In holographic games, 80% of players will not use their real images. When Tang Muzhou first met the Fat Uncle in the game, he thought that there must be a gap between the friendly Fat Uncle's image and his real image, but he did not expect the gap to be so big.

——The fat uncle who is friendly to me in the game is actually a tall and handsome boy in real life?

Xie Mingzhe was so thin when he was just discharged from the hospital a few days ago. During this period, he ate well every day, and Chi Qing also made soup for him every day to supplement his nutrition. His body has returned to normal weight. Now he has a well-proportioned figure and is 1.8 meters tall, only 5 centimeters shorter than Tang Muzhou.

He was wearing casual pants and sneakers today, with a white short-sleeved shirt. His simple and refreshing outfit made him look full of energy.

The boy's facial features are not particularly delicate, but he has long eyebrows, a pair of dark and bright eyes, and slightly thin lips that look a little naughty when slightly raised. The combination of these makes him look very sunny and handsome.

It is hard to connect this energetic young man with the fat uncle in the game. Tang Muzhou has seen many examples of game accounts that are very different from the real person over the years, but the contrast between the game image and the real person of the fat uncle's account is the most surprising to him.

It can be said to be an unexpected surprise.

Isn’t it a surprise to suddenly have a lively and handsome junior brother?

Tang Muzhou narrowed his eyes slightly, looked up and down at the junior brother in front of him, and said with a smile: "Junior brother, don't you want to introduce yourself? Or do you want me to continue calling you... Fatty Uncle?"

Xie Mingzhe was also quite thick-skinned. He lowered his head and said, "Fat Uncle is just my ID in the game. My name is Xie Mingzhe, you can just call me Xiao Xie. I hope you can take care of me in the future, senior brother!"

The crisp voice is pleasing to the ears, especially the title "Senior Brother".

Tang Muzhou raised the corner of his mouth and opened the door to let the two people in.

Chen Qianlin had heard the noise a long time ago. After the two entered the house, he looked at Chen Xiao and asked, "Why did you come here suddenly?"

Chen Xiao put on a flattering smile, moved the precious pine tree in front of him and said, "Happy birthday, brother. This is your favorite variety. I spent half a year looking for it."

"There's no need to go to so much trouble." When looking at the plants, Chen Qianlin's eyes were filled with joy, and he obviously liked this gift very much.

Chen Xiao was doubly happy when his brother was happy, but he couldn't show it, so he suppressed the impulse in his heart and called Xie Mingzhe over: "Xiao Xie also prepared a gift for you."

Xie Mingzhe brought the four framed paintings to his master and said, "Master, I drew these by myself. They are not very pretty, but please don't dislike them. Happy birthday!"

Chen Qianlin reached out to take them. Seeing that the four paintings were quite heavy, Tang Muzhou stepped forward to take them for him and placed them side by side on the dining table next to him. He looked at Xie Mingzhe with interest and asked, "Junior brother, can you still paint?"

Xie Mingzhe said: "I have been studying art since I was a child, and I have been studying for twelve years."

The four paintings were all framed with sandalwood and not sealed, so Tang Muzhou could see the contents of the paintings at a glance.

The first painting is a plum blossom in the snow, the second is an orchid in the valley, the third is a green bamboo, and the fourth is a yellow chrysanthemum. The main colors of the four paintings are red, blue, green, and yellow, but they are not too bright, but rather faded. The painting style and composition are particularly unified and coordinated. Even people who don't understand painting can tell at a glance that this is a complete set of paintings, with a strong "series feeling" of a set of paintings.

Tang Muzhou wondered, "Is there any special meaning in giving away four paintings of plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum together?"

The idea of ​​the Four Gentlemen came from ancient China. Xie Mingzhe can't remember the specific literature, but he knows that later generations often use this set of pictures to describe people with noble character. Even in the 21st century, many educated families would hang a set of the Four Gentlemen in their study rooms. Regardless of whether the owner really has lofty ambitions or just wants to show off, everyone is more likely to recognize this tradition of "using objects to express aspirations".

Unfortunately, in this world, the tradition of the "Four Gentlemen" has been completely lost. When people see the four pictures together, they just think they are four kinds of plants and don't make any further associations.

Xie Mingzhe was not in a position to explain the story of the "Four Gentlemen", so he made up a plausible reason, saying: "The plum blossom symbolizes pride and unyieldingness, the orchid represents elegance and wisdom, the green bamboo represents a modest gentleman, and the chrysanthemum represents a hermit. I think these four flowers are particularly suitable for Master's characteristics, so I drew a set of pictures and gave them to Master as a birthday gift."

Three people: “………………”

Being stared at by the three people with strange eyes, Xie Mingzhe also felt embarrassed and touched his nose and said: "Did I say something wrong?"

Tang Muzhou put his fist to his lips to suppress his smile. After two seconds, he adjusted his expression. He looked at Xie Mingzhe and praised him seriously, "This is the best flattery I have ever heard. Junior brother has good eloquence."

Xie Mingzhe: “…”

This is not flattery! Can you please not destroy my reputation in front of me?

However, thinking carefully, Xie Mingzhe also felt that his painting style was unique and people in this world did not know what the "Four Gentlemen" were. What he said really sounded like flattery, and it was a flowery rainbow flattery. It was estimated that the master was stunned by his flattery.

Arrogant, elegant, humble gentleman, hermit and sage, Xie Mingzhe felt extremely embarrassed when he recalled that he had flattered someone in person like that.

He looked up at his master nervously and found that Chen Qianlin was very calm. He had a faint smile on his face and his voice became gentle: "I like the meaning of these four paintings... I will hang them in my study as a collection. Thank you for the gift. It's really troublesome."

Xie Mingzhe suppressed his embarrassment and said with his head tilted: "As long as Master likes it, that's fine."

Chen Xiao coughed lightly and changed the subject: "Brother, since Muzhou is here, why don't we have a meal together? Or should we eat at home?"

"Let's go out to eat. I'm treating today. Wait a minute while I go change my clothes." Chen Qianlin wore very loose, soft cotton home clothes at home. He couldn't go out like this, so he went to the bedroom to find a set of clean clothes to change into.

Chen Qianlin had never expected these three people to come and celebrate his birthday with him. He had almost forgotten his birthday, but these three people remembered it so clearly and gave him three great gifts.

Tang Muzhou painted a flower painting, combining dozens of flowers in a very clever way, which was very complex and exquisite; the four paintings sent by Xie Mingzhe had profound meanings and were very consistent with Chen Qianlin's mood; Chen Xiao himself could not paint, and the precious varieties he bought at a high price were also one of Chen Qianlin's favorite and the ones he most wanted to collect.

Chen Qianlin felt a little warm in his heart, knowing that these three people really cared about him.

Outside the door, Tang Muzhou continued to look at his junior fellow apprentice with a smile. Xie Mingzhe's cheeks flushed when he was looked at by him. He clarified, "I really am not trying to flatter you. You can't come to Master's birthday empty-handed, right? Senior brother, didn't you bring any gifts?"

Tang Muzhou suppressed his smile and opened the gift box to show them.

Xie Mingzhe was stunned by the scene in front of him. There were so many varieties of flowers stacked up that he couldn't count them. They were cleverly integrated together, complex and gorgeous. Xie Mingzhe couldn't help but give a thumbs up and said, "Amazing, Senior Brother, have you studied art too?"

Tang Muzhou said: "I haven't learned it specifically. This is the card pattern I made in the game, which I enlarged and printed out. Drawing with mental power is easier than drawing with hands."

Thinking of the thousand-year-old sacred tree he mentioned, which was a fusion of ten cards, Xie Mingzhe couldn't help but ask: "This picture, could it be that you fused all the flower cards together..."

Tang Muzhou nodded: "Yes, Master is 31 years old this year, and I have fused 31 cards." He paused, then smiled and said: "Junior brother, you like character cards so much, you can also make a collection of all the characters you have made in the future."

Xie Mingzhe thought to himself, I don't think they can be gathered together. There are 108 heroes in Water Margin alone, and there are countless characters in Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Moreover, the characters from the Twelve Hairpins of Jinling in Dream of the Red Chamber and Zhu Bajie and the Bull Demon King in Journey to the West cannot be put together, otherwise it will become beauty and the beast.

However, Tang Muzhou's words did give him some inspiration. Perhaps when he was making a deck of cards later, he could draw a large collection similar to a "character guide" to organize his thoughts, so as to avoid confusion when he had too many cards and was ready to go.

While Xie Mingzhe was thinking about it, he saw Chen Qianlin coming out after changing his clothes.

He was wearing a clean white shirt, brown slim trousers, and a pair of casual leather shoes. The hem of the shirt was tucked into his trousers, and he had a simple black leather belt without any patterns tied around his waist, which made his waist look even slimmer.

Although he is over 30 years old, he looks quite young and has maintained a very good figure.

In the past, he always exuded a kind of coldness that was difficult to approach, as if he was using a transparent shield to silently separate others from him.

But today, he was in a good mood. There was a hint of warmth in his clear eyes, a faint smile on his face, and he looked much gentler. He looked at the three of them and said, "What do you want to eat? I'll treat you to lunch."

Tang Muzhou said, "Master, you decide. I'm fine with it."

Chen Xiao and Xie Mingzhe didn't have any dietary restrictions, so Chen Qianlin thought for a moment and said, "There's a private restaurant nearby with a nice environment. They grow their own food. Let's go eat there. It's within a kilometer, so we can walk there directly."

Chen Qianlin led the way in front, and the three immediately followed him.

The environment where he lives is really good, a bit like a paradise. Xie Mingzhe can't help but think that when he gets old, he can buy a small villa here to retire. Not only is the air fresh, but there are flowers and plants everywhere, which makes him feel happy just by looking at them.

After walking along a shaded path lined with weeping willows, they soon arrived at their destination. Chen Qianlin must be a frequent visitor here. When the waitress saw him, she immediately smiled and enthusiastically took him to the VIP room on the second floor.

Chen Qianlin ordered the dishes skillfully.

The decoration style of this private room is very fresh and simple, a bit like the Qianlin Restaurant in the game, with green vines hanging on the walls and the tables are also very simple solid wood tables. When Xie Mingzhe thought of this, he couldn't help but ask: "Master, did you open the Qianlin Restaurant in the game?"

Chen Qianlin was a little surprised that he would ask this and looked at Tang Muzhou.

Tang Muzhou explained in a low voice: "At the auction, Fatty..." Facing the young man's bright eyes, Tang Muzhou swallowed the word "uncle" and chuckled before changing his words: "Junior brother publicly sold this card of Lin Daiyu. After I bought it, I asked him to meet at Qianlin Restaurant."

Chen Qianlin understood, nodded to Xie Mingzhe and said, "I opened Qianlin Restaurant myself, and it is not open to the outside world. It is actually a base in the game. During the first and second seasons, the decks were not rich enough. Nie Yuandao, Zheng Feng, Su Yang, Ling Jingtang and I often met there with a small account to exchange experiences and improve the decks of each department."

Tang Muzhou added: "When my master retired, he transferred the restaurant to my name. The rent for a small restaurant like this is not high, so I kept it and used it as a temporary reception room when discussing things with people in the game."

Xie Mingzhe suddenly realized.

It turns out that Qianlin Restaurant was once the base of the five masters in the game. The five masters belonged to different clubs, and it was difficult for them to get together in real life. In the game, it was much more convenient. They could wear helmets, open a small account, and be transferred to Qianlin Restaurant, so that they could meet and discuss things. Once the restaurant was closed, they were not afraid of being discovered and eavesdropped.

It seems that his fate with Chen Qianlin was destined. Long before he met this great man, he had met Tang Muzhou in the restaurant opened by the great man, and this completely opened up the idea of ​​making instant death cards.

The dishes were served quickly and the four of them ate and chatted.

Halfway through the meal, Tang Muzhou asked directly, "Brother, you established the Nirvana Guild in the game. Do you want to become a professional player and build your own club?"

Xie Mingzhe glanced at Chen Xiao, who nodded. Then he said, "I did have this idea. Brother Chen and I founded the Nirvana Guild together."

Tang Muzhou was not surprised and said to Chen Xiao: "Don't forget our agreement."

Chen Xiao spoke in a low voice, but his eyes were firm: "I haven't forgotten. I will come back to fight you for real."

Tang Muzhou smiled and said, "I'll wait for you. See you at the stadium."

After a moment of silence, he turned to Chen Qianlin and asked, "Master, what are your plans for the future? Do you want to come back with me?"

Chen Qianlin said: "My current mental strength is no longer able to cope with high-intensity competitions. It is normal for people over 30 to have slow reactions. If I participate in competitions, I may not get good results."

Xie Mingzhe was a little unwilling: "But Nie Yuandao, Ling Jingtang, Zheng Feng are also veteran players who debuted a long time ago. They are still competing. Master, don't you want to go back and give it a try?"

When he was looking up information, he saw that many netizens were particularly sympathetic to Chen Qianlin. They always felt that Chen Qianlin was unlucky. Although he was very strong, other players of the same period as him won the championship for four seasons, but he never won a championship. In the end, he had a falling out with the Sanctuary Club because of a copyright dispute and retired with regret.

Xie Mingzhe actually hopes that his master will return to the game and make a new set of wood-type cards to give Boss Shao a slap in the face!

However, Chen Qianlin's eyes were extremely calm, as if he had already calmed down. He looked at Chen Xiao and said, "I won't go back. After so many years, I no longer have the mentality of fighting desperately as I did when I was young. As long as you can prove yourself and make all the cards you originally imagined and bring them to the competition, I, as your brother, will have no regrets."

Chen Xiao suppressed the bitterness in his nose and said in a muffled voice, "I understand."

Xie Mingzhe wanted to say more, but suddenly met Tang Muzhou's disapproving gaze. Xie Mingzhe had no choice but to shut up and say no more.

Chen Qianlin looked at Tang Muzhou and changed the subject: "Xiao Xie will start school soon. He is a freshman in the Department of Fine Arts at Imperial Capital University. Your schoolmate is in a similar situation to you. You also started to compete officially at the age of 18, attending classes and competing at the same time. How exactly does the school operate? You should help your junior more in the future."

Tang Muzhou smiled and said, "Of course. Junior brother, if you have any questions, you can always ask me. We can exchange phone numbers."

Previously, all I left was the contact information of my smurf account in the online game, and I could only send private messages to each other through the Star Card APP. But now that I have left my phone number, I can have voice and video calls at any time, which is much more convenient.

Xie Mingzhe simply exchanged contact information with Tang Muzhou.

Immediately afterwards, Chen Xiao said, "Brother, your room is ready. When is a convenient time for you to move in?"

He winked at Xie Mingzhe, who immediately responded, "Master, you live so far away by yourself, and Brother Chen has been worried. Why don't you move over? It will be more convenient for eating. Sister Chi Qing from our studio is a great cook."

Chen Qianlin was in a good mood today. Chen Xiao had mentioned moving before, and he agreed to it again today. "Okay, I'll pack my luggage. I've finished my work, so I'll move tomorrow."

Chen Xiao was so excited that he wanted to go downstairs to run a few laps and fire some cannons to celebrate, but he quickly suppressed the urge and said in a trembling voice, "Great! I'll help you pack your luggage!"

Tang Muzhou looked at him meaningfully and said nothing.