26. Mother, Dad is on TV!
We don’t know why Sister Jiang is so forceful, but Jiang Zhi stumbled and directly pressed against the man.
So close.
Too close.
The man’s steady breath brushed through her hair, and Jiang Zhi felt her face getting a bit warm; her cheeks itched from the hair.
She softly said an apology and subtly shifted a step to the side.
Then she heard the man speaking in a volume only they could hear, his tone calm: “Your shop manager is quite enthusiastic.”
“…I beg your pardon.”
Jiang Zhi tidied her messy hair hanging over her face; she couldn’t argue back and could only awkwardly smile.
Once the photo was taken, Su Yan finally could place the order: “Four regular lattes and one lavender coffee.”
After saying that, he looked around: “Or do you have other staff here?”
“No, no.”
Jiang Ruyan waved her hand contentedly and pulled Jiang Zhi back to the front desk: “This is a big order, Xiao Zhi, help me out.”
Jiang Zhi nodded.
She had been at Huayu for over half a month; just watching Sister Jiang make coffee every day had taught her, but she still wasn’t very skilled at it.
Su Yan casually found a seat to sit down.
Jiang Zhi took out a small bottle of processed lavender powder and, noticing the man was quite a distance away, said to Sister Jiang somewhat unjustly: “Sister Jiang, I’m not a fan of him; why should I take a picture with him?”
It was really awkward, okay.
For someone like her with offline social anxiety, taking a photo with a stranger felt like a matter of life and death.
“Ah, it would be a shame not to take one. Besides, that’s the God of L, alright? He’s super famous!”
“God of L?”
Jiang Zhi thought for a moment and retorted, “Such a cheesy name.”
“I think it’s quite imposing!”
Jiang Ruyan explained: “The God of L’s ID is smile, and fans generally call him God of L.”
smile.
Simai Lu.
The keyword triggered, and Jiang Zhi couldn’t help but think of a certain rich guy. Why is it that those who have this name are so amazing at gaming?
“So he’s very famous?”
“Famous doesn’t even begin to cover it!”
Speaking of her favorite topic made Jiang Ruyan look very excited: “He’s the first world champion in our competition area! The kind that goes down in history!”
“Oh wow…”
A world champion…
Jiang Zhi thought, that’s pretty impressive; the man didn’t look much older than her and had such great achievements.
It really makes you feel small in comparison.
He’s young and energetic, standing on the world stage like a legendary hero.
And what about her?
Same age but having lost her brother, moving through life with no pain, not even given the chance to bid farewell to the girl she liked.
Jiang Zhi wasn’t exactly jealous; she just felt a bit emotional. It seemed like good things never came her way… even if they did, she probably wouldn’t know how to grasp them.
“Don’t say, you two look quite good together.”
Jiang Ruyan suddenly placed the group photo on Jiang Zhi’s face: “See? Isn’t it?”
“…It’s okay, I guess.”
Jiang Zhi glanced up; a 1.7m beauty matched with a 1.85m handsome guy does indeed look pleasant.
But of course, she wouldn’t admit it.
In the photo, Jiang Zhi’s face showed a tinge of embarrassment, which she felt was so glaring.
Tsk.
This wouldn’t do.
She had to change it.
She needed to be stable standing with anyone, especially with men.
Blushing for no reason? It made her seem too girly.
She was a strong woman!
Once…
Jiang Zhi shook her head, dismissing those self-disparaging thoughts, and said, “Sister Jiang, stop messing around with CPs.”
“Who’s messing around?”
Jiang Ruyan smirked and said, “Think about it, yesterday the two of you had that incident; isn’t it very reminiscent of the male and female leads meeting in a romance novel?”
She was naturally talking about the incident where Jiang Zhi accidentally fell into Su Yan’s arms yesterday.
“A chance encounter brought about by an accident—wolf-type esports player X rabbit-type single mother, it’s simply…”
“Simply…”
Feeling Jiang Zhi’s squinty, seemingly dangerous smile, Jiang Ruyan stood up straight.
She almost forgot that Xiao Zhi liked girls.
Being teased with a man like that would definitely put her in a bad mood…
“Anyway!”
Jiang Ruyan backtracked: “The God of L is really impressive; speaking of which, he has a match tonight, do you want to watch it, Xiao Zhi?”
“I’ll think about it…”
Jiang Zhi didn’t say yes, nor did she say no; if Simai Lu didn’t invite her to play games today, maybe she would carve out some time to watch?
She still wasn’t interested in esports.
But the sudden appearance of such a powerful figure in the esports industry made Jiang Zhi a bit curious.
Speaking of which, she really admired this God of L…
Brother Gu’s long-time crush was now a pure innocent bunny in front of her idol.
Thinking of Sister Jiang’s previous words made her mouth twitch; rabbit-type single mother… Jiang Ruyan’s family indeed had some experts.
“Your coffee.”
After a while, the coffee was ready, and Jiang Zhi was responsible for delivering it to Su Yan. Having learned from the previous experience, she carefully handed the coffee to the man.
“Good luck in the match.”
Just as Su Yan took the coffee, Jiang Zhi thought for a moment and suddenly smiled with her eyes squinting happily.
“…Thank you.”
——————
By the time she got home, it was already 7 PM. Jiang Zhi was not idle; she went back to the kitchen to prepare dinner for Qian Qian.
“Come on, try it!”
Dinner was ready, and Jiang Zhi sat across from Qian Qian, her face full of anticipation as she stared at her daughter.
Qian Qian: chewing, chewing, chewing…
“How is it?”
“Hmm…”
Qian Qian showed a rather complicated expression and handed the spoon back to Jiang Zhi: “Mommy should eat too.”
Thus, Jiang Zhi’s stomach began to hurt again.
But she felt there was still progress; although it was still hard to swallow, this time she managed to get it down, unlike yesterday when she couldn’t swallow at all.
Slowly but surely! One day, she could cook delicious meals!
Jiang Zhi silently cheered for herself.
Skillfully ordering takeaway, she looked at the dark dish on the table, having barely taken a few bites, and for a moment, she felt at a loss.
Sigh…
If only there were a little guinea pig.
Then she wouldn’t have to use Qian Qian for experiments… uh, testing it out.
In the end, Jiang Zhi threw the food into the trash can. Although it was shameful to waste food, she really didn’t know how to deal with that plate of dark matter.
With nothing else to do, and the takeaway would take a while to arrive, Jiang Zhi slumped on the sofa. Noticing Qian Qian playing with her toys, she took out her phone.
I’m a pigeon: Are you playing games?
…
I’m a pigeon: Are you playing games?
The nth invitation.
Hair falling over her cheeks, Jiang Zhi irritably pushed her hair back. She boredly scrolled through the chat page but couldn’t wait for a reply.
Where the hell is he?!
It’s been days since he last took her flying! What happened to supposed to be a correct team for life?!!
Beast! Liar! Bastard! Scum!
Oh? Did some strange words sneak in?
Jiang Zhi waited and waited, but in the end, she didn’t wait for Simai Lu and suddenly felt a weight on her body—Qian Qian was unknowingly lying on her.
“Mommy, what are you doing?”
She tugged at Jiang Zhi’s hair, burying her chubby face into her mother’s long hair and peeking through the strands at Jiang Zhi’s phone.
“Chatting with a friend.”
Jiang Zhi glanced at her and quietly exited the chat interface.
Her chat with Simai Lu could be described as chaotic and tumultuous; she couldn’t let Qian Qian see it.
“Why do I hear a bit of nasal tone in your voice?”
Jiang Zhi rolled over, hugged Qian Qian in her arms, and played with her tiny hands. Sometimes she really enjoyed this kind of nurturing; the touch was first-rate.
“Really?”
Qian Qian looked adorably confused: “I don’t know.”
Jiang Zhi chuckled, letting out a laugh, and pinched her daughter’s little nose, not taking it to heart.
It was so hot these days, and today was a bit cooler; how could she catch a cold?
Without Simai Lu’s invitation, she had no interest in playing games either. Looking at the takeaway that was about to arrive, Jiang Zhi pondered for a moment and opened the TV for the first time in a long time.
When was the last time she watched TV?
In this day and age, how many young people watch TV? It feels like a decoration when bought, but not buying it seems to leave something wanting.
She had no say in this since the TV was left by the landlord.
“Mommy, do you want to watch Bear Bears?”
“Not watching,” Jiang Zhi said while fiddling to cast her phone screen: “I want to watch a match, something to go with my meal.”
That match of someone, God of L.
As the picture flashed, the TV screen immediately displayed the mirrored image from her phone. The match hadn’t started yet; it was the players’ entrance segment.
Just right ✅.
By the time the match started, the takeaway she ordered would likely arrive soon as well.
Then she could eat while watching the match, which must also be a perfect match for meals…
Jiang Zhi thought about it and felt hungry. She licked her lips and returned her focus to the TV.
On the screen, LED lights flickered frequently, and the audience erupted with enthusiastic cheers; even through the screen, one could feel the vibrant energy from the audience.
Jiang Zhi seemed to be infected as well, barefooted on the ground, rhythmically clapping her hands.
Coincidentally, Sister Jiang and Qian Qian had dragged her to watch matches for several days, but they never encountered the CN team, so this was her first time watching a match from their own division.
“The team coming on stage now is BLB!”
Accompanied by the excited voice of the male commentator, the players entered one by one until the last one took the stage.
Jiang Zhi finally saw a face she was somewhat familiar with—smile.
I must say, with this face, he could do anything; his slightly messy hairstyle and 1.85m tall figure, even dressed in baggy team uniform, he still appeared extraordinarily dignified and charming.
Is this the aura of a champion?
Jiang Zhi thought; indeed, people are different.
Some people are born to stand under the spotlight. When he stands there, you just know he is definitely the main character.
Like the man she saw in the morning, there wasn’t anything particularly special in her memory, just a young guy with a good temperament who loved drinking coffee.
And now, the champion stood on his stage, and his aura suddenly seemed different.
So handsome…
At that moment, Qian Qian tugged Jiang Zhi’s hair.
Jiang Zhi winced and angrily swatted Qian Qian’s little claw away, annoyed:
“That hurts! Don’t you like watching the match? Why are you fidgeting!”
“Mommy…”
“What?”
Qian Qian extended a finger and slowly pointed at the man on the TV screen: “Daddy…”
“What?”
The TV volume was turned up a bit, so Jiang Zhi didn’t hear clearly; she lowered the volume and asked again: “What did you just say?”
This time, she heard it very clearly.
“Mommy, Dad is on TV!”
