may·yu.
The only Xia Guo person among the platinum-level architects in the survival space.
Recently, he has been embroiled in scandals. After being exposed on forums, various "insiders" have continued to add fuel to the fire, confirming his "weirdness." The gossip has become increasingly outrageous, making him seem like the epitome of a hypocrite.
The forum administrators noticed and quickly deleted his photo and removed his real name and other information, but the matter had already escalated and could not be controlled from spreading privately.
Wen Zheng was browsing the forum on his phone when Da Hei noticed he was in a bad mood. Da Hei didn't cause any trouble, instead lying on Wen Zheng's stomach as a hand warmer, and they also looked at the gossip posts together.
This post is indeed full of malice, but the opinions in the comments are not all one-sided. That's why the argument is so heated and has become a short-term hot topic.
If it's not entirely fabricated, then the amount of information is quite substantial.
"Did you understand?" Wen Zheng patted Dahei's head, and, afraid that he had scrolled too fast, he summarized, "You didn't know either, did you? Yu Jin is that May, who is Cheng Mei."
The big black dog grunted twice, and then Wen Zheng continued, "He... doesn't seem like a transgender person."
Gender identity disorder, which is different from homosexuality, refers to people who do not identify with their biological sex.
Wen Zheng wondered if he was blind, since he couldn't see it at all.
Whether it's his usual timid and shy demeanor or his fierceness when fighting, Yu Jin doesn't exhibit any feminine characteristics.
But with Chengmei in the game added to the uncertainty, Wen Zheng became uncertain again.
He is a habitual liar.
Wen Zheng was deep in thought when his temper flared up, and he pinched Da Hei on the back of the neck.
Big Black: ? ? ?
"The forum says he was a big shot in school, everyone knew he had gender dysphoria. Ah... did he dress as a woman or what? I don't know. Putting aside other minor things, the most sensational thing seems to be that he stole his sister's boyfriend."
Wen Zheng flipped through the pages and continued, "His older sister... seems to be around the same age? Otherwise, how come they're in the same school? Hmm, here it is, same grade, so they're twins?... His boyfriend is the school heartthrob, a rich second-generation, and a popular figure throughout the school."
Wen Zheng paused subtly for a moment: "...It is said that he was so infatuated with the school heartthrob that he confessed his love to Yu Jin in the hallway before he even broke up with his sister. ...Several people can corroborate the confession, which is said to be 'I will protect you from now on'."
Don't even mention... Yu Jin was so unlucky, wasn't Wen Zheng also fooled at first?
It's really easy to evoke a protective instinct in them.
But this also makes one vulnerable to being bullied.
"There's more to it. 'The most bitchy bitch refused on the spot, and just as the school heartthrob was humiliated and left in anger, the most bitchy bitch suddenly fainted on the spot, spun around and fell into the school heartthrob's arms. The school heartthrob screamed, "Little May—"' Wen Zheng stopped reading and said coldly, "Later, the school heartthrob took him to the hospital and fussed over him. The sister made a fuss a few times, but it only made the school heartthrob hate her more. He became even nicer to the brother who rejected him.'"
Many people commented that this is what they said:
Men are just despicable; they don't cherish what they get easily. This younger brother knows how to play tricks.
It's only human nature.
Wen Zheng, annoyed by what he saw, threw his phone away, let out a deep breath, and let Da Hei stomp on his stomach in a rebellion.
If these comments are true, then wouldn't Wen Zheng be considered a fool, just like the school heartthrob?
But after calming his chaotic mind, he instinctively felt that something was wrong.
The most important piece of evidence is that Yu Jin never asks him for help, and even when he is helped, his attitude is not one of gratitude, but rather... subtle irony.
what to do?
Wen Zheng rubbed his temples, pressed Da Hei against his stomach, and said irritably, "Why won't you turn back?"
Big Black wagged its tail in dissatisfaction.
“Yu Jin is someone we met together, and I’ve told you about his situation,” Wen Zheng said in a hoarse voice. “If you change back, or at least answer a phone call, I’ll have someone to talk to.”
He had so much to say to Bei Sining. After holding it in for so many days, and with today's events, he felt his emotions had reached a breaking point.
Big Black lay still.
“I want to call Bei Sining.” Wen Zheng sat up, picked up his phone, his stomach churning with pain. He said, “If he insists on not answering, I’ll pretend I don’t know him, and he can forget about ever hearing a kind word from me again.”
His hands were trembling with emotion. He found the number he had dialed countless times in his call log. To let the damn cat have its fun, he even went into the bedroom and closed the door.
The user you dialed is currently unavailable.
Wen Zheng waited a minute and then called again.
I waited another three minutes before calling again.
On the fifth call, the phone was no longer switched off, but remained unanswered for a long time.
Wen Zheng's veins bulged as he slammed his phone against the door with all his might, making a loud bang.
The scattered parts broke apart, like fallen flowers.
***
On Thursday evening, Yu Jin and Cui Tiantian politely said a long goodbye and left the mental health group.
Another cold front hit last night, making the weather even colder, reaching minus five degrees Celsius, a new low for Rongcheng in nearly ten years.
Everyone was both complaining about the cold and happy, and even the impatient snack shop owner on the roadside seemed to become more amiable—the New Year was almost here.
The snack shop wasn't doing very well, and it was getting late. Yu Jin went in and ordered a small bowl of wontons. There weren't many other customers besides him.
After the wontons were served, he hesitated for a few seconds, then decided to eat them anyway—he had just told her he didn't want cilantro, but the proprietress didn't seem to hear him. But it didn't matter; it wasn't that he couldn't stand it, or rather, it had happened so many times that he'd gradually gotten used to it.
After taking a few bites, Yu Jin wanted to add some vinegar to neutralize the flavor of the cilantro.
Each table in this small shop has a small vinegar bottle for customers to use themselves. Yu Jin took the bottle, tilted it, and waited for a while... a drop of vinegar fell down.
It's empty.
He was used to bad luck and didn't take it to heart, thinking, "Oh well, I'll just eat it..."
The plump proprietress was watching TV, and laughter could be heard constantly. Yu Jin secretly glanced over and found that she was in a really good mood.
After hesitating for a moment, he decided to give it a try on this somewhat special day.
"Boss lady," he tried to raise his voice, "I'm out of vinegar for this table."
"Oh!" Upon hearing this, the proprietress stood up, took a large bottle from behind the counter, and slammed it on the table. Instead of giving him a hard time, she smiled and apologized, "I'm sorry, please feel free to pour."
"……Thanks."
There's vinegar in it!
Yu Jin was very happy; it was a very lucky day for him.
He slurped down a bowl of wontons, feeling warm all over, and then checked his train ticket on his phone.
He looked at it for a while, but didn't buy it immediately.
He finally mustered up the courage to make a phone call to Wen Zheng.
"Yu Jin?" Wen Zheng answered quickly, his voice calm, showing no immediate intention to berate him. Yu Jin's mood brightened even more: "Um, Wen Zheng... I'm leaving Rongcheng. Can I treat you to a meal tomorrow?"
He didn't mention what happened that day, and Wen Zheng acted as if he hadn't seen the gossip. He seemed to check his schedule and agreed without making Yu Jin anxious for too long.
"Thank you. Then let's meet at 6 PM on that street near Galaxy Shopping Mall. You can choose the shop, I'm not familiar with it..."
"Hmm," Wen Zheng said, "Are you alright?"
Yu Jin pursed his lips slightly, then broke into a bright smile a moment later, even though no one could see it: "I'm fine."
He had arranged a time and was not refused; today was his super lucky day.
Yu Jin bought a train ticket and rushed back to his rented room. He packed his unpacked luggage, stuffing it into a large bag.
The next day, he carried a large cloth bag weighing twenty pounds to the fast food restaurant he had arranged to meet.
Author's Note: Zhengzheng: This cat spirit is disobedient, let's...
Big Black: ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
(Updates resumed! The next chapter will be added at 2 AM. I'll try to finish this part as soon as possible. Thank you.)
Chapter 74
Wen Zheng stepped into the shop and saw that Yu Jin was already sitting down.
The enticing aroma of fried chicken wafted through the air.
"Wen Zheng!" Yu Jin stood up and waved to him. He was still the same as always, shy and awkward, as if he were a split personality that he wouldn't usually show in the fighting arena and in the game.
"You've arrived early," Wen Zheng said as he sat down.
"Anyway, there's nothing else to do." After saying that, Yu Jin paused for a moment, then pretended to be happy and sniffed the air: "Ah, what's that smell?"
"An awkward feeling," Wen Zheng added.
Yu Jin immediately smiled, finally relaxing a lot. After laughing, he said, "I'm sorry."
There was a menu on the table. Wen Zheng glanced at it, selected what he wanted to eat, and then handed it to Yu Jin, saying, "What are you sorry about?"
What are you sorry for?
I'm sorry for lying to you, I'm sorry for lying to you so many times, I'm so sorry... I'm such a piece of trash, knowing me is your misfortune.
Yu Jin silently repeated it to himself a few times, but felt that Wen Zheng wouldn't want to hear these things, so he smiled and said, "Okay, it's nothing."
The fried chicken was quickly delivered by a robot. Wen Zheng, who had been following the cat's healthy diet every day, hadn't eaten this kind of food in a long time. Thinking that he wouldn't have the chance again, he ate it to his heart's content.
After finishing half a hamburger to fill his stomach, he said, "I have a few questions that you need to answer."
Yu Jin held the chicken wing and obediently hummed in agreement.
"Was it a coincidence that you were selected as a fan of 'The Storm Is Coming' and joined the live stream as a viewer the first time?"
That was the first time they met "Chengmei," and he deliberately revealed evidence that he was May Yu.
“No.” Yu Jin smiled: “I modified the backdoor in the live stream’s lottery system for picking viewers, so no matter how Shan Yu tried, he could only pick me.”
"What if he doesn't smoke?"
"It's okay if I don't participate. I'll open a portal in the game's backend to make Xiaoyu disconnect briefly, and then accidentally queue up as a casual player. But that would be much more troublesome, involving security issues related to the game's 'suspension' feature, as well as version issues with the holographic glasses device, and it also depends on luck. Streaming platforms have more vulnerabilities, which is more convenient."
Wen Zheng knew nothing about these things, but he remembered Wendy saying that the security measures for large-scale games are now very good, the era of cheating is gone, and it is even more difficult to manipulate device-based games.
But Yu Jin's statement was very simple, indicating that he is not only talented as an architect.
"Second question," Wen Zheng finished his hamburger, "Why do this?"