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Finding Qiu Ying in the gaming arcade, beating her competitor in front of an audience, was a surprise for Ji Xiang Kong but a welcome one. She was rapidly getting better and he was impressed—not so much by her skills, but by her determination and drive. He would always admire a person who fought for themselves and for their dreams. It was how he lived his life.
When Summer needled about him being interested in Qiu Ying as more than a friend, Xiang Kong just smiled and denied it. They honestly were only friends. Being aware that she was romantically interested in him didn’t mean he needed to return the feelings. When it came to lasting love, he’d learned to be wary. He wasn’t anywhere far enough along in his relationship with her to think about wanting more.
She did serve as a good distraction, though, and he regretted that she had come to play that role in his life. It wasn’t deliberate. It just sort of happened. Outsiders believed they were an item. Maybe she thought they were an item. Playing it off it with a smirk and a shrug perpetuated the illusion that something was going on. It covered up the confusion that had recently entered his life that he hadn’t yet been able to shake.
To his great dismay, that confusion would not be going away soon. Pei Xi was there at Meng Lu Ren, too. But of course he was. He worked there. And hadn’t Xiang Kong known that when he’d made the decision to come?
Qiu Ying ended up winning more than the game that afternoon. She earned herself a job at Meng Lu Ren, which Xiang Kong hadn’t known she’d been angling for. It made sense, he supposed, for her to find a way to be paid while learning more about the gaming community. But it put him in a bind, because if he wanted to see her, he’d have to come here. And she wouldn’t be alone.
He tried to ignore Pei Xi as Qiu Ying and Summer talked, but the new Legends captain was not only physically difficult to ignore, he possessed that strange intensity that didn’t do the man any favors when it came to making friends. Pei Xi’s personality quirk didn’t endear him to Xiang Kong, either, especially when it was aimed on him like a spotlight.
It was foolish to hope that Pei Xi would forget about what had happened between them in the hallway the last time Xiang Kong had been here. He had the sinking feeling that any interaction between them was something Pei Xi stapled to the walls of his memory like a trophy.
It was why Xiang Kong stiffened when Summer abruptly said to him and Pei Xi, “You two can continue talking. Let’s go,” and led Qiu Ying out of the room, leaving the two captains alone. Xiang Kong wanted to run after them.
He didn’t, though, because Pei Xi was a foe whom Xiang Kong knew better than to turn his back on.
“You like her a lot, right?” Pei Xi asked.
Xiang Kong frowned a little. It wasn’t the first words he’d expected from someone who’d forcibly kissed him. Especially when that person was a guy. He’d been waiting for an apology, or at least some kind of explanation for the incident.
“What?” he asked dumbly.
“You like Qiu Ying a lot, right?”
“What’s that to do with you?”
“You better stay away from her,” Pei Xi said blandly.
Xiang Kong didn’t know what to make of the—request? Demand? Pei Xi showed no emotion as usual. Despite that, Ji Xiang Kong couldn’t help hoping that Pei Xi was about to tell him to back off because he wanted Qiu Ying for himself. Xiang Kong wasn’t sure if he’d bother fighting him over Qiu Ying if that were the case, but at least the world would begin to make sense again for him and he could pretend that the kiss had been some kind of strange mistake.
“You like her then?” he asked, a tad hopefully.
Pei Xi refused to make his life easy. Instead of answering, he said, “I’ve heard you joined Wei Teng.”
Xiang Kong deflated. Discussing his new team—Pei Xi’s old team—wasn’t something he wanted to do with him. Wei Teng had been his last choice—and his last chance. The teammates weren’t ideal and neither was its history with his old team. A part of Xiang Kong felt as though he were betraying Legends by taking over captaincy of its rival. He had to keep telling himself that this was a business and they were all professionals. Nothing was supposed to be personal. But it was. So much of it was.
“This is quite a coincidence, isn’t it?” Xiang Kong said, trying to sound wry about it. “You move into my old house and I move into yours.”
“Did you take my old room?” Pei Xi asked.
The answer appeared to mean a lot to Pei Xi for some reason. Xiang Kong had a hunch he knew why. He was glad he could answer honestly, “No, I moved in with Lu Sheng.”
As he’d expected, Pei Xi looked disappointed.
Xiang Kong couldn’t help it. He laughed. “It shouldn’t matter to you.”
“I moved into yours.”
Xiang Kong lost his smile. Goosebumps rose over his skin. Pei Xi took a step forward.
“You should have roomed with another player,” Xiang Kong told him, forcing himself to stand his ground as Pei Xi took another step, carrying him into his personal space. “You need to build rapport.”
“I’m sleeping in your bed,” Pei Xi stated.
Xiang Kong blushed. He didn’t know why. There was no reason for it. But the reaction was instant and powerful.
“I can smell you on the sheets,” Pei Xi said, quieter.
Xiang Kong had to step back. He crossed his arms defensively over his chest. “You’re supposed to change the sheets. Who lays on someone’s old—”
“Everything in that room smells like you.”
The blush burned hotter. Xiang Kong had to look away. He felt like a fool for reacting like this with Pei Xi watching him, but his body refused to play it cool.
“You know,” he said stiffly, “you’re a real strange guy, Pei Xi.”
“I lay in your bed, in your sheets, and I think about when we kissed.”
Xiang Kong groaned beneath his breath. He looked desperately to the doorway, but he could see Summer and Qiu Ying with their heads bent together and whatever they were discussing seemed important. He’d be a real shit if he interrupted them just because he couldn’t handle talking to his rival.
“We didn’t,” he gritted back, sending a glare up at Pei Xi. “You kissed me. And what was that about anyway? Trying to get in my head? Is that what all this is? Is that how you think you’ll beat me since you can’t beat me on the battlegrounds?”
“Not trying to get in your head,” Pei Xi said stonily, and his gaze dripped down to paint Xiang Kong’s body down to his toes.
Xiang Kong felt stripped. Worse, he felt like Pei Xi had stripped him and discovered Xiang Kong was hard, which he was beginning to be.
Xiang Kong stabbed a finger at him. “Back off, Pei Xi. This game of yours is childish. I expected more from a player of your caliber. But maybe I was wrong about that. That’s what I’m beginning to think.”
That earned him a frown from Pei Xi, which was far better than the invasive stare.
Pei Xi stepped back from him and crossed his arms, too. “It’s alright if you’re afraid of me.”
Xiang Kong gaped at him. “Afraid? Me? Nothing I’ve seen of your play makes me fear you.”
But Pei Xi smiled, as though he saw through Xiang Kong’s attempt to turn this into a conversation about gaming. “Looks like we’re destined to be competitors, is that it?” His tone was mocking.
“That’s not too bad,” Xiang Kong said with a smirk, trying to act like he was his old self again and not rattled in the slightest.
“Hmm.” Pei Xi’s gaze was knowing. “I won’t be soft on you.” He stepped up suddenly, too quickly for Ji to back away. His fingers grazed the front of Xiang Kong’s jeans, brushing over the mound that had formed there. “Not soft at all.”
As Xiang Kong jumped back with a curse, Pei Xi walked away.
Xiang Kong stared after him, hands fisted.
“Qiu Ying!” he shouted once his hard-on had faded, “let’s play!”