Chapter 181: The Word "Love" is the Hardest to Untangle!

At three o'clock in the morning, Lin Yu, who was still awake, felt a headache.

Indeed, of all things in the world, affairs of the heart are the hardest to untangle!

Who could possibly understand?

Lin Yu ran a hand through his hair.

Since when did he start getting tangled up in romantic troubles?

Back in his past life, when he was ruthlessly betrayed and abandoned, he had never been so tormented by matters of the heart!

Could it be that only genuine love breeds entanglement and distress? The loveless are fearless!

So...

Could it be that he really felt something for Ji Ya...?

...

Early the next morning.

Still fueled by aerobic exercise and coffee to stay alert.

Lin Yu headed to the practice room to meet up with Song Xixi.

"Ah Yu, look at those dark circles. Did you go out stealing cows last night?!"

First thing in the morning, Lin Yu hadn't worn any makeup. Even though his skin condition was naturally great, the panda eyes framing his face were simply too conspicuous!

Faced with Song Xixi's feigned astonishment, Lin Yu forced himself to remain calm and handed her the lyric sheet.

"Adults' business, little kids should ask less."

Song Xixi's mouth exaggeratedly dropped open in the shape of an egg.

"A-Adults' business? Could it be that you and the great Miss Ji—holy crap!!"

"Mmph!"

Lin Yu quickly covered her mouth. That kind of nonsense could not be spoken carelessly!!

The relationship between him and Ji Ya was a completely innocent one between a boss and an artist!

At most, they had just kissed, and nothing more!

Entering rehearsal time.

Song Xixi truly lived up to her status as a veteran who had debuted five or six years ago.

After just one night, she had already mastered the song quite skillfully.

When blended and matched with Lin Yu's vocals,

their voices intertwined, merging seamlessly, and flowing smoothly...

Meanwhile, in the other practice rooms, the judges and their respective singers were also rehearsing intensively, striving to present their absolute best form on tonight's competition stage.

Time flew like a passing steed.

Soon, a staff member came to notify everyone to enjoy afternoon tea.

During afternoon tea, everyone laughed and chatted merrily, without a single mention of the competition.

Maintaining one's privacy before a match was, after all, extremely important.

The slightest leak could easily give opponents an opening.

Lin Yu, Xu Mengbai, Wang Fei, and Si Shaozhe were already very familiar with one another. They chatted happily for a good while after filling their stomachs, discussing whether to start a match of Honor of Kings and let Lin Yu, their national-server jungler, carry them to victory.

As for Bai Yichuchu, due to her busy schedule, she had already withdrawn from the competition midway.

That left just one other person...

Yuan Xiaxia had originally been eliminated on the show, but during the comeback round, the other two contestants simply gave up and threw the match, allowing her to accidentally secure a spot for advancement.

Yet in the few days since her advancement, she had been tossing and turning, unable to sleep through the night!

To say nothing else, just look at the remaining four opponents—any single one of them could easily pin her to the ground and crush her effortlessly!

Wang Fei was the Prince of Love Songs, and his fan base went without saying. As a top-tier idol, Si Shaozhe mostly had brainless stans under his banner, but the lengths to which those stans would go for their beloved idol were incomparable to ordinary fans.

As for Xu Mengbai?

Her guzheng performance on the show had instantly garnered countless fans.

And then there was the remaining Lin Yu.

The moniker of the singer Ah Yu, the god of emo, had already exploded in popularity across the entire internet.

From the very beginning of the show when he was just a newcomer ranked at the very bottom, to now, after several episodes, he had emerged as a dark horse whose fame was on the verge of surpassing the previous three.

Every single one of them was a powerhouse; how was an ant like her supposed to play?

Play with her head?!

"Hey~ Xiaxia, log on, everyone is waiting for you!"

Four pairs of eyes stared squarely at Yuan Xiaxia.

What on earth was wrong with her?

Why did she still look so out of it right before the competition?

Could she be feeling unwell?

Xu Mengbai walked over and touched her forehead, but she didn't have a fever.

The game started, and a team of five sortied out!

The four of them had already chosen their roles, leaving only Yuan Xiaxia at the end.

"Xiaxia, you should just play Yao. Ride on the back of the jungle king Ah Yu, and he'll carry you to a slaughter!"

Yuan Xiaxia: ......

You guys really are something else!

Even while playing a game, you remind her that she's just here to tag along.

Whether in the competition or in the game...

Waaaaah!!

...

After several rounds of gaming, Yuan Xiaxia barely spent any time riding on Lin Yu's back as Yao.

In the game, Lin Yu played the electric rat, constantly scoring kills and diving under turrets.

The speed boosts from participating in kills and destroying turrets were so fast that even if Yuan Xiaxia bought six pairs of boots, she still couldn't keep up, dammit!

That was simply ridiculous!!

Watching the four of them coordinate flawlessly across matches, earning ratings mostly above ten points,

and then looking at her own average ratings of 3.5 and 4.2,

Yuan Xiaxia fell silent.

She understood. She truly understood now.

The gap between her and these four was simply not just a little bit!!

Damn it, waaaah, she was really suffering terribly!!

She couldn't squeeze into the world of the strong, so she made up an excuse and excused herself.

Once the gaming session ended, the four of them drifted back into a new round of conversation.

Since these were the final few matches, the four of them might part ways afterward, and the chances of meeting again in the future would become very slim.

After all, people in the entertainment industry only called each other brothers when they gathered.

Once everyone became busy with their own schedules, genuine or fake alike, it would be hard to get together again.

Lin Yu and the other two men had already begun plotting how to sneak out for drinks.

Xu Mengbai walked over and asked with a cheeky smile.

"If you guys are going out for drinks, can you count me in?"

The three men looked at her with weird expressions.

"You're a girl, you know."

"Are you sure you want to join in on men's fun?"

"This... wouldn't that be awkward?"

Teasing remarks slipped out effortlessly.

Upon hearing this, Xu Mengbai didn't get angry; instead, she blinked playfully.

"What exactly is men's fun?"

"..."

The three innocent young men looked at one another, unable to give a definitive answer.

Must be...

Playing video games?

"Anyway, wherever you guys are going, I'm going too!"

"The problem is we'll be coming back very late tonight. If your manager finds out, won't they come after our heads?"

In ancient times,

a young woman going out drinking alone with men

was something punishable by being drowned in a pig cage!!

Faced with the three men's intimidation, Xu Mengbai responded with a cheeky grin.

"What are you panicking for! Besides, have you guys ever treated me like a girl?"

"Just now while playing games, you kept shouting, 'Captain, charge, charge!'"

"Other girls call their teammates 'big brother' when gaming, but you lot—treating me like a boatman instead!"

The three men laughed out loud.

Xu Mengbai knew very well that as a woman, although she had a great time playing with them normally, she still needed to maintain a boundary.

After a brief moment of thought, she said, "Then I won't go with you."

"But it's settled, let's all get together for a meal tomorrow. After all, the competition is coming to an end, and it was fate that we all met here, right?"

All three men readily agreed to the suggestion.

Lin Yu took the initiative and spoke up.

"Everyone, tomorrow's dinner is on me! Nobody better try to snatch the bill from me!!"

"Then we're definitely going to order the most expensive things!"

"I agree!"

"Me too!"

Suddenly remembering something, Lin Yu looked around to the left and right.

Only then did he recall that Yuan Xiaxia hadn't been able to join their conversation earlier and had excused herself to go to the restroom, but she still hadn't returned after twenty minutes.