Chapter 26 Part 2

Yan Zhun said, "You're too trash. I can't gauge how much to hold back."

Lin Xuhuan said, "Fuck, you seemed pretty skilled at it when you were carrying Baby Ran in PUBG, huh? Just give me the same treatment you give Baby Ran!"

Yan Zhun's hands were loosely holding the racing game's steering wheel. He said nonchalantly, "There's no such thing."

Behind his mask, Pei Ran pressed his lips together. His eyes were calm, but his heart was beating wildly.

When this round ended, Lin Xuhuan looked at his defeat on the screen and said, "I'm not playing this anymore, Bro. Let's go ride the motorcycles."

"You play by yourself." Yan Zhun stood up.

Lin Xuhuan asked blankly, "Where are you going?"

"The boss bought all the tokens," Yan Zhun grabbed Pei Ran's wrist and pulled him along. "I'm going to play with the boss for a while."

Pei Ran was dragged in front of a large arcade machine. It was surrounded by black curtains, creating a small space for them. On the screen were roaring, rampaging zombies.

Pei Ran snapped out of his daze. "I don't know how to play."

Yan Zhun put the light gun in his hand, then covered his hand with his own, lifting it to point at the screen. He taught him, "Shoot anything you see. If they get close to you, run over to me."

After playing for two minutes, Pei Ran marveled that even arcade games were so focused on immersion these days; it felt as if the zombies were about to charge right into his face.

Startled by a zombie that jumped out from the side, Pei Ran subconsciously dodged sideways, only realizing what he was doing when he bumped into the person beside him.

Yan Zhun stood as still as a mountain. After dealing with the zombies in front of him, he turned and cleared the path in front of Pei Ran.

The game ended. Pei Ran had 112 points, and Yan Zhun had 1419, breaking the machine's solo kill record.

If Pei Ran's score had been over 800, they could have broken the duo record as well.

Pei Ran took off the headphones, his palms warm from playing. "I'm not very good at this. Why don't you go find Lin Xuhuan?"

Yan Zhun said, "I want to play with you."

Pei Ran: "..."

Pei Ran suddenly felt like their conversation was like something between elementary schoolers.

He was led to a motorcycle machine. Only after sitting down did he realize it was the only free machine left.

Pei Ran didn't want to play alone. Just as he was about to get up, he heard the person beside him say, "Lean down properly. I'll teach you."

How can you teach this?

Pei Ran was just about to ask when the game started.

He accelerated past the starting line and awkwardly collided with an NPC. Just as he was about to go off the track, a warmth suddenly covered his back.

It was Yan Zhun's palm.

Yan Zhun placed his hand on his back, pushing him to navigate turn after turn on the track.

By the time the game ended, Pei Ran felt like his back was about to start sweating.

"Why are you guys playing this," Lin Xuhuan came over holding three cold drinks. "Is it hot? Baby Ran's face is all red from playing. Here, have some watermelon juice and take a break."

Pei Ran took it with a word of thanks and took a big sip of the juice.

"I just broke the record for Star Wars and even left a selfie on the machine," Lin Xuhuan said smugly.

Yan Zhun hummed in acknowledgment. "I'll send a picture to your Coach later."

Lin Xuhuan: "?"

A phone on the table rang. The three of them had the same phone model, so it was impossible to tell whose it was. They all looked over at the sound.

[Mom: Little Luo just sent me a text. Did you two break up?]

It was Pei Ran's phone.

Pei Ran paused for a moment, then picked up his phone to type a reply.

Having seen the message's content, Lin Xuhuan felt a bit awkward. He looked at Yan Zhun, wanting to share the awkwardness with his brother, but saw Yan Zhun drinking his cold drink with his eyelids lowered, not even glancing over.

Lin Xuhuan coughed lightly and said in a deliberately casual tone, "Baby Ran, you even took that guy to meet your parents?"

Pei Ran said, "They've met."

The little virgin Lin Xuhuan put on the expression of a seasoned veteran. "You young people are just too impulsive. Meeting the parents, and then having to explain to them when you break up, isn't that a huge hassle?"

Pei Ran paused. "It's not a hassle."

Yan Zhun kept holding the cold drink, the condensation on the cup chilling his hand.

On the way back, Yan Zhun didn't speak again. Pei Ran was looking down, replying to his mother's messages, leaving only Lin Xuhuan muttering to himself.

When they reached a fork in the road, Yan Zhun stopped. "Let me know when you get to your dorm."

Pei Ran's lips moved, but it took a long while before he said, "Okay."

He could feel that Yan Zhun wasn't happy, but he couldn't think of any way to resolve it.

After seeing Lin Xuhuan off in a taxi, Yan Zhun tugged at his mask and was about to turn and leave when his arm was suddenly gently pulled.

Pei Ran had walked over in a hurry, and with the mask on, he couldn't help but be a little out of breath as he spoke.

Once his breathing calmed, he looked up and met Yan Zhun's gaze.

"My parents have a lot of gay friends, so they're quite sensitive about these things. They figured it out when Luo Qingshan was hospitalized." Pei Ran paused. "...I never brought him home."

Yan Zhun was stunned for a moment. After a long while, he asked, "Are you trying to coax me?"

How would Pei Ran know how to coax someone?

He just wanted to catch up, wanted to explain, and so he did.

He hesitated for a moment, then took out a milk candy and put it in Yan Zhun's pocket, the same gesture as when Yan Zhun had stopped him outside the coffee shop. "Thank you for teaching me how to play the game."

Yan Zhun's heart tingled. He somewhat regretted that just now, behind those black curtains, he had only focused on teaching someone to play a game.

A moment later, he reached out to ruffle Pei Ran's hair. A hint of a smile slowly seeped into his eyes, not obviously. He said, "Pei Ran, I think you're starting to like me a little."