Chapter 3

I wasn't much of a gamer—my highest was Silver II, and that was only because my classmates dragged me into matches. At least I didn't have to start over with the tutorials.

But after a few seasons, I logged back in, claimed a bunch of "Welcome Back" rewards, and inherited my glorious Iron IV rank.

Ryan checked my profile and said with genuine sincerity, "You're seriously gonna feed."

I nodded. "Who has time for games when you're aiming for early admission? Now that I've gotten in, I have time to play."

His face twitched.

So, this "Challenger" level player started playing matches with me. The rank gap was too big, so we could only play normal matches.

He carried me hard, ending games in like six minutes. It was insane.

Curious, I asked him, "You're so good. Why didn't you go pro?"

"Tried out for a pro team's training program for a bit. Got cut," he replied.

He wasn't shy about it at all, didn't seem embarrassed.

So, I shyly told him, "It was different when I went for academic competitions. I aced every single one. Never knew what it felt like to get cut. Hey, can you tell me? I'd really like to experience it myself, but, well... my skills just won't allow it."

His face twitched again.

Ryan found normal matches boring, so he took my phone and started grinding ranked for me. He was dominating every game, single-handedly carrying the whole team.

Meanwhile, I took his phone and proceeded to feed spectacularly, getting reported so much that his account got banned.

Honestly, playing on a Challenger account, I couldn't even move properly. I was lagging all over the place. By the time the enemy reached our lane, I was just leaving base.

My teammates thought I was trolling and spent the whole game cursing out my entire family tree. Honestly, they weren't wrong. I definitely didn't have my head in the game.

Someone on the other team was a big-time streamer. Their report got his account banned for over 3,600 days.

So Ryan's account got banned for 3,600 days. A whole decade!

Feeling guilty, I closed the game for him, worried he might have a heart attack.

Within a few hours, my account had magically reached Diamond.

He was cursing nonstop the whole time he played. The way he roasted people, I was already planning where he'd bury me tonight.

Finally, Ryan got tired. It was dark outside. My account was now way up in Diamond.

I checked the match history. Not a single loss.

The more you won, the harder your matches got because of your hidden rating. Ryan was seriously good.

Ryan wanted to check his own account, to see the damage I'd done.

After looking, he fell silent, then muttered, "Shit."

"Language," I teased him.

He glared, eyes red. "Shut up."

I pouted. "Fine. I'll give you my account to make up for it."

Ryan just gave me a deadpan look.

I tried to comfort him. "Look, without games, you can reach new heights in life, you know?"

Ryan gritted his teeth. "Say one more word, and I'll throw you out the window."

I shut up. He was practically in tears.

Okay, it was kinda my fault. If I weren't so terrible, I wouldn't have gotten his account banned for ten years.

What a nightmare.

Sighing, I left the room.

Ryan's parents were both home.

I said weakly, "I made Ryan cry. I'm sorry."

Ryan's mother rushed over. "He's really crying?"

She didn't seem mad, just amazed.

I wasn't sure. I took another look.

So I nodded.

Ryan's mother immediately grabbed a plate of fruit, pushed open Ryan's door, and announced loudly, "Honey, heard you were crying. Mom's here to watch. Don't mind me, carry on."

I was stunned.

Ryan's furious voice came from inside the room. "JANE HARPER!!"

He sounded like he wanted to skin me alive.

Ryan's father asked me, "What happened? What's going on?"

I felt numb. "I got his game account banned for ten years."

Ryan's father couldn't help it; he laughed out loud. Then he called out to their housekeeper, "Faye, you heard that? That was the best news I heard recently."

I was stunned.

This whole family was a bit unusual.

But the way they got along, it was cute.

Ryan's father immediately pulled out his phone and transferred three thousand dollars to me. Apparently, his son's account getting banned was cause for a major celebration.

My hand trembled as I accepted the money. I stood a little straighter. "Mr. Stone, I'll come back tomorrow, then."

"Alright. It's late. Let the driver take you back to school. It's not safe for a girl alone this late," he said.

I walked out. Faye smiled at me warmly.

I took the Stones' car. The place was pretty far from school, after all.

On the way, the driver told me Ryan had never been so mad before.

Ryan was obsessed with gaming. His parents couldn't do anything about it. Previous tutors all quit because of him.

Some tried playing games with him to bond, but Ryan just called them 'feeders' and 'noobs' until they got fed up and left.

No one expected me to gift him a "10-Year Ban" on my first day. His parents were thrilled.

I was speechless.

The next day, when I saw Ryan again, the guy had bounced back, like he'd recovered from the shock.

When I asked how, I was stunned.

I'd heard of people having backup plans, but having eight or ten backup gaming accounts? That was new.

Suddenly, the three thousand dollars I'd taken last night felt like it was burning a hole in my pocket.

I tentatively asked, "How about you rank up my account some more, and I'll play on one of yours?"

His reply was crisp. "No way."

I took out the test papers again and told him to get to work.

He hadn't written a single word on the ones from yesterday, too busy gaming.

Today was the same. The guy had already opened the game.