Chapter 23

Ling Meng, who had declared he wouldn't play the game today, had an itch to do something after watching through the video of Shan Zhu's match twice. So in the end, he got in the other's black car and fought fierce battles with him the whole night.

The water friends who finally didn't have to spend 80% of the time watching the anchor mine, weren't stingy in throwing lots of cat food, determined to feed the anchor until he became a 200kg fat cat.

Shan Zhu's message through Penguin arrived at almost the exact moment Ling Meng's stream finished.

TeamShanZhu: Go for a late night snack after streaming?

Ling Meng had won five matches in a row tonight and the excitement had not yet faded; he received the invitation and agreed to it.

Lemon: Good, I'll treat you!

After sending the message, he realized the Penguin notes were still set from the previous tournament, so he changed the nickname to Porn Anchor.

Porn Anchor: I'll come to find you?

Lemon: No! See you at the entrance of the dormitories!

The snack street outside the North Gate of Yanshan was the most lively after nightfall. The barbecue stall where Ling Meng often went only had one corner table left.

Ling Meng grabbed his regular order, but saw Shan Zhu next to him was empty-handed.

"Why didn't you take some?"

Shan Zhu squinted in surprise at the tray full of skewers that he had in his hands: "You're saying you aren't holding two servings?"

"Of course not, I can finish this much all by myself."

Shan Zhu looked at this little fellow and reappraised him: "I can't picture you eating so much."

"I'm still growing."

Ling Meng saw the expression on Shan Zhu's face saying that he didn't have the heart to strike him down and he shouted, "What's wrong? I'm only nineteen. Isn't it true that boys can grow until 25?"

"Yes, yes, eat more." Shan Zhu heaped several more skewers onto his plate.

After Shan Zhu also made his selection, Ling Meng handed the tray to the stall owner and called for two bottles of beer: "My spicy order!"

"I remember, I remember."

It could be seen Ling Meng really was a frequent customer, the owner's attitude towards him was warmer than usual: "Only have those side seats."

"Those are the ones I like."

When the two were seated, the server sister1 gave them a huge smile as she came up with a plate of peanuts and edamame: "My dad said this is for you."

Ling Meng's face turned red again: "Thank you."

This little sister was used to Ling Meng. She laughed and ran to bus the tables.

"Do you blush when you see any girl indiscriminately?" Shan Zhu originally thought he would only blush at beautiful girls.

Ling Meng didn't want to answer this question. He grabbed handful of edamame and feigned a keen interest in eating them.

"It's safer to sit in a corner, don't have to be afraid of being recognized." Ling Meng glanced from side to side and said, "Now I understand why you don't stream with a face cam."

"You're so cute; I have people brushing your expression pack in several group chats."

Ling Meng made a fierce expression, signaling he wouldn't touch the word "cute": "I'm not blaming you!"

Shan Zhu was surprised: "Blaming me?"

"Of course! I started streaming with the intention of stealing your audience!"

No wonder even the big tricks like the camera were used, Shan Zhu had an epiphany.

"So that's how it is…"

"Who permitted your powder so much? I merely said a few words, now everywhere I go, I'm brushed by the screen, brushed all day, brushed all night; do you understand how I feel?" Ling Meng gloomily poured a glass of beer.

"I understand." Shan Zhu helped him fill it quietly. "But I remember that there was a lot of Lemon Daddy powder before."

"Can that be the same? Your powder give you gifts every day, mine only brush my expression pack."

Shan Zhu tried to cheer Ling Meng up: "Then I'll brush gifts for you every day."

"Rejected. Don't send me cat climbing trees again, can I crawl over so many? It'd be better to transfer the money to me directly than have it be drained by the platform and wasted in vain."

(t/n: streaming platforms take a portion of the gifts/donations, usually 30-50%)

"I sent you the climbing tree to affirm your capability as an anchor, what is this direct transfer," Shan Zhu's tone suddenly chilled, accompanied by a sly smile, "keep you like a mistress2?"

Ling Meng shivered, just like when he heard Shan Zhu's chuckle through his headset. When he suddenly spoke like this, there was a deadly attraction that could capture even a straight man. No wonder there are so many voice-activated female powders who thought of him as their destiny without even seeing him.

"Can you not drive for just three sentences?" Ling Meng protested, "This isn't a stream right now, can't we walk?"

(t/n: this is referencing the "driving without words" saying from last chapter – filling words with erotic implications)

"Do you think my interactions with you on stream are for all for the sake of the broadcast?"

"Aren't they? Porn anchor, faking gay to sell rot, that's one of the techniques I know about to grow grass."

"You lurked in my broadcast room for a while; except you, who else have you seen me selling rot with?"

"On the platform, beyond your group of rabblerousing friends…" Lacking confidence, Ling Meng was stubborn to admit his mistake, because he really couldn't get the words out: with Mang God's popularity, there was no need for him to stir up heat with anyone.

The barbecue came to the rescue and Ling Meng stuffed the steaming hot skewer that had just arrived into Shan Zhu's hand: "Eat while it's hot; it's not good when it's cold."

As this was the first time Shan Zhu saw Ling Meng eating, he was shocked by his appetite. It turned out that his "all by myself" statement was not just bragging and was even a little modest.

"So you really can eat so much. In the morning, I saw you buy just one steamed bun."

"That was the canteen's steamed bun. Can you endure eating two?"

"I can't."

Ling Meng wore an expression saying "There you have it."

"You can eat so much, how are you so thin?"

"Do you mean to say so short? Actually, I'm not short in my hometown. How could I know the average height of boys around here starts at 180cm (5' 10"); are you a local?"

"Yes."

"Tsk," Ling Li clicked his tongue. "When you're young, you Hebei people must be given a supplement to grow tall. Oh yeah, I watched your video yesterday. There was one particular outflanking play that was really exceptional. How did you make your hand speed so fast?.."

(t/n: typical hand speed, referred to as actions per minute (APM), is 100APM though pro players can reach 300APM+ in a match)

Energetically, Ling Meng chatted about the game. It seemed he'd be able to talk about it for three days and three nights without stopping. He completely missed seeing that a table not far away was frequently looking in their direction.

"Look at the boy sitting in the corner; isn't he like the expression pack you sent me on WeChat today?"

"Ah? Seems like it really is!"

"Who is he?"

"A game anchor, super meng, I didn't think we were so close to a deity!"

"Do you want to take a picture?"

"How would I take it?"

"Come over here and pretend to take a selfie…"

Ling Meng swept his eyes across a certain area and talked loudly. Shan Zhu subconsciously took a glance back and only saw two girls taking selfies.

"What's wrong?" asked Shan Zhu.

"Nothing." Just some selfies, Ling Meng thought, I must just be oversensitive, and he continued to talk.

"Wow, the boy who is sitting opposite to him is so handsome!" the girl taking the sneak shots was thrilled.

"Yeah yeah! Have you shot him too?"

"No! He suddenly turned back and I was too scared to move, I thought I'd been discovered."

"Oh, what a pity…"

The two people flipped through the album. The barbecue stall wasn't well lit at night; they only got the blurred expression on his face and the back of the handsome guy at the same table, so they were slightly disappointed.