A Birthday and a Confession

Rewinding to midday, Yan, having finished his lunch, logged in earlier than usual, only to find Tian Jiu already online.

Yan was currently situated in the safe zone of a village within the Level 35 map. He hadn’t managed to return to Fengxing City before logging off earlier, having been promptly whisked away by his mother for lunch.

A timid voice broke the silence. “G-good afternoon, Yan.”

A flash of cerulean light accompanied Tian Jiu’s sudden materialization right beside him.

‘It seemed she had already grown proficient with the party teleport function.’ Yan, observing her, offered a faint, approving smile.

“Good afternoon, Tian Jiu,” he greeted. “You’re online quite early this afternoon.”

“Today, Grandma had prepared lunch earlier than usual, so I was able to log in quickly after finishing my meal,” Tian Jiu explained, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks. “It saved me the time I usually spend cooking…”

“Oh, I see! So you usually cook for yourself, Tian Jiu? That’s truly impressive,” Yan remarked, his praise genuinely heartfelt.

“Hehe…” Tian Jiu’s cheeks flushed a deeper crimson as she lowered her head, a shy giggle escaping her lips. Witnessing such an endearing display, Yan found himself unable to resist. He extended his right hand once more, his fingers gently caressing the soft strands of Tian Jiu’s hair.

“Actually… today is my birthday…” Tian Jiu confessed, her voice barely a whisper, as she felt the comforting weight of Yan’s broad palm. Her head remained bowed, her face a vivid crimson, while her restless feet unconsciously traced faint semi-circles on the ground.

It was, in fact, her birthday that had prompted her ailing grandmother, for the first time in ages, to prepare her a special lunch.

“Your birthday?” Yan exclaimed, a touch of surprise coloring his tone. “Then I absolutely must prepare a birthday present for you.”

“I… I wasn’t saying it to get a birthday present,” Tian Jiu quickly clarified, lifting her small face to meet his gaze.

“Hahahaha, I know,” Yan chuckled, his right hand still gently caressing her hair, the motion uninterrupted.

“Mmm…” Tian Jiu let out a soft, adorable hum, then sealed her lips, offering no further words.

“Speaking of which,” Yan mused aloud, “a friend of mine in real life also seems to have a birthday today…” At his words, Tian Jiu’s body instantly stiffened, and a noticeable tension crept into her demeanor.

Yan, however, remained oblivious. “Do you remember?” he continued, “The friend I told you about, the one who resembles you so closely.”

Tian Jiu’s heart began to thump with an almost frantic excitement, her stiff posture subtly conveying itself through her hair to Yan’s hand.

“Tian Jiu?” he questioned, a note of confusion in his voice.

“Ha… haha, what a coincidence, wouldn’t you say?” Tian Jiu managed a strained, unnatural laugh.

‘If only she were Tian Jiu,’ Yan thought, a sigh unspoken. Tian Jiu stiffened at his words, then slowly raised her eyes, catching sight of the shadowed, somewhat melancholic expression on Yan’s face.

“Yan, are you and that… friend, not on good terms?” she finally ventured, her voice laced with hesitation after a brief internal struggle.

“Not exactly…” Yan replied, his expression shifting from self-reproach to a strained, forced smile.

“We used to be very good friends,” he began, his voice tinged with regret. “But unfortunately, right when she entered junior high, her parents had a huge argument and ended up divorcing…” The faint smile on his face slowly vanished, replaced by a somber expression, as if he were mourning a loss on someone else’s behalf.

“Ever since then, she’s grown increasingly fearful of interacting with others, to the point where even I, her closest friend, gradually became estranged from her…”

“If only she hadn’t moved out to live with her parents after starting junior high…”

“If only I could have been there for her during her most painful moments. At the very least, she wouldn’t be as utterly alone as she is now.”

“Perhaps, I, who couldn’t even bring myself to speak to her, to offer comfort… such a weak and helpless version of myself, has already become someone she resents?”

The hand that had rested on Tian Jiu’s head had, at some point, unconsciously fallen away. Yan offered a bitter smile, his fist clenching without his awareness.

“Yan!” he heard, the sudden, uncharacteristically forceful sound from Tian Jiu jarring him back to awareness. He snapped out of his reverie to find Tian Jiu’s hands tightly clasping his own lowered right hand. She had lifted her flushed face, her clear, sparkling eyes fixed on him with an intense earnestness.

“I truly believe she doesn’t dislike you, Yan,” she asserted firmly.

“Haha, thank you, Tian Jiu, for trying to comfort me,” Yan replied with a bitter laugh, though his expression betrayed his lack of conviction in her words.

Witnessing his disheartened expression, Tian Jiu felt an unpleasant stirring within her.

“Yan!” Tian Jiu exclaimed, an emotion akin to anger, rarely seen on her face, now coloring her features.

“Since you care so deeply about that friend, then you should go and face her head-on, with courage!”

“Instead of venting your sorrows here to a stranger who merely resembles her!” Tian Jiu bellowed, her voice unexpectedly strong. As if the outburst had consumed all her energy, she immediately lowered her burning crimson cheeks, falling into a profound silence.

“I’m sorry, Tian Jiu,” Yan murmured, a dawning realization of his error washing over him. “I wasn’t treating you as a substitute; that was incredibly rude of me, wasn’t it…” He raised his right hand, intending to gently pat her head, but it hovered in the air for a long moment before he reluctantly let it fall.

“I apologize,” he repeated. “No, it’s not that,” Tian Jiu quickly interjected, shaking her head as she composed herself. “I didn’t think that way… and I’m not angry with you, Yan…”

“It’s just that I feel if you, who cares so deeply about that friend, don’t properly convey your true feelings to her, then she must surely be trembling with trepidation, too afraid to proactively confide her own sorrows to you…” She averted her face, leaving Yan unable to discern her expression.

“Indeed…” Yan conceded, nodding slowly before a period of thoughtful silence.

“Alright! That settles it!” he declared, clenching his fist with a newfound resolve. “I’ll log off in a little while and go deliver her birthday present, and wish her a happy birthday while I’m at it.”

“Eh? Why ‘in a little while’…” Tian Jiu questioned, her cheeks puffing out slightly in a display of mild confusion.

“Because, for now, I still have to celebrate your birthday, Tian Jiu,” Yan explained with a smile.

“Liu Xuerou is Liu Xuerou, and Tian Jiu is Tian Jiu; I can’t neglect either of your birthdays.”

“Mmm…” ‘Totally worth it,’ Tian Jiu thought to herself, lowering her head as a deep blush spread from her fair neck all the way to her delicate ears.

“Let’s go,” Yan said, gently ruffling Tian Jiu’s hair.

“We’ll go to the coffee shop in Fengxing City, and I’ll celebrate your birthday all over again,” he announced. “Eat anything you want; it’s my treat.”

At his words, Tian Jiu’s eyes gleamed with the unmistakable excitement of a true foodie. “Okay~” she chirped.

****

Savoring delectable cuisine within a full-dive virtual world was an exceptionally marvelous experience.

Despite the fact that nothing actually entered one’s physical stomach, electrical impulses transmitted directly to the brain stimulated specific regions, undeniably creating a genuine, tangible taste sensation.

Furthermore, there was no need to fret over calories or physical capacity (TL Note: The original text includes a question mark after ‘肚量,’ implying a slight playful uncertainty about how ‘stomach capacity’ applies in a virtual context.), allowing one to indulge in as much palatable food as they pleased without ever feeling bloated.

Consequently, Tian Jiu, emboldened by the grand occasion of her birthday, indulged in a veritable feast, devouring everything as if in sweet revenge. Before even setting foot inside the coffee shop, she had already thoroughly scoured Fengxing City’s entire snack street.

Indeed, the moment she stood before any vendor on the snack street, her eyes would gleam with an almost insatiable hunger, as if she longed to cram every single delicacy the game offered into her mouth.

Whatever snack Tian Jiu expressed interest in, Yan would promptly procure for her. This pattern continued, with Tian Jiu eating a portion every few steps, until, by the end, even she had lost all track of how much she had actually consumed.

“Ah… I can’t go on,” Tian Jiu finally declared. After a prolonged, valiant struggle against the onslaught of delectable food, she had at last reached their destination, sinking into a chair at a round table in the coffee shop and sprawling her arms across its surface.

“Mmm… I can’t eat another bite…” Tian Jiu mumbled, still draped over the table, shaking her head in utter capitulation.

While the sensation of physical fullness remained absent, the relentless stimulation of the nerves by a myriad of delicious foods could, indeed, temporarily diminish one’s desire to ‘eat’.

‘To think that even a complete foodie like Tian Jiu would have a day where she surrendered to the sheer volume of delicious food,’ Yan mused, a smile playing on his lips, as he offered a gentle reminder.

“This should be enough, wouldn’t you say? If you eat any more, you won’t have an appetite for dinner in real life.”

“Okay~” Tian Jiu drew out the sound of her agreement, growing increasingly lively in Yan’s presence, a stark contrast to her initially timid demeanor.

“One sugar milk tea, please,” she suddenly announced, sitting upright and addressing Yan.

“Whoa, whoa, I thought you couldn’t eat any more?” Yan teased, a chuckle in his voice.

“For girls, milk tea and snacks are stored in two separate stomachs,” Tian Jiu retorted with a cunning smile. “Surely you’re not unaware of such a simple truth, Yan?”

“Please, the things we eat here don’t even pass through a stomach… and does this body even possess a stomach organ to begin with?” Yan said with a helpless laugh, ordering a sugar milk tea for Tian Jiu.

“Don’t say it out loud, okay?” Tian Jiu pleaded, touching her abdomen with a wry smile. “It just makes me feel so empty when you say it.”

“Alright, alright,” Yan conceded, pushing the freshly served milk tea towards Tian Jiu. “Besides, your real stomach has the meal your grandma made for you, so it’s not empty at all.”

“Mmm… that’s true,” Tian Jiu conceded. At the mention of her grandmother, her expression instantly softened, even radiating a hint of happiness.

She took a sip of the milk tea, and the blissful feeling on her face intensified.

“Mmm, delicious~”

“Happy Birthday, Tian Jiu.” Yan seized the opportune moment, pulling out a gift-wrapped package and presenting it to her.

This was the physical manifestation of an in-game mail gift. ‘Companion God Realm’ (TL Note: The name of the game, ‘伴生神界,’ literally ‘Companion Born God Realm.’) was designed to make gift-giving between players feel more authentic, rather than merely sending data via an in-game mailbox (though, at its core, it was still just data).

“Thank you~ Can I open it?” Tian Jiu accepted the gift, smiling as she looked at Yan.

“Of course.”

Tian Jiu excitedly tore open the gift. Before her appeared a complete set of Priest equipment, including a staff.

“Wow, it’s so beautiful!” Of the entire set, she was most enamored with the Priest’s robe.

She quickly changed into the full outfit.

The pure white Priest’s robe featured faint golden trim along its edges, delicate floral patterns adorned the hem, and a light pink bow tied at the chest perfectly complemented her short pink hair.

She turned her body, head bowed, excitedly examining the robe for a long moment before finally stopping, seemingly very pleased.

“Oh, right, the stats…” Yan chuckled. To prioritize appearance over equipment stats – truly the behavior of a novice female player.

“Such high stats?!” Tian Jiu exclaimed, looking at Yan in shock.

“Ah, this is a full Priest set that dropped when I was soloing a Level 40 boss previously,” Yan explained. “Since I don’t play a Priest, I just thought I’d give it to you as a birthday present.”

This was, of course, a lie, but it was perfectly fine for deceiving a novice like Tian Jiu. In truth, this equipment was far superior to any set dropped by a Level 40 boss; it was a ‘graduation set’ (TL Note: ‘毕业套装’ refers to the best possible equipment for a given class in the current version of the game, allowing a player to ‘graduate’ from needing better gear.) from the 150 version of the game.

A ‘graduation set’ refers to equipment for which no better stats exist in the current version. Acquiring such a set meant one could wear it until they retired from the game (graduated), hence the name. This particular set was one Yan had prepared for a Level 150 Priest player in his guild before deleting his account. However, due to various… events, it remained in his inventory and was transferred to the new server, now serving as a perfect birthday gift for Tian Jiu.

“Ah! Thank you, Yan!” Tian Jiu genuinely believed Yan’s tall tale, not overthinking it, and simply expressed her excited gratitude.

“Haha, I’m glad you like it,” Yan said with a smile, slowly standing up. “Since I’ve given you your birthday present here, I should go give Liu Xuerou her birthday present now.”

Upon hearing this, Tian Jiu’s face flushed slightly, and she nodded gently.

“Mm.”

“Though I’ll probably log back in later,” Yan added with a wry smile. He hadn’t even mustered the courage to face his childhood friend yet.

“G-good luck,” Tian Jiu said with a smile, though her eyes weren’t looking at Yan, making it unclear who she was addressing.

“Mm,” Yan replied. A flash of blue light shimmered before his eyes.

He logged out of the game.