"Boss, can I ask you something?"said Ye Muchen in a low voice. "Sure!" She replied.
"What is your dream job?" He innocently sat down on a nearby chair and asked.
Mei na sighed loudly and looked up with a smile. "I am glad you asked." She paused for over twenty seconds and took a deep breath in. "Ever since I was a little girl, I would watch professional e-gamers play Legend of Ace. Their talent of playing the game left me in awe. From then on, i too wanted to play the game—but everytime i asked my parents for a computer, they would just ignore me. I was so desperate that i told them I'll download it on their phone and delete it after I'm done playing."
A long paused followed for a while.
"One day we went to grandma's house to have lunch with her." Mei na continued. "I could not hold back anymore and asked her why mom and dad would ignore me whenever I asked about games."
Ye Muchen interjected, halting her mid-thought, "Well, did she tell you anything?" He asked eagerly.
"She said that it would 'affect my studies' and it's 'only for boys who are not smart'."
Ye Muchen's face expressed nothing but disgust, shock and confusion at the same time.
"Correct me if i am wrong but isn't this internet cafe your father's?",
"Well, you are right. He made this amazing, beautiful and timeless place after he started watching the LOACT which I watched on the television every time they went live. He was amazed, fascinated, and that's how, he too fell in love with Legend of Ace. He acknowledged their dedication and for them, he built Merry Internet cafe."
"I am so sure that your mother had to now scold the two of you." Ye Muchen added.
They exploded into laughter uncontrollably. Little did they know, someone was watching them, just a few meters away, behind a concrete pillar which was painted white.
Muchen, not minding, queried Mei na "You've got management skills, i mean, just look at this place. But, this wasn't the actual reason I came here. I wanted to ask something."
Mei na drew closer and he went on, "Do you want to be my team manager?"
Mei na's jaw dropped in shock. She was left speechless; the whole world paused for a second. "I-I th-the" She stuttered as she tried to speak, her eyes widened in disbelief and her breath shallow yet steady.
"You don't have to answer right away, just think about it. Take your time, though I'd appreciate it if you told me your decision in less than one hour." Ye Muchen spoke shakily.
Mei na nodded as Ye Muchen walked away. She thought to herself as she yanked her phone out.
"Me? As a team manager? That could be something, but also nothing. Wait let me search the duties of an e-sports team manager."
She typed out a prompt on ChatGPT AMD got an answer instantly. She browsed through hundreds if not thousands of words, her eyes darting left and right. "Hey this is what I do at the cafè! Except I have to plan strategies with the team." She exclaimed, her excitement wavering near the end.
She glanced at her watch, 6:34; as the slender needle of time ticked every second. She went downstairs to the reception, sat on her chair and continued browsing through information on being a team manager. Websites, videos, forums, any piece of information that could be helpful to her.
She heard muffled footsteps but could not bother looking somewhere other than her screen, she had never been so absorbed on something her whole life.
The footsteps got louder and louder. "Boss?"
"Hellooo?" "Mei na?". A hand suddenly snapped her out of her world. "HUH?" She cried out loudly. The whole place turned heads at her and she soon realised someone was calling her. She looked up to see Ye Muchen giggling like a baby.
"Sorry, I was reading something. What happened?" She asked. Muchen muttered, "Did you think about it yet?"
"Ah yes. I was doing some research on this stuff and I have made my decision." She took a deep breath and continued, "I will try for a few weeks, but if I don't like it or don't feel comfortable doing it then I won't do it. That is my final offer, non-negotiable."
"Okay, I accept it Boss." Muchen reached out his hand over the counter and shook her hand. "Welcome to SPARK!"
Now all that was left was to get team members. Ye Muchen fetched his phone from his bag behind the counter and typed out a message to someone. From the corner, a voice reached out to him. He put his phone in his jacket pocket and ran towards the voice.
Mei na leaned onto her chair smiling, feeling happy and excited. What could go wrong, right?
[Time passed and Merry Internet Cafè emptied as the clock ticked. The chairs arranged perfectly by Ye Muchen gave Mei na a strange sense of calm. The last person finally left and their day was now over.]
"Today was a long day, I can't wait to lie on the bed and do literally nothing." Ye Muchen's voice echoed till the other side of the room.
"Yeah, especially that noisy group of kids. I should ban them but they pay extra and leave tips." Mei na sighed as she relaxed her shoulders.
"All done, I am gonna go to my room now. You coming?" Muchen ran towards the basement door.
"In a bit. I just have to finish some work."
"You need help?"
"Nah, I'll be fine. Good night."
"Night."
Ye Muchen leaves and gradual thuds are heard. Mei na sits on her chair comfortably, legs crossed and grabs a chip from the open packet next to her.
[Ding]
Mei na got Li Hua's message for Ye Muchen. "Oh, I must be logged on Muchen's account." As she tried to exit, she got a little curious about his chats with Li Hua. She clicked on her contact saved as 'Li Hu' and started reading. Mei na had always suspected that they like each other but she couldn't find any messages to prove her theory, except... they message each other almost everyday. Maybe she has just gone crazy.
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