Chapter 35#

Chapter 35: Extra €€ Ten

Mo Xi had been busy with his summer internship recently. In addition, he had taken a summer course on game design, leaving early and returning late almost every day. Only on weekends did he have time to hang out with classmates or update his posts.

Recently, a person suddenly appeared in the forum. Not only did this person reply to every post Mo Xi wrote, but they also frequently sent him private messages, mostly encouraging and comforting words like “Come on, you can do it.” Although it had a bit of a “chicken soup for the soul” flavor, it still made Mo Xi, who was living a busy and tiring life, feel a trace of warmth from a stranger.

Usually, Mo Xi would reply with a sentence or two when he saw private messages. After some back and forth, he started chatting with this netizen named “Urchin.” This student Urchin was still a university student, currently preparing for exams to go abroad, and asked Mo Xi if he could consult him about some study abroad issues. Although Mo Xi was busy, he was happy to help the future flowers of the motherland. Chatting in the forum was inconvenient, so he let that person add his WeChat.

After adding WeChat, Mo Xi glanced at Urchin’s Moments. It was blank, with only two simple words written in the signature: Love you.

Mo Xi patiently answered Urchin’s questions, thinking that was it.

Who knew that when Mo Xi returned home the next night and opened his phone, he saw a video sent by Urchin.

Mo Xi: What is this?

Urchin: Seeing how tired you described yourself in the post, I sent a funny video to make you happy.

Mo Xi clicked on the video. It was a funny pet compilation featuring silly cats, silly dogs, and silly owners doing silly things. In just ten minutes, Mo Xi laughed out loud several times.

It was really amazing. Just now, Mo Xi felt exhausted all over, but after watching the video, his mood became inexplicably much better.

Mo Xi: Thank you, it’s really quite interesting.

Urchin: If you like it, I’ll send more in the future (cheerful.jpg)

Mo Xi: Shouldn’t you be in class right now?

Mo Xi looked at the time. It should be Tuesday morning in China. Shouldn’t university students be in class?

Urchin: In Ideological and Moral Cultivation class, bored-ing.

Mo Xi: Pay attention in class. GPA is very important if you want to study abroad.

Urchin: Oh, okay. You go to sleep early.

Turning off his phone, Mo Xi did another assignment. When he was ready to go to bed after washing up, he saw Student Urchin post his first Moments: Want to hold you in the palm of my hand.

Tsk tsk, looks like a little romantic.

Mo Xi thought of himself soaked in the jar of love during university, wishing he could send these love words to Pei Hao every day. The love at that time was simple yet intense, involving no calculations or helplessness of the adult world. Even though he and Pei Hao didn’t have a good ending, he still envied his past self€€having the courage to throw caution to the wind once falling in love with someone.

But now, although he was young, his heart was already old. Let alone loving someone recklessly again, even being moved had become a luxury.

Time does not return, and youth does not come back.

Mo Xi was as busy with his studies and work as always. The only difference was that this kid named Urchin always sent him some funny videos every now and then or took the initiative to chat with him about life matters. And the other party seemed to have calculated the time carefully, contacting him every time Mo Xi came home at night. When Mo Xi was tired and wanted to sleep, that person would disappear tactfully.

Over time, the two chatted about more and more things, from game equipment to astronomy and the universe, from Qin Shi Huang to the American Civil War. Mo Xi was surprised to find that Urchin could talk to him about anything. For a few moments, he felt he saw someone’s shadow in Urchin. He and that person liked the same games, hated the same historical figures, and even had the same catchphrases.

But he knew this was impossible. How could that person see his posts and create a new identity just to get close to him? It was simply impossible, like a pumpkin growing on a gourd vine. Moreover, Urchin stated clearly what university and major he was studying. He was a university student and had someone he liked.

Mo Xi patted his head, reminding himself to be sober. The song had ended and the people had dispersed long ago; why was he always thinking blindly alone? He felt he might be suffering from post-breakup traumatic stress disorder and should see a psychologist at school when he had time.

On Monday morning, the first ray of sunshine opened a new curtain, and all things were waking up. Pushing open the company window, a humid wind blew against his face. Chen Xu opened the company email and saw an email sent by Fu Bing to the whole company, praising Pei Hao for persuading President Wang and signing a big order.

Chen Xu’s heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down. President Wang was notoriously difficult to deal with in the industry, but the company was in a transition period and urgently needed his order to prove its strength. Now that the company had won over the most fastidious President Wang, he believed other buyers would follow. The team’s efforts over the past few months were finally not in vain, and it could also shut up those who were unconvinced by Pei Hao.

Chen Xu wanted to share this good news with Pei Hao immediately, but he didn’t see him all morning. At noon, he couldn’t help but send a WeChat message to Pei Hao: Brother Hao, is there anything special I need to say at the weekly meeting today?

Actually, everyone spoke freely at the weekly meeting. If there was anything particularly important, Pei Hao would remind him to prepare on Friday. He just hadn’t seen Pei Hao for a weekend and wanted to talk to him.

After a long time, Pei Hao replied simply: No.

Chen Xu originally wanted to ask indirectly why he didn’t come today, but seeing the cold reply, he didn’t ask in the end.

Pei Hao was admitted to the hospital with acute gastroenteritis in the middle of the night yesterday. He hadn’t eaten properly for several months. After learning this, the doctor repeatedly urged him to eat on time and eat less cold food. Pei Hao nodded but didn’t take it to heart. When work got busy, he really didn’t have the time.

After being on an IV drip all night, he finally felt a bit better in the afternoon. Looking at the two large bottles of unknown liquid still hanging on the stand, he worriedly called the nurse and asked how much longer it would take.

Nurse: Four more hours.

Pei Hao: Can I stop the drip? I have something to do today.

Nurse: No, your white blood cell count is still very high. You can only leave after finishing the drip.

Pei Hao: …

He had been on the drip for more than ten hours continuously, and lying down made him uncomfortable all over. Moreover, today was the anniversary of Mo Xi’s mother’s death. He wanted to go to the tombstone to pay his respects. By the time he finished the drip, it would be dark, and the flower shop would probably be closed.

So, taking advantage of the nurse’s inattention, Pei Hao quickly pulled out the needle on his hand, rolled out of bed, and walked towards the flower shop.

Mo Zi went to the hospital for a prenatal checkup at noon today, then bought flowers and things her mother liked to eat when she was alive, preparing to go to the cemetery to pay respects. Before she and her husband reached the tombstone, they saw a person standing there vaguely, holding a bouquet of flowers and muttering something to the photo on the tombstone.

That height and that back figure looked exactly like Mo Xi’s ex-boyfriend.

Mo Zi walked closer supporting her belly. Although she recognized the person’s silhouette in the setting sun, she still asked in disbelief: “Pei Hao?”

The person standing in front of the tombstone realized someone had arrived nearby. He turned around, looked at Mo Zi’s bulging belly with surprise, and then smiled: “Sister is pregnant?”

The expression was very natural, as if his appearance here was a matter of course and needed no explanation.

Mo Zi was a bit confused. What was this all about? Why would Pei Hao still appear here? Mo Xi had been in the US for a year. No matter how much he liked him, he should have let go, right?

“Yeah.” Mo Zi touched her belly and nodded. Not having seen him for a year, she found that Pei Hao was much thinner than last year, with some stubble on his face and pale lips, looking not in very good spirits.

She didn’t know what Pei Hao had experienced this year, and it wasn’t appropriate to ask. After a brief silence between the two sides, Pei Hao placed the flowers in front of the tombstone, bowed to the person in the photo, turned to Mo Zi and her husband, and said, “I’ll go first then.”

“Okay.” While Mo Zi’s eyes were still blank, the person strode away.

Mo Zi’s husband asked her with a puzzled look: Did he reconcile with Xiao Xi?

Mo Zi looked confused: I don’t know!

The morning alarm clock rang “ding-a-ling.” Mo Xi stuck a hand out from the quilt to turn it off, lingered in the warmth of the quilt for a while, and then climbed out of bed unhurriedly to wash up. Today, all the full-time employees of the company went to attend some international summit. An intern like him didn’t have a spot, so he stole a day of leisure.

Just as he was brushing his teeth, the phone rang. Mo Xi picked up the voice call, and Mo Zi’s voice sounded on the other end: “Hey, Xiao Xi, I have something to ask you.”

Mo Xi drank a big mouthful of water to clear the foam in his mouth and said leisurely: “Ask away.”

“Did you and Pei Hao reconcile?”

Mo Xi was surprised: “How is that possible?”

“I went to visit Mom’s grave today and saw him again.”

“What?” Mo Xi had just held a mouthful of water and almost spat it out. “Did you mistake him for someone else?”

“No, he even greeted me.” Mo Zi’s tone was very certain.

Mo Xi simply couldn’t believe his ears, rubbing his hair and asking somewhat uncomfortably: “What did he go there for?”

“That’s why I asked if you reconciled.”

“No, we broke up cleanly long ago.” Mo Xi frowned, feeling a bit unhappy in his heart. What was wrong with that person? Why did he suddenly pop up every time he thought they were really over?

“Actually, I think he really cares about you…” Mo Zi carefully spoke her mind, although Mo Xi said Pei Hao didn’t treat him well. But every time she saw it, Pei Hao took special care of Mo Xi. First, when their mother passed away, Mo Xi cried and fainted several times, his face pale. If Pei Hao hadn’t coaxed him to eat every day and helped them handle the funeral affairs, Mo Zi really felt that both siblings would have collapsed from illness at that time. After breaking up with Mo Xi, Pei Hao appeared repeatedly, waiting for him downstairs in the dead of winter and sending things to their home every day. Anyone else would be moved to tears, right?

But matters of the heart, outsiders really couldn’t explain clearly or interfere with.

“Let him go wherever he likes, just don’t mind him.” Mo Xi interrupted her anxiously. He didn’t want to hear what his sister was going to say next.

“Alright.” Mo Zi stopped talking.

It should have been a pleasant day off, but after hanging up the voice call, Mo Xi felt inexplicably irritable. He remembered that on his birthday this year, Pei Hao also suddenly appeared before his eyes, but in the end, he didn’t take the initiative to talk to him. He really wanted to ask Pei Hao what he meant by doing all this. Was his habit of being hot and cold acting up again? Did he still want to play hard to get after breaking up? In the end, he realized he had long deleted all contact information of that person, even the game account, so where could he ask now?

Although he told Mo Zi that Pei Hao could go wherever he liked and she shouldn’t mind, he couldn’t do it himself.

Mo Xi sat in the chair sulking at himself. After a while, the WeChat notification sound rang.

Urchin: Are you not working today?

Mo Xi: Yeah.

Urchin: Any plans?

Mo Xi: Eat breakfast, and then, nothing.

Urchin: Do you play League of Legends? Let’s play a few rounds together? (seduce.jpg)

Mo Xi: But I’m on the NA server here, and my game hasn’t been updated for a long time (decay.jpg)

Urchin: You go update the game now, then go eat. I can get on the NA server.

After a conversation, his originally heavy mood lightened a bit. Mo Xi hesitated and agreed. It was rare to have a day off, so he should let himself rest. Besides, if he didn’t divert his attention, he might think about Pei Hao all day and enter a vicious cycle of sulking at himself.

After breakfast, the game was almost updated. Mo Xi sat in front of the computer and sent a message to Urchin: Start?

Urchin replied to him almost within a second: OK.

Mo Xi: Which position do you play?

Urchin: Usually top lane. Riven and Irelia are used more often.

Mo Xi looked at the message popping up on the phone, and for a moment, he was in a trance. It seemed that a long time ago, such a conversation had also happened. That person’s answer was exactly the same as Urchin’s.

“What about you?” Urchin on the other end of the phone sent a message, but Mo Xi held the phone in a daze and didn’t reply for a long time.

Urchin: ??

Mo Xi woke up in astonishment and replied: I play support. Sorry, let’s start.