Chapter 52

Rong Yi’s ears turned bright red in an instant, and then his gaze lowered, with a slight curl of his lips.

This person is being so deliberate! How can he be so deliberate!

But he couldn’t resist it!

Now everyone not only knew that Easy was Yin’s wife.

They also knew that Easy was Yin’s babe.

He bowed his head and couldn’t help but laugh. Listening to the suppressed gasps and squeals from the others on the other side of the wall, he kept his voice steady and his expression calm: “Let’s go.”

When had Xiao Yin ever called him that? It was so deliberate.

But Rong Yi then remembered that day in the league building’s rest area, under the warm yellow light, Xiao Yin had called him that too, half-kneeling on the ground, his lips gently touching his hand.

Rong Yi tried his best to keep a calm demeanor. Unperturbed.

Walking with the others, he didn’t know where to place his gaze, avoiding Xiao Yin’s eyes the whole time.

So embarrassing.

The expressions of the others present were equally interesting. Those who worked together were somewhat better off, not daring to scream in front of their boss.

VIT’s youngsters were holding their faces purple, wanting to scream but also laugh. In the end, they remembered they had to maintain a composed team image in front of the media, so they all calmed down.

Hydralisk’s face read: “Is this necessary? It’s just a relationship, it’s normal.”

Grey Cat’s eyes said: “Exactly, we’re used to it.”

Wu Daogu’s mental OS conveyed: “Look, a bunch of people who have never seen the world. Only now do they realize Yin’s wolfish ambitions.”

With everyone harboring their own thoughts, they orderly left the building and got into their cars.

Xiao Yin didn’t make any more outrageous moves, as today the entire club was working overtime. Xiao Yin had booked an entire restaurant, and there were more cars than usual.

The boss’s car was reserved for Xiao Yin and his two assistants.

Typically, the boss’s seat was behind the driver. Assistant Xiao Zhou sensibly took the front passenger seat, while Assistant Little Tang was brought into the car and instinctively sat in the exact center of the back seat.

Little Tang then realized.

He was sitting right in the middle of Xiao Yin and Rong Yi.

This directly led to Rong Yi and Xiao Yin being separated by one person.

Help!

What have I done!

Being a third wheel1 is going to get me struck by lightning!

The live stream audience was still fiercely discussing that one word, “babe.”

“That was awesome, really awesome. Yin-Ge is impressive, calling him ‘babe’ in public.”

“So bold, no more guessing needed. It’s confirmed, they’re dating.”

“I need to check out that thread, has the thread starter replied?”

Rong Yi was also looking at the thread.

In the car, with five people, the atmosphere was silent. Xiao Yin and Rong Yi were separated by Little Tang.

Rong Yi could clearly sense Little Tang’s awkwardness.

And because of Little Tang’s awkwardness, he felt awkward too.

He leaned against the window, pretending to play with his phone, but in reality, he was trying hard to turn his face away, acting nonchalant.

The thread that was topping the Esports forum had already flipped back dozens of pages, and the thread starter had been updating it in real-time since the live stream began.

[Let me tell you something funny.]

A row of replies followed: “Waiting.”

After several pages of nothing, the next update appeared.

[Boss, I’ve been working so hard to keep your identity a secret, and you just go public like that!]

[No more pretending, everyone. My boss just called his partner ‘babe’ in the live stream. Now everyone in the circle knows.]

[This makes my thread look so silly.]

[Ahhh, am I going to get fired? Are the two big shots going to dismiss me? I’m going to die of embarrassment! Help!]

[Whatever, might as well enjoy the sweetness in the face of disaster. I’ll keep going.]

[At first, we didn’t know they were dating. If we shipped them, it was just secretly, thinking of team camaraderie or old friends reuniting, that sort of thing.]

[This was all private until one day!! A colleague knocked on the boss’s door in the morning to wake him up for work.]

[You know what! The boss wasn’t in his own room.]

[He was in his partner’s room!]

[My colleague was scared to death!]

[The boss even gave instructions through the door, acting completely normal.]

[We still don’t know if there was one person or two in that room that day. Whether the boss’s partner got up alone or got up with the boss.]

Rong Yi leaned against the window, silently scrolling through the thread.

The thread starter was a young woman from their Human Resources Department, very efficient, and surprisingly good with words.

Reading about his and Xiao Yin’s story from this perspective, it actually seemed…

Intriguing.

But seeing the thread as one of the involved parties was somewhat embarrassing.

Rong Yi decided to pretend he was too busy to look.

Meanwhile, his social media account started pinging nonstop.

[Commentator Lin Yi]: “Tell your husband, he’s awesome.”

Rong Yi replied: “Why don’t you tell him yourself if you’re going to give compliments?”

[Commentator Lin Yi]: “Well, if I had the guts, babe~”

Rong Yi took a deep breath and blocked him for five minutes.

Five minutes later.

[Commentator Lin Yi]: “I’m dying of laughter. All the people who wanted to chase you are cursing Xiao Yin now.”

[Commentator Lin Yi]: “That guy is ruthless. Look.”

Lin Yi sent Rong Yi a few screenshots.

Lin Yi, being the gossip king of the circle, had the latest scoop. While everyone in the circle was buzzing about this shocking gossip, some people were conspicuously silent, clearly very unhappy.

No one from RS spoke up, not even the usual gossipmongers. Someone even asked them for news about their former captain’s love life, and Lang Bai bluntly replied, “Get lost.”

One behind-the-scenes producer who had been constantly asking Lin Yi for Rong Yi’s contact information posted a status that seemed to indirectly comment on Rong Yi and Xiao Yin’s relationship: “Can you stop? How is it that you’re everywhere!! Get lost!! [Angry][Angry][Sweating][Crying]”

One of Rong Yi’s fans posted: “My wife—has become Yin’s wife—both online and offline I can’t beat him—my wife, boo hoo hoo—”

…

Everyone was commenting, and the scene was lively for a while.

The term [Yin Love Bite] finally had a definite owner, and with the confirmation of the involved parties, the term [Yin Easy] soared to new heights, even gaining traction overseas.

The long-dormant official homepage of the World Champion team QILIN even shared the news.

To be fair, QILIN had long outgrown being just a game club; it had become a cradle for sending players from the NA Region to various other regions.

Every year, champions would leave, and new champions would emerge. Xiao Yin had left the team long ago, and Easy was a player from another region, yet they still received such a heavyweight response.

“Holy crap, QILIN headquarters shared this! What kind of god-like influence does Yin-Ge have!”

“Previously, when Celebrity XX and Founder/Richest Person XX visited QILIN headquarters, QILIN didn’t post anything. Their official account only posts a New Year’s greeting annually.”

“This is incredible!!!!”

Rong Yi initially thought the hype might die down.

But after scrolling through social media for a while, he realized this buzz wasn’t going away anytime soon, probably not for the next ten days to half a month.

Now, thousands of people were trying to reach him, wanting exclusive news, and even the media wanted interviews. It was ridiculous.

Rong Yi simply shut down all his platforms and started playing a QTE game to practice his reaction speed.

The vehicle ran smoothly, and the atmosphere in the car remained suffocatingly silent.

Little Tang sat upright in the middle, as quiet as a quail.

Xiao Yin’s voice came through from across Little Tang.

Calm and steady.

“What are you looking at?”

Rong Yi took a couple of seconds to realize who he was asking.

“Me?”

Rong Yi tilted his phone screen in Xiao Yin’s direction, “A QTE mobile game.”

Xiao Yin replied, “Hmm.”

Little Tang wanted to scream for help.

He could clearly feel that his presence was making his big boss somewhat restrained.

How could it be this silent and awkward? The two big shots shouldn’t be like this usually, right?

Amidst the silence, they finally arrived at the restaurant.

Little Tang and Xiao Zhou, the two assistants, quickly fled the car, blending into the staff group, staying far away from the player group.

The VIT players had their own table, just like before.

While waiting for the food, the only activity, of course, turned into scrolling through their phones.

Rong Yi wanted to pretend he didn’t know, but it was impossible.

Hydralisk glanced at his phone for a while before asking, “Captain, have you checked the internet?”

Rong Yi, his expression calm as water, replied, “Not yet. I’m jotting down next week’s training schedule. Why?”

Hydralisk shrank back sheepishly and gave Wu Daogu a look.

Wu Daogu coughed and said, “Hey, I found a pretty interesting thread. It seems to be about you and Yin-Ge, Captain.”

Rong Yi didn’t even blink. “Hmm.”

Xiao Yin, sitting next to him and looking at the menu, remained as still as a mountain, his aura as cold and sharp as if carved from ice, exuding a slight chill.

Wu Daogu’s attack failed, so Grey Cat took up the task.

Grey Cat, carrying the weight of everyone’s expectations, hesitated, “Captain, aren’t you interested?”

“Not particularly.” Rong Yi, who had already read the thread eight hundred times, remained calm and composed. He had to maintain this demeanor. “You can send it to me. I’ll take a look when I have time.”

Grey Cat succeeded, but not entirely. Rong Yi’s act was too convincing, leaving the younger players disappointed and unable to enjoy any drama.

They decided to openly join the thread and started interacting with the netizens.

[Grey Series] (Grey Cat): “I have some insider info. The boss is totally biased. He only cares about his partner when ordering food.”

[Lonely Butterfly End of the World] (Wu Daogu): “You just noticed? I knew something was off from day one. The boss is all about looks and talent.”

Only Hydralisk was fervently praising his captain, stirring up trouble everywhere.

[More Awesome Than Awesome]: “I’m telling you! The boss is just average! Give me two more years, and I’ll knock him off his throne! The captain suffers following him, working overtime every day! The boss doesn’t care at all! Report complete.”

Everyone else: “What nonsense is this guy spouting? Kick him out! Don’t interrupt our eat sugar!”

Hydralisk was muted for a hundred years.

Hydralisk silently put down his phone and sipped his soup.

Rong Yi also took a sip of his soup, glancing up in the process.

Five people at the table.

All on their phones.

They were all engrossed in the gossip, but Xiao Yin was also looking at his phone.

Xiao Yin was the type who never played with his phone during meals and usually didn’t talk much either—a model of the “eat silently, sleep silently” principle.

But now, Xiao Yin was on his phone.

Rong Yi thought he was probably looking at financial reports or something.

However, when he stood up to get more soup, he caught a glimpse of Xiao Yin’s phone screen out of the corner of his eye.

Xiao Yin was reading the thread.

After finishing the meal, Rong Yi still hadn’t had any alone time with Xiao Yin.

Everyone was frantically exchanging glances, trying to give the two some space, but it was hard to find a moment to relax and be together.

Previously, they could talk one-on-one, but now, whenever they stood together, they were under the watchful and curious eyes of many.

Xiao Yin walked ahead, Rong Yi followed behind.

They were half a meter apart—not too close, not too far, and not saying much.

Xiao Yin had already put his phone away. When they reached the parking lot, he said, “I’ll drive with Captain Rong.”

The driver immediately understood and said, “I’ll squeeze in with Little Tang and Xiao Zhou in the other car.”

Xiao Yin nodded, opened the car door for Rong Yi, and then got into the driver’s seat.

Rong Yi closed the car door and buckled his seatbelt.

Just as he finished, he looked up and met Xiao Yin’s gaze.

Rong Yi realized something, “Ah, I forgot. You wanted to…” buckle his seatbelt for him.

Xiao Yin always liked to do this for him.

“It’s okay,” Xiao Yin looked away and said casually, “Next time, leave it to me.”

Rong Yi’s ears felt a bit warm, and he said softly, “Okay, sure.”

The car was silent, just like on the way there.

And just like before.

They didn’t talk much, but Rong Yi felt a bit nervous for some reason. Maybe it was the constant scrutiny today that suddenly increased the pressure.

After a while, Rong Yi took a deep breath, adjusted his mood, and felt less nervous.

At a red light, Xiao Yin glanced at him.

“Nervous?”

“Not really.”

Rong Yi replied.

Xiao Yin turned his head, reached out, and gently squeezed his fingertips. “Sorry, I didn’t think it through. You prefer keeping things low-key.”

“It’s not that.” Rong Yi squeezed his fingertips back, trying to stay calm. “I’m just not used to it yet.”

Rong Yi took a gentle breath. “I’ll get used to it.”

His fingertips were slightly cool, but after a brief moment in Xiao Yin’s hand, they warmed up.

The light turned green, and Xiao Yin let go, driving forward.

“Did you read that thread?” Xiao Yin suddenly asked.

He didn’t look at Rong Yi, and his tone was casual.

Rong Yi was momentarily stunned, then felt his ears heat up as he tried to stay calm. “Not yet. The one they sent?”

“Yeah,” Xiao Yin replied. “I read it.”

Rong Yi waited for him to say more, but Xiao Yin didn’t continue.

Back at the villa, Rong Yi went to his room to change clothes first.

Xiao Yin’s single sentence had piqued his curiosity.

Lying on the bed, Rong Yi opened the thread again.

Overnight, the thread had grown so long that the number of posts was unreadable. Rong Yi decided to skip to the last page to see the latest updates.

But there were no new posts from the thread starter.

Instead, all the new replies were quoting the same user’s post.

“!!! OMG, is this the real person?”

“OMG OMG I’ve never seen anything like this in my life.”

“OMG, the boss himself showed up!”

[Posted by]: Yin Xiao Yin

[Post Level]: 0, Newcomer

[Post Content]: “Very enjoyable. Please keep updating.”

Footnote:

1. Third Wheel(电灯泡): In Chinese, the term “电灯泡” (diàn dēng pào) literally means “light bulb.” However, in the context of relationships, it has a special meaning. It refers to a third person who intrudes on a couple’s private time, making the situation awkward. This is similar to the English term “third wheel.” Just like a third wheel on a bicycle, which is unnecessary and makes things awkward, a “电灯泡” makes the romantic interaction between a couple feel awkward or uncomfortable.