"It's raining here too."

Yan Zhun hummed in agreement. "We're in the same area. I live near Manzhong High School."

Pei Ran blurted out, "I went to high school at Manzhong."

"I know," Yan Zhun said. "We're alumni."

Pei Ran paused, stunned. He didn't remember ever seeing Yan Zhun in high school.

Seeing his silence, Yan Zhun said, "Don't wrack your brain over it. I was on one floor, you were on another. We wouldn't have run into each other."

Pei Ran gave a casual reply. He felt there was something odd about that sentence, but before he could think about it, Yan Zhun cut him off.

"Jump. I'll play seriously this round and get you a chicken dinner."

The two played duo queue all night. As he was closing the game, Pei Ran suddenly remembered the holiday plan he had made for himself before the break started.

"Look for me again tomorrow," Yan Zhun said lazily. "Boss."

'Plans are made to be broken,' Pei Ran thought.

Before going to bed, Pei Ran habitually opened WeChat to check his messages. It was only when he saw the twenty-three unread messages from Luo Qingshan that he remembered the very disgusting thing he had encountered that day.

The night spent in Pochinki had been so thrilling that he had almost completely forgotten about it.

Luo Qingshan's messages were nothing but explanations, saying he hadn't checked the group chat just now and didn't know what had happened between him and Su Nian. He also said he had really cut ties with Su Nian and told him not to misunderstand.

After reading them, Pei Ran cleared his screen as usual and closed his eyes to sleep.

-

The vacation passed quickly. It was only when he received a call from his mother that Pei Ran suddenly realized it was his last day off.

On the other end of the line, his mother showered him with concern, feeling guilty that she couldn't return to the country to be with him, and asked what he had been doing during the break.

Pei Ran blinked a few times quickly and lied, not very skillfully, "Just did some drawing."

In reality, he had been engrossed in gaming and was even slowly starting to master recoil control.

After hanging up, Pei Ran hesitated for a moment, but still decided to turn down today's invitation to play.

He had just opened WeChat when a voice message came from the other side.

"Boss Pei, there's a new vehicle, a helicopter. You can even shoot from the passenger seat." Yan Zhun asked, "When are you getting on? I'll take you for a ride in it."

Pei Ran bit his lip and looked down to type.

"Not playing today"

Delete.

"Maybe later"

Delete.

Savoring the milky fragrance of the White Rabbit candy in his mouth, Yan Zhun watched with great interest as the "typing..." indicator appeared above his boss's name in the chat box.

An unknown amount of time passed.

[Pei Ran: Okay]

The corner of Yan Zhun's mouth curled up unconsciously, and he crunched down on the creamy candy.

Filled with guilt, Pei Ran turned on his computer. Just as he logged into PUBG, a team invitation popped up on the right, and he accepted it without thinking.

Upon entering the party, he saw the person next to him dressed in flashy, limited-edition cosmetics.

Before Pei Ran could react, the party leader started the game. The other person had selected duo queue, and they were the only two in the party.

"Pei Ran..." Luo Qingshan's voice came through the headset, low and full of grievance. He mumbled quietly, "You're finally willing to talk to me."

Yan Zhun came online intending to invite someone, only to see that BabyRan's status was "In-Game".

He looked down the list. Love Baby Ran was also in-game.

Yan Zhun's eyelids drooped. He stared for a long while before picking up his phone to send a message.

[Yan Zhun: ?]

[Pei Ran: I accidentally started a match...]

[Pei Ran: You should play by yourself for a bit.]

So Yan Zhun leaned back in his chair, smoking a cigarette while staring at Pei Ran's ID.

His phone dinged. He had been pulled into a new group chat, but this time it wasn't by Su Nian.

[Lin Kang: Let's just talk in this group from now on.]

[Lin Kang: Should I add Pei Ran? @Luo Qingshan]

[Lin Kang: @Luo Qingshan Where are you]

[Luo Qingshan: Don't add him yet]

[Luo Qingshan: Don't bother me, I'm duo queuing with my wife]

[Lin Kang: ?? You made up?]

[Luo Qingshan: It took so much for him to finally talk to me... okay, that's all]

Yan Zhun closed the group chat and raised his hand to stub out the cigarette. His fingertip accidentally brushed against the ash, leaving a dirty smudge.

He ignored the smudge and directly started a WeChat voice call with Lin Xuhuan.

The other person picked up quickly. "What's up? I'm streaming right now."

"Your squad needs one more? Add me."

Lin Xuhuan was surprised for a second. "What, forcing me to take your business?"

"Not charging you," Yan Zhun said in a low voice. "Your squad's rank is high. More satisfying to get kills."

Lin Xuhuan chuckled. "So aggressive? Alright, I'll add you now... Not accompanying that boss of yours today?"

Yan Zhun also laughed, but it was a hollow sound. He said, "Yeah, the boss doesn't need me today."