CH 11

Jiang Song woke up with his eyes lazily half-closed and his hair in disarray. Unlike his usual fierce expression, he looked soft and gentle at the moment.

If his former teammates from the team saw him now, they would be shocked and think that the end of the world had come.

Even Bai, who was easily startled, would cover his mouth and exclaim, “Wow, the demon king is actually smiling!”

And indeed, the demon king wanted to laugh at the moment.

At 2:30 in the morning, the young anchor sent him a 30-second voice message backstage, after retracting three messages in a row. Above that voice message was the message he sent, “Just kidding, let’s duo tomorrow.”

Jiang Song pursed his lips, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily lifted.

He retracted three messages, so he must have sung at least four times to be satisfied?

he says one thing but means another, this little one.

With an indescribable joy, Jiang Song lay back on the bed and sank into the soft pillow. He tapped on the small anchor’s voice message.

“Plant your dreams in the happy pond, and they will turn into an ocean~”

The voice of the small anchor sounded young and clear, with a unique charm that caught Jiang Song’s attention.

Moreover, the lighthearted lyrics revealed a hint of embarrassment and effort in the small anchor’s voice, which immediately painted a picture in Jiang Song’s mind.

He couldn’t help but laugh.

Meanwhile, in the hotel, Xie Yao slept until the afternoon, missing breakfast and lunch. When he woke up, it was already three o’clock.

Fortunately, he had asked the hotel staff for permission to delay the livestream until 6 pm before going to bed last night, so he still had time to grab dinner.

Zhou Tian had gone off somewhere and left a WeChat message before disappearing without a trace. Xie Yao hailed a taxi and went straight home from the hotel.

He was still wearing the all-black outfit from yesterday, with a duckbill cap covering his messy hair.

With the lingering scent of Sichuan cuisine on his clothes, Xie Yao went downstairs to buy a bowl of rice noodles and, on his way up, ran into a neighboring elementary school student who was home for the holidays.

As soon as he heard the sound of footsteps, Xie Yao remembered that it was Friday today and that children would get off early. The next moment, a little girl who only came up to his waist came bouncing towards him.

“Good afternoon, Brother Yao Yao!” The familiar greeting.

Xie Yao lowered his hat with a wooden face and extended his hand, “Good afternoon, Yue Yue.”

The little girl’s face was especially bright with a smile, and Xie Yao stood still and stared at her, one expressionless and one lively, forming a sharp contrast.

Yue Yue’s grandmother eventually pulled her away, and after the next door was closed, Xie Yao could still hear the gentle reprimand of her grandmother.

“You little brat, Brother Yao Yao doesn’t like being bothered by others. Don’t go bothering Brother Yao Yao next time, got it? Otherwise, Brother Yao Yao will get angry!”

Xie Yao paused his hand holding the keys for a moment before finally opening the door and returning home.

The rented apartment is not large, but it is about thirty square meters. The balcony faces a large floor-to-ceiling window, and the June sunlight shines straight in, making the room particularly bright.

Xie Yao placed the bowl of rice noodles on the table and sat down, but before he could take a bite, he received a phone call.

The caller ID showed “Grandma.”

As soon as he saw the caller information, Xie Yao’s expression softened, and even his eyes were filled with a soft smile.

He immediately put down his chopsticks and answered the phone.

“Grandma?” There was a hint of probing and expectation in his tone.

“Yaoyao, it’s grandma!” The old woman’s voice on the phone was gentle, with a soft smile.

Xie Yao’s eyes suddenly turned red. He held his phone with one hand and rubbed his eyes with the other, then softly called out, “Grandma…”

Xie Yao’s grandmother was getting old and temporarily living in a nursing home. She suffered from Alzheimer’s disease and her mind was sometimes clear and sometimes confused. Only when she was clear, she would remember to call Xie Yao.

“Yao Yao, this afternoon grandma just saw that you sent money again, why did you send money again? Grandma has enough money, do you keep some for yourself, is it enough?”

Xie Yao hurriedly responded, “It’s enough, I can earn several thousand yuan every day now. Grandma, don’t worry about me.”

After that, he asked, “Grandma, are you feeling well recently?”

“Ah, I’m doing well,” Grandma said on the phone with a gentle and smiling tone.

“Grandma knows that she has Alzheimer’s disease and her brain is often confused and can’t remember things, but every time she’s clear, the first thing she does is call you. Are you suffering outside, Yao Yao?”

“No,” said Xie Yao gently, “Grandma, as long as you’re healthy, I’m not suffering.”

“You are such a stubborn child, always sharing good news and keeping troubles to yourself,” Grandma sighed on the phone.

“A few days ago, the Zhou family’s girl seemed to have come to see your mother, saying that the two of them are planning to travel for a few days. Your father was upset and felt that your mother didn’t take him, but he couldn’t bring himself to talk to her…”

Xie Yao held his phone tightly, listening to the old woman on the other end of the line ramble on in her ever-unchanging gentle tone. His eyes grew increasingly red, his lips trembling, but he patiently listened to her talk.

He listened as the old woman spoke about how stubborn Xie Yao and his father were, how his mother and father had fought again, and how the noodles on Xie Yao’s table had gone cold as the sun set outside.

“When are you coming home to visit? Your parents may be angry that you play games instead of studying, but they still care about you. The other day, I heard your father planning to secretly go to the place where you play games on April 7th to celebrate your birthday with you.”

The old woman’s voice had grown tired, and her words were now interspersed with laughter. Eventually, she fell silent, her breathing becoming shallow.

Xie Yao seemed to be used to his grandmother falling asleep on the phone, and he didn’t hang up even when there was no sound from the other end. He knew that soon he would hear the rustling of the phone being handed over to someone else.

“It’s Xie Yao, right? Your grandmother has fallen asleep. She needs to take her medication soon, so I’m going to hang up now,” the doctor on the phone said.

Xie Yao quickly replied, “Okay, thank you, doctor. I appreciate it.”

It wasn’t until he spoke that Xie Yao realized his throat was hoarse and sore.

As soon as the call ended, Zhou Tian called again.

When he answered, Zhou Tian surprisingly didn’t sound his usual self-righteous self. He even sounded a bit cautious, “Bro, my mom just called and said she bought your mom’s bracelet at an auction. When are you coming over to my place so she can give it to you?”

Xie Yao clenched his hand, took a deep breath, and then tried to sound casual as he replied, “Uh-huh, sure.”

On the other end, Zhou Tian clearly sensed that something was off with Xie Yao and immediately tried to change the subject with a chuckle, “Alright then, I won’t bother you any longer. It’s almost 6 o’clock and you should start your livestream. Your fans are eagerly waiting for you in the chat room. Go on.”

Seeing that Xie Yao didn’t respond, Zhou Tian waited for a moment before hanging up.

With the phone call over, Xie Yao sat slumped at his desk, staring down with the sunlight on the table receding inch by inch with the passing time.

At six o’clock on a June afternoon, the scorching sun had retreated outside the window, and the sounds of people could be heard from the streets below.

Xie Yao sat at his desk for ten minutes, waiting for the alarm to remind him to start his livestream before he finally pulled himself together and turned on his computer.

The notification from QQ was flashing incessantly, reminding Xie Yao to start his livestream. He replied with a quick “I’m here” before opening the livestreaming app on Shark Tv.

As soon as Xie Yao logged on, his fans who were idling in the chat room became active.

: Yao Yao is live now!

: Today’s goal is to play on the Chinese server!

: Hey? Why isn’t Yao Yao using his microphone today? Is it not working?

In the small box in the bottom right corner of the live stream, it was still Yao Yao holding his phone, but the microphone on the interface was shown as turned off.

Seeing the barrage commenting on this, Yao Yao paused for a moment before reaching out and turning on the microphone, saying, “My throat is a bit uncomfortable today, so I’ll try to speak less. Sorry.”

The fans in the barrage were very understanding and, upon hearing Yao Yao say that he was not feeling well, they all comforted him in return.

: It’s okay, your health is more important. Just play the game, we’ll watch you!

: I feel like Yao Yao’s mood isn’t very good today, even his speech is hoarse…

: Don’t overwork yourself, Yao Yao. Did you hurt your throat from streaming too long yesterday? Make sure to take breaks and rest!

Jiang Song just finished his work for the day when he looked at his phone and saw a notification from Shark TV.

“Dear user, your followed streamer ‘Yao Yao Princess’ is now live~ Come watch!”

Jiang Song raised his eyebrows. This kid, he’s streaming and not even replying to his private messages?

He clicked into Xie Yao’s live broadcast room and the barrage filled the entire screen, just making him notice the keywords “not feeling well” and “bad mood.”

So Jiang Song squatted in the live broadcast room for a few minutes, during which Xie Yao hardly said anything. Fans were entertaining themselves, and even when someone gave him a tip, he didn’t say much, only a dry “thank you.”

Jiang Song narrowed his eyes.

It wasn’t normal. The little broadcaster looked more upset than just feeling unwell.

When the screen showed the broadcaster entering the queue and about to start a solo match, Jiang Song focused and typed in the chat.

He gave a 20,000 yuan tip in Xie Yao’s live broadcast room, and his comments had special effects that made them very eye-catching. Xie Yao noticed them at a glance.

User 4958021: “Hey kiddo, wanna do a double queue?”

Xie Yao was taken aback for a moment, and then realized that he had promised his boss to do a double queue. However, he wasn’t feeling well today and couldn’t guarantee a win, so he could only apologize: “Sorry boss, I’m not feeling well today, I can’t guarantee a win.”

Jiang Song: “I’ll take you flying.”

The barrage immediately lit up with

: 666.

: Wow, this master seems to have great skills!

: Agree to him! Agree to him!

: Quick! Boss, take Xie Yao flying now, when else would be a better time?

Jiang Song also directly said: “I’ll add you on QQ, let’s play in the Q area.”

Xie Yao originally wanted to refuse, but Jiang Song had already sent his contact information, so Xie Yao couldn’t reject him again. He switched to his main account, added Jiang Song, and invited him to the live stream.

Jiang Song was a player with a Starlight rank, and his ID was “Don’t bother me, let me carry.”

As soon as he entered, he typed: “I can’t use voice chat, but it’s okay. You pick Yao, and I’ll carry.”

A fan’s comment appeared and was immediately countered : Hahaha, the boss may not know yet, but Yao Yao’s motto is: a real man never plays support!

After Xie Yao entered the game, he didn’t say a word and immediately locked in Yao.

Everyone else: ?