"Click."
Removing the steering wheel from the direct-drive motor, taking off his white work gloves, and rubbing his somewhat sore arm, Qin Miao leaned back helplessly against his seat.
Qin Miao had just participated in an ACC (Assetto Corsa Competizione) esports competition.
Although he drove too aggressively and crashed during the race, resulting in damage to the right front wheel and the car pulling to the right, he still persevered to the finish with strong willpower and his uncanny control over the car.
However, due to the damage and treating the simulator as just a form of entertainment, along with his academic commitments leaving him little time to practice, his performance wasn't ideal.
Turning on the barrage of comments in the livestream, Qin Miao spoke to his second-hand camera, purchased from a junkyard: "That one's on me. That overtaking maneuver was too aggressive. Without the car damage, I'm confident I could've been in the top 10."
Yet, no one in his stream replied to him.
Qin Miao wasn't surprised; after all, it's normal for a streamer who rarely streams throughout the year, and doesn't play popular FPS games, but rather a niche racing simulator with a high entry barrier, to attract less audience—and racing in first-person view, having someone watch is what's truly unusual.
"That's it for today. I'm signing off."
With that, Qin Miao directly cut off the stream and shut down his computer.
By now, the sky outside had gradually darkened, and his mother's voice sounded from outside the door: "Sanshui, it's time to eat."
Qin Miao responded: "Okay."
After answering his mom, Qin Miao left his room.
He washed his face and then sat at the table.
Tonight's dinner was egg fried rice, using up the leftover rice from lunch.
Along with a couple of ordinary homemade dishes, it wasn't luxurious, but it was full of the warmth of home.
Though there were no strict rules at the dinner table, neither he nor his mom chatted while eating.
After eating, Qin Miao washed the dishes and cleaned up the table before returning to his room.
Unlike his usual routine, he didn't turn on the computer again; instead, he lay on his bed and took out his phone to check WeChat.
The WeChat interface looked the same as when Qin Miao checked it before the race, unchanged.
The last message was sent by Qin Miao.
[Are you there?]
Even after roughly 4 hours, there was still no response from the other side.
Still, Qin Miao was eagerly hoping for a reply from the person on the other side of the chat, knowing that each response would make him happy for ages.
Teenage boys are pretty much in this state.
But some things are destined to let him down; until Qin Miao went to bed, there was no reply from the other side, as if he was entirely forgotten.
Before sleeping, he took one last look at WeChat, sighed, and turned off his phone.
The next day, Qin Miao got up early, just as his mom was waking up.
Surprised by Qin Miao waking up so early, she curiously asked, "Why are you up so early today?"
Qin Miao replied, "Got tired of playing computer, planning to go out and have fun."
Mom nodded, "True, staying cooped up in the house isn't good. Where are you heading? Want me to drop you off?"
"No need, it's near school, not far. I'll just ride my bike."
Seeing the time, his mom asked, "Want me to make you some breakfast?"
Since his college entrance exams ended, Qin Miao had been playing the computer intensely every night, resulting in him hardly waking up before 11 a.m. during vacation, naturally leading his mom not to prepare breakfast for him.
"No need, I'll grab a bite on the way," Qin Miao casually replied.
Mom only reminded Qin Miao to stay safe, then continued with her own breakfast.
Qin Miao changed his shoes, grabbed his bike key, and headed out.
Today, he's heading to a go-kart track near his high school.
Throughout high school, for various reasons, racing enthusiast Qin Miao hardly touched real racing, not even go-karts.
Since the go-kart track was near school, many of his classmates' conversations revolved around it, leaving Qin Miao with less to add during chats, mostly just listening.
But now that Qin Miao's graduated high school, he finally has ample time to indulge.
Also, after almost living on his computer non-stop recently, he's grown bored of it.
So, Qin Miao decided to relax his tension and stretch his stiff body.
His school isn't far from home, typically a half-hour walk; biking, Qin Miao reached the go-kart track in just ten minutes.
After locking his bike to a roadside tree, he checked his Alipay balance on his phone, set off eagerly yet anxiously toward the go-kart track.
But as he reached the entrance, he was hit with a wave of cold reality.
Arriving too early, the go-kart track hadn't even opened yet.
Glancing at the time, with about an hour till it opened, Qin Miao decided to visit a familiar breakfast stall near school for some food.