The viewers in the livestream burst into laughter.
【Hahahahahaha, I have to say, I feel bad for my Chen, in every possible way.】
【I am dying. His little face is practically screaming, “I should be under the car, not in it.”】
【2333, am I the only one who switched sides and felt sorry for what’s-his-name for one second? Turning an expose video into couple-feeding content is just too tragic.】
Tang Chen called them out by name.
“Feeling bad for me is fine, but why are you feeling bad for that guy? If he had not made baseless accusations and said my Brother Zong was using cheats and tried to expose him, would this have happened?”
The more he talked, the more he could not hold back his laughter.
“Hahahahaha! I am going to die laughing! Did that guy end his stream? What a pity! I really want to see what his face looks like right now, hahahaha!”
It must be spectacular.
Zhang Taining’s expression at that moment truly was spectacular.
As if he had just swallowed a mouthful of something fresh and steaming hot.
He could not make sense of it.
Were these people insane?
He was exposing someone, and the barrage was telling him they were here to enjoy romantic chemistry?
What was wrong with them?
Furious, Zhang Taining began deleting comments.
“Parachuted in” — deleted.
“Ate my fill” — deleted.
“I believe in love again” — deleted.
After a frenzy of deletions, he stared blankly at the screen, which now only had a few dozen comments left.
What, did no one watch expose streams anymore?
He yanked at his hair in frustration. After thinking it over, he quietly logged into a small alternate account and slipped into Tang Chen’s livestream.
Damn it.
Did he not say there were no cheats? Did he not say he had not hired anyone?
He wanted to see how Tang Chen was going to act his way out of this.
The moment he entered, he was immediately soured by the flood of gifts in Tang Chen’s stream.
Seven or eight people had signed up as Captains, and several more were sending gift salutes. In just the blink of an eye, a few thousand yuan had already been spent.
Damn!
Their viewer counts were about the same, so why were Tang Chen’s fans so much more generous?
Zhang Taining felt so jealous it was like sulfuric acid was flowing through his veins.
“All right, all right, he cannot stir up any real trouble anyway. Stop talking about him, and stop sending gifts. Just watch the stream quietly. I am turning my mic back on. If I do not, Brother Zong is going to get suspicious.”
Tang Chen’s cheerful voice rang out at just the right moment, sounding completely unaffected.
Zhang Taining’s face twisted with anger, but he gritted his teeth and kept watching.
The circle was already small. The new map was fast-paced, and a full match only lasted fifteen minutes.
On screen, Tang Chen had five kills. Thirteen players remained, and the circle had already shrunk to the third-to-last phase.
“The zone is closing. The safe area is a bit far. Do you have enough meds?”
A low, magnetic male voice suddenly sounded through the headset.
Zhang Taining froze for a moment, then saw the chat instantly flood with comments calling out “Brother Zong.”
His heart tightened. So this was the so-called cheater?
Tang Chen spoke right after.
“Brother Zong, I have enough small meds. You do not need to give me any.”
Zong Cheng paused for a second before replying slowly.
“I was not asking you.”
Tang Chen: …
【Hahahahahaha, I am losing my mind! I told you Chen should not be in the car, he should be under it!】
【2333, poor Chen, this is too tragic!】
【Wuwuwu, I went to watch the other video and came back! I ship it! Why is it kind of sweet?】
Zhang Taining stared at that comment in confusion.
Ship it?
You can ship this?
Sweet?
Where exactly was it sweet???
Another voice, cool and clear, drifted in.
“I should be asking you. Earlier you gave me all the painkillers and the med kits. Do you have enough meds?”
Yin Chen glanced at his backpack — seven painkillers, five bottles of cola, and two med kits — and began considering whether he could even use them all before the match ended.
Zong Cheng looked at his own backpack: one bottle of cola and three first aid kits.
…
He had asked the wrong person.
“… Give me some meds.”
He sounded unexpectedly humble.
On screen, two characters in default skins moved closer. Painkillers and a med kit appeared on the ground.
Tang Chen’s character stood forty meters away, watching the scene unfold.
He forced a smile.
“This is great. My teammates have excellent teamwork and such friendship…”
Before he could finish, a sudden AWM shot rang out from nowhere and headshot him, knocking him down.
Tang Chen: “?????”
【Hahahahaha, Chen is too miserable, right? He did not even finish eating the dog food before getting sniped.】
【As expected of an entertainment match. I have already eaten two bowls of rice. Thank you, streamer. This is very appetizing.】
【I am crying from laughter. Chen, seriously, I will feel sorry for you for one second, hahahaha!】
Serves him right.
Zhang Taining, hiding behind his alternate account, muttered to himself.
“Brother! Brother Zong! Save your child!”
Tang Chen looked like he was about to cry. Why was he so unlucky?
Just as he shouted, the poison circle started closing in.
Tang Chen glanced at the timer. Thirty-two seconds?
Then he looked at the distance to the safe zone. One hundred forty-nine meters.
It was over.
He was done for.
Sure enough, the next second, Zong Cheng’s merciless voice echoed through the stream.
“The zone hits too hard. I cannot save you. I will throw smoke for you. Crawl a couple of steps and stall them so they get dragged into the circle.”
As he spoke, a smoke grenade landed a dozen meters in front of Tang Chen.
Tang Chen: ???
Excuse me?
Fine, I get that you cannot save me, but you still expect a downed player to contribute his remaining value?
【Hahahahaha, this really is an entertainment match. I am going to laugh myself to death.】
【2333, if you think about it, Brother Zong is not wrong. With the zone like that, there is no way to save him. Chen might as well shine one last time and slow the enemy down.】
【That is a capital T—tragic!】
What was tragic about it?
Was that not his own fault? With such a small circle, he did not find cover and got sniped. Who else could he blame?
Zhang Taining felt like he could not understand Tang Chen’s stream anymore.
Were all the viewers here like this? The streamer was down, and they were this happy? Even saying it helped them eat? Then why did Tang Chen get so many more gifts than he did when their popularity was about the same?
“… Fine.”
Tang Chen looked at the smoke and reminded himself that it was his first time playing with Brother Zong. Swallowing his humiliation, he agreed.
His acting was on point. He crawled toward the smoke like a clueless beginner, but did not fully enter it, leaving part of his body faintly visible.
【Zhixing Yunhe eliminated DYX Xingchen Riyue with AWM.】
Tang Chen’s character turned into a loot box.
【2333, I should feel sad for Chen, but why do I just think this is hilarious?】
【Hahaha, sister, do not suppress it. Laugh out loud!】
【Is this what it means to be the tool in a romance? I love it!】
The poison circle quickly closed in. Zong Cheng and Yin Chen ran to the edge of the zone.
“Go prone. Heal.”
Yin Chen mirrored his character’s movements, obediently lying in the grass to use meds.
Two elimination notices flashed across the screen. Both players had died to the zone.
One of them was 【Zhixing Yunhe】.
Tang Chen kept a straight face for one second before breaking into laughter.
“Hey, I actually contributed! That AWM got dragged into the zone and died!”
His personal performance as an actor had not been in vain.
【2333, why does Chen sound a little proud?】
【Not bad, not bad. That was a solid move. Thanks to Brother Zong’s command, Chen managed to contribute his last bit of value!】
【I cannot take it anymore. I have already eaten three bowls of rice. I cannot eat any more!】
Zhang Taining stared at the stream for a while before suddenly cursing under his breath.
Damn.
Why did Tang Chen’s stream feel so… so…
He pressed his lips together, sour and resentful.
“Anyway, since I am dead, let me switch to Brother Zong’s perspective so you can take a look. I am not bragging, but with Brother Zong’s personality, he is serious about everything he does. Saying he cheats is practically an insult.”
As he said this, Tang Chen could not help sighing inwardly.
To be honest, he had thought that with Brother Zong’s personality, he would not even play games.
Who knew Brother Zong still had a young man’s heart?
After that thought, Tang Chen glanced up at the chat and froze.
【Ahhhhh! Silly Chen, are you stupid? Your team mic is still on!】
【… Sigh. This time I really cannot take it. Chen is really too silly. What am I going to do? As his internet mom, my heart is shattered. If I mail him some walnuts now, can I still save his brain?】
【Too late.】
It truly was too late.
Both Zong Cheng and Yin Chen had heard him.
They spoke almost at the same time.
“What does cheating mean?” Yin Chen asked in confusion.
“Who said I was cheating?” Zong Cheng let out a cold snort.
Tang Chen went stiff.
Tang Chen went blank.
Tang Chen wanted to dig a hole and crawl into it.
Ahhhhh!
What was the use of this useless mouth and brain of his?
“Speak.”
Zong Cheng’s slightly displeased tone rang throughout the entire stream.
The barrage suddenly thinned out.
【… Whimper. Is this what a strict head of the household sounds like? That tone is scary.】
【Suddenly do not dare to talk…】
Tang Chen wished he could rewind time and slap himself twice on both cheeks for letting that slip.
He felt guilty beyond words.
“N-no, it is nothing. I was just saying it casually. Brother Zong, you are in the final circle. Focus on the game! Carry me to a win!”
Bang!
The moment he finished speaking, Zong Cheng flicked his aim and fired. The M24 shot rang out, and someone dropped.
【I Am Also a Domineering President knocked down Little Folded-Ear Rabbit with M24.】
“Fine. After we win, you can explain properly what that was about.”
Zong Cheng’s tone was calm.
Tang Chen would not say something like that for no reason. With his brain, he could not think that far ahead.
So someone else must have said something to him first.
Countless thoughts flashed through Zong Cheng’s mind.
Tang Chen wanted to cry.
He muted the team mic and looked at the stream, on the verge of tears.
“What do I do? Hurry and save me! How am I supposed to talk my way out of this?”
The stream fell silent.
After a long while, a single comment floated by cautiously.
【How about… act cute your way through it?】
If acting cute actually worked,
Would he even be this troubled?
Tang Chen felt like crying.
He knew it. None of these fans were reliable.
“I went to search it.”
Just as Tang Chen was agonizing, another voice sounded.
“It says cheating means using illegal assistance software? Zong Cheng, was he praising your skills?”
The entire stream went silent.
The next second, the chat exploded.
【Oh my god I am screaming! This little brother is way too smooth. What kind of divine couple is this? I am shipping this for life!】
【Why does this man sound so sweet when he talks? I am going to die!】
【… Skilled, huh? I can already imagine ten thousand words of explicit fanfiction!】
【Sister, here is a pen. Start writing!】
Zong Cheng froze as well.
He lowered his gaze, pinched his slightly warm earlobe, and pressed his lips together.
Yin Chen thought his skills were good?