We arrived at the equipment rental area. This was a very popular game genre recently, and I had researched it before.
It cost 1,200 an hour.
Without batting an eye, Ye Xi bought a two-person package.
“I’ll treat you to lunch later,” I said. She paid for the game, so I would pay for lunch. It was fair — one turn each.
“Sure!” Ye Xi liked this little girl more and more the more she looked at her.
She asked, “Do you live near the Fourth Ring Road?”
I blinked and didn’t answer. “Let’s play the game first.”
Ye Xi’s eyes lowered, and she didn’t press further.
‘Is it because her family background isn’t great and she doesn’t want to mention it?’
She needed to be careful. She shouldn’t bring up this topic again later. When it came to paying for things afterward, she would just have to rush to pay a few more times. 1,000 wasn’t much to her, but it might be half a month’s living expenses for someone else.
As the game launched, Ye Xi began explaining how to operate the equipment. I maintained a faint smile and listened quietly, not interrupting her or mentioning that I had actually played before.
“Follow me and kill!!!”
Ye Xi raised both her arms high and let out a very chuunibyou-like shout. Perhaps she had too much youthful energy, but she managed to stir the long-dormant passion in an old person like me.
The sleeping gaming genes were gradually waking up.
“Over here, over here! You just follow me and pick up the loot. Leave the monster-killing to me.”
Ye Xi laughed brightly. “I’ll take on the task of protecting you.”
I was stunned for a moment.
‘Protect… me?’
In a game, this was the first time someone had said that to me.
My feet, which were about to rush to the front line, paused as I controlled my character. I simply followed behind her to slack off.
Unlike others, I didn’t have a strong desire to show off, whether in life or in games. To me, whether I was slacking off behind someone or being the first to fight on the front line, the result was the same. In other words, I didn’t care about the game itself; I cared more about who I was playing with.
This was likely my own form of kindness.
When playing with friends, I didn’t mind letting others be the protagonist, letting the spotlight of the battlefield gather on them. I liked seeing my friends’ happy smiles and their sense of accomplishment. I would also restrain my own sharp edges and silently play a supporting role when I wasn’t needed.
“How was that? Am I awesome or what?”
We cleared the first stage just like that.
She was indeed quite capable. Her gaming talent was strong; she could carry someone through a game she was playing for the first time with ease.
Ye Xi laughed heartily, disregarding her image. This was completely different from the impression of a refined lady she gave at first sight. Perhaps this was her true self, something she only released around friends and inside games.
“Great job.” I gave her an exaggerated thumbs-up.
“You were pretty good too. You didn’t drag me down. Otherwise, we definitely wouldn’t have cleared it in one go.”
Seeing this, Ye Xi became even happier. She even started bragging a bit, boasting about her past achievements. “I usually love carrying girls. It gives me a great sense of accomplishment.”
“Especially pretty girls. It’s like a shot of adrenaline. I can perform at 300% of my usual strength.”
I tilted my head. “Have you… carried a lot of girls?”
Ye Xi’s smile faded slightly as she answered honestly, “You’re the second. I’m a bit of a shut-in, so I don’t usually run into people who like games.”
‘So she was just bragging earlier.’
I felt a few more dark lines in my heart. However, I didn’t dislike my friend for being like this.
While the cutscene for the first stage played, Ye Xi started chatting with me. “Speaking of which, I was a bit surprised when I saw you.”
“Surprised?” I pursed my lips. “Is it because you didn’t expect me to look like this?”
“Yeah.” Ye Xi asked casually, “Have you ever had a boyfriend before?”
“A boyfriend?” The topic jumped quite a bit. I tilted my head again. “No. Why do you ask?”
‘Who has ever dated a boyfriend…’
“Oh, oh, oh.” Ye Xi stared at her manicure. “I had a girlfriend once. An online relationship, of course. When we finally met, she thought I was too short, so she dumped me…”
“…” I gasped. “Then she has pretty poor taste. Height isn’t a hard requirement.”
“Love is just about whether you click or not, right? Why are there so many standards?”
“Yeah.” Ye Xi sighed with emotion. “Do you have any dating standards?”
I pondered for 1 or 2 seconds. “Dating standards…”
I carefully recalled things from before I started dating.
“I think I like the cute type of girls. I definitely wouldn’t like someone too tall. I basically wouldn’t develop feelings for them.”
Ye Xi: “…”
‘You just said that love doesn’t have standards and it’s just about the heart.’
Ye Xi sighed. “What a shame. I’m a pure-love person. Once I lose at love, I won’t fall for anyone else again. Otherwise, I’d definitely pursue you.”
“Why did I have to meet you now?”
“Oh, I almost forgot. You’re different from me. You’re heterosexual…” Ye Xi shook her head to herself, finishing the conversation before I could even speak.
My eyes blanked. Me… heterosexual?
Do I really look like those words?
I guess… most people are heterosexual. Since we just met, she would naturally assume I was too.
However, I didn’t correct her. After all, I had missed the chance to correct her while I was dazing out. Going back to correct her now would seem deliberate and might cause a misunderstanding. Since I was already married, it was best not to say unnecessary things.
At this moment, I went silent, staring at the screen.
“Speaking deeply to a casual acquaintance” was a taboo. My relationship with Ye Xi wasn’t bad, so chatting a bit about life was normal. I took it as idle chatter.
Ye Xi was also silent. She was likely thinking of her first love, as there was a hint of hurt in her eyes.
After a while, she asked in a slightly raspy voice, “Xin Bao, do you think I’m really short?”
I pinched my fingers, thinking about how to answer appropriately without hurting her feelings. “You’re not short. I’m not even 1.6 meters yet. If you’re short, then I must be a dwarf.”
Ye Xi was probably about 1.63 meters.
She suddenly slumped over the equipment, her shoulders shaking. “But she told me she liked people over 1.7 meters. She said I was just a loli and had absolutely no…”
I naturally knew what she was going to say next. I had seen plenty of people picky about looks.
‘How is this person being picky about height too?’
In an era where the average height had exceeded 1.7 meters, 1.63 meters indeed wasn’t very tall, but it had nothing to do with being a loli.
“It’s her own blindness. If she didn’t like you, she didn’t like you. Are the words ‘I don’t like you’ that hard to say? She had to find a reason to reject you…” That was how I summarized it.
Ye Xi sniffled and wiped the corners of her eyes. When she looked up, she had returned to normal. “Xin Bao, you’re right. She’s the one who was blind. What’s wrong with me? Why should I suffer from internal conflict?”
“I understand. Thank you.”
She gave me a bright smile. “Starting today, I’m locking my heart away. To hell with height! Next time I see her, I’ll give her a piece of my mind.”
I also let out a heartfelt smile. Seeing my friend cheer up made my mood much better as well.
At that moment—
Suddenly, a milky voice came from somewhere behind us, clearly reaching both our ears.
“Mama.”
“Why didn’t you tell Zhizhi before you left?”
“I looked for you at home for so long…”
“And I didn’t see anything.”
Ye Xi followed the source of the voice, and her eyes immediately lit up.
‘What a beautiful little girl.’
‘Whose baby is this?’
‘And who is she looking for?’
I took off the headphones I had been wearing and looked toward the entrance with a helpless expression.
This child.
She was truly clingy beyond belief. She couldn’t leave her mother’s side for even 15 minutes.
Seeing that I had noticed her, Xi Zhiruo immediately ran over happily.
Under Ye Xi’s star-struck gaze, the little girl reached her arms out toward me and said in a soft, pampered voice.
“Mama, I want a hug.”