After thinking it through, Sui Ning didn’t rush to start a ranked match.
He spent the time until sunset organizing information on the game mechanics, heroes, and equipment, selecting a few heroes that suited him best.
As a legendary five-time champion mid-laner, there wasn’t a single hero Sui Ning couldn’t handle.
Here, “suitable” meant heroes that could both let him show off and attract the attention of professional clubs. Heroes like [Melody Fairy] or [Spirit Fawn]—he could play them, but they wouldn’t help.
During the process, he was also surprised to find that this body had an amazing memory; he could remember the complex mechanics of many heroes after just one or two readings. This was, so far, the aspect of the original body that pleased him the most.
Sui Ning leaned back in his esports chair for a short rest, reaching for his fully charged phone to turn it on and unlock it.
Ding dong, ding dong, ding dong…
The notification sounds were relentless, like a call to torment.
Yet, Sui Ning remained completely calm. He first forwarded the documents from the computer to his phone, checked them carefully, then slowly opened a bottle of mineral water and sipped through the straw.
This bottle of water cost two yuan—a luxury for his current impoverished self.
“Gulp, gulp…”
As he drank, he opened the chat messages.
First up was WeChat. Before the original body “passed away,” all online traces had been wiped—browsing history deleted, site memberships canceled, and all contacts removed. The only messages left were security notifications from WeChat itself.
Plus, 99 friend requests.
“Quite thorough,” Sui Ning chuckled. “But fair enough—if I were about to die someday, I’d probably use my last breath to delete all these records too.”
Glancing through the friend requests, he roughly categorized them.
One user, [Misty], left a message: [Don’t be mad at him… I’ll get him to explain to you, just add me first.]
You can smell the cheap tea fragrance even through the screen.
The gossip radar was buzzing, and Sui Ning instinctively felt that this guy must be an important figure. But the rational little angel in Sui Ning’s head kept circling around, telling him not to get involved in the original owner’s messy love affairs.
As for why another key figure was “him”… perhaps [Misty] was a girl.
Got dumped by his girlfriend, huh. Sui Ning only cared about being a champion, not a doormat for love. He sipped his water and clicked [Decline Request].
Another user, [Xu Hexuan], was even more interesting. He practically used the friend request as a messaging function: “Pay attention to me!”, “Why the hell aren’t you responding?!”, “Sui Ning, stop playing dead!”, “Are you even keeping your schedule?”, “Ancestor, isn’t it just an apology?”… Out of the 99 requests, at least 97 were from him.
Probably the original body’s agent.
Seeing this, Sui Ning felt a headache coming on. His residual memory only recalled that the original body had participated in a low-tier, disastrous talent show and got eliminated the next day after offending the program’s organizer at a drinking party.
…Then why was the agent still chasing him?
Based on words like “apology,” Sui Ning had a bad feeling. He had previously searched the rental apartment but couldn’t find the program contract, so he had no idea what clauses the original body had signed.
“No matter what, there’s no way I’m going to sing and dance in some talent show like the original body did,” Sui Ning thought. “I just don’t know how much the penalty would be if I breach the contract…”
Money—again with money. Right now, it was almost as important as his hands!
A sharp ache pulsed through his temples.
Finally, a user named [Faraway] sent a single message: “?”
A strangely aloof question mark.
Sui Ning didn’t know what it meant, nor who this person was, but he couldn’t help smiling at the question mark.
He accepted the friend request and sent back a question mark.
System: You have added [Faraway]. You can now start chatting.
[Go With the Flow and Be at Peace]: ?
After sending it, he didn’t care about the response. He finished the remaining water and, after [Xu Hexuan]’s friend request, pressed [Accept].
The other party seemed to have been waiting by their phone and immediately noticed the friend list change.
[Xu Hexuan] invited you to a voice call.
The call came so suddenly that Sui Ning’s hand shook, and he immediately hung up. He wasn’t ready to face this strange agent’s voice directly.
[Xu Hexuan] invited you to a voice call.
[Xu Hexuan] invited you to a voice call.
[Xu Hexuan] invited you to a voice call.
Sui Ning: …Bro, calm down.
The young man’s hand trembled as he pressed hang up.
[Xu Hexuan]: Big bro, I swear, do you know how many messages and calls I sent you?!
[Xu Hexuan]: Do you know what’s going on outside right now?! Huh?
[Xu Hexuan]: Get me off your phone blacklist!!
[Xu Hexuan]: Forget it, I’ll tell you via voice!
[Xu Hexuan]: [Voice Message_60″]
[Xu Hexuan]: [Voice Message_60″]
[Xu Hexuan]: [Voice Message_60″]
[Xu Hexuan]: [Voice Message_52″]
[Xu Hexuan]: Did you get that?! I’m outside your building—where are you at, messing around so late? What if someone filmed you?!
[Xu Hexuan]: [Voice Message_47″]
Sui Ning: …
His long fingers swiped across the screen, scrolling, then pocketed the phone.
…No wonder—anyone would hesitate to tap through this barrage of voice messages.
——
Ignoring the curious front desk clerk, Sui Ning left. By now, it was dark.
He walked back; the rental apartment wasn’t far from the internet cafe. But the twenty-minute walk had Xu Hexuan anxious—sending voice messages, making calls, all of which kept failing.
Finally, spotting a figure slowly approaching in the distance, Xu Hexuan, sweating profusely, rushed over: “Bro, my dear bro, you finally decided to come back!”
He wiped his sweat and looked at Sui Ning.
The young man was tall and lean, shoulders broad, waist narrow; his white shirt unbuttoned at the top two buttons revealed a hint of fair collarbone, the dim streetlights adding a subtle allure.
Sui Ning’s naturally lazy, casual aura somehow made the cheap shirt feel couture. Even Xu Hexuan, used to his handsome face, was momentarily stunned.
No, why am I being fooled by his looks again! Xu Hexuan clenched his teeth and snapped back to reality: “You’ve got a whole mess waiting for you to handle!”
Sui Ning: …Headache.
“This time you’re not running away!”
Xu Hexuan forcefully dragged him upstairs, supervising Sui Ning as he opened the door. A briefcase full of documents—complaints, compensation claims, contract terminations—was ready to be thrown at Sui Ning one by one once the lights were on.
Trying to hide? Xu Hexuan sneered and turned on the light.
Click. The room was pitch dark.
He blinked, then sneered and turned the light off.
Click. Turned it back on. Click. Off again.
Sui Ning smiled lazily: “Stop it. No power.”
Xu Hexuan froze, not understanding what “no power” meant—this wasn’t the 1960s. He instinctively flicked the switch a few times and realized there really was no light. His voice trembled as he spoke:
“W-what…what’s going on?!” Xu Hexuan’s face was full of the classic elderly-on-the-subway-looking-at-a-phone expression.
Sui Ning explained about the Dandan rental platform running off with funds, the landlord reclaiming the apartment, and the water and electricity being cut off.
Xu Hexuan: …
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