As Song Fu had expected, she indeed had more than a week of free time after the final exams ended.
As agreed, this period was naturally spent with Lu Yan Zhi. In order to make the most of the short time, Lu Yan Zhi even specially drew up a detailed itinerary schedule, specifying which day they would set off, which bus they would take, which flight, down to exactly what time they should be where.
However, this itinerary schedule was only strictly followed for the first three days, because after climbing the mountain and watching the sunrise the previous day, the only thought the two of them had when going down was to lie in bed and sleep the day away.
When they woke up, Lu Yan Zhi received a call from his childhood friend, who said that the game officials had recently held a fairly formal offline gathering event and invited a bunch of cosplayers.
“I saw the location you posted on your Moments, you’re right there at the event spot, wanna join in?” The childhood friend was full of enthusiasm. “At least prove with facts that you’re not some elementary school kid.”
Lu Yan Zhi was now in a state no different from having quit the game, and he couldn’t care less about proving anything to a bunch of strangers, but his childhood friend’s voice was too loud, and Song Fu overheard the content.
“Go ahead,” Song Fu said.
Lu Yan Zhi had no reason to refute. The words of refusal circled in his mouth once. “Mm, we’ll go.”
…
Although the plot was already completely beyond saving, this offline gathering hosted by the game officials was indeed a rather important node in the plotline. Song Fu thought that even just making a round there would be good; who knew, maybe she could rub off some points.
The offline gathering lasted a full three days. It was a commercial event hosted by the officials, so entry required tickets. They queued for a bit, and inside the venue, they saw the childhood friend waving at them.
“Did you guys get the event goodie bags?”
The childhood friend grinned cheekily, clasping his hands together in near fawning plea. “You guys aren’t really playing the game much anymore anyway, can you give me the redemption code inside?” He still sounded quite angry as he spoke. “I got mine yesterday and showed it off on Moments, and then some knife-stabbing bastard used the code. I’m so done; is it easy for me to get a complete collection?”
Lu Yan Zhi indifferently handed over the item, though it didn’t stop him from being speechless.
No wonder the guy had specially called to drag him to the event. What was wrong with buying one off a second-hand platform?
The childhood friend happily pocketed the item and pointed to the right rear. “The official cosplayers are all over there; they’re pretty spot-on. You guys can go check them out.”
A game friend who had met the childhood friend offline before crowded over. “Wow, who says everyone playing our game is dead fat otakus? What’s your game ID? Wanna add friends?”
“They don’t really play the game anymore now,” the childhood friend explained on their behalf, then properly introduced them. “This is Yan, and this sister is his girlfriend.”
Lu Yan Zhi nodded.
Song Fu smiled and greeted him. “Hello.”
The game friend blanked for a second. “The Yan I know?”
“Yeah, that’s the one,” the childhood friend confirmed.
The game friend’s mouth gaped even wider as his gaze fell on Song Fu. “Then… you wouldn’t happen to be Fu Guang Luo, would you?”
The childhood friend didn’t make a sound. When introducing them, he had deliberately avoided mentioning the romance pair and game nicknames due to the complicated situation, but it still got linked.
Song Fu had no intention of hiding it. “Yeah, that’s me.”
“Did you guys rush an offline meetup, or did you already know each other in real life?” The game friend couldn’t hold back his gossip itch.
This situation wasn’t something that could be summed up in one sentence. Song Fu frowned and hesitated for a moment, but Lu Yan Zhi already responded on her behalf. “What does it have to do with you?”
Lu Yan Zhi was quite intimidating with his expressionless face.
It embarrassed the other guy, who realized he had overstepped. He gave an awkward laugh and apologized. “Sorry, just curious, really curious…” They all thought Yan and Fu Guang Luo had broken up, but here they were together in real life, looking like their relationship was going pretty strong, so he suspected they had known each other in reality from the start.
Song Fu thought for a moment and still answered. “We met through the game, that’s right.”
“That’s great. Actually…” The game friend’s features twisted together. “I have you friended; I feel like your personality has a huge gap.” Completely different from the in-game self who brought up romance and bragging every three sentences; instead, she had a cool, gentle, bookish air.
He reminded her. “I often play with Tiantian; you two got along pretty well, right? Wanna chat?”
Song Fu’s gaze swept around but didn’t spot a face similar to the one in the Moments photos. “She’s here too?”
“Yeah, she’s in cosplay, out collecting photos right now.” The guy pointed vaguely in a direction.
Song Fu followed with her eyes but couldn’t pick out the person from the backs of the many cosplayers. She shook her head. “Nah, help me pass my goodie bag to her instead. Say that playing games with her was pretty fun.”
“Sure, sure, sure.” The guy agreed readily, then called out to the childhood friend beside him to line up for limited merch.
[Host, quick quick quick, three o’clock direction, that’s the female lead.] The System paused for at least five seconds. [The one next to her is her boyfriend.]
Receiving the instruction, Song Fu reflexively looked over. Cute features, wearing a little deer antler headband, ten fingers intertwined with the guy beside her, eyes curving into crescents when they gazed at each other—seemed very approachable. That made sense; this time, the female lead’s persona was the true, good, beautiful type, or else she wouldn’t have comforted the attacked male lead in the plotline.
She didn’t realize she had stared for a bit too long.
Lu Yan Zhi noticed. He placed a hand on Song Fu’s shoulder and tilted his head to look in the same direction. There wasn’t anyone particularly eye-catching; if anything, there was a guy who looked decent enough, the type girls might like. “Someone you know?”
Song Fu didn’t react at first. “Who?”
“The one you were staring at.” Lu Yan Zhi held back, barely avoiding a snide remark. He had to show magnanimity and composure.
Song Fu paused, her expression complicated. “What, you think she’s likable too?”
“What?!” Lu Yan Zhi glanced at the man not far away, then at his hard-won girlfriend, grinding his molars. “Likable where? You’ve never said I was likable; does he catch your fancy?”
He had completely overturned the jar of vinegar, the sour smell overflowing so much that Song Fu couldn’t ignore it even if she tried. She made a pausing gesture with her hand. “I was looking at a girl; who were you talking about?”
Lu Yan Zhi opened his mouth, then gave a smiley face. “No one.”
Good thing he hadn’t looked properly.
He pushed her toward another direction. “I see the game officials made some dishes that only exist in-game. You hungry? Let’s go try them.”
When Song Fu turned her head, the female lead had vanished around the corner of another queue. At this moment, their lives turned into two parallel lines that would never intersect again.
…
The people at the offline event were much more approachable than those on anonymous forums. Even accidental bumps led to three minutes of mutual apologies. Song Fu hadn’t planned to play much, but after wandering the map for two laps, she found it surprisingly fun.
The key plot point in the plotline passed just like that, plainly and without fanfare.
Seven days later, around eight-thirty in the morning, Song Fu appeared at the entrance of the company where she was to intern.
Lu Yan Zhi got out of the car with her. “Then I’ll come pick you up this afternoon.” More precisely, he’d come with the driver.
Though he had gotten his driver’s license early right after turning eighteen, he mainly raced on closed tracks. Now in a new city, the roads were more complex than a tangled spiderweb. Considering that if he drove himself to drop her off, Song Fu would have to get up at seven in the morning—too grueling—he gave it up.
“If your company’s cafeteria food isn’t good, call me, and I’ll order you delivery.” Lu Yan Zhi pinched Song Fu’s fingers; he always thought she ate too little. “If any colleague gives you trouble, don’t hold back with them. Don’t wrong yourself.”
She got nagged like this the whole way.
For a moment, Song Fu wondered if she was some kid heading to kindergarten on her first day, but being cared for so comprehensively was indeed a novel experience. Her brows and eyes curved. “Of course, I know. See you this afternoon.”
“See you this afternoon.” The car couldn’t park too long, so Lu Yan Zhi watched her for a stretch before getting back in, unable to help complaining that the company’s location was too remote, far from any of his several properties.
He had originally wanted to buy a place nearby so Song Fu could come home for lunch too, but the idea was shot down as soon as he mentioned it. Song Fu said her internship was less than two months; no need.
“Don’t head straight back to the neighborhood; stop by the supermarket first.”
Lu Yan Zhi looked at the recipes on his phone without lifting his eyes.
Might as well learn to cook while idle.
He absolutely could not let the birthday cake incident repeat a second time.
The driver glanced back at the rear seat during a red light and marveled at how quickly his employer’s mood had changed.
On the way there, sitting with his girlfriend, his lips hadn’t dropped from a smile, his tone gentle to the extreme. But now, he was just a block of ice, listless, looking at everything with utter disinterest.
In fact, Lu Yan Zhi was very annoyed.
There were many things annoying him.
Like why recipes always said “to taste,” why that damn company made interns work overtime, why he couldn’t find what Song Fu truly liked, why only he kept thinking about Song Fu nonstop, why Song Fu couldn’t just look at him alone, why—
On an ordinary workday afternoon in the rain, Lu Yan Zhi came to pick her up as usual and saw Song Fu carrying a paper bag, along with a man handing her an umbrella beside her.
He hurried over with his umbrella.
“The one picking me up is here.” Song Fu smiled at the male colleague.
The male colleague eyed the black-faced approaching man and raised a brow. “Your little brother?”
“No, my boyfriend.” Song Fu proactively slipped under the umbrella Lu Yan Zhi tilted toward her and waved politely goodbye to the male colleague. “If you want to chase Sister Xu, go ask her out yourself bravely. Beating around the bush through others won’t work.”
Rain slid off the umbrella’s edge. Song Fu noticed Lu Yan Zhi’s dampened shoulder and scooted closer to the center. “Do you hate the rain?”
Lu Yan Zhi lowered his lashes, sulkily saying, “A bit.”
The summer rain brought dampness and stuffiness, swiftly draining into the sewers after hitting the ground.