Chapter 52: A Thoroughly Satisfying… Victory

Dreams are beautiful, but reality is cruel.

Ning Dongli’s plan was to show off her gaming skills in front of An Yu, chat with her in a friendly and natural way, smoothly become good friends, and achieve her unspeakable goal.

But she forgot one thing.

She was severely socially anxious.

Even through the internet, Ning Dongli had no idea what to say. 

Those dozens of messages yesterday had already burned her out completely.

And with An Yu’s personality, she was even less likely to take the initiative to speak. 

So the two of them stayed silent the entire time, not even typing a single message to each other.

Yet Ning Dongli didn’t even have the mental space to feel anxious about their lack of communication right now. 

She was facing the greatest crisis of her life.

How was she supposed to show off her skill with a lineup that was losing on all three lanes plus the jungle?!

Looking at the late-game AD carry she had casually locked in, then at the enemy bot lane duo that completely dominated them, Ning Dongli fell into deep thought.

Fortunately, this was just a normal match. 

If this had been ranked and she could already see the enemy team comp yet still picked this lineup, she would have exploded on the spot.

She sat upright, staring at the screen with full concentration, not daring to be distracted even for a second.

She had no choice—if she didn’t focus, they could surrender the moment laning phase ended.

……

……

“Phew……”

After a long time, Ning Dongli let out a breath and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Thanks to perfect coordination with a random top laner, they had somehow managed to win the game.

In the final team fight, she successfully cleaned up the enemies together with the top laner who had returned to the fray.

Honestly, if the top laner hadn’t survived the early disadvantage and created an opening for her, Ning Dongli really wouldn’t have known what to do on her own.

Still, what a thoroughly satisfying game. 

It had been a long time since she’d played such a close, evenly matched battle.

Winning filled Ning Dongli with comfort, but she suddenly felt like she had forgotten something…

“Ah!!”

Ning Dongli suddenly cried out. She finally remembered—today’s goal wasn’t just to play the game!

Not only had she not said a single word to An Yu, she had completely lost herself in the match!

The joy of victory vanished in an instant. 

She frantically tapped the screen, only to see that An Yu’s avatar had already gone dark—she had gone offline.

“I—I screwed up! What do I do?!”

Ning Dongli anxiously scratched her head. She had ignored An Yu again, but this time she really hadn’t meant to!

Closing the game and opening the chat app, she instinctively wanted to explain herself to An Yu.

But… it seemed there was no need anymore…

【Sleep Well Tonight】: Class is starting. Next time.

Because Ning Dongli had just seen the message from the pinned chat—An Yu had sent it.

“Phew……” 

Ning Dongli let out a long breath of relief. 

“Geez, I scared myself…”

An Yu didn’t dislike her at all, and she even wanted to play again next time.

The corners of her mouth lifted. 

Her pretty fingers tapped the screen as she began typing a reply.

【Listen to Something Nice】: Yep yep, I’m free anytime!

That’s right—she had almost forgotten. Not everyone was like her, skipping school to game at home every day.

An Yu was her older sister’s classmate. 

Of course she had to go to class once lunch break ended. 

That was perfectly normal.

“Though… next time~” 

After the tension passed, excitement surged back up. 

Ning Dongli hugged her phone and giggled foolishly, looking incredibly happy.

She may have failed this time, but that didn’t mean she would fail next time!

“Ning Dongli, fighting! You can do it!”

She clenched her small fist, her eyes burning with determination.

Ning Dongli cheered herself on. 

Next time, she would definitely build a good relationship with An Yu.

But for now…

An Yu was in class, so even if she wanted to do something, there was nowhere to spend her energy. So… one more game!

***

On the other side, An Yu had already put away her phone and left Ning Wanciu’s embrace, returning to her own seat.

Class had begun.

This match had taken far too long; it only ended the moment the bell rang. 

Extremely close.

Still, it had been pretty thrilling. 

They had nearly been caught playing by the teacher. 

An Yu blinked expressionlessly.

Hang up and abandon Pillow Little Sister, or sit in the front row and secretly play? 

That is the question.

Luckily, Pillow Little Sister was strong and finished the game before An Yu had to face that difficult choice.

The game was fun. Play again next time.

Although she vaguely felt like she hadn’t really done anything this match, and her desire to prove herself to Pillow Little Sister hadn’t been fulfilled at all.

But whatever. As long as it was fun.

Putting away the joy from the game, An Yu stayed quiet.

She looked up and tried to focus on the lesson. This class was… mm, never mind, she was already too lazy to listen.

In just a second, An Yu lowered her head again. So boring. 

Don’t want to listen. 

And I’ve heard it once before anyway.

Challenge: Pay attention in class—success! 

Duration: one second. Defeated yesterday’s An Yu!

Great. 

At least she had improved compared to yesterday.

And it wasn’t her fault she couldn’t concentrate—the chair was too hard, uncomfortable, and there was no soft, fragrant scent.

As expected, the rule that two people can’t sit in one seat during class was a failure.

Mm… now that I think about it, is there actually such a rule?

Then I’ll apply to the teacher next time.

An Yu’s consciousness drifted far away, as if everything the teacher was saying had nothing to do with her.

“An Yu~”

A tiny voice brought An Yu’s wandering mind back. She blinked in confusion.

The voice sounded sneaky, as if afraid of being discovered by something. 

An Yu even thought it was just her imagination.

“An Yu, An Yu~”

Only when the voice called her twice more did An Yu gradually realize it was real.

She instinctively turned her head and saw a girl beside her looking at her.

“Ah, you finally heard me!” 

Seeing An Yu turn, the girl smiled happily.

An Yu tilted her head at her, then immediately turned away without hesitation.

Acting all sneaky—she doesn’t look like a good person. 

An Yu has no extra cookies for her.

Oh, she doesn’t even have any for herself. 

Cheng Shimumeng’s cookies are all gone.

What a pity…

“Hey, hey, hey! Pay attention to me!”

The girl stared wide-eyed in shock, her voice tinged with surprise.

But this time An Yu ignored her completely. 

Her thoughts drifted far away again—from Cheng Shimumeng’s cookies all the way to Huai Xiang’s snacks.

In short, she had no extra snacks for strangers.

Pa—

Suddenly, a red candy landed on An Yu’s desk. She froze for a moment in confusion.

“An Yu, An Yu, please talk to me!”

The girl’s slightly pleading voice rang in her ear, still sneaky as ever.

An Yu blinked expressionlessly, staring at the candy on her desk for a long while…

She reached out, picked up the candy, and put it away. 

Then she turned to look at the girl who had spoken to her.

“What do you want?”