The second message arrived almost immediately.
SpaceObserverRin: I finally got the WeChat of a great author!!
So happy, so happy!
SpaceObserverRin: I remember you~!
SpaceObserverRin: Gu Yebai, this name has such a mood to it! I had a super deep impression of it the first time I heard it.
SpaceObserverRin: It rained so hard yesterday~ My house had a power outage, did yours lose power too? (>_<) It was so dark and scary…
Gu Yebai stared at the screen, his fingers frozen above the input box, unable to type a single word.
The other person, however, seemed to have some kind of double-speed cheat code, with messages popping up crazily one after another, the rhythm so fast he couldn’t keep up.
In a sense, if Bai Xialin changed careers to write web novels, she might just soar to the status of a top-tier god—at this typing speed, Gu Yebai felt ashamed of his own incompetence; it was far beyond his reach.
Even though her native language was Korean, not Chinese, she could type so fast it was as if she were using a hack.
Only 15 seconds had passed since he clicked “accept.”
Countless reply schemes flashed through Gu Yebai’s mind—polite, cold, perfunctory.
Yet every time his finger was about to descend, a new message from her would jump out.
He deleted and wrote, wrote and deleted, but the input box always contained that incomplete sentence he hadn’t sent.
Meanwhile, Bai Xialin was putting on a one-person show, busily entertaining herself.
[Baiye Duxing: Are you a flash typist?]
SpaceObserverRin: Eh? What is that? (·_·?)
*
Baiye Duxing: A character from Steins;Gate named Kiryu Moeka; she types super fast.
SpaceObserverRin: Maybe it’s because I was looking forward to it so much~!
SpaceObserverRin: I added you last night, tossing and turning in bed, just waiting for the great author to accept my request!
Stayed up late waiting for you~.
SpaceObserverRin: Because I personally love reading novels too! Mystery, sci-fi, suspense… I love them all! I feel like people who can write novels are super talented!!!
SpaceObserverRin: When I first saw you at the elevator, I thought you were a super talented person~
Baiye Duxing: You mean “talented,” right?
[Baiye Duxing: Although they sound the same, “oilseed rape” (youcaihua) is a vegetable, and “talented” (youcaihua) is an adjective…]
SpaceObserverRin: Ah ah ah, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I’m a beginner at Chinese! There are so many things I don’t understand, please forgive me!
Baiye Duxing: First of all, “beginner” is a Japanese word…
[Baiye Duxing: And it is “please forgive me,” not “sea king forgive me”…]
[Baiye Duxing: “Sea king” means someone who keeps ambiguous relationships with multiple women.]
SpaceObserverRin: I was wrong!!! I was really wrong!!!
SpaceObserverRin: Uncle Bai, please don’t hate me… My Chinese is just too bad…
SpaceObserverRin: I promise I’ll learn more Chinese later! I definitely won’t say things randomly anymore!
Gu Yebai couldn’t help but raise his hand to cover his forehead, feeling a bit overwhelmed.
But as he looked at the string of rapidly scrolling messages and emoticons on the screen, the corners of his mouth curled up uncontrollably.
Damn it.
His moral sense and his sense of humor were fighting in his head.
Gao Hongyi was still running a fever, over 39 degrees, her forehead burning like a coal.
Her hand was still clutching his sleeve, her knuckles white, as if afraid he would disappear in the blink of an eye.
And yet, he was here, almost laughing out loud because of a newly added friend’s “Chinese novice” cute-bombing.
What is this?
But I have to admit, Bai Xialin was just too energetic.
Like a puppy that had just learned to wag its tail, she couldn’t stop being excited, adding a string of emoticons to every sentence as if afraid he wouldn’t pay attention to her.
That clumsy sincerity, that stumbling Chinese, the panic in every apology accompanied by crying faces and exclamation marks… She was a girl in a foreign land, yet she was trying so hard to get close, as if she had put all her strength into the three words “make friends.”
She was so hardworking, so simple, and so earnest…
Gu Yebai suddenly thought, if Hongyi could become friends with a girl like this, maybe she would be better.
Current Hongyi was too heavy when it came to love.
Too paranoid, too afraid of losing him, as if she were putting the weight of the whole world on Gu Yebai alone.
If there were a sun like Bai Xialin by her side, perhaps Hongyi’s moonlight could be a little softer.
But as soon as this thought popped up, he felt ridiculous and pathetic.
Hongyi cried like that last night, her voice trembling as she begged him “don’t leave,” so how could he dare to hope they would “become friends”?
The total chatting time didn’t even exceed 3 minutes.
But Gu Yebai already felt it was enough.
At least until Gao Hongyi’s body temperature returned to normal, he shouldn’t keep chatting with Bai Xialin…
He took a deep breath, his fingertips paused on the keyboard, and he finally typed a line.
[Baiye Duxing]: I’m sorry, Miss Bai…
[Baiye Duxing]: Because my girlfriend is sick, I need to take care of her, so I can’t keep chatting with you.
[Baiye Duxing]: Can we chat again next time when I’m free?
After the message was sent, the dialogue box was quiet for 2 seconds.
Then, Bai Xialin sent one back.
This time, no emoticons.
SpaceObserverRin: Was your first impression of me not very good?
Gu Yebai’s heart tightened.
He could almost imagine her staring at the screen—her high ponytail drooping slightly, a flicker of disappointment in the Seoul girl’s eyes.
He hurriedly tried to remedy it.
[Baiye Duxing]: No, no! Miss Bai is very cute and very energetic!
[Baiye Duxing]: My first impression of you is very good!
[Baiye Duxing]: But my girlfriend needs me to take care of her, so I’m sorry.
The other side was quiet for another moment.
Then, a series of messages popped up.
SpaceObserverRin: Alright then, good luck uuu!
SpaceObserverRin: Also, can you tell me about your novel?
SpaceObserverRin: I want to read it! I want to read it!
Gu Yebai looked at those “want to read,” and his chest felt complicated again.
He hesitated for a moment, but still sent it.
[Baiye Duxing]: You go to Fenglibao Novel and search for Baiye Duxing, you will be able to find my novel.
This is the link https://book.sfacg.com/Novel/766171/.
SpaceObserverRin: Hehe, I’m going to stalk your novel!
Gu Yebai’s mouth twitched.
[Baiye Duxing]: It should be “read my novel.”
[Baiye Duxing]: See you.
The dialogue box finally went quiet.
He patted his face with both hands, trying to put on an expression as if nothing had just happened; he couldn’t let Hongyi see any clues.
Damn it…
Why did he feel like a cheating husband returning home?
“Uncle Bai…”
A whisper as thin as a thread came from the bedside.
“Hongyi, I’m here.”
“I just called Uncle Gao; a doctor will come to see you later.”
“Don’t worry.”
Wait.
Looking closer, Gao Hongyi was actually just talking in her sleep and hadn’t woken up.
She wasn’t sleeping peacefully, her little hand was groping unconsciously, as if looking for something certain in the dark.
Gu Yebai honestly reached out his hand to her.
She gripped it tightly immediately, a small arc of satisfaction curving at the corner of her mouth.