Chapter 165: Frostbitten Reputation
Archie stood silently, his hands tucked into his jacket pockets, watching Micah with a surprisingly patient look on his face. He waited for Micah’s panic to settle, giving him the space without saying anything too quickly.
When Micah’s shoulders finally relaxed a little, Archie spoke in a calm voice. "I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want to. But just so you know, your reputation in the game is not actually that bad."
Micah’s forehead wrinkled. What was this? Was this manipulative jerk trying to console him or something?!
Archie kept going, his voice light. "But if you really feel uncomfortable, I’ve got a side account you can use for the tournament. I don’t really recommend it though." he shrugged. "Your FrostbiteAshe account has a lot of fans in the LOJ game. They already knew you were a freshman here, and even what colour your hair is! That’s how I found you so quickly, you know?"
Micah stared at him. His mouth had gone completely dry. He swallowed hard, feeling the muscles in his throat twitch. He wanted to scream. He knew it! Cora! It should be her fault! That cousin of his had run her mouth in front of her friends probably! Ugh!
He took a deep breath and forced the irritation down. The damage was done. He couldn’t erase it now. Instead, he should at least make the most of it. "That’s alright," Micah said finally. "I’ll just use my own account. It’s only silver rank, though. That okay?"
Archie waved a hand. "No, it’s perfect. This tournament is meant to attract people to the Esports scene. Beginners and all. Actually, using your silver account might help the gossip die faster. People will focus on the game and forget about the other stuff."
"Okay." Micah nodded impatiently.
They reached the campus gate just as the morning sun began to turn warm. Micah turned to leave when Archie reached out and tugged at his bag. "Wechat!" he reminded with a grin.
"Oh..." Micah reluctantly took out his phone and exchanged contact info.
As soon as it was done, he turned and walked off in a hurry, pretending not to hear Archie’s cheerful "See you!" behind him.