ATAVID CH118 [Extra]

All in all, from that night on, Wei Xun comfortably settled down at Jiang Qunyu’s place with a clear conscience.

However, the room was still a bit small, and there was only one bed. Jiang Qunyu had no intention of letting Wei Xun sleep in his bed. His bed was soft and sweet-smelling, his favorite thing in the world besides his self-deprecating bear doll.

As for Wei Xun, he currently had no plans to compete with the bed for favor either—of course, to a large extent, this was to prevent the risk of getting kicked out from increasing exponentially.

Thus, very tactfully taking the initiative, he claimed the old sofa in the living room and abided by the rules to temporarily stay there.

This also led to a day when Jiang Qunyu returned from the esports training base, only to find an inexplicably larger sofa in his house. Facing Wei Xun’s excuse—that sleeping on the original sofa meant he could barely stretch his legs out straight, which felt extremely uncomfortable—Jiang Qunyu was left entirely speechlessly rendered.

He could only accept that his old sofa was being set aside, replaced by this new sofa Wei Xun had bought, which had a better texture and was much softer.

In the beginning, Jiang Qunyu had fought hard for his old sofa, but before long, he discovered that lying on Wei Xun’s sofa while binge-watching shows was indeed more comfortable than his own.

Without holding out for more than a few days, Jiang Qunyu hugged his bear and shifted over to Wei Xun’s sofa together.

The only good thing about Wei Xun was probably that even if he saw him usurping his place, he wouldn’t say anything, and would even feed Jiang Qunyu fruit.

So, even though Jiang Qunyu had originally wanted to interrogate Wei Xun about where he got the money to buy the sofa, in the end, he swallowed his words back down into his stomach.

Fine, he couldn’t help it—it was because this sofa was too soft. His ugly self-deprecating bear liked it here, so Jiang Qunyu could only reluctantly accompany it over.

Besides, he was currently eating the fruit Wei Xun was handing to him…

Forget it, he’d ask tomorrow.

Jiang Qunyu thought to himself in silence.

Wei Xun imitated Jiang Qunyu by sitting cross-legged, spearing a piece of cantaloupe and holding it up to Jiang Qunyu’s mouth. “Another piece?”

“I don’t want cantaloupe anymore,” Jiang Qunyu tilted his head away. “I want a piece of mango.”

“Oh.” Wei Xun raised his hand and popped the piece of cantaloupe into his own mouth before spearing another piece of mango for Jiang Qunyu.

“…You’re using my fork.” Jiang Qunyu turned his head back expressionlessly.

Wei Xun was amazed that Jiang Qunyu could still see what he was doing while watching his show. He lied with a flat tone, “I forgot to switch.”

“Really?” Jiang Qunyu didn’t trust Wei Xun’s mental state. In his view, Wei Xun probably had something wrong with his head.

“Really.” Wei Xun even kindly suggested, “If you truly mind, I’ll go get a new one for you.”

Jiang Qunyu scrutinized Wei Xun’s expression closely; it didn’t look fake, so he reluctantly believed him. “Oh, fine. Mango.”

He didn’t actually make Wei Xun go get another one.

The two finished the fruit platter piece by piece. Jiang Qunyu glanced at the time; it was time for aim practice again.

He grabbed his bear, still wearing his pajamas, and placed it beside his computer. After thinking for a moment, he walked back to the living room: “Wei Xun, I’m doing aim practice. Don’t come in.”

Seeing him come out, Wei Xun subconsciously hid his phone behind his back and nodded in response. “Okay.”

Jiang Qunyu let out a sigh of relief upon hearing this, but he also felt Wei Xun’s behavior was a bit too obedient. He shot him a strange glance before closing the door.

Because he had told his fans about today’s livestream schedule last night, not long after he went online, the chat stream was already packed with comments.

[Nox is so early today!]

[Is it just my imagination? Why do I feel like our pup gained a little weight? It’s only been a week, right?]

[Looks like our pup has been eating well recently!]

[AHHH! Pup is so cute! These cute pajamas match him so well!]

[When does the league tournament start?]

Jiang Qunyu and Tao Mingxiao dropped into Pochinki together, rapidly looting gear. Since many people dropped into Pochinki, gunshots rang out before long.

While controlling his character to jump down from the upper floor, Jiang Qunyu casually popped the head of someone who was planning to prone inside the room.

[Holy crap, what a clean play!]

Only after harvesting most of the kills did Jiang Qunyu spare the attention to look at the stream chat.

“I didn’t get fat.” He paused, then added, “But I really have been eating well recently.”

“The news about the league tournament probably won’t be known until our manager gets back.”

He replied to the comments one by one, and Tao Mingxiao chimed in from the side: “It should be in a few days, right? Speaking of which, why has Old Bai been out for so long this time without coming back? He probably pulled in some huge investment, huh?”

The “Old Bai” in Tao Mingxiao’s mouth was the manager of their esports team.

Jiang Qunyu wanted to know why more than anyone else.

Mainly, he wanted to confront the manager face-to-face: what kind of trash business card had he recommended to him back then?

Didn’t they agree he was a psychologist?

Why did he feel like Wei Xun needed to see a psychologist way more than he did?

Perhaps carrying some irritation, Jiang Qunyu’s aim practice today was packed with fiery aggression.

Tao Mingxiao’s cheeky voice came through from the other side of the computer: “Your firepower is so intense today. You didn’t fail an offline meetup, did you?”

Jiang Qunyu’s movements froze. He had originally intended to toss a grenade into the opposite room, but his hand slipped, throwing it directly at his own feet instead.

BOOM!

Before the fans in the livestream or Tao Mingxiao could react, the computer screen displayed that both of them were knocked down onto the floor.

Tao Mingxiao: “…”

Jiang Qunyu: “…”

He blinked lightly, stunned for a moment before saying, “Player Three, come over and revive me and Player Two.”

Player Three was shocked too: “Holy shit, Nox, did you guys run into some top-tier god over there? How did you and Echo die together?”

Jiang Qunyu didn’t speak.

Tao Mingxiao didn’t speak either.

Only the stream chat was wildly spamming—

[Holy shit? There’s really something going on?]

[What happened? I just clicked into the livestream and saw Nox and Echo turned into loot crates together!]

[Person above, you’re late. Nox used a grenade to blow himself and Echo up together, and Player Three didn’t make it in time to save them.]

[So pup, what actually happened when you went for that offline meetup last week?]

Jiang Qunyu drank a sip of water in silence.

Unexpectedly, Tao Mingxiao’s eerie voice echoed in again: “Nox, don’t tell me the person you met offline is a guy just like me?”

“Cough, cough, cough—”

Jiang Qunyu was already feeling very guilty. Hearing this sentence so abruptly, he accidentally choked and broke into a fit of violent coughing.

“Holy shit, holy shit!” Tao Mingxiao said. “It really is?!”

Jiang Qunyu gritted his teeth in anger. Fuck, Tao Mingxiao really is toxic.

“No! Get lost!”

Right at that moment, a knock sounded on the door outside.

[Who is it? So late at night?]

[Don’t tell me they’re already living together?]

[Is the progress that fast? No way, right? Didn’t Echo say pup’s offline meetup object was a guy? Pup is straight, right? The meetup thing probably fell through already.]

Jiang Qunyu went stiff.

Outside the door, hearing his coughing, Wei Xun set his work down, knitted his brows, knocked, and asked, “Jiang Qunyu, what’s wrong?”

[It really IS a guy? Holy shit, what on earth is going on?]

Jiang Qunyu: “…”

He had no choice but to say: “Don’t listen to Echo. It’s my brother.”

Saying so, Jiang Qunyu hastily ended the livestream.

Then, with a face full of resentment, he stood up, pulled the door open, and looked up at Wei Xun with a fierce voice: “Didn’t I tell you you’re not allowed to come in?”

Perhaps because he had choked on the water just now, a light flush spread across Jiang Qunyu’s face and the back of his neck. The depths of his eyes held physiological tears, hazy and misted, making him look very pitiful.

Seeing that he was fine, Wei Xun let out a sigh of relief. He pursed his lips slightly: “Sorry, I thought you caught a cold.”

He raised his hand and pressed the back of his hand against Jiang Qunyu’s forehead. “Good, no fever.”

Jiang Qunyu froze.

He wanted to move his forehead away from Wei Xun’s hand, but the hand carried a gentle warmth, and Jiang Qunyu didn’t really want to move. He could only say in a muffled voice, “I didn’t.”

His long eyelashes drooped slightly, casting a small shadow over his white-porcelain skin. “I just wasn’t paying attention when drinking water.”

The weather had been changing over these past few days. Even though it was almost June, the weather in Wuchen was constantly raining. The air was muggy and damp, becoming a natural breeding ground for viruses to proliferate wildly. When Jiang Qunyu went to the training base a few days ago, several friends had caught the flu and were currently isolating at home.

Jiang Qunyu treasured his own little life immensely, so he had taken a few days of leave to stay home obediently.

However, Wei Xun was even more attentive than he was regarding this matter. Every single day, Jiang Qunyu could see him wishing he could disinfect every corner of the house.

“If you feel uncomfortable anywhere, remember to tell me,” Wei Xun said.

Jiang Qunyu: “Oh.”

“It’s eleven at night. Drink a glass of milk before sleeping?”

Jiang Qunyu also randomly nodded in response: “Mm.”

Only after Wei Xun went to warm up the milk did Jiang Qunyu collapse back into his chair, his mind a jumbled mess of thoughts.

…Fine, Wei Xun actually had a tiny bit of good in him after all.

Jiang Qunyu was used to keeping his phone on silent, but inside the gaming room, the phone screen lit up once again as messages popped up one after another.

He reached over and unlocked his phone; as expected, it was sent by Tao Mingxiao.

– Tao Mingxiao: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

He had sent at least over twenty of these messages. Jiang Qunyu couldn’t see the end of it with a single swipe, to the point where he couldn’t even recognize the character by the end.

– Tao Mingxiao: Little Qunyu ah, this is called the Heavenly Dao’s karmic cycle! Look at you now, the psychologist sister turned out to be a guy, huh?

– Tao Mingxiao: This time I really have experience. Talk to me, let Brother Tao give you some pointers.

Jiang Qunyu’s temples throbbed with pain, and he even wondered about the probability of going over to Tao Mingxiao’s place to beat him up first.

Out of sight, out of mind. Too lazy to reply to Tao Mingxiao, he went to the fan group to say he would stream again tomorrow, then grabbed his bear doll, covered his face with it, and zoned out.

The next few days passed without any major waves.

The only slight change was that Wei Xun bought more and more things. Every morning when Jiang Qunyu woke up, he could see new furniture added to the home.

Jiang Qunyu really couldn’t hold it in anymore. With a toothbrush still dangling from his mouth, he asked indistinctly, “Is this what you called having no money?”

Wei Xun pretended not to hear, merely turning the tables with a cold and solemn accusation: “Jiang Qunyu, I only bought a few things that we need to use. Are you already disliking me for being wasteful?”

Jiang Qunyu choked, left speechless.

Forget it, he and Wei Xun were never on the same wavelength anyway.

Perhaps this was just the unique brain logic of a lunatic.

Jiang Qunyu gave up communicating with Wei Xun, letting him fuss over the apartment as he pleased.

Originally, Jiang Qunyu felt that since Wei Xun wished he could disinfect the house inside and out every day, and his own physical health was usually pretty good, he couldn’t possibly be that unlucky.

So on his birthday, even though his head felt a little heavy, he didn’t think in the direction of falling sick.

After obediently thanking his fans, he ended the livestream, collapsing in a complete, lifeless slump.

Today, Wei Xun had said he had something to attend to and needed to go out, which had made Jiang Qunyu feel happy at the time.

Mainly because Wei Xun always loved to control him—sleeping too late meant getting nagged, drinking two bottles of cold yogurt meant getting nagged, and eating meals without vegetables also meant getting nagged.

It was finally his birthday today, so Jiang Qunyu just wanted to stay up late playing games, preferably until three or four in the morning before sleeping.

Unexpectedly, before he could even start staying up, his head became heavy and painful.

It felt as though it was being pricked by countless needle tips, hurting so much that he only wanted to lie there like a corpse.

Jiang Qunyu had originally wanted to do what he usually did when he got sick—randomly swallow a few pills and wait until he sweated it out tomorrow to get better.

Yet for some unknown reason, after struggling to drag himself up and take the medicine, he didn’t curl up under his blanket like he used to.

He curled up onto Wei Xun’s sofa instead, closing his eyes as he thought: When on earth is Wei Xun coming back?

If I lie here, Wei Xun will definitely be able to see me at first glance.

After today, he would be eighteen years old. He didn’t want to go see his late mother so early.

His thoughts drifted and sank, as if wrapped in the tide, completely uncontrollable.

One moment, he felt that dying wouldn’t be so bad after all—aside from his fans and those few bad friends who might shed a few tears for him, there didn’t seem to be anything in this world worth holding onto.

The next moment, he thought that although Wei Xun had lied to him, aside from being a bit neurotic at times… he seemed to be okay.

All sorts of unrelated matters crammed into Jiang Qunyu’s mind at once. After an unknown amount of time, the door was finally opened.

In truth, Jiang Qunyu didn’t like to cry. In his memory, the last time he had shed tears was years ago when he escaped from the Jiang family—the auntie had held him and cried, and he couldn’t hold it in, crying together with her.

From then on, Jiang Qunyu had never cried again.

Even when his team lost a match, amidst the arena full of boos and regrets, he merely gripped his mouse in silence with bloodshot eyes, not a single tear falling. Even in the dead of winter when the sky was still dark, and he had to drag himself up in thin clothes to practice his aim until his fingers were frozen stiff and numb, he rarely indulged himself in showing a trace of weakness.

It wasn’t as if he had never been sick before either. Most of the time he just endured it, enduring until he was dizzy, dazzled, and his whole body was limp and weak. Only when he truly couldn’t hold on any longer would he drag his heavy body alone to the hospital to register, get an IV, and take medicine.

It was clearly something he was long accustomed to, yet the moment the lock on the entrance door turned and the door was pushed open, Jiang Qunyu barely pried his heavy eyelids open. The moment he clearly saw the outline of the person stepping inside, the forbearance and grievances he had accumulated for so long crumbled instantly.

He finally couldn’t hold it back any longer and burst into tears.

Wei Xun had gone out very early this morning to the jewelry store in the city center to pick up the ring he had custom-ordered half a month in advance.

His fingertips were still holding the velvet box containing the ring, the icy touch pressed against his palm. The entire way back, he kept thinking that it would definitely look very pretty on Jiang Qunyu.

Yet the moment he reached the apartment door, his heart sank abruptly without any warning. An inexplicable panic gripped his chest so hard his breathing hitched, his brows knitting tightly together.

Opening the door, he saw at first glance Jiang Qunyu curled up on the living room sofa—a tiny ball, looking extraordinarily pitiful.

Seeing that he was home, Wei Xun first let out a sigh of relief. But as he stepped closer, he clearly saw the boy’s misty eyes, his face ghastly pale, silently shedding tears.

Wei Xun’s face instantly darkened, the aura around him dropping frightfully low.

His first reaction was that someone had bullied Jiang Qunyu. His mind rapidly flashed to Jiang Qunyu’s so-called biological father in name only, a surge of hostility suddenly welling up in his heart—

That man’s company had gone bankrupt long ago; did he still dare to come to the door looking to die?

With a cold face, he squatted down and reached out to wipe the tears from Jiang Qunyu’s face. The moment his fingertips touched the boy’s cheek, his movements paused slightly.

So hot.

At that moment, relying on the last shred of his strength, Jiang Qunyu managed to push himself up from the sofa. Under Wei Xun’s stunned gaze, he reached out to wrap his arms around Wei Xun’s neck, leaning softly into his embrace while sobbing softly.

Scalding tears poured out continuously, soaking the clothes on Wei Xun’s shoulder. The warm moisture penetrated through the fabric, burning Wei Xun’s heart with painful ache.

Buried in the crook of Wei Xun’s neck, Jiang Qunyu’s voice was raspy and weak, laced with a crying tone as he spoke brokenly: “Wei Xun… I think I’m sick. Can you take me to the hospital, please?”