Green Tea - She’s So Annoying - chapter 4

Talking behind someone’s back is never a good look.

When Dong Yin pushed open the dorm door, the girls inside froze like they’d bitten their own tongues. No one dared move. The atmosphere was even more awkward than when Dong Yin had confessed to Xie Mingjun.

Dong Yin walked over to her own bunk, set her bag on the desk, pulled out the chair, and turned on her laptop to keep working on her thesis.

She didn’t bother asking what they’d been gossiping about. She just minded her own business. That only made the others more uncomfortable. That night, someone tentatively asked if she wanted to go out to dinner with them.

She’d eaten a lot that afternoon and wasn’t hungry at all. Her stomach felt bloated. She shook her head. When she got tired of writing, she went to fetch hot water, took a shower, then lay on her bed to mess around on her phone.

Her bunk was close to the air conditioner; the cold air was blasting straight at her knees until they ached. She pulled a thin blanket over her legs.

Zou Yuxi sent her a few messages, asking how her meal out had gone, then comforting her:

[That’s just how Xie Mingjun is. She probably holds grudges. Try not to go out with her too much, especially not to eat with her. She always picks expensive places.]

Dong Yin replied:

[She didn’t make me pay.]

Zou Yuxi:

[Even so, the way she was teasing you must’ve felt awful. I can’t call her out on it either, or she’ll just double down. Anyway, just don’t be the one to approach her.]

Dong Yin:

[Yeah, I know.]

When she and Xie Mingjun had first sat down at the restaurant, Xie had said she wasn’t used to letting other people pay. She clearly hadn’t planned on making Dong Yin cover the bill.

Besides—

Dong Yin was broke, yes, but not to the point she couldn’t afford a single meal. She just couldn’t bear to splurge too often. But having someone keep harping on it, constantly saying she had no money, calling her poor—her pride took a serious hit.

Zou Yuxi:

[How much did your meal cost? I’ll treat you, I’ll send you a red envelope.]

Dong Yin:

[No need.]

After sending that, she added:

[Can you give me Xie Mingjun’s WeChat? I want to pay her back for today’s meal.]

Back then, when Dong Yin had asked Xie for her WeChat, Xie had stared fixedly at her after speaking, like she’d been pissed off. Then she’d just ignored her. When the car that came to pick her up arrived, she got in and drove off without even looking back.

Sigh.

People always want most what they can’t have.

Zou Yuxi still refused to give it to her:

[Forget it, don’t add her. What if you say something wrong on WeChat and she bullies you again?]

Dong Yin rolled over and typed:

[I won’t. I won’t talk to her at all. I’ll just send the money and won’t do anything else.]

She waited a few minutes.

Zou Yuxi finally replied:

[Forget it. I’ll pull you into a game with me later.]

Dong Yin really wanted to add Xie Mingjun on WeChat.

Zou Yuxi said he’d queue with her, but in reality he was secretly smuggling her into a game. He had her log into a smurf account and reminded her she could only use a male avatar and absolutely must not turn on her mic.

They were playing a simple battle royale shooter. One hundred people per match, limited loot and gear you had to scramble for. You could solo or queue as a squad. Aside from yourself and your teammates, everyone you ran into had to die. Whatever it took to be the last one standing.

Dong Yin usually didn’t play games. She thought they were boring.

“I’m using a friend’s smurf,” Zou Yuxi said. “She doesn’t know it’s me inviting her. Just help me pick up some guns later. I’ll carry you guys to a win.”

Dong Yin said:

“I can help you coax her.”

Zou Yuxi laughed.

“Her? There’s no coaxing her. Just don’t talk and you’ll be doing great. Help me win this match. Quick, mute your mic.”

“Okay.”

The game needed a bit to load in. After he sent out invites, his character stood in the middle of the lobby. A moment later, Dong Yin appeared on his left, and on his right a player with the nickname “Xiexie” popped up—that had to be Xie Mingjun.

Dong Yin tapped the dance emote next to her and watched Xie’s avatar.

Xie didn’t move, just stood there holding her gun.

She was wearing a dark green crop top and miniskirt set, clearly one of the new shop skins. It looked expensive. Dong Yin tapped another dance emote, but before the dance animation could finish, they were dropped into the match.

Everyone first gathered at the pre-game airfield. Dong Yin immediately went hunting for Xie.

Xie was easy to spot. Surrounded by all the default T-shirts and long pants the system handed out, her outfit was the best-looking of the bunch. Dong Yin ran in front of her. Xie didn’t realize she was a teammate, and with her line of sight blocked, she threw a punch straight into Dong Yin’s face.

Dong Yin let out a soft laugh, rubbed her own cheek with a fingertip, and called her name under her breath.

“Xie Mingjun.”

She hadn’t turned on her mic, so no one in the game heard her. Her roommates did, though.

Meng Mochou knocked on the bed rail and lowered her voice to call across to Ying Qiongxue:

“Holy crap, Dong Yin’s even calling out ‘Xie Mingjun’ in her sleep now…”

Dong Yin sat up and plugged in her earphones.

She grabbed her phone again just as their characters boarded the plane and got ready to drop.

Zou Yuxi marked a spot on the map. They dropped at Hacienda del Patron in the desert, and players were coming down like dumplings into a pot. You either walked out filthy rich from there or died empty-handed on the spot.

None of the teammates talked. Only their random fourth, a player named “Strawberry Sweetheart,” turned on her mic once. Her voice was sweet and warm.

“Hey, number three, don’t run off on your own, okay? Careful or you’ll die. There are a lot of people here.”

Gunshots rang out right after that. Number three’s health bar kept swinging up and down, dropping and refilling, about to hit zero any second. Just then, their muscle-bound number three kicked open a door and ran back inside.

He was wearing some stolen pink crop top and mini sailor skirt set as he dashed back in. He cracked open an energy drink with a flourish and chugged it, then dumped all his first-aid kits, bandages, and drinks at number two’s feet.

While number two was looting them, he twirled around in his skirt and did a dance emote.

The chat box started scrolling.

“Xiexie” (number two): [?]

“wsdywsdy” (number three): [Dance dance dance!]

They slaughtered their way out of the Hacienda area. Half the server was gone, and all four of them were loaded to the teeth off Dong Yin’s kills. One fattier than the next.

As they were rotating, Strawberry Sweetheart spoke up again, her voice soft.

“Wow, big bro, you’re so good. Can I add you on WeChat?”

Zou Yuxi replied on mic, his tone gentle.

“I’m not that good. I’m pretty average. And I don’t really add people on WeChat.”

“I wasn’t talking to you,” Strawberry Sweetheart said. “I meant number three. The buff big bro.”

The hulking guy in the pink skirt had been sprinting. He turned as soon as he heard that. Strawberry Sweetheart stopped talking to Zou Yuxi and ran over toward Dong Yin instead.

“Little bro, can I add you on WeChat? Let’s queue again later! Little bro, did you turn on your mic? You can hear me, right?”

She was just about to reach the guy in the pink skirt when he suddenly turned and bolted. Turned out he hadn’t been waiting for her. He’d only stopped because when number one talked, number two had paused, and he paused along with her. The buff guy was waiting on number two’s movements.

Strawberry Sweetheart asked:

“Number one, how do you know them?”

Zou Yuxi let out an awkward laugh, not sure how to answer.

“We’re just…”

“Ah, they’re a couple, and you got dragged in as the third wheel?”

“Uh…”

“Hahahaha, I knew it. No wonder they keep ignoring me.”

“Heh.”

Zou Yuxi felt like dying. He muted himself. Third wheel, my ass—Dong Yin was the third wheel here. But damn, Dong Yin was really good at coaxing people.

He tried going over to stand near Xie Mingjun. When his mic had been off, it was fine. She’d treated him like any other teammate and hadn’t pushed him away. Now, the moment he got close, she’d swing her gun toward him. Worse, there was still that hulking guy in the pink skirt crouched right at her side.

Even knowing that was Dong Yin—

He still couldn’t help thinking, What kind of pervert is this?

Later, an airdrop plane flew overhead and dropped a crate. Xie went to loot it. Dong Yin found a safe spot to crouch and landed one clean sniper shot after another. Once they were done with the airdrop, they took off running again.

This time, Strawberry Sweetheart drove a jeep over, clearly planning to pick Dong Yin up.

Dong Yin ran her character down the slope and climbed onto the back of the two-wheeled motorcycle Xie was driving instead. The bike wobbled a bit, but it looked cool as hell, sand kicking up behind them in a long plume. The only pity was, she had to hold a gun, so she couldn’t wrap her arms around Xie’s waist.

Halfway through the ride, the motorcycle stopped. Xie’s character dismounted, stripped off her ghillie suit, and threw it on the ground. Dong Yin walked over, picked it up, and put it on, covering the obnoxious pink of her outfit.

Once she was geared up, they hit the road again, looking for their next spot.

Dong Yin held her phone and kept rotating the camera angle, just watching Xie ride the motorcycle with her on the back. She propped her chin on one hand and mentally calculated how much longer until they reached their spot. Honestly, just cruising around like this felt pretty nice. Peaceful. Quiet.

While she was thinking that, she heard Xie’s mic crackle.

A few seconds later, Xie said:

“There’s gunfire.”

Dong Yin swung the camera around but didn’t see anyone. Her eyes flicked to the top left—Zou Yuxi and Strawberry Sweetheart had both died. They must have lagged behind and run into a trailing squad.

The two of them worked together seamlessly. Xie would charge in while Dong Yin covered her from a distance. They didn’t play it safe, either—they pushed aggressively and wiped the whole enemy squad.

It was a fun match.

Xie still backed out of the team afterward.

Dong Yin followed her out, then checked her “recent teammates” list. Xie was still online. Dong Yin immediately sent her a team invite.

Her thumb rubbed absently at the edge of her phone case as she waited in silence.

She lay on her stomach on the bed. The glow of the screen lit up her face; her eyes were getting dry from staring. She blinked, looked again—and saw a new avatar appear on her screen.

Xie Mingjun had joined the team.

Xie switched into another outfit, also a freshly released skin. She quickly hit “ready.” Dong Yin was just about to type and ask which map she wanted when a WeChat notification popped up.

Zou Yuxi:

[Xie’s probably done playing. Want to duo with me for a bit? But don’t wear the pink skirt again. That doesn’t suit you.]

Dong Yin replied:

[She’s playing with me.]

As soon as she sent it, she hurried back to the game and started the match.

This time they dropped into Water Town, where all the houses were flooded.

Loot was scarce and players were everywhere. Dong Yin did what she’d done before: landed and immediately found a corner to crouch in. Then she sniped only the players with nice outfits and slowly put together a cutesy pastel set for herself. Her skirt swayed with every step. The game let you do whatever you wanted as long as you had a gun.

She wasn’t alone this time, though. She and Xie camped together.

In the middle of the match, Zou Yuxi went into spectator mode to see how they were doing.

He saw Dong Yin and Xie prone in the grass. The grass was a lush, vivid green, and their characters were pressed very close together. Dong Yin’s avatar stuck to Xie’s like glue. When Xie moved, she moved. Their arms brushed, and when one of them shifted, their bodies bumped. The grass shook wildly.

He tapped his screen a couple of times, his feelings complicated.

It was like watching something he absolutely should not be watching.

Xie and Dong Yin, rolling around in the grass.

He stared again. Dong Yin’s character shifted, and the pink skirt pressed over Xie’s pale legs. It looked exactly like Dong Yin was on top of Xie. With the way the models clipped into each other, this damned game was one bug away from being a porn sim.

They played several matches that night. Neither of them said a word. It was all silent games—looting, stealing outfits, joyriding on motorcycles. Their win rate was surprisingly high.

Until the last match.

Xie rushed out too far and died in the doorway.

Dong Yin hadn’t even fired her sniper yet when Xie dropped in the doorway and turned into a loot crate. Dong Yin was about to go down to her when Xie turned her mic back on.

“Don’t come down. There are four of them. Snipe them from there.”

Dong Yin rotated through a few angles and fired four shots, knocking all four enemies.

She was the only one left alive, and all the spectators thought she had the win in the bag.

But what they saw was a buff guy in a pink skirt jogging over to the door, opening Xie’s loot crate, and transferring everything into his own inventory. Xie had died fully kitted. For Dong Yin, it was like strapping a rocket to a tiger.

After looting, she ran back into the house, dumped all her old gear on the floor, then ran out again to pick Xie’s crate clean until not a single item remained.

At the critical final moment, nobody said a thing.

Then there was a loud bang.

The buff guy in the pink skirt turned into a crate.

Turned into a crate? He became a loot box?

He’d pulled a grenade and killed himself.

Fuck. She actually suicided.

When the match ended, everyone was still stunned.

The death had come too suddenly—and it was suicide, in that lone little house, in Xie’s outfit, holding the gun Xie had used.

One spectator said:

“I don’t know why, but that match felt kinda tragic.”

“Right? Their relationship’s so good, she even died with her.”

When the game finished, Dong Yin waited a bit, then saw Xie log off.

So she really was done after one death? No second game?

Dong Yin thought she’d have to grind harder and improve. Next time she’d aim not to die at all.

A game like this usually felt pointless to her, but once you got into it, just one or two matches didn’t feel like enough.

She messaged Zou Yuxi:

[You’re done playing?]

He replied with a single:

[Yeah.]

A few seconds later, he added:

[I only played one match.]

Dong Yin asked:

[Is Xie still mad at you?]

He’d spectated them, and now he was feeling a bit miserable.

[Probably not mad anymore, just not really talking to me. You were really enthusiastic with her today, Dong Yin. Doesn’t it get tiring, trying so hard to please her?]

Dong Yin said:

[Yeah. I just don’t want her to be angry. And I want to learn how to coax her. Next time she gets upset, you won’t have to put up with it. Just come to me directly. I’ll talk her down.]

Zou Yuxi felt a little moved.

[Thank you, Dong Yin.]

Then he sent a sticker:

[Grateful to have you by my side.jpg]

Dong Yin:

[It’s what I should do.]

After sending that, she cleared the chat and didn’t bother with the game anymore.

…

In her senior year, Dong Yin didn’t have many classes. But she was writing her thesis early and had taken on a few translation gigs for money, so compared to everyone else, she was pretty busy.

When she didn’t have class, she just holed up in the dorm working.

She only had one class that week, on Wednesday. The weather was sweltering. She’d already learned everything for that course, so it didn’t really matter whether she went or not, but she was a model student who never skipped. She slung her backpack on and headed for the teaching building.

Passing a milk tea shop, she glanced inside, tempted.

Her translation payment would hit the day after tomorrow, so she wasn’t feeling too strapped. She decided to splurge and buy a four-yuan lemon water, then asked the clerk to go easy on the ice so she’d get a full cup of actual drink. Cheap and cost-effective.

Right after she scanned to pay, she spotted Xie Mingjun at the milk tea shop next door. Xie had already bought her drink. Dong Yin hadn’t expected to run into her. She was about to go say hi, but Xie didn’t even look her way and walked off, cold as ice.

Class was about to start. Dong Yin could only sigh and head to the classroom with her iced lemon water in hand. The lecture was boring. She plugged in her earphones and opened the game, planning to hit the shooting range and practice sniping.

As soon as she logged on, she saw that “Xiexie” had sent her a bunch of messages over the past few days, along with several gifted pink outfits. All of them were after she’d logged off.

So she hadn’t stopped playing that night—she’d gone shopping for skins.

“Xiexie”:

[You’re pretty good with the sniper.]

[Your playtime isn’t that high. Is this a smurf?]

[Want to add my main and play a match?]

[You logged off?]

Dong Yin typed:

[Yeah yeah yeah, this is my smurf. My main is a female account, but it’s tied to my QQ. I usually play on the QQ server. Do you want my WeChat ID?]

Before she could hit send, another message came in from Xie.

“Xiexie”:

[Only replying now? You’re pretty aloof, huh. Didn’t say a single word.]

A few seconds later, the entire line of text vanished. She didn’t send anything.