Li Xu turned off the stream before vidong even realized what was happening.
“Huh? Where’d she go?”
Viewers from Li Xu’s stream quickly rushed over to explain:
[The streamer just ended the broadcast, that’s her usual style—she always ends super fast.]
[Lightning-fast sign-off, that’s our streamer.]
[She’s on a diet, probably low on energy.] Some were even helping to explain for Li Xu.
[We’re used to her getting called out and ending the stream, it’s just routine for us.]
Seeing all these messages, vidong’s fans finally understood what was going on.
vidong muttered, “Are all experts this cold?”
He ruffled his hair and sent a private message to Li Xu in the backend.
vidong: [How about adding each other on Wechat? You don’t stream much, so if you’re not live, we could still play together when you’re free.]
This message was doomed to sink without a trace, because after Li Xu ended her stream, she never really logged into Moyin again.
Watching that message go unanswered, vidong felt a bit disappointed. He said, “Did I come across as a bit dumb? I can’t even get her vx.” He let out a long sigh.
[Don’t worry, streamer, even that handsome guy before you asked Mao Xu for her Wechat and didn’t get it.]
[She didn’t give you her Wechat, but at least you two follow each other.]
[Classic ‘niece-disease’, look it up.]
[Streamer, do you like Mao Xu too?]
Seeing the barrage of messages from Li Xu’s fans, vidong was curious: “What do you mean, another handsome guy also asked her for her Wechat and got rejected?”
[Basically, she treats everyone the same, not just you.]
[Yeah, Mao Xu’s personality has changed a lot lately.]
[There should be some stream highlights soon. Today’s stream was awesome. Later, you can search for Mao Xu’s name and you’ll get it.]
vidong took note of these comments. At this point, he felt a vague, hard-to-describe interest in Li Xu. After their paths parted, he played two more rounds of Werewolf Kill—both times as a Werewolf.
His teammates either argued among themselves or jumped out as Prophet and sold out their own side. The games left him feeling like he was about to cough up blood.
By the time they ended, it was already late. He stared at the camera, looking utterly defeated, and his viewers looked just as miserable watching him.
[Help, please, hurry up and add Mao Xu on Wechat, pull her in to play!]
[After watching Mao Xu’s smooth plays, watching these randoms now feels like ants are crawling all over me.]
[Sweetie, if it’s not working, just stop playing, don’t torture yourself.]
Anyone with eyes could see that after leaving Li Xu, vidong’s speaking got worse, and he even started talking nervously, losing all his previous confidence and righteous energy.
The moment he opened his mouth, he just sounded like a villain.
[This just proves how strong Mao Xu is. She can make even w the highest role in the game.]
[Without Mao Xu, vw is the lowest role in the room.]
Faced with such crushing defeat, vidong finally realized his own limits.
“What do I do? I’m having Mao Mao Xu withdrawal symptoms.”
Li Xu’s performance in that last round was truly the White Moonlight of Werewolf Kill—her entire game was a highlight reel.
He pushed up his black-rimmed glasses and took a big, gloomy gulp of water. “I feel like my resolve is shattered.”
“I’m so bad at this.”
Thinking back on how Li Xu had everything under control last game, vidong felt even more puzzled.
After a few more words, he also ended his stream at lightning speed.
Exactly like Li Xu.
***
Driven by curiosity about Li Xu, vidong searched for her stream highlights and soon found clips of her interactions with Zhou Yi.
When he saw the classic line “My heart can’t beat faster than my stomach cramps,” vidong couldn’t help but smile.
In these clips about Li Xu, her utter lack of interest in men made vidong grin even more. He thought this girl was really interesting.
Rumor had it she’d only changed recently—what had happened to her? A breakup, maybe?
Scrolling further, he stumbled onto today’s highlight—Li Xu refusing Xu Min’s Wechat.
Watching the guy’s stiff expression in the video, vidong raised an eyebrow.
So this is what fans meant by “she didn’t just reject you.” This Mao Mao Xu…
Seeing the parts labeled “heart of stone,” “bored,” and “wants to connect with someone else,” vidong found it all the more amusing.
A glance at the comments showed:
[So did she immediately connect with w next?]
[She’s even heartless to her classmates now (tears).]
Scrolling further, he found highlights of today’s Werewolf Kill with Li Xu. The title was: [Social Outlaw, w gets carried, Mao Xu nakedly exposes four villagers in Werewolf Kill!]
He clicked in and replayed Li Xu’s highlight moments several times, his admiration for her growing even stronger—people who love games truly respect top players better than themselves.
That’s just how it is, appearance aside.
And this time, the comment section was full of:
[That speech was amazing, she should play in the Master Tournament.]
[If I played with her, even if she sold me out, I’d help her count the money.]
[vw: Who am I? Where am I? Did I win?]
[Is this the absolute charm of high intelligence?]
[But w still didn’t get her Wechat] – vidong sighed, ignoring all the comments shipping him with Li Xu, and gave this one a like.
It was true—he still hadn’t gotten Mao Xu’s Wechat, and he still wanted to play with her.
Compared to vidong’s withdrawal, Zhou Yi and Xu Min were just plain annoyed.
They’d watched the whole stream of Li Xu and vidong together, seeing vidong gradually get trained into “a little follower with eyes full of admiration” by Li Xu, and it made them uncomfortable.
Zhou Yi just couldn’t figure it out—why did Li Xu have so many hidden skills?
He had to admit, even he was stunned by the aura Li Xu displayed when she spoke during the stream.
Had she been playing dumb all along…
Zhou Yi: “Xu Min, don’t you think the two of us can’t beat her at all? We better not get ourselves trapped.”
Xu Min hadn’t known Li Xu for long and didn’t overthink it like Zhou Yi. He just said, “What do you mean, get ourselves trapped? You don’t really like her, do you?
Aren’t you two just in a mutually beneficial relationship? She’s good at games, but what does that prove? That she’s smart?” Xu Min thought for a moment. “I mean, yeah, she does seem pretty smart.”
“But, worst-case scenario, we’re just partners, right? She brings traffic, which is good for you, so why overthink it?” He was a bit annoyed, but not enough to cause internal strife.
Zhou Yi thought about it and realized Xu Min was right. “You’re right. It’s just a partnership.”
“But getting rejected all the time… it’s really breaking me down.”
Xu Min raised an eyebrow. “So what? There’s always tomorrow.”
***
Li Xu had no time to wonder what those male streamers were thinking.
After her stream, she took a shower and received a system notification.
These days, her streams and highlights had earned her quite a bit of Idol Value, especially today—right after finishing the stream, she gained two more Idol Value points, bringing her total from -1 to 2.
Her lifespan instantly increased by ninety days, so with the original thirty, she now had a total of one hundred and twenty days.
But the achievement bar was still all gray and unlit.
She scrolled through it and exited the virtual interface.
In the H University Alumni Group, everyone was really active—Freshmen Registration was in two days.
Li Xu looked around her room and realized she didn’t have much to pack.
She’d need to go out tomorrow to buy a few things, switch to a smaller suitcase, and prepare some clean, neat clothes. That would be enough.
Before bed, she wrote in her diary as usual.
For the university life she had once feared and longed for, Li Xu now faced it calmly.
Still, she thought of Zhou Yang and the others.
After the college entrance exam in that world, they should be starting university too.
She and they were actually about the same age.
Even though she’d left them forever, Li Xu didn’t feel any sadness.
Looking at the lush green plant on her desk, she gave a faint smile.
She thought, life is short. No matter which world you’re in, all you really have is each fleeting, genuine experience.
Wishing them well isn’t realistic.
She could only wish them freedom.
***
The next day, vidong started his stream early. He’d even gone out of his way to find out Li Xu’s streaming schedule. He heard she usually started around 6:30 in the evening, so he waited in advance.
Zhou Yi and Xu Min were also waiting in her stream.
But after waiting all night, Li Xu didn’t go live.
Zhou Yi sent Li Xu a message, but she didn’t reply.
Originally, Li Xu’s stream didn’t have much stickiness, but after these last two days, her viewer numbers had visibly risen, and the number of comments was increasing too.
Everyone kept checking her stream page around six, realizing they’d all gotten used to refreshing Li Xu’s profile to see if she’d started her stream.
With no sign of Li Xu, fans drifted over to Zhou Yi and vidong’s streams.
[Missing Mao Xu, vw, did you add her Wechat? Can you ask where she went?]
vidong was a little sad: “Nope, I still didn’t get Mao Xu’s Wechat. I don’t know where she went.”
[I can’t believe I’m missing Mao Xu too. Why isn’t she streaming? Why isn’t she streaming!]
[Maybe the cat overslept again…]
Meanwhile, in Zhou Yi’s stream, faced with a barrage of Li Xu’s fans, Zhou Yi could only say: “I sent her a Wechat, but she didn’t reply.”
[Do you have her number? Call her!]
[I feel awful if I don’t see Mao Xu for a day!]
[This is streamer fan stickiness at its finest.]
One comment stood out as a classic: [I feel awful if I don’t see her for a day, but watching her all day makes me feel awful too.]
Of course, Li Xu had no time to care about them.
Dragging her suitcase behind her, she had already boarded her flight to H City.