GTRSH Chapter 78

He Ci’s mother, Ling Yan, looked very young, with light makeup on her face. He Ci’s eyes and nose were somewhat similar to hers, but his mother had a gentler temperament and spoke with a smile.

“Hello, welcome.”

Although he had anticipated this, Yu Xinche was still a little nervous because he had teased her son in front of her and acted too mischievously.

His fingers unconsciously rubbed together a couple of times, but he still managed a perfectly appropriate smile: “Thank you, Auntie.”

The three entered the house. In the living room on the first floor sat two elderly people, presumably He Ci’s grandparents. They spoke slowly and deliberately, and their attitude towards Yu Xinche was kind and caring, which was heartwarming.

Afterwards, He Ci led him upstairs to the guest room.

“You can stay in this room. See if you need anything.” He Ci pushed open a door to a room on the third floor. “The bedding is all newly changed by the housekeeper. If you need anything, just knock on the door. I live next door.”

“Okay.” Yu Xinche opened his luggage, tidied it up quickly, and said to him, “I’m ready. Do you need to stay downstairs with your elders?”

“No need.” He Ci leaned against the table.

“Our family isn’t very outgoing. We usually just get together when the whole family first arrives. Now everyone just stays in their own rooms and does their own thing, and only goes downstairs for meals.”

“Grandpa and Grandma knew you were coming, that’s why they were waiting. They’re probably already back in their room.”

“Oh…” Yu Xinche was still not quite used to the new environment and felt a little lost.

He Ci was the only familiar person he knew here, and he subconsciously relied on him: “So what are you planning to do now?”

“Entertain guests,” He Ci said, looking at him.

“…The guest doesn’t know what to do either.”

He Ci smiled, told him to wait a moment, took out his phone and sent a few messages before asking, “The dog hasn’t been walked yet, shall we go together?”

Yu Xinche nodded vigorously: “Okay, okay.”

The two large dogs got quite a lot of exercise; they walked for a long time on the mountain, and by the time they got back, it was already dinnertime.

Yu Xinche also met He Ci’s other family members. In addition to his father and younger brother He Xiao, there were also his cousins ​​and their families.

He Ci explained the situation to his family last night, so no one brought up sensitive topics related to Yu Xinche’s family background. They treated him like a guest who had been staying for several days, with a natural attitude and without being overly polite.

My cousin was the most lively person in the family; she talks non-stop during meals. She’s currently a senior in high school in China, so she had to go back to her room to do her homework after dinner.

And his cousin He Liangye was one of the three original creators of HIT.

He started out as a game planner, and as the game grew, he gradually rose to a higher position.

Once he stepped away from the execution level, his work had little to do with basic numerical design. He was no longer responsible for designing the game’s equipment and characters, but out of his own passion and sense of responsibility, he would still frequently keep an eye on the game’s development and help guide the direction of version updates.

Meanwhile, because He Ci was a professional player, in order to avoid suspicion and prevent anyone from saying that He Ci was using his cousin’s connections to influence the game’s updates, he had always been in charge of the game’s overseas market instead.

After dinner, his cousin came over to chat.

“I heard you got a pentakill in the finals.” My cousin sat down next to Yu Xinche with a smile. He had blond hair and tattoos on his wrists, and was obviously the unconventional type.

“Mmm.” Yu Xinche nodded.

“It seems like he’s the first support player to get a pentakill in a domestic competition?” His cousin looked at He Ci, seeking confirmation.

He Ci nodded, and then his cousin said, “Awesome, your courage and skills are unmatched. It’s a pity you’re a domestic player, otherwise I would have already found someone to create hype and publicity for you.”

Yu Xinche didn’t quite understand and looked at him with a puzzled expression.

His cousin counted on his fingers and told him, “A pentakill as a support, saving the day, having the AD carry sell their items to support you—any one of these is every support player’s dream. Use these to create an event, give some rewards and honorary titles, and the lost support players will come rushing back… Or, at the very least, release an item upgrade event, the one you bought, it’s called…”

“Stealing the knife”.

“Yes, we managed to hold on in this game because of the item, but we also lost because the item consumed a lot of economy. But in a normal game, a single item shouldn’t create such a big gap, which means that the item design is not reasonable enough.”

“Wouldn’t it be great if your Chinese server could take this opportunity to have a face-to-face discussion with the developers? It would generate natural discussion, but surprisingly no one thought to take advantage of it. Sigh.”

“You can hear it from us.” He Ci peeled an orange and gave half to Yu Xinche. “Our TZ has agreed.”

My cousin snatched the half-eaten orange from He Ci’s hand, popped one into his mouth, and asked, “What do you mean?”

He Ci sighed, peeled another one, and took the opportunity to tell him about the various inhumane things the game organizers had done this year.

*

Life at He Ci’s house was much easier and more comfortable than Yu Xinche had imagined.

He initially thought that He Ci’s family would have many rules and that the elders might be distant, but after getting to know them, he found that apart from the two men who were CEOs and were rather serious, everyone else was very down-to-earth.

Even He Xiao was quite different from what he knew, which was kind of endearing.

After talking with He Ci, Yu Xinche learned that He Ci was not actually very happy when he was a child.

“When I was a child, my parents weren’t as easygoing as they are now. They were quite strict with me and He Xiao.” He Ci and He Xiao each had a deck chair and sat by the glass window, basking in the sun.

Jazz music flowed merrily from the CD player, and Yu Xinche idly stroked the dog at his feet, moving with the music’s rhythm.

“I was into building blocks for a while, and they probably thought I was obsessed with them. One time when I wasn’t around, they had someone take them all away.”

“But I have a younger brother, and my grandparents tend to spoil the kids, so it’s not too bad.”

Yu Xinche looked back at He Ci’s room. He probably only stayed in this house for less than a month each year. The room was simply furnished. Apart from the game console and CD player, the most distinctive item was the large block castle.

“You pieced that together yourself?”

“Hmm.” He Ci smiled. “This was the model that was cleared out back then, so I later pieced together an identical set in front of them.”

His expression was unusually childlike when he spoke, as if he had returned to the time when he was arguing with his parents.

Yu Xinche also smiled, feeling that He Ci’s family members were all quite rebellious. His cousin started his own business, and He Ci even neglected his studies to pursue a professional gaming career.

After hearing He Ci’s story, Yu Xinche, in exchange, also talked about his childhood.

Actually, there’s not much to talk about. At first, his parents were very strict with him, and he tried his best to be obedient and do his best in order to make them happy.

The two argued for several years before divorcing. They started new lives and families, and gradually paid less attention to Yu Xinche.

He’s like an abandoned pet, someone who provided emotional support when needed, and could be discarded immediately when no longer required.

However, there was no need to tell He Ci all of this. He summarized this stage in a few words with “appropriate details”, focusing on the more colorful time after entering university.

He thought he had downplayed it, but He Ci’s expression was still not very good after he finished speaking.

He remained silent for a long time while looking at Yu Xinche, his eyes filled with complex emotions, as if he was restraining something.

Unable to bear this gaze, which could even be described as affectionate, Yu Xinche reached out and lightly covered He Ci’s eyes with his hand.

“Don’t look at me like that. I had a slightly… miserable childhood, but I’m fine now, so don’t pity me.”

“…Hmm.” He Ci looked away, but quickly looked back at him.

He smiled slightly at Yu Xinche and whispered, “That’s really great, baby.”

He spoke in a casual tone, as if trying to hide the emotions in his eyes.

Yu Xinche looked at He Ci, who exuded a gentleness that he had almost never seen before. Although He Ci was smiling, there seemed to be a shadow in his eyes, as if he was feeling sad for him.

At that moment, Yu Xinche’s hand, which was petting the dog, stopped, as if the hourglass had been paused. His heart skipped a beat, his mind went blank, and he was completely out of sorts.

Even as time continued and his heartbeat gradually calmed down, his mind was still filled with the slow, persistent, and uncontrollable flow of fine sand as he recalled He Ci’s expression.

*

Their nanny had the day off on New Year’s Eve, so the family cooked the New Year’s Eve dinner themselves.

After eating for free for so long, Yu Xinche finally had a chance to express his gratitude. He volunteered to help out in the kitchen and even made a dish of garlic vermicelli shrimp.

After dinner, they all watched the Spring Festival Gala together, but no one really paid it serious attention and only watched it for the festive atmosphere.

Yu Xinche and He Ci were sitting on a sofa when their phones suddenly rang at the same time. Xu Le tagged them in a small group chat, asking them to post an update for the fans.

The group agreed and each sent out a few photos that captured the festive atmosphere of the New Year.

Yu Xinche was worried that his photos would clash with He Ci’s and that fans would notice something amiss. Therefore, He Ci and him checked each other’s photos before posting them to make sure there were no overlapping elements.

Despite all the precautions, it still couldn’t be prevented—

The background of the photo of the roasted oranges he posted looked exactly the same as the background in He Ci’s photo last year.

Fans went wild, with the cp fans exclaiming that they’d found the real deal.

【Huh?? You guys are serious?】

【Are these two really living together?!】

【Holy crap, this is the most joy I’ve received all night!】

【Wow, He Ci took him home for Chinese New Year! This is the kind of treatment I’ve never received in all my years of shipping!】

【So, has he met the parents? Are they really dating?】

【I also have my doubts.】

【Who’s such a kind soul to bring their teammates home for Chinese New Year? These are the kinds of occasion you can only bring your boyfriends, right? @YuXinChe @HeCi】

【He Ci, you are really [thumbs up emoji]!】

【If you love him, bring him home.】

【Young Master is indeed arrogant, but there’s nothing wrong with that. His favoritism towards Yu is blatant and overt, as if he’s afraid no one will know.】

【Indeed, He Ci’s family certainly wouldn’t just bring anyone home casually, let alone on a very private holiday like the Lunar New Year.】

【All I can say is that our young master’s love is truly remarkable. [heart emoji]】

【The young master’s love is quite impressive. [heart emoji]】

【The young master’s love is quite impressive. [heart emoji]】

 

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