It was a night in late autumn, so the wind was rather chilly.
I pulled a gray coat over my shoulders and grabbed my car keys out of habit. When I arrived at the door, I saw that He Yi was s.h.i.+vering a little in the wind. The car that was supposed to fetch us hadn"t arrived yet.
"Eve, why are you dressed so lightly?" I asked after shooting her a glance. She was wearing a coffee-colored windbreaker and a black-and-white plaid s.h.i.+rt only. The pairing was simple, but it still made her look stylish and relaxed. Though, with cla.s.s like hers, any clothes would seem fitting and beautiful on her.
She looked up from her spot and gave me a smile. "It was warm when we were inside the workshop. How could I know that our car would be late?"
"Yeah…"
Car keys still in hand, I walked up to her and brushed against her hand by accident. The moment I noticed that it was ice cold though, I couldn"t help but take her hand and say, "It"s really cold, isn"t it?"
"Mn," He Yi replied with a gentle nod and dazzling eyes.
I guided her arm toward me and stuffed both our hands into my coat"s pockets, injecting both of us with a surge of warmth. He Yi gave me a beautiful smile before leaning closer to me. We looked like a pair of lovers waiting for their taxi in the wind. For a moment, it felt like time had frozen for us forever.
……
Murong Mingyue and Beiming Xue shot us a knowing glance and wisely said nothing. But when Beiming Xue turned to grab Murong Mingyue"s arm, the latter immediately hugged the girl and lamented in mock sorrow, "We"re the only two left now…"
He Yi burst into a giggle. "Cut the nonsense, you two!"
Beiming Xue asked smilingly, "Big bro, are you and Sister Eve a couple now? If you aren"t, you really should seal the deal already…"
I s.h.i.+vered at the same time He Yi"s grip tightened around my hand. She chose to say nothing about Beiming Xue"s question.
"Er…" I stuttered a little. "I suppose that I can consider it if Eve doesn"t think I"m unworthy…"
Eve looked up at me and smiled.
Murong Mingyue looked like she couldn"t stand me. "Your partner"s the former Asia Region Vice President of GGS, the current vice president of Raincube Corporation, and a gorgeous woman with almost 5 billion RMB in total a.s.sets, and you"re hesitating to accept her? People like you should receive a 24-hour shock treatment from psychiatrist Yang!"
My lips curled as I replied, "Lifelong matters should be treated with prudence!"
Murong Mingyue retorted, "Lifelong my a.s.s, Eve might agree to become your girlfriend, but marriage? You have a long road ahead of you, dreamer..."
Unable to hold her silence any longer, He Yi faked a punch at Murong Mingyue while saying, "Are you suggesting that I"m not good enough to get married? Come here, you!"
Murong Mingyue dodged with a wide smile on her face. The atmosphere was warm despite the cold night.
A few minutes later, a brand new Buick minivan stopped next to us. It was none other than the car Lenovo had dispatched to fetch us. We went into the car and departed for the rumored Zijing Hotel.
……
We arrived at the hotel twenty minutes later. It wasn"t as luxurious as the hotel He Yi"s second uncle, He Jin, had taken us to, but it was still an incredible place. At the very least, a 5-star hotel was more than capable enough to receive professional players like us. It showed that Lenovo valued its players. They could"ve treated us to a Dapanji at a stretched noodles shop and achieved the same results.
Rose was already waiting for us at the receptionist desk. She was wearing a black uniform and her work badge in front of her.
Beiming Xue and I exchanged a bitter smile with each other. f.u.c.k, I can"t believe we forgot to bring our Lenovo badges for this meeting.
I jumped out of the car and led the girls to the receptionist desk. After greeting Rose with a smile, I asked, "Rose, we forgot to bring our badges. Will it be a problem?"
Rose giggled behind her hand. "It"s fine. At this point, who hasn"t heard of the Little Heavenly King Lu Chen, the guild leader of Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls From Water, their best priest Murong Mingyue and the Dark Archer Beiming Xue? Why would you need a badge to identify yourself when your photos are plastered all over the forums? Come on, this way. Everyone"s waiting at the banquet hall already."
"Mn."
We went up the floors with Rose until we arrived at a rather large banquet hall. There was a surprisingly large number of people inside. There were players with badges identifying their real names and game IDs, Lenovo planners and media people with cameras. Obviously, Lenovo was planning to use this even to promote their brand. They did sign us for an obscene amount of money, so it made sense that they wouldn"t let their money go to waste.
After we went in, Rose introduced us to a couple of people—
"This is the Director of Planning, Rabo!"
"This is the Director of Sales Operations, Oska!"
"This is the logistic manager of our Heavenblessed rosters, Dina!"
"Oh, and this VIP here is the CEO of the East China region…"
He Yi shook hands with all of them. In fact, she turned out to be acquainted with the CEO. The plump man let out a hearty laugh while he was holding our guild leader"s soft hand. "Haha, aren"t you the Asia Region Vice President of GGS, Eve? I wasn"t expecting to see you here! This is truly an honor… are you here as a player?"
"Yes, I am." He Yi looked at me and saw me staring at her hand. She immediately sent me a concealed smile and withdrew her hand quickly. "In Heavenblessed, I am the guild leader of Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls, From Water. Lenovo wanted to sign our top players, and I"m just the extra. Speaking of which, I guess I"m your subordinate now, President Luo…"
The plump man"s face was red with cheer. "Oh no, you flatter me too much, President Eve… I heard you left GGS and founded a company called Raincube Corporation? It"s an impressive company for sure, snapping up at least 4% of the current market shares the moment it was established. Did you know that the Hsu Corporation was forced to finance the creation of new market shares?"
He Yi smiled humbly. "Now you"re praising me too much. Me and my employees are just trying to make ends meet~~"
"If this is what you call making ends meet, then I might as well quit my job right now!"
"Hehe, you are exaggerating, President Luo~~"
While the duo were busy being courteous with each other, I was dragging Beiming Xue with me and looking around for food. My stomach was growling with hunger, and no amount of talking was going to fulfill its appet.i.te!
……
"Lu Chen, wait!" Rose called out to me from behind before catching up to us. "The two of you should sit at the table #1. My colleagues from planning department would like to get acquainted with you two, and some of the members of our rosters would like to discuss season schedules as well."
"Sure, but when is dinner starting exactly?"
"Er… it"s coming, it"s coming…"
Rose looked dumbfounded as she led us to our tables. Anyway, the bald or half-bald Lenovo employees stared at us as we took our seats, but the way they looked at Beiming Xue made me feel especially uncomfortable.
A few minutes later, a couple more players walked over to us and sat down at the table as well. He Yi, Murong Mingyue, Beiming Xue and I were sitting together, and Rose was just a seat or two away from us. Smiling, she said, "The feast hasn"t started yet, so why don"t we take this time to introduce ourselves? Let"s start by telling us your IDs. Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls, if you may?"
Not affected by stage fright in the slightest, I stood up and smiled confidently. "I"m Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand!"
On the opposite side of the table, a couple of female players immediately goggled at me and whispered among themselves, "Wow! I told you that that guy is Lu Chen. The Little Heavenly King is so handsome…"
Next, He Yi rose to her feet and introduced herself. "I am From Water."
The guys were almost drooling from their mouths.
Murong Mingyue didn"t stand up. She simply tapped the table with her gla.s.s and smiled. "I am Murong Mingyue of Ancient Sword."
Again, everyone"s gaze was trained on her. It was a good thing she didn"t stand up, or countless pure-hearted virgins would die at the sight of her giant b.r.e.a.s.t.s.
Beiming Xue stood up though. She was wearing a mini skirt and a pair of black socks, and there was about a 20-centimeter gap between them. There was just enough of her cream-colored thighs revealed to make anyone who was looking at her gulp visibly, and not even I was an exception to the rule. Beiming Xue had finished her first bloom, and it was only a matter of time before she became a beauty that could wreck countries with her smile alone, just like the Fruit Knife G.o.ddess herself.
"I am Beiming Xue, and I"m an undead player just like big bro!" Beiming Xue then leaned affectionately against my shoulder before asking with a smile, "Do we look like siblings? We do, right?"
On the opposite side of the table, a young man asked shakily, "Are Beiming Xue and Lu Chen really siblings?"
Murong Mingyue replied expressionlessly, "One is surnamed Beiming, and the other, Lu. Even with your toes you should be able to figure out that they aren"t blood-related."
The young man nodded. "You"re so smart, Murong Mingyue!"
Murong Mingyue: "..."
……
It was time for the others to introduce themselves. A brawny youngster rose to his feet and smiled genially. "I am Remains, a warrior from Vanished G.o.d City. I"m currently serving Blazing Hot Lips and my guild leader is Stranger of Three Lifetimes. Oh right, she"s pretty close to Lu Chen, isn"t she?"
I pursed my lips and cursed him on the inside. What the f.u.c.k man, you"re going to make He Yi jealous like this! My relations.h.i.+p with Stranger of Three Lifetimes is as pure as a white paper, okay!?
Next, a beautiful girl wearing a red s.h.i.+rt rose beside Remains. "I am Hidden Fragrance, a Level 149 magic knight. I am serving Purple Lily of Wind City!"
Then, a girl who looked to be about 18 years old next to Hidden Fragrance rose to her feet. To my confusion, she shot me a couple of weird looks before introducing herself timidly, "I am b.u.t.terfly Dance, a Level 144 Dark Ritualist. It"s a hidden mage cla.s.s. I er… I"m from Wind City, but I"m from Candle Dragon. Please don"t hit me, Lu Chen…"
I nearly spat out the tea I was drinking. "And why on earth would I do that?"
"Aren"t Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls and Candle Dragon at war right now?" b.u.t.terfly Dance asked softly.
I shrugged and gave her a rea.s.suring smile. "You"ve heard of the saying "enemies online, brothers offline", haven"t you? It"s very common to treat online and offline relations.h.i.+ps as separate in the gaming world. Also, the feud between Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls and Candle Dragon really belongs to me and Candlelight Shadow only, so you don"t need to worry about it. As members of the same team, it makes perfect sense for us to be friendly with each other."
"Okay," b.u.t.terfly Dance replied softly with a nod.
"By the way, did you say you were a dark ritualist, a hidden cla.s.s earlier? That sounds amazing. Do you happen to be interested in joining us?" I leaped on the opportunity to poach b.u.t.terfly Dance, and He Yi shot me an approving look. Apparently, she would"ve done the same thing if I had chosen to keep my silence.