Chapter 2

Not giving up yet, I scooted a little closer to Aaron, catching a faint whiff of his shower gel from his collar.

"No need, Aaron. The air conditioner wastes power, and it's bad for the environment. Besides, you're already so chilly, so maybe..."

Just then, Wesley walked out in his bathrobe and plopped himself down right between me and Aaron, cutting me off.

"You two catch up," Aaron said as he excused himself and headed back to his room.

I almost got up to follow him, but Wesley held me back.

I caught a glimpse of Aaron's computer screen glowing in his room, with a game still running on it.

"Lilly, listen to your brother. Stop dreaming, get real, and don't get mixed up with Aaron," Wesley whispered.

"Who says I'm messing with him…" I mumbled, feeling a little guilty.

He's the one who started it with that face of his, not me.

Wait, wasn't Wesley in the shower? How did he even hear what I said to Aaron?

Wesley messed with my pigtails like I was his puppy.

"Come on, we both know the game. Don't act all innocent college girl with me. Your eyes were practically undressing him." Wesley teased.

Was it really that obvious?

Wesley drawled, "Aaron's from one of those old-money families, super strict upbringing. He's never even dated anyone. No way he can handle a wild girl like you."

"But I really do like him, bro! Weren't you the one who taught me to go for someone if I like them? Shameless flirting brings top-tier love, right?" I shot back.

Wesley sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Kid, Aaron's a whole different story. And quit with the love talk. You're just thirsty for his looks."

I muttered, "Why doesn't being into someone physically count as liking them…"

Then I suddenly remembered something. "Hey, bro, since you're living with Aaron, where's your girlfriend? Shouldn't I be calling someone sister-in-law by now?"

"Which one are you talking about? I've got a whole lineup," Wesley shot back with a grin.

I remained silent.

Wesley pinched the bridge of his nose. "Anyway, I've been on leave, grinding away at Tiger Vanguard. Where would I even find the time to get you a sister-in-law?"

Mystery solved. No wonder Wesley hasn't set foot outside lately. Turns out he's been gaming all night.

"Is Aaron into gaming too?" I asked, thinking back to that quick flash of his game screen.

Wesley just shrugged. "Him? Just a little worse than me."

If he's even worse than Wesley, then he must be a total noob!

After that, I barely saw Aaron in person. Most of our time was spent chatting on WhatsApp.

No matter how many flirty hints I dropped under the guise of asking math questions, he'd always effortlessly redirect things back to calculus.

After a while, our relationship hadn't moved an inch, but my calculus grades shot up like crazy.

The head of our dorm gave me some advice. "Girls are at their most attractive when they're killing it at something they're good at."

The only thing I could actually beat Aaron at was video games.

So I opened up WhatsApp and sent a sweet, soft voice note to Aaron, whom I'd saved in my contacts as "Boyfie."

"Aaron, are you playing games right now? Can I join you?" I cooed, putting on my sweetest voice.

[No], he replied, blunt as ever.

I was not at all surprised by his rejection.

I coaxed, [It's fine if you're not great, Aaron. I can totally carry you.]

He texted back, short and to the point, [Sorry, I'm streaming.]

Wait, streaming? If he's really that much of a noob, is he trying to be a comedy streamer or something?

The more I thought about it, the more something just didn't add up.

I quickly grabbed my phone and searched Aaron's name online.

Turns out, the guy Wesley casually said was "just a little worse than him" is actually a legend in the esports world. He was famous for his savage gameplay and known everywhere as "The Ace."

And to think, I was just shamelessly boasting about carrying him up the ranks.

Before I could even feel embarrassed, I found Aaron's stream and clicked in. Sure enough, it was the same old Aaron on screen.

His stream was basically Aaron in digital form.

He barely spoke, was dead serious, and totally aloof.

Whenever he wasn't smiling, he radiated a 'keep your distance' aura.

Honestly, the only reason his stream was blowing up was his god-tier gameplay and that drop-dead gorgeous face.

His fans were just like him. They were chill, low-key, and mostly just talking about gameplay and skills.

But after that little incident, some new comments started popping up in the chat.

[Who's that girl on WhatsApp who said The Ace isn't good at games? Aaron's so competitive, but he didn't even get pissed, just calmly replied to her every time...], one fan commented.

[Hahaha, that's my first real laugh today. If I were that girl, I'd be cringing so hard right now!], another fan commented.

I remained silent.

After a while, the host seemed to notice the vibe was getting a little too dead.

He decided to spice things up by randomly picking a viewer to join the stream for a voice chat and promised to grant them one small wish.

As soon as I heard that, I started flooding the chat with my username, [Aaron's Wife].

[Baby, pick me!], I commented.

[Babe, do you have a map? I think I got lost in your eyes.], I commented again.

[Aaron, come back to bed...], I posted another comment.

[When our kid's born, I'll take their last name.], I commented.

My comments quickly cut through the flood of both wholesome and totally unhinged messages in the chat, grabbing everyone's attention.

Aaron looked like he'd just seen something he couldn't unsee, then nodded toward me, "Pick her."

The chat instantly lit up.

[Aaron's so savage! The girl just dropped a few flirty lines, and now he's roasting her in front of everyone!], one fan posted.

[You didn't know? Aaron seriously can't stand obsessed girlfriend fans...], another fan chimed in.

[Pretty sure The Ace isn't trying to be mean. He's just giving this cutie a gentle reality check so she'll watch her words next time.], another comment read.