“Mm… this… it’s really good!”
Tian Jiu weaved through Windstar City’s snack street, her mouth full of takoyaki, yet she didn’t forget to heap praises.
“Pfft~”
Yue Mingyan watched her, her cheeks puffed out like a squirrel stuffing its hoard, finding himself unable to suppress a chuckle.
“Eat slowly, you’ll choke.”
“No… *gulp*.”
Upon hearing Yue Mingyan’s words, Tian Jiu seemed to want to say “I’m fine,” hastily swallowing the food in her mouth, only to end up choking.
“Cough! Cough!”
Clutching her throat, she appeared to be in considerable pain; while choking in 《A World of Companionship》 wouldn’t lead to the worst-case scenario, the agonizing sensation of being unable to breathe was still realistically reproduced.
“How clumsy…”
Qing Bai uttered with a sigh of helplessness, handing Tian Jiu a cola she had bought from a vending machine.
Tian Jiu, as if seeing a savior, disregarded the fact that it was Qing Bai’s half-finished drink and gulped it down eagerly, alleviating her distress.
“Mm… thank you.”
A blush creeping onto her cheeks, Tian Jiu thanked her with a hint of embarrassment.
“Don’t be so careless in the future.”
Qing Bai said with a resigned air.
“I wonder what someone who tripped flat on their face in their virtual avatar is talking about?”
Yue Mingyan, recalling Qing Bai’s face-plant during their first encounter, couldn’t help but retort.
“Hmph!”
Qing Bai let out a muffled snort, turning her head away, refusing to look at him.
“Let’s go to that shop.”
She turned her head towards a coffee shop, its interior bathed in the gentle, warm yellow glow of lights that beckoned invitingly.
Yue Mingyan’s eyes lit up at the sight of the coffee shop, as if something had stirred in his memory, and he promptly stepped inside.
He gently pushed open the wooden shop door, and the brass bell chimed softly against the wood, emitting a crisp, melodious sound that welcomed their arrival.
Yue Mingyan, familiar with the place, effortlessly made his way to a wooden table by the window and sat down, conjuring a floating menu window from the tabletop that displayed an array of dazzling drinks and desserts before his eyes.
Indeed, nothing here had changed.
Yue Mingyan chuckled softly, reminiscing about the days he used to gather with his friends in the old server, dining here.
Now, however, all that was in the past. For the current Yue Mingyan, only the present moments spent with the women beside him would forge irreplaceable memories.
“One Portuguese tart cake, please.”
It was Qing Bai who spoke; seated opposite Yue Mingyan with Tian Jiu, she raised her hand to beckon the NPC staff, speaking as if she preferred such direct interaction over self-ordering through the menu window.
“So, you like the desserts here too?”
Having placed her order, she looked at Yue Mingyan with keen interest, seeming to infer from his practiced movements that he had been a frequent patron of this place in the old server.
“Ah, well, compared to desserts, I actually prefer the Blue Mountain coffee here.”
Yue Mingyan smiled lightly and nodded to Qing Bai, then selected a cup of Blue Mountain coffee and two crepes from the ordering window.
“Are crepes alright?”
Before pressing the confirmation button, Yue Mingyan checked with Tian Jiu.
“Huh?”
Tian Jiu hadn’t expected Yue Mingyan to be ordering for her; she paused in a daze, momentarily slow to react, before happily assenting.
“Yes! Thank you!”
“Ah, here they come.”
Qing Bai watched the desserts and coffee being brought to their table by an NPC maid, speaking with excitement.
As they were virtual foods composed of data, the service was remarkably swift.
She picked up her own cake, cut a piece with her fork, and brought it to her mouth, savoring it delicately.
“Mm~~ still so delicious.”
A blissful expression bloomed on her face as the corners of her lips curved upwards.
“Here.”
Yue Mingyan picked up two crepes, handing one to Tian Jiu, who sat opposite him.
“Thank you!”
In the presence of delectable food, Tian Jiu became noticeably more cheerful and forthright; she thanked him with a hint of excitement, then eagerly took the crepe and began to devour it.
“Here, Alice’s.”
Yue Mingyan didn’t forget Alice, who had remained silent; he handed the other crepe to her, as she sat beside him.
“Oh? Was this for me?”
Alice covered her mouth, giggling delicately in surprise as she accepted the crepe.
“I’m an AI, you know; I don’t inherently have the habit of eating.”
“But you can taste virtual food, can’t you?”
Yue Mingyan said to her with a light smile, having already noticed in the old server Alice’s unique qualities and her fondness for the crepes here.
“That may be true, but other players wouldn’t spend Divine Coins to treat me to food, unless there’s some hidden quest or benefit involved.”
Alice chuckled, a hint of self-deprecation in her voice.
In her experience, only Yue Mingyan treated her this way, as an equal individual.
It was as if he regarded her as a truly existing person.
“Thank you.”
She smiled serenely, bringing the crepe to her cherry-red lips.
“Mm~”
Like Qing Bai, she wore an expression of pure bliss.
It seemed most girls were like this: a sweet treat that satisfied their palate was enough to lift their spirits.
Yue Mingyan gently stirred his Blue Mountain coffee with a small spoon, then raised the cup and took a sip; the familiar taste enveloped his mouth, stimulating the taste buds on his tongue.
Well, he retracted his previous statement; it wasn’t just girls, but humans in general. Savoring delicious food and drink brought joy to those who appreciated it.
Happy times always flew by; as the group savored their delectable refreshments and chatted merrily, time swiftly slipped away.
“Ah, look at the time, I need to log off.”
Tian Jiu glanced at the clock in the shop, which synchronized with real-world time; the hour hand conspicuously pointed to six o’clock in the evening.
“Thank you so much for today, Yue Mingyan. Not only did you help me fight the boss, but you also let me taste such delicious food.”
She stood up, curtsied slightly, and earnestly expressed her gratitude to Yue Mingyan, her sunny pink short hair gently swaying with her movements.
Having just experienced a full-dive VRMMORPG for the first time, she had actually been filled with apprehension. Naturally unskilled at interacting with strangers, she had also been blamed by her previous teammates, causing her to almost lose faith in the game. Had it not been for Yue Mingyan, she might very well have quit before even defeating the first main boss.
“Thank you for making me fall in love with this world.” A relaxed smile graced Tian Jiu’s face. “I’ll be back online tomorrow.”
“Mm, see you tomorrow.”
Yue Mingyan smiled and waved to her; after they had added each other as friends, Tian Jiu’s petite figure gradually dissolved into points of light, vanishing before his eyes.
“I need to log off too.”
Qing Bai said, standing up, only to find Yue Mingyan staring intently at her.
“Wh-what are you looking at? I’m not going to say anything mushy like that.”
A flush crept up her face.
“Oh.”
Yue Mingyan shrugged helplessly; he hadn’t really expected this young lady to say anything of the sort anyway.
“But…”
Qing Bai turned her head away, avoiding Yue Mingyan’s gaze.
“Still, thank you for giving me Bick’s Grimoire.”
“You’re welcome.”
Yue Mingyan said with a smile.
“Hmph!”
Qing Bai, her cheeks still faintly flushed, raised her hand and summoned her interface.
“This young lady will be benevolent enough to add you as a friend, you idiot! Goodbye!”
A friend request appeared before Yue Mingyan’s eyes; before he could accept, Qing Bai’s figure dissolved into points of light and vanished, apparently having logged off.
[‘Qing Bai Wants Cola’ requests to add you as a friend. Do you accept? Yes No]
‘What peculiar people,’ he mused. ‘It seems future adventures will be even more interesting.’
With that thought, Yue Mingyan smiled, raised his hand, and gently tapped “Yes.”
“These two haven’t left the party yet, have they?”
Yue Mingyan glanced resignedly at the party interface, where two IDs had turned gray.
“Well, I originally wanted to grind a few more bosses to level up, but never mind, I’ll log off too.”
In a party, if a player isn’t ready, other players can’t enter a designated boss instance.
Yue Mingyan had no choice but to give up; after all, his real-world self had decided to no longer excessively indulge in the internet, but to exercise more and maintain a healthy routine.
“Alice, I’m logging off now.”
“See you tomorrow.”
He said this to Alice.
“Mm, see you tomorrow.”
Alice’s crystalline eyes met his, and she smiled serenely, gently waving her slender white hand.
Yue Mingyan brought up the logout interface and clicked ‘Logout’.
His virtual body dissolved into points of light, and his vision gradually turned pure white; in an instant, it became pitch black, and his consciousness returned to his body lying in his room.
Yue Mingyan removed the full-dive helmet from his head and drew open the curtains of his room. It was still summer vacation, and the light at six in the evening remained quite bright.
“Alright! After dinner, I’ll go to the training hall and practice some spearmanship!”
With that thought, Yue Mingyan exited his room.
****
In a house just an alley away from Yue Mingyan’s, a petite girl lying on her bed slowly removed her full-dive helmet and gently placed it on the bedside table.
Sitting up, she stared blankly at the full-dive helmet, seemingly still savoring the incredible coincidences and adventures she had experienced in that world.
“Could it be… really such a coincidence…?”
She lowered her head, muttering to herself.
The figure of the person in the game gradually merged with the image of her childhood friend, with whom she hadn’t properly spoken in a long time. Unconsciously, a faint blush crept onto her cheeks.
“Yue Mingyan…”
“Xuerou, come out and eat.”
From outside the room, her grandmother’s voice drifted in, interrupting her swirling thoughts.
“Mm, I know…”
She responded, rose, and stepped out of the dimly lit room, one careful step after another.