GEGBWFS 16

Huo Zhehan pulled open the small drawer at the top of the shoe cabinet. Inside was a pile of keys to flashy luxury cars. He said, “Pick whichever one you like and drive it.”

The message was clear—no drivers allowed, you have to drive yourself. Huo Yu wasn’t even old enough to get a license yet, so all these cars belonged to Huo Zhehan. In the past, the family used one designated car for outings. Now, they were all available to him.

What man doesn’t like cars? Zhong Lu took a glance. They were all great but the only problem was, he didn’t know how to drive.

“Okay.”

Zhong Lu didn’t argue. He agreed first and would figure it out later.

It was just more outdoor activity—good for the body. As long as it didn’t cut into his training time, it was fine.

Huo Zhehan was a very busy man. When he went skiing abroad with Huo Yu, he gave his full attention to the trip and didn’t talk about business. Naturally, some work piled up. After taking a short nap at home, he went out again for work.

Zhong Lu took a nap to catch up on sleep. Since Huo Yu was home, he couldn’t use the computer at their place and had to head over to Ye Xianyun’s instead.

Last night, Huo Zhehan had only taken a quick look and didn’t understand esports well, so he couldn’t tell how skilled Zhong Lu really was. However, Huo Yu, no matter how bad he was, could still see a thing or two—especially since he adored Abandon so much.

The little electric scooter in the garage was fully charged. It was enough to get him to Ye Xianyun’s and then go pick up Huo Zhehan later.

Wasn’t he supposed to pick him up after work?

Would he even dare to pick him up? And would Huo Zhehan even agree to get on?

One ride would crush any delusions Huo Zhehan had about his wife picking him up from work.

Right now, Zhong Lu’s training focuses on building chemistry with teammates. A year had passed, and all the major teams had reshuffled. It was time to develop new targeted strategies.

Zhong Lu didn’t say which tactics were aimed at whom. He just trained. After all, a rich stepmother with esports talent was believable enough. However, one with both coaching and data analysis skills? That was pushing it.

Zuo Yin’s DNA test results came back—Zhong Lu and Zhong Lu had no blood relation. {T.N.: They have the same name, don’t forget that.}

Zhong Lu wasn’t surprised. Zuo Yin, on the other hand, was visibly disappointed and asked again if he would return to competitive gaming.

This time, Zhong Lu didn’t outright refuse. He simply said, “I don’t want to sign with your club.”

He was genuinely grateful to the club owner for spotting and nurturing his talent early on. Winning the world championship had repaid that favor. Even when his account was sold off, he wasn’t particularly angry. His unexpected death had caused trouble for the club, sure, but all the players had huge insurance policies, and the beneficiary was the club. They even managed to squeeze one last bit of profit out of that ‘trouble.’

With a new identity, Zhong Lu didn’t want to go through the same thing again.

The club didn’t give a damn about WN anymore. What, was he supposed to drop another Abandon on them so they could rake in cash again—was he running a charity?

At the team base.

Three people gathered to analyze what Zhong Lu’s words meant.

Zong Zhenghui asked, “Did another club offer him a better deal?”

Xiao Xi: “It wouldn’t be surprising.”

Zuo Yin: “He said he didn’t want to sign with our club, not that he didn’t want to sign with WN.”

Zong Zhenghui: “What’s the difference?”

Xiao Xi immediately understood and said sharply, “He must’ve heard about what happened to Abandon and thinks the club’s unethical. Someone like him—a wealthy family’s wife—wouldn’t bother with this kind of messy, garbage-tier operation.”

Zuo Yin: “Exactly, but it’s obvious he’s still willing to be teammates with us.”

Zong Zhenghui scratched his head. “So you mean we should all terminate our contracts, go independent, and bring him on to form a new team?”

There was still a year left on their contracts. Paying the breach penalty would hurt, but they could manage. It would be like writing off the year they won the world championship. The four of them could form a new team, work hard starting with intercity tournaments, sweep the national qualifiers, win a championship, and automatically earn a temporary pro league slot. Then they would knock out one of the bottom-ranked teams to secure a permanent spot among the top sixteen and qualify for the Fall and Spring splits.

However, would that really mean throwing away the world championship?

Cutting ties with WN would mean their reputations would go their separate ways. Abandon would remain the captain of WN, immortalized there, along with the joke of “Abandon turning into a noob.” Without the pressure from the three of them, who knew what kind of exploitative stunts the club would pull next?

Once they left, the club might recruit new players, or it might just sell off WN entirely. Abandon would mean nothing to a brand-new WN.

Could they really walk away? Could they?

Or… they could all sell their houses and cars, pool their money, and buy WN outright. No need to fight for a league spot—just jump straight into the pro league.

WN had once won a world championship. According to league rules, that earned a five-year guaranteed league spot. It was worth a fortune.

The moment that number came to mind, everyone fell silent. Even going all-in wouldn’t be enough.

Zong Zhenghui stared meaningfully at acting captain Zuo Yin.

Zuo Yin caught his look. “What?”

“Don’t you always brag you could become an idol if you retired? I heard it’s easier to make money in showbiz than in esports. Why don’t you go try?”

Zuo Yin said, “Even if the money’s good, you still need connections. If you want to make fast cash, you’ve got to sell your body—I’m still straight.”

“Fair enough.”

After a long discussion, they concluded that whether it works or not, they should at least cash out their maturing investments and not reinvest. Start doing more livestreams—not just playing games, but showing their faces more.

Before they wrapped up, Zong Zhenghui said, “Wait, this might not just be about money. Isn’t his husband against him gaming?”

Last time, he kicked down the door and ripped out the ethernet cable before it even hit midnight—absolutely brutal.

Only someone as headstrong and cold-faced as their captain could handle a guy like that. Dew, on the other hand, was way too obedient. He was even helping his stepson quit gaming.

“…Obedient?”

Zong Zhenghui said, “He’s fierce to us, sure, but doesn’t that double standard make it worse?”

The favored one always has more sway.

Zuo Yin: “…”

Don’t even mention it. Recruiting teammates is harder than finding a wife.

WN had been streaming like crazy lately—basically living on Duoyou Live—and they had even siphoned off traffic from Lulu’s stream.

【You seriously don’t know why your stream has no traffic?】

【Other people stream at fixed times to build a fanbase. And you?】

【This guy’s follower count shot up so fast he got cocky.】

【Are you scared you’ll lose if you stream too much and have to wear a dress?】

【Has anyone noticed? As soon as WN goes live, Lulu disappears.】

【Clearly afraid of running into top-tier players. WN may not have Abandon anymore, but their individual skills aren’t to be underestimated. Lately they’ve been four-stacking with some cracked smurf—if you run into them, you’re done.】

【I vow to go vegetarian for three days if Lulu queues into WN.】

Zhong Lu: “No chance. Relax.”

Ye Xianyun had the day off and reminded him, “President Huo’s company gets off at 5:30. You should head out soon.”

There’s no response from inside. Zhong Lu had headphones on and couldn’t hear.

Ye Xianyun had to pull the curtain open a bit and poke him. “It’s time.”

Ye Xianyun’s face flashed on stream for a second, and sharp-eyed viewers were quick to comment.

【Is that your roommate?】

【Whoa, your roommate’s good-looking too.】

【If you lose twice, can your roommate wear a dress with you?】

【Totally agree with that!】

Zhong Lu: “I’m not a bank, stop asking for loans.”

“Stream’s over.”

Ye Xianyun hitched a ride with Zhong Lu to pick up Lu Zhiming from work and brought two boxes of homemade pastries and fruit tea.

He handed one to Zhong Lu. “Tell President Huo we were working on desserts at my place. If you don’t bring something back, he’ll get suspicious.”

They really were working on desserts—Ye Xianyun did the baking, Zhong Lu did the tasting.

Zhong Lu tossed the snacks into the back box. “Hop on.”

The scooter eased forward. Ye Xianyun suddenly got a call from home.

He thought they were calling to ask for money, but this time his mom got straight to the point, “Are you seeing someone in S City? Zhang Yan’s mom said she saw a photo in your Moments.”

Ye Xianyun’s brow twitched. He rarely posted about Lu Zhiming, and when he did, it was limited to a select group—he didn’t want his family to know about him. As the vice president of Huo Group, Lu Zhiming had tons of people trying to use him as a connection. Ye Xianyun wanted no part of that.

Zhang Yan… oh, right. They had bumped into each other at a supermarket. She was a salesperson and had enthusiastically added him on WeChat. He had been careless and hadn’t put her in the group of ‘people who might talk to my family.’

The so-called photo must’ve been of a flower bouquet Lu Zhiming brought him after a business trip. The man wasn’t even in the shot.

Ye Xianyun admitted, “It’s not serious yet, so I didn’t tell the family.”

His mom said, “Alright, alright. If you’ve got a girlfriend, I won’t arrange blind dates anymore. Take your time. I’ve got things to do, talk later.”

When they got to Huo’s company, Lu Zhiming told Ye Xianyun to wait in his office. Ye Xianyun took off his helmet and asked Zhong Lu, “Aren’t you coming up?”

Zhong Lu hung his helmet on the hook and casually parked across the front entrance. “I’ll wait here.”

The building entrance was busy with clients and employees. A man like Huo Zhehan—who even styled his hair meticulously—might bolt at the sight of his little scooter.

He might even pretend not to know him and call his driver from the steps.

The security guards now recognized the scooter. Not only did they not tow it, they even brought out a bottle of cold water for him.

It was sweltering hot.

Zhong Lu had timed it perfectly. President Huo was also punctual. Three minutes later, a familiar figure walked out.

Huo Zhehan stood at the top of the steps, looking down at the little scooter, not moving.

Zhong Lu, wearing a blue helmet, tapped the red one. “Come on. There’s no parking here.”

Huo Zhehan’s suit was still perfectly pressed after a whole day in the office. That wouldn’t last on a scooter.

“With all those cars, why didn’t you drive one?”

Zhong Lu: “We’re in warm family mode now. Gas prices are up. Electricity is more cost-effective.”

Huo Zhehan decided to buy a new energy vehicle immediately.

The back seat on the scooter was tiny, and President Huo, being tall and broad-shouldered, was not eager to get on. 

Zhong Lu honked.

Huo Zhehan closed his eyes, not minding the odd looks from passersby. He walked over and mustered the last of his pride. “I’ll drive.”

Zhong Lu warned him, “You got a motorcycle license? Cops check.”

He didn’t actually have one either.

“…No.”

He was too busy and didn’t play racing games. Why would he bother?

“Then I have to drive.”

Huo Zhehan admitted defeat. “Give me the blue helmet.”

“Nope.”

Huo Zhehan kept a stiff face, swung his long leg over, and got on with flair.

Luckily, once they left the vicinity of the Huo building, the helmets made them unrecognizable.

As they neared the villa district, the scooter turned onto a side road. Suddenly, there were a few honks behind them and the low hum of a motorcycle catching up.

Zhong Lu thought they were being passed and moved aside, quite politely. However, the other motorcycle didn’t pass—it stayed alongside them, matching speed. It was a sleek, new-looking motorcycle.

“Isn’t that President Huo?” came a teasing voice.

Huo Zhehan recognized it instantly—it was his troublemaking friend. It was definitely a bad day to be out.

Lu Qin was an old family friend. Both had taken over family businesses and collaborated often. Even their secretaries were on familiar terms. When arranging jobs for Wang Qun and the others, a few calls between assistants landed them at Lu Corporation as security guards.

Recalling that favor, Huo Zhehan couldn’t put on a cold face—especially since the man was out on a joyride with his kid.

Both the vehicles slowed down. Lu Qin was mostly out for a breezy ride with his son, who sat up front in a harness with a mini helmet.

“That’s your Uncle Huo, and the one in front is his wife, Uncle Zhong Lu.”

The kid struggled to lift his goggles, revealing big round eyes. He shouted, “Hi Uncle Huo! Hi Zhong Lu-ge!”

That made the titles all wrong. Huo Zhehan corrected him, “It’s Uncle Zhong.”

“Hi Zhong Lu-ge!”

Huo Zhehan gave up reasoning with a one-and-a-half-year-old. He introduced them, “That idiot next to us is Lu Qin, CEO of Lu Corporation, and his son Dundan.”

Zhong Lu felt a little guilty at being called “Ge” by a toddler. It was like the kid saw right through his fake identity.

However, kids always liked him. “Zhong Lu-ge” kept ringing in his ears.

The vehicle gap between the two CEOs was huge. Huo Zhehan had never imagined introducing Zhong Lu to friends in such a situation.

The more awkward it got, the slower Zhong Lu drove. Huo Zhehan hadn’t expected him to actually show up with the scooter today. Worried he would have to keep doing this, Zhong Lu decided to let the embarrassment sink in deeper—maybe it would make Huo Zhehan reconsider tomorrow.

“There aren’t any cops here. Let me drive.”

Zhong Lu was firm. “No.”

Huo Zhehan wanted to shake off the motorcycle and leaned closer, whispering through the helmet, “Let me drive.”

Zhong Lu’s ear tingled. He braked.

Why couldn’t he just ask nicely?

Would he say yes if I asked nicely?

There’s no helping it—Abandon was a softie, easily swayed. Huo Zhehan got his way, got off, and they switched places.

Seeing them stop, Lu Qin also paused his motorcycle and adjusted his son’s goggles to block the wind.

Before Zhong Lu could get back on, the little one peeked out again and enthusiastically invited, “Zhong Lu-ge! Come sit behind my dad! It’s a motorcycle!”

President Huo: “…”

President Lu: “…”

The little rascal was really something.

At that, both CEOs darted into different side streets at breakneck speed.

Huo Zhehan drove the humble scooter home. Zhong Lu got off, unbuckling his helmet as he asked, “So… doing this again?”

Huo Zhehan was speechless. “…No.”

This time, it was just a friend with a kid. What if next time it was some single guy trying to hit on him? What if Zhong Lu really got into someone else’s BMW?

He had plenty of BMWs himself, after all.