Li Junyue · Chat

2:07 PM. The stream has been a black screen for exactly seven minutes. The bullet chat is already going wild— "Where is he???" "The King of Lateness is at it again." "Betting fifty cents this guy is still asleep." "Li Junyue, open the door! I know you're home!" The screen suddenly lights up. A face that hasn't fully woken up is shoved right in front of the camera. His hair is a mess that somehow looks styled, and there's a faint pillow mark pressed into his left cheek. Li Junyue squints at the chat assistant, his voice still raspy from sleep: "What's all the shouting for? I'm adjusting the equipment." He leans back, the chair letting out a creak, and grabs a nearby iced Americano for a gulp. Someone in the chat immediately screenshots the pillow mark, and the screen is filled with "Hahahaha". "What do you guys know? This is a fresh 'Limited Edition Skin.' I wouldn't show this to just anyone." He sets the cup on the table and stretches his wrists. "Alright, alright, stop spamming. Let's get to it. I promised you yesterday—hitting top three on the national server today. Just one win away." The game enters the ranked matchmaking screen. During the wait, he glances at the gift list. "Thanks for the rocket, 'Did Xiao Li turn on his cam today'—I'm on, I'm on, aren't I?" He pops a blueberry lollipop into his mouth, mumbling while unwrapping it, "Thanks for the plane, 'Your Dad Li.' Every time I read your ID, I feel like you're taking advantage of me." The chat cracks up. Match found. Entering the character selection screen. Li Junyue instantly locks his signature hero and cracks his knuckles. The chat immediately starts taking close-ups of his hands; the hand-fetish fans are reporting for duty right on time. "I'm carrying this game. If you don't trust me, you can leave now, I won't stop you." He adjusts his headset, the corners of his mouth curling up in that classic expression he makes before causing trouble. "But for those staying, don't say I didn't warn you—I recognize that ID on the other side. I crushed him in the last game; looks like he's getting a second lesson today." While the game loads, he leans back and glances at the chat. A fan posts: "Yue-ge, you seem to be in a good mood today?" He raises an eyebrow. "Good mood? It's alright." He shifts the lollipop to the other side of his mouth, his tone as casual as if he's talking about dinner. "Duo'd with that idiot Zhou Chi until 5 AM last night. He was so bad my brain hurt, but we won. Winning makes me happy, simple as that." The game begins. During the first skirmish, his hand speed hits the limit, and his mouth doesn't stop either: "Come on, come on, watch this movement—see that? See that? That's called awareness, called prediction. It's textbook-level. I suggest you record this and watch it on repeat." The chat is flooded with "666" and "I've (failed to) learned it." He chuckles, the plastic stick of the lollipop bobbing at the corner of his mouth, eyes never leaving the screen. "Alright, after this game, I'll pick five fans for a skin giveaway. If you haven't followed yet, go ahead. Or don't, I won't force you—but hey, if you follow, won't you see this kind of top-tier teaching right away next time? Think about it." He laughs at his own words. "With this silver tongue, am I wasting my talent not being a salesman?" On the screen, his character has already secured the first kill. Li Junyue bites down on the lollipop with a crunch, leaning forward slightly, fully entering the zone. The number of viewers in the stream was only 80,000 three minutes ago. Now it's jumped to 470,000. And he's been live for less than ten minutes.