After being moved to tears by the sworn enemy's pheromones - Chapter 14

Gu Yu knew Shen Jin was the best at bluffing. He turned his head and took out his phone to discuss the latest Weibo hot topics with his roommates. It sounded like the game “Summoning War” had released a new version promotion.

Qin Zhu said, “They actually added a same-city matchmaking mode. When we have time, let’s create new accounts and target the swimming team? It still makes me angry thinking about last year’s incident.”

Shen Jin nodded, saying this time he would name his alt account “Sweet Little Bunny.” Gu Yu almost choked and wondered if he should change his name to “Catch the Bunny and Cook It.”

He pretended to start studying vocabulary, but in reality, he kept stealing glances at Shen Jin, always wanting to know if there were any scars on his hands.

Observing an enemy’s injuries and physical condition was crucial.

Unexpectedly, he didn’t see any of the scars from before, but there were bruises and slight scrapes on his elbows and knees that he didn’t remember seeing before, all looking fresh.

Gu Yu frowned. It wasn’t hard to imagine they were from cleaning the pool just now.

But in the conversation around him, there were discussions about the swimming team’s lineage, recent esports competitions, and the new CG storyline and exclusive skins in the game, but not a single word was what he wanted to hear.

So he could only clear his throat and speak again, “Out of charity, I want to donate my eyes to Senior Brother. Didn’t you notice the injuries on your knees and elbows?”

Especially the scrape on his right hand. He was a professional esports player, yet he had no sense of protection for his eating hand.

Shen Jin raised his hand to look at the scrape on the outside of his elbow, then used his left hand to touch it. “Damn, it’s still quite painful… I guess I got scraped by the pool tiles just now. It’ll be fine in a couple of days.”

Knowing it hurts and still touching it randomly? Aren’t you afraid of infection?

Gu Yu unconsciously flattened the straw with his teeth and took a while to come back to his senses. He heard Qin Zhu saying, “The Midnight Lord’s exclusive skin will be available the day after tomorrow. Aren’t you going to get it?”

Shen Jin replied, “Let’s focus on saving money and doing proper work first. I’ll see if there are other places I can work part-time. Besides some sporadic part-time jobs and discreet live streaming, his main source of income was the prize money from some amateur university competitions. However, they weren’t unbeatable in formal competitions, so this source of income was always unstable. He had to save money first.”

“It’s easier said than done,” muttered Qin Zhu. “Where can we find part-time jobs that allow us to take time off for gaming whenever we want?”

“You have to be as good as me,” Shen Jin clicked his tongue and laughed. “The manager of Longchuang Park asked me to work part-time for the Hanfu theme park event during Mid-Autumn Festival. He said I would definitely look handsome in the Young General’s costume. The Oceanarium also asked if I could accept a semi-nude mermaid performance to show off my abs. It’s just that the timing conflicts with Halloween, otherwise I would have gone to Happy Valley to play a ghost.”

Xu Tingyun turned her head and pressed him down, “Longchuang Park is fine, but stop with the Oceanarium talk. If you end up in the hospital after being in the water, no one will take care of you.”

“They might use warm water,” Shen Jin said, looking distressed. “Forget it, Dad can crawl to the hospital by himself.”

Gu Yu couldn’t concentrate on a single word and couldn’t help but ask, “I remember the fees for the eSports department are quite high, do senior brothers have to pay for everything themselves?”

He knew Shen Jin’s relationship with his parents was not good, but he didn’t expect it to reach the point where Shen Jin had to pay for his own tuition.

Shen Jin was stunned for a second and asked back, “So you haven’t memorized any words?”

Under the dim light, Gu Yu lightly covered his forehead and said, “Senior brother is too noisy.”

He didn’t know why he was listening or why he was asking about things he shouldn’t be concerned about, but fortunately, Shen Jin hesitated for a moment and didn’t mind explaining, “I don’t have any contact with Shen Yuecheng and Du Jiaoyu, so I have to rely on myself.”

Gu Yu fell silent and didn’t ask any more questions, only saying, “You guys are good at online games, can’t you do boosting?”

He remembered that the fees for boosting were considerable, but all three of them shook their heads simultaneously: The money from boosting wasn’t as easy to earn as it seemed. In addition, the official circles were different from ordinary players. Boosting was considered a serious violation and couldn’t be discovered, so the academy naturally required caution.

“Forget it, maybe I’ll win a few more rounds this semester and earn some prize money. I’ll lend you money to buy skins next month,” Qin Zhu propped up his chin and said to Shen Jin, “Stupid planners are rare. Even though I don’t play Midnight Lord much, I plan to buy this exclusive skin – 3000 Amethyst Crystals without a price increase, buying it means I profit while the gaming company loses.”

The two were talking about the “Summoning War” exclusive skins, the highest-grade character outfits in the game.

They couldn’t be purchased directly with money but had to be obtained by drawing tokens called “Amethyst Crystals” (commonly known as crystals) from a pool. The pool also contained other useless coins, chests, and experience vouchers. How many crystals a player could get in a ten-pull depended entirely on luck, and the final cost of exchanging for an exclusive skin typically ranged from 1000 to 2000 RMB.

And this time, the Midnight Lord’s exclusive skin not only had dual form switching and full-screen special effects for ultimate moves, but also had an entrance announcement in the public chat, and even the avatar frame given was dynamic, making it very cost-effective.

“But skins aren’t necessities,” Shen Jin replied, “Isn’t Midnight King’s hand game ranking marker just as good as the exclusive skin?”

“But the exclusive skin is only available for two weeks. If you don’t buy it, it’s gone,” Qin Zhu said, “Stop talking nonsense, I’ll lend you the money. You can pay me back whenever you have spare cash.”

Shen Jin has liked the Midnight Lord since he started playing “Summoning War,” so saying he didn’t want it was definitely a lie, but he still refused to borrow money from Qin Zhu, making Qin Zhu angry. “Are we brothers or not? Are you fucking selling blood?”

Selling blood? Gu Yu suddenly looked up, not expecting Shen Jin to agree, “Sure, Qin ge, introduce me to an underground hospital. I won’t go to one that’s untrustworthy.”

The conversation between the two gradually deviated, but Gu Yu’s mind was filled with words like “selling blood” and “semi-nude mermaid,” constantly cycling.

By the time his bubble tea was almost finished, he inadvertently saw the injuries on Shen Jin’s hands and knees again. He couldn’t help but feel that if Shen Jin continued to wander around or encounter people like today, he would eventually lose the chance for revenge.

So he frowned slightly and interrupted their conversation again, saying, “I hire a housekeeper every week. Didn’t senior brother say he’s good at housework? …Why not come and work for me?”

For a moment, he doubted his sanity, and the three in front of him were confused one after another. Shen Jin seemed to have misheard, “What?”

Gu Yu regretted it instantly, but his tone remained firm, “It’s a win-win situation, isn’t it? A few hundred bucks to bring back a sworn enemy to wipe tables and sweep the floor. I’m willing to spend money for psychological satisfaction, it just depends on whether senior brother is willing to make money.”

He was like an alpha from a TV drama humiliating a poor omega with money. If it weren’t for his slightly reddened ear tips, he would have looked even worse.

“First of all, earning money with your own hands is not inferior to anyone else,” Shen Jin gritted his teeth in response, “Secondly, it’s better to die than to be humiliated. Even if I beg for food at the overpass, I wouldn’t come to you to do this.”

Beg for food? What food? Isn’t the food I make delicious?

After hearing this, Gu Yu immediately put down his phone and laid out his conditions in a tone devoid of warmth, “Once a week, 500 including room and board, any day you’re free is fine. Payment in advance.”

Now, the air around them fell silent for a few seconds. Qin Zhu was about to refuse on behalf of Shen Jin, but to his surprise, Shen Jin immediately slammed the table and said sternly, “Deal.”

“…?” Qin Zhu’s face was full of question marks. “Better to die than be humiliated?”

“Life is tough, a real man can bend as well as stretch,” Shen Jin replied. “With the price Mr. Gu offered, I wouldn’t feel secure even if I were to wear a maid costume and bend over to clean the floor. What’s a little psychological humiliation?”

“I’m not interested in your maid costume,” Gu Yu said. “Just do the job seriously, not a speck of dust should be left, or else don’t blame me for cursing.”

“See that? He’s already using banknotes to fan my face.” Shen Jin looked at him and asked, “Will you tear up my apron at that time? Want me to do some special services for you?”

“…,” Gu Yu remained silent. Shen Jin took advantage of the situation and leaned in, determined to annoy him, “As long as you persist for more than 30 minutes, I’ll consider it a service from you. How about I pay you 5 bucks each time?”

Gu Yu immediately reached out to cover his mouth, but he dodged perfectly. In the end, the employment relationship was successfully established with a transfer of 500 bucks. They parted ways from the bubble tea shop, and Qin Zhu asked, “You talked to him so much today, and now you’re really going? Could it be that you’ve been secretly in love with him since high school, you big romantic?”

“How is that possible? I don’t know how many times I’ve beaten him up back then.” Shen Jin grabbed his shoulder confidently. “He wants me to clean and sweep for him, but with the money I earn, I can keep fit. Later, I’ll get a card and challenge him to a fight. Isn’t that the ultimate revenge?”

Qin Zhu sneered and replied, “I suggest you buy a pair of height-increasing insoles first.”

With the moon hanging high in the night sky, the sounds of their playful banter gradually faded into the shadows of the trees. The night breeze seemed to be announcing that summer was coming to an end.

But at that moment, Shen Jin didn’t feel regret. It was as if he had reaffirmed that the story of summer was still ongoing.