Han Yuze vaguely felt that something was amiss, but couldn’t quite pinpoint it at the moment.
Without much thought, he asked Jiang Shi to wait in the fishing area near the door while he went to the counter to exchange for a gaming card.
He had never been here before. While waiting for the staff to activate his membership, he subconsciously glanced towards the door. From this angle, he could see among the crowd that tall figure, as if a natural ray of light fell into his eyes.
Han Yuze felt a slight tingling sensation.
If before, it was just an online romance born from interactions in the holographic world, the catalytic effect triggered by a few real-life encounters was intensifying his initial vague feelings.
“…Your card is ready, handsome?”
He wasn’t sure how many times the staff had repeated it. It was only then that Han Yuze snapped back to reality, “Ah, thank you.”
He took the handed gaming card and walked away, tucking it in his hand.
As they were leaving, a group of high schoolers rushed in. Han Yuze, quick on his feet, pulled Jiang Shi to avoid the jostling, then glanced down at him, “Are you okay?”
Jiang Shi, a little distracted from the recent unintentional physical contact, shook his head, “I’m fine.”
“Here, it’s recharged.” Han Yuze handed over the gaming card. “So, how do you want to fish?”
The indoor amusement park now was almost entirely replaced by holographic devices, including the so-called fishing, entirely simulated.
Jiang Shi, holding the gaming card, hesitated for a moment before handing it back, “Let’s forget it. The fish I want to catch aren’t here. Besides, Jiang Yan pulled me out to relax a bit. If I start playing these holographic devices again, I’ll probably get as angry as a pufferfish.”
Han Yuzhe indeed sensed Jiang Shi’s hidden intentions. However, his attention shifted with the latter’s words, “Right, today is mainly about resting.”
He glanced around and settled on the karaoke machine in the corner, “How about singing a few songs?”
Jiang Shi didn’t mind, “Sure.”
The indoor amusement park was bustling, but as the glass doors closed, the clamor was shut out, leaving only the two in the confined space.
Fortunately, Han Yuze had quickly picked two songs upon arrival, which made the suddenly quiet atmosphere less awkward.
Both were love songs.
Jiang Shi also put on headphones, listening quietly throughout. He realized that Han Yuze surprisingly sang quite well.
The man’s voice came through the device so clearly, perfectly merging with someone’s voice from the game. Thinking carefully now, it was actually easy to recognize. How did he miss it all this time?
After Han Yuze finished singing and noticed Jiang Shi’s distraction, he gently said through the microphone, “Am I boring you with my singing?”
Jiang Shi glanced at him, a faint smile appearing on his lips, “Not boring. Just got reminded of something.”
Han Yuze asked, “What is it?”
Jiang Shi restrained his laughter, not wanting to seem too obvious, “Just suddenly felt that your voice sounds a lot like a friend of mine.”
With the dim lights around, Han Yuze’s momentary change in expression was still evident.
Finally, he cleared his throat softly, seemingly composed, “Oh, really?”
Then, he immediately diverted the topic, handing over the other microphone, “Do you want to sing a few too?”
The only noticeable change was that when speaking afterward, his voice inexplicably lowered slightly.
Jiang Shi didn’t press further on the obviously flustered Han Yuze, casually taking the microphone, “Hmm, sure.”
So, Han Yuze also discovered another advantage of Jiang Shi: his excellent singing voice.
Despite meeting offline only a few times, the two interacted harmoniously in this confined space without any awkwardness.
They took turns singing a few songs. Seeing that the couple watching the movie was about to leave, they didn’t bother looking for other activities, instead monopolizing the karaoke machine and chatting a bit longer.
The conversation, initially about Han Yiyuan and Jiang Yan, gradually shifted to the game Genesis Eventually, Jiang Shi smoothly asked, “By the way, you haven’t told me your game ID yet, right?”
As expected, Han Yuze, usually lighthearted, instantly changed his demeanor.
After a brief pause, he pretended to clear his throat, “I’ve been considering future arrangements recently. Once it’s finalized, I’ll find a suitable time to tell you.”
Jiang Shi raised his eyebrows slightly and elongated his tone slightly as he responded with a somewhat smiling nod, “A suitable time.”
After these words, there were no further inquiries.
Jiang Shi’s in-game modeling was fine-tuned according to his own appearance, so there was no doubt about whether Han Yuze recognized him or not.
However, compared to revealing it on the spot, undoubtedly, quietly observing the performance was much more interesting.
A moderate amount of waiting was necessary; just to see what this person was really up to.
A newly received message on the phone interrupted the conversation.
Jiang Shi glanced at it briefly, “They’ve finished watching the movie and asked where we are.”
Han Yuze replied, “Okay, let’s go out.”
Jiang Shi hung up the call but before he could remove his headphones, Han Yuze was a step ahead.
As Jiang Shi took off the earpieces, the man’s slender fingertips lightly brushed the earlobe area. The residual warmth left Jiang Shi slightly stunned for a moment.
Raising his gaze, Han Yuze had already neatly positioned both earphones. When their eyes met, he slightly hinted with a question in his expression, “Any other questions?”
“No, nothing.” Jiang Shi calmly rubbed away the warmth at his ear and stood up, pushing the door open, “Let’s go.”
The dispersed group reconvened, and the remaining time was spent on Jiang Miss’s favorite activity—shopping and eating.
Upon meeting, Han Yiyuan pulled Han Yuze aside and lowered his voice, “How’s it going?”
Han Yuze replied, “… In just these two hours, do you think I’m some sort of beast ready to pounce?”
“Really?” Judging by Han Yiyuan’s expression, he seemed about to say “Why not,” but ultimately retained some dignity for his younger cousin, “I thought, considering your personality, you’d prefer a direct approach.”
“Well, I actually want to be more direct…” Han Yuze said, stealing a glance at Jiang Shi’s back not far away and sighed silently within himself.
But he feared being too hasty like in the past. What if he scared the person away again?
Walking ahead, Jiang Yan was eating a ice cream egg waffle. Suddenly, she turned around.
During their brief eye contact, Han Yuze’s initial reaction was, did Han Yiyuan discuss his pursuit with his girlfriend? Then, in the next moment, he saw Jiang Yan discovering something and waving from a distance, “Come over and see, isn’t this Genesis the holographic game you guys play?”
On the massive four-story-high LCD screen, a promotional animation was playing.
From where they were on the second floor, the promotional tagline for <Genesis> fell into their ears.
Approaching the glass railing, Han Yuze glanced around and suddenly understood, “Offline promotion? It looks like they’re about to launch a new event.”
In order to better engage the public, the Genesis officials always went all out in both online and offline promotion, never skimping on promotional costs.
Apart from the enormous LCD screen they had secured, they also set up high-end holographic projection equipment. With the dazzling surrounding lights, the massive event area was instantly covered with lifelike imagery, transforming the central area of the mall into a mysterious and stunning underwater world.
“This scene… an underwater city?” Although Jiang Yan had never experienced the game <Genesis> she was deeply captivated by the scene.
“It’s probably the new event scene expansion.” Jiang Shi had been previously occupied with his phone but now showed the screen’s content to everyone, “The news has already been released online. Moniak Chi, the name of this underwater city. It’s going to be a special map available for a limited time. They say it will offer an unprecedented experiential mode. But what specific event it is, we’ll probably only know when it officially goes live.”
He casually glanced at Han Yuze as he spoke, lips slightly curled, “Probably another grand event like the festival series.”
The mention of a grand event instantly brought Jiang Yan back to reality, “Remember to be careful.”
Jiang Shi replied, “Ah, got it.”
Jiang Yan couldn’t help but glance at the mesmerizing underwater world once again, “If you can’t handle it yourself, I don’t mind joining this game to help you.”
Jiang Shi replied, “… I’ll manage myself.”
To quickly dispel the idea of playing the game together, Jiang Shi decisively dragged his older sister into the nearby luxury store.
After all, he had just exchanged some cash with the rattlesnake, and in situations like this, never hesitate to spend money to solve problems.
As Jiang Yan emerged loaded with purchases from the luxury store, Jiang Shi sneakily glanced at someone who was visibly trying hard not to laugh, “Is something amusing?”
“No.” Han Yuze sincerely blinked, “I just feel that your sibling relationship is indeed quite good.”
Jiang Shi chuckled lightly and then turned away.
“Without making a sound, considering the nature of this thing, he should have discovered it much earlier.
After finishing dinner together, today’s four-person meeting officially ended.
For Jiang Shi, perhaps the biggest gain today was revealing Han Yuze’s disguise.
Feeling good, he took a shower, then logged into the virtual cabin.
He immediately opened the guild channel and took a quick look. As expected, everyone was discussing the recently emerging mysterious event.
Jiang Shi didn’t continue paying attention but instead opened the mission panel to find the guide interface for the third job transfer task.
Continuous recent delays had prevented him from completing the third job transfer. But this time, it was necessary to finish the job transfer task before the new event emerged.
Suddenly, a team invitation popped up.
Apparently, Han Yuze had just returned home. After Jiang Shi joined the team, he opened the team voice chat, “Doing the third job transfer task? Shall I accompany you?”
Jiang Shi knew right away that this person had the same intention as him.
He always understood the essence of the lack of output from light elves. Naturally, there was no reason to refuse to complete the third transfer faster. However, considering the proposal’s object, he wouldn’t naively fall for it, “Go ahead, what are the conditions?”
“You’ve probably heard about the upcoming new activity, right?” Han Yuze concealed his intentions perfectly; one couldn’t tell that they had just separated moments ago. “As expected, it will be a team-based event. How about teaming up for that?”
Jiang Shi raised an eyebrow.
As a professional support player, major events were often the busiest times for him.
No doubt, Han Yuze had come to him at the first opportunity, wanting to get ahead of Deep Well Ice Player and Gentleman Fan.
Sure enough, this person never did anything that put himself at a disadvantage.
However, considering this matter, Jiang Shi didn’t really lose out either. Getting a free hand to help with the third job transfer, he had no reason to refuse, “Okay, deal.”