"Zhao Lusi?"
"Ah, Yu Jin. You're here? What a coincidence."
Yu Jin dried his hands with a paper towel, and replied:
"It really is. What are you doing here?"
"Having dinner with my family. My sister just finished her degree, so we're celebrating."
Yu Jin nodded.
"About the same. I'm here with my family too."
Lusi tilted her head slightly, looking him up and down.
"Formal dinner?"
"You could say that."
"It suits you."
Yu Jin chuckled.
"Thanks. You look different out of your headset."
For a moment, the tension Yu Jin had carried all evening eased just slightly. Just the sight of Zhao Lusi reminded him of Legacy Online. After exchanging a back-and-forth conversation, Zhao Lusi said:
"Well, don't let me keep you. But hey, if you're free this weekend, we're thinking of running a few more dungeons. Sun Qian's been theorycrafting non-stop."
Yu Jin raised an eyebrow.
"Already?"
"That's how he gets…"
Yu Jin nodded in amusement.
"Yeah. I'll try to drop by."
"Cool. See you around, then."
Zhao Lusi took a few steps back, then paused and added:
"Oh, and if you're interested, I'm streaming on Doudoudou tonight. If you show up in chat, I'll give you a shoutout."
"Sure."
With that, Zhao Lusi gave a casual wave and returned to her table. Yu Jin lingered for just a second before heading back to his own.
The atmosphere hadn't changed. The moment he sat down, the suffocating weight returned. The conversation around the table had resumed, filled with career talk, medical advancements, and plans for the hospital.
He did his best to follow along, nodding at the right moments, answering politely when addressed, and offering a smile when someone praised him. But the sense of disconnect was there.
Dinner eventually came to an end. Formal smiles were exchanged, and polite goodbyes followed.
Yu Jialin offered to drive them home. Lin Yue and Jialin dropped Yu Jin and their father off first before heading off to their own place.
Just before Yu Jin could step inside, his father placed a hand on his shoulder and, for the first time that day, smiled at him.
"Your mother would be proud of you too, Jin."
The words landed heavier than they sounded. A sudden guilt crept up Yu Jin's chest as the word 'mother' left his father's lips. Yu Jin looked at him and nodded.
Back in his room, Yu Jin undressed and changed into something comfortable. As he lay on the bed, a passing thought stirred him awake just as he was about to drift off to sleep.
Yu Jin reached over to the bedside table, grabbed his phone, and opened the Doudoudou app.
The app was already installed. During his rare free-time, Yu Jin would occasionally tune in to Legacy streams, sometimes watching pro players, other times just browsing casual dungeon runs or theorycrafting videos.
On occasion, he even kept up with the professional league scene.
As the Doudoudou app loaded, he stared at the search bar and frowned.
"She didn't give me her username…"
Still, he decided to try. After a moment of thinking, he typed in the only lead he had. Her in-game name.
[NotLusi]
To his surprise, a profile came up immediately. The thumbnail showed her Sorcerer character standing at the edge of a cliff with a stream banner reading:
[Live Now] — "Late Night Practice & Chill ~ come hang out!"
Yu Jin clicked into the stream. It buffered for a second before the visuals appeared.
There she was, Zhao Lusi, seated in her room while wearing a headset and talking to chat with the same lively tone he remembered from earlier.
The game was minimized on the side, and her Sorcerer character was idle in a party hub.
Yu Jin tapped on the chat bar and, after a short pause, typed a message.
[Do a solo boss raid.]
It didn't take long for Zhao Lusi to notice. She glanced at the chat overlay and read the message aloud.
——Do a solo boss raid? What kind of crazy—Ah!
Her eyes lit up in recognition as she spotted Yu Jin's username: Yujinlovesmalatang
——Yujinlovesmalatang… Is that you? You actually showed up!
And then, her chat exploded.
[No heals, no support, pure skill. LET'S GOOO.]
[Sister Lusi is gonna get cooked in the first phase.]
[Five gifted if you win. Ten if you win without using potions.]
Zhao Lusi burst out laughing as she skimmed through the comments, waving her hand at the camera.
——Fine. I'll do it. But if I die, I'm blaming chat.
Zhao Lusi chuckled as she hovered over the raid portal. Just as she was about to click, a thought crossed her mind.
——Oh, what if you join me? Are you free?
The chat instantly ignited.
[HE SAID SOLO RAID YOU COWARD!]
[SHE'S OPENING THE PARTY LOBBY, LET'S GOOO]
[ADD ME ADD ME ADD ME]
[IS THIS A VIEWER RAID? SAY LESS.]
But Yu Jin knew that the question hadn't been for her viewers, but was directed at him.
With those thoughts, he typed out a short reply:
[I can't. Will sleep after this.]
——Aww, shame. It's alright. Though I hope you watch me until the end of the raid.
Yu Jin paused for a second, then replied:
[I'll try.]
The stream transitioned to the boss arena as her Sorcerer character stepped into the glowing dungeon portal.
[Mystery man turned her down... pain.]
[Bro has self-restraint of a monk.]
[Sis smiled when she read his message. I'm telling y'all, there's lore here.]
Yu Jin watched as Zhao Lusi began her solo raid.
What stood out most to him was how she kept the viewers engaged. Her commentary was light, humorous, and confident, managing to keep up the banter even as she narrowly dodged each incoming attack.
Yu Jin's earlier thoughts hadn't been wrong. Zhao Lusi was undoubtedly skilled. Her mechanics were solid, and with a bit more polish, she had real potential for pro play.
But then again, who was he to evaluate her? He wasn't part of the pro scene.
Not when he had already let go of that opportunity, a long time ago.
After a clean finish, the boss let out its death roar and collapsed. Zhao Lusi had beaten the raid solo.
Granted, it was on standard difficulty, and for someone as skilled as her, it was very doable even with the Sorcerer class. Still, it had been an entertaining run.
Feeling sleepy already, Yu Jin clicked a button on the bottom right of the stream window.
A sound chimed across the screen.
[Yujinlovesmalatang has sent a Super Firework Gift!]
The screen lit up with animated sparks, drawing the attention of the entire chat.
[WTH?! A super firework?????]
[Was that from the guy earlier??]
[Sis Lusi got herself a sugar daddy LMAO]
For context, a Super Firework Gift was equivalent to 700 Yuan.
Zhao Lusi paused, blinking as the notification rolled by.
——Oh, thank you! I didn't expect that…
A final message appeared from Yu Jin just before he left the stream and went off to sleep.
[Good game. You were fun to watch. Sleep well.]