CH 46

Jiang Song’s comment was originally made in jokes. Since he met Xie Yao, he had already figured out that Xie Yao had a soft personality and would take any opportunity to end the conversation early. He had expected Xie Yao to say that he wasn’t tired and that it was still early, and they would continue chatting as usual until late at night.

However, he underestimated Xie Yao’s dedication as a fan of Praise. Even Jiang Song’s parents couldn’t guarantee that they knew all of their son’s habits, including his habitual tone of speaking.

So the former captain, who was completely unaware that he had fallen off his horse, was surprised by the unexpected response from Xie Yao, who ended the conversation before 10 o’clock, unlike usual. Jiang Song frowned, doubting himself.

He had already shown his intentions so clearly. Shouldn’t Xie Yao be suspicious and try to find evidence to uncover his disguise by chatting with him?

Jiang Song glanced at the last two sentences Xie Yao had sent him, and the exclamation mark made him feel a bit toothache.

Why was he suddenly getting worked up? He couldn’t figure it out and finally replied with a good night message.

He hoped this good night message would ease Xie Yao’s uneasiness a little bit.

Xie Yao stared at the pop-up message of the good night message, his eyes wide open, and he felt no sleepiness at all. He didn’t dare to open the chat window, afraid that the other party had not left yet and he would see the message “the other party is typing.”

Xie Yao had no intention of not replying, but he didn’t want to be in an awkward situation if he replied too late.

When Xie Yao was almost 13 years old, the country listed e-sports as a sports category. It was then that Xie’s father finally let go of his opposition and dissatisfaction.

One day before Xie Yao’s birthday in April, his mother convinced his father, who had not seen his son in almost a year, to come from City B to the capital to surprise him.

It was a rainy day and the road was slippery. The rain was so heavy that it looked like a curtain within ten meters. Xie Yao’s parents got into a car accident on their way to the SUS base and both died.

Xie Yao could never forget the moment when the hospital contacted him through the police station and the doctor told him that his father had held his mother in his arms to protect her before he died, but he couldn’t save her. In their arms was a birthday cake that had been crushed and deformed by the impact.

That year, between the ages of 12 and 13, Xie Yao left the SUS base for the first time and never returned. He deleted everyone’s contact information and fell into a blind spot of self-doubt. He believed that his stubbornness had caused his parents’ deaths.

If his parents deaths had shattered 13-year-old Xie Yao, then his grandfather’s death was the last straw that broke him.

At that time, Xie’s father had just signed a huge contract, but an unexpected accident resulted in almost all of the family’s liquid capital being drained due to penalty fees for breach of contract. Unexpectedly, the other shareholder of the company disappeared with the money, leaving behind a company on the verge of collapse and a group of employees waiting for their salaries.

The Xie family had almost no money left. Most of the company’s funds were invested in the failed project, some were embezzled by shareholders, and the rest went to pay the penalty fees. They even had to use Xie’s grandparents’ savings.

The Xie family’s villa, which had been lived in for many years, contained many personal items belonging to Xie’s parents, including jewelry, his grandparents’ book collection, the piano that Xie had once hated, and even his gaming account.

Anything of value was sold off cheaply to pay off the debts.

The building is about to collapse, and it only takes a moment. A large company has gone bankrupt just like that.

At that time, amidst the rush and bustle of the night, there were visits to comfort the employees and negotiations with banks for mortgage compensation. However, due to his advanced age and excessive labor, the grandfather passed away quietly at his desk in the middle of the night.

Xie Yao was in a state of confusion and decadence at home until the morning he pushed open the door to call his grandfather for breakfast, only to find his grandfather’s body already cold and stiff.

Grandfather was lying face down on the desk, with several asset liquidation documents under his hand.

There was only a small table lamp on the desk, which had been left on all night because no one had turned it off.

At that moment, Xie Yao was unable to speak or shed tears. He just stood next to his grandfather for a long time, with his hand on him, feeling his once warm hand gradually turning cold.

Although the small table lamp emitted warm yellow light, Xie Yao’s eyes were pitch black.

The small rental was very cramped, and at that moment, unprecedented regret and guilt pushed him to the edge of the small house, trapping his thoughts and heart here.

Grandfather’s sudden death caught grandma off guard, but she couldn’t express her sadness because of Xie Yao’s troubles.

He began to stop eating, drinking, and speaking, holding his hands and saying that they were cold, even though the air conditioning was set to thirty degrees in June and layers of blankets covered him, sweat dripped continuously from his forehead, and Xie Yao still said he was cold.

He had depression.

Grandfather had handled the most difficult part, and all the debts had been paid off. Grandma could only suppress her grief, selling the remaining few pieces of jewelry and using the little bit of money she had left for the coffin to visit hospitals with Xie Yao.

That year, when the SUS was first released, Xie Yao was waiting for the doctor in the hospital, and a young person accompanying a patient beside him was watching a live stream on his phone.

At this point, Xie Yao’s illness had started to improve under treatment, but he remained silent and spoke only a few words a day.

It wasn’t until the young person beside him couldn’t contain his excitement and whispered, “praise awesome!” that something changed.

In that year, Xie Yao was constantly torn between the death of his parents and grandfather and his obsession with games. However, with the guidance of a doctor, he was forced to confront his desires.

The doctor told him that he wasn’t to blame for his parent’s and grandfather’s deaths, and that his dreams and aspirations weren’t wrong. He needed to face his inner self.

Xie Yao felt both pain and fear as he clung onto the doctor’s words, but he couldn’t touch games anymore without trembling and breaking out in cold sweat. In severe cases, he even went into shock.

Until he heard the word “praise” in his ear.

“Praise” had always been the light in Xie Yao’s life, from before he was twelve years old, to after. The name had run through his entire life.

Afterwards, if there was no beacon, “praise” was his only light.

Xie Yao lay in bed, with his hair still slightly damp from his shower and a damp spot on his pillow. He held his phone and stared blankly at Jiang Song’s chat box, not knowing what he was thinking. His ears were bright red.

The sound of the keyboard echoed in the room as Xie Yao changed Jiang Song’s nickname from “praise” to “big liar” and back again several times, before finally typing two words: “good night.”

Changing the nickname was like talking to Jiang Song himself.

Xie Yao zoned out for a moment before suddenly sitting up in bed and slapping his cheeks twice, which had heated up again after his shower.

After a few seconds of calm, Xie Yao expressionlessly opened up a conversation with Zhou Tian.

Gad: Come out.

Zhou Tian has always been a night owl who likes to stay up late. It’s not even midnight yet, and he’s still wide awake. However, he feels guilty talking to Xie Yao after he betrayed him last time by revealing to him that their boss was monitoring them.

Xie Yao saw that Zhou Tian was hesitant and typed several times with “the other person is typing” before finally sending a message.

Son: … What can I do for you?

Xie Yao usually finds pleasure in teasing Zhou Tian, so he thought of giving him a shocking news.

Gad: Nothing much, just wanted to let you know.

Son: …Go ahead.

Xie Yao rubbed his chin and said, “You’re going to have a dad.”

Son: … Haven’t I always had a dad?

Xie Yao exclaimed, “Me, your dad, is going to find you another dad.”

He thought his hint was clear, but Zhou Tian couldn’t understand it.

Zhou Tian was shocked, “You’re my only dad, I don’t recognize anyone else. Don’t do anything stupid!”

Son: Isn’t it just a boss? Let’s just get rid of him. No need to think about it too much!

Xie Yao thought, “Damn, why did I overestimate this idiot.”

He rolled his eyes and went straight to the point.

Gad: Get lost!

Gad: What kind of talk is that? You have no respect.

Gad: My boss, your future dad, deserves some respect.

Gad: After all, I’m going to pursue him.

After typing the message, Xie Yao clicked send, appearing serious on the surface but his ears were already red with embarrassment.

On the other side, Zhou Tian took several minutes to react, and finally sent him a message trembling with excitement.

“Oh my god!!”

Two words were worth a thousand words.