Chapter 65
The first thing Ling Meng did after he woke up was lay in bed and brush his phone. In just one day, a lot of news had come out in the Galaxy circle:

A male anchor caught cheating on his girlfriend, was actually caught in the act on stream;

Pro League first day blowout, veteran powerhouse loses to dark horse newcomer;

Exposure of Xiang God’s small account Guava, the mystery of the identity of Lemon Dad’s male fanatic;

VEGETABLE manager explosively reveals Captain Yam and Mang God are relatives;

On Yam’s Weibo, a group of people vented their anger over the loss on the captain. It was just a regular season loss but the negative feedback was calling for him to retire or be demoted to a substitute player. Foul comments about making him a water boy could be seen all over the place. Ling Meng saw red and quarreled with some of the sunspots1. When he noticed the arms around him move, he looked back and found Shan Zhu gazing at him tenderly with a pair of sleepy eyes.

“When did you wake up?”

Shan Zhu ignored the question: “Don’t argue with them. There’s no point.”

“But what they said about your didi went too far. The loss wasn’t all his fault.”

“He should be prepared to face these criticisms as a pro and, when he wins a match, it’s these same people who blow him.”

Shan Zhu confiscated his phone. The primitive driver of his morning male sex urge once again combined with his emotional tenderness and because of this mental and physical lust, he dragged Ling Meng with him into the shower.

The hotel where they stayed was not far from the VEGETABLE training base, so the two people checked out and dropped by to visit Shan Yao. After digesting the news overnight, VEGETABLE’s players were no longer shocked by the presence of Mang God.

With a hangover, Shan Yao was still in a subdued state. After learning he mistook Ling Meng for his cousin (tangge) while drunk and held him while bitterly crying, he apologized to Ling Meng with great embarrassment.

“It’s nothing. I heard about you from Shan Zhu. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself, I really think you played super hard.”

He thought it over again: “And just ignore those sunspots. Besides, I saw a lot of powder that support you helping to speak out for you. I’ve been subjected to more abuse than you previously and no one helped me – I was fighting alone and aren’t I still alive now?”

Shan Yao was amused: “Of course, you’re the Daddy who was singled out by the whole national ranking list.”

“If you praise him anymore, he’ll have an inflated ego,” Shan Zhu interrupted.

“Ge also frequently blows him while streaming, why would my blowing push him to the point of death? Because it’s not really during a broadcast?”

Ling Meng thought pro players disdained watching their amateur counterparts stream, but he had been watched by two great teams without even knowing it. Even FRUIT’s coach had jokingly taunted him with the words “Lemon Daddy”, making him want to dig a three-foot hole for himself.

He pushed Shan Zhu out of the room on the grounds that Shan Yao needed rest, then turned around and stopped him from muttering to himself.

“Ah, when you grabbed me yesterday and cried…..maybe because you’re a lot like Shan Zhu, it was easy for me to substitute him for you. Honestly, I was very sad at that time.”

Ling Meng scratched his head, regretting the tone of his words. Opening his mouth 500 times to give hospice care didn’t prepare him for this; when he needed to comfort others, he didn’t know what to say.

“Although you’re not him, there must be someone like me for you, who sees your disappointment and sorrow about the game and is going to be more sad than you…..”

Shan Yao was stunned for a moment and then realized what Ling Meng meant.

“I know. I’m not disappoint anyone who cares about me again.”

Ling Meng could see his meaning had been conveyed and was relieved.

“Hey, hey, for the team matches and the individual competitions later on, jiayou!”

He turned to go and heard a phrase coming from behind, “Thank you, sister-in-law2.”

Ling Meng staggered, almost tripping on his own heel.

“Hey…..”

“I’ve known from the beginning it wasn’t just an act for the stream.”

“Ah?”

“My Ge is not the type of anchor that would sell rot just for the sake of powder.” Shan Yao’s pride in talking about his Ge was overflowing, “That time he posted on Weibo, I figured it was about you. I asked him and he gave in, but he said you were a straight man.”

Ling Meng said with a queasy stomach: “I really am upright and straightforward…..”

(t/n: straight man, slang, and upright and straightforward share one character; Ling Meng is trying to defend himself that he’s still straight while changing the meaning of the word)
“Sexual orientation doesn’t matter, all that’s important is who you like.”

Such a philosophical remark, so Ling Meng decided to advise him as an elder brother: “Can you promise me that later on you’ll concentrate on training and watch less Porn Anchor streams?”

Shan Yao made the sweeping declaration, brimming with fighting spirit. “Don’t worry, us boys are very good at playing games.”

Ling Meng: …..Talk about a troublesome family!