Title: Us against the world
Author: 100thAngel
Pairing: Gen/no pairings
Rating: K
Summary: His new life began when he met Su Muqiu.
Disclaimer: The King's Avatar/Quan Zhi Gao Shou/全职高手 is written and owned by Butterfly Blue. I receive no payment or compensation for writing this.
Date of publication: 8/6/2017
†Us against the world†
The first thing he did was jump into a taxi. He told the driver to "just go", not caring where he ended up.
An hour later, he stepped out of the vehicle. He paid the man and looked up at the sky. It was dark, nearing midnight and snow fluttered lightly down from the heavens.
He'd only brought one bag with him, his brother's actually, and a handful of cash remained in his pocket.
He had nowhere to go. The area wasn't familiar either. But he had already made a decision to leave his family. He hadn't hesitated when he stole his brother's belongings, that child was too young to leave the nest.
As for Ye Xiu, who was only a few minutes older than his twin, he felt he was more than ready.
His parents didn't understand him, they never did. His home was suffocating, it was only a matter of time before he left anyway. He just didn't think Ye Qiu would move faster than him.
But Ye Qiu wasn't the one wandering around in an unfamiliar district right now. Ye Xiu had made sure of it.
He didn't care much for what the future brought him, he just hoped he'd be able to continue playing computer games… With that thought, his fingers began itching for the smooth surface of a keyboard and mouse.
His legs brought him in a random direction but as if summoned by magic, he ended up in front of an internet café.
The building was shabby at best. When he entered, the lights above the door flickered. There was an old man at the front desk, looking bored out of his mind, and only a few customers could be seen behind their screens.
The man looked up, barely spared him a glance, and told him which computer was open.
The café was small and only had around fifty computers but it was enough for Ye Xiu. Usually, children his age wouldn't be allowed in internet cafés after 11pm. He was thankful to find this place and escape from the cold.
He sat down and started playing a random fighting game. He was good at these types of games. Winning after a long and difficult battle always improved his mood. The person he was fighting against was especially strong. They fought and fought until early in the morning. Ye Xiu won all the fights but the other had been persistent.
It was fun.
Ye Xiu smiled as he left the café. He didn't go far and turned down an alley. There were a couple of old moldy boxes by a dumpster which Ye Xiu decided to claim as his temporary shelter.
After he woke up, he went back to the café. It wasn't as expensive as one of those upscale internet cafés. He had enough money to pay for a light breakfast of ramen noodles and ate them in front of the computer. He played all day long.
Like this, his new life began. It wasn't very comfortable and he hadn't had a shower in over a week, but he was happier now than he ever was living under his parent's roof.
He was free.
He missed his little brother a bit but knew he could never survive in this type of environment. Ye Qiu flinched at the sight of dirt on his shoes, he could never make a moldy box his bed. Perhaps he actually had a plan for where to run away to but it didn't matter now. Ye Xiu was the one who left in the end.
"Dammit! How could I lose again?!" Ye Xiu had just finished demolishing his opponent when the guy next to him swore out loud. Ye Xiu glanced at his screen curiously. The man was playing the same game as him. His character was lying dead on the ground of the area while his opponent stood over his body triumphantly. "Su Muqiu, you're so mean," the man lamented.
"Haha," Ye Xiu heard someone laugh as they jogged over. "You were good but I was better!" This cheerful declaration came from a child that, from the looks of it, couldn't be much older than Ye Xiu. "Since I won, you gotta pay up, remember?" The boy smiled and out a hand.
The man grumbled some before reaching into his pocket and retrieving his wallet. He slammed a few bills onto the table and stood up to leave. The two boys watched as he stumbled away.
"Su Muqiu? The Expert?" Ye Xiu had heard this name before. Many of his opponents compared him to this person but he didn't think he would turn out to be a child around his age. He'd been looking for an opportunity to test this expert's strength.
"That's me," Su Muqiu said as he gathered up the bills on the table. Just as he had neatly arranged them into a pile, another hand slammed a wad of cash onto the table. Ye Xiu smiled at the other boy.
This was the last of his money. It was all or nothing.
"How 'bout a round, Mr. Expert?"
Fin.