"If I could have the power to create a universe for you, it would have everything you ever dreamed about."
— Shen Yichen
Present Days
Yue was playing with her fingers on her lap, fidgeting about the thoughts of starting a conversation.
"Um—" she tried starting. Yichen glanced at her, yet didn't say anything.
"Um— I didn't really thank you properly yet."
Silence.
"Thank you for picking me from the bus stop and thank you for today," she spoke softly.
Silence.
Yichen had his eyes on the road, not responding at all. Yue glanced at him for a second and tried for the second topic.
"I hope to join a company soon. Actually I'm invited for an interview. It's a gaming company. Since you're interested in gaming, can you give me some advice for the interview?" She asked.
"Since when have you been interested in gaming?" He asked, furrowing his brows.
"Since I graduated in Communication Management, I've applied for this section under the Publishing Department. I have experience of doing an internship at a startup gaming company during my junior year at university. I think I'm more interested in talking to people and managing everything than the game itself. Then I joined another one that was pretty famous in Zhangsi."
He nodded slowly, acting as if he didn't have any idea about her life in these past ten years.
"There's only one game I played that my ex colleagues at work suggested. It was more like multiplayer online battle arena games, but they said, there's a character who looks like me. The character even has a name similar to mine. That got me hooked on this."
Yichen quietly asked, "What's the name of the game?"
"Arena of ZaYi. And the character was Yingyue. It's created by the company LuZa, the one I'm going to," She responded happily.
Yichen took a deep breath and said quietly, "I am not in a position to give you any advice."
She sighed, "I understand. You are getting old now, you might not find games that interesting anymore."
He eyed her in disbelief. He didn't understand if she was cracking jokes or being serious.
He stopped his car near a convenience store.
A few minutes later he came back with hangover drinks and gave one to Yue after opening the cork.
She took it without saying anything.
***
When they got into the elevator and Yichen tapped the 11th and 12th floor, Yue asked, "You are staying here tonight?"
Yichen nodded. Yue followed him, acknowledging. The door opened, and she stepped out. "Goodbye then."
As she was walking to the apartment, Yichen peeked out to see her reach there and hid immediately when she looked back.
After he showered, he called his friend Liu Zixing, Co-CEO of NYUXEN, a relatively new yet now a top gaming company in Qinghe, alongside him. Other than Gao Yuan, Liu Zixing was also his roommate during university study. There was one more roommate, Liang Shuwei, their high school monitor who didn't join the reunion, now the head of the Programming Department of NYUXEN, at that moment in Taiwan for NYUGEN's work.
Liu Zixing picked up the call, "Yo Chen!"
"It's past 2, you haven't slept?" Yichen asked, sipping into chamomile tea.
"I was testing the new game. What's up?" He asked.
"You know LuZa invited me to attend their interview this week. Can you attend instead of me?" Yichen asked.
"Ah….. let's see…." Zixing pretended to think for some second, only to come up with a solid, "NO!"
Yichen sighed. He knew there would be no use of pressing his friend. He asked, "You remember the game we developed when we were in LuZa, Arena of ZaYi?"
"Hm, why?"
"Can we do something to claim ownership of it?" Yichen asked, scratching his back.
Zixing stood up, dropping the game, interested suddenly, "Shen Yichen, what's going on?"
"Nothing really. That game is still very popular and you, me, and Shuwei actually did most of the stuff. So, it counts."
"No, it doesn't. It's LuZa's now. The heroes in that game are pretty popular."
"Yes, Yingyue," Yichen said out of his mind.
"Yingyue? Isn't that the character you took two months to build up? She is so different from all other characters. She's like a complete human. And I swear, that character's story was better than my life," Zixing laughed.
Yichen put his hand on his eyes, sighing.
Silence.
"You alive there?" Zixing asked.
"How many days left to launch Ashes of Dragon Heroes?" Yichen asked, standing up.
"Um, about 20 days."
"Extend it to 45 days," Yichen remarked, quickly opening his laptop.
"Wait! What?" Zixing exclaimed in shock.
"Please!" Yichen said in a pleading voice. Zixing stayed quiet for a few seconds, then responded, "Alright, I know you don't say anything without any reason. At least tell me what that reason can be?"
"We will add a new hero," YIchen replied. "And I will do everything to craft it."
"You? My Co-CEO? I have my full faith in you, but you are the leader now. Just give instructions to the employees."
"No. Just give me 15 days. I will have everything ready," Yichen spoke.
***
11 Years Ago- 10th Grade
"What are you playing?" Yue whispered from behind into Yichen's ears. He flinched at sudden hot air. He was sitting on the staircase, waiting for Yue. He would always wait there, saying he could only play when he was outside home, so he used to leave early to sit here and focus on his ranking. A complete lie. His house was relatively far from Yue's. He would leave early in the morning, rode on the bus, and waited there to catch up with her.
He stood up and started walking with her following him in the back.
"Shen Yichen," she called. He looked back smiling, "What is it?"
She waggled by his side and said, "Would you like to be a game developer?"
He furrowed his brows and asked, "Where does that come from?"
She walked in front, saying, "I just think it suits you."
"Suits me?" He echoed as they were walking side by side. "What else suits me?" He asked.
She glanced at him and turned away, not saying anything. They both smiled.
"Your drawing skill is exceptional. I just think you can create heroes perfectly with perfect stories," She said. "My brother talks about them all the time. He told me, you guys play together."
"Exceptional?" He echoed, smiling through his eyes.
***
9 Years Ago— 12th Grade
Shen Gouqiang looked at the paper in front of him that had the ambition and dream major of his son Yichen, written along with the university, signed by the homeroom teacher.
Xinyi and Gu Rulan, their mother, were sitting on the other side of the table. Yichen was standing nearby his dad. His dad stayed silent for a couple of minutes then he scrunched up the paper and threw it away. Yichen glanced at the paper for a nano second and looked at his dad, waiting for him to speak first.
"Game Programming and Design? Has your son gone mad or something? I told you not to give him a phone or any device until he graduates high school. Look now! He is taking his life for granted with this stupid major. I don't know what the hell he is up to. I cannot find him in his room on any weekend. He must be out doing some gambling on games and stupid stuff," Gouqiang spoke with fuming rage to his wife.
"Dad, there's nothing wrong with this program. People have so many opportunities with this major. Let's just support him," Xinyi said.
"Go back to your school, take another form and change it to Computer Science or Software Engineering," Gouqiang said.
"I cannot change that, dad," Yichen said in a quiet voice.
"What did you just say?" His dad's voice echoed, as he stood up, stepping towards his son. "Say that one more time."
"Dad, please— let me decide what I want to do. I know I can do—"
Slap!
Xinyi and their mother were raised on their feet. Xinyi came beside her brother, holding him.
"You are no son of mine!" Their father said, before storming into his room.
"I will take care of him," their mom said, following their dad.
Yichen broke free of his sister's embrace, took the paper from the floor, and left the house, shutting the door loudly.
"Chen—" Xinyi's voice dropped.
At night,
After Yichen returned and went straight to his room, his sister knocked on the door and went inside. Yichen was drawing something. His sister leaned in to see.
"Is that a girl? Why does she look so familiar?" She asked.
"It's nothing. Why are you here?" He asked, closing the note.
She sat on his bed and said, "He has calmed down. Mom and I talked to her. It's just that he wanted you to take over the company when you grow up."
"But that's not what I want. I want to do something on my own. It's my life," he said in a calm tone.
Xinyi nodded, "You look like you have made your decision after thinking a lot. Maybe you try having a talk with dad after some days, okay?"
"Okay."
Xinyi got up to leave but turned back remembering something, "Chen— I know something might have happened between you and Minghao's sister, so you become silent whenever I ask about her. But you were close, so you should be there for her now. She would need someone close right now."
"What do you mean?" He asked standing up.
"You don't know anything?" She asked, confused. "Her mother passed away this afternoon. She got into a car accident. Yue's stepfather has been injured and taken to the hospital."
Yichen's eyes widened.
"Minghao texted me in the evening. They are all in—"
Before Xinyi could finish her sentence, Yichen was already grabbing his jacket.
He shut the door and left for Zhangsi.
"I wish to live in a world created by you."
— Ruan Yue