Chapter Twelve: The Divine Spirit?

As Old Lei carefully carried a bowl of instant noodles topped with double egg sausages upstairs, Su Xiaoqiang had already taken the initiative to switch her seat next to Lu Mingfei, leaning slightly toward him. Lu Mingfei, in turn, patiently guided her step by step on how to operate the game.

Old Lei placed the noodles in front of Lu Mingfei and glanced at Su Xiaoqiang.
“I underestimated you. One after another, you’re quite the hidden talent.”
“Huh?” Lu Mingfei was in the middle of shoveling noodles into his mouth.
“Nothing. Just be careful when you go out these days. Try to stay in crowded places.”
After saying this, Old Lei clattered down the stairs, leaving Lu Mingfei with a puzzled look.
“What did he say just now? Did you understand?”
Su Xiaoqiang kept her eyes on the computer screen without looking up.
“Not important. Come help me check—why can’t I create any more peasants?”
“You’ve hit the population limit.” Lu Mingfei shifted his body, leaning over Su Xiaoqiang in a way that seemed like he wanted to touch her hand.
Startled, Su Xiaoqiang quickly dropped the mouse and pulled her hand back. Unexpectedly, Lu Mingfei naturally picked up the discarded mouse and began operating it.
“Look, first you click here, then build this structure...”
Lu Mingfei focused intently on the screen. Su Xiaoqiang’s cheeks flushed slightly, feeling a bit embarrassed by her own earlier thoughts.
“See? Got it now?” Lu Mingfei released the mouse and turned to look at her. “Hey, why is your face red?”
“None of your business,” Su Xiaoqiang rolled her eyes. “Isn’t it called looking radiant?”
“Oh, I thought you were talking about cold cream.”
“Are you trying to do stand-up here?”
“I thought you wanted to do comedy, so I was trying to be the straight man.”
Su Xiaoqiang covered her forehead with her hand. This guy definitely didn’t have a girlfriend.
But then again, which high schooler with a boyfriend would spend their summer vacation in an internet café?
As they bickered, the metal stairs creaked loudly again, densely echoing.
Both Lu Mingfei and Su Xiaoqiang instinctively looked up. Several heads appeared from the stairwell corner, descending in height from oldest to youngest.
A group of young men climbed to the second floor, hands shoved in their pockets, their hair dyed in flashy colors.
They obviously noticed Lu Mingfei and Su Xiaoqiang huddled in the corner, especially eyeing Su Xiaoqiang.
Lu Mingfei could clearly feel their gazes lingering on her longer than on himself.
Su Xiaoqiang also felt the uncomfortable stares, unsure whether to react. At that moment, Lu Mingfei suddenly placed his hand on her shoulder.
She shuddered, thinking he might have suddenly lost control and was about to make a move.
Just as she was about to pull away and slap him, she felt the weight and firmness of his hand pressing her down into the chair.

“It’s okay. Don’t be afraid. They mean no harm. It’s just that girls rarely come to internet cafés, so they’re looking at you more. They’ll get on with their own business soon.”
Lu Mingfei lowered his head behind the monitor and said, “Let’s just keep playing.”
Only then did Su Xiaoqiang suddenly realize that Lu Mingfei was simply trying to protect her.
His hand on her shoulder was meant to hide her behind the screen.
“Does this happen often?” Su Xiaoqiang asked, experiencing the chaos of the internet café for the first time.
Lu Mingfei’s eyes rolled around. “Not really, but beautiful girls like you coming here are pretty rare.”
Su Xiaoqiang came from a wealthy family, born in the heart of Rome, and was of mixed heritage, with undeniable good looks.
She had been praised for her beauty countless times throughout her life.
But being complimented by Lu Mingfei in an internet café was a new and somewhat peculiar experience for her... she couldn’t say if she was happy or not, but it felt special.
Sure enough, after Lu Mingfei pressed her down behind the computer, the group gradually found seats nearby and started their machines.
Su Xiaoqiang exhaled softly, her tension finally easing.
Before today, she had never been to such a chaotic place as an internet café.
Different people belonged to different social circles.
For example, Lu Mingfei’s life revolved around home, school, and the internet café.
He bought breakfast from street stalls, watched movies at cheap public cinemas, and even his clothes were bargained for at wholesale markets with his aunt.
In contrast, people like Su Xiaoqiang and Liu Miaomiao moved in entirely different circles.
When they bought clothes, it was only from the city’s largest shopping mall luxury brand stores or bespoke tailors.
When they went out with friends, it was only to members-only upscale KTVs, surrounded by people from their own social class.
School was the most socially level place, where both Su Xiaoqiang and Liu Miaomiao could be in the same class as someone like Lu Mingfei.
Of course, this equality was relative, as Lu Mingfei also attended a prestigious school.
Because of these different circles, when Su Xiaoqiang found herself in an unfamiliar setting among strangers, her usual pride and arrogance gave way to rare confusion and helplessness.
If not for Lu Mingfei, she wouldn’t have known how to handle the situation.
“Shall we... leave?” Su Xiaoqiang tentatively asked.
Lu Mingfei thought for a moment and nodded. “Alright, if you want to go, we’ll go. I’ll walk you to the station.”
As they prepared to log off, the group that had just come upstairs suddenly burst out in excitement:
“Whoa, Ming Shen is actually online!”
“Which Ming Shen?” a guy with a slicked-back hairstyle asked.
“The unbeatable StarCraft god of all internet cafés in South City, Ming Ming. His nickname is Ming Shen.”
“Check the LAN, there’s an ID named ‘MingMing’ who just created a room,” another with pineapple-patterned hair replied.
“Damn, I gotta see this.”
The slicked-back guy hurriedly opened StarCraft, while the pineapple-haired one stood up, scanning around, then spotted Lu Mingfei’s spot.
“Whoa, Ming Shen is sitting right here.”
Su Xiaoqiang watched as those men suddenly stood up in unison, approaching Lu Mingfei with almost servile expressions, hunching forward and scampering like eager puppies, each calling him “Ming Shen.”
She suddenly found the group she feared earlier to be nothing more than a bunch of immature kids.
She tugged on Lu Mingfei’s shirt hem and whispered, “That Ming Shen they’re talking about—is that you?”
Lu Mingfei scratched his head awkwardly. “Seems like it.”
Su Xiaoqiang slightly regretted not asking to leave earlier.
By now, they were surrounded by five or six burly men, making escape impossible.
Especially when she saw them scrambling to flatter Lu Mingfei while she was ignored, she felt a bit disillusioned about life.
“This is...” After fawning over Lu Mingfei, the men finally looked at Su Xiaoqiang. “Ming’s wife?”
“Wife, my foot!” Su Xiaoqiang couldn’t help but curse under her breath.
Did these guys have any eyes? Did she and this guy look like a couple in the slightest? She was inwardly furious.
“Don’t jump to conclusions. She’s just my classmate,” Lu Mingfei quickly interrupted. “You can just call her Sister Su.”
In unison, the men said, “Hello, Sister Su,” then resumed flattering Lu Mingfei.
“I’ve long admired Ming Shen’s reputation, but you’ve been elusive until now. Finally catching you today means you owe us a teaching match.”
“But I’m playing with my classmate,” Lu Mingfei pointed to Su Xiaoqiang’s screen.
The men suddenly understood, realizing why Ming Shen was at the internet café at this hour—he was with a girl.
For Ming Shen’s future happiness, they decided not to disturb his romantic moment.
Just as they were about to greet and leave, the pineapple-haired one foolishly said, “No worries, Sister Su should join us too. Let’s start an eight-player game.”
The others instantly gave him looks of “Why can’t you get it?” silently wanting to knock him out and drag him away so he wouldn’t bother Ming Shen in his courting.
Lu Mingfei, oblivious to their true feelings, turned and asked Su Xiaoqiang, “What do you think?”
Su Xiaoqiang’s eyes flicked around. “Sure.”
She had only asked Lu Mingfei to teach her because he played StarCraft. Judging by the others’ words, he seemed quite skilled.
Curious, she wanted to see how well he played firsthand.
Thus, the StarCraft teaching session began.