As the words fell.
Jing Mian clearly noticed that Ren Xingwan seemed to take a slight breath.
Time seemed to stretch infinitely, and after an unknown period, Mr. Ren’s voice broke the silence, somewhat hoarse: “You want to have a child?”
Jing Mian’s Adam’s apple moved slightly. Although he felt that these three words might not be entirely accurate and could lead to misunderstandings, after some thought, he answered seriously: “Yes.”
“I hadn’t thought about it before, but after Auntie asked, I realized… I don’t seem to be against it.”
Jing Mian whispered: “I’m not against having a baby, and upon careful consideration, I don’t dislike children either.”
Ren Xingwan’s gaze seemed to fall on him, and Jing Mian felt an indescribable unease. After a moment of hesitation, Jing Mian spoke: “What about you, Mr. Ren?”
After all, sharing a bed, apart from sight, other senses became even more acute. Jing Mian was faintly enveloped by a familiar, subtle fragrance, and Mr. Ren’s voice seemed close, magnetic and deep, as if lightly brushing his eardrum: “…I don’t dislike it either.”
Jing Mian faintly heard his own heartbeat.
“Alright.” Jing Mian pursed his lips and said softly: “Then after our wedding, let’s put this on the agenda.”
Mr. Ren: “Yes.”
Jing Mian thought for a moment. He hadn’t looked into this area before. Would they need to apply first, see if they qualify, provide some documents, and then visit and wait?
Although they had a plan, he wasn’t sure of the specific steps, so Jing Mian paused and asked: “Mr. Ren, do you know the process?”
Mr. Ren said: “I have a rough idea.”
“Then I’ll trouble you, Mr. Ren.”
Jing Mian turned his head slightly, his eyelashes lifting as he whispered: “If needed, I’d like to be involved too. It’s okay if it’s tiring.”
…
“Alright.”
Mr. Ren said: “I’ll do my best.”
That night.
After Li Qiao finished speaking to Jing Mian, she clearly saw his figure stiffen.
Although she had been the one who seemed flustered in the previous conversation, Li Qiao’s pent-up frustration had nowhere to vent. But now, seeing that a simple sentence from her could elicit such a reaction from Jing Mian.
Li Qiao felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction.
She knew Jing Mian’s weakness.
So just based on this, the son born to Song Zhinian would never gain any advantage from her.
Learning about Jing Mian’s past from Jing Guozhen was one thing, but turning it into a weapon to dig out the deepest pain buried within him was another.
Watching Jing Mian’s figure walk away, Li Qiao snorted, never feeling as triumphant as she did at this moment. She picked up the fallen packaging bag beside her, turned around, and planned to go home early to coax Jing Luo to sleep.
However, she hadn’t taken two steps.
The woman’s figure suddenly stopped.
Because she saw not far away, Jing Luo holding a small fruit box labeled ‘Blueberries,’ staring fixedly at her.
It was clear that Jing Luo had come in a hurry, wearing only thin pants on his lower body, hastily throwing on a down jacket before chasing out of the house.
She didn’t know how long he had been standing there.
Li Qiao’s heart almost stopped.
At this distance, just around the corner, he could clearly hear her conversation with Jing Mian.
She didn’t know how long Jing Luo had been listening.
Li Qiao took a step forward, forcing a smile, and said softly: “Xiao Luo, why did you come out by yourself? It’s so cold, and you’re wearing so little. What if you catch a cold?”
However, as soon as she took a step forward, Jing Luo took a step back.
Li Qiao’s face stiffened.
Her voice trembling, she said gently: “Why are you avoiding Mommy? Give me the blueberries and go back to sleep.”
Jing Luo’s eyes slowly reddened.
He threw the blueberry box to the ground, a few scattered blueberries rolling out and breaking on the asphalt road.
Li Qiao’s figure paused, her heart trembling, but she had to continue playing dumb: “Luo Luo, what’s wrong?”
Jing Luo was only four years old.
Even if he heard, he wouldn’t understand what was happening. She could just coax him later, and he would probably think she and Jing Mian had a fight, nothing worth pursuing.
But the next second, she heard Jing Luo ask:
“Why were you so mean to brother?”
He asked: “Weren’t you always nice to brother?”
Li Qiao swallowed, took a step forward, and bent down: “I can’t always be so gentle. Children make mistakes easily. Your brother made a mistake, and Mommy has the responsibility to educate him. It’s for his own good.”
Jing Luo frowned slightly and questioned: “Why did you say brother doesn’t deserve happiness?”
Li Qiao held her breath.
She wanted to explain, but her mind was inexplicably muddled because these were her exact words, and they had been clearly heard.
Jing Luo was silent for a moment, his eyes reddening, tears about to fall. He asked again: “What did you mean when you said brother caused his mom’s death?
“Dad said it was a car accident. Even I know that.”
Jing Luo asked: “Why did you say that about him?”
Li Qiao’s face changed drastically.
She thought Jing Luo wouldn’t understand anything. He was too young, only four and a half years old.
But in reality, each of these questions stabbed at her heart.
Before the woman could explain, Jing Luo suddenly pushed Li Qiao away and ran towards the house.
Li Qiao’s face turned pale. She glanced at the overturned blueberry box, cursed under her breath, and chased after Jing Luo.
Me. Club was preparing for the upcoming provincial league.
As the atmosphere grew increasingly tense, they rarely went out for meals recently, resorting to instant noodles during practice breaks. Even the three members who were still in school would spare time after class to come to the club at night and practice team battles with their teammates.
Meanwhile, Radiance Game’s headquarters had released several new maps. Besides testing the mission mode in the high-tier area, they had recently added the haunted house mission mode to the regular and even beginner areas, increasing the game’s fun.
It was also heard that the new maps and mission modes would be included in the upcoming provincial league and national competition, raising the difficulty of the matches.
Thus, the team members were frantically grinding the maps. To increase the utilization of the new maps, Radiance Game didn’t allow players to create private rooms to grind.
They could only hope to get the new maps in random matches and continuously explore them.
So, besides having solid skills, one also needed a very strong liver.
Besides Jing Mian, the new member recently recruited was a high school graduate. It was said that while playing games, he didn’t neglect his studies and even got into a pretty good university, leaving his teachers both angry and helpless, yet somewhat relieved, as he raised the class’s average college entrance exam score.
Only Xuan Cheng knew that this kid’s gaming skills were truly exceptional.
He excelled in both the first and second levels, able to attack and defend, and could even headshot at critical moments. He could solo two mini-bosses and hold out until teammates arrived for support.
Such a kid with limitless potential was actually recruited by Me.
This made other clubs extremely envious.
Some club leaders even secretly sent private messages to Xuan Cheng, asking how he managed it.
Xuan Cheng sighed silently.
The reason?
This kid was actually a fan of Jing Mian.
The idea of starting a live stream also came from Jing Mian.
Even the hoodie and mask he wore during his streams were the same as Jing Mian’s.
Although his gaming style was completely different from Jing Mian’s, it didn’t stop him from enjoying Jing Mian’s streams. Coming from a well-off family, he had countless times become the top donor.
Even his Radiance ID was similar to Jing Mian’s—Sleepy.
What a playful name.
Later, when he heard that Jing Mian had joined a club and even participated in the Cross-Server Competition, although it wasn’t the top-tier event, it was still included in the game’s live stream channel, making players talk about it endlessly and reminisce.
And Sleepy directly chased his idol to the scene.
During that Cross-Server Competition, he sat in the second row, his eyes sparkling as he stared at the screen and the player in the corner.
On the field, the player sitting on the edge in the gaming chair seemed inconspicuous in the corner. The young man wore a hoodie, his skin pale, his movements smooth and fluid. Above the dark mask, a pair of gentle almond eyes held a glimmer of light.
That night, Sleepy went back and posted a full server announcement on the PK leaderboard.
For ordinary players not in the high-tier area, challenging a top player on the PK leaderboard not only required the other party’s consent but also a significant amount of in-game currency.
—Challenging a PK once required 10,000 RMB.
This 10,000 would be split between Radiance and the challenged player, so most PK invitations from top players would be accepted.
Of course, top players within the PK leaderboard could also challenge each other.
But the competition was fiercer, and every PK match would become the most watched and anticipated event in all of Radiance.
And if an ordinary player challenged a top player and succeeded in defeating them…
Not only would the 10,000 RMB be refunded, but Radiance would also reward the challenger with 5,000 RMB and successfully place this brave player into the ranking of the challenged top player.
But in fact, there had been no precedent for such a situation.
The PK leaderboard wasn’t just for show.
Those who made it up were truly talented and hardworking veteran players.
In other words, it was like a free 5,000 RMB, with the other party being an ordinary player not on the PK leaderboard, overestimating their abilities to challenge. A simple matter of moving a finger, half an hour’s work, why not?
In Radiance Game, such fools were few and far between. This system wasn’t something everyone would willingly spend 10,000 RMB on just to humiliate themselves.
And the player Sleepy challenged was the third-ranked player on the PK leaderboard—Mobo.
Sleepy even sat in a grand posture during his live stream, boldly stating: “I didn’t challenge Greek because I want to save him for the national competition to crush him. It’s too early now.”
This caused the entire forum to explode.
That night, everyone came to watch the match.
And then they saw Mobo get defeated.
And it was a complete domination, getting headshot as soon as he appeared. Just as he defeated a Boss, Sleepy had already found the red door and cleared the level first.
It was an unbelievable PK. Some analyzed that Mobo wasn’t in top form, while others said Sleepy got lucky and stumbled upon the red door.
But it was undeniable that in the face of the powerful Mobo, every shot being a headshot was indeed beyond the capability of an ordinary player.
Later, Sleepy inexplicably climbed to the third rank on the PK leaderboard.
And the last-ranked Li Shengwen was successfully pushed off the leaderboard.
The forum even had analysis posts, seriously suspecting that Sleepy’s motive was for Jing Mian, as that day was the Cross-Server Competition, and Li Shengwen had severely backstabbed Jing Mian. Sleepy’s PK invitation just happened to push Li Shengwen off the leaderboard.
And all this required spending 10,000 RMB out of pocket, under the watchful eyes of everyone, just to make someone smile.
Chasing stars to this extent was truly sincere enough to move people to tears.
Xuan Cheng silently watched the boy not far away, munching on chips while waiting for a match, finding it hard to connect him with that Sleepy.
He sighed silently.
Jing Mian came for Ash.
And Sleepy came for Jing Mian.
Goodness, their club’s recruitment was a continuous cycle, never-ending.
But as the captain, he was quite pleased.
And unlike Jing Mian, Sleepy had truly succeeded in chasing his idol.
Every day, as soon as Jing Mian appeared, his eyes would light up like a big dog, wanting to sit next to Jing Mian in the gaming chair. Every team battle, he would team up with Jing Mian, and any enemy trying to harm Sheep would be headshot. Even in the haunted house, he would wait for Sheep to enter the red door.
And usually, he would fill Jing Mian’s table with various snacks, including drinks and milk, unsure of what Jing Mian liked, so he prepared everything.
Especially the first time Jing Mian took off his mask in front of him, Sleepy clutched his heart, almost fainting.
When he found out Jing Mian was married, and because he wasn’t invited to the wedding, he was so upset that he lost three matches in a row.
Jing Mian felt secretly embarrassed.
After all, the wedding hadn’t started yet.
But these days, Sleepy’s enthusiasm wasn’t high, probably because Jing Mian was going to take a couple of days off.
And the reason Jing Mian was taking leave made Xuan Cheng choke, his pupils shaking.
Jing Mian was going to attend a wedding.
Xuan Cheng asked: “Whose wedding?”
Jing Mian: “My own.”
Xuan Cheng: “…”
The captain was dumbfounded.
Jing Mian also apologized, unable to invite the team members to the wedding, as his partner’s profession was quite special, and they couldn’t invite so many people at once.
Xuan Cheng expressed understanding and didn’t ask further.
But privately, he was secretly worried.
This special profession… Could it be a gigolo?
After all, since revealing he was married during a live stream, he hadn’t told them what his partner did. Even when asked, Jing Mian would always hesitate.
But Chen Xi advised him not to worry too much.
Xuan Cheng and Xuan Rui didn’t understand and asked: “Aren’t you worried? Jing Mian is only twenty. What if he gets scammed?”
Chen Xi was silent for a moment, then turned to the printer, saying something they didn’t understand: “Don’t worry so much. Just enjoy the ship.”
Xuan Cheng: “??”
Recently, Chen Xi’s strange behavior wasn’t a first.
Originally, Chen Xi was in logistics, responsible for accounting and managing funds, as well as editing some promotional videos for the club’s website.
So, Chen Xi was professionally aligned, and on X Station, she was a somewhat famous UP主, not related to business or the club and Radiance, but purely out of interest, editing some cuts of her favorite idols and various ships.
But this day.
The website’s homepage suddenly launched an event.
Titled—【Collect the most heretical yet enjoyable ships in your mind.】
As soon as the event was announced, netizens were amused, and technical UP主s came to have fun.
Just one day of collection, and a large number of bizarre ships appeared in the videos on the homepage, filled with both aesthetics and ethics.
For example, Conan x Hua Fei, Rong Mama x Su Daqiang, He Shuhuan x Hong Shixian, Fahai x Tang Seng…
There was no limit to the most outrageous ships, only what you couldn’t imagine.
While surfing, Chen Xi also inadvertently noticed this newly launched event.
The first place in the event would receive a generous reward.
Chen Xi opened her backend and found many fans had privately messaged her, hoping she would participate in the website’s latest event.
Chen Xi felt she wasn’t very interested. Such events were just for fun, seeing others play with memes, but they consumed too much creativity.
However, she inadvertently glanced at the last line of the event rules, which stated 【Real people and celebrities can be shipped, but absolutely no cross-species or cross-dimensional ships or similar personal attacks and insults. Violators will be banned for five months and permanently prohibited from posting any videos.】
Chen Xi’s mouse paused.
Meaning… real people and celebrities could be shipped?
Chen Xi’s heart skipped a beat.
Who had she been shipping the most recently?
Most importantly, this ship had already married, called each other “Mr.,” were polite in public, but passionate in private, with the husband picking up and dropping off every day. A ship only she knew about, secretly dropping sugar every day…
Who could resist that?
Chen Xi’s shipping soul was burning almost to the boiling point.
Thus, as if possessed, Chen Xi clicked to sign up for the competition.
Although she didn’t expect the video to get many clicks, she still faintly hoped that someone else would notice this ship that made her intoxicated.
Soon, Chen Xi found some clips of Jing Mian’s live streams. Although fragmented, they were of high quality, all featuring him wearing a hat and mask, as well as the live stream of that Cross-Server Competition. Jing Mian’s eyes were beautiful, and any shot, paired with music, was quite impactful.
Chen Xi quickly edited a series of materials with background music.
Ren Congmian was even more so.
Originally her top favorite, she was even a solo fan, feeling that anyone paired with Ren Congmian didn’t match, always feeling off.
But now, it seemed that the real couple was the most enjoyable to ship.
The material library about Ren Congmian was in a folder, almost dozens of GB, all carefully stored by Chen Xi, easily able to pick out a bunch of materials.
Then, Chen Xi began her editing process.
Usually, her video-making process was tedious and long. Any passion, after editing for a long time, would also produce impatience. In other words, the last bit of motivation was entirely supported by fans’ urging. If no one watched, there was no motivation to continue.
Chen Xi, who had always been trying to explore new fields, hadn’t encountered something that made her blood boil for a long time.
Originally never so focused, Chen Xi, when shipping her own ship, had endless inspiration, almost inexhaustible energy, working on it for almost a whole day.
The more she looked at the two, the more they seemed to match.
Whether it was height, body difference, sexual tension, story sense… all the attributes a popular ship needed, this couple had them all.
Previously, Jing Mian had mentioned that the two were childhood friends, separated for many years, and then brought together by a family marriage.
Goodness, broken mirror reunited, marriage before love… even novels wouldn’t dare write this.
Unfortunately, no one had discovered or shipped it. How frustrating.
While organizing the list, Xuan Rui accidentally saw Chen Xi intently working on something. When she saw what Chen Xi was editing, she was shocked, suppressing her voice: “Goodness, you’re shipping your own team member?”
Xuan Rui swallowed, seeing Ren Congmian’s face on the screen, and exclaimed: “And paired him with a top celebrity?”
Chen Xi hummed in agreement, the video mostly done. She replayed it from the beginning, feeling the rhythm again.