[Mainland Chinese Drama 2019] Gank Your Heart 陪你到世界之巅

[owlstar]

10 hours ago, themarchioness said:

Actually, many web novels have audio book versions out there.  I did try one once but I zoned out midway through so that wasn't really helpful.  Haha.  In my defense, I also zone out with English audio books which is why I just don't do audio books in general.   

 

Haha... same!  I could never do audiobooks because one of my sleep triggers apparently is people talking at me.    Sometimes I wonder how I got through school because I'm usually the one fast asleep in lecture halls,  

 

10 hours ago, themarchioness said:

I actually put my friend on notice, LOL.  I more or less told her, "You know I respect that a person's taste when it comes to dramas is subjective, so I'll recommend and won't push, but when it comes to GYH, I'm letting you know now.  You have to like it.  You don't have to like it as much as I do, but you at least have to like it.  Or lie."  Haha!  Fortunately the warning ended up being superfluous because she loved it and it was fun watching her first-time reactions to certain scenes. 

 

Hahaha yeah my DH knows when I get obsessed with something to either only say positive things about it or keep his opinions to himself, unless he wants a fight.    I knew there was no way your friend wouldn't like GYH, but glad she loved it as much as we do! 

 

15 hours ago, raziela said:

I totally agree with you about how the harassment was just swept under the carpet and not referenced again. That was very disappointing

 

Agree.  Almost couldn't believe there were no real repercussions when he was literally caught in the act.  I only hope he gets his comeuppance off screen, and that he was scared enough by JXK to not try it again on another girl, who may or may not be so lucky to get saved. 

 

8 hours ago, themarchioness said:

 

Story #7 - Wheels

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Story #7 - Wheels

 

 

When Qiu Ying arrived home one Saturday afternoon after having spent the afternoon with her best friend, Lu Yi Yi, meeting for lunch and then going shopping afterwards, she found her husband rifling through the cushions of their living room couch and looking frazzled.

 

“What are you doing?”  She set down her shopping bags by the front door to take off her shoes and slip on her house slippers, and watched him put the couch cushions back in their place.

 

Ji Xiang Kong stood up and ran an anxious hand through his tousled hair.  “Have you seen my motorcycle?”

 

Qiu Ying felt confused.  She’d just parked her car next to his motorcycle outside and why would he be looking for it in their couch anyway?

 

“Isn’t it outside?” she asked and pointed her finger to the door behind her.

 

Xiang Kong gave his wife a pointed look and said, “Not that motorcycle.  I’m talking about the model motorcycle you gave me.”

 

“Oh!”  Qiu Ying’s eyes traveled to the bookcase where it was normally kept.  “Isn’t it . . .” her voice trailed off when she realized the motorcycle wasn’t in its usual place.  “Where’d it go?”

 

“That’s what I’m asking!”

 

Xiang Kong continued to look around their living room while Qiu Ying joined in the search.  He couldn’t understand how the motorcycle could have grown legs and walked away.  It wasn’t fancy or an antique and monetarily, it really wasn’t anything expensive.  But sentimentally, it was without a price.  The model motorcycle was one of the first gifts he had ever received from Qiu Ying and he treasured it; no one was allowed to touch it.  But an hour earlier, he’d happened to walk past the bookshelf where it was normally kept and noticed it was missing.  He didn’t even know how long it had been missing.

 

“You don’t think someone would have taken it, do you?” he asked.

 

“Who would take it?” Qiu Ying answered.  The only recent visitors they’d had in their home were people they knew well; their family, friends, housekeeper, or Xiao Feng’s nanny.  Qiu Ying couldn’t even bring herself to suspect any of them.

 

“Well it couldn’t have disappeared on its own.”

 

“Just search a little bit more for it,” she suggested.  “Maybe it fell and was accidentally swept away somewhere.”

 

“I have,” Xiang Kong grumbled, but he nevertheless continued to turn over every box and basket while looking in every corner and behind every crevice.

 

Right at that moment, a loud wail summoned from down the hallway.  Qiu Ying stopped what she was doing and observed, “Looks like our little prince is awake from his nap.  I’ll go get him.”

 

Several minutes later, Qiu Ying reappeared in the living room with Xiao Feng in her arms and propped against her left hip.  Xiang Kong looked up when she coughed discreetly and found her leaning against the doorway with an amused look on her face.  As their son yawned and rubbed his tiny eyes, still bleary-eyed from their nap, he asked, “What?”

 

With a smile still dancing around her lips, Qiu Ying struggled to say with a straight face, “I found what you were looking for.”

 

“You did?”

 

“En.”  She pulled the model motorcycle out from behind her back.

 

Xiang Kong rushed over to take it from her hand.  “Where did you find it??”  He turned it over several times and inspected it carefully to make sure it was undamaged.

 

“Hidden between the blankets in Xiao Feng’s crib,” Qiu Ying answered with a laugh.

 

“Xiao Feng?”  Xiang Kong looked from his son to the motorcycle in his hand and frowned.  “But how did he get his hands on it?”

 

Qiu Ying laughed some more and shrugged her shoulders.  “Who knows.”  Since Xiang Kong still looked so perplexed, she kissed his cheek comfortingly before turning away with Xiao Feng in her arms to fetch him a bottle from the kitchen. 

 

A second later Qiu Ying’s voice drifted back, “What I do know, though, is like father like son,” and then she laughed some more.  

 

The End

 

 

 

This is so cute!!  Knowing how much JXK/WYB loves motorcycles, any son of his must too! Hehehe 

 

Spoiler

Incidentally I'm in the middle of watching this episode of DDU that you recommended, and WYB is soo adorably animated when talking about motorcycles!  And this story reminded me of the part where he's riding the toy-sized bikes.   Still looking cool lol. 

 

[raziela]

18 hours ago, themarchioness said:

Here's another super short fic.  Apparently I have a fascination with their personal belongings in this drama.    First it was the stuffed bunnies from the variety show.  And then this past weekend, while I was rewatching, I was reminded of the model motorcycle that QY gifted to XK.  When I saw him getting irritated with the way YX was handling it when YX brought pizza to his hotel room, I decided I needed to write a story about the motorcycle.  As always, hope you enjoy!

 

Story #7 - Wheels

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Story #7 - Wheels

 

 

When Qiu Ying arrived home one Saturday afternoon after having spent the afternoon with her best friend, Lu Yi Yi, meeting for lunch and then going shopping afterwards, she found her husband rifling through the cushions of their living room couch and looking frazzled.

 

“What are you doing?”  She set down her shopping bags by the front door to take off her shoes and slip on her house slippers, and watched him put the couch cushions back in their place.

 

Ji Xiang Kong stood up and ran an anxious hand through his tousled hair.  “Have you seen my motorcycle?”

 

Qiu Ying felt confused.  She’d just parked her car next to his motorcycle outside and why would he be looking for it in their couch anyway?

 

“Isn’t it outside?” she asked and pointed her finger to the door behind her.

 

Xiang Kong gave his wife a pointed look and said, “Not that motorcycle.  I’m talking about the model motorcycle you gave me.”

 

“Oh!”  Qiu Ying’s eyes traveled to the bookcase where it was normally kept.  “Isn’t it . . .” her voice trailed off when she realized the motorcycle wasn’t in its usual place.  “Where’d it go?”

 

“That’s what I’m asking!”

 

Xiang Kong continued to look around their living room while Qiu Ying joined in the search.  He couldn’t understand how the motorcycle could have grown legs and walked away.  It wasn’t fancy or an antique and monetarily, it really wasn’t anything expensive.  But sentimentally, it was without a price.  The model motorcycle was one of the first gifts he had ever received from Qiu Ying and he treasured it; no one was allowed to touch it.  But an hour earlier, he’d happened to walk past the bookshelf where it was normally kept and noticed it was missing.  He didn’t even know how long it had been missing.

 

“You don’t think someone would have taken it, do you?” he asked.

 

“Who would take it?” Qiu Ying answered.  The only recent visitors they’d had in their home were people they knew well; their family, friends, housekeeper, or Xiao Feng’s nanny.  Qiu Ying couldn’t even bring herself to suspect any of them.

 

“Well it couldn’t have disappeared on its own.”

 

“Just search a little bit more for it,” she suggested.  “Maybe it fell and was accidentally swept away somewhere.”

 

“I have,” Xiang Kong grumbled, but he nevertheless continued to turn over every box and basket while looking in every corner and behind every crevice.

 

Right at that moment, a loud wail summoned from down the hallway.  Qiu Ying stopped what she was doing and observed, “Looks like our little prince is awake from his nap.  I’ll go get him.”

 

Several minutes later, Qiu Ying reappeared in the living room with Xiao Feng in her arms and propped against her left hip.  Xiang Kong looked up when she coughed discreetly and found her leaning against the doorway with an amused look on her face.  As their son yawned and rubbed his tiny eyes, still bleary-eyed from their nap, he asked, “What?”

 

With a smile still dancing around her lips, Qiu Ying struggled to say with a straight face, “I found what you were looking for.”

 

“You did?”

 

“En.”  She pulled the model motorcycle out from behind her back.

 

Xiang Kong rushed over to take it from her hand.  “Where did you find it??”  He turned it over several times and inspected it carefully to make sure it was undamaged.

 

“Hidden between the blankets in Xiao Feng’s crib,” Qiu Ying answered with a laugh.

 

“Xiao Feng?”  Xiang Kong looked from his son to the motorcycle in his hand and frowned.  “But how did he get his hands on it?”

 

Qiu Ying laughed some more and shrugged her shoulders.  “Who knows.”  Since Xiang Kong still looked so perplexed, she kissed his cheek comfortingly before turning away with Xiao Feng in her arms to fetch him a bottle from the kitchen. 

 

A second later Qiu Ying’s voice drifted back, “What I do know, though, is like father like son,” and then she laughed some more.  

 

The End

 

 

 

 

18 hours ago, themarchioness said:

Qiu Ying felt confused.  She’d just parked her car next to his motorcycle outside and why would he be looking for it in their couch anyway?

 This made me laugh.  She sounds so (understandably) confused.

This was such a cute story!  I love that you can build a story from these little details from the drama.

 

9 hours ago, owlstar said:

Haha... same!  I could never do audiobooks because one of my sleep triggers apparently is people talking at me.    Sometimes I wonder how I got through school because I'm usually the one fast asleep in lecture halls,  

LMAO!  I am the same especially in lectures 

[skibbies]

On 10/25/2019 at 11:16 AM, themarchioness said:

I did like "You're My Glory"; it was cute!  I've since read "The Most Majestic You," which I also enjoyed, and I'm also caught up with the translated chapters for "You're Beautiful When You Smile."  I didn't realize when I started that translations were still a WIP so now it's torture waiting for new posts to be shared.  I would say that book helped the most in understanding how the genre works.  I would read GYH if it were translated.   

I was actually little underwhelmed by You're My Glory, but still liked it more than other Gu Man story, Gu Man's reputation really precedes her. On a reread though, I actually realised I really liked her female protag, and there were lot of nuances to her, and she wasn't easy to write.  I appreciated some of the more realistic concerns it touch upon too. I actually watched an fake trailer for it that uses Le Coup's otp (who had more dating rumours surface today), it was pretty cool! Haven't heard of The Most Majestic You mhmm. I was going to look up if GYH have an audiobook since I know people that listens to them, but then I saw that you zone out on them, which lol same. They are pretty good for when you are walking/taking public transport/cleaning though! But now that I think about, GYH is probably too niche (as a gaming novel, never released online) to have an audiobook.

 

On 10/25/2019 at 11:16 AM, themarchioness said:

Second... Gu Fang's comment that even if Shu Wen had gotten to XK first, he would not have gone to VNG... I found that verrrrry interesting.  On the one hand, it can be properly understood as just some teasing diss-type comments between close friends.  But on the other hand, I also can't help but read some deeper meaning into that comment and feel that underneath Gu Fang's teasing retort, he was also implying XK would not have been inclined to go to VNG because of the Shu Wen/Sun Ge conundrum.  That latter thought didn't occur to me until this most recent rewatch.

 I totally took that as teasing mhmm. I'm not sure if he would have turned down Shu Wen due to Sun Ge? It's plausible, but he did end up at VNG 2 years later. Circumstances are different and he has grown and all but still.

 

On 10/29/2019 at 5:59 PM, owlstar said:

I haven't read that many translated novels, and honestly the ones that I've tried are kind of an acquired taste that I'd hesitate to recommend to others (transmigration/reincarnation, soap-opera style romance).  I haven't really looked that hard though, so recommendations would be nice rather that trying to browse through reviews to see what's worth reading.  No rush since as you can tell I'm going be occupied for a while lol, but please do when you get a chance!

On 10/29/2019 at 6:35 AM, themarchioness said:

I'll send you a message some time, although I would not be surprise if our lists overlap!

I'm curious about what you guys have read/liked! also general note, the novels that's published on jjwxc are generally on the shorter side, modern ones are about 200k characters, 60 chapters? historical can get up to 600k characters, but they rarely go over 1mil. Whereas everywhere else, they start at 600k to 1mil, which is 200 to 300 chapters I think?

 

On 10/30/2019 at 12:17 AM, adla said:

Same. I usually re-watch from the episodes after episode 9. For one I just don't want to see the scenes when they are fighting. Secondly the harassment scene from episode 9 is kinda upsetting to me especially because other than XK, no one knows that happened to QY and they never attempt to show the repercussions of such actions especially in this time period.

But that's a personal opinion since many shows recently have been showing the repercussions of harassment, so I kinda expected a youth drama to be a little more empowering in that aspect

Yeah! They should have at least shown them going to the police, even if he didn't get kick off his job or something. Hell, they could have even just mention going to the police and not film it. The show was focused on calming QIu Ying down and comforting her, which is fiiiine, but I don't think it conflicts with mentioning going to the police.

[themarchioness]

@raziela & @owlstar, I started to write that XK-being-jealous story that you both wanted but it required some set up first, and well, my attempts to provide context ended up leading me down a separate path altogether.  Oops!  On the plus side, you now get two stories instead of one? 

 

This one's super short but should feel familiar -- hence the title!    Extra points if you can guess the episode that served as inspiration.

 

Story #8 – A Scene of Déjà vu

 

Spoiler

Story #8 – A Scene of Déjà vu

 

When Ji Xiang Kong retired from the iConquer world as a competitive player, he wasn’t yet ready to leave the game either.  He was still passionate about the sport, proud of what his countrymen had achieved so far, and determined to keep that momentum moving forward for future generations.  His wife, Qiu Ying, supported him in those endeavors, which was why when he received a phone call from the local university inviting him to teach a class for their upcoming semester, she was the first person to encourage him to accept. 

 

Being a professor at a university was a new experience for Xiang Kong, but he liked a challenge and it wasn’t before long that what was once unfamiliar became the familiar.  After all, teaching a classroom of students wasn’t so very different from coaching his teammates or tutoring others, like his wife, on how to play. 

 

Playing computer games wasn’t the only thing Xiang Kong’s students learned in his class, however.  He also gave lectures about the esports culture, the industry, gaming strategy, and the psychology that was required for a player to both know how to work cooperatively with one’s teammates and to also be able to anticipate an opposing team’s plays.

 

Not surprisingly, once Xiang Kong committed to teaching a class at the local university, he threw himself into the new role heart and soul.  He was working on the questions for his class’s midterm exam late one night when Qiu Ying came to sit next to him at his desk. 

 

“What’s this?” she asked. 

 

Xiang Kong nodded at his laptop screen with his chin.

 

She took a closer look.  “Is this the midterm exam you’re going to give?  I want to see.” 

 

Qiu Ying set aside the face mask she’d been holding and pulled the laptop towards herself so she could see better and after reading the first couple of questions reacted with a, “Wow.  This looks fun.  I want to take this exam.  Let me try.”

 

As she started to read the questions aloud and talk through the answers, Xiang Kong propped his chin in his hand and watched with an indulgent smile on his face until another question came to his mind.  “Hm, I wonder if this would be too challenging to ask…” taking back the laptop, he started typing out the rest of his thoughts and became immersed in his work again. 

 

Although Xiang Kong had completely tuned her out, Qiu Ying couldn’t help but continue to watch as he worked.  She’d always found him irresistible when he was completely focused.  Picking up a post-it note pad, she wrote, “My husband’s the handsomest when he’s working hard.”  She completed the message with a hand drawn heart and then ripped off the top sheet to stick on the corner of his laptop while telling him, “You’re the best!”

 

Xiang Kong read the note and smiled at her.  “Such flattery… what do you want?”

 

 “Tch, you make it sound like I only say nice things when I want something out of you.”

 

“Isn’t that how it works?”

 

When Qiu Ying pouted, Xiang Kong laughed and patted her on the head.  “Okay, okay.”  He then asked if she wasn’t going to bed.

 

“I’m keeping you company.”

 

“It’s okay,” he told her.  “You should go to bed.  It’s already late.”   

 

“But I’m not tired.  I promise I won’t disturb you.  I’ll be really quiet.”

 

“That’s what you always say.  But you know you’ll just end up sitting there staring at me and I can’t concentrate when you do that.”

 

Even after all these years, Xiang Kong still had a way of making Qiu Ying blush with embarrassment.  “Fine,” she said while standing up.  “I guess it’d be better if I went to bed first.  I’ll go put on my face mask.  Don’t stay up too late,” she added and patted him on the shoulder as she walked past.   

 

Xiang Kong reached for the face mask she’d left behind.  “You forgot your face mask.” 

 

Qiu Ying turned around at the door and when she hesitated, he raised his eyebrow in a knowing look and waved the face mask tauntingly.  “Don’t you want your face mask anymore?”

 

She narrowed her eyes remembering all the times he’d pulled his hand out of her reach at the very last minute, only to have her fall into his lap.  “I’m not falling for your tricks again.  You can just think of it as me keeping you company.  Good-night!” 

 

Xiang Kong watched in amusement as Qiu Ying left in a huff and set the face mask down on the desk next to him before returning to his work.

 

An hour later, he crept his way into bed where she was already asleep.  Although he’d tried to be as quiet as possible, when he pulled the bed covers up over them, she rolled instinctively towards him and muttered in her sleep, “Did you finish your work?”

 

“Mm.”  He then wrapped an arm around her shoulders and placed a kiss on her forehead before telling her, “Go back to sleep.”

 

The End

[owlstar]

13 hours ago, skibbies said:

I'm curious about what you guys have read/liked! also general note, the novels that's published on jjwxc are generally on the shorter side, modern ones are about 200k characters, 60 chapters? historical can get up to 600k characters, but they rarely go over 1mil. Whereas everywhere else, they start at 600k to 1mil, which is 200 to 300 chapters I think?

 

I've heard of it jjwxc because I read Mo Dao Zu Shi which I think was published on there, and I'm kind of curious about how the Chinese novel system works. Is jjwxc the major web novel publisher or one of many?  Do web novels ever get physically printed (and vice versa) or are they completely separate from traditional books?

 

5 hours ago, themarchioness said:

 

Story #8 – A Scene of Déjà vu

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Story #8 – A Scene of Déjà vu

 

 

 

When Ji Xiang Kong retired from the iConquer world as a competitive player, he wasn’t yet ready to leave the game either.  He was still passionate about the sport, proud of what his countrymen had achieved so far, and determined to keep that momentum moving forward for future generations.  His wife, Qiu Ying, supported him in those endeavors, which was why when he received a phone call from the local university inviting him to teach a class for their upcoming semester, she was the first person to encourage him to accept. 

 

 

 

Being a professor at a university was a new experience for Xiang Kong, but he liked a challenge and it wasn’t before long that what was once unfamiliar became the familiar.  After all, teaching a classroom of students wasn’t so very different from coaching his teammates or tutoring others, like his wife, on how to play. 

 

 

 

Playing computer games wasn’t the only thing Xiang Kong’s students learned in his class, however.  He also gave lectures about the esports culture, the industry, gaming strategy, and the psychology that was required for a player to both know how to work cooperatively with one’s teammates and to also be able to anticipate an opposing team’s plays.

 

 

 

Not surprisingly, once Xiang Kong committed to teaching a class at the local university, he threw himself into the new role heart and soul.  He was working on the questions for his class’s midterm exam late one night when Qiu Ying came to sit next to him at his desk. 

 

 

 

“What’s this?” she asked. 

 

 

 

Xiang Kong nodded at his laptop screen with his chin.

 

 

 

She took a closer look.  “Is this the midterm exam you’re going to give?  I want to see.” 

 

 

 

Qiu Ying set aside the face mask she’d been holding and pulled the laptop towards herself so she could see better and after reading the first couple of questions reacted with a, “Wow.  This looks fun.  I want to take this exam.  Let me try.”

 

 

 

As she started to read the questions aloud and talk through the answers, Xiang Kong propped his chin in his hand and watched with an indulgent smile on his face until another question came to his mind.  “Hm, I wonder if this would be too challenging to ask…” taking back the laptop, he started typing out the rest of his thoughts and became immersed in his work again. 

 

 

 

Although Xiang Kong had completely tuned her out, Qiu Ying couldn’t help but continue to watch as he worked.  She’d always found him irresistible when he was completely focused.  Picking up a post-it note pad, she wrote, “My husband’s the handsomest when he’s working hard.”  She completed the message with a hand drawn heart and then ripped off the top sheet to stick on the corner of his laptop while telling him, “You’re the best!”

 

 

 

Xiang Kong read the note and smiled at her.  “Such flattery… what do you want?”

 

 

 

 “Tch, you make it sound like I only say nice things when I want something out of you.”

 

 

 

“Isn’t that how it works?”

 

 

 

When Qiu Ying pouted, Xiang Kong laughed and patted her on the head.  “Okay, okay.”  He then asked if she wasn’t going to bed.

 

 

 

“I’m keeping you company.”

 

 

 

“It’s okay,” he told her.  “You should go to bed.  It’s already late.”   

 

 

 

“But I’m not tired.  I promise I won’t disturb you.  I’ll be really quiet.”

 

 

 

“That’s what you always say.  But you know you’ll just end up sitting there staring at me and I can’t concentrate when you do that.”

 

 

 

Even after all these years, Xiang Kong still had a way of making Qiu Ying blush with embarrassment.  “Fine,” she said while standing up.  “I guess it’d be better if I went to bed first.  I’ll go put on my face mask.  Don’t stay up too late,” she added and patted him on the shoulder as she walked past.   

 

 

 

Xiang Kong reached for the face mask she’d left behind.  “You forgot your face mask.” 

 

 

 

Qiu Ying turned around at the door and when she hesitated, he raised his eyebrow in a knowing look and waved the face mask tauntingly.  “Don’t you want your face mask anymore?”

 

 

 

She narrowed her eyes remembering all the times he’d pulled his hand out of her reach at the very last minute, only to have her fall into his lap.  “I’m not falling for your tricks again.  You can just think of it as me keeping you company.  Good-night!” 

 

 

 

Xiang Kong watched in amusement as Qiu Ying left in a huff and set the face mask down on the desk next to him before returning to his work.

 

 

 

An hour later, he crept his way into bed where she was already asleep.  Although he’d tried to be as quiet as possible, when he pulled the bed covers up over them, she rolled instinctively towards him and muttered in her sleep, “Did you finish your work?”

 

 

 

“Mm.”  He then wrapped an arm around her shoulders and placed a kiss on her forehead before telling her, “Go back to sleep.”

 

 

 

The End

 

I don't blame QY, I would totally be mesmerized by dedicated professor JXK too.     And the face masks!  Who could forget the blatant product placement lol, and of course this unforgettable gif!   

 

On 8/30/2019 at 3:59 AM, lynne22 said:

But I have tooo, have to, spam ep 31’s gif that i constantly stare in my phone.... I’m going to check if I have a longer one later.... 

AAAAAAaAaaAAaaarghhhhhh

 

[raziela]

16 hours ago, themarchioness said:

I started to write that XK-being-jealous story that you both wanted but it required some set up first, and well, my attempts to provide context ended up leading me down a separate path altogether.  Oops!  On the plus side, you now get two stories instead of one? 

 

This one's super short but should feel familiar -- hence the title!    Extra points if you can guess the episode that served as inspiration.

 

Story #8 – A Scene of Déjà vu

Thank you!  Short but super sweet.  I was laughing at the face mask inclusion.  This a great deal: two stories for the price of one ha ha

 

10 hours ago, owlstar said:

I don't blame QY, I would totally be mesmerized by dedicated professor JXK too.     And the face masks!  Who could forget the blatant product placement lol, and of course this unforgettable gif!   

 

Thanks for posting that gif.  I always love how XK is looking at QY in this scene.

[themarchioness]

 

@skibbies, I liked both the protags in You're My Glory and found them unique in their own way.  I also liked that it was a nice, short read as I was able to complete most of it in one night.  (Just waiting for that remaining last epilogue to be translated... )  If you have a link for the fake trailer that you mentioned, please send it to me!  I'd love to see it as I do adore the Le Coup OTP.  As for an audiobook version of GYH, I've actually seen the first two chapters or so on Ximalaya FM but yeah... zone out.  Haha.

 

On 11/2/2019 at 6:11 AM, owlstar said:

I'm kind of curious about how the Chinese novel system works. Is jjwxc the major web novel publisher or one of many?  Do web novels ever get physically printed (and vice versa) or are they completely separate from traditional books?

 

@skibbies would probably be more of an expert than me on this, but in my limited experience, I can say that yes - sometimes web novels do get published in physical print and sometimes the author may even edit it further before doing so (to include writing an amended/different ending).  Anyway, just wanted you to know also, @owlstar, I haven't forgotten to message you with my list of recs.  As for the DDU episode you mentioned the other day, I find it adorable how chatty Yibo becomes on that show whenever they bring up a topic he's passionate about.  LOL.

 

On 11/2/2019 at 6:11 AM, owlstar said:

And the face masks!  Who could forget the blatant product placement lol, and of course this unforgettable gif! 

 

LOL!  Thank you for resharing that gif!  As for the product placement... I don't think I'll ever love another one as I do the scene with Xiang Kong and Qiu Ying at the snack store where he provides "training" by having her run around the store to practice her reflexes.  That's got to be one of the most creative ways to work in product placement, no??  Hahaha.

 

On 11/2/2019 at 5:45 PM, raziela said:

This a great deal: two stories for the price of one ha ha

 

I figured there wouldn't be any complaints.    Hard at work on the second one...

[themarchioness]

On 10/24/2019 at 11:16 PM, themarchioness said:

In the drama, we got a flashback showing us how Gu Fang visited The King to scout XK.  As for YX, in a different flashback, we saw how XK had followed him on one of his food deliveries to talk to him.  We can assume he learned about YX either because their paths had crossed while playing games at The King and he liked what he saw or he liked what he saw through the game and tracked him down by his username ID. 

 

I have to correct a comment I made the other week regarding XK and YX's backstory.  After last weekend's marathon rewatch, I was reminded of the full conversation XK had in that flashback.  They had met at The King two days earlier where they played against each other and because YX lost, he was supposed to call XK "ge."  That was the basis for XK then hunting YX down while he was doing one of his food delivery runs to invite him to join him at Legends. 

 

And now I'm wondering if XK is really older than YX, or if it's just because XK beat him that one time that YX has always treated him like an older brother.  Certainly, personality wise, XK is more of the leader while YX is the follower.   

 

[raziela]

9 hours ago, themarchioness said:

 

I have to correct a comment I made the other week regarding XK and YX's backstory.  After last weekend's marathon rewatch, I was reminded of the full conversation XK had in that flashback.  They had met at The King two days earlier where they played against each other and because YX lost, he was supposed to call XK "ge."  That was the basis for XK then hunting YX down while he was doing one of his food delivery runs to invite him to join him at Legends. 

 

And now I'm wondering if XK is really older than YX, or if it's just because XK beat him that one time that YX has always treated him like an older brother.  Certainly, personality wise, XK is more of the leader while YX is the follower.   

 

 

Interesting.  I just assumed YX was younger than XK. Isn't there a part where YX is bickering with Xia Ling and mentions that he is  older than Xia Ling? But, then again, I suppose that doesn't necessarily mean he isn't the same age as XK...

[themarchioness]

1 hour ago, raziela said:

Interesting.  I just assumed YX was younger than XK. Isn't there a part where YX is bickering with Xia Ling and mentions that he is  older than Xia Ling? But, then again, I suppose that doesn't necessarily mean he isn't the same age as XK...

 

There is, but we also know Xia Ling is younger than the others. Phoenix was billed as having the oldest (Sun Ge) and youngest (Xia Ling) players in the entire league. Also, within that same bickering conversation that YX had with Xia Ling, he mentioned being a few days older than PX too. So YX is definitely not the youngest within the team.

[owlstar]

On 11/2/2019 at 11:45 AM, raziela said:

I always love how XK is looking at QY in this scene.

 

Me too!  WYB does the stare-adoringly-at-loved-one look very well.  

 

On 11/3/2019 at 4:13 PM, themarchioness said:

@skibbies, If you have a link for the fake trailer that you mentioned, please send it to me!  I'd love to see it as I do adore the Le Coup OTP. 

 

I'd also love to see this!  And off-topic but I'm pretty convinced that the OTP is dating in real life after seeing those parents airport pick-up pics!

 

On 11/3/2019 at 4:13 PM, themarchioness said:

As for the product placement... I don't think I'll ever love another one as I do the scene with Xiang Kong and Qiu Ying at the snack store where he provides "training" by having her run around the store to practice her reflexes.  That's got to be one of the most creative ways to work in product placement, no??  Hahaha.

 

LOL.  They really went above and beyond with that one, didn't they? 

 

On 11/3/2019 at 4:13 PM, themarchioness said:

Anyway, just wanted you to know also, @owlstar, I haven't forgotten to message you with my list of recs. 

 

I figured there wouldn't be any complaints.    Hard at work on the second one...

 

No worries, I have a backlog of books to read (and shows to watch) anyhow.  There's just not enough hours in the day!  And I'm sure you're busy busy working on that second story.  

 

On 11/3/2019 at 4:13 PM, themarchioness said:

As for the DDU episode you mentioned the other day, I find it adorable how chatty Yibo becomes on that show whenever they bring up a topic he's passionate about.  LOL.

 

And then there's the opposite where he refuses to humor someone just because... I've been seeing some pretty hilarious tweets about his recent Head & Shoulders livestream and absolute lack of filter. 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

[skibbies]

On 11/2/2019 at 6:11 PM, owlstar said:

I've heard of it jjwxc because I read Mo Dao Zu Shi which I think was published on there, and I'm kind of curious about how the Chinese novel system works. Is jjwxc the major web novel publisher or one of many?  Do web novels ever get physically printed (and vice versa) or are they completely separate from traditional books?

jjwxc is one of couple major web novel serialisation sites. They are usually separated in Men and Women (where Men is the main one, surprise). For Women section, they are generally written by women and feature female protagonists, generally more focused on relationship compared to their counterpart. I know five other big sites, Qidian and others, but they were all acquired by a company so they share content now, but the sites' audience all have slightly different preference. There's smaller other ones too, but that's not really relevant here. Anyways, jjwxc is the one that pops up the most for ladies, because it's the one with most BL stories and for hetero romance, it has the most unique ideas. They also tend to be shorter and thus easier to adapt, so consequently most dramas with web novel source are from jjwxc. I name Qidian because it's the site where lot of men's web novel are serialised (King's Avatar, Ever Night etc).

 

All the sites have a subscription/vip system, where certain amount of chapters (usually 20 or so I think for jjwxc, far longer for other sites, 100?) are free, and then they go into VIP, and you purchase the chapters to read them. Not all stories go into VIP, Gu Man who's a very popular author that's been on the site for like 15 years? doesn't, but majority of them do. jjwxc have these icons for whether a book have signed contract for simplified chinese book release, traditional chinese & oversea release, donghua/anime, manhua/manga, audio drama, web drama, movie/drama, game. Most of the popular authors' work will have physical books since it's another source income for the author/site.

 

For other sites, they can appear on other platforms if there's collaboration between them, for example, there's multiple reading apps by the big internet companies (tencent which is a media/games company, iqiyi which is known for its streaming service, netease which is known for its music app and games. baidu which is known for its search engine etc) which can attract a lot of audience. Qidian & other sites are under Yuewen, which is mostly (?) controlled by Tencent, so you can find them on QQ and Wechat reading app. QQ & Wechat are both instant messaging service made by tencent, they have a monopoly on it, so lots of people would read through it. jjwxc's doesn't appear on other platforms, unless it's a published book.

 

Anyways, web novels are much much more common these days, unless you are writing serious fiction (there's a huge decline tbh and web novel can get pretty serious and heavy) or children's book. Around late 00s, there were still magazines (with serialised stories) target towards teen and young adults, as well as books, but not so much now. Gank Your Heart is amongst the minority that just went straight to the publisher and got promptly released. It got much less exposure since there's not as much time to build up anticipation, and fanbase, but it also avoided widely spread piracy. It does also have digital version on certain reading apps but I'm not sure how long that took, it has first 1/3 or 1/4 free and the rest you have to purchase. I actually want a physical copy of the book but it's out of print and the publishing company say they won't be printing more, damn. Hope my ramblings was helpful!

 

On 11/4/2019 at 10:13 AM, themarchioness said:

@skibbies, I liked both the protags in You're My Glory and found them unique in their own way.  I also liked that it was a nice, short read as I was able to complete most of it in one night.  (Just waiting for that remaining last epilogue to be translated... )  If you have a link for the fake trailer that you mentioned, please send it to me!  I'd love to see it as I do adore the Le Coup OTP.  As for an audiobook version of GYH, I've actually seen the first two chapters or so on Ximalaya FM but yeah... zone out.  Haha.

Ahhh yeah, the character dynamic were also nice, and it's great to have non tropey characters.  https://www.bilibili.com/video/av59433891?from=search&seid=12078314780489120536 Slide the blue slider off to turn off the rolling comments/danmu. https://search.bilibili.com/all?keyword=你是我的荣耀&from_source=banner_search there's a number of other ones too.

[themarchioness]

Poor Qiu Ying/Wang Zi Xuan.  She just wanted to be one of the guys!    (I love how she tries to defend her right to be there by reminding them she was their manager  And then Yibo tells her she's not a guy and suggests she just be a group leader.)  

 

 

[owlstar]

@skibbies Wow thanks for explaining about the web novel system, this kind of insight is hard to come by since I can barely read Chinese.  Tbh most of my reading is done on devices just because of convenience/ease of access, but I still love bookstores and physical books so I hope those won't go away any time soon.

 

 

33 minutes ago, themarchioness said:

Poor Qiu Ying/Wang Zi Xuan.  She just wanted to be one of the guys!    (I love how she tries to defend her right to be there by reminding them she was their manager  And then Yibo tells her she's not a guy and suggests she just be a group leader.)  

 

It's so nice to see them so happy all together!  Yibo is so savage lol, telling WZX to go away and actually physically pushing her aside! 

 

I was wondering, though, what the guys were going to do to Yibo (why he was trying to get away) at the end of the the video?

[themarchioness]

10 minutes ago, owlstar said:

I was wondering, though, what the guys were going to do to Yibo (why he was trying to get away) at the end of the the video?

 

My guess is they were going to lift him up or something.  Hopefully there was no body of water nearby for him to be dunked into.  Especially considering how cold it was.   

[raziela]

On 11/5/2019 at 11:34 PM, skibbies said:

jjwxc is one of couple major web novel serialisation sites. They are usually separated in Men and Women (where Men is the main one, surprise). For Women section, they are generally written by women and feature female protagonists, generally more focused on relationship compared to their counterpart. I know five other big sites, Qidian and others, but they were all acquired by a company so they share content now, but the sites' audience all have slightly different preference. There's smaller other ones too, but that's not really relevant here. Anyways, jjwxc is the one that pops up the most for ladies, because it's the one with most BL stories and for hetero romance, it has the most unique ideas. They also tend to be shorter and thus easier to adapt, so consequently most dramas with web novel source are from jjwxc. I name Qidian because it's the site where lot of men's web novel are serialised (King's Avatar, Ever Night etc).

 

All the sites have a subscription/vip system, where certain amount of chapters (usually 20 or so I think for jjwxc, far longer for other sites, 100?) are free, and then they go into VIP, and you purchase the chapters to read them. Not all stories go into VIP, Gu Man who's a very popular author that's been on the site for like 15 years? doesn't, but majority of them do. jjwxc have these icons for whether a book have signed contract for simplified chinese book release, traditional chinese & oversea release, donghua/anime, manhua/manga, audio drama, web drama, movie/drama, game. Most of the popular authors' work will have physical books since it's another source income for the author/site.

 

For other sites, they can appear on other platforms if there's collaboration between them, for example, there's multiple reading apps by the big internet companies (tencent which is a media/games company, iqiyi which is known for its streaming service, netease which is known for its music app and games. baidu which is known for its search engine etc) which can attract a lot of audience. Qidian & other sites are under Yuewen, which is mostly (?) controlled by Tencent, so you can find them on QQ and Wechat reading app. QQ & Wechat are both instant messaging service made by tencent, they have a monopoly on it, so lots of people would read through it. jjwxc's doesn't appear on other platforms, unless it's a published book.

 

Anyways, web novels are much much more common these days, unless you are writing serious fiction (there's a huge decline tbh and web novel can get pretty serious and heavy) or children's book. Around late 00s, there were still magazines (with serialised stories) target towards teen and young adults, as well as books, but not so much now. Gank Your Heart is amongst the minority that just went straight to the publisher and got promptly released. It got much less exposure since there's not as much time to build up anticipation, and fanbase, but it also avoided widely spread piracy. It does also have digital version on certain reading apps but I'm not sure how long that took, it has first 1/3 or 1/4 free and the rest you have to purchase. I actually want a physical copy of the book but it's out of print and the publishing company say they won't be printing more, damn. Hope my ramblings was helpful!

 

Ahhh yeah, the character dynamic were also nice, and it's great to have non tropey characters.  https://www.bilibili.com/video/av59433891?from=search&seid=12078314780489120536 Slide the blue slider off to turn off the rolling comments/danmu. https://search.bilibili.com/all?keyword=你是我的荣耀&from_source=banner_search there's a number of other ones too.

Thanks so much for explaining all of this.  I know nothing about how Chinese webnovels work so this was eye opening!  That is sad about the decline in non-web novel fiction and I can only imagine the negative effect it must be having on book shops.

 

6 hours ago, themarchioness said:

Poor Qiu Ying/Wang Zi Xuan.  She just wanted to be one of the guys!    (I love how she tries to defend her right to be there by reminding them she was their manager  And then Yibo tells her she's not a guy and suggests she just be a group leader.)  

 

6 hours ago, owlstar said:

It's so nice to see them so happy all together!  Yibo is so savage lol, telling WZX to go away and actually physically pushing her aside! 

 LMAO  He is so savage!  Poor Wang Zi Wuan! LOL when she was reminding them she was their manager

[themarchioness]

@raziela and @owlstar, here it is.  The Jealous Ji Xiang Kong story that you both requested.  I hope I delivered . . . I actually found it difficult in that I tend to think of them as a pretty level-headed and reasonable couple, so I struggled to stay within the bounds of their character while trying to bring in some cuteness through the non-annoying kinds of jealous antics.  Hopefully I succeeded (on some level, at the very least) and you will enjoy!  Please let me know.   

 

Story #9 – The Green-Eyed Monster

Spoiler

 

Story #9 – The Green-Eyed Monster

 

“How’s the teaching going?” Sun Ze Yi asked. 

 

Ji Xiang Kong’s answer was interrupted by the return of his older brother’s wife, Shu Wen, to the dining room area.  Trailing behind were his own wife, Qiu Ying, and their friend, Lu Yi Yi, as they returned from having gone to help put their Wen Jie and Sun Ge’s daughter down for the night.

 

“Hopefully she’ll sleep for at least several hours before she wakes wanting a bottle so we can eat undisturbed!”  Shu Wen said to the other two women.

 

Sun Ze Yi, meanwhile, was setting the dinner table with the help of his younger brothers, Xiang Kong and Lin Yi Xuan.  As Xiang Kong placed a tureen of braised spare ribs in the center of the table, he finally answered his Sun Ge’s question.  “It’s going well.”

 

“It’s not just going ‘well,’” Yi Xuan jumped in.  “It’s going really well.  Kong Ge’s class is so popular even students who aren’t registered for his class sit in on it.” 

 

“Mmmm,” Qiu Ying agreed with a knowing lilt to her voice.  She picked up a stack of chopsticks and started to set them around the table.  “And they’re all young women.” 

 

“Oh?” Sun Ze Yi reacted.

 

“I want to hear more about this,” Shu Wen added.

 

“What is there to say?” Yi Yi lamented as she followed her friend around to place napkins by each table setting.  “My poor Qiu Ying has to suffer the consequences of having a young and handsome husband.  One who invites attention wherever he goes.” 

 

“You’re all exaggerating,” Xiang Kong tried to laugh off. 

 

As everyone took their seats at the dinner table, he swatted the back of Yi Xuan’s head before rounding to the other side of the table to sit next to his wife.  Yi Xuan’s head jerked up instinctively and Xiang Kong shot him a surreptitious, but pointed glare for having started the current conversation on its path.  The fact that his class was a popular one with the young university coeds was a bit of a sore subject with Qiu Ying.

 

“My class is enjoyed by both males and females equally,” he continued smoothly as he picked up his rice bowl and chopsticks.  “There is no such thing as it being more popular with one gender over another.” 

 

“That’s not how it looked to me the other day when I went by your school to wait for you,” Qiu Ying sniffed.  “I wasn’t there for more than fifteen minutes and in that short amount of time, there were no less than three girls who stopped by your office looking for you and I swear they all turned away with tears in their eyes after they asked who I was and what I was doing in your office.”

 

Sitting at opposite heads of the table, Sun Ze Yi and Shu Wen exchanged amused glances while across from Qiu Ying, Yi Yi pursed her lips in a knowing manner and nodded her head in sympathetic understanding.  “I bet he gets a lot of visitors during office hours.”

 

“Isn’t it obvious?” Qiu Ying muttered.

 

Xiang Kong sighed as he’d already been over this once before and recently.  “It was just a coincidence.  A coincidence,” he emphasized.  “It’s not normally like that.  Usually I’m just sitting around in my office waiting for people to stop by.”

 

“Really?  I would think your students would want to stop by to meet you even if they didn’t need help with their coursework.  You’re iConquer’s famous Master of Battleground Tactics.  Do any of them ever ask you for your autograph?”  Yi Xuan’s clueless comments earned him a kick from Xiang Kong underneath the table. 

 

“Ow!”

 

When Xiang Kong shot him another irritated look, Yi Xuan quickly zipped his mouth and refrained from expressing his next thought.

 

“Alright, alright, that’s enough.”  Ever the peacemaker, Shu Wen waded into the conversation and shared her two cents.  “All your Sun Ge wanted to know was whether Xiang Kong was enjoying his new job as a college professor.  Do you all have to be like this?  Come on everybody, eat.  The food’s getting cold and you don’t want your Sun Ge’s efforts to go to waste, do you?  He made everyone’s favorite braised spare ribs just for tonight.”

 

Sun Ze Yi laughed along with his wife.  “That’s right.  Come, come, everybody eat.”  He then turned to Xiang Kong and asked again, “So, how is it?  Do you like the work?”

 

“Mm, it’s interesting.  Different.  Watching my students, some of whom are learning how to play iConquer for the first time, I’m reminded of when I first started playing the game.  In addition to sharing our world with them, I feel like they’re giving me renewed purpose by reminding me of why I joined this world in the first place.” 

 

“Sometimes it’s good to have a bit of a reboot,” his Sun Ge agreed.

 

After Xiang Kong shared with the table some of the lectures he’d given and how he’d introduced his students to the many different professions within the esports industry, Yi Yi had an idea.  “Why don’t you bring in an esports commentator as a guest lecturer?”

 

“That’s a great idea,” Shu Wen agreed.

 

“What do you think?” Xiang Kong asked Qiu Ying.

 

She mulled over the idea and answered, “I can ask Luo Laoshi about it.  Since he’s done game replays for Summer Ge’s Dream Journey, he’d probably agree to help out.”

 

“Are you dumb?” Yi Yi asked in frustration.  “I was talking about you.” 

 

“Me?”  Qiu Ying looked around the table and realized everyone was staring at her.

 

“Why not you?” Sun Ge asked. 

 

Xiang Kong echoed the question and added, “You’ve been a commentator for several years now.  You’re every bit as a professional as Luo Laoshi and just as qualified.”

 

Although Qiu Ying had been partners with Luo Tian for several years already, when it came to public events separate from their live commentating, he was still the face of GDV.  She was accustomed to him taking on all outside activities for the television station while she worked behind the scenes with the research and preparations. 

 

“What would I talk about?” she asked.

 

“There are lots of things you could talk about,” Yi Yi told her.  “It would just depend on what angle you wanted to take.  You could talk about all the research and preparation that you do before each game in order to do the running commentary and share insights for the audience.  Or you could share with the students all the different paths a person can take to becoming a live commentator.”

 

“You could even do a game reply like Luo Tian does for Dream Journey,” Yi Xuan suggested, earning his first look of praise from Yi Yi that night.

 

“I’ll help you sketch out your lecture notes,” Xiang Kong promised. 

 

Qiu Ying looked around the table again and was warmed by her friends’ encouragement.  She supposed they had a point and told them, “I’ll discuss it with Luo Laoshi then.”

 

“Luo Tian won’t have a problem with it,” Su Ze Yi predicted. 

 

“And if he does, you let me know,” Shu Wen instructed.  Everyone knew that if there was one person Luo Tian was scared of, it was Shu Wen.  Sun Ze Yi might have been their captain during their Pioneer days, but it was Shu Wen who had kept all the men in line.

 

Qiu Ying couldn’t help but laugh at her Wen Jie’s comment.  “I’m sure it won’t come to that, but thank you.”

 

=//=

 

Both Sun Ze Yi and Qiu Ying were correct in their predictions.  Not only did Luo Tian not have any objections to Qiu Ying being a guest lecturer for Xiang Kong’s class, he enthusiastically supported the idea and gave her lots of suggestions for the lecture and even helped her with a run through.

 

On the morning of her guest lecture, Qiu Ying could barely force down the two bites she’d taken of her breakfast.  It was only because Xiang Kong had insisted that she’d bothered to eat at all.

 

“Why are you so nervous?” he asked as he navigated around some traffic on their way the university.  “You started out as a web streamer, you participated in a contest where you were judged by a panel and the audience, and your current job is to comment live on computer games.  Shouldn’t you be used to public speaking by now?”

 

“That’s not what I’m nervous about.” 

 

“Then what are you nervous about?”

 

Qiu Ying wasn’t sure she could put her feelings into words.  Her husband was correct.  Public speaking was her day job, and she was comfortable with it.  She’d also experienced too many new and unexpected events in her life to be rattled by something just because she’d never done it before, like being a university guest lecturer.  Yet, there was something different about this time. 

 

It had started two nights before when Xiang Kong came home from his Tuesday class.  His class met twice a week and Tuesday was their first one of the week.  Over dinner that night, he’d shared with her how he’d told his class about the guest lecturer they’d be having for their Thursday class and how excited everyone was.  It was at that moment that everything began to feel so real, and that’s when Qiu Ying had started to feel nervous.  It was one thing to perform publicly in front of an audience you didn’t really know.  It was quite another to perform in front of an entire classroom of students, all of whom who knew your husband. 

 

“I don’t want to let you down,” she finally answered.

 

Since they’d come to a full stop in front of a red light, Xiang Kong turned to her and took her hand.  “You could never let me down.” 

 

“I hope you still feel that way in an hour.”

 

Xiang Kong patted her on the head and then took his foot off the brake when the light turned green.  A few minutes later, after they arrived on campus, he stopped her outside their car and made her look at him.  “Where’s that fearless girl I once knew who once shamelessly wormed her way into snagging a ride in my van and who thought nothing of sneaking into someone else’s retirement party just to score an exclusive interview?”

 

“Ya-ah!” 

 

At his wife’s look of outrage and annoyance to be reminded of her past transgressions, Xiang Kong laughed.  “I’m just reminding you of the courage that I know you have within you.”

 

Xiang Kong was right.  Qiu Ying didn’t know why she was so nervous and worried.  This was just one class and she’d faced much worse, particularly in the early days of her career.  She looked at her husband and nodded her head both resolutely and confidently. 

 

“Can you do this?” he asked.

 

“I can!”

 

Xiang Kong held out his fist and said, “Jia you!”  And she returned the fist bump.

 

=//=

 

When Qiu Ying and Xiang Kong arrived to the lecture hall where his class was held they were stunned to find it standing room only. 

 

“Where did all these students come from?” Qiu Ying asked.

 

“I don’t know.”  It wasn’t uncommon for him to have auditors in his class from time to time, but this seemed excessive.  Especially when it looked like the entire university’s male population was crammed into the lecture hall. 

 

He tapped the nearest student on the shoulder and asked what was going on. 

 

Clearly not recognizing Xiang Kong as the professor of the class, and not seeing Qiu Ying who was hidden behind him, the random student answered, “Word got out that that pretty female live commentator from GDV would be today’s guest lecturer for this class.  We’re all her biggest fans.  She’s such a goddess!  Isn’t that why you’re here?  Have you seen her yet?  Do you think she’ll hand out autographs?”

 

Xiang Kong gave the student a considering look, unsure whether he should be offended by the obvious personal slight or by what he considered an excessive amount of interest in his wife.  After a moment, he turned without saying anything at all and headed down the aisle to the front of the classroom while dragging Qiu Ying behind him. 

 

As the students in the classroom started to catch sight of her, they began to titter excitedly.  The whispers that accompanied them down the aisle only rankled Xiang Kong further and by the time he reached the podium at the head of the class, he was mentally cursing his wife’s popularity with the male students.  With an uncharacteristically stern expression on his face, he said loudly and clearly, and quite firmly, “Thank you for everyone’s interest in today’s class.  However, this room has a limit as to its capacity.  Therefore, for anyone who is standing and not a registered student of this class, I must ask you to please leave now.” 

 

Groans and mumbles of disappointment could be heard across the room, but nobody dared to disobey.  Instead those that fit the profile exited the room in a single file until only two students remained standing.  As registered students of the class, they not only had a right to be there, they needed to be there.  Xiang Kong unhesitatingly told them to pick two unlucky students who had seats, but weren’t registered for the class, and kicked them out of the room. 

 

Finally, his classroom in order, Xiang Kong turned to Qiu Ying and introduced her to the room.  The original plan had been to keep things professional and introduce her by her name and job title with a brief summary of her credentials.  But he was so thrown by the overly interested crowd, Xiang Kong found himself also slipping in that she was his wife.  It was like he was subconsciously reminding the room; this was a married woman so they should have some respect and boundaries! 

 

He still couldn’t believe today’s class was a full house and as part of his introduction, reminded the audience that this wasn’t some fan event, but a class, so for those who were attending as auditors, he asked them to be respectful of their fellow students as well as the guest lecturer’s time.

 

Once Xiang Kong was done with his speech, he turned the podium over to Qiu Ying and it was like the minute she took over, she became a woman transformed.  Xiang Kong leaned against the whiteboard with his arms crossed and watched with both pride and amusement at how confidently and effortlessly she described the many aspects of her job as a live commentator to the students.  She kept the entire classroom enthralled until mid-way through the lecture when she gave a brief demonstration on how to do a game replay.  She then invited five lucky students up to the front of the room to have a try.  Some were better than others, but no matter how they performed she responded with encouragement for each student and provided constructive feedback on how they might have done better. 

 

The class loved her.  Qiu Ying had reserved the last ten minutes of the class for questions, but it wasn’t enough.  Everyone ended up staying an extra ten and even then, the questions ended only because Xiang Kong stepped in when they started to veer into the personal territory and because there was another class waiting to use the lecture hall after them. 

 

Even after they exited, some of the students followed and continued to pepper Qiu Ying with questions and requests for autographs or a photo opportunity.  Originally, Xiang Kong had been planning on taking her back to his office as he had some materials he’d wanted to pick up and take home to work on over the weekend, but the students’ enthusiasm changed his mind.  He decided to come back later for the stuff he needed and headed for the parking lot instead. 

 

When they reached their car, he finally turned to his students and held up his arms like a shield.  “Alright, alright,” he told them.  “That’s enough.  Qiu Laoshi’s class is over and now she has to return to her regular day job.”

 

From behind him, Qiu Ying piped up.  “Thank you everyone for welcoming me so warmly!  I’ll see you next time.”

 

The mention of “next time” got everyone extra excited and they started out to call out questions regarding when that might be.  Xiang Kong just shook his head and ushered her into the car before climbing in himself. 

 

As they pulled out onto the road, he asked, “What was that about today?” 

 

At the same time, next to him, Qiu Ying exhaled a loud sigh of relief at finally being done and said, “Well, I think that went well, don’t you?”

 

Xiang Kong took his eyes off the road just long enough to look at her incredulously and say, “‘Well?’  I think that’s an understatement.  Who knew you being on campus would be like having an idol in their midst.”

 

“Don’t exaggerate.”

 

“Oh, now I’m the one who’s exaggerating?  I had three female students come visit me at my office.  You had an entire lecture hall of male students.”

 

Qiu Ying turned in her seat to have a better view of her husband.  “Is that jealousy I sense?”

 

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

 

Noticing the way he was holding on tightly to the steering wheel, she couldn’t help but observe, “You’re awfully focused on that steering wheel and the road in front of you.”

 

“Of course I am.  Would you rather I be looking someplace else when I’m trying to drive this car?”

 

“Are your knuckles turning white?”

 

Caught, Xiang Kong quickly loosened his grip.  “Are they?”

 

“Okay, okay.”  Qiu Ying smiled to herself and decided to let him be.

 

But a minute later, he spoke again.  “Don’t you think their interest was a little excessive?”

 

“You mean, kind of like when those female students keep stopping by your office during office hours?”

 

“I can’t turn away students who need help.”

 

“Your students were also just asking questions related to my work.”

 

“But we know that’s not what they really wanted to know.”

 

“Just as I’m sure those girls didn’t only have their coursework in mind when they dropped by your office.”

 

Xiang Kong sighed, recognizing that their conversation was only traveling in circles, and finally concluded, “I don’t think I should have you back on campus.”

 

Qiu Ying laughed.

 

=//=

 

A week later, Sun Ze Yi stopped by the Phoenix training base one evening to pick up his wife.  “How did Qiu Ying’s guest lecture go?”

 

“Don’t ask.”  Yi Xuan held his finger up to his mouth and shook his head, motioning for him to not say anything more.

 

“Why not?”

 

“It won’t do anyone any good,” Pei Xi told him. 

 

“It turns out my Jie has a lot of fans at the university,” Xia Ling added.

 

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Sun Ze Yi asked.

 

The three of them turned their attention back to their computer monitors and ranked games, and declined to answer.  Ever since Qiu Ying’s guest lecture, they’d had to suffer through Xiang Kong’s periodic gripes and complaints, and didn’t want to add to it.  Therefore, it was Xiang Kong, himself, who answered the question by asking one of his own. 

 

“How could that be a good thing?” he wanted to know.  He had walked back into the team’s training room just in time to catch the tail end of their conversation. 

 

Shu Wen followed him from behind, as they’d just finished taking a conference call together, and greeted her husband with a wave.  She then threw a big sisterly arm around Xiang Kong’s shoulder and giving him a friendly shake, asked, “Ai-yo, until when are you going to be so bitter about your wife having so many fans?”

 

“I’m not bitter,” he protested.  “It’s not like I don’t know how well admired she is.”  After all, like everyone else in the room, he kept up with Weibo and the online forums.

 

“Uh-huh?  And?”  Leaning against the credenza next to her husband now, and with her arms crossed, Shu Wen was practically goading him into giving a proper explanation.

 

“It’s just I don’t normally have her adoring fans lined up right in front of my face to see.  Do you know how many questions I now have to field about Qiu Ying?  They don’t just want to know when she’s going to come again to give a lecture, they also ask weird and random questions like what her favorite foods are and who her favorite iConquer heroes are.  They also ask personal questions like how we met, what we do in our spare time, and whether we ever play ranked matches against each other.  These are things they never used to ask.  Does it even make sense?  I continually have to remind my students they’re asking about my wife, my wife,” he emphasized.

 

“They’re just being curious kids,” Shu Wen said, making excuses for them.   “Why let it get to you?”

 

Xiang Kong looked around the room and found five pairs of enquiring eyes staring back at him. “Because it drives me crazy,” he finally admitted.  “Is that what you wanted to hear?  Fine, I admit it.  I’m jealous.  There.  Happy?”

 

Xia Ling laughed so hard Xiang Kong thought he was going to fall out of his chair.  With narrowed he eyes, he walked over to kick at the wheels of his brother-in-law’s chair, but that only made Xia Ling laugh harder.  Pei Xi, fortunately, had more sense than to react, but even Yi Xuan started coughing to cover up his laughter. 

 

Only his Sun Ge patted him on the shoulder in understanding and comfort.  But then he said, “Xiang Kong-ah, don’t be like that.” 

 

The others then followed Sun Ze Yi out of the training room, each one also patting Xiang Kong on the shoulder as they walked past, while he was left to bury his face in his palms in embarrassment.

 

The End

 

[owlstar]

11 hours ago, themarchioness said:

@raziela and @owlstar, here it is.  The Jealous Ji Xiang Kong story that you both requested.  I hope I delivered . . . I actually found it difficult in that I tend to think of them as a pretty level-headed and reasonable couple, so I struggled to stay within the bounds of their character while trying to bring in some cuteness through the non-annoying kinds of jealous antics.  Hopefully I succeeded (on some level, at the very least) and you will enjoy!  Please let me know.   

 

Story #9 – The Green-Eyed Monster

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Story #9 – The Green-Eyed Monster

 

 

 

“How’s the teaching going?” Sun Ze Yi asked. 

 

 

 

Ji Xiang Kong’s answer was interrupted by the return of his older brother’s wife, Shu Wen, to the dining room area.  Trailing behind were his own wife, Qiu Ying, and their friend, Lu Yi Yi, as they returned from having gone to help put their Wen Jie and Sun Ge’s daughter down for the night.

 

 

 

“Hopefully she’ll sleep for at least several hours before she wakes wanting a bottle so we can eat undisturbed!”  Shu Wen said to the other two women.

 

 

 

Sun Ze Yi, meanwhile, was setting the dinner table with the help of his younger brothers, Xiang Kong and Lin Yi Xuan.  As Xiang Kong placed a tureen of braised spare ribs in the center of the table, he finally answered his Sun Ge’s question.  “It’s going well.”

 

 

 

“It’s not just going ‘well,’” Yi Xuan jumped in.  “It’s going really well.  Kong Ge’s class is so popular even students who aren’t registered for his class sit in on it.” 

 

 

 

“Mmmm,” Qiu Ying agreed with a knowing lilt to her voice.  She picked up a stack of chopsticks and started to set them around the table.  “And they’re all young women.” 

 

 

 

“Oh?” Sun Ze Yi reacted.

 

 

 

“I want to hear more about this,” Shu Wen added.

 

 

 

“What is there to say?” Yi Yi lamented as she followed her friend around to place napkins by each table setting.  “My poor Qiu Ying has to suffer the consequences of having a young and handsome husband.  One who invites attention wherever he goes.” 

 

 

 

“You’re all exaggerating,” Xiang Kong tried to laugh off. 

 

 

 

As everyone took their seats at the dinner table, he swatted the back of Yi Xuan’s head before rounding to the other side of the table to sit next to his wife.  Yi Xuan’s head jerked up instinctively and Xiang Kong shot him a surreptitious, but pointed glare for having started the current conversation on its path.  The fact that his class was a popular one with the young university coeds was a bit of a sore subject with Qiu Ying.

 

 

 

“My class is enjoyed by both males and females equally,” he continued smoothly as he picked up his rice bowl and chopsticks.  “There is no such thing as it being more popular with one gender over another.” 

 

 

 

“That’s not how it looked to me the other day when I went by your school to wait for you,” Qiu Ying sniffed.  “I wasn’t there for more than fifteen minutes and in that short amount of time, there were no less than three girls who stopped by your office looking for you and I swear they all turned away with tears in their eyes after they asked who I was and what I was doing in your office.”

 

 

 

Sitting at opposite heads of the table, Sun Ze Yi and Shu Wen exchanged amused glances while across from Qiu Ying, Yi Yi pursed her lips in a knowing manner and nodded her head in sympathetic understanding.  “I bet he gets a lot of visitors during office hours.”

 

 

 

“Isn’t it obvious?” Qiu Ying muttered.

 

 

 

Xiang Kong sighed as he’d already been over this once before and recently.  “It was just a coincidence.  A coincidence,” he emphasized.  “It’s not normally like that.  Usually I’m just sitting around in my office waiting for people to stop by.”

 

 

 

“Really?  I would think your students would want to stop by to meet you even if they didn’t need help with their coursework.  You’re iConquer’s famous Master of Battleground Tactics.  Do any of them ever ask you for your autograph?”  Yi Xuan’s clueless comments earned him a kick from Xiang Kong underneath the table. 

 

 

 

“Ow!”

 

 

 

When Xiang Kong shot him another irritated look, Yi Xuan quickly zipped his mouth and refrained from expressing his next thought.

 

 

 

“Alright, alright, that’s enough.”  Ever the peacemaker, Shu Wen waded into the conversation and shared her two cents.  “All your Sun Ge wanted to know was whether Xiang Kong was enjoying his new job as a college professor.  Do you all have to be like this?  Come on everybody, eat.  The food’s getting cold and you don’t want your Sun Ge’s efforts to go to waste, do you?  He made everyone’s favorite braised spare ribs just for tonight.”

 

 

 

Sun Ze Yi laughed along with his wife.  “That’s right.  Come, come, everybody eat.”  He then turned to Xiang Kong and asked again, “So, how is it?  Do you like the work?”

 

 

 

“Mm, it’s interesting.  Different.  Watching my students, some of whom are learning how to play iConquer for the first time, I’m reminded of when I first started playing the game.  In addition to sharing our world with them, I feel like they’re giving me renewed purpose by reminding me of why I joined this world in the first place.” 

 

 

 

“Sometimes it’s good to have a bit of a reboot,” his Sun Ge agreed.

 

 

 

After Xiang Kong shared with the table some of the lectures he’d given and how he’d introduced his students to the many different professions within the esports industry, Yi Yi had an idea.  “Why don’t you bring in an esports commentator as a guest lecturer?”

 

 

 

“That’s a great idea,” Shu Wen agreed.

 

 

 

“What do you think?” Xiang Kong asked Qiu Ying.

 

 

 

She mulled over the idea and answered, “I can ask Luo Laoshi about it.  Since he’s done game replays for Summer Ge’s Dream Journey, he’d probably agree to help out.”

 

 

 

“Are you dumb?” Yi Yi asked in frustration.  “I was talking about you.” 

 

 

 

“Me?”  Qiu Ying looked around the table and realized everyone was staring at her.

 

 

 

“Why not you?” Sun Ge asked. 

 

 

 

Xiang Kong echoed the question and added, “You’ve been a commentator for several years now.  You’re every bit as a professional as Luo Laoshi and just as qualified.”

 

 

 

Although Qiu Ying had been partners with Luo Tian for several years already, when it came to public events separate from their live commentating, he was still the face of GDV.  She was accustomed to him taking on all outside activities for the television station while she worked behind the scenes with the research and preparations. 

 

 

 

“What would I talk about?” she asked.

 

 

 

“There are lots of things you could talk about,” Yi Yi told her.  “It would just depend on what angle you wanted to take.  You could talk about all the research and preparation that you do before each game in order to do the running commentary and share insights for the audience.  Or you could share with the students all the different paths a person can take to becoming a live commentator.”

 

 

 

“You could even do a game reply like Luo Tian does for Dream Journey,” Yi Xuan suggested, earning his first look of praise from Yi Yi that night.

 

 

 

“I’ll help you sketch out your lecture notes,” Xiang Kong promised. 

 

 

 

Qiu Ying looked around the table again and was warmed by her friends’ encouragement.  She supposed they had a point and told them, “I’ll discuss it with Luo Laoshi then.”

 

 

 

“Luo Tian won’t have a problem with it,” Su Ze Yi predicted. 

 

 

 

“And if he does, you let me know,” Shu Wen instructed.  Everyone knew that if there was one person Luo Tian was scared of, it was Shu Wen.  Sun Ze Yi might have been their captain during their Pioneer days, but it was Shu Wen who had kept all the men in line.

 

 

 

Qiu Ying couldn’t help but laugh at her Wen Jie’s comment.  “I’m sure it won’t come to that, but thank you.”

 

 

 

=//=

 

 

 

Both Sun Ze Yi and Qiu Ying were correct in their predictions.  Not only did Luo Tian not have any objections to Qiu Ying being a guest lecturer for Xiang Kong’s class, he enthusiastically supported the idea and gave her lots of suggestions for the lecture and even helped her with a run through.

 

 

 

On the morning of her guest lecture, Qiu Ying could barely force down the two bites she’d taken of her breakfast.  It was only because Xiang Kong had insisted that she’d bothered to eat at all.

 

 

 

“Why are you so nervous?” he asked as he navigated around some traffic on their way the university.  “You started out as a web streamer, you participated in a contest where you were judged by a panel and the audience, and your current job is to comment live on computer games.  Shouldn’t you be used to public speaking by now?”

 

 

 

“That’s not what I’m nervous about.” 

 

 

 

“Then what are you nervous about?”

 

 

 

Qiu Ying wasn’t sure she could put her feelings into words.  Her husband was correct.  Public speaking was her day job, and she was comfortable with it.  She’d also experienced too many new and unexpected events in her life to be rattled by something just because she’d never done it before, like being a university guest lecturer.  Yet, there was something different about this time. 

 

 

 

It had started two nights before when Xiang Kong came home from his Tuesday class.  His class met twice a week and Tuesday was their first one of the week.  Over dinner that night, he’d shared with her how he’d told his class about the guest lecturer they’d be having for their Thursday class and how excited everyone was.  It was at that moment that everything began to feel so real, and that’s when Qiu Ying had started to feel nervous.  It was one thing to perform publicly in front of an audience you didn’t really know.  It was quite another to perform in front of an entire classroom of students, all of whom who knew your husband. 

 

 

 

“I don’t want to let you down,” she finally answered.

 

 

 

Since they’d come to a full stop in front of a red light, Xiang Kong turned to her and took her hand.  “You could never let me down.” 

 

 

 

“I hope you still feel that way in an hour.”

 

 

 

Xiang Kong patted her on the head and then took his foot off the brake when the light turned green.  A few minutes later, after they arrived on campus, he stopped her outside their car and made her look at him.  “Where’s that fearless girl I once knew who once shamelessly wormed her way into snagging a ride in my van and who thought nothing of sneaking into someone else’s retirement party just to score an exclusive interview?”

 

 

 

“Ya-ah!” 

 

 

 

At his wife’s look of outrage and annoyance to be reminded of her past transgressions, Xiang Kong laughed.  “I’m just reminding you of the courage that I know you have within you.”

 

 

 

Xiang Kong was right.  Qiu Ying didn’t know why she was so nervous and worried.  This was just one class and she’d faced much worse, particularly in the early days of her career.  She looked at her husband and nodded her head both resolutely and confidently. 

 

 

 

“Can you do this?” he asked.

 

 

 

“I can!”

 

 

 

Xiang Kong held out his fist and said, “Jia you!”  And she returned the fist bump.

 

 

 

=//=

 

 

 

When Qiu Ying and Xiang Kong arrived to the lecture hall where his class was held they were stunned to find it standing room only. 

 

 

 

“Where did all these students come from?” Qiu Ying asked.

 

 

 

“I don’t know.”  It wasn’t uncommon for him to have auditors in his class from time to time, but this seemed excessive.  Especially when it looked like the entire university’s male population was crammed into the lecture hall. 

 

 

 

He tapped the nearest student on the shoulder and asked what was going on. 

 

 

 

Clearly not recognizing Xiang Kong as the professor of the class, and not seeing Qiu Ying who was hidden behind him, the random student answered, “Word got out that that pretty female live commentator from GDV would be today’s guest lecturer for this class.  We’re all her biggest fans.  She’s such a goddess!  Isn’t that why you’re here?  Have you seen her yet?  Do you think she’ll hand out autographs?”

 

 

 

Xiang Kong gave the student a considering look, unsure whether he should be offended by the obvious personal slight or by what he considered an excessive amount of interest in his wife.  After a moment, he turned without saying anything at all and headed down the aisle to the front of the classroom while dragging Qiu Ying behind him. 

 

 

 

As the students in the classroom started to catch sight of her, they began to titter excitedly.  The whispers that accompanied them down the aisle only rankled Xiang Kong further and by the time he reached the podium at the head of the class, he was mentally cursing his wife’s popularity with the male students.  With an uncharacteristically stern expression on his face, he said loudly and clearly, and quite firmly, “Thank you for everyone’s interest in today’s class.  However, this room has a limit as to its capacity.  Therefore, for anyone who is standing and not a registered student of this class, I must ask you to please leave now.” 

 

 

 

Groans and mumbles of disappointment could be heard across the room, but nobody dared to disobey.  Instead those that fit the profile exited the room in a single file until only two students remained standing.  As registered students of the class, they not only had a right to be there, they needed to be there.  Xiang Kong unhesitatingly told them to pick two unlucky students who had seats, but weren’t registered for the class, and kicked them out of the room. 

 

 

 

Finally, his classroom in order, Xiang Kong turned to Qiu Ying and introduced her to the room.  The original plan had been to keep things professional and introduce her by her name and job title with a brief summary of her credentials.  But he was so thrown by the overly interested crowd, Xiang Kong found himself also slipping in that she was his wife.  It was like he was subconsciously reminding the room; this was a married woman so they should have some respect and boundaries! 

 

 

 

He still couldn’t believe today’s class was a full house and as part of his introduction, reminded the audience that this wasn’t some fan event, but a class, so for those who were attending as auditors, he asked them to be respectful of their fellow students as well as the guest lecturer’s time.

 

 

 

Once Xiang Kong was done with his speech, he turned the podium over to Qiu Ying and it was like the minute she took over, she became a woman transformed.  Xiang Kong leaned against the whiteboard with his arms crossed and watched with both pride and amusement at how confidently and effortlessly she described the many aspects of her job as a live commentator to the students.  She kept the entire classroom enthralled until mid-way through the lecture when she gave a brief demonstration on how to do a game replay.  She then invited five lucky students up to the front of the room to have a try.  Some were better than others, but no matter how they performed she responded with encouragement for each student and provided constructive feedback on how they might have done better. 

 

 

 

The class loved her.  Qiu Ying had reserved the last ten minutes of the class for questions, but it wasn’t enough.  Everyone ended up staying an extra ten and even then, the questions ended only because Xiang Kong stepped in when they started to veer into the personal territory and because there was another class waiting to use the lecture hall after them. 

 

 

 

Even after they exited, some of the students followed and continued to pepper Qiu Ying with questions and requests for autographs or a photo opportunity.  Originally, Xiang Kong had been planning on taking her back to his office as he had some materials he’d wanted to pick up and take home to work on over the weekend, but the students’ enthusiasm changed his mind.  He decided to come back later for the stuff he needed and headed for the parking lot instead. 

 

 

 

When they reached their car, he finally turned to his students and held up his arms like a shield.  “Alright, alright,” he told them.  “That’s enough.  Qiu Laoshi’s class is over and now she has to return to her regular day job.”

 

 

 

From behind him, Qiu Ying piped up.  “Thank you everyone for welcoming me so warmly!  I’ll see you next time.”

 

 

 

The mention of “next time” got everyone extra excited and they started out to call out questions regarding when that might be.  Xiang Kong just shook his head and ushered her into the car before climbing in himself. 

 

 

 

As they pulled out onto the road, he asked, “What was that about today?” 

 

 

 

At the same time, next to him, Qiu Ying exhaled a loud sigh of relief at finally being done and said, “Well, I think that went well, don’t you?”

 

 

 

Xiang Kong took his eyes off the road just long enough to look at her incredulously and say, “‘Well?’  I think that’s an understatement.  Who knew you being on campus would be like having an idol in their midst.”

 

 

 

“Don’t exaggerate.”

 

 

 

“Oh, now I’m the one who’s exaggerating?  I had three female students come visit me at my office.  You had an entire lecture hall of male students.”

 

 

 

Qiu Ying turned in her seat to have a better view of her husband.  “Is that jealousy I sense?”

 

 

 

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

 

 

 

Noticing the way he was holding on tightly to the steering wheel, she couldn’t help but observe, “You’re awfully focused on that steering wheel and the road in front of you.”

 

 

 

“Of course I am.  Would you rather I be looking someplace else when I’m trying to drive this car?”

 

 

 

“Are your knuckles turning white?”

 

 

 

Caught, Xiang Kong quickly loosened his grip.  “Are they?”

 

 

 

“Okay, okay.”  Qiu Ying smiled to herself and decided to let him be.

 

 

 

But a minute later, he spoke again.  “Don’t you think their interest was a little excessive?”

 

 

 

“You mean, kind of like when those female students keep stopping by your office during office hours?”

 

 

 

“I can’t turn away students who need help.”

 

 

 

“Your students were also just asking questions related to my work.”

 

 

 

“But we know that’s not what they really wanted to know.”

 

 

 

“Just as I’m sure those girls didn’t only have their coursework in mind when they dropped by your office.”

 

 

 

Xiang Kong sighed, recognizing that their conversation was only traveling in circles, and finally concluded, “I don’t think I should have you back on campus.”

 

 

 

Qiu Ying laughed.

 

 

 

=//=

 

 

 

A week later, Sun Ze Yi stopped by the Phoenix training base one evening to pick up his wife.  “How did Qiu Ying’s guest lecture go?”

 

 

 

“Don’t ask.”  Yi Xuan held his finger up to his mouth and shook his head, motioning for him to not say anything more.

 

 

 

“Why not?”

 

 

 

“It won’t do anyone any good,” Pei Xi told him. 

 

 

 

“It turns out my Jie has a lot of fans at the university,” Xia Ling added.

 

 

 

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Sun Ze Yi asked.

 

 

 

The three of them turned their attention back to their computer monitors and ranked games, and declined to answer.  Ever since Qiu Ying’s guest lecture, they’d had to suffer through Xiang Kong’s periodic gripes and complaints, and didn’t want to add to it.  Therefore, it was Xiang Kong, himself, who answered the question by asking one of his own. 

 

 

 

“How could that be a good thing?” he wanted to know.  He had walked back into the team’s training room just in time to catch the tail end of their conversation. 

 

 

 

Shu Wen followed him from behind, as they’d just finished taking a conference call together, and greeted her husband with a wave.  She then threw a big sisterly arm around Xiang Kong’s shoulder and giving him a friendly shake, asked, “Ai-yo, until when are you going to be so bitter about your wife having so many fans?”

 

 

 

“I’m not bitter,” he protested.  “It’s not like I don’t know how well admired she is.”  After all, like everyone else in the room, he kept up with Weibo and the online forums.

 

 

 

“Uh-huh?  And?”  Leaning against the credenza next to her husband now, and with her arms crossed, Shu Wen was practically goading him into giving a proper explanation.

 

 

 

“It’s just I don’t normally have her adoring fans lined up right in front of my face to see.  Do you know how many questions I now have to field about Qiu Ying?  They don’t just want to know when she’s going to come again to give a lecture, they also ask weird and random questions like what her favorite foods are and who her favorite iConquer heroes are.  They also ask personal questions like how we met, what we do in our spare time, and whether we ever play ranked matches against each other.  These are things they never used to ask.  Does it even make sense?  I continually have to remind my students they’re asking about my wife, my wife,” he emphasized.

 

 

 

“They’re just being curious kids,” Shu Wen said, making excuses for them.   “Why let it get to you?”

 

 

 

Xiang Kong looked around the room and found five pairs of enquiring eyes staring back at him. “Because it drives me crazy,” he finally admitted.  “Is that what you wanted to hear?  Fine, I admit it.  I’m jealous.  There.  Happy?”

 

 

 

Xia Ling laughed so hard Xiang Kong thought he was going to fall out of his chair.  With narrowed he eyes, he walked over to kick at the wheels of his brother-in-law’s chair, but that only made Xia Ling laugh harder.  Pei Xi, fortunately, had more sense than to react, but even Yi Xuan started coughing to cover up his laughter. 

 

 

 

Only his Sun Ge patted him on the shoulder in understanding and comfort.  But then he said, “Xiang Kong-ah, don’t be like that.” 

 

 

 

The others then followed Sun Ze Yi out of the training room, each one also patting Xiang Kong on the shoulder as they walked past, while he was left to bury his face in his palms in embarrassment.

 

 

 

The End

 

 

 

 

I appreciate the fluffy and non-annoying jealousy!  This reminds me of how he acted with the whole Pei Xi "confession," like he's not truly threatened by any of these kids, more annoyed than anything lol, but it's still cute to see.  Jealous JXK trying stay cool is hilarious.   And I love love love how good QY is at what she does and how much the students loved her.  I feel oddly proud of her like a mother hen, having seen how hard she worked to get there.  And last but not least, I chuckled at the fist bump.   Thanks for your hard work! 

 

[raziela]

23 hours ago, themarchioness said:

@raziela and @owlstar, here it is.  The Jealous Ji Xiang Kong story that you both requested.  I hope I delivered . . . I actually found it difficult in that I tend to think of them as a pretty level-headed and reasonable couple, so I struggled to stay within the bounds of their character while trying to bring in some cuteness through the non-annoying kinds of jealous antics.  Hopefully I succeeded (on some level, at the very least) and you will enjoy!  Please let me know.   

 

Story #9 – The Green-Eyed Monster

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Story #9 – The Green-Eyed Monster

 

 

 

“How’s the teaching going?” Sun Ze Yi asked. 

 

 

 

Ji Xiang Kong’s answer was interrupted by the return of his older brother’s wife, Shu Wen, to the dining room area.  Trailing behind were his own wife, Qiu Ying, and their friend, Lu Yi Yi, as they returned from having gone to help put their Wen Jie and Sun Ge’s daughter down for the night.

 

 

 

“Hopefully she’ll sleep for at least several hours before she wakes wanting a bottle so we can eat undisturbed!”  Shu Wen said to the other two women.

 

 

 

Sun Ze Yi, meanwhile, was setting the dinner table with the help of his younger brothers, Xiang Kong and Lin Yi Xuan.  As Xiang Kong placed a tureen of braised spare ribs in the center of the table, he finally answered his Sun Ge’s question.  “It’s going well.”

 

 

 

“It’s not just going ‘well,’” Yi Xuan jumped in.  “It’s going really well.  Kong Ge’s class is so popular even students who aren’t registered for his class sit in on it.” 

 

 

 

“Mmmm,” Qiu Ying agreed with a knowing lilt to her voice.  She picked up a stack of chopsticks and started to set them around the table.  “And they’re all young women.” 

 

 

 

“Oh?” Sun Ze Yi reacted.

 

 

 

“I want to hear more about this,” Shu Wen added.

 

 

 

“What is there to say?” Yi Yi lamented as she followed her friend around to place napkins by each table setting.  “My poor Qiu Ying has to suffer the consequences of having a young and handsome husband.  One who invites attention wherever he goes.” 

 

 

 

“You’re all exaggerating,” Xiang Kong tried to laugh off. 

 

 

 

As everyone took their seats at the dinner table, he swatted the back of Yi Xuan’s head before rounding to the other side of the table to sit next to his wife.  Yi Xuan’s head jerked up instinctively and Xiang Kong shot him a surreptitious, but pointed glare for having started the current conversation on its path.  The fact that his class was a popular one with the young university coeds was a bit of a sore subject with Qiu Ying.

 

 

 

“My class is enjoyed by both males and females equally,” he continued smoothly as he picked up his rice bowl and chopsticks.  “There is no such thing as it being more popular with one gender over another.” 

 

 

 

“That’s not how it looked to me the other day when I went by your school to wait for you,” Qiu Ying sniffed.  “I wasn’t there for more than fifteen minutes and in that short amount of time, there were no less than three girls who stopped by your office looking for you and I swear they all turned away with tears in their eyes after they asked who I was and what I was doing in your office.”

 

 

 

Sitting at opposite heads of the table, Sun Ze Yi and Shu Wen exchanged amused glances while across from Qiu Ying, Yi Yi pursed her lips in a knowing manner and nodded her head in sympathetic understanding.  “I bet he gets a lot of visitors during office hours.”

 

 

 

“Isn’t it obvious?” Qiu Ying muttered.

 

 

 

Xiang Kong sighed as he’d already been over this once before and recently.  “It was just a coincidence.  A coincidence,” he emphasized.  “It’s not normally like that.  Usually I’m just sitting around in my office waiting for people to stop by.”

 

 

 

“Really?  I would think your students would want to stop by to meet you even if they didn’t need help with their coursework.  You’re iConquer’s famous Master of Battleground Tactics.  Do any of them ever ask you for your autograph?”  Yi Xuan’s clueless comments earned him a kick from Xiang Kong underneath the table. 

 

 

 

“Ow!”

 

 

 

When Xiang Kong shot him another irritated look, Yi Xuan quickly zipped his mouth and refrained from expressing his next thought.

 

 

 

“Alright, alright, that’s enough.”  Ever the peacemaker, Shu Wen waded into the conversation and shared her two cents.  “All your Sun Ge wanted to know was whether Xiang Kong was enjoying his new job as a college professor.  Do you all have to be like this?  Come on everybody, eat.  The food’s getting cold and you don’t want your Sun Ge’s efforts to go to waste, do you?  He made everyone’s favorite braised spare ribs just for tonight.”

 

 

 

Sun Ze Yi laughed along with his wife.  “That’s right.  Come, come, everybody eat.”  He then turned to Xiang Kong and asked again, “So, how is it?  Do you like the work?”

 

 

 

“Mm, it’s interesting.  Different.  Watching my students, some of whom are learning how to play iConquer for the first time, I’m reminded of when I first started playing the game.  In addition to sharing our world with them, I feel like they’re giving me renewed purpose by reminding me of why I joined this world in the first place.” 

 

 

 

“Sometimes it’s good to have a bit of a reboot,” his Sun Ge agreed.

 

 

 

After Xiang Kong shared with the table some of the lectures he’d given and how he’d introduced his students to the many different professions within the esports industry, Yi Yi had an idea.  “Why don’t you bring in an esports commentator as a guest lecturer?”

 

 

 

“That’s a great idea,” Shu Wen agreed.

 

 

 

“What do you think?” Xiang Kong asked Qiu Ying.

 

 

 

She mulled over the idea and answered, “I can ask Luo Laoshi about it.  Since he’s done game replays for Summer Ge’s Dream Journey, he’d probably agree to help out.”

 

 

 

“Are you dumb?” Yi Yi asked in frustration.  “I was talking about you.” 

 

 

 

“Me?”  Qiu Ying looked around the table and realized everyone was staring at her.

 

 

 

“Why not you?” Sun Ge asked. 

 

 

 

Xiang Kong echoed the question and added, “You’ve been a commentator for several years now.  You’re every bit as a professional as Luo Laoshi and just as qualified.”

 

 

 

Although Qiu Ying had been partners with Luo Tian for several years already, when it came to public events separate from their live commentating, he was still the face of GDV.  She was accustomed to him taking on all outside activities for the television station while she worked behind the scenes with the research and preparations. 

 

 

 

“What would I talk about?” she asked.

 

 

 

“There are lots of things you could talk about,” Yi Yi told her.  “It would just depend on what angle you wanted to take.  You could talk about all the research and preparation that you do before each game in order to do the running commentary and share insights for the audience.  Or you could share with the students all the different paths a person can take to becoming a live commentator.”

 

 

 

“You could even do a game reply like Luo Tian does for Dream Journey,” Yi Xuan suggested, earning his first look of praise from Yi Yi that night.

 

 

 

“I’ll help you sketch out your lecture notes,” Xiang Kong promised. 

 

 

 

Qiu Ying looked around the table again and was warmed by her friends’ encouragement.  She supposed they had a point and told them, “I’ll discuss it with Luo Laoshi then.”

 

 

 

“Luo Tian won’t have a problem with it,” Su Ze Yi predicted. 

 

 

 

“And if he does, you let me know,” Shu Wen instructed.  Everyone knew that if there was one person Luo Tian was scared of, it was Shu Wen.  Sun Ze Yi might have been their captain during their Pioneer days, but it was Shu Wen who had kept all the men in line.

 

 

 

Qiu Ying couldn’t help but laugh at her Wen Jie’s comment.  “I’m sure it won’t come to that, but thank you.”

 

 

 

=//=

 

 

 

Both Sun Ze Yi and Qiu Ying were correct in their predictions.  Not only did Luo Tian not have any objections to Qiu Ying being a guest lecturer for Xiang Kong’s class, he enthusiastically supported the idea and gave her lots of suggestions for the lecture and even helped her with a run through.

 

 

 

On the morning of her guest lecture, Qiu Ying could barely force down the two bites she’d taken of her breakfast.  It was only because Xiang Kong had insisted that she’d bothered to eat at all.

 

 

 

“Why are you so nervous?” he asked as he navigated around some traffic on their way the university.  “You started out as a web streamer, you participated in a contest where you were judged by a panel and the audience, and your current job is to comment live on computer games.  Shouldn’t you be used to public speaking by now?”

 

 

 

“That’s not what I’m nervous about.” 

 

 

 

“Then what are you nervous about?”

 

 

 

Qiu Ying wasn’t sure she could put her feelings into words.  Her husband was correct.  Public speaking was her day job, and she was comfortable with it.  She’d also experienced too many new and unexpected events in her life to be rattled by something just because she’d never done it before, like being a university guest lecturer.  Yet, there was something different about this time. 

 

 

 

It had started two nights before when Xiang Kong came home from his Tuesday class.  His class met twice a week and Tuesday was their first one of the week.  Over dinner that night, he’d shared with her how he’d told his class about the guest lecturer they’d be having for their Thursday class and how excited everyone was.  It was at that moment that everything began to feel so real, and that’s when Qiu Ying had started to feel nervous.  It was one thing to perform publicly in front of an audience you didn’t really know.  It was quite another to perform in front of an entire classroom of students, all of whom who knew your husband. 

 

 

 

“I don’t want to let you down,” she finally answered.

 

 

 

Since they’d come to a full stop in front of a red light, Xiang Kong turned to her and took her hand.  “You could never let me down.” 

 

 

 

“I hope you still feel that way in an hour.”

 

 

 

Xiang Kong patted her on the head and then took his foot off the brake when the light turned green.  A few minutes later, after they arrived on campus, he stopped her outside their car and made her look at him.  “Where’s that fearless girl I once knew who once shamelessly wormed her way into snagging a ride in my van and who thought nothing of sneaking into someone else’s retirement party just to score an exclusive interview?”

 

 

 

“Ya-ah!” 

 

 

 

At his wife’s look of outrage and annoyance to be reminded of her past transgressions, Xiang Kong laughed.  “I’m just reminding you of the courage that I know you have within you.”

 

 

 

Xiang Kong was right.  Qiu Ying didn’t know why she was so nervous and worried.  This was just one class and she’d faced much worse, particularly in the early days of her career.  She looked at her husband and nodded her head both resolutely and confidently. 

 

 

 

“Can you do this?” he asked.

 

 

 

“I can!”

 

 

 

Xiang Kong held out his fist and said, “Jia you!”  And she returned the fist bump.

 

 

 

=//=

 

 

 

When Qiu Ying and Xiang Kong arrived to the lecture hall where his class was held they were stunned to find it standing room only. 

 

 

 

“Where did all these students come from?” Qiu Ying asked.

 

 

 

“I don’t know.”  It wasn’t uncommon for him to have auditors in his class from time to time, but this seemed excessive.  Especially when it looked like the entire university’s male population was crammed into the lecture hall. 

 

 

 

He tapped the nearest student on the shoulder and asked what was going on. 

 

 

 

Clearly not recognizing Xiang Kong as the professor of the class, and not seeing Qiu Ying who was hidden behind him, the random student answered, “Word got out that that pretty female live commentator from GDV would be today’s guest lecturer for this class.  We’re all her biggest fans.  She’s such a goddess!  Isn’t that why you’re here?  Have you seen her yet?  Do you think she’ll hand out autographs?”

 

 

 

Xiang Kong gave the student a considering look, unsure whether he should be offended by the obvious personal slight or by what he considered an excessive amount of interest in his wife.  After a moment, he turned without saying anything at all and headed down the aisle to the front of the classroom while dragging Qiu Ying behind him. 

 

 

 

As the students in the classroom started to catch sight of her, they began to titter excitedly.  The whispers that accompanied them down the aisle only rankled Xiang Kong further and by the time he reached the podium at the head of the class, he was mentally cursing his wife’s popularity with the male students.  With an uncharacteristically stern expression on his face, he said loudly and clearly, and quite firmly, “Thank you for everyone’s interest in today’s class.  However, this room has a limit as to its capacity.  Therefore, for anyone who is standing and not a registered student of this class, I must ask you to please leave now.” 

 

 

 

Groans and mumbles of disappointment could be heard across the room, but nobody dared to disobey.  Instead those that fit the profile exited the room in a single file until only two students remained standing.  As registered students of the class, they not only had a right to be there, they needed to be there.  Xiang Kong unhesitatingly told them to pick two unlucky students who had seats, but weren’t registered for the class, and kicked them out of the room. 

 

 

 

Finally, his classroom in order, Xiang Kong turned to Qiu Ying and introduced her to the room.  The original plan had been to keep things professional and introduce her by her name and job title with a brief summary of her credentials.  But he was so thrown by the overly interested crowd, Xiang Kong found himself also slipping in that she was his wife.  It was like he was subconsciously reminding the room; this was a married woman so they should have some respect and boundaries! 

 

 

 

He still couldn’t believe today’s class was a full house and as part of his introduction, reminded the audience that this wasn’t some fan event, but a class, so for those who were attending as auditors, he asked them to be respectful of their fellow students as well as the guest lecturer’s time.

 

 

 

Once Xiang Kong was done with his speech, he turned the podium over to Qiu Ying and it was like the minute she took over, she became a woman transformed.  Xiang Kong leaned against the whiteboard with his arms crossed and watched with both pride and amusement at how confidently and effortlessly she described the many aspects of her job as a live commentator to the students.  She kept the entire classroom enthralled until mid-way through the lecture when she gave a brief demonstration on how to do a game replay.  She then invited five lucky students up to the front of the room to have a try.  Some were better than others, but no matter how they performed she responded with encouragement for each student and provided constructive feedback on how they might have done better. 

 

 

 

The class loved her.  Qiu Ying had reserved the last ten minutes of the class for questions, but it wasn’t enough.  Everyone ended up staying an extra ten and even then, the questions ended only because Xiang Kong stepped in when they started to veer into the personal territory and because there was another class waiting to use the lecture hall after them. 

 

 

 

Even after they exited, some of the students followed and continued to pepper Qiu Ying with questions and requests for autographs or a photo opportunity.  Originally, Xiang Kong had been planning on taking her back to his office as he had some materials he’d wanted to pick up and take home to work on over the weekend, but the students’ enthusiasm changed his mind.  He decided to come back later for the stuff he needed and headed for the parking lot instead. 

 

 

 

When they reached their car, he finally turned to his students and held up his arms like a shield.  “Alright, alright,” he told them.  “That’s enough.  Qiu Laoshi’s class is over and now she has to return to her regular day job.”

 

 

 

From behind him, Qiu Ying piped up.  “Thank you everyone for welcoming me so warmly!  I’ll see you next time.”

 

 

 

The mention of “next time” got everyone extra excited and they started out to call out questions regarding when that might be.  Xiang Kong just shook his head and ushered her into the car before climbing in himself. 

 

 

 

As they pulled out onto the road, he asked, “What was that about today?” 

 

 

 

At the same time, next to him, Qiu Ying exhaled a loud sigh of relief at finally being done and said, “Well, I think that went well, don’t you?”

 

 

 

Xiang Kong took his eyes off the road just long enough to look at her incredulously and say, “‘Well?’  I think that’s an understatement.  Who knew you being on campus would be like having an idol in their midst.”

 

 

 

“Don’t exaggerate.”

 

 

 

“Oh, now I’m the one who’s exaggerating?  I had three female students come visit me at my office.  You had an entire lecture hall of male students.”

 

 

 

Qiu Ying turned in her seat to have a better view of her husband.  “Is that jealousy I sense?”

 

 

 

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

 

 

 

Noticing the way he was holding on tightly to the steering wheel, she couldn’t help but observe, “You’re awfully focused on that steering wheel and the road in front of you.”

 

 

 

“Of course I am.  Would you rather I be looking someplace else when I’m trying to drive this car?”

 

 

 

“Are your knuckles turning white?”

 

 

 

Caught, Xiang Kong quickly loosened his grip.  “Are they?”

 

 

 

“Okay, okay.”  Qiu Ying smiled to herself and decided to let him be.

 

 

 

But a minute later, he spoke again.  “Don’t you think their interest was a little excessive?”

 

 

 

“You mean, kind of like when those female students keep stopping by your office during office hours?”

 

 

 

“I can’t turn away students who need help.”

 

 

 

“Your students were also just asking questions related to my work.”

 

 

 

“But we know that’s not what they really wanted to know.”

 

 

 

“Just as I’m sure those girls didn’t only have their coursework in mind when they dropped by your office.”

 

 

 

Xiang Kong sighed, recognizing that their conversation was only traveling in circles, and finally concluded, “I don’t think I should have you back on campus.”

 

 

 

Qiu Ying laughed.

 

 

 

=//=

 

 

 

A week later, Sun Ze Yi stopped by the Phoenix training base one evening to pick up his wife.  “How did Qiu Ying’s guest lecture go?”

 

 

 

“Don’t ask.”  Yi Xuan held his finger up to his mouth and shook his head, motioning for him to not say anything more.

 

 

 

“Why not?”

 

 

 

“It won’t do anyone any good,” Pei Xi told him. 

 

 

 

“It turns out my Jie has a lot of fans at the university,” Xia Ling added.

 

 

 

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Sun Ze Yi asked.

 

 

 

The three of them turned their attention back to their computer monitors and ranked games, and declined to answer.  Ever since Qiu Ying’s guest lecture, they’d had to suffer through Xiang Kong’s periodic gripes and complaints, and didn’t want to add to it.  Therefore, it was Xiang Kong, himself, who answered the question by asking one of his own. 

 

 

 

“How could that be a good thing?” he wanted to know.  He had walked back into the team’s training room just in time to catch the tail end of their conversation. 

 

 

 

Shu Wen followed him from behind, as they’d just finished taking a conference call together, and greeted her husband with a wave.  She then threw a big sisterly arm around Xiang Kong’s shoulder and giving him a friendly shake, asked, “Ai-yo, until when are you going to be so bitter about your wife having so many fans?”

 

 

 

“I’m not bitter,” he protested.  “It’s not like I don’t know how well admired she is.”  After all, like everyone else in the room, he kept up with Weibo and the online forums.

 

 

 

“Uh-huh?  And?”  Leaning against the credenza next to her husband now, and with her arms crossed, Shu Wen was practically goading him into giving a proper explanation.

 

 

 

“It’s just I don’t normally have her adoring fans lined up right in front of my face to see.  Do you know how many questions I now have to field about Qiu Ying?  They don’t just want to know when she’s going to come again to give a lecture, they also ask weird and random questions like what her favorite foods are and who her favorite iConquer heroes are.  They also ask personal questions like how we met, what we do in our spare time, and whether we ever play ranked matches against each other.  These are things they never used to ask.  Does it even make sense?  I continually have to remind my students they’re asking about my wife, my wife,” he emphasized.

 

 

 

“They’re just being curious kids,” Shu Wen said, making excuses for them.   “Why let it get to you?”

 

 

 

Xiang Kong looked around the room and found five pairs of enquiring eyes staring back at him. “Because it drives me crazy,” he finally admitted.  “Is that what you wanted to hear?  Fine, I admit it.  I’m jealous.  There.  Happy?”

 

 

 

Xia Ling laughed so hard Xiang Kong thought he was going to fall out of his chair.  With narrowed he eyes, he walked over to kick at the wheels of his brother-in-law’s chair, but that only made Xia Ling laugh harder.  Pei Xi, fortunately, had more sense than to react, but even Yi Xuan started coughing to cover up his laughter. 

 

 

 

Only his Sun Ge patted him on the shoulder in understanding and comfort.  But then he said, “Xiang Kong-ah, don’t be like that.” 

 

 

 

The others then followed Sun Ze Yi out of the training room, each one also patting Xiang Kong on the shoulder as they walked past, while he was left to bury his face in his palms in embarrassment.

 

 

 

The End

 

 

 

Thank you so much! I loved it!  I think you kept them both very much in character and I loved the scenario. It's good to keep XK on his toes and realise how lucky he is haha!  

Loved seeing Yi Yi fighting her BFF's corner as always and oblivious Yi Xuan as always.

23 hours ago, themarchioness said:

“And if he does, you let me know,” Shu Wen instructed.  Everyone knew that if there was one person Luo Tian was scared of, it was Shu Wen. 

 

23 hours ago, themarchioness said:

Shu Wen followed him from behind, as they’d just finished taking a conference call together, and greeted her husband with a wave.  She then threw a big sisterly arm around Xiang Kong’s shoulder and giving him a friendly shake, asked, “Ai-yo, until when are you going to be so bitter about your wife having so many fans?”

LMAO! I love Shu Wen. She is such a boss!

 

12 hours ago, owlstar said:

And I love love love how good QY is at what she does and how much the students loved her.  I feel oddly proud of her like a mother hen, having seen how hard she worked to get there.  And last but not least, I chuckled at the fist bump.   Thanks for your hard work! 

SAME!  I feel so proud of QY and her journey as a commentator.  I'm so glad the drama made that change and had her continue to pursue her career.

[themarchioness]

Phew, @raziela & @owlstar, I'm relieved to hear that the story delivered on all fronts!!  Glad you liked it. 

 

15 hours ago, owlstar said:

This reminds me of how he acted with the whole Pei Xi "confession," like he's not truly threatened by any of these kids, more annoyed than anything lol, but it's still cute to see.  Jealous JXK trying stay cool is hilarious.

 

Hahaha, I have found myself going back lately to watch just those scenes alone.  It never fails to amuse seeing how twitchy XK gets when he realizes QY has been seeking help from PX when she's learning how to be a better iConquer player.  If only he would take a moment to ask himself why it bothers him so much that she's going to someone other than him.  Haha. 

 

3 hours ago, raziela said:

LMAO! I love Shu Wen. She is such a boss!

 

She is my hero!  And that is why I felt strongly she and Sun Ge they must have a daughter so that she can one day grow up to be like her mother.   

 

15 hours ago, owlstar said:

And last but not least, I chuckled at the fist bump.

 

There was a head pat too!   

 

15 hours ago, owlstar said:

And I love love love how good QY is at what she does and how much the students loved her.  I feel oddly proud of her like a mother hen, having seen how hard she worked to get there.

 

3 hours ago, raziela said:

SAME!  I feel so proud of QY and her journey as a commentator.  I'm so glad the drama made that change and had her continue to pursue her career.

 

@lynne22 and I were just discussing the other day how these characters have become so real to us that we can't help but think of them as part of our worlds and want the best for them, even if we're really just imagining what their lives would be like beyond the drama.  Maybe it's delusional, but I prefer to think of it as harmless fun.    In any event, what I'm trying to say is, I totally get both your sentiments -- we did watch QY grow and develop throughout the drama, so it's only natural that we would hope for her career to continue trending upwards even once the drama ended.   

 

I thought Story #9 would be my last, but what an uneven number to end on...