Tu Nan walked back toward the internet café with an oversized shopping bag slung over her shoulder.
None of it was for her. Every single item inside had been ordered by Fang Ruan.
That idiot had clearly been infected.
More precisely, he'd been infected ever since he started playing that game called Sword Soars to Heaven.
He'd played until the middle of the night yesterday. She had practically kicked him out and sent him home. And today, the moment he arrived at the café, he'd sunk right back into it.
She'd thought that was the end of it.
Who knew what nerve had twitched in his brain, because he suddenly came up with another idea: host a promotional event for the players in the café.
"This game's super popular right now, and it's actually fun. Too bad not many people play it here yet. I need to attract some traffic, boost revenue."
The excuse sounded grand and official.
Tu Nan, however, knew him too well.
"You just want to attract An Pei, don't you?"
"Heh. See through it but don't say it out loud. You're not cute when you do that."
Fang Ruan moved fast. He immediately drafted a long-winded announcement and pasted it on the café door. It claimed that anyone who played Sword Soars to Heaven at his café, reached max level within a time limit, checked in at the café for three consecutive days, and so on and so forth, would receive a prize.
And then he eagerly shoved Tu Nan out the door to buy those prizes.
Because he had to focus on playing the game.
Or possibly focus on attracting An Pei inside the game.
When Tu Nan refused, he resorted to whining and emotional blackmail. He went from reminiscing about their childhood friendship to reminding her that he had taken her in. He was just short of shedding tears. In the end, he even did something unheard of for him and transferred her a labor fee.
With the time he spent performing, he could have gone and bought the stuff himself.
Only because his acting was so exaggeratedly convincing did Tu Nan reluctantly agree to make the trip.
Tall plane trees lined both sides of the road, their branches knitting into shade. Cicadas shrieked. Sunlight pierced through in scattered flecks along the pavement.
The internet café was already close.
Tu Nan shifted the shopping bag to the other shoulder. She recalled the cashier girl whispering gossip to her before she left.
The girl had once read a true story online: a girl fell for a boy who loved playing games. So she started playing the same game to get closer to him. Then she discovered, wow, the game was amazing. Who needed romance? And she never paid attention to the boy again.
The cashier felt her boss might walk down the same path.
Tu Nan didn't think that would happen to Fang Ruan.
After all, he was shamelessly fond of pretty girls.
Still… though he liked women, this was the first time she'd seen him put so much effort into chasing one. Maybe this time he was serious.
She turned the corner.
They were there.
Tu Nan reached out to push open the glass door when she suddenly heard a familiar voice inside.
"Ruan Ruan, why have you been staying here more than at home these past few days?"
Fang Ruan replied, "Oh, Mom, this is work. If I'm not here, where would I be? You should hurry home."
It was too late to withdraw her hand.
The door opened, the bell above it chiming brightly.
Both speakers looked over.
Tu Nan turned around and walked away.
"Hey, was that Xiao Nan?"
Fang Ruan leapt up and grabbed his mother tightly. "How could that be? Tu Nan is still out of town copying murals. Did that appendectomy blur your eyesight?"
His mother immediately smacked him. "You little brat, what nonsense are you spouting!"
He dodged theatrically, but instead of continuing to hit him, she rushed straight for the door.
"Mom! What are you doing?" Fang Ruan hurried after her.
"I need to see clearly. If that really was her, your Uncle Tu would be so worried!"
"No, listen to me, that really wasn't Tu Nan!"
Tu Nan crouched behind a parked car, panting.
She'd already run this far and could still faintly hear Fang Ruan yelling. His mother had definitely come out. He was clearly giving her signals.
Of all things, she hadn't calculated that Fang Ruan's mother would show up. She'd never seen her here before. When Fang Ruan first opened the café, his mother had been openly disdainful. She hadn't even shown up on opening day. Tu Nan had assumed she'd never set foot in this place in her life.
This area was part of a high-tech business park. Office buildings surrounded them. There were barely any pedestrians, just trees and parked cars. She couldn't think of anywhere else to hide.
Glancing around cautiously, her eyes suddenly landed on a car ahead.
A black SUV.
A familiar one.
Tu Nan checked both sides, shuffled over, peeked inside. No one.
She crouched down by the car door.
Hiding beside someone else's car might look suspicious, like a thief.
But this was technically an acquaintance's car. Surely borrowing a bit of shade wouldn't hurt.
She set the shopping bag down in her lap and rubbed her sore shoulder.
The sun was harsh. Who knew how long it would take Fang Ruan to get his mother to leave?
The scene reminded her of when she'd first joined Xu Huai's team years ago. Once, under a brutal sun, she had hidden like this, craning her neck to observe murals beneath a cliff, eroded by wind and sand beyond recognition.
Her fingers rested against the car door, tracing absent-minded lines in the air as if sketching.
A sharp metallic sound rang out.
A sudden force struck her shoulder.
She lurched forward, bracing herself with one hand on the ground, and instinctively turned.
The car door had opened slightly.
A long leg extended out. A hand held the door.
Someone was looking down at her.
"Tu Nan?"
"…."
Shi Qinglin looked her up and down, expression subtle. He extended his arm and pushed the door wider.
"No need to sit outside. Get in."
Tu Nan hesitated, then climbed into the car.
The air conditioning was persuasive.
Shi Qinglin had clearly been sleeping in the car. The driver's seat was still reclined; he adjusted it upright.
Tu Nan wasn't sure what to say. Being caught crouching outside someone's car was undeniably awkward.
She patted the shopping bag. "I just went to buy things. Passing by."
"Mm?" Shi Qinglin pressed at his brow, as if only just fully waking.
She couldn't tell whether that was a question or just a sound. She gave up explaining.
He didn't press further.
Outside, the sun blazed. In the distance, Fang Ruan's exaggerated wail drifted faintly.
"Mom! Mom! My dear mother…"
Every shout sounded like a warning bell.
Tu Nan lowered her shoulders slightly, trying to make herself smaller.
Shi Qinglin studied her. "You're hiding from someone?"
"Something like that."
He glanced toward the back of the car, saw nothing, then looked at her again.
"Tu Nan, what exactly do you do?"
She considered seriously.
"Internet café administrator."
"Fang Ruan's café?"
"Yes."
The corner of his eyes curved faintly.
"Seatbelt."
Tu Nan blinked, confused.
The next second, the car engine started.
Shi Qinglin turned the steering wheel and pulled away.
The shopping bag tipped, items spilling out. Tu Nan gathered them back in and fastened her seatbelt, stealing a look at his profile. He didn't seem particularly expressive.
His gaze fell on the bag's contents.
"You need this much stationery?"
"It's for prizes."
"For players?"
"Mm."
Most of the café's customers were teenagers. If they were at studying age, they should focus on studying. Tu Nan thought stationery was perfectly appropriate.
Shi Qinglin let out a low, suppressed chuckle.
She frowned. "What are you laughing at?"
"I think you misunderstand modern kids. Playing games doesn't necessarily mean they're bad at studying. If you give out these things, they might not even want them."
Tu Nan was actually taken aback.
When she thought about it carefully, he wasn't wrong. Maybe she did have a bias.
"Then what should I give?"
"Are you asking for my opinion?"
"…There's no one else here."
Shi Qinglin smiled. "What game is it?"
"One called Sword Soars to Heaven."
He glanced at her. "You play?"
"Fang Ruan does." She certainly wasn't going to mention An Pei.
"Is that so?" His fingers tapped lightly against the steering wheel. He clearly had other matters to attend to, he'd only been napping on the roadside earlier, yet he didn't refuse.
"Let me think."
When he said he'd think, he really meant it.
Within moments, he had an idea and drove her straight to a destination.
A trendy storefront on a street corner. Music pulsed inside. At this hour, there were barely any customers, only a few clerks wandering around lazily.
Tu Nan stood in front of a shelf lined with various digital gadgets.
She picked one up. Put it down.
They all looked similar, yet the prices varied wildly. What was the difference?
Just as she felt completely lost, something settled over her head.
She reached up.
A pair of headphones.
Shi Qinglin stood beside her, holding a music player.
"Test the sound quality."
He pressed a button.
Music flowed into her ears.
It had an ancient flair. A clear flute introduced the melody, then the guzheng joined in, rich and resonant. Gradually, the piece swelled into something stirring and grand.
It sounded familiar.
Tu Nan listened for a moment and nodded. "Not bad."
"Then this one."
His suggestion was to give digital gadgets as prizes.
Tu Nan had no objection. Fang Ruan liked these kinds of things. Players probably would too.
Shi Qinglin removed the headphones and handed them to her, slipping the player back into his own pocket.
She paused. "That's yours?"
"Yes."
"The song inside…"
He looked at her. "The background music from Sword Soars to Heaven."
"No wonder." She'd heard Fang Ruan blasting it often enough to recognize it.
Absent-mindedly winding the headphone cord around her fingers, she asked casually, "You play too?"
Shi Qinglin shook his head. "No time."
That made sense. Someone who napped whenever he could probably didn't have time for games.
The cord was too long. After wrapping it a few times, she accidentally tangled it into a knot. She tugged lightly, only tightening it. Tugged again, afraid she'd break it.
She had no choice but to patiently untangle it.
Two fingers reached over, pinched the cord, and gently pulled it free.
Tu Nan looked up.
His lashes were lowered.
Up close, there was something in his features, something hard to define. Not merely good-looking. It felt uniquely his.
For a fleeting moment, Tu Nan's fingers itched.
It had been a long time since she'd felt the impulse to observe someone and then immediately want to draw them.
The knot finally came loose.
Shi Qinglin looped the cord neatly and handed it back.
"That won't do," he said lazily. "Shouldn't winding headphone cords properly be part of your basic professional skillset?"
"…."
Tu Nan found herself speechless.
She could only follow along.
"Right. I'm still a beginner."