CoP CH 2

When he first decided upon using this username, Sui Cannong never thought much of it. He’d never considered it pretty lyrical and cute. However, everything changed the moment that Ji Ling said it out loud. That “Alluring belle Su Meili ” was said so clearly, but Sui Cannong was no longer attention. He’d already decided which galaxy he wanted to immigrate to. 

Even so, he felt as if he needed to give him a proper explanation. 

“Truth be told, I don’t give much thought toward naming in general. For example, the pet turtle in my classroom, I named it Sui Yingjun. I keep the little fellow alive in a tank at the back of my classroom, and then I…”

Sui Cannong stopped himself, then realised that Ji Ling was still there staring at him. Realising that his explanation didn’t seem to help much, only serving to make the situation progressively more convoluted. Sui Cannong murmured,

“Firstly, you should sit down.”

Ji Ling nodded and sat down across from him. The appearance of this reserved looking man differed from the Antelope he knew of in the game. But however different  they may be, their images superimposed in front of him. Ji Ling and the netizen Antelope. He remembered that Antelope, they were the cooperative ally that always worked soundlessly with him through each day; the one who chopped down trees, bushes, killed forest monsters, picked mushrooms with him. Perhaps it really was him.

It felt surreal to Sui Cannong. 

Ji Ling assumed his teaching position at the international school just shy of a year after Sui Cannong’s own employment. At the time, his next door chemistry teacher friend, Thomas had said that there were rumours surrounding Ji Ling, and that they claimed his resume was near perfection. 

Sui Cannong would occasionally run into Ji Ling in the school, in either the stairwells, or in the campus cafe. It wasn’t anything special. Everyone passed each other every so often because it was the little space they were all confined to for this certain period of time. They’d smile, nod, say hello, and go about their day. There was never need to say anything of sustenance.

Thomas once said that he felt that Ji Ling was a bit stuck-up, but Sui Cannong didn’t share the same view on the matter. He had a feeling that Ji Ling’s behaviour was the result of being naturally introverted. Ji Ling was, according to his belief, just an excellent young man who was only slightly aloof.  

A waiter went in and brought warm lemonade at the perfect timing. It broke the silence, prompting Ji Ling to take off his windbreaker. He folded it up, put it on the adjacent chair, and ordered a latte from the server. 

Sui Cannong saw that Ji Ling seemed to hesitate for a moment, then he raised his hand and gently took off the pair of glasses on his nose.

He lowered his head, folded in the legs of his glasses, and placed them on a spot to his right hand side.

Sui Cannong was curious, 

“Are you still able to see clearly without your glasses?”

Currently, Ji Ling was about to drink his lemonade. His hand had picked up the cup, holding it to his mouth for a sip, but once he heard Sui Cannong’s question; he paused, set the glass down, and raised his head up to make direct eye contact with him. 

Sui Canong’s heart skipped a beat.

His mind began to churn at high speeds. Oh no, did I say something wrong? Or have I crossed any boundaries suited for a first-time get-together?

About five seconds later, Ji Ling spoke, 

“This is a pair of glasses that the blue light from screens. They’re not prescription lenses, but I have found that once I started to wear these glasses, my students exhibited better performance during my classes.”

The detailed explanation was surprising to Sui Cannong. 

“Ah…I see, that’s why.”

Ji Ling reaffirmed his standing by making a short sound of agreement. Then, he picked up the lemonade in front of him again. 

Sui Cannong subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, and also picked up the coffee and took a sip to hide his embarrassment. However, after a while, he couldn’t help but raise his head and stare at Ji Ling’s eyes for a few more seconds.

Once his glasses were removed from his face, Ji Ling’s face appeared to be slightly more amicable. His facial features were pleasant to look at, and he overall was a finely grown person who carried himself with an air of class. 

The arrival of a steaming cup of newly prepared latte brought Sui Cannong back to his senses. There was a lingering realisation that if he and Ji Ling weren’t colleagues, then they may have already begun chatting harmoniously about the game; whether it may be about its characters, its events, or they may have even complained about the game developers together. It didn’t matter what they theoretically could talk about together, but at the very least they wouldn’t be staring at each other in silence right now. Awkwardness permeated the stillness. 

The atmosphere was so suffocating that Sui Cannong realised that he was supposed to say something.

Sui Cannong: “Ahem, well how did you get here?”

Ji Ling: “I came by taxi.”

Sui Cannong: “Ah, then how was the traffic? Did you have any difficulty getting here?”

Ji Ling looked at him calmly: “You and I likely reached this cafe via taking the same road. My experience should be similar to yours.”

Sui Cannong：“……”

Sui Cannong was also aware of the blunt redundancy of his question, but he had no other choice but to push through the awkward tension and continue to make small talk. He said, “…It really is such a coincidence that we managed to meet each other through this game.”

Ji Ling was quiet for a while and said, 

“Yes, it is indeed a coincidence,” he didn’t stop there, “but the location-based grouping in the game’s design narrows the scope by a lot.”

He paused, directed his eyes downwards, and added somewhat stiffly, “Additionally, our working hours, duration of our free time, and residential areas overlap to some extent. Thus, the overall probability of our encounters should not actually be very small.”

“…Yes, yes, indeed.” Sui Cannong could only nod and smile at this point. 

Ji Ling let out another “Mhm.”

Sui Cannong now really only felt the deepest admiration from the bottom of his heart, because it was his first time being graced with the presence of such an expert on small talk.

Ji Ling’s tone was very calm, with little fluctuation in his voice. Every sentence he spoke was logical and well-organised, and it seemed very persuasive at first listen.

But if you think about it carefully, you’ll find that every word he says, you actually can’t follow up on. His expression is calm, and the contours of his profile look somewhat indifferent, a highly composed posture. But Sui Cannong also noticed that his speech seemed somewhat subtly fast. And during the conversation, whenever their gazes briefly met in the air, Ji Ling would always startle slightly, then quickly avert her eyes.

He is actually uneasy, and seems to be… trying to restrain some emotion.

Indeed, Sui Cannong sighed inwardly. Before getting off work, everyone was supposed to meet up with online friends happily. Who could have expected to run into this situation.

Sui Cannong said, “Go online, I’ll transfer petit butterfly to you.”

Ji Ling paused for a moment, then nodded. Both of them silently took out their phones. Sui Cannong logged in a bit faster. A few seconds later, the system prompt “Your friend antelope is online ” appeared in the centre of the screen.

Sui Cannong’s fingertips paused for a moment. But he quickly regained his composure, and connected with Ji Ling via Bluetooth, deftly placing the hero in the gifting area. The centre of the screen began to spin, and the confirm button promptly appeared. Sui Cannong clicked confirm, and the progress bar at the bottom of the screen began to move slowly.

“The petit butterfly prefers weapons.” Sui Cannong pondered for a moment, then asked, “I noticed you don’t usually mine much, and your overall proficiency is a bit low. Shall I send you some ore as well?”

“No need, I don’t need it.”

However, Sui Cannong received a negative answer. He heard Ji Ling calmly say, “thank you.” Sui Cannong was certain that the other party really didn’t want to continue chatting with him. Ore is one of the extremely important resources in the game, and it’s impossible for someone to not need it. Sui Cannong has a good temper, but he’s not the type to seek trouble.

From the moment they met, every topic was initiated by him. Now, the other party’s firm refusal clearly indicated that she didn’t want to have more interactions with him in the game. In fact, Sui Cannong completely understood. The game world is supposed to be a place for them to catch a breath, and others surely hope to escape from real-life social interactions and relax in it.

Unexpectedly meeting an online friend, only to find out that the person is a colleague in the three-dimensional world, Ji Ling might think today is just plain unlucky.

Sui Cannong didn’t speak again.

He returned his gaze to the phone screen. The progress bar had slid to the end, reaching ninety-eight percent. The next second, the words, “your friend has accepted your gift” popped up on the screen. Sui Cannong heard Ji Ling say to him again, 

“Thank you.”

He said,

“it’s nothing.” Setting down the phone, Sui Cannong’s gaze lingered for a moment on the latte beside Ji Ling. The coffee was no longer steaming, and the delicate latte art had blurred into an unshaped, milky white puddle. He realised that it was time to bring this absurd day to a close.

“As for the building of your petit butterfly, it’s best to level up her weapon.” Sui Cannong smiled at Ji Ling, “When chopping wood or running maps, you should give her the Tansy Flower four-piece set. She has relatively low health, so it’s best for the team to have a support who can shield her.”

Ji Ling looked at him, silent.

“… And don’t worry, I can keep a secret. Today’s events won’t be mentioned to anyone else.”

Sui Cannong said nonchalantly, 

“I’ll be counting on you for the next two months.” He did not directly point it out, but Sui Cannong felt that the other party understood the meaning of the sentence. Regarding today’s meeting, Sui Cannong’s feelings were actually more of a surprise. However, the restraint in Ji Ling’s behaviour and the discomfort in his expression made him realise that the other person’s mental journey was probably different from his own. While Sui Cannong sighed, 

“The world is so small,” the other person’s thoughts were probably, “I need to escape quickly.” Sui Cannong knew that Ji Ling might be hesitant to bring it up first, so he chose to take the initiative. Perhaps treating today’s encounter as if nothing had happened before the next meeting would be the most dignified outcome for both parties.

However, when Sui Cannong looked up again, he found Ji Ling staring at him intently. He didn’t speak, just quietly gazing at Sui Cannong’s face, with his dark eyes unmoving, making Sui Cannong’s heart race a bit. 

Why is he staring at me like this again?

Sui Cannong felt even more confused. Shouldn’t this be exactly what he wanted, to keep things separate in the future? Not sure if it was Sui Cannong’s imagination, but he had a feeling that Ji Ling seemed like he wanted to say something else. However, in the next moment, Sui Cannong saw him turn his head and slowly avert his gaze.

Ji Ling nodded his head ever so slightly.

“There is no need to be polite,” he said. After leaving the café, Sui Cannong thought that the day would end in such an awkward and constrained atmosphere.

Until Sui Cannong drove out of the underground parking lot and saw Ji Ling standing by the bridge.