Chapter 18
Squinting my eyes, I burst into giggles.
"What are you laughing at?" Shangguan reached over and pressed his hand against my forehead. "Does your head hurt?"
Can't tell him, can't tell him, absolutely can't tell him that I've already turned him into an animated chibi character in my mind.
"You feel a bit warm—are you running a fever?"
"It's your hand that's too cold." I buried my face in the pillow, not daring to look into his eyes. Otherwise, he'd definitely catch me lying. But the moment I moved, my head throbbed painfully, and I couldn't help letting out a groan.
"Idiot! Can't hold your liquor but still insisted on showing off—you're reaping what you sow now." Shangguan's words were harsh, but his hand gently began massaging my temples.
I sighed in relief, too content to protest. This version of Shangguan was actually pretty nice. If only he could be this gentle all the time…
"Better?"
"Mm." My voice was muffled through the pillow.
"Good, now get up and brush your teeth—time for breakfast!" He suddenly pulled his hand back, his voice three times louder.
"Huh?" I jerked my head around, staring at him in confusion.
This Shangguan no longer resembled anything close to cute or gentle. His face dark, he glared at me like an angry demon: "You still have the nerve to say 'huh'? A whole week without washing your face and you actually admitted it?"
It wasn't a whole week—I bathed twice at least!
"What even have you been eating this week? How many times do I have to tell you—no instant noodles, NO INSTANT NOODLES! Even if your ears and brain are just for decoration, your knees should remember by now!"
I kept my eyes down, my gaze fixed squarely on Shangguan's blue slippers, not daring to move my eyeballs.
"What does that brain of yours do besides think up all kinds of nonsense? Can't cook, can't even buy food properly? You have money but don't know how to spend it—never seen anyone this stupid! Look at yourself yesterday, almost crying from three little girls! I'm embarrassed for you! People pour and you just gulp it down—do you think you're the god of alcohol or something?"
From personal hygiene to eating habits to yesterday's behavior, Shangguan tore me a new one from every angle. If I weren't already used to being scolded like this, I might've bought a block of tofu and rammed my head against it. Damn it—豆腐 again!
Clutching my pillow, I老老实实地趴在那儿 (lay there obediently). Even though the hurricane of anger was making my headache worse, I didn't dare make a sound.
I don't know how long passed before Shangguan finally tired of yelling. Coldly, he tossed out: "Get down here now!" Then he turned and walked toward the door.
"Um, Shangguan…" I called out softly.
"What?" He stopped, hand on the doorknob.
"Are we… considered reconciled now…?"
Shangguan's body stiffened. He snorted, pulled the door open, and as it clicked shut, I heard a low curse: "Idiot!"
—————Seems like the first divider—————
Though the class reunion was a disaster, it did put an end to Shangguan's cold war against me. So my life returned to normal—washing my face every day, eating fresh breakfast every day, riding the private car every day, working overtime every day. The only thing not normal was this damn cold that just wouldn't go away. Even worse, it seemed to have gotten worse after the reunion. And equally damnable was that damn game proposal!
It had already been ten days, yet I still had no idea how to approach it.
With the cold war with Shangguan over, I couldn't just work overtime freely anymore. Last week I'd been practicing until after nine every night. Now I had to be downstairs by seven-thirty—losing over an hour and a half, my progress was even more pitiful.
With no other option, I had to make up the time at home. Though I didn't have a computer, Shangguan's study had two—one he said was an old model I could use freely. But ever since I moved in, I'd barely entered the study. Come on, I'd been staring at a computer all day at work. Why would I come home and keep torturing myself?
Besides, by the time I got back from the company to Honglin, showered, and ate, it was usually after nine. For most people that might be when the nightlife is just starting, but for me it's bedtime. Even on days when I'm not too sleepy, I'd usually read magazines. My days off are mostly spent with DVDs and books.
Sometimes I think about it—I'm really a boring person. Even if I were a woman, I wouldn't want to marry a husband like this.
Though Shangguan said I could use it freely, I should still let him know.
"What are you doing?"
"Leveling up."
"What?"
"One way or another, I need to get some impression of the game. Otherwise, how am I supposed to make that damn proposal!"
Shangguan glanced at me twice, his expression very peculiar, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he turned on his own computer.
"That machine can't handle gaming—the specs are too low. It can run things, but it'll affect the speed. Which game do you play?"
"Spark." No way I'd play something else—imagine if you found out!
Shangguan pulled up the Spark page and asked for my username and password. I told him honestly. After all, he already knew my bank account PIN, so there's nothing worth hiding.
"Play for a bit—I'll make a phone call." He said, then turned and walked out.
I nodded, not thinking about whether this would take up his time. In my mind, Shangguan was the type who'd never stand on ceremony, especially with me.
A good machine really is different—super fast, killing monsters was so satisfying, and for the first time I got a tiny taste of gaming joy. Unfortunately, while the software was up to par, my hardware skills hadn't changed much. In the eyes of experts, I was still a noob.
"I've never seen a player this stupid!"
A familiar voice, familiar scolding—Shangguan had somehow appeared behind me without my noticing.
"With your play style, you could play for another hundred years and still get nowhere. Get up!"
He nudged me off the chair, then shoved a glass of milk into my hands while his own was coffee.
"Don't you know you need to replenish health constantly? Look at that pathetic HP of yours—one more zombie and you'd be dead. And what's with the double-stab? You clearly have that skill—why aren't you using it? Not enough MP? Then drink potions! Look in your inventory—twenty MP bottles! With that much MP, you can use double-stab fifty times, enough to handle at least thirty zombies!"
As he scolded me, he also explained, and while demonstrating right in front of me, he perfectly one-shotted a zombie—I would've needed at least half a minute on my own.
"If all Spark players were like you, the game would've gone bankrupt ages ago!"
Hey hey, games make money by eating up players' time, okay? If everyone played like me, wouldn't that rake in the profits? Well, at least there'd be no need to develop new games every day.
"If you can't make players feel爽快感 (satisfying), why would anyone keep playing!"
I rolled my eyes. Sometimes I really suspect Shangguan is a tapeworm in my stomach. He doesn't even need to see my expressions—just by looking at me, he can guess what I'm thinking.