Love and Deception in the Gaming World

I was playing a co-op game with my boyfriend when we ran into this girl who was all sweet and innocent on the surface but clearly had her sights set on him. Despite her constant flirting, my boyfriend actually defended her. Fed up, I snapped and told him we were done.

After she was done with my ex, she turned her attention to me. With her sugary words, she somehow convinced me to start playing games with her. It wasn't until I met her in person that I realized the whole thing had been a setup-someone had orchestrated it all to break us up. And the mastermind? My first love.

You know the type-the kind of girl who charms men effortlessly but makes every woman want to scream.

Watching her intrude on what used to be our cozy gaming sessions was infuriating. My mood tanked as she kept stealing the spotlight.

"Davie Price, this is your last warning. If you invite her again, don't bother calling me!" I finally exploded, issuing an ultimatum right in front of her.

She sent a crying emoji and typed, "Sis, don't be mad. I only joined because I like you! If you hate me, I'll leave right now. Don't take it out on him!" And with that, she left the room.

Davie wasn't happy. "It's just a game. Why are you picking on her?" he said, clearly annoyed.

And then, of course, he invited her back.

Fine. Just fine.

"Davie, we're done!" I shouted.

1.

After countless complaints about Davie's gaming addiction, he finally remembered he had a girlfriend. His brilliant solution? Get me hooked on games too.

While it didn't solve the root problem, at least we had fun playing together.

I was enjoying.

Davie was pretty good at the MOBA game, especially in the bot lane, and occasionally as a jungler. He hit the top rank every season, so carrying a newbie like me was no big deal for him.

I wasn't a complete rookie, though. I'd secretly studied the game to keep up with him. I usually played support, sticking to Davie like glue, even though I hated it.

I preferred being the one carrying the team, but every time I didn't follow Davie's lead, he'd get mad. So, I sucked it up and played along.

The character Yuumi was often banned, but whenever possible, Davie would help me pick her. In the last game, without Yuumi, Davie didn't shine. As soon as we entered the selection phase, Davie frantically typed. "Don't pick Yuumi! Leave it to me!"

Our teammates were considerate and banned other supports, and surprisingly, the opposing team didn't ban Yuumi either. With everything in our favor, Davie's tone lightened considerably.

"Sweetheart, quickly help pick Yuumi. With her, we're sure to win!" Davie typed, "First pick, please help us get Yuumi, thanks bro!"

I hurriedly pre-selected and repeatedly requested help.

The first pick seemed AFK, and as the timer ran out, they finally said, "Why are you calling me bro? I'm a lady, hmph!"

And then she chose Yuumi instead.

Davie was speechless, furiously typing, "I asked you to pick, not to choose her! What are you doing?"

"It's okay, let's see if we can trade later. You pick your hero!" I tried to calm Davie.

Davie chose Lucian and told the first pick. "What do you want to play? The fourth pick will trade with you."

I waited but the first pick didn't respond, so I chose Janna based on their pre-selection.

After all heroes were selected, there was a brief adjustment period. I immediately requested a trade with the first pick.

Davie kept urging me, but every time I requested, they refused. We entered the game without exchanging a word.

Davie was fuming. "What's going on, Erika? Didn't you trade?" he asked.

I sighed. "I tried, but they refused. It's fine, girls like playing Yuumi."

Davie wasn't buying it. "She's no girl. Her name sounds like a guy's. Disgusting!"

I finally noticed the first pick's name. Little Bunny.

Hard to say.

As soon as the game started, Little Bunny said. "Don't worry, my Yuumi is really good!"

At this point, I decided not to dwell on it and focused on playing my part, sending a quick "Good luck!"

Yuumi helped clear a few waves of minions and was about to reach level four. After Davie's frequent pings, she wandered to the bot lane, just in time to spot the enemy jungler ambushing Lucian.

Little Bunny. "Don't worry, I'm here to protect you!"

Davie paused Lucian for a moment, used his first skill to harass the enemy jungler, and quickly retreated. The enemy mid-lane and support characters also closed in, and I rushed to the bot lane to help hold off the enemy support. The enemy jungler tower-dived, and their marksman moved in to pressure Davie.

Meanwhile, the enemy mid threw a control skill, which Yuumi absorbed, triggering her passive and transforming into a deer, running towards Davie. In deer form, she slowed the enemy just enough for Lucian to pull back to safety, using his first skill to harass the jungler again. The enemy marksman continued to advance, but Yuumi used her interference skill to return to human form and pushed them back with her first skill. Davie seized the opportunity to attack, and just as our jungler secured the dragon, Lucian reached level four and charged in, securing a double kill.

The enemy mid came in with their ultimate, and Lucian was low on health, unable to escape. At the critical moment, Yuumi reached level four, used her ultimate to shield Lucian from a fatal blow, then jumped down to block the enemy support's control, refreshed her passive, and used her ultimate again to shield Lucian. Davie, thrilled, praised Yuumi's skill, dodged the enemy's attacks, and took down the enemy mid and support, achieving a quadra kill!

This quadra kill left Davie in high spirits, and he pinged Yuumi's avatar, signaling "Well done."

Little Bunny. "Brother, stop praising me, I'm getting shy!"

The recent counterattack gave Lucian a huge advantage, and with Yuumi constantly by his side, Davie was relaxed and even started chatting with Yuumi.

Davie. "Are you really a girl?"

Little Bunny. "Yes, brother."

Davie. "Turn on your mic, let me hear."

Little Bunny. "Brother, I'm secretly playing, can't turn on the mic!"

To convince Davie, Little Bunny added. "How about adding me as a friend? Next time, I'll let you hear my voice?"

Davie, completely forgetting I was also in the game, readily agreed. "Sure, follow me, and we'll add each other after the game."

"Davie... Davie... Davie!" I called out to him several times, but he didn't hear me. I couldn't help but raise my voice.

Davie, in a frenzy of killing, finally responded casually, "What's up, babe? Having trouble? Don't worry, I'll kill them all!"

I watched as he and Yuumi rampaged across the map, killing and pushing towers, while I aimlessly roamed the jungle area, clearing small camps and taking down dragons.

It was boring. Seeing Davie gradually forget how much he initially disliked Little Bunny, I unhappily asked, "You're not really going to ditch me to play with her, are you?"

Davie chuckled, "How could I ever leave you, sweetheart? This Yuumi is pretty good. I just see her as a means to an end. Didn't you always want to try other roles? Now's your chance!"

Davie's words were considerate, but I heard the underlying message. "She plays Yuumi better than you, so you should try something else!"

Sure enough, as soon as the game ended, Davie invited Little Bunny into the team.

Little Bunny. "Janna is here too! Is he your boyfriend?"

"Yes!" I quickly replied, hoping Little Bunny would take the hint and leave.

Little Bunny. "What a pity, I also want such a skilled boyfriend."

At the same time, Little Bunny sent a friend request.

2.

After Little Bunny's provocations, she continued to oppose me in the following games.

At level one, she didn't buy the Relic Shield and stood in the mid lane. I sensed something was off, checked the stats, and quickly said, "Why didn't Yuumi buy the Relic Shield?"

I thought she would come up with some excuse like she forgot or got stuck, but to my surprise, she said directly, "I want to reach level four quickly to protect Davie."

I was at a loss for words. "If you do that, I won't be able to reach level four!"

In her sweet, soft voice, she replied, "It's okay, he is strong enough to handle it."

Her passive-aggressive attitude made me too lazy to argue, so I just called out Davie's name.

Davie, who had been silent, only spoke up when I called him, "Erika, whether you're level four or not doesn't make much difference. Just let her have it."

When no one else is around, he calls me 'baby, ' but in front of others, he just uses my name!

And now Davie was siding with her. I was fuming with rage!

"Davie, you've got some nerve! You'd rather have Yuumi than your girlfriend, huh?"

Davie seemed irritated. "Don't make a big deal out of it. Aren't we playing a game? Winning the game should come first!"

In her sweet voice, she said, "Sister, don't be mad. I'll step out, don't fight with brother over me."

After saying that, Yuumi reached level four and rushed to the development lane. I opened the panel and only bought the knowledge Relic Shield when I got there.

Fine! She's doing it on purpose to annoy me!

Yuumi settled in the development lane, completely ignoring how many people were ganking me in the mid lane. The jungle was almost entirely invaded.

I fought tooth and nail to help the jungler defend the jungle. Once the jungler's economy improved, he decided to let me have a blue buff as thanks.

I was just about to finish off the last bit of the blue buff when Lucian passed by, and Yuumi jumped from his head to mine, using a skill to take my blue.

I reached my breaking point. This manipulative girl was not only chatting happily with my boyfriend, calling him 'brother' right in front of me, but now she was blatantly stealing my blue buff?

"Davie, did you see that? She took my blue buff! How am I supposed to play without it?"

In her sweet voice, she said, "Sister, I'm sorry. I saw you were struggling and wanted to help..."

"Stop calling yourself 'I' like that, it's disgusting. Can't you act a bit more like a grown-up?"

In her sweet voice, she replied, "I'm just a girl!"

Davie defended her again, "Alright, Erika, she didn't do it on purpose. She took it, and Yuumi doesn't have blue either. Just go back and recover."

"Why should I? It's not your blue buff; the jungler gave it to me." I was indignant.

Davie, impatient, said, "Didn't you refuse the buff when the jungler offered it to you before? Why are you making a fuss now? Do you have a thing for the jungler? If he's so great, why don't you duo with him?"

Unbelievable. Davie used to be domineering, but he was never this unreasonable!

It's all because of this manipulative girl. I couldn't back down and continued, "What was I playing before? Yuumi! I didn't want to affect your growth, so I didn't take it! Now I'm playing Ahri, and you're saying I'm being petty? I don't care if she did it on purpose or not; it's ruining my game experience. Kick her out next round."

Davie coldly replied, "There won't be a next round. I have something to do later, not playing anymore." I was at a loss for words.

Davie was doing it again, saying this whenever he got angry. This time it was clearly his fault. He was ignoring me for a manipulative girl and even belittling me. Does he still expect me to coax him?

No way!

I was seething, too furious to even think straight!

I rambled on sarcastically, but Davie didn't respond. Just as I was getting into it, I saw a message in the chat box, which made me even angrier.

In her sweet voice, she said, "Sister, stop scolding. Brother has muted you."

After the game ended, Davie left the room immediately, leaving me and the manipulative girl staring at each other. I quickly exited too, to avoid the bad luck.

As soon as I left, the manipulative girl invited me again. I declined, then she invited me again, just like when I first asked to swap heroes.

The manipulative girl was really persistent. I was about to quit the game altogether, but then I got curious about why she was inviting me. Davie's icon had already dimmed. Was she trying to duo with me?

I accepted the invitation, and the screen switched to the team room.

"Why did you invite me?" I asked, annoyed.

In her sweet voice, she said, "Sister, why don't you add me as a friend? QAQ"

I didn't expect it to be because of this. Should I add her? So I can watch her and my boyfriend being all lovey-dovey, playing together every day?

"I'm not interested in manipulative girls."

In her sweet voice, she said, "Really? Just add me to find out."

I fiercely hit decline and closed the game.

I had a cold war with Davie for several days, and he didn't come to me with a single soft word. When I checked the game records, wow, he hadn't missed a beat, playing with the manipulative girl every day.

Sitting around waiting isn't my style, so I took the initiative to add the manipulative girl as a game friend. She accepted immediately.

I messaged her. "Is it fun to flirt with someone else's boyfriend?"

In her sweet voice, she said, "Sister, what are you talking about?"

Feigning ignorance.

I continued, "Do you know that because of you, we've been in a cold war for days? He's been playing with you every day, completely ignoring me. We're about to break up."

In her sweet voice, she said, "So you haven't broken up yet?"

That was definitely a provocation, right?

I knew she was thick-skinned, so appealing to emotion was out of the question. I decided to reason with her.

Was she in such a hurry to take my place? Because Davie was good at games? Come on, girl, a guy like him is obviously a jerk! I'm a cautionary tale. You won't have a good ending with him, so you should stay away from him!"

In her sweet voice, she said, "Then why don't you leave him quickly?"

I was speechless, awkwardly replying, "It's none of your business. Just stay away from him."

In her sweet voice, she said, "Thank you, sister. I understand."

I took it as a sign that the manipulative girl had come to her senses and hoped she'd quickly find a new target and stay away from us.

That night, after taking a shower, I was about to lie in bed and enjoy a drama when Davie suddenly messaged me. "Baby, what are you doing?"

I smirked. Finally remembered me, huh?

I planned to ignore him for a bit, watch an episode of my drama first, but Davie seemed anxious, sending me messages non-stop.

I had no choice but to reply, "Watching a drama."

Davie. "Stop watching, come play a game."

Davie had time to invite me to play, so his Yuumi must not be around? It seemed the manipulative girl really listened to what I said.

I happily opened the game and accepted Davie's invitation.

As soon as I entered the room, my mood soured.

I texted Davie. "Why is she still here?"

Davie ignored me, and when I switched back to the game, the match had already started.

I hesitated but clicked confirm, curious about what they were up to.

Yuumi was banned, so the manipulative girl picked another support-Austin. Davie didn't choose Lucian; he switched to playing another character.

It seemed they had been practicing a lot these past few days, working together seamlessly.

I resolved to keep my cool, not let the manipulative girl get to me, and avoid another fight with Davie.

Fortunately, this time the manipulative girl didn't deliberately come to mess with me. I developed normally, and in one team fight, I dealt a lot of damage, securing a beautiful triple kill.

I let out a long breath, feeling smug for showing off my skills in front of Davie. See how much talent was wasted when he always made me play support!

I hadn't even been proud for three seconds when the manipulative girl's words broke my defense again.

In her sweet voice, she said, "Brother, sister isn't as bad as you said! She's much better than me!"

I typed a question mark. So Davie had been badmouthing me to the manipulative girl all this time?

Davie also replied with a question mark.

In her sweet voice, she said, "Did I say something wrong? But brother did say he prefers my Yuumi!"

In her sweet voice, she said, "I like you too!"

Herewith an emoji.

So Davie invited me to play just to watch them flaunt their affection?

This was a real emotional blow! What I said to the manipulative girl last time had no effect; she was even more brazen now. I had no choice but to give Davie one last chance. it's either her or me.

As soon as the game ended, I told Davie immediately, "Davie, this is your last warning. If you invite her again, don't bother looking for me!"

The manipulative girl sent a crying emoji and typed, "Sister, don't be mad. It's because I like you that I pestered brother to invite me to play with you. If you dislike me, I'll leave now. Don't be mad at brother!"Then she left the room.

Davie said unhappily, "It's just a stupid game. Why are you picking on a little girl?"

The next second, the manipulative girl was pulled back by this jerk.