Chapter 158 A Chance Encounter (Unedited) She felt a chill run down her spine...
The wind chimes at the entrance of the old bookstore swayed in the wind, and as you slipped into the narrow space, besides the crisp sound, there was also the biting cold wind of early winter.
Liang Jun shivered from the cold.
Countless emotions flashed through her eyes until she noticed the person with an icy aura standing beside her.
Zhu Bieming's voice sounded particularly cheerful.
"Liang Jun? What brings you here? Did my brother send you?"
His yellow-green work uniform was extremely fitted, perfectly outlining the broad shoulders and narrow waist characteristic of a young man. Gu Keke, standing opposite him, coughed lightly and then tactfully looked away.
Perhaps it was this cough that made Zhu Bieming's gaze shift from Liang Jun to Gu Keke.
A flicker of surprise immediately flashed in his eyes. Liang Jun knew that if Zhu Shengqing was telling the truth, this should be the first time that the two brothers had found traces of other players.
Zhu Bieming didn't hide anything; his bright, puppy-like eyes never left his face.
"You are Gu..."
“Gu Keke! Of course I know you!” Liang Jun immediately interrupted Zhu Bieming’s conversation.
Moving around in the cramped space was very difficult. Liang Jun instinctively tried to shield Zhu Bieming behind her, but because she didn't notice the messy books underfoot, she almost fell down the steps.
After being quickly pulled up by Zhu Bieming, Liang Xun casually smoothed her long hair and then looked up at Gu Keke with a smile.
"I've watched your mukbang videos, so I'd consider myself a loyal fan!"
Upon hearing Liang Jun's words, the doubt and wariness in Gu Keke's eyes immediately faded, replaced by unexpected joy.
She tightly protected the hard-won copy of "Plum Blossom Divination" with one hand, and covered half of her face with the other, speaking much faster than at the beginning.
"Really...really?"
Gu Keke couldn't help but laugh out loud, "I've been doing mukbang for so long, but I've never really become famous. This is the first time I've ever met my fans in person..."
After reciting these words with a self-satisfied air, Gu Keke belatedly extended her right hand to Liang Xuan, saying, "It's a pleasure to meet you!"
Liang Jun subconsciously looked down and caught a glimpse of her delicate short nails.
Nothing has changed.
But this wasn't their first meeting.
Liang Xun felt a mix of emotions, but she couldn't let them show. She could only force herself to take a deep breath and then, with her slightly trembling hand, grasp the other person's hand in return.
"My name is Liang Jun."
After saying her name, Liang Jun stared intently at the other person, trying to awaken the deep-seated memories in her mind with her name.
But no miracle happened. Gu Keke simply repeated her name a few times and replied as if it were just a polite remark: "Liang Jun, what a beautiful name!"
Her gaze then fell on the yellow-green work clothes, and Gu Keke raised her chin at Liang Xuan.
"Is this your friend? Does your friend work at this bookstore?"
Liang Jun turned around and saw Zhu Bieming, who was full of questions and didn't know what was going on.
She sighed helplessly, "Yes, they are my friends."
"Your friend is my friend!"
Gu Keke patted the two of them on the shoulder in a very familiar manner, then shook the old book in her hand, "I promised to treat you to milk tea, the more people there are, the more lively it will be, let's go together!"
There are too many suspicious things about this "Gu Keke" in front of us. Leaving with her now would definitely be a good opportunity to extract more information.
However, Liang Jun did not readily agree, because she had not yet communicated with Zhu Bieming and did not understand whether he could skip work smoothly as a "bookstore employee".
Zhu Bieming naturally knew what Liang Xun was thinking, so before she could speak, he explained, "I'm about to change shifts, so let's go together!"
-
Gu Keke said she wasn't very familiar with the neighborhood, so Liang Jun chose the milk tea shop.
Although it's called a milk tea shop, it's actually more like a water bar.
When she didn't have classes but didn't want to go home too early, Leung Yun would come here.
The owner of this shop is a graduate of their school. Because the shop is located on campus, there are not many people from outside the school who come here to eat. They are mostly college students who are about to go crazy from exams and papers.
The owner likes to play some simple classical music, and Liang Jun also likes to order a glass of lemonade in this atmosphere and then quietly organize her class notes.
This time, Gu Keke treated everyone, and as usual, she only ordered a lemonade that cost seven yuan. Zhu Bieming ordered an iced Americano, while only Gu Keke got to drink a proper bubble tea.
Liang Xun led them to their most familiar corner. As soon as their bodies were enveloped by the soft leather sofa, Gu Keke couldn't help but whisper, "This environment is so nice... so much better than those messy places..."
Liang Jun didn't rush to reply. Instead, she first inserted the straw she had taken from the front desk into the pale yellow cup.
The straw stirred the contents of the glass with her fingers, the ice cubes clinking against the sides. Liang Jun used the tip of the straw to pry open a lemon slice, then carefully and cautiously took a small sip.
Icy sparkling water with a tart lemon flavor.
It was indeed the same drink she remembered.
As if she had let down her guard, or as if she was thirsty, Liang Yun gulped down more than half of the glass.
The transparent ice blocks protruding from the water were illuminated by the overhead lights, displaying a spectrum of colors that did not belong to them.
Gu Keke was also infected by the atmosphere of college students rushing to finish their papers, and she took out her old book "Plum Blossom Divination" and began to read it attentively.
However, her patience didn't last long. Gu Keke took a sip of her fragrant bubble tea and muttered under her breath, "How can anyone understand this..."
Liang Jun slowly loosened her grip on the glass. "May I ask why you want to read this book?"
"Oh dear!" Gu Keke scratched her head sheepishly. "Actually, it's nothing. I just suddenly had a whim to learn fortune telling. I feel like it could be very useful in the future."
Liang Xuan's eyes gradually became vacant.
She knew she would say that.
On the very night they entered the Wilson College library, Gu Keke picked up the same book and said the same things.
The sour taste of lemon seeped into Liang Jun's smile, and she couldn't help but twitch her lips a couple of times.
"Perhaps... I can add you on WeChat?"
Gu Keke suddenly looked up from her book, and that wary look was once again reflected in her eyes.
Liang Jun knew that her former teammates were now complete strangers, and it would be strange and abrupt for anyone to suggest exchanging contact information, let alone Gu Keke, who was a small streamer with a certain number of fans.
However, if she fails to seize this opportunity, Liang Jun will completely waste this information chain in the future.
After all, you can't exactly visit them in person!
This sounds more like stalking!
Seeing the other person hesitate and lean back, Liang Jun hurriedly explained, "Don't misunderstand, I'm not a weirdo! I just felt we got along really well, so I wanted to become friends with you..."
"No problem," Gu Keke readily agreed.
"ah?"
This time, Liang Jun was the one who was puzzled, while Zhu Bieming, who was chugging iced Americano, was also choked and coughed repeatedly.
"I feel the same way. It's a pleasure chatting with you, like meeting an old friend."
Using her backward lean, Gu Keke managed to pull her phone out of her back pocket, then smiled sheepishly, "Sorry, my phone was under my butt, it was hard to get out..."
It turns out she wasn't hiding.
Liang Jun unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.
The phone screen that Gu Keke extended showed her WeChat QR code. When Liang Xun submitted the friend request, she glanced at the profile picture and, seeing that it was exactly the same as the profile picture in the "Never Die" group chat, she didn't think much of it anymore.
Unlike Liang Xun's friend request, which went unanswered, Gu Keke accepted Liang Xun's request almost instantly this time.
She first sent a meme that Liang Jun looked very familiar in the chat box, then shook her phone screen and said, "From now on, we're friends!"
Liang Xuan smiled and nodded, but she couldn't quite describe the feeling in her heart.
She didn't press the other person further about whether they had received her friend request. Liang Jun knew that it was best not to rush things.
Accepting the friend request was just her first step. After confirming that everything was correct, Liang Jun made an excuse to leave first, while Zhu Bieming followed behind her as they walked out of the bar together.
Liang Jun remained silent throughout the journey. Her inner emotions were far too complex. Zhu Bieming read her story until his head ached, but he still couldn't understand her true thoughts. He could only follow in her footsteps and silently accompany her.
Only when they reached the school gate did Zhu Bieming whisper a reminder: "Wait a moment, my brother will be here soon."
Liang Xun stopped in her tracks, knowing that Zhu Bieming wouldn't keep her waiting too long.
Sure enough, less than a minute later, the familiar senior in work clothes appeared beside him again.
Two campus heartthrobs stood behind him like bodyguards, causing students passing by the school gate to gasp in surprise.
This seems to be a normal phenomenon in real life. Not long ago, Liang Jun also felt extremely happy because of these small daily things, and felt a sense of returning to reality.
But now, she only felt a chill run down her spine.
"I want to go home," she said, ignoring the praise from the boys and girls around her, and turned to the two brothers. "Do you want to come with me?"
-
They came back by bus.
Swaying along the way, familiar street scenes flashed by in her vision like film reels, but Liang Jun couldn't read the unique romance on the screen; instead, she only saw the desolation like the final revolving lantern of life.
Liang Jun led them into the community gate. The old man in the security room curiously poked his head out and, after briefly asking the two strangers for their identities, let them in.
Three uneven footsteps echoed in the corridor, finally stopping at Liang Jun's door.
The vibrant Phalaenopsis orchid stood steadily outside her door. Liang Jun paused in her fumbling for her keys, instinctively glancing at Zhu Shengqing.
Zhu Shengqing bent down and picked up the pot of orchids, his backpack slipping from his shoulder to his arm as he did so.
"You've been back?" Liang Jun frowned slightly.
"No."
Zhu Shengqing quickly denied it, then paused for a few seconds, "I tried using spiritual power to teleport, and it worked."
His voice was like an old, dilapidated motion-sensor light in a stairwell, sometimes bright, sometimes dim, sometimes soft, sometimes loud.
“Liang Jun, we cannot use spiritual power in the real world.”
The hallway lights dimmed. "You know what I mean."
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Author's Note: Coco: Even in this second life, I still love fortune telling (clenched fist)
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