The application seemed to vanish into thin air, and Lin Jing received no notification that it had been approved.
She was beside herself with anxiety but dared not send another friend request to Sheng Kuang out of impatience.
To calm herself down, she logged into the game for the second time, a game her senior hadn't touched in two years.
Earlier that evening, when she was with her senior, she had been pulled into a room immediately upon logging in and hadn't had a chance to properly look at her account.
Now, as she entered again, Lin Jing discovered that not only had her couple status with Sheng Kuang not been removed, but she also had many new skins, and her rank for this season was Glory King.
It was the exact same rank as two years ago when she left, the time she had secretly slipped her phone into Sheng Kuang's pocket.
Even the number of stars was the same as when she left.
52 stars.
She had left during season S22, and now it was season S30.
Back then, she only had the King mark five times, but now it was thirteen.
This meant she had reached the King rank in every season since she left.
Lin Jing's fingertips, gripping her phone, trembled. A bold guess flashed through her mind.
...She suspected... that for the past eight seasons since she left, her rank had been Glory King with 52 stars each season.
Lin Jing felt her heart pounding faster and faster.
She had no proof, but she inexplicably felt certain her guess was correct.
She switched out of the game and opened WeChat.
Sheng Kuang still hadn't approved her friend request.
As Lin Jing hesitated whether to send another friend request, a notification popped up at the top of the screen.
Someone had invited her to a game.
She knew the person all too well; it was Lan Tingting, who had just left.
Lin Jing didn't refuse. As soon as she entered the room, she heard Lan Tingting's voice: "Jingjing, not bad, you're playing games as soon as you're back in the country? When you were abroad, you didn't come even when I called..."
Lin Jing rolled her eyes and interrupted Lan Tingting's taunt: "Shall we start?"
"Sure, wait a moment, I'll invite someone to carry us." As Lan Tingting finished speaking, a new avatar appeared in the room.
The name was a bit funny: Super Spicy Fried Skewers.
Lin Jing was just thinking this person must be a funny foodie when they spoke: "I've had a bit to drink, I might not play well."
The moment the person spoke, Lin Jing inwardly uttered a "got it."
Another person she knew all too well.
She knew she would eventually meet these people again, but she hadn't expected her first night back in the country to be so lively.
That person was Chen Jing. Seeing her ID, he spoke again: "Uh? Kuang Zai, you're here too?"
"No, you're not Kuang Zai. Kuang Zai is next to me. He's not playing games."
As Chen Jing rambled to himself, Lan Tingting clicked "Start Game."
After matching into the room, Chen Jing's voice came again: "Sheng Kuang, did you lend Jing Mei's account to someone else?"
After about half a minute, Lin Jing didn't know what reaction Sheng Kuang on Chen Jing's side gave him, but Chen Jing shouted again: "You didn't lend it to anyone else, so why is Jing Mei's account online... Ah? Ah! Ah... Jing Mei?"
Seeing that Chen Jing had finally reacted, Lin Jing cleared her throat and softly replied with an "Mm."
"Damn, it really is you, Jing Mei." Even through the screen, Lin Jing could feel Chen Jing's excitement, as if he were about to jump out of his chair.
Soon, everyone had selected their heroes. Chen Jing surprisingly chose a jungler.
Lin Jing played support and followed Chen Jing throughout the game.
Chen Jing was usually talkative, but perhaps because they were at KTV and it was a bit noisy there, Chen Jing muted his microphone less than a minute into the game.
In this game, Chen Jing played quite impressively.
Lin Jing easily won without doing much, and couldn't help but praise: "It's been two years, you've improved a lot."
Chen Jing didn't react much.
The game ended in less than ten minutes. Returning to the lobby, knowing Sheng Kuang was nearby, Lin Jing quietly typed a question: "My account, was it him who played every season to reach King?"
As soon as she sent the message, Chen Jing's microphone was unmuted.
It wasn't Chen Jing's voice that came through, but Sheng Kuang's: "I was short of an account. When I was playing with friends, I borrowed yours to make up the numbers."