The Doctor said I Have to be A Kept Man - Chapter 4

Chi Ruanfan gasped.

Thirty million: a World Championship prize pool was only about that much, and that was for an entire team, not an individual.

“Jin Zhu, do you realize,” Chi Ruanfan’s voice trembled slightly, “our relationship is on the verge of collapsing?”

“Relationships can be repaired later. If you leave, I will be the one with regrets.”

Jin Zhu tapped his finger lightly on the table. “Fifty million.”

Chi Ruanfan suddenly grabbed Jin Zhu’s hand resting on the table. “From this day forward, you are my brother from another mother. When do we sign the contract?”

He had wanted to work hard on his own, but the man had just dropped several championships’ worth of prize money in front of him. Who could resist that?

Jin Zhu chuckled, returning the grip on Chi Ruanfan’s hand. “We can sign today. Do you have time?”

“I definitely have time.”

“Are you that short on cash?” Jin Zhu asked.

Chi Ruanfan lightly squeezed Jin Zhu’s slender fingers and sighed. “Desperately. I even have to rely on you to treat me to this meal.”

“…” Jin Zhu looked at Chi Ruanfan and slowly withdrew his hand. “Once the contract is signed, I can arrange an advance on your salary.”

Chi Ruanfan did not notice Jin Zhu’s slight change in demeanor, his heart full of joy. “Brother, whenever you want to duo in the future, just call me. I will be there.”

“Mn,” Jin Zhu rubbed his fingers together, “brother.”

The waiter knocked and entered the booth to serve the food. “Sir, here is the Grape Fish you ordered.”

“Put it in front of him; I do not eat fish.” Chi Ruanfan was already starving. He picked up his chopsticks, his gaze bypassing the fish, which was carved to look like a cluster of grapes, to look at the dishes behind it.

Unlike Chi Ruanfan, Jin Zhu loved fish, but he had not ordered this dish.

Jin Zhu was puzzled. “If you do not eat fish, why did you order this?”

“I ordered it for you,” Chi Ruanfan answered casually.

Jin Zhu was even more confused. “How did you know I like fish?”

I have eaten out with you so many times; how could I not know?

That was what Chi Ruanfan thought, but what he said was: “I am a fan of the Great God Jin Yi. Is it not normal for a fan to know their idol’s preferences?”

A fan?

Jin Zhu looked at the person across from him who had already started feasting. There was not a hint of the nervousness or excitement a fan usually has when meeting an idol. Instead, he was relaxed and natural, as if meeting an old friend of many years.

Half an hour later, the two walked out of the restaurant together. Having achieved poverty alleviation and wealth in a single day, Chi Ruanfan was humming a happy tune.

Jin Zhu said, “The club is still preparing the contract. Do you want to take a look at the base in the meantime?”

Chi Ruanfan: “Of course.”

The salary had not hit his account yet; he did not even have money for a taxi home.

The base was less than a ten-minute drive from Fanwan Restaurant. Chi Ruanfan got into Jin Zhu’s car, and before he could finish watching a single gaming video, they had entered the Chaoge Base.

The two stepped out of the car. As Jin Zhu led Chi Ruanfan inside, he introduced the facility.

“The building on the right contains the player training rooms, replay rooms, psychological counseling rooms, dorms, and the dining hall. The middle building is for sports, fitness, and leisure. The building on the left is mainly for streaming rooms, recording studios, and production rooms.”

This was not Chi Ruanfan’s first time at the Chaoge Base, but looking at the grand buildings and hearing Jin Zhu’s introduction, he could not help but turn into a lemon spirit. This was a base backed by a billionaire owner and top-tier investors; Yexian’s tiny, broken base could not even compare.

Other people’s bases were just better. He was jealous.

Wait: this was his own base now! Not someone else’s.

Chi Ruanfan reached out and draped an arm over Jin Zhu’s shoulder, lamenting, “Brother, why did you not come looking for me sooner?”

If he had joined Team Chaoge from the start in his previous life, he would not have had to go through so many setbacks and hardships.

Jin Zhu was not used to physical contact with others, but being pressed close to Chi Ruanfan, he surprisingly did not find it repulsive.

“If I could do it all over again, I would drive straight to your house and block your door.”

“Deal.”

Jin Zhu led Chi Ruanfan into the building on the right. Stepping into the elevator, Jin Zhu said, “I am going to the fifth floor to check on the contract progress. Do you want to come?”

“You go ahead; I will look around first.” Chi Ruanfan pressed the button for the second floor.

“I will call someone to accompany you.” Jin Zhu glanced at the lit-up number: the second floor was the player training room.

The elevator doors opened, and Chi Ruanfan stepped out, waving his hand. “No need. I am familiar with this place.”

Familiar?

Watching Chi Ruanfan walk straight toward the team training room, Jin Zhu felt suspicious. Was he really a Chaoge fan? The kind that had toured the base before?

Chi Ruanfan lightly pushed open the door to the first-team training room. The overall lighting was dim, with only the player desk areas illuminated.

“Brothers, surround them! The enemy jungler is trapped!” Lin Huo pressed his keys rapidly, controlling his Cannoneer to fire at the enemy Night Hermit running into the brush.

Chi Ruanfan: “Your positioning is too far forward. Be careful of the Night Hermit counter-killing you.”

“Ha! My Cannoneer has full health, two teammates beside me, and two more on the way. He can counter-kill me?”

Lin Huo moved his mouse and used a displacement skill, charging the Cannoneer into the brush to blast the Night Hermit in the face. Instead, the Night Hermit dodged to the flank and hit the Cannoneer with a flying dagger, instantly leaving him at critical health. The Cannoneer’s two teammates immediately stepped up to attack.

The Night Hermit performed a nimble flash-cancel, dumped his entire skill set onto the Cannoneer to take him out, and was then killed by the arriving mage. As the Cannoneer fell, Lin Huo’s screen turned from color to black and white.

“Holy crap, how is that possible? I got outplayed!” Lin Huo was stunned.

“That Night Hermit is the jungler for Team King’s. Season 6 happens to be his peak, and that play was indeed peak mechanics,” Chi Ruanfan said.

“King’s jungler? You mean that is Jue Jing’s smurf? How do you know?” Lin Huo turned around to look at the person behind him and froze. “Wait, who are you?”

Chi Ruanfan: “Me?”

“Wait, do not say it. Let me guess. You look so… well, you must be some celebrity, right?” Lin Huo turned to ask the Chaoge top-laner, Guzi, who was two seats away. “Guzi, is there some show doing an event at our base today?”

“I have not heard the coach mention it.” As the defeat symbol appeared on his screen, Guzi took off his headphones and said gloomily, “Lost points again, again, and again.”

Because Lin Huo’s Cannoneer had died, they were wiped out and their core was destroyed.

“Ah, about that,” Lin Huo quickly changed the subject and looked at Chi Ruanfan, “brother, which production crew are you with? Do we need to be on camera later?”

Chi Ruanfan smiled. “There is no production crew. If everything goes well, I should be your new teammate.”

“New teammate!”

Lin Huo’s voice rose in shock. At his words, Guzi and the support, Lu Lu, who had been changing songs, all looked over.

Chi Ruanfan greeted them. “Hello, everyone. My name is Chi Ruanfan. Game ID Chi Fou.”

“Chi Fou? I think I remember. I have got it!” Lu Lu looked at Lin Huo. “The super-strong Cannoneer I mentioned to you last time from ranked. His mechanics were insane.”

“Cannoneer? Marksman position!” Lin Huo immediately became tense and asked Chi Ruanfan, “Are you for the first team or the second team?”

“That depends on how well you play.”

Chi Ruanfan sat down in the empty seat next to Guzi: this was Jin Zhu’s seat. “1V1, come?” Chi Ruanfan asked.

“Bring it on!”

Lin Huo exited the results screen. Seeing Chi Ruanfan sitting in Jin Zhu’s spot, he hesitated for a moment but still said, “Do not blame me for not warning you. That is Captain Jin’s seat. He does not like people touching his things. You are finished.”

“How come I did not know he had that taboo?” Chi Ruanfan did not believe it. He had known Jin Zhu for years and had never seen him forbid him from touching anything.

“Whatever, I warned you anyway.” Lin Huo locked in the Cannoneer.

Chi Ruanfan also locked in the Cannoneer. The game entered the loading screen. Guzi stood behind Chi Ruanfan, and Lu Lu stood up to go over to Lin Huo. They were all curious about this new teammate’s strength.

At the start, Chi Ruanfan’s Cannoneer reached the lane first. By the time Lin Huo arrived after taking the Red Buff, Chi Ruanfan had already pushed the minion wave into the energy tower. Ignoring the minions, Lin Huo used a displacement skill to dash forward and fired at Chi Ruanfan’s face.

Chi Ruanfan similarly used a displacement to dodge and fired back. The two traded blows back and forth.

Lu Lu gradually noticed something was wrong. “Lin Huo, why is your health dropping so fast? Do you not have the Red Buff?”

With the Red Buff’s damage bonus, he was still being suppressed?

Lin Huo抿唇 did not answer, his eyes glued to the screen as sweat trickled down his temples. That guy’s Cannoneer could always predict his movement; while attacking him, he also dodged almost all of Lin Huo’s skills.

[Chi Fou (Cannoneer) killed Chaoge-Lin Huo (Cannoneer): First Blood!]

He was suppressed.

Lin Huo gritted his teeth. “Again!”

[Chi Fou (Cannoneer) killed Chaoge-Lin Huo (Cannoneer).] [Chi Fou (Cannoneer) destroyed the energy tower.] [Chi Fou (Cannoneer) killed Chaoge-Lin Huo (Cannoneer).] [Chi Fou (Cannoneer) killed Chaoge-Lin Huo (Cannoneer).]

“Is that enough?” Chi Ruanfan asked.

Killing an opponent once in a 1V1 duel already said a lot; continuing like this did not have much point. Lin Huo wiped away his sweat and insisted, “No, the match is not over yet!”

Guzi and Lu Lu looked at each other. The skill gap was already obvious. If this continued:

“How about switching classes?” Guzi suggested.

Chi Ruanfan: “I am fine with that.”

Lin Huo: “Fine. My feel for the Cannoneer is not good today. Let’s switch.”

Lin Huo locked in the Gunner, and Chi Ruanfan did the same. A new match began.

[Chi Fou (Gunner) killed Chaoge-Lin Huo (Gunner): First Blood!] [Chi Fou (Gunner) killed Chaoge-Lin Huo (Gunner).]

Chi Ruanfan smiled. “What do we play next?”

Lin Huo gritted his teeth. “Elf Ranger!”

[Chi Fou (Elf Ranger) killed Chaoge-Lin Huo (Elf Ranger): First Blood!] [Chi Fou (Bounty Hunter) killed Chaoge-Lin Huo (Bounty Hunter): First Blood!]

Click:

Jin Zhu pushed open the door to the training room and saw Chi Ruanfan sitting in his seat, with Lin Huo and Guzi standing behind him. Only the support, Lu Lu, was still training in his own spot.

Jin Zhu’s gaze lingered on Chi Ruanfan’s fingers tapping the keyboard for a moment before moving up to the computer screen. On the screen, two Priests were auto-attacking each other.

Jin Zhu: “What are you doing?”

“Bonding,” Chi Ruanfan said, clicking the mouse lightly.

[Chi Fou (Priest) killed Chaoge-Lu Lu (Priest): First Blood!]

Two Priests bonding in a 1V1? Jin Zhu suspected he was getting old and could no longer understand the ideas of young people.

Seeing Chi Ruanfan release the mouse to stretch his fingers, Jin Zhu said, “The contract is ready. Follow me.”

“Alright.” Chi Ruanfan stood up quickly to follow. In the last few hours, he had dueled three Chaoge players and used almost every class in Infinite Tower Defense, finally resorting to auto-attacking as Priests. If he did not leave now, he was afraid these kids from Chaoge would try to duel him in real life.

As Chi Ruanfan and Jin Zhu walked out of the training room, the three Chaoge players followed closely behind.

Jin Zhu turned around. “Hm?”

Lin Huo and Lu Lu, who had just been promoted from the second team, hung their heads and did not dare speak. Guzi, as a veteran, boldly asked:

“Jin-ge, can you tell us: who is this great god replacing?”

Jin Zhu did indeed intend for Chi Ruanfan to enter the first team, but the specific implementation would depend on the results of future training. Looking at the three of them, all looking dejected, Jin Zhu was puzzled. “What is wrong with all of you?”

Guzi looked at the other two, then spoke first: “I just dueled him 1V1. I used every tank and warrior I know. I did not win a single game.”

Lin Huo kept his head down. “I tried every Marksman. I was crushed in all of them.”

Lu Lu covered his face. “I… me too.”

Meaning Chi Ruanfan had defeated them all in their own specialty positions? Jin Zhu looked at Chi Ruanfan with undisguised amazement, suddenly remembering a certain phrase the man had said.

“An all-rounder?”

Chi Ruanfan gave a silent laugh. “It is not that exaggerated. There are still a few classes I am not very good at.”

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