Pandora’s Box

I suffered from insomnia for a while after that day.

I didn’t know how to deal with this loss. In the past, I didn’t amount to anything more than getting drunk and acting flirtatious to inject adrenaline into my pathetic life.

But now I couldn’t do that. Even if I didn’t have the ability to level up, I didn’t want to level down because that would only get me further away from that person.

I could only choose to play games with greater devotion. Zhuo Wenyang once told me that he was optimistic about my e-sports livestreams. If I could do this well, would he maybe see me differently?

Wei Yuantao joined me in the game.

“Listen to Keke, don’t you want to take the postgraduate entrance exam for the Astronomy Department?”

“Mm…” I said while aiming, “I’m already playing like this so what do I need to test for? Who’s still gaming if you want to go to graduate school?”

Wei Yuantao gave a “tsk” sound, “Playing games won’t affect you.”

I angrily countered, “Don’t speak, you cheating gamer.”

Although Wei Yuantao was able to afford to be greedy, I knew that we were different.

Even if Wei Yuantao was not as intellegent as Zhuo Wenyang, he was definitely still an academic genius. He was the type of person who could solve math problems while playing games. Although he would play very poorly, the problem would still be successfully solved.

With his grades, he could go anywhere he applied to. As for a mere mortal like me, if I didn’t try my best and still wanted to take T University’s postgrad entrance exam, I would be too naive.

However, because I spent a lot of time preparing for it, it felt a little sad to give up halfway. That bitterness was still lingering in my heart.

I thought that these were probably the “unfinished” things in life that one would regret.

For example, like Zhuo Wenyang’s astronomical dreams.

Towards the end of summer vacation, Lee and Shao Yan broke up. The reason was that he discovered Shao Yan was promiscuous and his private life was messy. How exactly he found out, Lee wouldn’t tell me. But he denounced him mercilessly.

I could only say that this ex was really not good. Ke Luo’s judgement of people was incredibly accurate.

I was quite happy about it even though Lee was very angry. Because didn’t this mean that Ke Luo may have a chance?

Although I was frustrated by the lack of love myself, I was content to see my friends happy.

When school began, my foolish life was occupied again. I didn’t have much time to worry about spring and autumn.

Ke Luo returned back today.

His time in T City was getting shorter and shorter now, and we were more or less far apart. I missed him a lot. I missed the time when he, Zhuo Wenyang, and I spent time together without any problems.

After dinner, I was urged to go online by Wei Yuantao. So I asked Ke Luo, “Do you want to play together?”

From the past year since Lee returned back to China, Ke Luo gradually stopped to play online games.

“Let’s watch you play first.” He shook his head and said, “I haven’t practiced for a long time and my hands are rough.”

Not only did e-sports have no love, love also affected e-sports.

“Then tell me, how are you and Lee doing recently?”

I didn’t dare ask Lee about this because his attitude would be harsh whenever Ke Luo was mentioned in front of him.

Ke Luo was a bit elusive, “It’s nothing.”

“What, Lee is single again and you two haven’t made any progress? Aren’t you working hard enough?”

Ke Luo said, “Lee seems to have gotten back with Shao Yan.”

“???”

“A while ago, he took Shao Yan home for dinner again, and it wasn’t once or twice,” Ke Luo said, “I don’t know the details. I asked Xie Yan but he was vague. Maybe it was inconvenient for him to tell me.”

“…..”

I had to give him some advice, but I couldn’t think of any schemes.

Thinking about my ineffectiveness towards Zhuo Wenyang, I was not worthy enough of being a love mentor.

While turning on the computer, I asked, “How long will you be here this time?”

“Two weeks.”

“That’s good. Let’s go play golf and have dinner when we have time.”

“I sort of miss that Avanti lamb kebobs. The lamb juice wasn’t so fragrant in other places.” Ke Luo asked, “Why isn’t Wenyang here tonight?”

I was a little embarrassed, “He hasn’t been home for a long time.”

Ke Luo was taken aback, “Ah what’s wrong? Uncle Lu made him upset again?”

“No, he probably doesn’t like me.”

“Ah that’s possible?” Ke Luo frowned, “What’s the matter with you two?”

Even to Ke Luo, I didn’t dare admit what I did to Zhuo Wenyang when I was drunk that night. So, I could only vaguely say, “Maybe I offended and disappointed him.”

Ke Luo rolled his eyes, “What can you do to offend him?”

After loading the game, Wei Yuantao turned on the speaker within a team, “You’re here, baby! Hurry up, I can’t wait~”

Straight men were really scary =.=

“Are you in such a hurry?”

“Hurry up, hurry up,” Wei Yuantao frantically sent out a queuing request, “You weren’t here last night, and that’s killing me.”

Ke Luo was quiet, “…..”

Wei Yuantao had been chattering the entire time, talking nonsense.

The person he was in the game was very different from the person he was offline. He was cold and reticent in person, but he was rambunctious and enthusiastic in the game. He always shouted out “That’s awesome!” or “I love you, baby!”

As long as you helped him snipe his opponent and grabbed onto the airdrop, you could receive his endless love.

Ke Luo said, “…your friend, he’s very interesting.”

I was carefully aiming at the figure on the roof opposite of me. I smiled, agreeing, “Yeah.”

“Did you just meet? There wasn’t such a guy before.”

I fired a precise shot, a direct headshot at the opposing person, and naturally received Wei Yuantao’s fiery love.

“He’s my classmate, and I got to know him a while ago. He practiced shooting with me all summer.”

After a while, Ke Luo said, “School already started, but you two are still having a good time together. Very lively. Then what, Zhuo Wenyang didn’t come help you with tutoring? Can you still catch up on your homework?”

“It’s fine.” My heart still sank violently when mentioning Zhuo Wenyang, but I maintained my smile, “My grades this semester are all dependent on Wei Yuantao. Don’t judge him based on his addiction, he’s really good at schoolwork.”

For more than half of the semester, I played games with Wei Yuantao while he helped me explain class topics. This could be regarded as mutual help.

Ke Luo said after pausing, “Then, that’s pretty good.”

That was good. Otherwise, I was very scared that if I couldn’t rely on Zhuo Wenyang, I would be useless and would fail to get my diploma. That’d only make him look down on me even more.

While Ke Luo was in T City, he was also very busy. When he got home, he often turned on his laptop to work overtime and so, he couldn’t game with me.

Although I was still a student who wasn’t very attentive to things outside of the window, I could generally tell that the situation in the business sector seemed to be tense as of late.

I was in the middle of browsing through my mobile phone today, and I suddenly came across a news article under the official account of “S City Publishing,” in which I followed.

No, it was more correct to say it was old news since it was already a few days old. Due to the confusing timeline within the platform, I brushed it off. The article said that an explosion occurred in a specific community’s parking lot, causing a man surnamed Li injuries and damage to several cars. The police were investigating Yunyun.

This wasn’t a big deal and it wouldn’t attract much attention. The article length was very short, getting lost in the newsfeed of various lengths.

However, the problem was that the neighborhood’s name looked familiar.

I asked Ke Luo, “What’s the name of the neighborhood that Lee and Shu Nian lives in?”

Ke Luo was concentrating on his laptop, and when he heard the question, he replied, “Ziyun International. What’s wrong?”

“…..” I said, “Weird. Why didn’t Lee tell me about this matter? Did Shu Nian tell you?”

“What’s the matter?”

I handed over the phone and showed him the news.

Ke Luo instantly scowled.

I anxiously said, “The surname Li is too common. It shouldn’t be a coincidence, right? If something happened, they will definitely tell us.”

Ke Luo’s face darkened. “If it’s Lee, then that’s not necessarily true.”

“…..”

“I’ll ask Shu Nian.”

When he returned after making a phone call, Ke Luo’s expression turned ugly.

I was shocked, “Is it really Lee?”

However, this guy was still sending me messages and chatting with me these days, as if nothing happened.

Ke Luo sighed and said, “I’m going to the airport now.”

“Uh…okay,” I could only say, “Go and nag him for me.” What type of friend were you if you were hospitalized and kept your mouth shut?

We were friends that used to talk about everything, but I didn’t know when we became estranged enough for him to harbor some secrets.

And I was the same.

After Ke Luo left to S City, there were both good and bad news.

The bad news was that someone planted a bomb on the car to retaliate against Lee. Although his vigilance saved his life, injuries were unavoidable and the most serious of them were injuries to his face. This man, who had always been proud of his appearance, actually refused to fix it this time.

The good news was that Lee did not get back with Shao Yan. All the intimacy from before was a deliberate facade, discovering that the other party was a commercial spy.

Of course, it was obvious to who caused the car explosion.

Lee was still recovering well, but his face reconstruction surgery had been delayed. Ke Luo was worried about it.

“Lee said that he didn’t want to restore his previous face. He wanted to have a different one.”

“???”

Although Lee wasn’t considered beautiful, he was very satisfied with his face since he was handsome and recognizable. So what did he want to look like, a celebrity’s face?

“I think he just wants to change his face,” Ke Luo said, “He doesn’t want to look like Shu Nian anymore.”

I was taken aback, “But doesn’t he and Shu Nian have a good relationship now? Could it be that he hates Shu Nian?”

Ke Luo elaborated, “It’s not that he hates Shu Nian, but he hates me.”

“…..”

“That night when I was in LA, I called him Shu Nian in front of him. He must’ve always remembered that incident.”

“…..” Terrible.

“Actually, it’s quite obvious. He’s very sensitive and repulsed by their similar appearance. Of course, this isn’t Shu Nian’s problem but rather my own.”

“Then… what are your thoughts towards this matter?”

“Shu Nian was very angry and tried his best to stop it. Xie Yan listened to Shu Nian. I’m neutral. Of course, it was better to restore it as it was from the perspective of surgical risks and psychological acceptance of relatives and friends. But I think it still depends on Lee’s wishes. He can do whatever he wants, as long as he likes it,” Ke Luo said, “but I’m the one who made him want to give up his face.”

“…..”

“Also, he doesn’t seem to forgive me.”

In fact, the Lee I was familiar with was not such a vengeful person. He had always been unrestrained; he was neither nostalgic nor held past grudges because his world and heart was big. It was difficult to leave traces in his heart, as most things that happened to him seemingly dissipated without a trace.

Why did it turn out like this? Did Ke Luo leave a persisting mark in his heart?

Ke Luo only came to T City once to sort out the company’s affairs. In the end, I found time to go to the temple and requested a peace talisman for Lee.

Ke Luo, a proper young man who preached science and technology, showed me excitedly, “I heard that this is very effective; I asked the temple master to open it.”

I was a little bitter, “You’re so superstitious.”

I also wanted someone to be superstitious for me too.

Not long after, Ke Luo called me.

“Lee decided to restore his face back to his original appearance.”

“Really?” I was happy for Lee, and was also happy for Ke Luo, “Doesn’t that mean that he also forgives you?”

Ke Luo was surprised for a brief moment, “Really?”

“At least he overcame this hurdle in his heart.”

Ke Luo sighed and said quietly, “I hope he can really let go of that.”

“Hey, Lee has always been a forgetful person before, and he doesn’t take these bad incidents personally. Well, no, in fact, he’s also like this now. Look at Shao Yan, didn’t he do a lot of bad things? Didn’t Lee just treated him as an annoyance,” I said, full of emotions, “Why wouldn’t he let go of your little incident for so long…”

I suddenly had a flash of inspiration, bringing clarity to vague and chaotic things, and a brand new path immediately opened up before my eyes.

I excitedly asked, “Ke Luo, I have a bold idea. Do you want to listen?”

“What?”

“Do you realize that you’re special to Lee?”

He slightly hesitated, “Specially annoying?”

“Whether you hate it or not isn’t the point, the point is that you’re special,” I explained happily, “The formula Lee used to get with you was familiar, but later on, I felt something different. For example, he will hate you, but not remember others!”

Ke Luo said, “What the hell… how is this a good thing?”

“It may be a good thing or it may be a bad thing, but at least there’s a 50% chance, right?”

“…..”

“Also, you know, the last person who made me feel that Lee’s response was strange was Shu Nian!” The more I thought of it, the more excited I became, “Doesn’t this explain something?”

Ke Luo paused for a moment before asking sincerely, “Then what should I do?”

“……” I said, “The rest is for you to figure out.”

“???”

“The master guides you to the door, and it’s up to the individual to put it into practice!”

“???”

I, as a love mentor, who managed to never catch anyone, couldn’t hold back the anger stemmed from embarrassment, “I’m just telling you, you have something to work with so don’t give up! As for how to act, it’s just being shameless and sickeningly sweet, so it’s up to you to play it out!”

“…fine.”