Pandora’s Box

Zhuo Wenyang didn’t care; he really didn’t care.

He was very friendly and kind to me, but he didn’t want me to get too close to him. If there was a sign of it being too much, he would politely stop and persuade me to leave.

He also did not care who I liked or who I was interested in, just like he was with Ke Luo’s romantic life.

I tried my best to keep a neutral expression on my face. If one couldn’t act nonchalantly at this time, things would quickly become awkward.

I smiled and asked, “How can you be a good brother if you don’t compete for favor? At least gift me a bit of a reward, don’t you at least get that obvious hint?”

Zhuo Wenyang said “Oh” belatedly and immediately turned on his phone, “Okay.”

Following after, a notification of the super rocket popped up on my laptop screen and a series of “666” from friends came on the screen. I grinned at Zhuo Wenyang and said, “Thank you.”

After this wave of gifts, a launch of complaints came one after another, “The streamer already hung up and there are people still giving out rewards.”

“This idle time is too long, why don’t you start? There’s no sound so is the streamer asleep?”

“Passive sabotage.”

“A reward is hinting him to start.”

Thus, I turned on the mic again and said cheerfully, “One more time, our winning team will start again.”

Everyone enthusiastically joined, including Mr. X.

I decisively chose Mr. X and other two players, four players altogether.

Mr. X was still not good at playing and his reaction time in the game was slow. Whether it was selecting his weapon or getting in the car to run, he was half a beat slower than others. I often needed to urge him.

I was repeating “Fork King, Fork King” until Zhuo Wenyang stepped in, “He’s not a Fork.”

“What is not a fork?”

Zhuo Wenyang smiled and explained, “It’s the English letter X.”

Mr. X typed and said, “X represents infinite possibilities.”

Oh, that sounded pretty romantic.

I awkwardly said, “It’s Mr. Ex. I think it’s easier to say Mr. Fork.”

Mr X. immediately typed again and said, “Then say “Fork” as long as you feel comfortable.”

The comments spilled in one after another, “Oh, he’s spoiling him.”

“Isn’t it normal to be spoiled? He’s the number one donor on the reward rank.”

Reminded by them, I had a flash of indulgence. My admiration and friendliness towards Mr. X immediately doubled.

Usually, my level of care and tolerance for Zhuo Wenyang’s game was 120%, but this time it was 200%. I was occupied with warming him up to the extreme with gifts of guns, bullets, first-aid kits, and such. Mr. X was obviously flattered.

The wave of comments frantically increased with complaints of me obviously sucking up to and flattering him.

“This treatment is better than sister-in-law’s?”

“The expectation standards is too high and we want it too.”

I glanced at the “sister-in-law” who was sitting at the side, watching the battle. Zhuo Wenyang was smiling indifferently.

The comments continued endlessly, “Is sister-in-law not jealous?”

I reacted angrily, “Where is the sister-in-law? I’m a single dog!”

Mr. X typed to explain, “I am a man.”

The comments were very tolerant, “It’s not impossible if you’re a guy.”

“That’s right, our brother Jump’s requirements aren’t strict.”

“It’s time to relax his standards.”

“So is the new sister-in-law going to take over?”

Zhuo Wenyang still didn’t respond.

I was completely discouraged and said, “Sister-in-law my foot. This is my father, let’s go.”

A series of comments came up, “Is it okay to recognize a father on the spot?”

“The father is the funder.”

“The provider are my parents.”

Mr. X suddenly stopped moving. We already searched the house inside and out and we retreated back to the car, but he was still standing at the stairs.

“Mr. X?”

“Is it disconnected?”

I heard the slight sound of footsteps coming from my earphones, and hurriedly reminded my teammates, “Someone is coming!”

Sure enough, as soon as we hid behind the wall, another team approached and immediately shot Mr. X who remained frozen. When we raided later, we killed off this group of people to avenge Mr. X. Mr. X came back to his sense after dying on the floor typed out, “I’m sorry.”

I was very understanding. “Were you frozen?”

“Uh-huh.”

Mr. X, who died in battle, could only watch the entire game and chat with us.

On weekdays, he would blame himself for his poor performance whenever he died early and was very regretful. On the contrary this time, he seemed quite happy and his fingers flew, keeping up with our conversations vigorously.

I glanced at Zhuo Wenyang and was also very happy.

Why.

After this match, it was late and Zhuo Wenyang got up to leave. He had a business trip tomorrow and had to return back to pack his luggage. He wouldn’t be staying here tonight.

When Zhuo Wenyang was around, I was absent-minded and distracted. But as soon as he left, my brainless self would follow him.

So, I explained to my viewers, “My head hurts. I don’t want to play anymore.”

This followed with a “???”

“What, you want to call it a day without gaining wins?”

“Give it another shot!”

Within the chaotic voices, the game was hastily shut down.

As soon as I went offline, a message from Mr. X came on WeChat, “Do you have a headache? What kind of pain is it? Do you have medicine at home?”

I didn’t expect him to care that much about what I mentioned casually. Hence, I replied, “It’s fine. It’s just that I’m a bit tired after gaming too much. I’ll be okay after a night of sleep.”

“That’s good. Go to bed early and don’t work too hard. The temperature will decrease tomorrow so remember to wear more at night.”

I thought it was slightly funny. Most of my friends were kids. Even if they were older people from working society, no one would talk to me in such an old-fashion way.

He really was like my dad.

Lying on the bed and full of wild thoughts, I looked forward to any news from Zhuo Wenyang like “I’m home.”

I stared at those words for a long time and had thousands of words hesitating from my lips. I finally urged him, “Quickly pack up and go to bed early.”

He replied, “I’m not rushing to sleep.”

“Don’t you have an early flight?”

He said, “I don’t want to sleep yet. I can catch up on sleep on the plane.”

I squeezed my phone and stared at the ceiling for a long moment. I didn’t want to sleep either.

I really wanted to ask him what he thought of me. Were there potential good feelings? Or was it purely brotherhood? If there was nothing else but friendly brotherhood, was there a chance of change in the future? And what did I need to do to change it so that this was more than bromance?

I had a lot of things I wanted to tell him but none of them could be brought up.

In the past, I felt that as long as I was not in a hurry or forced, as long as I was able to get along with him daily and involved in ambiguous interactions, I was very happy.

However, his indifference and deliberate distancing made me feel anxious.

Some people allowed nature to take its course and got together as they went with the flow, but others would let nature take its course and would gradually drift away. I wasn’t sure what group we belonged to.

I asked abruptly, “Zhuo Wenyang, do you have someone you like?”

“…..”

The question was abrupt and took him by surprise. He did not respond for a while.

He asked, “Why are you asking this all of a sudden?”

“Curiosity. I feel like you seem abstinent, haha.”

After a moment, he replied with a word, “Yes.”

I didn’t take a breath and my heart cooled down.

“Oh.”

He had someone he liked. No wonder other people, like Ke Luo and me, did not have a place in his heart.

I said, “Yo, it turns out you quietly have love without making a sound about it. How boring.”

“Not in love.”

I reacted, “So are you secretly in love with that person?”

“Mm.”

“Wow…,” I continued to inquire with mixed feelings, “How long has it been?”

“Several years.”

“…..”

My mouth was full of sourness and my face was so crooked that I couldn’t undo it.

If I knew earlier, I wouldn’t have asked so why bother.

Despite of holding back for a while, I couldn’t help myself and asked again, “Why don’t you confess your love?”

He was silent for a brief moment before answering. “It’s not appropriate.”

“Ah?”

“In my situation, I feel that there won’t be a good outcome.”

“Oh…..”

No wonder I never heard him mention this.

I forced a smile, “You are too scared, haha.”

“Mm.”

I pressured him, “You’re not acting like a man.”

“…..”

I didn’t know what immortal could make Zhuo Wenyang so timid. I could not imagine it since I was a mortal myself.

I wanted to continue asking, but when the questions stopped at my lips, I decided to let it go. Why would I let myself suffer so much? Enough was enough.

After a while, I was able to continue texting. “Where are you? Are you still asleep? What are you doing?”

I did not know what he was occupied with but he replied after a long while, “Yes.”

“??”

“I’m talking to my crush.”

“…..”

Sourness emerged from my heart and spread directly from the soles of my feet to the top of my head. My scalp was numb and my toes were curled up.

No wonder his replies were so slow. It turned out that he was busy with other things.

Alas, I was clowning myself.

I immediately responded, “Then I won’t bother you. I’m going to sleep, bye.”

“……”