An Unremarkable Life

The fan-favorite team from Abyss 8 gets shut out in the championship match and charges straight toward a grand second-place finish. Guans, the main hunter with a 100% win-or-draw rate, announces his retirement on stream, and the whole screen fills with trolls piling on. Bai Xin watches the barrage of comments scroll by and picks one to answer: “Life’s just too hard for the human team. They’ve burned themselves out and spoiled Naiyue rotten. Who’ll treat Naiyue like a kid once they leave?” “I’m switching to human. I’m going to raise a kid too. Come watch on my stream.” Those words set everything off. The trolls spend the whole night celebrating Guans. Bai Xin’s journey to becoming human is a long one, accompanied by a steady stream of comments in the chat: “Here to learn parenting tips.” “Guans actually miscarried Naiyue!” “@Wanli, rate Guans’s human skills.” “Thanks, streamer, for the non-human content. I’ve already posted it to Douyin.” Who could have guessed that one day Bai Xin would actually introduce a handsome young man on stream? “Thanks for your support all this time. Uh, for Abyss 9, I’ll be putting together a community team. This is our main hunter, Orange.” “??? Guans actually gave birth? Guans is a real god!” “How did he give birth to a mixed-race kid??” After retiring, Bai Xin becomes the manager at a friend’s internet cafe and meets a few new people. Somehow, before long, there are enough of them to form a team. Friend: What should we call the team? Bai Xin (pondering, though he isn’t really thinking): Let’s call it Xingxin. Friend: Big bro, could you stop riding someone else’s coattails? Bai Xin (innocently): Xin Xin. What’s wrong with that? Friend: ...Get lost. Don’t pretend you can’t tell the difference between the front and back nasal sounds. Jiang Mingzhen has been a fan of Guans for years and is his top donor. He has always believed that Guans is a gentle and refined person. It isn’t until he hears Bai Xin cussing out a teammate over what’s stuck between their ears that he realizes all that peace and quiet was because Bai Xin hadn’t played Identity V before. Bai Xin: What’s with the photo of me leaving with a grand second-place finish as your lock screen? Are you a hater? Jiang Mingzhen (playing dumb, opening a translator): ... (You look so handsome when you’re sad! I’m a fan of your looks!) Bai Xin: Go on, keep pretending you don’t understand Chinese. Jiang Mingzhen: The composition of this photo is excellent. Bai Xin: Then what’s with the photo of me under your pillow? Is it to ward off evil? Jiang Mingzhen: Uh, it’s a ritual to summon a god before ranked matches. Bai Xin: Then what’s with that locked room covered in pictures of me? Are you planning to murder me? Jiang Mingzhen: ...Yeah, I want to kill you. Sharp-tongued, arrogant seme x outwardly warm, inwardly aloof fanboy uke Potential triggers: The seme has character flaws and isn’t meant to be perfect. Feel free to offer thoughtful criticism, but please avoid insults. Also, the romance starts very, very slowly. The game details are made up, so don’t take them too seriously. I’m terrible at games, and the game scenes are basically me mashing the keyboard, so please don’t nitpick. Please, have mercy. 1. The story is about professional Identity V competitions, which are pretty niche. I’ll do my best to explain things clearly. 2. The uke is Orange, a 186 cm Korean-Chinese heartthrob. The seme is a 183 cm pretty boy who usually claims he’s 185 cm when talking to people, heh. 3. There’s a career storyline, but it’s not about making a comeback to the top. It leans toward everyday life: things the seme gets up to after retiring, playing games, fanservice, and competing. 4. Ahem, it’s still a very light and slow-burn story... I hope I can make it more exciting qaq 5. This probably goes without saying, but I’ll state it anyway: they’re each other’s only partners. Theme: Let him be strong, while a gentle breeze brushes the hills. Let him be fierce, while the bright moon shines over the river.