Chapter 14: Are You There?
After shaking off the ever-persistent An Baili, as usual, Lu Li unconsciously found himself walking towards Chuanhai Women’s Sports High School. As he stood there, lost in thought, it suddenly dawned on him that his sister had already left for the Six-Province Tournament and was probably already in Lingyue City.
He chuckled wryly and patted his head. He was like a chick longing for its mother, his heart yearning for Zou Yameng. Was this what psychology referred to as an Oedipus complex? Or perhaps, a “sister complex” was more accurate?
After politely declining the invitations of several university students who seemed intent on crushing him with their car (a metaphor, of course), Lu Li boarded the bus. He paid the fare, two yuan, and took a seat at the very back.
He enjoyed sitting at the back. It gave him a vantage point to observe the entire bus while simultaneously minimizing his presence. Unfortunately, as he grew older, his physique had weakened, and bus rides became increasingly unbearable. The smell of leather and engine oil never failed to make him nauseous.
“Buzz, buzz~” His phone vibrated suddenly. Lu Li unlocked the screen and saw a message from a contact with a pony profile picture.
[Sunshine Rainbow Little Pony: Are you there?]
[Sunshine Rainbow Little Pony: Hellooo, are you there?]
A smile crept onto his face as he changed “Sunshine Rainbow Little Pony” to “Sister Yameng.”
[Lu Li: Nope, not here.]
Sister Yameng sent a pouting emoji, followed by a large fist.
[Sister Yameng: I’ve been messaging you all day. Why aren’t you answering?]
The familiar tone of a concerned girlfriend caught him off guard. He quickly scrolled through their chat history and saw a string of messages sent throughout the day: “Are you there?”, “The bus ride is so boring,” “I’m hungry.”
He couldn’t help but chuckle. The online Sister Yameng was much livelier than her real-life counterpart. Perhaps it was because she didn’t have the weight of the world on her shoulders in the virtual realm.
[Lu Li: I can’t use my phone at school. I’ll reply as soon as I’m dismissed.]
[Sister Yameng: Fine, I forgive you.]
She sent a meme of a man wearing a green hat, the caption reading, “Just pretend he’s out honing his skills.”
[Lu Li: Where do you get these weird memes?]
[Sister Yameng: Xiaowen and the others sent them to me.]
[Sister Yameng: I’ve arrived in Lingyue City~ Look at what I’m having for dinner.]
Zou Yameng sent a picture of three or four girls gathered around a table, enjoying Korean barbecue. She added a caption: “The school’s treating us, haha!”
Lu Li thought for a moment before typing his reply.
[Lu Li: Looks delicious.]
As if. He wasn’t even remotely hungry. He just wanted to see his sister happy. And what girl didn’t love good food?
Sister Yameng didn’t reply for a while. Just as Lu Li assumed she was busy, her message popped up.
[Sister Yameng: I wish you were here to eat with me, Pear. It’s sooo good! We should definitely have Korean barbecue together sometime!]
Lu Li didn’t even realize the warmth that emanated from him as he sat at the back of the bus, grinning at the picture of Zou Yameng. The feeling of being cared for and missed was incredibly comforting. He was like a kite soaring through the sky, knowing that he could always retreat to the warmth of the harbor by following the string.
[Lu Li: Definitely!]
Zou Yameng responded with a string of drooling emojis, oddly reminiscent of Chu Jingyi’s goofy expressions.
[Sister Yameng: Are you home yet? Have you eaten? Send me a picture of your dinner. No instant noodles!]
She was in full-blown caretaker mode again. Lu Li snapped a picture of the bus interior.
[Lu Li: Still on the bus. Not home yet.]
[Sister Yameng: Send me a picture of you.]
[Lu Li: Why?]
[Sister Yameng: I want to see my dear little brother.]
[Lu Li: So cheesy. Eww, no way.]
She replied with an enraged minion emoji.
[Sister Yameng: Are you sending it or not?]
Lu Li chuckled at his phone, about to reply when he heard the bus driver announce, “Last stop, everyone!”
“Huh?” Lu Li stared out the window in disbelief. How could he, a grown man, fall asleep and miss his stop?
He disembarked awkwardly and began walking back. Thankfully, the low-rent district wasn’t too far from the last stop. After a thirty-minute walk, he finally reached home.
[Sister Yameng: Why aren’t you replying?]
[Sister Yameng: Are you there? (poke)]
[Sister Yameng: Hellooo? #cryingface]
After preparing a bowl of instant noodles, Lu Li finally checked his phone and burst into laughter upon seeing the barrage of messages from his sister. An Baili used to do the same thing in his past life. If they were apart for even a day or two, she’d bombard him with messages and call him constantly to check in.
[Lu Li: I’m home. I fell asleep and missed my stop. I was too engrossed in our conversation.]
[Sister Yameng: Hehe, go eat your dinner and get some rest. I’ll let you be.]
[Lu Li: Okay.]
Meanwhile, back at the hotel in Lingyue City, Zou Yameng lay on the double bed, giggling at her phone. Despite saying she wouldn’t bother him, she kept typing and deleting messages.
Her roommate, Zhou Wen, was getting annoyed by the constant tapping sounds. “Yameng, who are you chatting with? You seem awfully happy.”
“Do I?”
“Don’t you ‘do I’ me. Did you win the lottery or something? You looked absolutely miserable on the bus.”
Zou Yameng blushed slightly. “Just checking in with my little brother.”
“What kind of little brother? A boyfriend disguised as a brother, perhaps?”
Zou Yameng threw a pillow at her. “You’re so nosy!”
The two girls playfully wrestled for a bit before collapsing onto their beds, exhausted. The long bus ride had taken its toll.
Zou Yameng lay there, unconsciously reaching for her phone again. She stared at her brother’s profile picture, a pear, her heart feeling a little empty. She didn’t want to end their conversation. She wanted to keep chatting, about anything and everything, as long as she could feel his presence, his thoughts directed at her.
Zhou Wen stealthily peered at her phone screen and teased, “It’s definitely a boyfriend disguised as a brother. Look at that nickname~”
Zou Yameng quickly covered her friend’s mouth, her face crimson. “Don’t you dare!”
“But it’s true!”
“I’ll sew your mouth shut!”
“Lalalala~”
*
By the time Lu Li finished his homework, the moon had already risen high in the sky. He was a night owl, his mind most active in the late hours.
People often said that daytime belonged to logic, while nighttime belonged to emotions. At night, people were more sentimental and prone to negativity. That was why one should never make decisions at night, especially online purchases after midnight. This was a lesson Lu Li had learned the hard way.
He was feeling rather emotional at the moment, a surge of creative energy coursing through him. If only he had a computer at hand.
With that thought, he opened the online shopping app and browsed through computers. The cheapest one that met his requirements was over seven thousand yuan, excluding the monitor.
Too expensive. Lu Li had a little over ten thousand yuan in savings, money he had earned from part-time jobs, supplemented by Sister Yameng. This was their living expenses, and he couldn’t touch it.
He wished a rich and generous sugar momma would come along and spoil him. As soon as this whimsical thought crossed his mind, he was reminded of the clueless Chu Jingyi. She fit the bill perfectly: beautiful, tall, fair-skinned, and incredibly wealthy. Not only did she have money, but her family also had power. Add to that her naive and kind personality, and she was the perfect target.
Snap out of it, Lu Li!
He lightly slapped his cheeks. That was close. He couldn’t afford to be swayed by such thoughts. He wasn’t reborn just to be someone’s kept man.
He glanced at the time. It was still early for him, but Sister Yameng was probably already asleep.
He opened their chat window and sent her a goodnight message.
To his surprise, she replied instantly.
[Sister Yameng: Good night #heart]
Usually, when people exchanged goodnight messages, one of them wasn’t actually asleep, or perhaps neither of them was. Lu Li hesitated, unsure if he should continue chatting with his sister or let her rest. In the end, he turned off his phone, took out a pen and paper, and began revising the second chapter of his game’s story.
Unbeknownst to him, in the distant city of Lingyue, Zou Yameng stared at their chat window, her unsent message slowly disappearing as she deleted it character by character.
[Don’t want to sleep yet~]
After deleting the message, she finally turned off her phone, justifying it to herself: Pear has class tomorrow. I can’t disturb him; I have to prepare for the warm-up match…
But she couldn’t help but miss him.
The night was quiet, the moon outside her window a silent observer. Distance separated them, but the moon illuminated them both. Lost in her thoughts, Zou Yameng finally drifted off to sleep.
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