CIFB Chap. 16 Summary

I’m so glad we’re all suffering together~ <3

There are so many DotA terms this chapter. I don’t play DotA. If there is anyone who plays DotA and would like to correct my use of terminology, please do so.

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Chapter 16:

For a moment there, Ling Ke didn’t know how to respond. Since his goal was to fake it as a straight guy, he needed to act offended, right?

Seeing him silent, Qi Feng persuaded, “Actually, don’t let this bother you. I think it’s best to just ignore it.”

Ling Ke stared blankly……eh?

Qi Feng patiently explained, “The photos are already posted, and you can’t stop people from gossiping.”

Ling Ke was somewhat startled. Why did it look like Qi Feng didn’t mind this at all?

While Qi Feng talked, he carefully observed Ling Ke’s expression. He really didn’t know Ling Ke’s stance on this, and the other seemed adverse to that “fate” joke he made at Loverbirds Lake.

As if afraid of offending Ling Ke, he kept his tone extremely sincere: “How do I put it, I guess I’ve had a lot of experience with this kind of thing…… Basically, the more you try to explain, the less people believe you.”

Ling Ke’s expression slightly shifted, but didn’t say a word.

Qi Feng’s heart clenched, but forced himself to continue: “And if it looks like you care too much, that’ll just make other people think we’re……really like that.”

After spelling it out to this extent, if Ling Ke was still adamant about “making things clear”, then Qi Feng would be very hurt.

Even Gao JunFei couldn’t sit still and chimed in with, “In any case, the gossip in the forums change every day. Just treat it as a joke and don’t take it to heart.”

Ling Ke never expected that his “straight male” act would invite such disapproval.

He wrinkled his brows, and pretending like he’s making a difficult decision, said, “Then, alright.”

…The two straight guys have already expressed that this kind of thing should be ignored, so as the gay guy, why should he still bother?

Moreover, Qi Feng said earlier that he “had a lot of experience with this kind of thing”, and Ling Ke finally remembered that Qi Feng’s been the target of multiple love rumors, so this one’s merely another drop in the bucket.

Looks like he made a fuss over nothing.

Hearing Ling Ke’s response, Qi Feng sighed as it relieved from a burden.

But before he could secretly rejoice, Gao JunFei added, “These ‘couple or not’ rumors aren’t important. What’s important is that this thread will cause a lot of other rumors in the future.”

Ling Ke: “What do you mean?

Gao JunFei: “With this many views, sooner or later, someone’s going to dig out and divulge your department, class, name, age, height, weight, and even family background!”

Qi Feng: “For real?”

Gao JunFei: “What do you think? How much they uncover will depend on how well you normally keep your personal info under wraps. Especially people like you guys who originally lived in this city and have a handsome face. Who knows, maybe doing a simple search online would reveal all sorts of things, and they won’t even need to dig that deep.”

A shiver ran down Qi Feng’s back; he had a bad premonition……

Gao JunFei: “I’m not trying to scare you. The person that was mentioned in that thread, the current campus idol Liang RuiXi, have you seen him? Every girlfriend he had, including their names and appearances, it’s all posted on that forum!”

Now, Qi Feng was completely terrified!

Fuck… The sheer number of rumors involving him wasn’t something to scoff at.

His classmates at Merit Music International had even made a forum for him where they posted every scandal/interaction he had with girls. Even something as small as him lending a pen girl #1 gave him to girl #2 sparked speculation, not to mention all the rumors about the girls he had a slightly closer relationship with, like Xu JunZhu, Chu ShuangShuang, Yang XueYun……

Thinking of this, cold sweat even started to flow.

But he couldn’t voice these worries out loud. After all, he had just convinced Ling Ke not to care about such gossip, so if he were to appear nervous now, wouldn’t that be slapping his own face?

Qi Feng gave a stiff smile and said while feigning indifference, “Haha, it’s that scary?”

In contrast, Ling Ke was a lot more calm and collected.

Due to his personality, he had always placed great importance on his privacy, and his cold and aloof image was a natural gossip repellent. Despite a lot of girls having secret crushes on him, he’s never been involved in a love scandal with anyone.

Hearing Gao JunFei’s words, he merely knitted his brows for a beat.

Gao JunFei: “Anyways, who told you guys to grow up with those faces? This is the price of your good looks. Even if I wanted people to gossip about me, no one would want to!”

Actually, he was pretty handsome too, but next to Qi Feng and Ling Ke, his looks became average.

Having witnessed a good show, Gao JunFei stretched his body, and without waiting for the other two to finish digesting everything, got up and said, “Go, let’s go, time to go eat. Let me experience what it’s like to walk with the hottest gossip on campus.”

Qi Feng & Ling Ke: “……”

Before, Ling Ke already experienced what it was like to walk with Qi Feng and be the center of attention, but this time, perhaps also due to psychological factors, he kept getting the feeling that everyone’s gazes held a deeper meaning.

“Wow, it’s those two right?”

“Yes, it’s those two!”

“They’re really a couple!”

. . . . . .

Being stared and pointed at like this, it was as if the deepest secret in his heart had been dug out and exposed for all to see.

Every single gaze seemed to remind him— You like Qi Feng, you’re secretly in love with Qi Feng, you thirst for Qi Feng……

In order to avoid arousing more suspicion, Ling Ke walked a bit further away from Qi Feng and went next to Gao JunFei.

Gao JunFei was currently telling them about the cafeterias on campus: “The 2nd cafeteria’s noodles are the best, the 3rd cafeteria’s beef with rice is #1, and you can eat hot pot at the 4th cafeteria. The taste’s not bad, but it’s a bit far away… Also, there’s the 9th cafeteria. Supposedly, it’s run by Li QiangLin’s uncle. The food’s expensive and disgusting, so avoid it at all costs!”

Ling Ke: “Who’s Li QiangLin?”

Gao JunFei: “One of the top brass at our school. Other than the principal and secretary, he’s the highest. He got all of his relatives to work in this school, like the manager for the 17th female dorm who’s his wife’s first cousin once removed.”

After that, Gao JunFei informed them about all sorts of grudges and whatnot between various female students and their dorm managers.

As Ling Ke listened, he chuckled, “You sure know a lot.”

Gao JunFei smugly replied, “As I should. Otherwise, how else would I be F University’s ‘info broker’!”

Unlike usual, Qi Feng didn’t say anything. He was still busy trying to figure out how to take care of the gossip issue.

Though, looking at Ling Ke and Gao JunFei chatting so happily, he felt peeved for some reason. When Ling Ke was with him, the other never acted so unreserved.

Gao JunFei seemed to remember something, thus reminded them, “Ah that’s right, the hotels outside the east and south gates are also monopolized by Li QiangLin’s uncle, so if you guys ever want to go to a hotel, remember to find one outside the west gate. The ones there are cheaper and cleaner.”

Qi Feng: “Oh, got it.”

Ling Ke: “???”

After arriving at the cafeteria, the two of them ordered stir-fried chicken noodles and stir-fried beef noodles under Gao JunFei’s recommendation.

They finally found 3 empty seats in the crowded room, but Gao JunFei’s had some unknown substance stuck on it.

“Which one of you has tissues?” he desperately asked.

Ling Ke blinked, remembered the 2 packs he bought last night, and handed some over.

Qi Feng, just as he made to reach into his pocket, paused, then glumly sat down.

 

When they finished dinner and returned to the dorm, the people in Qi Feng’s group chat were already pestering him to get online.

Li KaiXing: Didn’t you say we’re playing tonight? Where’d you go?

Qi Feng: Just finished eating, almost back.

Shen YueZhe: When me, Ah‘Xing, and Zhao Si are online later, let’s make our own chat group since there’s too many people in our usual one. Add your roommate too.

Thinking of their tendency to run their mouths with zero filters, Qi Feng refused:

Qi Feng: My roommate doesn’t really use WeChat so forget it. We’ll use the in-game chat.

Shen YueZhe: Ok, we’ll wait for you.

After logging into the game, Ling Ke added Qi Feng as a friend, and seeing the other’s username, his eye twitched.

A Mapleleaf’s Dance of Madness ……

As expected of Qi Feng’s style, so chuuni.

Following that, he added Qi Feng’s other 3 friends.

Qi Feng introduced: “‘Moonight God’ is who you met yesterday, Shen YueZhe.”

“Oh.” Ling Ke pensively nodded. So Shen YueZhe was the guy who left that “Good poem” comment on that chuunibyou “poetry” Qi Feng pinned to his QQ page!

Qi Feng: “This ‘My Little Sister Can’t Be Younger Than Me By 3 Months’ is Li KaiXing. He’s also my high school classmate.”

Ling Ke: “Such…a long name.”

Qi Feng explained, “Eh, actually he really does have a blood-related sister that’s younger than him by 3 months, haha.”

The amount of information in that sentence was…wow. Normally speaking, it’s impossible for a couple to have a son and then another daughter 3 months later, so…illegitimate child? Divorced during a pregnancy? Same father, different mother?

Ling Ke imagined all sorts of things, and finally came to a conclusion: Rich people’s lives are a mess!

The last person, Zhao Si, was ‘Commander of Light’.

Compared to Qi Feng’s friends, Ling Ke’s username was very simple: Lin_K.

My Little Sister Can’t Be Younger Than Me By 3 Months: Wow, your friend’s name’s so cool, how do we address him? Lin? K?

A Mapleleaf’s Dance of Madness: He’s called Ling Ke.

Commander of Light: 0, do you know how to play?

It took Ling Ke a while to realize that the circle looking character Commander of Light typed was the number zero, and that the question was directed towards himself. (zero is pronounced as ‘ling’ in Chinese)

……Your effing sister is 0!

As someone very familiar with the double meanings behind numbers used in the gay community, Ling Ke momentarily wanted to curse that guy out. (0 is slang for the guy who bottoms, 1 is for the guy who tops, reasons are pretty self explanatory lol)

Not to mention, the question itself.

There’s different ways of playing depending on the level of your teammates, but Ling Ke felt that that person definitely didn’t think much of his skills.

Lin_K: I know a bit. I’ll play the 3rd position since I’ve done that before.

The 3rd position in DotA ran the bottom lane, also known as the ‘suicide lane’, and as the name implied, people playing it were very likely to die.

Normally, you’d dispatch a single person to the suicide lane to repel an attack of 2-3 enemies. It was one vs many, which generally meant a desperate battle.

When Qi Feng’s friends heard Ling ke say he’ll play 3rd position, they were all a bit shocked.

First, those who volunteered to play 3rd position definitely had faith in their own abilities.

Second, this position was really high effort, low return. Even if you were familiar with how to play, it’s incredibly likely you’d still get crushed and bankrupt.

And that was the best case scenario. If Ling Ke didn’t know what he was doing, in the worst case, he might even become the enemy’s personal ATM machine.

Originally, Qi Feng and his friends thought that they’d let Ling Ke play the easy 1st position, or just be a tag-along who didn’t need to do anything, but who knew that the other would come on so strong!

Moonight God: Eh, Loony Feng, what do you think?

Qi Feng didn’t really mind.

A Mapleleaf’s Dance of Madness: Then Ling Ke can play 3rd position. I’ll play the middle lane, and the 3 of you are on the top lane.

The other 3 didn’t have any objections. They’re used to cooperating, so even if it’s the 4 of them vs 5 opponents, they wouldn’t necessarily lose.

After assigning roles, the match started, and the 5 of them went their separate ways.

Qi Feng played Shadow Fiend and charged ahead alone. He crossed the river and met the enemies, and after a few minutes, made this match’s first kill.

The game’s system announced [First Blood], and the other 3 let out a sigh.

Qi Feng was the strongest out of them all, so seeing that he was on the ball, they started to leisurely chat while they advanced.

My Little Sister Can’t Be Younger Than Me By 3 Months: Big bro, hurry and heal me!

Commander of Light: Aren’t I healing you now.

Moonight God: Fuck, is the opponent stupid? It’s been minutes since they’ve died and they’re still not back!

Commander of Light: It can’t be they all ran to suicide lane to gang up on that roommate of Qi Feng’s, right?

Seeing the chat, Qi Feng also blinked, but due to the enemies attacking him, he couldn’t split his concentration.

Zhao Si asked for him:

Commander of Light: 000000?

After a long time with no reply, Zhao Si then typed:

Commander of Light: He’s probably busy fighting and doesn’t have the time to respond. If the 3 of us clear this lane, we’ll win.

When Qi Feng finally took care of his enemies, he glanced over at Ling Ke’s screen. Seeing Ling Ke’s Clockwerk fighting with 3 other people, he frowned and asked, “Do you want—”

Before the remaining “any help” could leave his mouth, 2 of the people attacking Ling Ke lost HP like mad, and then the game announced [Double kill!!]

Three seconds later, the last person who ran away was also finished off by Ling Ke.

System: [Triple kill!!]

Qi Feng: “……”

Everyone else: “……”

The chat turned silent.

After that, Ling Ke, who overcame suicide lane in a 1 vs 3 match, and Qi Feng, who solo’d the middle lane, began their tyrannical one-sided conquer, pushing the enemy team to their Fountain and easily destroying their stronghold.

Only now did Ling Ke talk to the Qi Feng sitting next to him: “In this match, the opponents were newbies.”

He tone leaked his dissatisfaction with not being able to play at full strength.

Ling Ke then took a drink of water and asked, “What happened to your 3 friends? How come I didn’t see them?”

Qi Feng’s mouth twitched: “I don’t know……”

His cellphone had been vibrating nonstop since earlier, and Qi Feng now gave it a look.

Li KaiXing: Holy shit! The two of them completely pwned the other side……

Zhao Si: That 0 is so strong, winning 1 vs 3.

Shen YueZhe: So were the 3 of us just bystanders?

Zhao Si: No, we’re the comic relief commentators.

Li KaiXing: I’m honestly questioning my life rn……

Shen YueZhe: I feel like we’re going to lose Loony Feng’s favor at this rate. That won’t do, I’m going to play suicide lane too! TAT

Qi Feng’s shoulders shook as he laughed, and seeing this, Ling Ke asked, “What is it?”

“Cough, it’s nothing.” Qi Feng locked his phone and threw it aside. “They’re complimenting your skills… Let’s play another round?”

Ling Ke smiled, feeling somewhat embarrassed: “It’s really because last round’s opponents were too weak. We probably won’t be so lucky next time.”

Seeing Ling Ke’s smile, all of Qi Feng’s unhappiness and worries disappeared in a puff of smoke, and he softly replied, “No problem. Shen YueZhe will be playing 3rd position next.”

—

[A small interlude]

Qi Feng: “I’ve had a lot of experience with this kind of thing, there’s no need to explain.”

Ling Ke: “???” Eh? Oh! I see, you had a bunch of scandals with all sorts of rich girls, talented ladies, cute idols, and beautiful princesses. Ah, the life of a noble young master, how sensational.

Qi Feng: No! KeKe! I can explain!!!

Ling Ke: No need to explain, explaining just means you’re hiding something.

Qi Feng: …… QAQ

—

Gao JunFei: “Go to the west gate for hotels.”

Ling Ke: “???” Why would I need to go to a hotel with Qi Feng???

Qi Feng: “Oh, ok!” A good place GETTO DAZE ✓

—

Gao JunFei: “Who has tissues?”

Ling Ke takes out tissues.

Qi Feng: “!!!” When I asked you yesterday, you clearly said you didn’t have any! This is blatant discrimination!! AHH! God! Just what did I do wrong!

[[The family tree relationship chart I saved long ago finally got some use b/c otherwise, how else do you think I came up with “first cousin once removed”? Ahh, when are they going to actually date they’re so cute ahhhhhhhhhhhh]]