“…” Restrained by Duan Wenzheng, Zhou Kanqing cast a glance at the recently opened package, unveiling a keyboard. A sudden sense of familiarity washed over him regarding this particular keyboard.
Xue Lan, adjacent to them, had not paid attention to Duan Wenzheng for a while. With his headphones on, he remained silent and fully absorbed in his focus.
Zhou Kanqing gazed blankly at Xue Lan while his attention earnestly fixed on Duan Wenzheng’s peculiar, cautious demeanor while unboxing the keyboard.
He then finally remembered —
“Your keyboard — A-Yan also has it. Exactly the same.”
A subtle smile graced Duan Wenzheng’s lips as he lifted his gaze, a chill flickering in his eyes as they met Zhou Kanqing’s.
“… It’s not an exact match,” Zhou Kanqing remarked, an abrupt recollection surfacing — he, at twenty-something, hadn’t yet found a girlfriend. Fueled by a yearning for a longer life, he added, “His keyboard… lacks the ‘Reset’ engraving.”
As if Duan Wenzheng did not understand his nonsense, he laughed. “Of course, it’s different.”
“…” Zhou Kanqing’s lips twitched, his hand still in Duan Wenzheng’s grip. He looked one round at the keyboard. “That’s right, and the color of these letters is different.”
Upon this revelation, Duan Wenzheng redirected his focus to the letters adorning the keyboard. Noticing the distinct coloration of the “R” and “W” in contrast to the rest, he inquired dubiously, “What do these letters mean?”
“Reset.” Xue Lan did not dare look his way, fixing his attention on the game interface as he deadpanned, “… Win.”
Seemingly content with the response, Duan Wenzheng proceeded meticulously, unwrapping the protective covering enshrouding the keyboard. “I’ll use this keyboard and win every competition.”
Xue Lan focused his attention on the screen, but the temperature in his cheeks rose up without control.
God as his witness.
He genuinely had no inkling that Wen Yan’s keyboard was of the same type. However — the concealed notion behind the lettering on the keyboard, with the “W” symbolizing “Win,” did ring true.
Ah, the similarity between the two keyboards! Could this possibly be the handiwork of fate?
Xue Lan discreetly veiled his inner musings, avoiding any glance toward the adjacent Duan Wenzheng, apprehensive about revealing his thoughts.
As Wen Yan initiated his livestream, Duan Wenzheng’s intentional or unintentional remarks from behind caused him to be somewhat inattentive.
Abruptly snapped back to reality, just as he was gearing up to start a new round, he noticed the screen inundated with a surge of spectators commenting —
@LanYanSZD: Wind is live!!! Where is Exist?!!
@ExistWind: How about playing a round of affectionate duo queue with Exist? wuwu*
*T/N: Crying noise
@LGWisnumberone: Play a ranked match with two assaulters!
@LanYanisosweet: @Exist calling for duo queue!!
……
The sound of Duan Wenzheng configuring his keyboard reverberated behind him as he engaged in lively banter with Zhou Kanqing. Unconsciously, Wen Yan’s gaze drifted toward the quietly seated Xue Lan on the side.
He shut down the individual match selection and extended a team invitation to the account idling in the lobby.
For some reason, as he clicked the invite button, he opened the private message with Xue Lan and swiftly typed a word.
Initially, Xue Lan had been waiting for Duan Wenzheng to complete the setup of his keyboard when an unexpected game invitation from Wind popped up. He was uncertain whether it was a mistaken send or an attempt to gather more players for a joint queue.
Caught in a dilemma about whether to join immediately or wait for Duan Wenzheng to finish setting up the suddenly precious keyboard before teaming up, Xue Lan noticed a message pop up from Wen Yan.
LGW-Wind: Come
Recalling that Wen Yan appeared to be live streaming, Xue Lan reconsidered the notion of feigning inactivity, especially since he had just sent a message and both of them were in the training room — it might not be the best idea.
Xue Lan hesitated before accepting the invite.
However, as soon as he stepped in, the team swiftly transitioned into queue mode, promptly diving into the matchmaking battlefield without delay.
Within the group ranked match of Dawn of the Apocalypse, team members retained the ability to manually cancel the queue. Yet, the swift entry into the matchmaking battlefield confirmed that the team was already complete, awaiting only the final member. During this period, players who entered the matchmaking battlefield mode were unable to cancel the impending game.
Xue Lan was awkwardly frozen in place. Did Wen Yan invite the wrong person?? Or started the game accidentally??
Unable to tear his gaze away from the captivating keyboard, Duan Wenzheng sensed an odd ambiance settling around him. Glancing up, he noticed the child, who had been patiently waiting, had entered the matchmaking mode.
“…”
Quietly, Duan Wenzheng stole a glance at Wen Yan’s screen.
Indeed.
He set the keyboard aside, silent. Amidst Xue Lan’s nervous gaze and uncertainty about how to proceed with an explanation, he proceeded to enter the team queue’s individual matching mode.
Xue Lan was taken aback by Duan Wenzheng’s effortless control. Unsure if he could join both his and Wen Yan’s game, he noticed his game interface, initially awaiting a match with other players, suddenly displayed a system notice mirroring Duan Wenzheng’s computer: “Successful matching, the battle begins.”
Before he could quell his shock at the prospect of both the gong and shou relying on the protagonists’ power to be matched in the same game, he noticed with a jolt —
Despite Duan Wenzheng having entered their game, the peculiar twist was — he was matched as their opponent.
——————–
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