The Mid Laner Is Beautiful, Acts Cute, but Has Class - Chapter 2

“Ning Tingyu?”

Chen Bowen’s brain froze for a few seconds. He muttered, almost in disbelief, “Is that the same Ning Tingyu I’m thinking of? The one signed by Fengtu Media next door? That former professional player? The three-time champion Mid Laner who’s a total cancer for stealing the jungler’s blue buff every single day???”

“Yep.”

Jiang Yuan squinted, his voice laced with weariness.

Chen Bowen was thrown into utter confusion.

Jiang Yuan was already considered a top streamer on Shizi Live.

His monthly viewership in the Gaming category consistently ranked in the top three, occasionally first or second, primarily depending on one uncontrollable factor.

Ning Tingyu.

Ever since retiring, this guy seemed to have completely discarded his public image. His mental state was leagues beyond any other streamer on the same platform.

When he was in a good mood and sticking to his usual routine, he’d list his stream under the Gaming category, playing everything from PUBG to League of Legends, and occasionally even streaming Steam games or horror titles.

When he wasn’t, he’d list himself in the Beauty, Food, or even the Study category.

Chen Bowen would never forget it.

Once, while browsing the Beauty category, he’d spotted Ning Tingyu’s ID and that face. In the stream, an eight-o’clock soap opera was playing, and Ning Tingyu was analyzing frame by frame how to achieve the protagonist’s “clear and dewy” eye makeup.

He even dug up the mascara and eyeshadow palette used, demonstrating his atrocious makeup skills to hundreds of thousands of viewers in the livestream.

And yet, this kind of slutty alpha managed to crush Jiang Yuan, who was hardworking, diligent, and kept to himself—in terms of traffic.

Objectively, Chen Bowen couldn’t believe it. Subjectively, he couldn’t accept it.

In the end, he chalked it up to the fact that Ning Tingyu had been a professional player for three years, accumulating a massive fanbase. Plus, his looks were simply too superior, and he was generous and uninhibited during his streams, showing off his abs whenever he felt like it.

He was on a completely different level from Jiang Yuan, who would blush and stutter if someone complimented him on being pretty.

That’s why you have to be willing to throw yourself out there in streaming, Chen Bowen thought.

At this thought, he couldn’t help but beat his chest and stomp his feet in frustration.

“Damn that Ning Tingyu! Last month he was ranked below you, and this month he’s already sleeping on top of you.”

“Is his competitive streak really that strong?!!”

Jiang Yuan’s eyelids twitched.

Actually, I was on top last night too.

But he didn’t dare say it.

Chen Bowen’s expression turned grave.

“The overlap between your fanbases is extremely low because you two are on completely different paths. In fact, most of your anti-fans are each other’s fans.”

“Your fans call him a slutty whore, and his fans call you a Qing dynasty remnant.”

Chen Bowen concluded, “To put it simply, you two are rivals.”

“In this situation, if it ever got out that you two slept together, it could trigger World War III.”

Jiang Yuan’s eyelids drooped, his mind elsewhere.

Sleeping with a rival… That did sound pretty bad.

But Ning Tingyu had already reached an agreement with him—they’d both treat the incident as a one-time accident.

“It won’t get out.”

Jiang Yuan sipped his water as slowly as a capybara, his lips glistening and impossibly beautiful.

“Even if it did, the viewers in my stream are only there to learn gameplay. If anyone’s reputation is going to be ruined, it’ll be Ning Tingyu’s.”

Chen Bowen said nothing, merely glancing at Jiang Yuan from the corner of his eye.

Are you sure your viewers are only there for the gameplay…?

Then what’s with all the “Wife,” “Baby,” and “Cutie” spamming the bullet chat every single day?

After finishing his water, Jiang Yuan set the glass down.

“So, why did you ask me to come to the office?”

Chen Bowen finally remembered the main point and paused to gather his thoughts.

“It’s like this.”

“The company feels you’ve hit a plateau. Relying solely on gaming streams and video edits might not be enough to break into the mainstream or attract new blood.”

“The operations team has come up with a plan, but we’re not sure if you’re willing to try it.”

Jiang Yuan looked up. “What plan?”

“A CP ship.”

“?”

Jiang Yuan fell silent for a moment. “With whom?”

“That’s not important.”

Chen Bowen grinned. “The main thing is to get your opinion first.”

“As long as you’re willing, there are plenty of streamers who’d love to collaborate with you. Besides, you’re an omega jungler—that contrast alone is a huge selling point. Pairing you with an alpha support or mid laner would create a great CP vibe.”

“Whatever…”

Jiang Yuan turned his head away, his expression unreadable. “I don’t mind, as long as the person has a decent reputation and it doesn’t interfere with my offline life.”

Chen Bowen nodded vigorously. “Of course it won’t affect your offline life.”

Seeing how thrilled he was, Jiang Yuan pulled out the documents he had prepared from the drawer and held them out.

“Take a look at these. You’ve probably seen their streams before. Like Xiao Yu here—he’s a support, a soft support at that. I think he’d be a great fit.”

“And these two are trainees. They have good personalities and are quite popular with the audience. You can keep them as backups.”

Jiang Yuan glanced over the profiles and frowned slightly.

“This feels like I’m picking a concubine.”

Chen Bowen quickly reassured him, “You know how it is—it’s all just for show online.”

“Right.”

Jiang Yuan reviewed the profiles again before setting them aside. “Forget the pro players. They have four major tournaments a year and their training is brutal. Let’s go with this streamer.”

Chen Bowen nodded. “Alright, I’ll contact his manager later to discuss things. You should head home and get some rest. I’ll notify you once it’s settled.”

Jiang Yuan went home and took another thorough shower.

Only when he looked in the mirror again did he realize the skin on his nipple had been broken.

He cursed Ning Tingyu out, ordered some anti-inflammatory cream on Meituan, and applied it before getting back into bed to catch up on sleep.

He didn’t wake up until 8:00 PM, when he promptly turned on his computer.

In the two years he’d been streaming, Jiang Yuan had never taken a single day off, except for one time when Chen Bowen had forcibly dragged him to the hospital with a fever, and yesterday for the offline annual meeting.

His fans had even jokingly dubbed him the “Invincible Grinder” of the streaming world, saying that if he applied this kind of perseverance to his studies, he’d get into Peking University.

Only Jiang Yuan knew the truth.

He had applied that same perseverance to his studies, but his grades were still complete shit.

After making a few quick changes to the stream title, Jiang Yuan adjusted his camera angle and turned it on.

“Today’s Friday… Hmm, the Challenge Match is open. Let’s play a Peak Match in a bit.”

Jiang Yuan held his phone, his eyes slightly downturned in the camera. The shadows from his thick eyelashes covered his lower eyelids, giving him the innocent look of a high school boy.

The bullet chat scrolled by at lightning speed, filled with thirsty fans who had been waiting impatiently.

[Yuanbao, pant pant…]

[Good evening, Yuanbao.]

[I saw the photos from yesterday’s annual meeting. Little Bao looks so pretty in a suit!]

[Yuanbao, why do you have dark circles? Didn’t sleep well last night?]

[Yuanbao, please take a few days off. You’ve been streaming for over two hundred days straight. You’re a real workaholic.]

[Why are your lips so red, baby? Did you eat something too spicy?]

[I’m not pretending anymore, he’s actually my biological son.]

[Throw a bucket of yellow urine on him to wake him up. Diabetics stay away, lest he gets a taste of something sweet.]

“Hmm?”

Jiang Yuan’s eyes flickered as he saw the comments on the screen.

“My lips? Maybe I haven’t been drinking enough water.”

After saying this, he lifted his water bottle and took a small sip, trying to hide his flustered state.

At the end of the season, a Peak Match rating of 2400 was considered high. On average, each match took over two minutes to queue.

Usually, Jiang Yuan would play a couple of rounds of Landlord to kill time, but today he wasn’t in the mood. He just sat in front of the screen, lost in thought.

Vibrate—!

The sound of entering a match snapped Jiang Yuan back to reality.

Since the season update, the addition of pre-selection lane assignment and hero functions had greatly reduced the phenomenon of people flaming each other before the game even started.

He quickly glanced at the lane assignments.

“Two mid laners this match. It all depends on how they communicate and fill in.”

It had nothing to do with him. Jiang Yuan sent his jungler rank and pre-selected hero, then started humming a little tune to the background music.

[Peak Summoner 1]: Bro, I’m 1500. You fill in.

[Peak Summoner 1]: Or if you’re higher than me, I’ll give you the spot.

The third person didn’t respond.

[Peak Summoner 1]: You’re not saying anything, so I’m just taking it, right?

[I bet 50 cents the third person is taking a shit.]

[Could also be taking a piss. After all, Yuanbao also likes to go piss after picking a hero in a game, hahahahaha.]

[This third person’s most-played heroes look familiar… It seems to be that…]

[I think so too… but I don’t dare say it.]

[Which one?!]

Jiang Yuan raised an eyebrow.

Although Peak Match is anonymous, once you reach a certain rank, almost everyone is an acquaintance. It’s normal to recognize someone just by their most-played heroes or rank.

But this third person’s most-played heroes…

Three off-meta heroes.

Jiang Yuan didn’t seem to have encountered a Mid Laner who mained these three heroes, at least not in his friends list.

The next second.

[Peak Summoner 3]: Big brother, I’m here qvq!

After saying that, he sent his rank.

Rank 128 Mid Laner.

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