Chapter 587 I’ll Pay You Back with Myself (Part 2)

Lin Ruoxi sat beside Xue Rui, feeding him pieces of fruit, her eyes also glued to the screen.

After a short while, just as Xue Rui was about to give up chasing the enemy Barbarian King, Lin Ruoxi urged, "Keep chasing. His E is on cooldown, his ult is still ten seconds away, and Baron spawns in twenty seconds. We need to take one of them out..."

"Hm?" Xue Rui grunted in surprise.

He thought Lin Ruoxi was just watching for fun, but what she was saying now painted a completely different picture.

But Xue Rui didn’t hesitate. He decisively used his Flash to turn and continue the chase, and sure enough, the enemy Barbarian King couldn’t get his ultimate off.

He couldn’t help but admire the girl’s memory and game sense.

"Coach Lin, I think you should be standing in the middle of the dorm, directing the worst players," Xue Rui said.

"Um... I wouldn’t dare," Lin Ruoxi said timidly.

"Didn’t you say before that you wanted to use money to create a product? To create a product, you have to start a company, and if you start a company, you’re the boss."

Xue Rui smiled and added, "You need to be more assertive. Use a more commanding tone."

Xue Rui thought gaming was a good opportunity to help the girl’s timid personality become a bit tougher. No one here would argue with Lin Ruoxi’s opinions.

"Alright guys, take off your headsets. Coach Lin is going to shot-call for us," Xue Rui shouted to the others.

"Alright!"

The others didn’t have high hopes for Lin Ruoxi’s skills, figuring it would just be nice to have her around to chat.

However, in the next moment, they felt a sharp gaze from behind them.

Qian Huabiao glanced back curiously and met Lin Ruoxi’s icy gaze. "You have an open slot, buy a control ward. Dragon is up in two minutes, set up vision ahead of time."

Qian Huabiao froze for a second, then mumbled, "Okay..."

"And Lee Sin, stop trying to look flashy with your ward jumps. The team comp lacks CC, you need to kick multiple people," Lin Ruoxi continued. ’She found that giving orders using champion names made her feel much less pressure.’

Upon hearing this, Zhao Chaojie nodded his head repeatedly like a chicken pecking at grain. "Sister Xi is right."

...

Ten minutes passed. Under Lin Ruoxi’s command, they gradually turned the losing game around. As the enemy’s base exploded and the opponents typed "GG" in red, the group’s excitement reached its peak.

No one had expected a losing game to drag on for 50 minutes.

"Holy shit! We won!"

"Sister Xi is a beast!"

"The feeling of a comeback is way more satisfying than a one-sided stomp," Zhang Xuelun remarked with emotion.

Xue Rui was also astonished. Lin Ruoxi was like a cheat program, constantly reminding her teammates of the enemy’s ability cooldowns. She used professional-level macro strategies in a pub game to slowly suffocate the enemy, giving them no room to breathe.

Indeed, exceptional people will shine brightly anywhere, even in a video game.

Seeing how happy everyone was, Lin Ruoxi also smiled in satisfaction.

"Have some watermelon." Lin Ruoxi sat obediently beside Xue Rui, speared a piece of watermelon with a toothpick, and brought it to his lips.

"Let’s go again, let’s go again!"

Zhao Chaojie clamored to start another game, pulling a few people into the lobby. He wanted to use the game to make them forget what had just happened.

Xue Rui hit the decline button. "You’re too much of a scrub. This round, I’ll be your coach and teach you a thing or two."

With that, he moved a chair to sit beside Zhao Chaojie. Lin Ruoxi followed Xue Rui and also watched Zhao Chaojie’s screen.

Zhao Chaojie gulped. ’Isn’t what happened earlier over yet?’ he thought.

Seeing someone else head to the bathroom, he quickly started a game by himself, thinking that once the match began, they wouldn’t bring up the previous incident again.

Xue Rui smiled faintly. ’The little one is magnanimous, but I’m not. I’m going to put some pressure on Zhao Chaojie.’

After observing for just a minute, Xue Rui quickly spotted a mistake in Zhao Chaojie’s play. He sneered, "How can you miss a Q like that? If I scattered some rice on your keyboard, a chicken would play better than you."

"You—!" Zhao Chaojie started to curse but stopped when he saw Lin Ruoxi next to Xue Rui, gritting his teeth and holding it in.

Lin Ruoxi shrank back. ’Xue Rui really holds a grudge...’

As the screen turned gray, Xue Rui said leisurely, "I told you the enemy had no flash and no ult. He was waiting for his ult to come up. What were you waiting for? To die?"

"How am I supposed to remember that many abilities?" Zhao Chaojie finally couldn’t help but retort.

"And why not? A girl playing for the first time can remember them. Being a scrub is the original sin. Admitting you suck is the first step," Xue Rui yelled.

Boys at this age are fiercely competitive. Forcing a guy to admit he’s bad at a game was no different from making him admit he "couldn’t perform."

"Nonsense... I’m just having an off day."

Zhao Chaojie argued, his face flushed red. His mind was a complete blank now; leaving the base, he had accidentally used Flash instead of Teleport.

"Oh, a D-F combo in the fountain, how clever. If you use your Flash ahead of time, you can’t embarrass yourself by flashing into a wall later. Who needs Flash anyway?" Xue Rui clapped sarcastically for Zhao Chaojie.

Cai Huazhou leaned against the bunk bed ladder, watching Zhao Chaojie’s screen. He had originally started watching hoping to learn a thing or two, but the more he watched, the more something felt off...

The 0/12/1 score on the screen was particularly glaring. Not only did Zhao Chaojie have to endure the "kind regards" from other players directed at the female members of his family, but he also had to face the relentless pressure from Xue Rui.

He swallowed. Zhao Chaojie already had a short temper when he played games; he was afraid Zhao Chaojie might smash his laptop screen at any moment.

"I’m done playing!" Zhao Chaojie snapped his laptop shut and angrily slammed his fist on the external keyboard a couple of times.

"Being a scrub is one thing, but now you’re going AFK and screwing over your teammates. Xixi, we don’t play with people like that." Xue Rui smiled, took Lin Ruoxi’s hand, and led her to a different spot.

Zhao Chaojie sat there in a daze for a moment. He then stood up and apologized to Lin Ruoxi, "Sister Xi, I’m sorry. It was my fault for making you cry earlier."

The root of the problem was his usual bad habits, which had brought Lin Ruoxi to tears.

"No, no, I didn’t cry because of you. I was afraid Xue Rui would yell at me..." Lin Ruoxi explained, spinelessly admitting she had cried out of fear.

Zhao Chaojie’s face went blank. ’So I took all that pressure for nothing?’

’No way. I have to go demand an explanation from Xue Rui.’

Xue Rui grasped Lin Ruoxi’s hand and said, "Xixi, how could I ever bear to yell at you? The game isn’t as important as you are. We can always restart a game..."

Zhao Chaojie stopped short, wanting to speak but holding back. ’If I interrupt them at a time like this, would I even be human?’

Cai Huazhou couldn’t help but laugh when he heard that. He had heard that line countless times in the dorm, mostly from Qian Huabiao...

"Sincerity will get you nowhere, only smooth moves win the heart."

Cai Huazhou said this as he glanced at Qian Huabiao, the man who was juggling multiple women at once.

Qian Huabiao gave a smug smile. "How else do you think you guys are still single? Learn a thing or two from Old Xue, it won’t hurt you."

It was after some guidance from Xue Rui that he himself had embarked on this path of romantic conquest, and his days had been getting more carefree ever since.

"Bullshit! Old Xue is being sincere. What the hell does that make you?" Zhang Xuelun cursed.

"Him? Sincere? Give me a break!" Qian Huabiao couldn’t take it anymore. He could accept being called a scumbag, but Xue Rui was an even bigger bastard—a son of a bitch who had managed to make two goddess-level women accept each other’s existence.

Suddenly, Qian Huabiao felt two hostile gazes on him. He turned his head and saw that neither Lin Ruoxi nor Xue Rui looked pleased.

Qian Huabiao laughed awkwardly. "I meant, give me a break... I’ve never met a better person than Xue Rui."

Lin Ruoxi smiled sweetly. "Mhm, thank you."

Xue Rui gave a wry smile. Zhao Chaojie was a clueless straight guy, while Qian Huabiao was a player.

A player knows what girls like to hear.

Xue Rui checked the time, then dragged a chair out onto the balcony to chat with Lin Ruoxi. The two also discussed quite a few business topics.

"Um, I finished that WeChat plugin you wanted. You won’t have to run back and forth tonight." Lin Ruoxi took Xue Rui’s phone and made a video call to herself. The background in the video was completely different from Xue Rui’s actual surroundings.

Xue Rui took a closer look. The background removal was quite detailed. If they used a green screen, there would be basically no noticeable glitches. It was more than enough to fool Gu Qingshan.

"Xixi, don’t worry about the electronics factory anymore," Xue Rui said.

Xue Rui felt it was no longer necessary for Lin Ruoxi to take over the tasks at the electronics factory. Shencheng wasn’t short on technical talent; what it lacked were the ideas and designs to create a hit product, and he had a much sharper instinct for that sort of thing.

"Mhm, I have my own things to do. And consider the money a loan," Lin Ruoxi said, looking at Xue Rui with a determined gaze.

Xue Rui was taken aback for a moment. He had thought Lin Ruoxi would ask him what his next plans were, but the girl had no such intention. In fact, she seemed to have already decided what she wanted to do, and even insisted the money was a loan.

Suddenly, Xue Rui felt that the young woman had matured.

’Was it Gu Muxue’s influence?’

"Oh? Borrowing money to start your own business? Your wings have certainly grown, Xixi," Xue Rui said. He felt a bit upset. He had given Lin Ruoxi the money willingly, but her words now made them seem distant.

"No... not at all," Lin Ruoxi quickly lowered her head.

"What happens if you can’t pay it back?" Xue Rui asked casually.

"Then you can have me to settle the debt," Lin Ruoxi replied, her eyes curving into crescents as she smiled.