In the distance, fireworks bloomed and faded, from grandeur to tranquility, the last spark plunging into the sea, finally returning to peace.
The bright night sky fell silent.
The dazzling light on the young man’s face gradually dimmed.
Jing Mian swallowed hard.
For a long time, he couldn’t regain his normal breathing, and the shock had completely sobered him up. He slowly came to his senses, but his heart didn’t calm down at all.
How, how did it end up being a proposal?!
Does Mr. Ren know what he’s doing?
They are practically strangers, having only met twice.
Well… not entirely strangers. They were childhood sweethearts, but those days were so distant and hazy that Jing Mian subconsciously felt that the changes in both of them made those interactions irrelevant.
When Mr. Ren spoke, Jing Mian’s mind had conjured up countless possibilities, like the man asking for another date, a hug, or even a kiss…
But no matter how many possibilities he imagined, none of them involved marriage.
Yet, Mr. Ren… actually proposed to him?
It turned out that everything tonight—the bioluminescent sea, the sky full of fireworks, even the unassuming rocks beneath them—was all for this moment.
Jing Mian heard his heart pounding uncontrollably.
He thought it was too fast.
Faster than a rocket.
And it was absurdly fast, almost crazy, which is why Mr. Ren said he was afraid of scaring him. Jing Mian hadn’t understood what he meant at the time.
After all, since they reunited as adults, they had only met twice, briefly. They hadn’t even held hands or shown any signs of a romantic relationship.
“…”
It was insane.
What was the man thinking?
Jing Mian never imagined that Mr. Ren, who seemed so cold and restrained, would be so direct and leave him speechless.
In that moment, Jing Mian realized that the days they hadn’t been in touch were probably when Mr. Ren was preparing for the proposal.
Rationally speaking,
There was no way he was doing all this just because he liked him.
No one would like someone they’ve only met twice.
Let alone marry a near-stranger.
So, was Mr. Ren just fulfilling the family-arranged marriage by preparing this grand proposal?
This explanation made sense, but Jing Mian thought it was a bit too grand and enthusiastic.
Jing Mian swallowed hard again.
Was Mr. Ren crazy?
No, Jing Mian thought.
If he had agreed, that would be crazy.
*
The next day.
Jing Mian returned to school.
He woke up in the dormitory, the morning light filtering through the window, dispelling the night and dawn, and climbing onto his bed. The young man finally stirred.
Jing Mian sat up,
staring at the stripes on the blanket for a while.
He got out of bed, walked to the bathroom, squeezed toothpaste, brushed his teeth, rinsed his mouth, and washed his face with water.
The next second, Jing Mian seemed to notice something.
He raised his hand and saw the ring on his left ring finger, reflecting a faint light.
Even now,
It still felt unreal.
The bottom of the ring had gotten wet from his face-washing, and water droplets were slowly sliding down.
Jing Mian was stunned for a moment, then took off the ring, turned around, and carefully wiped it dry with a couple of tissues.
So,
He had been proposed to.
And he had agreed.
They had even agreed to get the marriage certificate that morning.
…What kind of speed was this?
A storm of thoughts raged in Jing Mian’s mind.
Maybe it was the right moment, or the eye contact with Mr. Ren, or the sea and the fireworks, and the atmosphere led to him being unwittingly given the ring.
Even now, the whole thing still felt unreal to him.
For Jing Mian, who had always followed the rules, this was a significant shock, like a roller coaster of emotions.
He thought that without the ring, he wouldn’t be sure if everything that happened yesterday was real.
Jing Mian finished washing up and lay back on the bed.
He wondered, what exactly did you need to get a marriage certificate?
The young man quickly checked online and found that only two things were needed: his ID card, which was in his backpack, and the household registration book, which he would have to go home to get.
It wasn’t the weekend, so Jing Guozhen and Li Qiao were likely not at home. Jing Luo was on holiday from kindergarten and was probably at home with the nanny.
…This was the perfect time to get the household registration book.
Jing Mian, without hesitation, got dressed, left the school, and hailed a taxi, heading straight home.
Under Jing Luo’s questioning, Jing Mian, for the first time, lied without a blush, saying he needed the household registration book to register for insurance at school.
Jing Luo, with no social experience, was successfully deceived.
He and Mr. Ren, who came to pick him up, went to the Civil Affairs Bureau.
This time, the agent was also there, having arranged everything in advance to avoid the peak hours for getting marriage certificates.
Afterward, Jing Mian stared at the photo in the red booklet, lost in thought.
He and Mr. Ren’s future was now tightly connected by this small booklet.
It was a bit surreal.
They hadn’t held hands, hadn’t kissed,
And hadn’t even had a proper hug.
How did they end up at the Civil Affairs Bureau?
Jing Mian remembered that when he was young, “flash marriage” was a very novel term. Because of its unique nature, it was often featured in various films and TV shows, which were incredibly popular.
He never thought that those two words, which seemed so distant, would actually happen to him.
Jing Mian felt like he had really done something big.
What were the usual steps after getting a marriage certificate?
Probably an engagement party, meeting the parents, a wedding, cohabitation, and having children…
“…”
Jing Mian was completely stunned.
Would he and Mr. Ren do all these things?
Before agreeing to the arranged marriage, he had never considered these things, thinking it was just a task to complete.
But now, each step was enough to disrupt Jing Mian’s previously stable heart and leave it unsettled for a long time.
However, this also aligned with what his father most hoped for and the likely direction things would take.
But the childhood sweetheart who was once a gentle and familiar figure had now completely transformed into a cold and stern figure that Jing Mian barely recognized.
This gave Jing Mian a slight sense of regret.
Even without feelings, they could share a bed.
They could grow old together.
—This was probably the meaning of a flash marriage.
Ren Xingwan, in terms of appearance, family, and career, was the perfect marriage candidate for anyone.
Even if Jing Mian didn’t like him, he had still prepared a romantic and unforgettable proposal.
Jing Mian thought that Mr. Ren must be a person who valued rituals.
With a seven-year age gap, Mr. Ren was no longer young and would naturally be very proactive about marriage.
Regardless, Jing Mian admired Mr. Ren.
From any perspective,
They were a good match.
To avoid affecting his roommates during live streams, Jing Mian returned to the rented room a kilometer away from the school, adjusted the equipment, and opened Glory.
Jing Mian subconsciously glanced at the ME. Club’s pinned chat window and noticed that the official profile picture seemed to have changed.
Jing Mian was taken aback.
Opening it, he found that his name had been added to the club’s member introduction, with “Sheep” and “Jing Mian” in bold and highlighted, making it very eye-catching.
“…” He felt honored.
There was no need.
Really, no need.
Jing Mian: “…” blushed silently.
This was too embarrassing.
Jing Mian opened the game and started streaming as usual.
Today, there was no team battle, and Jing Mian focused on tutorials, especially the haunted house in the second stage. Every time he encountered a new map, he would spend several nights fighting it.
His skill and patience in repeatedly clearing maps to find the fastest escape route were one of the reasons for his large and loyal fan base.
However,
When the live stream ended, Jing Mian was about to log out when he saw a new pinned message.
The end of the live stream was the peak time for fan messages, and this message, appearing at the top, clearly indicated that the sender had paid to pin it.
Seeing the somewhat familiar profile picture and nickname, Jing Mian was clearly taken aback.
The ID was “Greek.”
Clicking on the profile, he found that the player had over seven million followers, far more than Jing Mian.
This player was also a god-like figure, consistently topping the PK and performance charts, ranking first and second, respectively.
Although Jing Mian had become a popular streamer in the past year, his fan base was still dwarfed by this player’s.
Why would such a legendary player suddenly message him?
Jing Mian opened the chat and saw two messages:
【Hello, I’m Greek.】
【I saw you joined the ME. Club. If you can terminate your contract and join our club, we will cover the breach of contract fee and offer you three times the salary ME. offers.】
Jing Mian was stunned.
Well, this was the legendary “throwing money” approach, simple and brutal.
However, if Jing Mian truly cared about the treatment or salary, he would have already signed with the club that offered the highest initial bid.
Not now.
But since the other party had paid to pin the message, out of politeness, Jing Mian typed in the chat:
【Thank you for the invitation, but I don’t plan to change clubs.】
A few seconds later, Jing Mian added:
【If it’s convenient, could you give me your contact information so I can return the pinning fee?】
The game system’s rules stated that the recipient of the pinned message could not pin a message back in the same way within three days.
So, he would have to use another method to transfer the money.
Soon, the other party replied:
［Sorry, that was another club manager who sent it.］
［No need to return it. I feel bad for disturbing you. If you want to return it, you can team up with me in the future, and consider it as a favor.］
Jing Mian was taken aback, feeling a bit flustered.
The other party was clearly being humble, given his performance. If anyone were to lead, it would be Greek, a veteran who consistently topped the PK and performance charts, while Jing Mian was just a newly popular player in the new server.
Jing Mian hesitated and typed:
【Sorry, I can’t lead you; we would lose the match.】
【And if I drag behind, I might be cursed by seven million people.】
【But I can team up.】
On the other side of the screen, Greek was drinking water when he saw the message and almost choked, laughing.
A boy who had just come out of the bathroom paused his hair-drying, stopped the hairdryer after a few seconds, and the room fell silent.
He asked, “What are you looking at? So funny?”
Greek shook his head and smiled, “No, just the kid our club has been trying to recruit. He talks in a cute way.”
Li Shengwen frowned slightly, “Which kid?”
“Sheep.”
Li Shengwen: “The one called Jing Mian?”
“Yeah.” Greek thought for a moment and said, “Too bad he joined ME. I should have asked him earlier. Xuan Cheng’s people threw money and snatched the opportunity.”
“But we offered a fair price, covered the breach of contract fee, and even tripled the salary. He didn’t seem swayed… I feel like he’s not very interested in money.”
“Not interested?” Li Shengwen scoffed, “Who in this world isn’t interested in money? Probably just thinks our club isn’t good enough. Why waste money on such a proud and arrogant little streamer?”
However,
After saying this, Greek remained silent.
Li Shengwen’s gaze fell on the screen, where he saw Greek moving the mouse to click the “add friend” button.
Li Shengwen slowly clenched the towel.
The person on the other end of the friend request was Jing Mian.
Since joining the ME. Club,
Jing Mian finally had the opportunity to participate in his first match.
Xuan Cheng said that this was a Cross-Server Competition within the province, which was much simpler in scale and difficulty compared to national or international competitions.
In short—small competition, no need to panic.
Xuan Cheng gave a thumbs up, “So don’t stress too much, just treat it as a chance to gain experience.”
This was directed at Jing Mian.
The other team members were either munching on chips, sucking on jelly, or trimming their nails over a small trash can.
Xuan Cheng: “…” After kicking out the nail-trimmer, Xuan Cheng took a box.
Inside was a brand new headset, which he handed to Jing Mian.
He smiled, “This is a gift from the club for new members.”
The black lines matched Jing Mian’s mask, looking very suitable and stylish, with a cool and cute contrast.
Later, Jing Mian wore this headset for his first appearance at the Cross-Server Competition.
Previously, Jing Mian was used to streaming from his dormitory or home, facing only a camera.
On the other end of the internet, even with thousands or tens of thousands of viewers, he couldn’t see them.
The only interaction was through the chat.
But when he arrived at the competition with the club, Jing Mian felt the formal and solemn atmosphere of a real competition.
The elaborate stands, seats, gaming area, large screens, and even a table for the commentators all contributed to the atmosphere.
Jing Mian: “…”
This couldn’t help but make him nervous.
In contrast, his teammates, especially Xuan Cheng, were very familiar with the backstage. He pulled a large chair, sat down, and rested his long legs on the table, checking the match.
There were twenty minutes before the match started.
Xuan Cheng patiently began instructing the team on strategy.
Especially with Jing Mian’s addition, their tactics had changed significantly. Although Jing Mian wasn’t placed at the core of the team, adjustments were made to leverage his strengths.
This was Sheep’s first appearance in a competition.
Both the positioning and team roles were highly anticipated.
Thus, it was particularly noteworthy.
The first stage of Glory was similar to a survival game.
As a pure shooting game level, the background could be a mountain village, an abandoned factory, or even a cargo ship. In short, all players would wake up in various locations:
In a box.
In a hay bale.
In a wardrobe.
…
Then, the players, starting with nothing, would gather resources and equipment, gradually expanding their range and attacking every enemy they encountered.
Finally, a red door would appear in the game, visible even through numerous buildings.
The players needed to escape before the countdown in the top right corner ended, earning the right to enter the second stage.
They could also revive more teammates than the opposing team.
As a core member of the team, Xuan Cheng, known as Mole, had steady and precise skills, consistently leading the team with one-shot kills.
Each team had eight players, with a total of one hundred participants, the rest being AI-controlled.
When the time came,
The ME. Team members took their seats.
Jing Mian walked in last, wearing a dark blue hoodie with the zipper pulled up, a headset around his neck, and his usual hat and black mask, revealing only his warm, beautiful eyes and pale skin.
The live stream outside silently recorded everything, and the chat exploded with excitement:
【Ah, MianMian!】
【MianMian!!】
【What? I’m shocked, it’s true that Sheep joined ME.!】
【ME. is really something. Rumor has it that several top clubs messaged this streamer, but Sheep didn’t join any of them.】
【Thank you, sponsors, for the high-definition cameras. I can see MianMian so clearly.】
【Mom’s heart, MianMian [heart]】
【I thought Sheep would take off his mask for the competition, but I was wrong.】
…
The network administrator took a deep breath, observing the rapidly increasing number of online viewers and data. He silently gave a thumbs up to the organizers.
As they had expected,
Jing Mian was a traffic magnet.
A good-looking person playing esports often caused a frenzy among netizens.
The match had just started, and the number of online viewers had already reached fifty thousand.
For a Cross-Server Competition, this was a massive surge in traffic.
Jing Mian put on his headset.
The outside world suddenly became much quieter.