Grumpy Esports God Becomes a Wealthy Family’s Stepmom - Chapter 8

Zhong Lu frowned as he looked at the stream title.

Uh… this…

Ye Xianyun turned his head slightly, explaining earnestly, “Our company has data analysis. This is the traffic cheat code on Duoyou Live.”

“……”

The two of them sat in front of the computer like an experienced older brother helping his younger sibling fill out college applications—aiming straight for Tsinghua and Peking University without listing any safety schools.

Even as someone who had aced every mock exam without a single mistake, Zhong Lu felt a headache coming on.

If you fail the entrance exam, you can take it again but if you lose a match… you’ll have to wear a dress.

Under Ye Xianyun’s trusting gaze, Zhong Lu stiffly nodded.

There was no helping it—if you wanted fast money, this was how it worked.

Based on his observation, Huo Yu might rewatch Abandon’s matches but didn’t follow any streamers. Even so, Zhong Lu played it safe and added a face mask.

He pushed all other thoughts aside and focused entirely on the game.

When he played, he didn’t talk much, but showing some face was important to draw in viewers.

As the first-ever mod of the Lulu Live channel, Ye Xianyun sat cross-legged on the bed just outside the camera’s view, holding a tablet and monitoring chat in case any Dianfengshan fans came to stir trouble.

At first, the stream chat was quiet. Then, as viewers trickled in, the first comment popped up.

【Holy crap, you’re really going for it!】

【Whoa! So the streamer’s actually a total beauty!】

【I could tell from half a face—gorgeous!】

【That gaze though… cold and spicy!】

【Crossdressing! Crossdressing! Crossdressing! I knew the second I saw you—you’re perfect for it!】

In this match, Zhong Lu was queued with three randoms. After landing, they all split up. He went alone to the high-traffic Stone Maze.

The map was a nearly circular island. The safe zone would shrink inward in concentric circles every three minutes, eventually centering on a cluster of platforms. Players didn’t have a map and didn’t know their exact location but could rely on a satellite scan that appeared every five minutes. If they paid attention to the sun, which always hovered overhead, they could roughly navigate.

Top players memorized the edges of each safe zone. The terrain was fixed, after all.

At the five-minute mark, the first satellite scan dropped. The screen went dark, displaying a circular island dotted with dozens of red dots—enemies. Blue dots were teammates. Green was you.

Two red dots flashed very close to the green one.

The map obscured everything visually, but player movement was still possible.

While everyone else was silently staring at the map, Zhong Lu moved left seven steps in the dark, then forward three steps—each precisely measured—and fired.

Bang, bang, bang—

【Lulu eliminated Egg Yolk Puff.】

Egg Yolk Puff died without ever figuring out what happened. The sudden gunfire in pitch darkness spread like a menacing fog over the maze. The other red dot twitched, shaking side to side in a desperate bid to avoid death.

After five seconds, the infrared map disappeared. Bright sunlight returned.

At that moment, it felt like surviving a disaster.

The second red-dot player’s screen lit up and he was horrified. Just ten meters ahead, a pitch-black gun barrel was pointed directly at him.

Who knew how long the enemy had been there—maybe just a second—but he was already dead for sure. The opponent hadn’t fired in the dark just to ensure this one bullet would go straight through his skull.

Bang—

Another shot rang out.

【Lulu eliminated Strawberry Tart.】

Zhong Lu loved the moment between total darkness and the return of daylight. Like a leopard ambushing rats and snakes in the night, his eyes gleamed green—locking on, firing.

Especially when he was outnumbered, full-map blackout became his best camouflage. When the sun came back, it was often already one-on-one.

After eliminating the two, he looted their bags and restocked his ammo.

Thirty-five minutes later, the match ended—Zhong Lu was the last man standing. It was a low-rank match, and he still had dozens of bullets left.

In high-level play, players often finished with only one bullet remaining. If they weren’t sure it would win the fight, they wouldn’t even pull the trigger.

【Ahhh, another blind shot classic from Abandon’s playbook!】

【I love watching pros pull this off—nobody but them knows what’s happening under the map. It’s insane!】

【Our beautiful streamer isn’t a pro though, right?】

【Kind of disappointed—not really, but when are we getting that crossdressing stream?!】

After the match ended and the next queue began, Ye Xianyun gently reminded him to interact with chat a bit.

His warm voice was picked up by the mic, and immediately the topic in chat switched to “crossdressing.”

【Such a pretty boy has to wear a dress!】

【When are you gonna lose? When are you gonna lose? When are you gonna lose?】

【Can we see your face? Please?】

【Lulu, do you already have a dress? I run a crossdressing shop. I can sponsor you.】

Zhong Lu couldn’t find a single question worth answering. He replied stiffly.

“Live every day from 5 to 7 p.m. Weekends, depends.”

“Follow me.”

“What face? Watch the gameplay.”

“No need for a dress. I won’t lose.”

【This guy’s so cocky!】

【I’m camping this stream. No way he stays undefeated forever.】

【Now I really want to see him lose.】

After two hours, Zhong Lu felt more exhausted than training for four.

The title had worked well—he’d gotten a few minutes of homepage exposure, gained several hundred followers, and even a few donations.

Since Huo Zhehan would be home tonight, he couldn’t stay out training. Zhong Lu shut down the computer and said goodbye to Ye Xianyun.

He pulled a box of perfume from his bag. “This is for you.”

It was the same perfume that had sparked the cheating misunderstanding that was purchased by Lu Ziming on behalf of Huo Zhehan. Zhong Lu had found it on the bedroom nightstand and decided Ye Xianyun was a more suitable recipient.

Ye Xianyun recognized the brand and knew it was absurdly expensive. “I can’t accept this. I don’t even wear perfume.”

“Neither do I. Your boyfriend bought it.”

Ye Xianyun scratched his cheek. “But still…”

Zhong Lu said, “Didn’t you just buy me some promotion?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Oh.”

“I just asked a coworker for a little help, that’s all.”

“All the more reason to take it. I’m off.”

At the Huo residence—

Vice President Lu worked overtime. The actual boss? Clocked out on time.

Only two people sat at the dinner table. Huo Zhehan not only had to bring his own meal—he had to take care of his kid too.

Wife? What wife? Where? Does he even exist?

Huo Yu, full and content, couldn’t help but sympathize with his dad. “I’ve never seen a married couple where the wife doesn’t cook and won’t let you hire a maid either. Is he trying to starve us on purpose?”

Huo Zhehan gave him a look—full of warning.

Huo Yu shrank back a little, then spoke his real thoughts. “You and my stepmom don’t seem close. Why’d you even get married? Was it because Grandma pressured you? Or just to find someone to deal with me?”

He didn’t want his dad to settle for some random marriage just because of him. It made him uncomfortable, but he did want his dad to be happy. He might call Huo Zhehan “Dad,” but he didn’t want to be a burden.

“You’re overthinking.”

Huo Yu was confident in his recent observations. “You guys aren’t close at all. If it weren’t for me, you’d have divorced already. Look—he’s never even home now. He clearly doesn’t care.”

He said the last part sincerely. He really felt like Zhong Lu was up to something out there.

“You two are… uh… all appearance, no substance! Actually, no appearance either!”

Huo Zhehan replied perfunctorily, “Stay out of grown-up business. I have a deep bond with Zhong Lu. We won’t get divorced.”

Zhong Lu walked in just in time to hear that last line and rubbed his arms.

Huo Yu spotted him too and muttered, “Sure you do. You didn’t even say hi when he walked in. I’m gonna tell—”

He shut his mouth. He couldn’t outtalk Huo Zhehan, so he gave up.

Huo Zhehan, still holding his napkin, knew exactly what his troublesome son was about to say—go tell Grandma.

Truthfully, he had gotten married partly to deal with his mother.

She thought at 28 he needed someone beside him, and with Huo Yu around, she worried even more.

Huo Zhehan had never been invested in the idea of marriage. It wasn’t a priority but he also didn’t want to get nagged every time he visited so he picked someone practical.

If Huo Yu tattled, Grandma would panic—probably come talk to him or Zhong Lu directly. In that case, the marriage hadn’t solved anything, it just made new problems.

Why was the educator’s behaviour getting worse lately? Even a brainless kid like Huo Yu was starting to notice.

Just as Zhong Lu was about to head upstairs, Huo Zhehan called out, “Not eating dinner?”

“Ate outside.”

Huo Zhehan stood up and walked over. He was half a head taller than Zhong Lu. With a single step between them, he leaned in slightly. His gaze unintentionally fell on that fair, glowing earlobe, and he asked softly, “Where did you go?”

To Huo Yu, it looked like they had just shared a quick kiss.

Huo Yu: ? Was this an act? Too late! Unless—

Thud. Zhong Lu’s knees buckled.

What was Huo Zhehan doing?!

Zhong Lu had a bizarre issue in his last life—he couldn’t handle people speaking close to his ears. The warmth of a breath brushing his earlobe made his nerves short-circuit. Legs? gone.

Earphones don’t trigger it. No one ever dared whisper near Abandon’s cold face back then.

Why did this weird quirk have to follow him into his next life too?! Was it bound to his gaming talent card or something?! Couldn’t it be unlinked?

Huo Zhehan hadn’t expected such a strong reaction and quickly caught him before he fell.

Zhong Lu’s face turned bright red. Once he was steady again, he rubbed his ears hard. Even his lips looked flushed, like he was overheating.

Huo Zhehan grabbed his wrist. “Keep rubbing and your ear’s gonna fall off.”

Zhong Lu clutched his ear and panted. “None of your business.”

He backed away and darted upstairs like he was being chased by wolves.

Huo Zhehan: “……”

Huo Yu stared, jaw slack. Wait, could they actually have feelings for each other? He didn’t get grown-up stuff at all.

Huo Zhehan gave him a warning glare.

Huo Yu tilted his head defiantly, unwilling to admit he’d misjudged them. He put on a “that’s it?” expression.

Huo Zhehan smacked the back of his head. “I don’t need to report my love life to my son. Shut your damn eyes in this house.”

“Clean up the dishes.”

Huo Yu pouted and followed his stepmom’s example, putting the leftovers into the fridge—only to find yesterday’s food still there. He had to dump it first.

Huo Zhehan supervised for a bit, then went upstairs.

Before, it took three reminders from the maid to get Huo Yu out of his gaming chair. Sometimes she even had to bring food into the room. Now he came to the table on time and even helped clean up.

Turns out—starve a kid a few times, and he’ll behave.

On the stairs, Huo Zhehan ran into Zhong Lu at the water dispenser.

Since Huo Yu was still downstairs, he walked closer and started, “Zhong—”

Zhong Lu flinched. “Wait!”

No way. Abandon was not soft and delicate!

He dropped his cup on the dispenser and bolted into his room, grabbed his headset, and fiddled with it until both ears were covered.

System reboot—

Reboot complete. The king returns!

Zhong Lu walked back out with his hands in his pockets, oversized fuzzy headphones on his head, chin lifted. “What?”

A faint blush hadn’t fully faded from the tips of his ears, trailing down his neck in a soft, flushed hue like a dusting of kisses. The way his ears were tightly wrapped, it almost looked bashful—like he was hiding something.

Huo Zhehan’s fingers curled slightly at his side. “Pick me up after work tomorrow.”

Zhong Lu tilted his head, suspicious. What was that? Speak up. Didn’t you eat dinner?

Huo Zhehan: “……”

Is he asking for a lesson?