6.9 - Like

Chapter 118: Like

The comment immediately below read:

"Upstairs is obviously not a die-hard fan of Lord Junlin. Judging by his fighting style, he is clearly Lord Junlin."

The two comments were equally popular, each with its own supporters, locked in an all-out, no-holds-barred brawl that practically spilled offscreen!

Further down, the tone of the third comment was completely different.

"I noticed that Lord Junlin isn't wearing martial arts attire but everyday clothes, so it's clear he just happened to run into a mutated creature by accident. Could it be that Lord Junlin was on a date?"

Surprisingly, there was unanimous agreement under this comment, and most were "warm" and "friendly" greetings to the original poster. Many of the people who were fiercely arguing under the first two comments had become comrades in the same trench under this comment.

Junlin… Gu Lingjun? As soon as he saw the video, Lu Heng immediately understood. He'd guessed Gu Lingjun was a skilled Martial Artist but hadn't expected him to be an expert at the Heaven-tier. Lu Heng opened Junlin's Weibo, which netizens had stamped as "bot-posted" by now, since every post afterward consisted solely of either "Happy" or "Unhappy."

Lu Heng compared the timestamps of these Weibo posts with recent events. The first "Happy" post came after Lu Heng had been locked out and went to Gu Lingjun for help. The second "Unhappy" post seemed to have come after Lu Heng missed Gu Lingjun's friend request because he was asleep. The third "Happy" post came after they had arranged to go out for dinner together.

After that, pretty much every "Happy" post was made after he'd had a meal with Gu Lingjun, and every "Unhappy" post came when Lu Heng was stuck at school and couldn't make it back.

The answer was now obvious: Gu Lingjun was Junlin.

Lu Heng only realized Gu Lingjun's true identity now, not because he was slow or because Gu Lingjun was deliberately hiding it. It was simply that, on their way back before, they'd both been completely focused on something else.

Here's how it went down:

"You must have known I'm a Martial Artist for a while now, right?" Since Gu Lingjun had been directly coaching him in combat techniques, Lu Heng figured it wasn't a topic to tiptoe around.

"I sensed it the day you condensed your psychic weapon," Gu Lingjun replied, his eyes staying firmly fixed on the road ahead.

Lu Heng knew this was just the man's personality—quiet, but always straightforward with answers when asked. "Why do you follow me every night when I go hunting?"

"You started too late and haven't had any formal training. I'm worried that your lack of experience might lead to an accident."

Gu Lingjun's tone was as calm as ever, but the observant Lu Heng spotted his slightly blushing auricle.

Lu Heng snickered inwardly, though he kept a perfectly straight face: "Thank you so much, and I really appreciate you teaching me combat techniques just now. From what I know, between Martial Artists, only master and disciple pass down battle skills with such care. Mr. Gu, are you trying to take me on as a disciple?"

"No." Gu Lingjun's rebuttal was very fast and firm. Feeling his tone was a bit stiff, he seemed to gloss over: "There are other relationships that can also…"

Lu Heng feigned confusion: "Which relationships?"

But Gu Lingjun abruptly changed the subject: "You…are not mad at me for secretly following you?"

"I understand you're doing it out of concern. You're worried that I'll develop a dependent mentality if I know someone is protecting me, right?" Lu Heng smiled, always quick to see things from others' perspectives.

"Yes." Gu Lingjun's shoulders relaxed slightly.

"But," Lu Heng added mischievously, "there is a problem."

He noticed Gu Lingjun's grip on the steering wheel tighten, and—knowing the strength of a Martial Artist—worried he might actually snap it off. He didn't dare tease Gu Lingjun anymore: "I don't know if you've noticed, but my thought energy reserve isn't what a low-level Martial Artist would have, and I think you know why. My worry is that I'll get used to fighting this way and miscalculate the use of thought power if one day you're no longer around."

"That won't happen."

Gu Lingjun didn't say anything else, but Lu Heng knew that what he meant was that he would not leave. In truth, Lu Heng had worried that his hunting skills during this period were not his true level. But today, something clicked.

The way he saw it, the thought energy Gu Lingjun provided was like a power bank. Using a power bank doesn't mean the phone's performance is awful. At most, it means that the phone's battery life is a little poor, right? If there is really any emergency, I'll just be mindful to conserve my energy.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Lu Heng glanced back at his phone, only to find that the Weibo battlefield had undergone an earth-shattering change again. The original poster of the third popular comment, who had been thoroughly smashed into the ground and dragged through the dirt, the underdog had finally turned the tables and was now singing his victory song!

Why? Because Junlin had liked the post about him being on a date. Watching the sea of anguished wailing on Weibo, Lu Heng finally couldn't help himself. He collapsed on his bed, quietly pounding the mattress in laughter. How can this man be so mensao^[1] and childish!

Just as Lu Heng was wiping away tears from laughing so hard, the doorbell rang. He opened the door, and there stood none other than Gu Lingjun, the very person who'd stirred up a bloody storm on Weibo with a simple "like."

They settled down on the sofa, and Lu Heng poured him a glass of water in passing. By now, he knew Gu Lingjun's preferences very well—no beverages, only hot tea or water. But tea leaves were simply not something you'd find in the home of an en vogue streamer who relied on takeout for meals.

"What's up?" Lu Heng asked, a bit puzzled by Gu Lingjun's unexpected visit—they'd only just parted, and it wasn't even mealtime yet.

"For you," Gu Lingjun said, handing over a box.

Lu Heng opened it to find an exquisitely crafted silver-black mask, identical to the one worn by Lord Junlin, who was revered by thousands of people on the Exorcist Martial Artists livestream platform.

"Didn't you say before that you don't want your family to know you're competing?" Gu Lingjun added.

On their way back just now, Lu Heng had confided to Gu Lingjun about his recent hard work in hunting mutated creatures and also explained that he didn't want his family to find out about his participation in the competition. To keep his identity a secret, he'd decided to register with his face hidden, which the tournament rules allowed since identification of a Martial Artist was tied to their psychic weapon anyway, and appearance was secondary.

Lu Heng, subject to the rules, naturally couldn't share too much of the inside story. Besides, Gu Lingjun was a man of few words, and as long as Lu Heng was within his sight, he didn't ask too many questions about what Lu Heng wanted to do.

"So you really are Junlin." Lu Heng looked at the mask in his hand.

"You've watched my live streams?" Gu Lingjun replied.

That's not the point here. Lu Heng was sure he heard a hint of delight in Gu Lingjun's usually calm voice: "I watched the livestream with the mutant mantis. Swift moves and momentum as sharp as a blade—you're indeed a Heaven-tier Martial Artist."

Seeing Gu Lingjun's eyes getting brighter and brighter as he spoke, Lu Heng chuckled, "But I can't accept this mask."

The light dimmed instantly.

"Why?"

"Don't underestimate your fans. If I wear a mask that looks just like Junlin's, my contestant's homepage will probably get flooded with comments scolding me for freeloading on Junlin's popularity," Lu Heng explained.

"I can say the mask was a gift from me."

Gu Lingjun really doesn't understand the ways of the world. Lu Heng replied, "Then they'll just scold me for hugging your thigh to get to the top."

"So we have to secretly carry on^[2] like this forever?"

"..." What strange stuff has he been watching, Lu Heng ridiculed inwardly, but kept a soothing smile on his face: "When the day comes that I'm strong enough to stand side by side with you, no matter what our relationship is, others will have no room to interfere."

Seeing the lingering disappointment in Gu Lingjun's eyes, Lu Heng continued, "I need to submit a hunting video to register for the exchange conference, but I'm worried mine is too rough. I don't trust anyone else. Could you please help me…"

"Yes."

A City. The Gu family.

The eldest of the Gu family was entertaining guests. The young man sitting on the sofa across from him was the son of a pal and also the exclusive livestream cameraman for his younger brother, Gu Lingjun.

"Uncle Gu, does Little Uncle Gu have any dissatisfaction with me? Is he going to fire me?" The young man wore a face full of worry.

"What happened?"

"He actually called me today and asked me to send him the latest portable high-speed camera," the young man said, clearly anxious about losing this job. It was hard to find a gig with little work and high pay, and Gu Lingjun had almost never been picky about the filming quality.

"Oh, and Little Uncle Gu also asked me for a bunch of camera manuals for beginners and my study notes. Does it mean he's unhappy with my work and planning to film himself? Uncle Gu, please put in a good word for me…"

Based on what the eldest Gu knew about his baby brother, the situation was definitely not that simple. Hmm, it looks like we need to hold a family meeting pronto to figure this out.

Gu Lingjun's unusual behavior stirred up a little commotion in the Gu family. Meanwhile, the Zhou family wasn't willing to be left out; they also popped out to make their presence felt in front of Lu Heng.

Once again, they invited Lu Heng over for dinner.

"Xiao Heng, as you know, Xiao Shu is going to sign up for the National Ancient Martial Arts Exchange Conference. The competition requires a hunting video to be submitted," Father Zhou said with a beaming smile.

"Do you want me to film it for Xiao Shu? No problem! Although I'm just getting started in the directing program of the department, it should be fine if I work hard. I'll do my best!" Lu Heng beamed back.

Father Zhou was choked by his answer, and after a moment of hesitation, he clarified, "That's not it. I've arranged for a Earth-tier Martial Artist livestream team to film it for Xiao Shu. They're all top-notch professionals in this field, so I thought it would be a great opportunity for you to go and learn from them and gain some experience."

Lu Heng glanced at the "I care for you so much" expression on Father Zhou's face and plastered on a "I'm so touched" expression to match: "Thank you, Dad."

His gratitude was genuine; he sincerely thanked Father Zhou for presenting him with the chance to understand Zhou Yishu's capabilities. After all, in this upcoming conference, Zhou Yishu would be Lu Heng's biggest competitor.

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Footnotes:

[1] 闷骚: outwardly cold or retiring but deep and passionate inside; secretly sultry; low-key spicy.

[2] 見不得人: shameful and cannot be revealed.

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Translator:

Gu Lingjun: Does Ah Heng want to play secret lovers? 

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