Can We Get Married First?  57

Chapter 57

“Sister, who is A Bao?”

Chi Lin’s question caught Lou Mi off guard.

“Where did you hear that name?” she asked. “How do you know about her?”

A Bao, a former Nine Heavens teammate and a three-time MVP support player in “Return to Jianghu,” was almost as famous as Lou Mi.

But Chi Lin had never shown any interest in esports before.

There had to be a reason she was asking about A Bao now.

“The person I made the bet with is a fan of hers,” Chi Lin explained.

Lou Mi understood.

So that’s why the stakes were so high. It was a deliberate provocation from A Bao’s fans.

She hesitated, then said, “A Bao was my former teammate, our support player. She and another teammate left the team earlier this year.”

“Did you have a… falling out?”

“It’s complicated.”

She and A Bao had had a major falling out, resulting in the loss of several rare and valuable in-game items.

She hadn’t told anyone about it, finding it humiliating.

But she felt comfortable sharing it with Chi Lin.

Chi Lin never judged her, her support always genuine and unwavering.

She was the kind of person you could confide in, knowing she would listen without judgment or gossip.

Lou Mi trusted her.

She recounted the incident.

It had started with A Bao’s unexpected confession during a livestream.

A Bao, whom Lou Mi had trained and mentored, had apparently developed feelings for her, her admiration turning into… something more.

Lou Mi, focused on her career, hadn’t noticed.

They were a powerful duo, conquering every dungeon in the game, A Bao’s skillful support allowing Lou Mi to shine.

Their fans had started shipping them, their CP (coupling/pairing) becoming increasingly popular.

Esports was a popular industry, and every player had their fans.

Solo fans and CP fans often clashed, Lou Mi’s solo fans annoyed by the CP fans, and A Bao’s solo fans often stirring up drama.

Lou Mi had heard the rumors, but she hadn’t taken them seriously.

She had CP hashtags with Xie Buyu, Pagoda, and Xiao V as well.

It was just harmless fun.

A Bao’s public confession, however, had been a shock.

Lou Mi had seen her as a teammate, a younger sister, nothing more.

And now, A Bao wanted to… marry her?

During a livestream, with over a million viewers, A Bao had presented her with virtual gifts and a elaborate firework display, waiting for her answer.

The CP fans went wild, flooding the chat with pleas for Lou Mi to accept.

Lou Mi had been furious.

It was emotional blackmail.

If A Bao’s feelings were genuine, why not confess privately, instead of using a public platform, especially during a highly anticipated dungeon raid?

A Bao had clearly chosen the moment strategically, forcing Lou Mi into a corner.

Even if Lou Mi had reciprocated A Bao’s feelings, which she didn’t, this manipulative tactic would have been a deal-breaker.

She had rejected A Bao’s proposal, tossing the virtual gifts into a virtual abyss and declaring, “I, HighTowerMiyuki, will be single forever,” before logging off.

“Single forever…” Chi Lin said. “That sounds like a curse.”

“I was angry,” Lou Mi said, now regretting her dramatic declaration.

She should have cursed A Bao, not herself.

Chi Lin: “And then she stole your equipment?”

“We all shared our account passwords, in case of emergencies during competitions. She knew my password. A few days after the confession, I woke up to a notification about suspicious activity on my account. It had been emptied. Two days later, she sent an email to Lan-jie, terminating her contract. She and Xiao V never came back.”

“Was the equipment valuable?”

“About ten million yuan.”

“Ten million… and you didn’t report it?”

“I considered it, but… she was my teammate, my… disciple. I should have seen it coming. It was a lesson learned. And she couldn’t even use the equipment. It was just a… spiteful act. She probably dismantled it all. It’s not recoverable anyway.”

“And you haven’t spoken to her since?”

“I deleted her contact information and never mentioned her again. But she still talks about me online, claiming I led her on, then rejected her and kicked her out of the club. Like I’m the bad guy.”

Chi Lin: “…”

“So her fans hate me, and my fans hate her. They’re always fighting online. I didn’t think it would… affect you.”

Lou Mi felt guilty about dragging Chi Lin into this.

It wasn’t fair to Chi Lin.

“If not for my… showing off, her fans wouldn’t have targeted you…”

Chi Lin said firmly, “It doesn’t matter. I won’t lose.”

Lou Mi: “…”

Why is she suddenly so fierce?

Chi Lin was indeed angry, wanting to crush Lu Ke and avenge Lou Mi.

Realizing her tone had been harsh, and seeing Lou Mi’s silence, she softened her voice.

“You went to the school for me. It’s not your fault. We’re in this together.”

Lou Mi, her mood lifted by Chi Lin’s words, said, “We’ll face this together.”

“I’ll win the final exam,” Chi Lin said, her resolve strengthened.

She would win, for her own pride, for Lou Mi, to defeat A Bao’s fans, and to have an excuse for a costume party, where she could discreetly examine Lou Mi’s… chest area.

This bet had suddenly become incredibly important.

Lou Mi, seeing Chi Lin’s newfound determination, her fighting spirit ignited by Lou Mi’s story, thought, She must really like me.

.

Peng Ziyuan bought Chi Lin a new phone. Chi Lin thanked her, relieved she didn’t have to choose one herself.

But she missed the data from her old phone.

One evening, during a study session, she mentioned it to Lou Mi, who said, “Check the cloud. It should be backed up automatically.”

“The cloud…” Chi Lin looked up at the ceiling.

“Not the actual cloud! The… digital cloud! On your phone!”

Chi Lin, unsure how to access it, handed her phone to Lou Mi.

“Thank you, Sister.”

“Such a hassle,” Lou Mi muttered, retrieving the data from the cloud. “Just enter your username and password.”

Chi Lin, having no idea what her username or password was: “…”

“Facial recognition works too,” Lou Mi said, unlocking the phone with Chi Lin’s face.

Chi Lin opened the cloud storage and saw her data, all of it.

Her research on Dayuan, the historical records, everything.

Her eyes welled up. “It’s all here… I thought I had lost it all…”

“Why are you crying over… study materials?”

Lou Mi’s question was genuine, then she remembered Peng Ziyuan’s earlier concern about Chi Lin becoming a genius.

She had teased Peng Ziyuan then, but now… she felt a similar concern.

With her data recovered, Chi Lin could focus on her studies.

The “Winter Study Squad” met every day, forty-five minutes during lunch and ninety minutes after school.

Class 6, inspired by Chi Lin’s dedication, embraced a newfound enthusiasm for learning.

Chi Lin spent her weekends, even New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, studying, Lou Mi tutoring her whenever she had time, often bringing in reinforcements from Nine Heavens, repaying her debts in both time and money.

No one was more aware of Chi Lin’s progress than Lou Mi.

Chi Lin was intelligent and had an excellent memory, memorizing vocabulary words after seeing them only twice.

Initially, she had used phonetic associations, her pronunciation often amusing Lou Mi.

Then, she switched to analyzing word roots, prefixes, and suffixes, her memorization speed increasing dramatically.

Lou Mi would hear her reciting vocabulary before dawn, initially just reciting, then reciting while practicing her martial arts.

The ancient fist forms and modern English, a strange but harmonious combination.

The final exams arrived quickly.

Chi Lin’s face was thinner, but her eyes were brighter, her energy levels high.

The Nine Heavens team, well-fed from Lou Mi’s generous payments, were almost ready for the Winter World Cup.

Lou Mi, looking at their relaxed demeanor, said, “The World Cup is just around the corner! Look at yourselves!”

Xie Buyu, unfazed, said, “You spoiled us, Mi-jie. We’re just enjoying the fruits of your labor.”

Lou Mi: “…”

The day before the exams, Chi Lin asked Lou Mi for something.

“I think I have one. I’ll find it for you. What do you need it for?” Lou Mi asked, curious.

“Just in case,” Chi Lin replied.

The first day of the finals consisted of Chinese and Math. Ms. Qi overheard the math teacher complaining.

“What happened to Chi Lin? I thought she would do better this time, but… barely a 70.”

“Really?” Ms. Qi asked, surprised. “She’s been studying so hard lately. And she’s even been helping her classmates.”

“See for yourself.”

The math teacher showed her Chi Lin’s exam paper. It was filled with… gibberish.

The Chinese teacher also reported a disappointing performance from Chi Lin.

What’s going on? Ms. Qi wondered. She seemed so dedicated.

She couldn’t talk to Chi Lin during the exams, not wanting to distract her.

Wei Zhuoning, however, felt optimistic about her own performance. She had even attempted the most difficult part of the last math problem, following Lin Xiaozhi’s advice to write something, anything, even if it was wrong. Partial credit was better than no credit.

And the Chinese essay topic, “Motherly Love,” had been a gift. As a writer, she had poured her heart into it.

Emerging from the exam room, Lin Xiaozhi, seeing Wei Zhuoning’s cheerful demeanor, knew she had done well.

She was so easy to read.

As they were talking, Chi Lin joined them.

“How did you do?” Lin Xiaozhi asked.

“I didn’t study, so I just… wrote random things,” Chi Lin replied.

“You didn’t study?” Wei Zhuoning asked, surprised.

Lin Xiaozhi, understanding, said, “Good luck tomorrow.”

After Chi Lin left, Wei Zhuoning turned to Lin Xiaozhi. “Is she…?”

Lin Xiaozhi nodded. “It’s just a midterm. It doesn’t matter.”

Chong Zhiwen messaged Lu Ke:

“I just came from the office. Ms. Qi and the others were talking about Chi Lin. She bombed the math and Chinese exams. She’s probably going to fail the humanities too.”

Lu Ke sneered. “So she’s putting all her eggs in the English basket. Does she really think she can beat me? I’ll show her what real talent is.”

The day of the English exam arrived.

Ms. Hu, proctoring the exam, instructed the students to put away all their belongings.

As the exam papers appeared on their tablets, Chi Lin began to write.

Lu Ke, after answering two questions, glanced at Chi Lin.

He couldn’t see her screen, but he could see her writing quickly, then flipping the page.

Trying to look confident, huh? he thought.

He answered two more questions and looked again. Chi Lin was still writing, checking and crossing out answers.

She had already reached the true/false section? That fast?

She must be guessing.

“Eyes on your own papers!” Ms. Hu said, noticing the students looking around. “No cheating!”

Lu Ke returned to his exam.

With thirty minutes left, he heard the sound of a chair scraping against the floor.

Someone had finished early.

Who would finish an exam early, especially a final exam? Weren’t they afraid of being scolded by the teacher?

He looked up and saw Chi Lin leaving the classroom.

Lu Ke: “…”

Chi Lin? Finished already?

He was stunned. Thirty minutes early? What was she playing at?

The exam wasn’t easy. How could she have finished so quickly?

The other students, also witnessing her departure, whispered amongst themselves.

“Quiet!” Ms. Hu shouted, silencing them, then opened the grading system.

After her disastrous performance in Chinese and math, she had finished the English exam thirty minutes early?

Ms. Hu chuckled to herself, opening Chi Lin’s exam paper.

She wanted to see just how badly she had failed.

Lu Ke watched Ms. Hu’s expression, knowing she was looking at Chi Lin’s answers.

Her initial smirk slowly faded, replaced by a look of… disbelief, then panic.

She glanced at the hallway, then at Lu Ke, her eyes wide with fear.

Could it be…?

Lu Ke’s heart pounded. He tried to focus on his exam, but a nagging thought kept intruding.

Did Chi Lin do well?

How well?

Surely not a perfect score…?

…

After the exam, Lin Xiaozhi and Wei Zhuoning found Chi Lin in the cafeteria.

Wei Zhuoning sat down beside her. “You left early. You missed Ms. Hu’s face when she saw your exam!”

“What about it?” Chi Lin asked.

“She looked like she couldn’t believe her eyes! Like she wanted to eat the paper!”

“Did you get a perfect score?” Lin Xiaozhi asked.

Chi Lin shook her head. “Almost.”

“Close enough,” Lin Xiaozhi said.

…

Late that night.

Ms. Hu couldn’t sleep.

The exam results were out. Chi Lin: 146. Lu Ke: 136. He had underperformed.

And Chi Lin had the highest score in the class! Even higher than Lin Xiaozhi!

How… how was that possible?! Had she cheated?!

But she had the highest score. Accusing her of cheating would be ridiculous.

Ms. Hu couldn’t understand it.

But regardless of how she had achieved it, she had indeed beaten Lu Ke.

She had to record an apology video? Apologize to that… Lou Mi? No!

She couldn’t be humiliated by a student!

She opened the grading system on her computer and… switched Chi Lin’s score.