Climbing the Ranks

[A lighthearted little short story]

**

On her birthday, Si Yi got cheated on, laid off, and fell behind on her mortgage payments, all in one go.

She bought two cans of beer, sat outside a convenience store, and opened her game.

By the tenth defeat announcement, her can was empty too.

She staggered to her feet and walked to the counter. "Another one, please."

The shopkeeper was a guy with dyed blond hair. He raised an eyebrow and held out a long-fingered hand. "Did you win something? Let me see."

Si Yi didn't get it. "See what?"

She opened her hand, revealing her match rating: 1.8.

The blond guy couldn't help snorting with laughter.

The customer immediately burst into tears. "What's so funny? You think you're any good?"

The blond guy looked awkward. "I'm all right."

**

At the year-end grand finals, the genius jungler Zhaixing lifted the FMVP trophy once again. During his acceptance speech, he bowed deeply. "Thank you for all the love. See you around."

His fans used to boast that Zhaixing could kill people with his looks, and that you could spot him at a glance in any crowd.

But after he retired, no one ever ran into him out in the world.

He was nowhere to be found at promotional events, in livestreams, or even in the game's rift.

Theme: Love life