Chapter 136: Return of Meimei

After returning to the city and storing their gear properly, Lin Jia stretched lazily in his armchair. His mentor groaned softly and asked, "What are we doing now? Heading to Woma 3 to burn monsters and level up?"

Boss stared at his screen, stashing items in the guild inventory while replying, "What else is there to do?! Though I'm kind of sick of grinding monsters. That place is just too exhausting, I'm always dead tired from running back and forth. Besides, over the last couple of days, tons of players started copying our method of burning monsters, so the experience isn't as good as before. More people are heading down to fight the Lord, too, so it's not worth it anymore. Shall we go somewhere else?"

"Yeah, Woma is getting so boring! Every time, I'm just stuck standing around doing nothing!" Old Four chimed in.

"Shut up! You're the one who does the least and yet you still have complaints!" Lin Jia scolded him, then turned to Boss. "I wonder if Aofeng Yizhen managed to sell that Woma Horn we dropped? If we wait any longer, once more people start dropping them, we probably won't be able to sell it at all!"

"Doesn't look like it! I just whispered him earlier, and he said he's still haggling with the leaders of several player organizations. He wants to sell it for 10 million, but those guys don't seem to have that much cash..." Boss suddenly shifted to another topic. "Oh, that's right! Meimei is back to work, but she's been transferred to the day shift! She doesn't have to work nights anymore! What a pity! The lazy bum working the night shift now won't even help us brew tea! Meimei is so much better!"

Meimei was back to work? A chill went down Lin Jia's spine, and his stomach tied itself in anxious knots. He hadn't seen Meimei once since that night, and since he couldn't get in touch with her, he had no idea if she was angry about what happened. Even though he hadn't really done anything, she was a girl, after all...

The more he thought about it, the more his mind turned to mush. It left Lin Jia so distracted that he didn't even feel like leveling up for the rest of the night. He kept making stupid mistakes—one second he was running fine, only to suddenly wander into a mob of monsters and die; the next, he'd space out while zapping creatures. He even ended up casting Lightning spells directly at Boss's skeleton pet, prompting a chorus of complaints from Boss and Old Four. Lin Jia could only force an awkward laugh and make up an excuse that he was getting sleepy and kept spacing out.

After pondering for a long time, Lin Jia hardened his heart and decided he would have a proper talk with Meimei as soon as she came in for her morning shift. If she was angry, he would sincerely apologize and own up to his mistakes. That was far better than sitting around agonizing over a girl's thoughts all by himself. Lin Jia even rehearsed in his head what his very first sentence would be when they met, and how he would handle various scenarios—like if Meimei flew into a rage right on the spot.

Having nearly driven Boss and Old Four crazy all night, Lin Jia deliberately dawdled the next morning, using a trip to the restroom as an excuse. As soon as Boss and Old Four left ahead of him, he went down to the first-floor public area of the internet café and casually picked a machine to sit at. He didn't log into Legend, choosing instead to browse some forums about the game and visit an expert forum to kill time until Meimei arrived for her shift.

Shift changes at the internet café were normally at 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM. Because Lin Jia had intentionally lied about being dead tired and coaxed Boss and Old Four into leaving early, it was just a little past 7:00 AM. Lin Jia flipped through some threads where players claiming to be experts posted their insights—some boasting about top-tier gear they had dropped, others claiming to have discovered hidden equipment not mentioned on any official website.

Lin Jia read one post where a guy claimed he had looted a top-tier Soul Battle Armor with a Taoism stat of 0-5. Unfortunately, the forum didn't seem to support image uploads, so the poor guy got flamed to near-death by a crowd calling him a liar and a daydreamer.

Another fellow even claimed there was an NPC in the Sabuk blacksmith shop who could play songs, and supposedly listening to music could even grant experience points and level you up. Naturally, he got cursed out by a mob of people too. Someone commented that they went to check it out and listening to a single song cost 1 million gold coins—only an idiot would spend money like that, since who even had 1 million gold coins right now?

Lin Jia laughed out loud. These bros assumed that because *they* were broke, everyone else must be broke too, completely oblivious to the fact that a fair number of players in Legend actually possessed assets exceeding 1 million. Tycoons like Lin Jia and his crew weren't non-existent. However, Lin Jia *had* actually noticed that NPC in the Sabuk blacksmith shop before. There really was an option to listen to music, except it cost 1 million gold coins. Back then, nobody was willing to spare 1 million just to listen to a song, so Lin Jia hadn't tested it out.

Unable to resist, Lin Jia logged back into Legend and specifically ran over to Sabuk City to check out that musical NPC. After clicking on the NPC named "Weapon Shop Owner," aside from listening to music, there were two other options: "Start Weapon Upgrade" and "Return Weapon Upgrade." If you clicked "Start Weapon Upgrade," the weapon shop owner would tell you: "It looks like you want to upgrade your weapon. Show me your weapon. The upgrade fee is 10,000 gold coins. Refining this weapon requires raw materials like black iron ore, accessories, weapons, and gold coins. Are you sure you want to do this?"

Just for fun, Lin Jia clicked confirm, but the owner told him the materials were insufficient and instructed him to prepare them. Lin Jia actually knew where to get the ore—you just had to buy a pickaxe and mine in the Bicheon or Serpent Valley mining areas. He used to hear players complain that the drop rate for black iron ore was too low and that it didn't sell for a high price, but it turned out the stuff was used here!

Lin Jia researched inside the Sabuk weapon shop for ages, finally figuring out that weapons could actually be upgraded. Didn't that mean his 1-4 Yanyue could be upgraded too? Dying to give it a try, Lin Jia hurriedly bought a pickaxe, planning to run over to the Serpent Valley mine to dig up a few chunks. But right at that moment, out of the corner of his eye, Lin Jia saw Meimei push open the glass door of the internet café, carrying a pink little handbag as she strolled gracefully inside.

Flustered and panicked, Lin Jia hurriedly shut down Legend and lowered his head, pretending to examine the keyboard. Every single step of the greeting he had meticulously planned out just moments ago completely vanished from his mind. By the time Meimei walked past his back, entered the counter area, and completed the shift handover with the night-shift admin, Lin Jia stood up with agonizing slowness, feeling a mixture of tension and awkwardness, completely at a loss for how to speak up.

***

As Lin Jia approached the counter, Meimei, who was currently cleaning the surface, immediately spotted him. She panicked and lowered her head to tidy away the cigarette butts and teacups left behind by the previous shift.

"Uh..." Lin Jia started with an awkward laugh. "Meimei, you're here, huh?" The moment the words left his mouth, he wanted to slap himself across the face. Talk about stating the obvious!

"...Yeah!" After a moment, a barely audible response came from Meimei's direction, but she still refused to turn around and face Lin Jia. Lin Jia felt unbearably awkward because he had no idea what else to say. He scratched his head frantically, his mouth endlessly muttering, "Well... you see... um..." Meimei was probably feeling equally awkward; she used a rag to wipe the exact spot of the counter in front of her until it was practically glowing, completely ignoring the messy operational desk right behind her.

The atmosphere instantly froze in an awkward deadlock. Meimei wouldn't turn around, and Lin Jia didn't know what to say. His smile froze on his face to the point where his facial muscles were twitching slightly. Internally, Lin Jia was howling, *Dammit, this mouth of mine! Normally aren't you quite the silver-tongued chatterbox? Why did you have to suffer a stroke of paralysis today?!*

Fortunately, Old赵 (Old Zhao), who had been on night watch all night, stumbled down from the upstairs private rooms looking disheveled, sporting a face full of stubble. He was even digging the sleep crust out of the corners of his eyes with his finger when he noticed Lin Jia standing in front of the counter with a look of utter awkwardness. Oblivious, he asked, "Why are you standing here? Signing off so early today? Oh right! Meimei, have you had breakfast yet? If not, go grab a bite! I'll watch the floor for a bit!"

Relieved as if granted a pardon from death, Lin Jia happily blurted out, "Right, right, right! Meimei! Let me treat you to breakfast!" At that moment, he felt like he wanted to grab Old Zhao's smelly face and plant a fierce kiss on it. His timing couldn't have been more perfect!

Meimei didn't make a sound, while Lin Jia ingratiatingly asked Old Zhao, "Old Zhao! What do you want to eat? We'll bring it back for you!"

Old Zhao squeezed into the counter, snatched the rag out of the hands of Meimei—who was still standing with her back to them—and asked curiously, "Why did you polish this one spot until it's so shiny? Go on, go on! I'll clean up the rest~" With that, he nudged Meimei, who was keeping her head down like a timid quail, out from behind the counter. Then, watching Meimei practically flee into the restroom to wash her hands, he flashed a lecherous, suggestive grin worthy of a sleazy uncle, leaned in close, and muttered in a low voice, "You little punk! Why are you acting so generous today? Trying to make a move on our Meimei?"

Lin Jia almost passed out from the fumes of Old Zhao's unbrushed morning breath. The potent mix of halitosis and cigarette stench had lethal killing power!

Just then, Meimei emerged from the restroom, moving at a snail's pace. Old Zhao chuckled, slapped Lin Jia on the shoulder, and said, "You two get going already! Remember to bring me a bowl of hot dry noodles, a basket of scallion-pan-fried buns, a bowl of Anqing wontons, a cup of soy milk, and two fried dough sticks!"

"What the heck!" Lin Jia was nearly frightened out of his wits and couldn't help blurting out, "Old Zhao! Are you a pig? How can you possibly stomach all that food first thing in the morning right after waking up?"

Old Zhao chuckled evilly, "It's not every day I catch you offering to treat! If I can't finish it, I can just take it home for my wife and kid!?"

Lin Jia rolled his eyes, nearly fainting. Was there really such a shameless person alive?!

Meimei, standing nearby, almost burst into laughter. She quickly turned around, grabbed her little handbag, and walked out of the internet café first.

Old Zhao winked and made suggestive facial expressions at Lin Jia. Lin Jia let out a dry, awkward chuckle, scurried out like a happy puppy, and caught up to Meimei, who was walking with her head down. Scratching the back of his head and sending a flurry of dandruff flying, he foolishly stammered, "Uh... Meimei, what do you want to eat?"

Meimei pursed her little lips, her pretty cheeks flushed a soft pink. She didn't say anything, merely heading toward the breakfast stalls situated by the neighborhood lake not far away. Every morning, numerous breakfast vendors set up shop there to provide morning meals for people doing their early exercises.

Seeing that Meimei wasn't talking, Lin Jia had no choice but to follow submissively behind her, wearing a ingratiating grin as he reached out to take the small bag from her hand, babbling foolishly, "Hehe! Let me carry it! Let me carry it!"

Caught off guard, Meimei had her little handbag snatched right out of her hand from behind. A mix of amusement and curiosity, she shot Lin Jia a pretty, coquettish eye-roll, then spun around and sat down at an Anqing wonton stall. Lin Jia hurriedly pulled up a plastic stool to sit right beside her, shouting loudly at the busy wonton vendor, "Boss! Two bowls of wontons! Large size!"

***

"Coming right up! Just a minute!"

Having ordered, Lin Jia flashed a silly, ingratiating smile and asked, "Meimei, do you want anything else? Small fried buns? Fried dough sticks? Steamed rice skins?..."

Seeing that Lin Jia was fully prepared to rattle off the entire catalog of breakfast items sold in the vicinity, Meimei couldn't decide whether to be angry or amused as she protested, "Do you think I'm a brood sow?! Can I possibly eat all that..." Before she could finish her sentence, Meimei noticed that Lin Jia had been startled by her outburst. His eyes were wide-circle saucers, his mouth agape, and judging by the shape of his lips, he looked like he was about to say, "Beef noodles?" Feeling thoroughly embarrassed, she lowered her head once again.

"Oh... oh! Then I'll go buy you some soy milk!" Recovering his wits, Lin Jia dashed off like a streak of lightning to buy soy milk. Meimei couldn't help rolling her eyes. Who ate wontons and drank soy milk at the same time anyway?

Lin Jia trotted back happily holding two cups of soy milk, with the cute, pink little girl's handbag slung over his arm. It caused the surrounding people to cast strange glances his way, but he couldn't care less right now. The silly grin on his face was so wide he could barely close his mouth. Judging by Meimei's tone just moments ago, she didn't seem to hate him, which meant things were looking up!

By the time Lin Jia returned with the soy milk, the wontons they had ordered had already been served. Meimei was lowering her head, blowing delicately on the steaming wontons and eating them in tiny, dainty bites. Lin Jia put down the soy milk, sat down, and took a look at his own bowl. He was slightly dumbfounded—since when was a "large size" portion here so generous? A large bowl of wontons only cost 2 RMB, but today's bowl was so packed the broth was practically spilling over the brim.

Looking over at Meimei's bowl, there were only a few wontons floating in it. Realizing what was going on, Lin Jia forced an awkward chuckle and began devouring his breakfast with loud slurping sounds. As a big eater, it took him less than two minutes from start to finish to dump the massive, extra-large portion of wontons straight into his stomach. Then, he sat there staring with wide, unblinking eyes at Meimei as she gracefully ate her wontons.

Let alone the fact that she was a young lady, even if she were a middle-aged auntie, having a young fellow sit right next to you staring unblinkingly with cow-like eyes would probably kill anyone's appetite. Meimei put down her little wonton spoon, delicately wiped her mouth with a napkin, and said, "I'm full! Let's go!"

"You're full after eating just that much?" Lin Jia was somewhat bewildered. He glanced at the wontons still left in Meimei's bowl and found it baffling how a girl's appetite could be so small. After paying the bill and buying a mountain of breakfast items for the shameless Old Zhao, Lin Jia accompanied Meimei as they slowly strolled back.

Along the way, Lin Jia was still weighing how to bring up what happened. While he was making a series of comical, conflicted expressions, a pristine, softly scented, snow-white tissue suddenly appeared right in front of his face. Lin Jia blinked in surprise, looked up, and saw Meimei looking at him with an exasperated, amused smile. "Wipe your mouth! There's still scallion stuck to it! Planning to save it for a midnight snack?"

Only then did Lin Jia understand. He hastily tried to shift the breakfast bags he was holding in his left hand over to his right, freeing up a hand to take the tissue.

Before he could finish juggling his burdens, a gentle fragrance drifted across his breath, and a soft touch brushed against the corner of his mouth. Lin Jia froze completely, letting Meimei tenderly wipe away the grease from the corner of his lips with the tissue. Seeing him stare so blankly, Meimei's pretty face flushed red, and she scolded playfully, "Dummy! What are you staring at?!"

"Uh~... uh~... well..." Lin Jia stammered incoherently.

"Teach me how to play Legend, okay!?"

Lin Jia, who had been gearing up to hash out the events of that fateful night, instantly had all his words choked back in his throat. He stared in a daze as Meimei walked a few steps ahead of him, her hands clasped behind her back, accentuating the graceful curves of her figure. She was pursing her lips in a shy, delicate smile.

"Y-Yeah! Okay!" Lin Jia shouted out in pure joy!