After The Web Novel Great God Transmigrated As A Scummy Online Dating Top - Chapter 32

Chapter 32

After lunch, Lin Muxue spent some time wandering around with her old classmate. By the time they returned to the hotel, it was already 1:00 PM.

Zhou Jiajia was extremely resentful about having to return to the hotel for a nap. In her mind, young people should seize the tail end of their youth and live it up. If they weren’t going to have a midnight rave in a graveyard, they should at least be sprinting toward a sun-drenched mountain peak in the name of freedom, right?

Lin Muxue glanced at her. “If you want to enjoy ‘freedom under the sun,’ why did you apply such a thick layer of sunscreen?” Not only sunscreen, but also a hat, a sun-protection jacket, and a parasol.

With all that, she still had the nerve to say such things. Lin Muxue sometimes found it hard to understand the logic of people like Zhou Jiajia.

Zhou Jiajia slumped her shoulders, unable to come up with a rebuttal.

A City was located toward the north, and the June midday sun was dry and sweltering. Lin Muxue was fine since she wasn’t wearing makeup, but Zhou Jiajia had an exquisite face of makeup on, plus a thick layer of sunscreen that felt like putty, all smothered under her sun gear. She was currently suffocating from the heat.

The moment they entered the hotel lobby, Zhou Jiajia sprinted toward the elevators, showing none of the exhaustion she had claimed earlier while shouting about climbing mountains.

Zhou Jiajia pressed the button and waved back at Lin Muxue: “Muxue, hurry up!”

Lin Muxue quickened her pace. Just as she reached the elevator, the doors to the adjacent lift opened, and a crowd of people spilled out. Lin Muxue instinctively stepped aside. She was about to look for Zhou Jiajia again when she suddenly heard her friend let out a piercing “Ah!” scream.

The hotel lobby was quiet in the afternoon; everyone seemed to have caught the summer lethargy. This sudden scream was like a crack of thunder in a clear sky—abrupt and ear-splitting.

Everyone looked over, including the group that had just stepped out of the elevator.

Lin Muxue: “…”

And, of course, Zhou Jiajia herself.

Being the center of attention, Zhou Jiajia froze. Realizing what she had done, her round face turned a deep crimson as she covered her mouth with wide eyes—a classic case of “social death.”

Fortunately, someone chuckled, greeting Zhou Jiajia with a natural tone: “Hi, Jie-jie (big sister), do you recognize us?”

The voice sounded familiar. Lin Muxue took a closer look at the group and the girl in the baseball cap who had spoken. She realized they were wearing the DM Team uniforms.

It wasn’t that Lin Muxue followed the DM Team, but with Zhou Jiajia buzzing in her ear about them countless times, even someone with Alzheimer’s would have remembered. She instantly connected the girl to “Chuchu,” the DM player she had seen in a livestream. Chuchu was even prettier in person than on camera, and she seemed to have a pleasant personality.

In a split second, Lin Muxue snapped out of the shock caused by her friend’s “groundhog scream.” She stepped forward and apologized to the DM members: “I’m so sorry. My friend is a long-time fan of your team. She came here specifically to see your match. Seeing you all so suddenly made her lose her composure.”

Hearing that she was a veteran fan who came for the live event, the DM members were very gracious. One lively player even asked Zhou Jiajia, “Hey, which one of us is your favorite?”

Someone laughed, “Why can’t she like all of us?”

“Ha, does that include Old Zhang too?”

Old Zhang was presumably their manager—the balding, slightly plump man standing next to the only female team member. Being teased didn’t bother him; he wore a gentle smile and a hint of pride. “Since you’re a veteran fan, come, come! Let’s take some photos. Group shots, solo shots—anything you want!”

The offer was generous!

Zhou Jiajia was nearly vibrating with excitement. She stomped her feet and squeezed into the group with a red face, not forgetting to shove her phone into Lin Muxue’s hand.

Lin Muxue helped take several photos, particularly a few of Zhou Jiajia secretly posing with A-Du. The others caught on that this round-faced girl was an A-Du fan, but they didn’t call it out, instead joking and laughing along.

Once they had enough photos, Lin Muxue wondered if Zhou Jiajia’s brain was deprived of oxygen from the excitement. Her friend suddenly turned to DM’s Chuchu and said, “Chuchu, can you take one with my friend too? She likes you a lot, she’s always watching your streams.”

Chu Meng was surprised. Her clear almond eyes turned toward Lin Muxue with a hint of curiosity.

When she had first stepped out of the elevator, Chu Meng had noticed this girl immediately—not just because of her elegant face or her long, shapely legs, but because of her reserved gaze and steady temperament. This aura reminded Chu Meng of “Zhao Mu Cheng Xue,” the person she was currently getting along with so well online. The temperament seemed to fit perfectly.

However, the thought was fleeting. This clean-cut girl in front of her had a righteous gaze; she didn’t look like the kind of scumbag who treated love like a game. Likewise, she didn’t seem like the type to chase stars to a live event.

It wasn’t just Chu Meng who was surprised; the rest of the DM members were too.

Under the scrutiny of the crowd, Lin Muxue took a breath. She didn’t have time to glare at the culprit (Zhou Jiajia) and instead forced a polite smile. Meeting Chu Meng’s gaze, she said as naturally as possible, “Yes, I really like Chuchu’s playstyle. I’d love to take a photo together.”

Chu Meng tilted her head, glanced at Zhou Jiajia, and then agreed readily. She stepped closer. “Sure thing! Come over here, the lighting is good. Make sure to make me look pretty!”

Lin Muxue stood somewhat stiffly next to Chu Meng. The other girl leaned in naturally, her arm brushing against Lin Muxue’s, while her other hand made a small “finger heart” gesture. She wore a brilliant smile.

Lin Muxue, who rarely let people get this close, felt her breathing become difficult. The air was filled with the warmth and scent of another person. Though it was only a few seconds, it felt agonizingly long.

When Zhou Jiajia called out “Done,” Lin Muxue couldn’t help but let out a long sigh of relief. This was followed by a “Pfft” from beside her. Lin Muxue looked over awkwardly to see Chu Meng’s knowing gaze. It was clear the girl had realized she wasn’t a fan at all.

Lin Muxue felt a surge of embarrassment.

Fortunately, Chu Meng didn’t say anything. She just waved cheerfully. “Thank you for liking DM! Please keep supporting us in the future~”

The way she tilted her head and gave a playful smile while walking backward was truly quite cute.

Only after they were gone did Lin Muxue’s brain, numbed by the awkwardness, finally recover. Her first instinct was to settle the score with Zhou Jiajia. It’s one thing for you to fan-girl, but why drag me into it?

However, Zhou Jiajia bounced over, looking like she deserved a medal. “Well? Getting that close to your idol—brain crashed, right? Were you excited? Were you thrilled? Did you feel blessed!”

Lin Muxue’s lip twitched as she gave a cold laugh. “Excited? Thrilled? Blessed? Since when did I like Chuchu?”

Zhou Jiajia’s eyes widened. “How could you not! A person who never watches streams like you—your viewing history only contains hours of Chuchu’s channel! And you follow each other! You must be in contact privately!”

Lin Muxue was speechless.

Zhou Jiajia continued to claim credit: “But I’m no fool. I didn’t mention that you’re the CV Mu Qianshan who follows her, so I wouldn’t blow your cover. Pretty loyal of me, right?”

Lin Muxue: “…”

Lin Muxue grabbed her and turned her around. “Come on. I’m taking you mountain climbing.”

Zhou Jiajia: “???!!!”

Climbing a mountain was out of the question—in any sense of the word. Zhou Jiajia had more important things to do, like going into the A-Du fan group to show off her fresh photos!

…

Lin Muxue returned to her room and tried to put the “social death” incident behind her. However, while scrolling through the photo with DM’s Chuchu, her finger paused. She zoomed in, looking back and forth. She exited the gallery and went to her WeChat to look at the photo her “cute netizen” had sent that morning.

Comparing the two, she saw that the bracelets on their wrists were identical.

Lin Muxue didn’t assume they were the same person; she simply wondered if this bracelet was a popular item among young girls. She took a screenshot and searched online. Sure enough, it was a “Youth Chasing Dreams” model from the brand BY, released a few years ago. It had a playful nickname online: “Rebellion.” It was a light luxury piece favored by young people who were awakening to their own dreams.

Lin Muxue suddenly felt curious about the “cute netizen’s” real personality. To wear such a bracelet as a lucky charm, her heart must also yearn for a bit of “rebellion.” She wondered if whatever the girl was doing today was related to that.

…

The DM Team had spent the morning traveling, and after landing, they went straight to inspect the match venue before finally arriving at their hotel. After a quick wash and a change of clothes, Old Zhang led them out for a meal.

At the restaurant, the team members were discussing the two fans they had met at the hotel.

A teammate teased A-Du: “That round-faced girl was pretty cute, haha. That groundhog scream when she saw us—man, everyone in the lobby was looking. Talk about a grand entrance!”

A-Du was actually quite excited, but being introverted, he only gave a shy smile, his ears turning red. Old Zhang, being the kind soul he was, changed the subject. “Our Chuchu has a pretty female fan now, too. Not bad, not bad. Keep it up.”

Chu Meng thought of the long-legged girl who had stood as stiff as a board during the photo, her whole body radiating a desire to escape. She couldn’t help but giggle. “You guys… I don’t even know what to say. It’s obvious she isn’t actually a fan of mine, okay?”

“Huh? No way. Didn’t her friend say she watches your streams all the time?”

“Exactly! Chuchu, you’re just worried the rest of us will be jealous because we don’t have fans following us to the site, right? Hehe, thinking about it that way, a cup of iced milk tea would make up for it.”

“Forget it, you want milk tea? Look at your stomach! Old Zhang? Old Zhang! Get this man a gym membership!”

The group laughed and played. No one took Chu Meng’s words seriously. Chu Meng shrugged and didn’t elaborate. When the food arrived, she moved quickly to snag her favorites. The others soon joined the feeding frenzy. Most of them didn’t have a breakfast habit and had only eaten a couple of small buns on the plane; by 1:00 PM, they were starving. For a while, the table was a blur of flying chopsticks.

Once full, the team relaxed. Some picked their teeth, others drank tea. Chu Meng quietly pulled out her phone and switched to the WeChat account that only had one contact. She saw that “Zhao Mu Cheng Xue” had sent several replies.

Even though she had sent a dozen messages in a row earlier, “Zhao Mu Cheng Xue” didn’t give a generic summary. Instead, she had replied to every single one seriously. This manner of replying made Chu Meng’s eyes curve into a smile; she felt truly “taken seriously.”

As she read through, the last message left Chu Meng a bit dazed.

Zhao Mu Cheng Xue: Today’s sunlight is even more brilliant than yesterday’s—just like you.

Chu Meng: “???”

Wait… is this… a pick-up line?