Little Fish and Mint - Chapter 30
After waiting for a while, Jasmine didn’t see Xu Yitong return.
Thinking something had happened, Jasmine anxiously called her while simultaneously going to look for her. In the distance, she spotted Xu Yitong already relaxing in a wicker chair, head down, playing on her phone.
Jasmine felt her vision darken.
She walked toward Xu Yitong and complained, “Why didn’t you answer my phone?!”
Her voice arrived before she did.
Xu Yitong looked innocent and explained, “I didn’t get it. The signal’s bad here, right? Didn’t I message you to go ahead without me?”
Jasmine paused, her hand outstretched to pull Xu Yitong up. “Why?”
Instead of answering, Xu Yitong asked seriously, “See this potted plant next to me?”
Jasmine glanced at the object in question. “Yes, and?”
Xu Yitong sounded a bit distressed. “My husband told me not to leave. He wants me to wait for him here.”
Her smug expression coupled with the helpless tone made Jasmine want to slap her. She finally understood why Cai Yishi was always scolding her.
“Yu Ge?”
Xu Yitong replied as if it were obvious, “Who else?”
“He won’t let you leave?” Jasmine reached out to feel Xu Yitong’s forehead. “Are you hallucinating from a fever?”
Xu Yitong brushed her hand away, acting reluctant. “Fine, I’ll show you.”
Finally, it was Xu Yitong’s turn to show off her chat logs.
Jasmine skeptically took the phone, took ten seconds to confirm Xu Yitong wasn’t making it up, then another twenty seconds to read through everything. Disbelieving, she walked away.
The spot Yu Ge designated, though close to him, was constantly flooded with waves of fans, sometimes obscuring him completely. It severely hampered her viewing experience.
Nearby, a three-tiered, curved staircase-like seating area caught Xu Yitong’s eye. After observing for a moment, she climbed to the highest level, bypassing a few others resting there.
Thankfully, she was wearing jeans today.
This spot offered a much broader view, overlooking half the exhibition hall with no obstructions. She smugly thought to herself, I’m a genius.
Since the signal was poor anyway, Xu Yitong put her phone away and listened to two people chatting nearby.
They were clearly there for the same reason – to see their idol.
“You know, OG really produces handsome guys. Not even mentioning our PCL players, just look at any random guy here – so refined and handsome.”
“Who are you talking about?”
“That booth in Area C, the guy sitting on the far right.”
“Girl, that’s Fish from LPL…”
“Oh, damn, it’s him? Area C is LPL? Why do they even have two extra seats, each with two assistants standing behind them? Special treatment much?”
The other person replied with a sigh, “Do you know the value of OG’s crown prince team? More than half the money poured into your PCL over the past two years was earned by them.”
“….That much?”
“Not to mention other sponsorships, do you know how much prize money OG earned from them just from this year’s various LOL leagues and MSI? And that’s not even the bulk of it. You might not believe this, but Fish’s economic and streaming contracts alone are enough to support a small team. Do you know how popular he is? I have a friend who used to work in OG’s business department. He said that two years ago, OG used Fish’s three-year contract renewal to directly finance Lg.Game, and the company took off.”
“…Wow.”
Gossip was always interesting. Xu Yitong listened with relish.
After this explanation from a seasoned esports fan, Xu Yitong realized just how impressive Yu Ge was.
It was only natural for such an accomplished person to look down on Chen Yuzheng as a potential brother-in-law…
She sighed inwardly. Yu Ge was usually so low-key; outside the arena, he seemed like an ordinary person.
Although she always called him a famous internet celebrity, she didn’t really understand the esports world and had no concrete concept of his professional gamer status. She’d even entertained the absurd idea of buying him off…
Xu Yitong’s thoughts drifted further and further, her gaze fixed on Yu Ge.
Yu Ge sat at the edge of the table. Occasionally, young girls would stop, take a second glance, or whisper to each other arm in arm. Yu Ge, like a cold, work-focused robot, barely changed his posture.
He’d lift his arm to receive something, sign it, hand it back, and repeat. He kept his head down while signing, focused on these monotonous tasks, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings.
Sometimes, fans would linger to chat, and Yu Ge would pause, listening silently, never interrupting no matter how long they spoke. Sometimes, people would ask for a photo, and he would turn his face slightly, tilting his head up.
His thin lips pursed, his expression calm as he faced the camera, still not smiling. But whether with men or women, Yu Ge maintained a distance during photos, avoiding physical contact. A subtle coldness permeated his politeness.
Xu Yitong, chin resting on her hand, was captivated, not even blinking.
‘How is he getting more handsome the longer I look?’
She wondered if he had cast some sort of spell on her.
She stared for ten minutes, until her eyes ached.
So when Yu Ge turned his head, Xu Yitong just missed it.
Sitting in such a conspicuous spot, Yu Ge spotted Xu Yitong almost instantly.
—She was doing eye exercises.
Yu Ge’s temple throbbed.
The person waiting at the table noticed his sudden pause and curiously followed his gaze into the crowd, but saw nothing unusual.
The fan asked, bewildered, “Is something wrong?”
“No.”
Yu Ge frowned slightly and finished signing the item quickly.
Soon, it was the next person’s turn.
Pressing down the paper, Yu Ge glanced over again. Xu Yitong was still rubbing her eyes. He paused, then picked up his phone and sent her a message.
-Fs: [Come down]
……
……
After finishing her eye exercises, her vision clear and bright, Xu Yitong, eyes sparkling, continued to diligently monitor Yu Ge’s every move.
She didn’t have long to watch. A young man ran over, panting.
“Hey, Miss!” the boy with a staff badge called out. “Come down!”
Xu Yitong didn’t recognize him. Confused, she pointed at herself. “Me?”
“Yes, you.” Seeing her hesitation, the young man couldn’t recall her name – Xu something… He could only confirm, “You’re Fish’s friend, right?”
At these words, the murmurs around them stopped. Even those sitting on the lowest level looked up in shock at Xu Yitong, their expressions full of surprise…
Under everyone’s gaze, Xu Yitong quickly gathered her things and descended, asking, “What’s wrong?”
The young man scratched his head and explained in a low voice, “Fish asked me to take you somewhere else to wait.”
“Where?”
“Follow me.”
The young man led the way, and Xu Yitong followed. After speaking with the staff, he led her past the temporary barrier. After a short detour, he pushed open a side room door marked with a sign reading “Staff Only”. “Wait here.”
“Ah… Okay.”
“Find a seat. There’s food and drinks over there on the table; help yourself if you’re hungry. They should be finished in an hour or two.”
With these hurried instructions, the young man ran off to continue his work.
Xu Yitong, bewildered, looked around the room. This seemed to be the staff break room. Many people in identical uniforms were bustling about.
She found an empty chair and pulled out her phone. The signal was still only one or two bars.
Seeing the guy next to her playing Honor of Kings, Xu Yitong watched for a bit. When his screen went dark, she took the opportunity to ask, “Isn’t your game lagging?”
The guy looked at her. “No, why? There’s Wi-Fi here.”
“Oh, what’s the Wi-Fi? I want to connect too.”
The boy told her.
After connecting to the Wi-Fi, Xu Yitong finally saw Yu Ge’s message.
She belatedly replied: [My phone had no service! I’m already downstairs.]
He didn’t reply, probably busy again.
After sitting for a while, Xu Yitong felt hungry. She’d barely eaten anything the past two days because of her tooth extraction. She wandered over to the food table, but there wasn’t any soft food she could eat. In the end, she picked a few pieces of fruit.
Removing her mask, Xu Yitong ate while listening to the guy next to her constantly grumbling, seemingly frustrated with his game.
Xu Yitong glanced over curiously. “Is that jungler a new hero?”
“Yeah, this Jing is driving me crazy, flitting all over the place.”
“Yeah, the new heroes are so overpowered. What are the developers thinking?”
The guy said, “Definitely the top-tier pick this patch, but it takes skill.”
Xu Yitong commiserated, “Yesterday, I was playing Xiao Qiao, hiding under the tower, and the enemy Jing, with just a Master’s Fury, dove and killed me.”
This opened the floodgates. The guy continued, “Have you seen a Jing with a Broken Star? This dude can one-shot squishies early game, and late game with Broken Star, it’s just a 100% instant kill from a mile away. It’s insane.”
“Ah, but Jing is super flashy, perfect for impressing girls.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
As they chatted, the guy finished his game. He glanced at Xu Yitong. “Want me to play Jing and carry you in a game?”
“Sure.”
While waiting to enter the game, the guy introduced himself: “I’m Xiao Jie.”
“I’m Xu Yitong.”
Xiao Jie asked curiously, “Do you work at OG?”
“No, I’m waiting for a friend. How about you?”
“Oh, I came with my dad. Who’s your friend? I know everyone at OG.” Xiao Jie boasted, “Do you know Hao Ge from KPL? He often plays games with me.”
“I don’t really watch KPL, so I don’t know those players. I follow LPL.”
“I don’t know the LPL people that well.”
Xu Yitong gave a noncommittal “oh” and didn’t think much of it. The mid lane was taken, so she said, “I’ll play support.”
“Perfect, pick Yao and just stick to me.”
The game ended in fifteen minutes. Xiao Jie looked at his 3-13 record with a grimace. “Want to play another round? I’m not very familiar with this hero yet.”
“Sure.”
The second game was even faster, ending with a surrender vote at eight minutes.
Xiao Jie was frustrated. “Want to play another?”
Xu Yitong hesitated, unsure how to decline, when a man in his thirties or forties approached.
Xiao Jie stood up and called out, “Dad.”
Seeing them playing games together, the man frowned and glanced at Xu Yitong, noticing she wasn’t wearing a staff badge. He asked, “Is this your friend?”
Xiao Jie turned, beaming. “Dad, she’s Fish’s…”
Before he could finish, the door to the lounge opened, and a few people walked in.
Among them was Yu Ge.
The room fell silent.