Chapter 72 Chapter 72 After agreeing to Tang Li, he almost fled back to his own courtyard, without even being able to say a proper goodbye.
The moment she closed the door, leaning against the cold door panel, she seemed to be able to clearly hear the beating of her own heart like a drum echoing in the silent air.
"how so?"
Lying in bed, although my body was exhausted from playing the dungeon all night, my mind was unusually clear. I tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
In the deepest night before dawn, although nothing could be seen, Ji He seemed to be able to see the pair of eyes that were extremely focused in the night and filled with clear love.
These eyes appeared in her mind again and again, making her uneasy.
He even… gave her a contact address on the Star Network and told her he would wait there for her to show up.
StarNet, players on the forum often mention it, is a world that is closer to reality than independent holographic games like "Magic Continent", but it also belongs to the virtual world.
Meeting there is almost the same as meeting in real life, but with a layer of data protection between them.
It must be said that he could really understand her thoughts without being able to express himself clearly. He knew that if he proposed to meet in person, she would definitely refuse, so he came up with this buffer method.
"You can't just completely cut off contact every time you leave the game, right?" He lowered his eyes, unable to express himself clearly.
Looking at the other person's lost look, Tang Li felt that she was too decisive and unkind.
Indeed, she still remembers the loss she felt when she couldn't contact them after they went offline, and she also remembers the joy that surged in her heart when she saw them again.
She's sure she likes them and doesn't want to leave them, but she can't express herself clearly. Can she return the same feelings?
Well, maybe she can.
But can this feeling support her return from virtuality to reality?
Tang Li curled up and buried her face in the soft pillow, trying to block out her chaotic thoughts.
In fact, she knew that the reason she was so distressed was ultimately due to her deep-seated fear and distrust of reality.
Whether before falling asleep or after waking up, she always felt that she was incompatible with the real world. She had never been a strong person. The cruel doomsday, the alienation and frustration brought about by her bad luck had already left a deep mark on her heart.
The "Magic Continent" where she could start over became the only harbor where she could feel safe and in control.
Here, her clumsiness and unpleasantness in dealing with people are accepted, and even her misfortune is turned into a unique "talent" that makes her liked by others.
She never tried to leave, not only for physical reasons, but also because of psychological dependence.
But words couldn't express what she meant... Their care and companionship were truly conveyed to her heart through the shell of the game characters.
It was they who made her feel the long-lost joy of connecting with others.
Can she let go of this relationship?
If she can't let go, can she muster up the courage to take that step?
Even if it’s just in the Star Network, that equally virtual place?
"Oh..." A long sigh sounded in the silent room, full of distress and confusion.
Finally, she sat up irritably and walked out of the room in her slippers.
In the yard, Xirang was still jumping carefree, its jelly-like body reflecting the dim morning light, as if all the troubles in the world had nothing to do with it.
Tang Li walked over, squatted down, and gently picked it up.
"Chi!" Xirang made a comfortable sound and rubbed her arm coquettishly.
Holding this cool and soft little cutie, Tang Li walked to the stone bench in the yard and sat down, her eyes a little vacant.
"Xirang," she said softly, as if talking to herself, or as if she was talking to it, "or... 'Magic Continent'."
She has always known the specialness of Xirang.
Apart from it, there is no other creature in the game that can ignore the player's privacy settings and enter and leave her home so freely.
It's not that she didn't have doubts, but she subconsciously didn't want to delve into it.
She trusted Xirang, and this trust was almost instinctive, perhaps because her former body was part of the "Magic Continent".
In a sense, she and Xirang can be said to be relatives.
I believe Xinrang thought the same, so he tried hard to be by her side when he was still ignorant.
"Xirang," she lowered her head, looking into the pair of pure eyes in her arms, which seemed to reflect the data of the entire game world, and asked confusedly, "Do you think... should I keep the appointment?"
The other side.
Star Network, a virtual space that perfectly replicates the grassland outside Silver City on a one-to-one basis.
Words cannot express what I am feeling. I sit on an open lawn, quietly looking at the unknown white flowers dotted on the lawn.
It was in such a place that he first met Tang Li.
At that time, she was chatting with Li Zi. She was such a beautiful person, but she seemed more illusory than the virtual game world. She was out of tune with the players around her who were rushing around or having heated discussions, and even with the entire world.
That unique tranquility and mystery inadvertently caught his eye at that moment.
Curiosity is the beginning of love.
Without him even noticing, the female player named Tang Li quietly took root in his heart, and as they continued to interact, love slowly blossomed in his heart.
It's not that he hasn't struggled.
She was obviously avoiding reality and wrapping herself tightly in the shell of the game.
He saw it, and his mind told him that he should respect the other person and maintain the boundaries between gaming partners.
However, emotions are never controlled by reason.
Seeing her eyes shining because of the successful experiment, seeing her pretending to be calm but with slightly red ears when being teased by teammates, seeing her calmly casting spells when facing a powerful boss... every aspect of her made him want to get closer.
He wanted to understand her better, to be by her side, and to have her heart filled with only him.
In the end, he surrendered to his own heart.
He had imagined countless confession scenes, but in the end he seemed to have messed up some of them.
He didn't know where he got the courage from early this morning, and he almost clumsily sent out the invitation and left the address.
Will she come?
The words don't express what I mean and I have no idea what I'm talking about.
He clearly understood her concerns and knew how hard that protective shell was, but he still forced her.
He sat on the lawn, waiting from the dawn to noon, and from the afternoon to sunset.
Night falls again.
The stars simulated by the star network twinkled on the sky, and the evening breeze gently blew across the lawn, bringing the fragrance of green grass.
Occasionally, other spiritual figures flashed by around him, but none of them was the person he was waiting for.
An hour, a day, a night... time seems particularly long and torturous while waiting.
He never knew that the quiet night could be so terrifying.
He sat there stubbornly, as if he had become a statue.
He imagined countless possibilities in his mind. She might hesitate, be late, or need more time... But as long as there was a glimmer of hope, he was willing to wait no matter how long it took.
However, when the sun rose again from the horizon the next day, golden light spread over the lawn, dispelling the chill of the night and illuminating the last bit of hope in his eyes, she still did not appear.
The small flame that had been burning silently in his heart since last night finally went out little by little and with difficulty in the morning light.
His thick eyelashes drooped, casting a small dark shadow on his eyelids. He slowly raised his head and glanced at the end of the deserted lawn, with an imperceptible, bitter arc at the corner of his mouth.
As expected...it still doesn't work?
A deep sense of powerlessness and loss swept over him.
In the end, he still failed to knock on the door of the heart.
He stood there quietly for a while, as if saying his final goodbye.
Then, he took a deep breath of the fresh air with the smell of grass simulated by the star network. His figure turned into specks of light and disappeared on the lawn where he had been waiting for a whole day and night.
Only the breeze remained, blowing those unknown little white flowers, swaying gently, as if sighing silently.
The words were not expressive enough and I haven't been online all day.
In the game, Tang Li stared blankly at his gray ID, wondering whether to contact him.
"Are you waiting for me to come online?"
Tang Li looked over quickly and saw Ci Budiyi standing quietly not far in front of her, looking at her with a smile.
She lowered her eyes and looked at her friends page again. It turned out that while she was in a daze, someone's ID had lit up again.
"I……"
"I……"
They both spoke at the same time.
"Let me start by saying this," he said as he approached Tang Li, "I've been waiting for you all day, but you never came..."
"I'm sorry." She felt guilty.
"It's okay." He laughed without being able to express his meaning.
Noticing the girl's somewhat surprised look, he couldn't express his feelings clearly, but his eyes were gentle: "It's okay, even if I don't wait for you, don't we still have games? I can always see you here."
When he didn't see anyone yesterday, he did think about giving up, but in the end, he pulled himself together and went back online.
It’s just a game, no matter if it’s virtual or real, as long as she allows him to be with her, he will be satisfied.
"Tang Li, if I can't wait for you, I will take the initiative to get closer to you, so don't worry, I'll always be here." It seems like I want to tell you how much I love you, but my clumsiness makes it difficult for me to express myself clearly.
Heat welled up in his eyes, and he had never felt so useless.
He forced himself to look at Tang Li stubbornly, fearing that if he didn't show any affection, he would miss the chance to impress her.
"You..." At this moment, Tang Li's heartbeat was frighteningly fast. "Actually, I wanted to tell you... I didn't mean to break the appointment. As for how to get to the Star Network, I'm... not very familiar with it."
How to register a Star Network account, how to bypass the main brain and get a real identity. She and Xirang tinkered with it for a long time yesterday. After finally escaping the main brain's pursuit and getting the things, she ran out of mental energy and fainted.
When she woke up this morning, she found that a lot of time had passed. She had thought that no one would forgive her for not expressing herself well.
I didn't expect to hear such words.
Words couldn't express what he meant because of these words. His originally dry heart was filled with joy again. He looked at Tang Li with burning eyes, his eyes were so hot that they were frightening.
"I'm sorry." He apologized without expressing himself clearly. He shouldn't have doubted the other party. Fortunately, he was online today.
"I should be the one to say sorry." Tang Li lowered her head and looked at her toes.
"Xu, Xu Ci, how about we give it a try?"
The words were so unclear that I almost thought I was hallucinating.
"Really?" Looking at Xu Ci standing there stupidly, Tang Li's originally somewhat drifting mood also settled down. She took a deep breath and looked at him seriously. "Let's give it a try."
"Thank you!" Xu Ci finally realized that he had heard correctly. He immediately stepped forward and held Tang Li tightly in his arms.
"Who would say thank you when someone says give it a try..." Tang Li, who was held in his arms and unable to move, said helplessly.
"I didn't behave well at all, but you still agreed to me, so I..."
"I'm not good either. I can't do many things well."
"No, you're fine."
"Okay, okay..."
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The author has something to say: The main text ends here. There will be a side chapter tomorrow. Thank you for your company until now. If you are interested in the new articles in the column, please collect them. Goodbye~
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