"You're asking about that," Lan Bowen said, perking up when he thought of his wife. "It wasn't that I took a liking to my wife; my wife took a liking to me first. She was a fan, a girlfriend fan, and she became a fan just to pursue me. She joined all my fan groups and sent me private messages every day, 'Good morning,' 'Good afternoon,' 'Good night.' When I streamed, she'd send virtual gifts. The names she chose, I still remember them, the kind that are hard to say out loud. Like, 'Lan Bowen kiss me,' or 'Lan Bowen hubby, muah muah muah...' "
Lan Bowen chuckled. "Then I was competing, and we met offline, so we added each other as friends. She was quite clingy, sending you tons of messages a day. I remember I had muted her notifications back then. Later, we were playing a game, and we were one player short. She happened to be online, so I invited her. For the entire game, she didn't do anything but stand in the fountain and chat."
"In the second game, she played properly, as a support. She played quite well. I probably remembered her around then. After that, when I was grinding ranks, I'd play with her. Then when she sent messages, I'd see them and reply. We slowly chatted more, and I got to know her better."
"Honestly, I think it was fate. Her initial behavior, honestly, it was quite annoying before you liked someone."
Lan Bowen sighed. "You see, my wife was so clingy to me before, how is it that after we got together, it reversed, and now I'm the one who's clingy to her?"
When Lan Bowen mentioned his wife, he had a lot to say.
He continued to ramble on about many of the daily occurrences between him and his wife that he found quite amusing.
Sheng Kuang appeared to be listening, but his thoughts were fixed on the sentence he'd just said: "She was a fan, a girlfriend fan, and she became a fan just to pursue me."
Then, Sheng Kuang was envious.
Lan Bowen had been talking for about half an hour, his throat dry, feeling tired and thirsty. He couldn't take it anymore. "I really can't anymore, I need to sleep."
Sheng Kuang hummed an acknowledgment and didn't ask Lan Bowen to stay.
After Lan Bowen left, the balcony became unusually quiet.
Sheng Kuang didn't rush back to his room. He recalled the first time he saw her was at the semi-finals of the World Championship. A fan of his had gotten into an argument with Yang Sinian's fan. She sat quietly beside them, but Yang Sinian's fan was being relentless. Apparently, she had run out of patience and, quite fiercely, tapped the chair in front of her with a bottle of mineral water.
The young girl looked thin and frail, but in that moment of outburst, her aura was quite fierce.
Her tongue was sharp too.
She could retort without resorting to vulgarity, and it was biting.
It was a pity that the aura lasted less than a minute. When faced with Yang Sinian's fan's questioning, her reply was completely unexpected.
When Yang Sinian's fan asked who she was to defend him so fiercely, she immediately replied, "He's my son."
He hadn't taken that statement seriously at the time, but looking back now...
Heh.
Sheng Kuang let out a laugh of exasperation.
Sheng Kuang pinched the bridge of his nose and straightened up to return to his room.
Just as he finished drawing the curtains, there was a knock on the door.
He walked to the door, opened it, and raised an eyebrow at Lan Bowen, who had said he was going to sleep.
Lan Bowen asked, "About our room shortage, did you tell Jing Mei?"
Sheng Kuang raised his eyes in surprise. "No."
Lan Bowen said, "I went downstairs for water just now, and she was putting dog food out for the puppy. She ran into me and asked why Jiang Xin was still staying in a hotel when Jiang Xin's girlfriend was leaving tomorrow."
Sheng Kuang paused for two seconds, then realized they were talking about a group chat. "She saw what Jiang Xin said on my phone."
Lan Bowen: "Is that so?"
Sheng Kuang asked, "How did you reply to her?"
Lan Bowen hesitated. "What could I say? I thought you had told her, so I explained everything from the beginning. I told her the rooms weren't enough, so Jiang Xin had to stay out. Then she said there was an empty room on the third floor, so I said it was you who didn't want anyone to stay there, worried you wouldn't be comfortable or might be disturbed."
"She said it was fine, staying in a hotel was a waste of money, and asked Jiang Xin to come back tomorrow, saying she didn't mind."
"I said I couldn't make that decision and that she should come find you."
As soon as Lan Bowen finished speaking, Sheng Kuang's phone, which was on the bed, vibrated.
Sheng Kuang glanced over and walked to pick up his phone.
Lan Bowen asked, "Jing Mei?"
Sheng Kuang unlocked the screen and looked at WeChat.
Xiao Jing Jiang: Are you asleep?
While his fingers typed "No," Sheng Kuang gave Lan Bowen a perfunctory "Mm."
"Alright then, you guys chat," Lan Bowen yawned, closed the door for Sheng Kuang, and returned to his own room.
...
Lin Jing saw that Sheng Kuang was still awake and recounted her conversation with Lan Bowen downstairs to him.
It was a bit long, so instead of typing, she sent a voice message: "...It's fine if there are no rooms, but having empty rooms makes me feel awkward. If someone really has to leave, it should be me, not Jiang Xin. In short, have Jiang Xin come back to stay. He'll be next to me, and it won't affect me."
After thinking for a moment, Lin Jing opened her nine-grid input and started typing.
...Otherwise, I'll find a hotel near the school tomorrow...
Lin Jing's phone suddenly buzzed.
miracle: What about me?
Lin Jing blinked, not quite understanding his meaning. She quickly deleted the half-typed message and replied with a question mark.
miracle: Do I affect you?
miracle: If I don't affect you, I'll stay next to you.
miracle: Is that okay, Xiao Jing Jiang.