Perhaps because he wasn't feeling entirely clear-headed due to being sick, Shen Kuangye's expressions were far more lively than usual, and his tone unusually gentle.
Lu Xiangyang froze for a moment and whispered, "You really don't dislike me?"
"No need to force yourself. If you can't accept it, I can just move out and live alone—um."
He didn't even finish the last word before Shen Kuangye covered his mouth with his hand. Shen Kuangye's palm was warm, with a faint, pleasant scent.
"I don't dislike you. I just hope you can be a little happier."
Shen Kuangye's voice was hoarse. The medicine was kicking in, and his eyes were almost shutting, yet he still forced himself to respond to Lu Xiangyang's question.
"Just… don't go somewhere I can't see."
That last sentence made Lu Xiangyang's heart race.
No one could hear that and remain unaffected.
Especially when it was coming from someone you liked.
Lu Xiangyang felt that the vague feelings he'd had suddenly became clear.
If he doesn't dislike me, then…
His voice trembled slightly: "Kuangye… do you… like me too?"
The room fell silent for a long while, with only the faint sound of Shen Kuangye's shallow breathing in his ears.
He had fallen asleep.
Lu Xiangyang, feeling flustered, laid him back on the bed, looking at Shen Kuangye's face, slightly pale and sickly from the fever.
He felt a little… weird. The way Shen Kuangye had been in his arms earlier made him feel as if something inside him had been filled.
Usually, Shen Kuangye was so composed and steady; only when sick and drowsy would he reveal glimpses of his youthful behavior—crying, laughing, or getting upset.
He was no longer the perfectly responsible "big brother," but just an ordinary boy capable of feeling sadness or grievance.
If possible, Lu Xiangyang wanted to be Shen Kuangye's support.
Thinking of Shen Kuangye's earlier response, Lu Xiangyang felt a bit happy.
Some things didn't need to be suppressed in your heart forever. You don't need to scare yourself; you can just ask the questions weighing on you, and the answer might not be nearly as bad as you imagined.
Especially when it's a vague response from Shen Kuangye.
If he had strongly resisted, Lu Xiangyang might have given up. But Shen Kuangye's answer allowed him to hope a little.
Still, he was satisfied with today's answer and decided to take it slow.
——
Shen Kuangye's fever was severe; he slept the whole day.
Li Shu and the others also checked on him several times and even brought some care packages, several bags of chips and spicy sticks, of which Shen Kuangye took one bag and ate it.
Lu Xiangyang watched, facepalming silently.
Ranked matches continued as usual at noon and evening. Perhaps because he hadn't streamed much over the past couple of days, the viewer count was unusually high today.
[What happened to WILD? Haven't seen him these past few days.]
[SUN, why are you so happy today?]
[I noticed too. That smile hasn't left his face once.]
[Even humming while playing games.]
[He even killed three Buddha-level bosses in one go.]
After finishing a game, Lu Xiangyang smiled at the chat.
"He's sick, won't be streaming today."
[What? WILD is sick? Is it serious?]
[Same question.]
"He has a fever. Probably from the cold wind last night."
[Makes sense.]
[The season's changing, temperature differences are big. Take care of yourself.]
[Does he plan to make a fan group? QAQ I want to join!]
[Me too! Want to know exact stream times.]
Lu Xiangyang thought for a moment. "I don't really know about that yet, but if you want, I can look into it."
Now that he had more fans, and many had already sent gifts, he felt a little embarrassed.
There wasn't much else he could do, he just had to keep performing well in matches.
[Yay!!]
[So happy! Sending gifts to you, baby.]
[Didn't stream on Friday, couldn't even send my blessings.]
During the chat, Lu Xiangyang felt his phone vibrate.
At first, he thought it was a match notification, but when he looked down, it was a message from Shen Kuangye.
[Brother]: Where are you?
Lu Xiangyang suddenly remembered—he'd been so happy today that he forgot to start streaming using the gaming console prepared by the club.
His phone usually didn't get messages, so he never turned on "Do Not Disturb."
The chat exploded:
[?]
[??]
[???]
[Brother? Who is this?]
[Whoa, that title… could it be WILD?]
[Maybe it's SUN's real brother. Don't spam the CP fan comments here. Who's the admin?]
[Admin seems to be WILD.]
...
The next moment, viewers saw Lu Xiangyang remove his headphones, apologizing:
"I have something to take care of. Everyone, wait a moment."
He closed the phone screen share and showed fans other regulator matches on the PC.
Ignoring the barrage of question marks and teasing, he ran upstairs quickly.
Opening the door, Lu Xiangyang saw Shen Kuangye leaning against the bed, looking much better than in the morning. He couldn't help but cough; Lu Xiangyang quickly poured him a glass of warm water.
Shen Kuangye took a sip, easing the dryness in his throat.
"Kuangye, feeling better?"
Lu Xiangyang sat beside the bed, looking concerned.
Shen Kuangye quietly nodded, "Mm."
Lu Xiangyang pressed the back of his hand to his forehead, confirming the fever was gone, then said, "Hungry? Want to eat something?"
His tone was unusually gentle, Shen Kuangye had never been treated like this before.
He had always endured being sick alone; this time, he must have dreamt of Lu Xiangyang taking care of him. Waking up to a dark room had made him feel uneasy, prompting the message earlier.
"…Not hungry."
Shen Kuangye stubbornly said.
"Liar," Lu Xiangyang mercilessly called him out. "You haven't eaten all day. How could you not be hungry?"
Shen Kuangye's lips moved but he didn't speak.
"Kuangye, you don't need to be afraid of troubling me. Like I said this morning, I'll always take care of you."
Lu Xiangyang smiled, with a subtle hint of intimacy, gripping the bedsheet nervously.
Shen Kuangye blinked, confused: "What morning?"
Lu Xiangyang's smile froze. Had Shen Kuangye forgotten everything?
Standing, he casually said, "Nothing. Stay here and rest well, Kuangye. I'll make some noodles for you."
After Lu Xiangyang left, Shen Kuangye sank into thought.
He tried hard to recall what had happened that morning, but his mind was blank. The only memory was being held in someone's arms, coaxed with a soft voice.
Lowering his eyes and rubbing his face, he realized Lu Xiangyang was still streaming.
He clicked into the live room and saw that Lu Xiangyang had just left it open, not present in person.
As the admin, his entry triggered effects, drawing a lot of viewers.
[Whoa, WILD is here?]
[SUN said you were sick?]
[Feeling better now?]
[Reasonably guessing that the brother SUN was going to see must be WILD.]
Brother? How did they know?
Scrolling up, Shen Kuangye saw someone had asked earlier, and a fan had answered:
[Earlier, SUN was playing games when a message came in, labeled "Brother." SUN immediately exited. That person must be in the club. Combine that with WILD being sick and needing care, we guessed it.]
[Didn't expect sick WILD to be so clingy.]
[Fangirling will only harm you.]
[Actually, no.]
[On the contrary.]
So Lu Xiangyang's contact note for him was "Brother"?
Shen Kuangye returned to WeChat, checked the note he had for Lu Xiangyang—it was his full name.
Thinking it over, he changed it.
Several names flashed in his mind before he finally set the note as—Yangyang.
He had always thought reduplicated nicknames sounded childish, but for Lu Xiangyang, it was quite cute.
He stared at that contact note for a long time before finally putting the phone away, satisfied.
At that moment, a notification sounded on his phone—it was EAR's salary.
Although EAR couldn't compare with other clubs, at least they didn't withhold pay. They provided what they could for the players, and streaming gifts weren't deducted. Salary deposited in IVL was modest but fair.
ELLA probably liked cutting corners with Shen Kuangye, exploiting his need for money, binding him with an oppressive contract, and even taking all streaming earnings. If Shen Kuangye wasn't careful when checking the salary, he'd mistake it for a verification SMS.
Shen Kuangye first logged into the hospital payment platform, paid for Lu Ning, then transferred some money to his usual account. After finishing, he opened the in-game store.
The moment he finished sending, Lu Xiangyang came in with the noodles.
"Kuangye, I'm not that good at cooking. Just make do with this."
Lu Xiangyang was a little humble.
When Lu Ning wasn't around, he often cooked for himself. His specialty was egg noodles with a little sesame oil, delicious and simple.
Shen Kuangye put down his phone, took a bite—it tasted familiar.
"Very tasty."
He said.
Lu Xiangyang scratched his head. "As long as it's tasty. Since you're sick, shouldn't eat too greasy."
"When you're better, I'll take you to eat something delicious, okay?"
This carried a hint of coaxing.
Noticing a few boxes of chips and spicy sticks on the table, Shen Kuangye blinked. Lu Xiangyang quickly explained: "I didn't eat them. Li Shu and the others brought them because they knew you were sick."
He added, "They may not have picked the best things, but everyone cares and kept asking if your fever had gone down."
Shen Kuangye lowered his head, eating another hot, comforting bite.
"You go stream. Don't worry about me."
Although EAR didn't manage player streams, leaving the stream unattended wasn't ideal for fans.
Before leaving, Lu Xiangyang reminded: "I'll go downstairs. Message me if you need anything."
Shen Kuangye nodded.
Returning to the live room, Lu Xiangyang picked up his phone and resumed the stream.
[Finally back!]
[Half an hour! Do you know how we spent that half hour?]
[What did SUN just go do?]
Lu Xiangyang sent a small red envelope as a gift to the viewers: "Sorry to keep everyone waiting."
[It's fine, baby, we were joking anyway.]
[Did you go take care of WILD?]
[Is WILD feeling better?]
Lu Xiangyang nodded: "He's better."
After finishing his half-hour ranked session, he noticed a red dot on his friend list.
Lu Xiangyang had many friends; fans sent messages daily, and he replied when he could.
Clicking in, he noticed the red dot was on the mailbox. Thinking it was a NetEase update or a friend selling an account, he opened it to see a series of messages titled: "Gifts from Friends."
Opening them, he found all the skins Shen Kuangye had sent this season—none cheap.
He had never been so generous before.
The last message confirmed: "Reward redeemed successfully."
Lu Xiangyang opened it and was stunned.
It was D.M's skin as a gift.
Not only was he stunned, but the viewers in the live room were too.
After a few seconds of shock, everyone started spamming question marks.