Honestly, Jiang Wu really liked this era.
Take the invention of hoverboards, for example—truly a masterpiece.
Whenever he wanted to go out for some fresh air but didn’t feel like walking, he’d have someone bring it out for him. If it weren’t for school rules, he’d probably ride a hoverboard to class every single day.
After exacting his revenge, Jiang Wu sat down on the swing, his legs gently swaying in front of Yin Wuzhi. Yin Wuzhi kept watching, and suddenly, his mind wandered. He imagined Jiang Wu swinging higher and higher until, with a whoosh, he spread his arms wide and launched into the air.
Startled, Yin Wuzhi stood up, moved behind him, and looked down at the top of his head. “Want me to push you?”
“Mm.”
He pushed softly, and Jiang Wu didn’t ask for more.
These days, Jiang Wu no longer had a particularly strong death wish. He’d come to understand that death was inevitable for everyone. More importantly, he had promised Yin Wuzhi that he would live well. No matter where Yin Wuzhi was or what he turned into, Jiang Wu would find him.
Even if Yin Wuzhi forgot who he was, Jiang Wu wasn’t one to break his promises lightly.
Yin Wuzhi probably hadn’t expected that after all his efforts, all it took to mend things was letting Jiang Wu take one picture of him.
On the way back, Jiang Wu cruised beside Yin Wuzhi on his hoverboard, hands clasped behind his back.
Yin Wuzhi asked, “So, are you not mad at me anymore?”
“I want to eat peaches.”
“I’ll buy more, but they might not arrive until winter break.”
“Mm.”
Yin Wuzhi relaxed and smiled. “About those great classmates of yours—”
“.”
“Got it, nothing to do with me.” Yin Wuzhi’s mood soured again, even though he wasn’t sure why. “Want to go somewhere for winter break?”
“.”
“Even though it’ll be cold, we could visit hot springs or see snow.”
Jiang Wu said, “What’s the point of going with you?”
Yin Wuzhi froze mid-step, then hurried after him. “Then who do you want to go with?”
Jiang Wu gave him a sideways glance. “I’ll go with my empress.”
He glided off into the distance, leaving Yin Wuzhi behind.
Finally, winter break arrived. Eager to shake off Jiang Wu’s “great classmates,” Yin Wuzhi rushed to Jiang Wu’s house, bolted up the stairs, and burst into his room, beaming. “Jiang Wu, I’m here to do homework with you!”
Jiang Wu didn’t even lift his eyelids.
He couldn’t understand Yin Wuzhi’s boundless enthusiasm for schoolwork.
It’s just winter break homework. What’s there to be so excited about?
Yin Wuzhi barged in, dumped his homework on the desk, and began searching for Jiang Wu’s. “Where’s yours? Let’s do it together.”
From Jiang Wu’s phone came a voice: “Is it that same desk mate of yours? Haven’t you told him we’ve already sorted your winter break homework?”
Yin Wuzhi recognized the voice—it was Classmate C. His expression darkened as he leaned over to glance at Jiang Wu’s phone. On the screen, Jiang Wu was playing Honor of Kings in a group queue with Classmates A, B, and C.
In that moment, Yin Wuzhi felt utterly betrayed.
He glared at Jiang Wu.
Jiang Wu, busy queuing with his “good classmates,” said nonchalantly, “You write yours; mine’s done.”
Yin Wuzhi’s face changed. He snatched up his homework and stormed out.
Jiang Wu: “.”
Jiang Wu looked up, puzzled. “What’s he mad about this time?”
Back home, Yin Wuzhi sat fuming, finishing off the peaches he’d impulsively bought. His mother, Chang Yuxiu, watched as he devoured one peach after another, and finally said, “I thought you bought those peaches for something special. Turns out you’re just eating them all yourself? And you even threw a tantrum at me over them?”
She picked up the last peach, only to hear Yin Wuzhi snap, “Don’t touch that.”
He snatched it back, washed it, and carried it upstairs. Clearly, he was still upset about his parents taking his things without asking.
Initially, Yin Wuzhi had resolved to eat every single peach himself and not leave a single one for Jiang Wu. But when only one peach remained, he hesitated.
After all, the peaches were meant for Jiang Wu in the first place. Not sharing felt… wrong.
He messaged Jiang Wu: “Want some peaches?”
“Mm.”
A lightning-fast reply. Yin Wuzhi’s anger softened a bit. He even regretted eating so many out of spite. He quickly ordered more peaches online, then hesitated for a moment before sending another message: “Come to my house to eat them.”
“Okay.”
Another instant reply.
Yin Wuzhi’s frustration faded as he cut the last peach into neat slices, placing them in a cup for Jiang Wu to eat with a spoon. He sighed, thinking, “I really shouldn’t have eaten so many.”
Jiang Wu arrived at Yin’s house on his hoverboard, stopping at the stairs. Chang Yuxiu called out, “Yin Wuzhi! Jiang Wu’s here. Go carry him up!”
By the time Yin Wuzhi came downstairs, Jiang Wu had already climbed halfway up on his own. Yin Wuzhi pulled him the rest of the way and handed him the cup of peach slices. “This is all that’s left.”
“It’s enough.”
Yin Wuzhi had ignored Jiang Wu for three days, and Jiang Wu had thought he might never speak to him again.
Sitting down, Jiang Wu slowly ate the peaches with a spoon, then glanced at Yin Wuzhi. “What are you mad about?”
Yin Wuzhi’s face hardened. “Why didn’t you do homework with me?”
“Because I didn’t want to do homework.”
“Then why do you play games with them and not me?”
Jiang Wu replied, “The day you asked me to play games, we had a fight. You never asked again after that.”
So, it wasn’t that Jiang Wu refused to game with him—it just hadn’t worked out.
Yin Wuzhi reluctantly accepted the explanation. “Then play with me tonight.”
Jiang Wu said, “I think I get motion sickness from 3D games.”
Yin Wuzhi paused for a moment. “You mean you get dizzy from that shooting game? How do you know?”
“.”
Yin Wuzhi’s eyes lit up. “Did you secretly try it yourself?”
Jiang Wu stuffed a spoonful of peach into Yin Wuzhi’s mouth.
The peach was ridiculously sweet—overwhelmingly so.
Even while eating, Yin Wuzhi couldn’t stop the corners of his lips from curling up.
They shared the peach between them, finishing it in no time. Afterward, Yin Wuzhi took the empty cup downstairs while Jiang Wu sprawled lazily across his bed.
When Yin Wuzhi returned, he flopped onto the bed next to Jiang Wu, sticking close to him. “Next time you play Honor of Kings, include me.”
“I only know how to support,” Jiang Wu replied.
“Perfect! I only play marksman.”
“We already have a marksman.”
“Who?”
“A.”
Yin Wuzhi felt a subtle pang of dissatisfaction. “Well, I can jungle too. Trust me, bringing me into the game is definitely worth it.”
Jiang Wu agreed.
It was their first time gaming together.
Jiang Wu’s classmates greeted Yin Wuzhi politely: “Hi, desk mate.”
Yin Wuzhi responded equally formally, “Hello, classmates.”
Neither side bothered to address the other by name.
In the first game, A played marksman, B went mid, C jungled, and Yin Wuzhi played top lane.
Jiang Wu picked Yao Yao Princess and, lying on his stomach, spun the joystick with a single finger. When he got tired, he simply stopped moving—fully aware of his role as nothing more than a decorative accessory.
The whole game, Yin Wuzhi didn’t have a single opportunity to sync up with Jiang Wu. On the rare occasions when Jiang Wu was needed, he failed to react in time.
Despite his underwhelming performance, no one complained; everyone had their own goals for the match.
Several rounds later, with the same setup, the three classmates each earned an MVP title. A seized the moment to say to Jiang Wu, “Your desk mate’s stats are pretty average. Why not call my sister instead? At least we’d have better synergy.”
Jiang Wu, already feeling sleepy, said, “I’m going to bed.”
He didn’t want to deal with such matters.
In his previous life, after marrying Yin Wuzhi, Jiang Wu hardly had to manage anything—neither state affairs nor palace politics. He simply coasted along, leaving everything to Yin Wuzhi, who always had a solution.
Tired of gaming, Jiang Wu didn’t log in for several days.
One snowy day, the Yin family invited everyone over for dinner. Jiang Wu arrived on his hoverboard and leisurely made his way to Yin Wuzhi’s room. The door was ajar, and he could clearly hear voices from inside.
Yin Wuzhi said, “Yeah, just stop including him in your games. He’s so lazy. You guys haven’t seen it—he plays while lying down, poking the joystick with one finger.”
“Obviously! How could he keep up like that?”
“Your sister? Her gameplay is miles better than his.”
“From now on, let’s just stick to the five of us. No need to bring him along anymore. I’ll tell him myself—he should play less.”
Yin Wuzhi sounded pleased.
He had finally earned a spot in the classmates’ team with his dad-like gameplay and successfully disrupted their dynamic from within. After experiencing the joy of ranking up, he was sure they wouldn’t want to game with Jiang Wu anymore.
This way, he could take Jiang Wu to play simpler, less taxing games instead.
The door creaked open slightly, letting a chill seep into the room. Yin Wuzhi instinctively looked up, but there was no one at the door.
Meanwhile, Jiang Wu quietly made his way downstairs and settled into the Yin family’s living room.
Shortly after, a voice message popped up in Jiang Wu’s WeChat group.
A: “Boss, listen to what your desk mate said about you.”
B: “Can’t believe that’s how he sees you…”
C: “You have to hear this! It took us forever to record it. We thought he genuinely cared about you, but it turns out he just wanted to join our team.”
Jiang Wu: “.”
Upstairs, Yin Wuzhi was still gaming.
A: “Yin Wuzhi! Help me out here!”
Yin Wuzhi: “On my way.”
B: “Hold tight; I’m coming to assist.”
Yin Wuzhi: “No worries, I can take them down myself.”
C: “Five kills! Bro, you’re insane! We’re definitely five-stacking with you from now on.”
“Yin Wuzhi!” Chang Yuxiu’s voice echoed from downstairs. “Are you coming to eat or not?!”
“Got it! Be right there.”
It took Yin Wuzhi another half-hour to finally come downstairs. Spotting Jiang Wu, he froze for a moment, as if surprised to see him there.
He sat beside Jiang Wu, setting the table for him. “When did you get here?”
“You just playing games the entire time, people..”
Jiang Wu said calmly, “Just now.”
Yin Wuzhi placed a piece of deboned fish onto Jiang Wu’s plate. “After dinner, come upstairs with me. I’ve got something to show you.”
“Okay.”
After dinner, Yin Wuzhi led Jiang Wu upstairs. Chang Yuxiu suggested Jiang Wu stay over, which both sets of parents readily agreed to.
After they showered and climbed into bed, Yin Wuzhi asked, “What do you think of your classmates?”
“They’ve all been very kind to me,” Jiang Wu replied.
“Hmm.” Yin Wuzhi said, “From what I’ve seen recently, they seem like decent people. Their skills are good, too—great for boosting your rank.”
Jiang Wu rested his cheek against the pillow, his clear eyes fixed on Yin Wuzhi.
“Do you truly consider them friends?” Yin Wuzhi asked.
“Yes.”
“You’re too trusting.” Yin Wuzhi tapped Jiang Wu lightly on the forehead.
“What did you want to show me?”
Yin Wuzhi hesitated for a moment.
“If it’s nothing, I’m going to sleep,” Jiang Wu said.
“Wait.” Yin Wuzhi pulled out his phone and opened a game recording.
Jiang Wu watched as his classmates mocked him, calling him clumsy, uncoordinated, and incapable of keeping up.
“Where’s your voice?” Jiang Wu asked.
“What voice? I didn’t say anything.”
Jiang Wu: “.”
Clearly, Yin Wuzhi had edited himself out.
After the video ended, Yin Wuzhi put his phone away and said, “I’m not saying it’s wrong to pay for help or comfort. You have every right to choose what makes you happy. But just remember—money can’t buy genuine loyalty.”
He added, “I know it’s hard to accept, but you should see them for who they really are and cut your losses.”
Jiang Wu remained silent.
Yin Wuzhi studied him. “Are you upset?”
“.”
“Do you feel like crying?”
“.”
“Ah,” Yin Wuzhi said, looking deeply concerned. “Come here. Let big brother give you a hug.”
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