Chapter Text
“Fuck it! When I find you, Xuan Zhen!”
Mu Qing scoffed in his mic. “Well, since you thought hiding behind a crate was a clever move you’ll excuse me if I don’t feel particularly threatened.”
“You!-”
The connection was cut off.
“Ah, I love the new feature that makes you talk with your kills when they die.” Mu Qing exited the game and turned to fully face his camera. “Well guys, I think that’d be all for today’s stream. I came, I saw, I won. If you have some last comments I’ll be here for a couple of minutes to answer.”
FuYaos_Toes: That was awesome! Our General!
His lips curved slightly into a self-satisfied smirk. “Am I not always? Plus it’s not like there really was a challenge here…”
YaoforPresident: When you killed the last guy! HILARIOUS^^
Reading his fans’ appreciative and often borderline-horny comments was always a blast. Sometimes he even worried his constantly faltering self-esteem relied on them a little too much.
Xuan_ Zhender_Envy: Yeah but wasn’t there some chemistry between you guys?
Chemistry? Where in the hell did they see any chemistry between him and that idiot who thought a single, isolated crate was a subtle place to hide? “Yeah, sure a lot of chemistry there,” he drawled. “ If by chemistry you mean something like covering yourself up in potassium before showering, then yeah. Totally.”
PrettyYao: Our snarky king! <3
He snickered at the compliments. “Ok guys, time to wrap up! I will see you all next Friday as always, hoping we find someone more challenging for that stream. Bye losers,” he said with his usual wink and closed the live. He was sure half of his subscribers were there for his bratty attitude even more than his skills in games. He couldn’t say he minded.
He reclined back in his chair and started undoing his painfully tight ponytail. What did his fans see with that foul-mouthed imbecile? They had barely said two sentences. They really liked to imagine something going on with whomever he interacted with.
As always after his streams he logged on to his Twitter account: he knew his followers liked it when he replied to their posts or gave them some post-stream behind the scenes.
His notifications were flooded, even more than usual.
Fu_Yaoi: OMG have you seen him today? Our A-Yao always so handsome
FunXuananigans: min 17.34 that move was AMAZING. Didn’t even know you could do that… @Fu_Yao how did you do it? Give the ropes to your devoted worshippers!
Mu Qing scrolled a bit, replying to some comments, ignoring others, even reposting some particularly lucky ones. He ran through his notifications until he came across something definitely odd.
NanFeng: should I go find @Fu_Yao?
Mu Qing read the nickname once. He read it twice. Then the reply was leaving his tapping fingers before he could think about it, grin spreading devilishly.
Fu_Yao: @NanFeng[1]? Is it a name or an invitation?
He snickered by himself, pretty satisfied with his lame joke, and was about to exit the app when a new notification immediately popped up.
NanFeng: fuck you
His grin couldn’t get any wider.
Fu_Yao: an invitation then
He admired his response for a second then added another one.
Fu_Yao: but no thanks. I’ve seen enough from how you play to know better
His followers would go crazy. He could already see the number of reposts mounting at a surprising speed. A good game indeed.
Finally, he closed the app and placed his phone down on the desk, weariness starting to catch up with him after what had been quite a long day. Pleasantly thinking about his succesful stream he showered and flopped onto the bed: he fell asleep quickly, savoring the win and the rest that awaited him the next day.
The next day didn’t turn out to be very restful.
It was his own fault, he knew that. He could have ignored Nan Feng’s stupid replies and new posts - so many new posts - and have the perfect, uneventful, blissfully relaxing day he had longed for. There was just something about this idiot that really got under his skin and kept him falling for every damn provocation he threw at him.
He knew better. He did. Yet it was nine in the evening and he was still hunched over his phone, angrily tapping at the screen with the dishes from his lunch still uncharacteristically lying on the coffee-table in front of his sofa. He was a mess, his clothes were a mess, the house was a mess but he still was glued to the blueish light of the app as he had been since he’d woken up at eight in the morning.
The fans’ reaction wasn’t helping. Hordes of followers, his and fricking Nan Feng’s, gushing over their banters as if they were teenagers in a high-school hallway. What were they expecting? Come to prom with me spelled out in underscores to fill the thread line? Ridiculous.
The phone dying in his hands as the battery ran out mid-post was the only thing that finally managed to bring him out of his virtual bickering frenzy. Eyes sore and mind a little numbed by a full day spent in front of the screen he blearily blinked at his apartment. He really needed to clean up the place, he wouldn’t be able to do a single thing if it wasn’t spotless the next day.
Without the constant buzzing of the notifications to keep him plastered to the little demonic device he finally found the strength to get up and take his phone to its charger. He placed it safely on his bedside table, far away from the living room, otherwise, he wasn’t sure he would resist its vicious pull. Then, with a hesitation that didn’t make him feel proud of himself, he finally left the room, starting to tidy things up in the rest of the house before going to bed.
He didn’t turn the phone back on until the next morning.
The following day he thought about his notifications before he even opened his eyes. Deeply ashamed and a little worried he might be becoming a chronically online teenager in his late twenties he reached for his phone. He decided he would look at the posts but not answer any of them, lest he’d find himself spending another day lost in bickering over comments with Nan Feng.
What a fucking stupid name.
As soon as his screen lit up his resolution started to crumble. Not because of a lack in willpower, though, as for the fact that the bright icon of a direct message in his inbox was standing among the hundreds of notifications for replies and posts. He opened it with an odd sense of anticipation and found the last message he was expecting to read.
NanFeng: Hey, should we team up for our next stream?
Hey?
Team up?
Our?
Did they even know each other? He replied smashing hastily on the keyboard.
Fu_Yao: Wasn’t under the impression that we were buddies now
The response was almost immediate.
NanFeng: Jeez do you even relax every now and then or are you so tight even when you sleep?
There was a beat of silence, then a second message popped up.
NanFeng: I’m not your buddy but I’m good at making money. Have you seen all the traction our little posts are getting? If you’re an idiot then suit yourself otherwise this is my number
The following message was just a series of digits that clearly made up a phone number. Mu Qing closed the app without replying. Then he opened it up again and checked the views of their previous posts and comments.
They were staggering.
He closed it again, left the phone and went to edit the video of his last stream to post it for the fans who couldn’t catch his lives.
Five hours and very little progress on his video later he finally resolved to pick up the phone that had been calling to him like a siren. He knew he would regret this. He knew this was a stupid idea. He added the ten digits to his contacts, the name Asshole flashing back at him from the screen. He couldn’t believe he was doing this. Before he could rethink it again, he opened the contact and wrote a single message.
Ok.
A week later, staring at his computer and waiting for the time of their scheduled game, he deeply grimaced at his past self’s choices.
Asshole: I’m on. You ready?
Mu Qing rolled his eyes and started his stream, thinking if he could get this over with in a couple of hours then he’d be good.
“Hi losers,” he greeted his followers already clamoring in the chat. “As you know tonight I’m gonna team up with the idiot I killed last week. He should be ready, as he decided to tell me three separate times in the last thirty minutes, so let’s do this!”
He clicked on the screen to accept General Nan Yang’s invitation to join his team, repressed a gag at the name and entered the game.
“Took you some time,” he immediately heard Nan Feng’s grating voice in his headset.
“And I will take more to ponder if I should heal you once you get yourself killed in ten minutes.”
There was a grunt on the other side. “Come on, let’s go.”
And so it started. To his surprise Nan Feng didn’t get himself killed and even proved to be quite a talented player, suggesting schemes and tactics that in Mu Qing’s words were unexpected from someone who had decided to hide in the most obvious place one could find.
“What the fuck are you doing there! Come here!”
“Come here, where?! You idiot!”
“In the damn container, asshole!”
“God, if I think I’m following your advice on this! You’re gonna get us…”
Killed.
“Shit!” Nan Feng exclaimed on the other end of the line.
Mu Qing pinched between his brows with his hand, leaning against the desk. “I knew it, I knew it, I knew it. For the love of god do you realize we were about to win if you didn’t get us…”
“Oh come on, come on! It’s just a game. We’ll have better luck next time!”
He let out a groan before he turned towards his camera. “So, now that you’ve all seen that it wasn’t just bad luck, he really is this stupid…”
“Ouch,” Nan Feng muttered. “Well, it wasn’t all bad, come on. Plus you know you would have died in that pit if I hadn’t healed you. Can’t really blame it on me.”
“Don’t try to put this..”
“Hey you were the first one!”
Mu Qing just could feel this headache would last until the next day. “Anyway, let’s see what you have to say, guys.”
Fun_Yao: best stream ever!
DonXuan: I laughed so hard I’m gonna wake up with a full set of abs tomorrow
Nan_Yao: you guys are cute <3
“Do you find murder cute?” Mu Qing asked flatly.
“What?!”
Mu Qing jumped on his seat. “Would you mind not screaming into my ears?! I was replying to a comment, idiot.”
“Well you know I don’t see your comments and you didn’t mute your fucking mic,” Nan Feng countered immediately.
Mu Qing shook his head and turned back to the comments. This time he did mute his mic.
Yaowning: OMG you are just too much, my heart!
OurZheneral: aww get a room already!
Yao_Yao_Yao: you sound like an old married couple lol
“Is anyone gonna say something about the game or are you just going to comment on this?” Mu Qing snapped.
ZhenderBender: striking a nerve uh? Come on YaoYao, you know we love you!
He snorted at the cheeky comments. “Okay, okay guys. I will forgive you but just this time, don’t get strange ideas! Time to wrap up now, I’ll see you guys for our next stream on Monday! If you’re still here comment asshole on Nan Yang’s account!”
He snickered and waved off his followers, ending the live and relaxing in his chair. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
“Hey, you still there?” Nan Feng called after a moment.
“No.”
“Wow, so funny. Are you already all the way in third grade?” There was a beat of silence and a sigh on Nan Feng’s side then he reprised. “Well, anyway that was fun, no?”
Mu Qing started massaging his temples. “It wasn’t bad,” he replied.
“I’ll take that as a yes. I’m Feng Xin, by the way.”
“Mu Qing,” he stated simply.
“Mmh,” Feng Xin mused. “Is it a name or an invitation[2]?”
“Oh fuck off!”
On the other end of the line Feng Xin cackled. “An invitation then,” he replied clearly amused. “Anyway, we’re doing this again next Friday? Since we both stream on the same day, I thought it’d work. Plus you’d have your Monday and Wednesday streams just for yourself I have mine…”
“Did you stalk me or something? How do you know this stuff?”
Feng Xin groaned in exasperation on the other side. “Yes, I’ve stalked you, on your very public profile where you very publicly advertise when you stream on your fucking bio.”
Mu Qing hummed. “I take it as a yes. Anyway, fine. Fridays are good.”
There was an uncharacteristic beat of silence on the other side. “You get all fired up for the stalking but you accept to just keep playing together without batting an eye?” he asked in the end, sounding genuinely incredulous.
“Well, what can I say, Feng Xin? Look at the views for tonight’s stream and take your bet as to why. I’ll see you on Friday, Nan Feng.” He ended the call without waiting for a reply.
Unwanted the shadow of a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. He would die a hundred times in the most atrocious ways conceivable to humankind before admitting it, but it hadn’t been so bad after all. Almost fun, one could say.
Like that, a sort of routine was established. They would each do their solo games on other days and team up for a stream on Friday. Needless to say the 'couple streams', as his fans had unwelcomely started to call them, were a success. Each of them almost doubled their usual views every time they'd stream together.
In all of it, Feng Xin managed to have him on the verge of bursting a blood vessel every single time they interacted, even for the most insignificant of things.
Yet the job got done. It was undeniable, they worked well together. Worked. If it happened to be fun, at times, every now and then, it was exclusively because more or less once an hour he got to remind Feng Xin that he was an idiot. That always sparked an indescribable joy.
“And again, you’re an idiot.”
“Listen, Fuck Yao, it was your fucking idea to go there, you got me killed and I’m the idiot?” The pissed tone in his headphones was just as refreshing as always. Mu Qing grinned satisfied.
“You’re still the idiot, Fen- Nan Feng.”
“Okay, okay cool. I’m the idiot. The idiot who just made you win but sure, go on.” Irking Feng Xin was just too easy. How could one resist?
“I see you’re finally getting it,” Mu Qing stated plainly. “Took you just two months, I’m impressed.”
“Fuck off!”
Mu Qing clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “Nt, nt, nt, didn’t your mom teach you not to swear?”
“Oh shut up!”
“That’s better.” His smile widened. “Ah, they grow so fast!” He added in a dramatic tone.
There was a moment of uncharacteristic silence on the other line before Feng Xin replied. “Will you stop smiling like that? Makes me almost think you’re having fun, for god’s sake.”
Mu Qing froze. Instinctively he turned his head from left to right checking his empty room. Feng Xin’s obnoxiously loud laugh made him jump on the seat. “How do you know I’m smiling? That’s creepy!” He screamed in his mic hoping Feng Xin’s eardrums would feel the blast.
“Would you mind NOT doing that? God! So loud. What do you mean creepy, man? I have your live on my side screen, obviously.”
“Oh.” That made sense. But at the same time… “Why?”
Feng Xin made a sound that was obviously meant to be a shrug. “Don’t know, makes it more fun. Since we’re playing together, might as well see how many times you roll your eyes at me. You know that my followers-”
“Are keeping count, yes I know,” Mu Qing emphasized his displeasure with an eye roll. “Well,” he started off addressing his camera. “I think that’s the end for today guys. I will see you on Monday as always! I will expect memes of Nan Feng and his brilliant thoughts about explosives, don’t disappoint me.” He waved at the blinking red light and then shut down the live.
“Are you going then?” Feng Xin’s voice asked in his headset.
“Yeah, it’s already been a long stream.” He hesitated, then asked. “Are you still streaming?”
“Yep!” Feng Xin replied with an annoyingly popping p. “Still going strong. Everybody say hi to Fu Yao,” he added obviously addressing his audience.
Mu Qing only deigned him with a loud groan. “I’ll let you to it then. See you next week.” He waited a moment for Feng Xin’s reply then cut off the call after his see ya.
Mu Qing leaned back in his seat, mind finally unwinding, as a very stupid idea started taking form in his head. It couldn’t be bad, couldn’t it? After all, Feng Xin had said he watched his streams, then why shouldn’t he take a peek?
Opening Nan Feng’s channel he laughed at his own concern. As if there could be anything to be worried about just watching that idiot blabbering to his fans about their games. Come to think about it he almost didn’t even know what he looked like. He hoped he looked as dumb as he sounded. With a smirk and without second thought Mu Qing clicked on Feng Xin’s still ongoing live.
A week later he would look back on that moment as the first of many bad ideas.
[1]Nan Feng (南风 Nán Fēng) means Southern Wind and is a combination of Nan (南, Nán) from the title Nan Yang and Feng (风) from Feng Xin’s name. However Nan Feng (男风 Nán Fēng) was a historical term for male homosexuality, hence the pun (ha ha). The characters for the two names are different (南= South vs 男= Male) but in a username like Feng Xin’s written in pinyin it’s not evident. Also the tones are the same so vocally they sound the same. That said, I did my research but I don’t speak mandarin so I might be very wrong, guys, if someone who knows mandarin is reading please let me know if it’s right!
[2]Mu Qing (慕情, Mù Qíng) means Yearning Affection.