Su Li had never seen a photo of Xiao Yuyu.
She had no idea what she looked like.
But hearing Xiao Yuyu’s soft sobs, it was clear that something her friend had said had hurt her.
Only the people closest to you know your weaknesses best.
And when they strike, it cuts the deepest.
“Baby, don’t be sad. Just treat those people across from us like the ones who bullied you. Let’s give them a good beating just the two of us.”
“Just… the two of us?”
Xiao Yuyu’s quiet sobbing came to a stop.
Encouraged by Su Li’s words, she started to recover.
That’s right. She might not be able to get through to her friend, but surely she could handle the opponent in this game.
“Baby… will you always stay by my side?”
“Of course, baby.”
It was a lie. But Su Li still said it.
She knew that when a client asked that kind of question, they weren’t looking for an honest answer— they just wanted reassurance.
Of course, as long as Xiao Yuyu had money, she really could stay by her side forever.
So it wasn’t entirely a lie. It just came with conditions.
Upon hearing Su Li’s response, Xiao Yuyu’s fighting spirit flared up again.
Looking at Su Li walking alongside her down the bottom lane, her heart felt warm.
“Su Li… Su Li will always be with me.”
“Hehe.”
“Hehe.”
Xiao Yuyu’s eyes were fixed on the game screen.
Her face wasn’t even visible on it, but she didn’t care at all.
At this moment, she felt like she was the character in the game.
Handsome, fearless, unstoppable.
And the Princess Yaoyao following by her side felt just like a manifestation of Su Li herself— always there, quietly protecting her.
“Baby, baby, look! This ADC is so bad, it died again!”
“It’s always like this. When will I finally get normal teammates?”
Seeing the bot lane ADC give up first blood, Xiao Yuyu complained.
“It’s okay, baby. Let’s just play our best. If he’s really that bad, we can just report him later.”
At this point, Su Li had transformed into a fellow teammate-blamer, just like Xiao Yuyu.
Money’s hard to earn. And sometimes you have to eat some crap to earn it.
Some money just required compromising your conscience.
Besides, she didn’t consider herself a high-skill companion player, just an entertainment one.
And it was pretty hard to carry as a support.
“Baby, look! Look, the ADC is totally tilted now!”
Cackling laughter came through the mic.
Xiao Yuyu had this habit of laughing like a goose, but Su Li was long used to it.
[Gummy Bear (Hou Yi): Support??]
[Gummy Bear (Hou Yi): Didn’t you see the two people across from us? Disgusting like conjoined twins!]
[Gummy Bear (Hou Yi): Is the jungler blind?? You didn’t see their whole team came bot?]
[Gummy Bear (Hou Yi): Bunch of idiots! If no one wants to play properly, then just quit!]
[Gummy Bear (Hou Yi): F*ck this, if I ever play ADC again I’m a dog!]
[Gummy Bear (Hou Yi): Jungler, you’ve got 3 minutes!]
Watching Hou Yi stand idle while chat messages flooded the screen, Su Li could only sigh.
She’d lost count of how many ADCs had mentally collapsed mid-game.
But she didn’t let it get to her.
[Cute Fish Roll (Ma Chao): If you suck, practice more. If you can’t take losing, don’t play!]
[Cute Fish Roll (Ma Chao): Can’t even handle pressure? Uninstall and go play Candy Crush.]
Just as Su Li expected, before long, Cute Fish Roll jumped back into the fray, and the two started lane fighting again.
“Baby, look at this guy— keeps feeding and still blames teammates.”
“So funny. Look, she was too busy typing and got solo-killed again. Once this game ends, we have to report her.”
“It’s because of players like this that it’s so hard for me to climb as China server’s top Ma Chao.”
Xiao Yuyu complained, and Su Li didn’t respond, only offering gentle comfort: “It’s okay, baby. We’ll just focus on playing our own game.”
“As long as you step up and carry, they’ll be calling you a god by the end of it.”
Su Li’s voice was soothing, even though the truth was— they lost more than they won when playing together.
But somehow, Xiao Yuyu was still ranked among the top Ma Chao players in the country.
Maybe when they weren’t playing together, she’d quietly rank up on her own.
Sometimes, Xiao Yuyu would even send Su Li videos of her getting pentakills or posting impressive scores, waiting eagerly for her praise.
During the match, Su Li noticed that Hou Yi had mentally checked out— he’d stopped defending bot lane entirely and was now just clearing the jungle camps.
Soon, he and the jungler began arguing.
Then, despite the mid-lane Xiao Qiao player frantically pinging retreat signals, the jungler went and stole her minion wave.
When Xiao Qiao tried to rotate bot to clear the lane, she was ambushed and taken out by an invisible Lanling King from the enemy team.
Everyone seemed to be playing their own game.
[Gummy Bear (Hou Yi): Xiao Qiao, can you stop feeding?]
[Lanling Who? (Xiao Qiao): ?]
[Gummy Bear (Hou Yi): Disgusting to be matched with bots like you. Garbage matchmaking system—makes me sick!]
[LanlingWho? (Xiao Qiao): ?]
[Gummy Bear (Hou Yi): Shut it, Wi-Fi Princess!]
Su Li glanced at the heated chat for a while.
The match had barely started, but it was clear no one had the heart to keep playing.
At that moment, she had Yao ride atop Ma Chao— Xiao Yuyu’s character and watched as the two of them calmly cleared minion waves against the enemy in the solo lane.
They felt oddly disconnected from the chaos of the battlefield, like they didn’t belong to this war at all.
Su Li shifted her gaze to the top right corner of the screen.
When the game clock finally ticked past six minutes, she quietly pressed the surrender button.
Each game session as a companion earned her 500 yuan, and Xiao Yuyu hadn’t asked to be billed by the hour.
So if the match ended early, it was a pretty cost-effective outcome for her.
Unfortunately, the other four players all voted no— clearly still caught up in their bickering.
“Baby, I’m so done with these bot teammates. Feed the team and then try to surrender? Gross.”
“Why can’t this trash matchmaking system be fixed already?”
“It’s been years and they still haven’t sorted it out. I really regret spending so much money on this stupid game.”
Hearing Xiao Yuyu vent, Su Li immediately stepped in with comfort.
“It’s okay, baby. Just imagine these minions as the people you hate most.”
“After all, most people in this game aren’t even real heroes— they’re just nameless NPCs, right?”
Xiao Yuyu burst into her signature “gagagaga” laugh.
“Baby, you’re so right! All those annoying people are NPCs. You’re the only one who’s my heroine!”
“Love you, baby~”
“You’re my favorite, baby!”