” he continued pouring himself a glass of water.

Silence.

He’d been distant since discovering her relationship with Chen Yuzheng. He didn’t ask about it, barely spoke to her. While he was usually quiet, she knew he was angry. She’d wanted to talk to him, but wasn’t sure how to start.

“What do you want for dinner tomorrow?” she asked, following him out of the kitchen. “I can go grocery shopping.”

“Mushroom soup, tomato and egg stir-fry, braised pork…”

Seeing he wasn’t responding, she glanced at him nervously.

“I won’t be home for dinner tomorrow,” he said.

“Oh… okay…” She looked disappointed.

He stopped, turning to her. “What did you want to say?”

“I… I was wrong,” she said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. “Awen told me… I’m sorry, Bro. I know you were worried. I shouldn’t have lied.”

He looked at her intently. “Make your own decisions. Don’t worry about what I think.”

Guilt washed over her. She clenched her fists, looking down.

If there was one person Yu Nuo never wanted to lie to, to hurt, it was Yu Ge.

They were siblings, sharing the same childhood. Countless times, when their father, drunk and enraged, had lashed out at her, Yu Ge had shielded her, protecting her from Yu Jiang’s blows.

Even when Yu Jiang had whipped them with a broken clothes hanger, Yu Ge had held her tight, refusing to let go.

Afterward, Yu Ge would be covered in bruises.

She’d sneak into the medicine cabinet, tending to his wounds, tears silently streaming down her face as she looked at the marks on his back.

‘Why wasn’t I born the older sibling? she’d wonder. I have my brother to protect me, but he has no one.’

She hated crying in front of him, because he’d always comfort her, telling her he was fine, even when he was clearly in pain. He bore it all silently, never complaining.

She knew he was hurting.

But he never showed it.

‘When I grow up, I won’t let anyone hurt him,’ she’d vowed.

But now, she was the one hurting him.

Tears blurred her vision. She heard him sigh.

A tissue appeared in front of her. “Why are you crying?” he asked gently.

Fighting back tears, she avoided his gaze. “I… I feel so… childish…”

“What do you like about Chen Yuzheng?” he asked after a moment.

“I… I don’t know…” she said, her voice uncertain.

He looked at her, rephrasing his question. “Why do you like him?”

She thought about it.

He waited patiently.

She remained silent for a long time.

He was about to leave, not wanting to push her, when she finally answered—

“I just… feel less lonely when I’m with him.”

He stopped.

They shared similar faces, similar families, and, it seemed, a similar loneliness.

He stared into space, then said quietly, “I see.”

✧✧✧

OG celebrated their tenth anniversary with a fan meet. All their esports divisions—League of Legends, King Pro League (Honor of Kings), PUBG, Dota 2, and CS:GO—were present.

Inspired by Xu Yitong, Moli had recently become an esports fan, following OG’s CS:GO team. They’d bought tickets to the anniversary event.

It started at 2 PM, but Moli had insisted on picking up a friend, Lingling, from the airport. After a leisurely lunch, they arrived at the venue over an hour early.

They were shocked by the crowd.

A massive line snaked down the street, stretching almost to the main road.

Asking around, they learned that fans had been queuing since 8 or 9 AM. The limited-edition merchandise was almost sold out.

After waiting for nearly two hours, they finally made it inside.

The venue was divided into sections for different games. Xu Yitong, being short, had to jump to see over the crowd.

The League of Legends and KPL sections were the most crowded.

“Come with me first. The line for your ‘husband’ is insane,” Moli said, pulling Xu Yitong towards the CS:GO section.

“The LPL line is crazy. You won’t even get close,” Lingling agreed. “Let’s wait till it dies down.”

“Fine,” Xu Yitong conceded.

The CS:GO line was short. Their team wasn’t based in Shanghai and hadn’t achieved much yet, so their fanbase was small.

“Who’s your husband?” Xu Yitong asked Moli, her cheeks still sore from her recent wisdom tooth extraction.

“The one with red hair. Isn’t he handsome?” Moli pointed excitedly.

Xu Yitong squinted. “He looks… sketchy.”

“Shut up,” Moli said through gritted teeth.

“Who’s your husband?” Xu Yitong turned to Lingling.

“The second one on the right,” Lingling pointed.

Xu Yitong studied him. “He’s… okay. Not as handsome as my husband, though.”

“And who’s your husband?” Lingling asked, amused.

“Fish from League of Legends. Know him?” Xu Yitong said proudly, waiting for this question.

“Of course! I watch LPL! He is handsome.”

“He’s okay. I have good taste, being an art student and all.”

Moli, unable to stand it any longer, said, “I can voice chat with my husband every night. Can you? My husband is actually my husband. Is yours?”

Xu Yitong: “…”

Moli showed her a screenshot of their chat. “My husband even said ‘goodnight, baby.’ Does yours?”

Xu Yitong retorted, “Your husband isn’t as popular. He must be easier to catch.”

“You’ll never get him, anyway.”

Xu Yitong glared at her, unable to argue.

Lingling, amused by their childish bickering, said, “Fish is notoriously unapproachable. No one can ‘catch’ him.”

The line moved quickly. It was their turn.

Moli sat down in front of Red Hair, handing him a poster to sign.

They flirted for a bit, then Red Hair, noticing Xu Yitong, smiled and said, “I’ll sign for you next.”

“She’s my friend, not your fan,” Moli said.

“Oh,” he continued signing. “Are you guys free later? Want to grab dinner?”

“Sure! We’re waiting for her to get an autograph from the League section.”

“The League section? The line is crazy. You might not even get one.”

“Oh…” Xu Yitong looked disappointed.

“Who do you want an autograph from? Maybe I can help.”

“Fish,” Moli said.

“Xi-ge? No problem!”

“It’s okay, I don’t really need an autograph. I just want to see him,” Xu Yitong said.

…

…

Xu Yitong had never waited in such a long line.

Halfway through, Moli and Lingling went to buy drinks, leaving her alone, surrounded by teenage boys.

She listened to their conversations, mostly about the game, but quickly tuned them out. So Yu Ge has a lot of male fans too… she thought, observing them.

…

…

The two-hour signing session had been extended by three hours due to the overwhelming number of fans.

Hui-ge frowned.

“The other sections extended their time too. Many fans traveled from out of town…” the staff member explained. “Sorry for the trouble.”

Yu Ge, without even a sip of water, had been signing autographs all afternoon.

He patiently posed for photos, his face impassive, but his professionalism impressing the fans. Only a few people knew he was in a bad mood because of Yu Nuo, and it was best not to bother him.

He took the next item, a poster with a sticky note attached, and started signing without looking, as usual.

He paused mid-signature.

The note read: Mr. Influencer, why are you ignoring my messages? Are you too good for us now?

He froze, then looked up, his face still expressionless.

Xu Yitong raised her hand.

He blinked, as if snapping out of a daze.

Seeing her mask, he asked, “Are you sick?”

Awen, sitting next to him, turned around at the sound of his voice, his eyes widening slightly as he recognized the girl.

He discreetly kicked Roy under the table.

“I had a tooth extracted,” she explained.

“Why are you wearing a mask?” he asked as he continued signing.

“My face is swollen. I look like a pig.”

Yu Ge: “…”

He looked down. “Take off your mask. I won’t look.”

Lingling and Moli, standing nearby, watched them.

“Your friend knows Fish?” Lingling whispered.

“They know each other, but they’re not close,” Moli whispered back.

“Not close? He seems very concerned…”

✧✧✧

Finally meeting Yu Ge, even if only for a brief moment, Xu Yitong was content.

“He was wearing a suit! So handsome!” she squealed, still giddy.

Unfortunately, the line was still long; she couldn’t linger.

“Are you two dating secretly?” Moli asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Spread the rumors! I love it!” Xu Yitong grinned.

Moli rolled her eyes.

As they were leaving, Xu Yitong suddenly stopped. “I forgot to take a picture!”

“You’ll have to queue again,” Moli said.

“I’ll just take one from afar. He looked so good today,” she said, pulling out her phone. “I need a picture.”

“Whatever, just hurry up,” Moli sighed.

Finding a good spot with a clear view, she opened her camera app, browsing filters. A WeChat message popped up:

-Little Fish: [See the potted plant on your right?]

Confused, she looked up.

Their eyes met across the crowded venue.

[I see it,] she replied instantly.

He looked down again, continuing to sign autographs with one hand, typing with the other.

A new message arrived:

-Little Fish: [Wait for me there.]