Chapter 8: First Acquaintance
On the way, Yi Dong had briefly explained the situation to Mo Tan. There weren't many participants in this gathering, only five or six people, all children of Yi Dong's parents' friends. The reason for the gathering was quite peculiar; it seemed that the older generation planned to have A small get-together for Christmas, and felt it would be inconvenient to bring their children. So, one of the parents suggested that the younger generation could also gather and get to know each other, which ultimately led to this sudden get-together.
Mo Tan had met Yi Dong's parents A few times. His friend A's father was A cool-looking Handsome Guy, or rather, A handsome uncle, with A calm face, rarely speaking or showing much expression.
Yi Dong's mother, on the other hand, was the opposite extreme. Time had left almost no trace on her; she looked like an energetic young woman in her twenties. It was said that she had studied in Japan for A period when she was younger. She was A bit boisterous, more like A young girl than A mother, and also A fervent cosplay enthusiast!
So, Mo Tan was quite interested in the children of his friend's parents, who had such contrasting personalities.
Yi Dong gently knocked twice on the door, then pushed it open and entered, followed by Mo Tan.
Both of them had good appearances and looks. Although Yi Dong didn't possess the typical aristocratic air of A wealthy family, he resembled his father, exuding A cool and aloof handsomeness. When he didn't speak, he looked very cool. A well-fitted suit further highlighted his tall and well-proportioned figure, and his excellent upbringing and cultivation gave him A refined demeanor. Since middle school, he had many admirers and could truly be called 'tall, rich, and handsome'.
As for Mo Tan, although he wore clothes from A street stall and was half A head shorter than Yi Dong, his innate eccentric charisma was also quite remarkable, possessing A complex and contradictory charm. Coupled with his slightly wicked/righteous/approachable gaze (depending on the situation), he was not inferior to Yi Dong in terms of aura. If he hadn't intentionally controlled his social circle, it's estimated that girls would also have been attracted to him.
So, when the two of them occasionally got together at school, everyone else present always had the illusion that their own presence was greatly diminished.
However, the two men and three women in this private room... also possessed A similar level of charisma and presence, or even surpassed them...
“Hi, good to see you two ~” The young man sitting near the door raised his hand to greet them, then looked around in confusion and mumbled, “One, two, three, four, five… Huh? I remember it was supposed to be six people.”
Mo Tan shrugged and gestured towards Yi Dong with his chin: “I'm his follower~”
“Don't spout nonsense~” Yi Dong glanced at him, then smiled slightly at the others: “This is my friend, you don't mind, do you?”
He had already thought it through. As long As someone said 'I mind', he and Mo Tan would immediately turn around and leave. After all, he had come, so he could report back home.
However, although everyone present came from extremely wealthy families, none of them had A dissolute personality. They all had no objections. Another young man, dressed in colorful clothes and looking like A performance artist, immediately shook his head and said, “Of course not. We're all around the same age, and the more people there are, the livelier the atmosphere. I was almost suffocating before you two came in~”
After saying that, he raised his eyebrows and made A funny face at A long-haired girl sitting further inside, gesturing towards the two of them.
Then, Yi Dong and Mo Tan took the nearest seats.
“Cough cough~” The short-haired girl in the middle, wearing A baseball cap, cleared her throat and said with A giggle, “Alright, everyone’s here now. Since we haven’t met before, let’s all introduce ourselves first~ My name is Ji Xiaoge, Ji from 'season', Xiao from 'knowing', and Gezi from 'dove'~”
This was A girl brimming with youth and vitality. She had delicate and refined features, like A porcelain doll. Although her outfit of A baseball cap, casual shirt, and jeans made her look somewhat like A tomboy, and her face was completely bare without any makeup, it still couldn't hide her stunning beauty, capable of making anyone feel an immediate sense of closeness to her.
“Ji Xiaodao,” the girl sitting next to her said softly, and then there was no more. She was the 'low-pressure' person that the previous guy, who resembled A performance artist, had hinted at to Mo Tan and the other guy...
Ji Xiaodao looked somewhat like Ji Xiaoge, but her sister’s beauty wasn’t As flamboyant, and her temperament was vastly different. Her eyes were hazy, As if she was indifferent to everything, and her expression was consistently cold and rigid. She wore A black Charge jacket, was slightly thinner than Ji Xiaoge, and had long hair that reached her waist. She appeared taciturn, and in reality... she was also taciturn.
“Hehe, my younger sister hasn't liked to talk much since she was little~” Ji Xiaoge stuck out her tongue: “Actually, she's A good kid~”
The next to stand up was the last girl present. She seemed A bit shy, accidentally bumping her hand when she stood up. She pursed her small lips and whispered, “My name is Yu Cheng, um... please take care of me!”
This girl wasn't short, at least around 1.7 meters, but for some reason, even though her height and chest-to-waist ratio were perfectly fine, she still gave off A petite impression. She wore A light yellow sweater and shorts, her long hair tied into A neat and refreshing single ponytail. Her small face was flushed for some reason, looking extremely shy. After speaking, she quickly sat back down, lowering her head very low, almost burying it in her chest.
The first guy who greeted Mo Tan and the other guy scratched his hair: “I'm Wan Yang, when are we ordering? I'm A bit hungry...”
This guy was relatively tall and well-proportioned. Although undeniably of East Asian descent, he had fiery red short hair that didn't look dyed. His attire was similar to Mo Tan's, simple casual wear. Though A bit naive, he subtly exuded an underlying sense of rebelliousness and wildness.
“Kang Lan, twenty-one years old, single, artist~” the guy who looked like A performance artist said seriously: “Also A part-time palm reader.”
Mo Tan noticed that his eyes drifted towards Ji Xiaoge several times while he was speaking...
Kang Lan was A bit thin, with A pair of heavy-looking black-framed glasses on his face. He was quite handsome; in terms of looks alone, he should be somewhere between Yi Dong and Mo Tan. His hair was messy, and despite appearing to have no hidden depths and dressing like A performance artist, he somehow gave Mo Tan an unfathomable feeling, which was quite rare.
Then Yi Dong also briefly introduced himself. In fact, everyone didn't know where to start their introductions, and they weren't familiar with each other, so they basically only mentioned their names.
Finally, it was Mo Tan's turn.
“Hmm…” He pondered for A moment, then stood up and said, “My name is Mo Tan, and I'm very professional at ordering food, with high cost-performance.”
“Pfft~” Ji Xiaoge immediately burst out laughing, bending over and slapping the table several times before recovering: “You're so humorous!”
【Hey hey hey! This girl has A low laugh threshold! If I seriously prepared A joke, wouldn't she roll off her chair!?】
Mo Tan thought to himself, although his original intention was to make A joke, he hadn't expected such A strong reaction from her.
“Hero!” Wan Yang, who had been complaining about hunger since earlier, immediately presented the electronic menu with both hands: “It's all up to you!”
“No problem, no problem~” Mo Tan said with A smile. He wasn't entirely boasting. In fact, because his cooking skills were generally limited to dishes costing under two hundred yuan, Mo Tan often enjoyed treating himself to different restaurants when he craved something good. Over time, he had developed quite advanced ordering skills. Moreover, on the way here, he had specifically researched information about this hotel, so after A quick glance at the menu, he quickly had A plan.
In less than ten minutes, A large table of dishes was served. However, because they were still not very familiar with each other, everyone was A bit reserved and didn't talk much.
“Cough cough~” Yi Dong glanced at Mo Tan, then slyly said to him: “Uh, how about finding some topics?”
Seeing everyone's gaze focus on him, Mo Tan immediately smiled and said, “Alright, how about we talk about 'the awkward man in A suit'?”
“Pfft~”
“Cough... hahaha... that's A bit harsh!”
“Pfft~ I can’t hold it in~ Hahahahaha~”
The moment Mo Tan finished speaking, Yi Dong froze, and everyone else couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Even Yu Cheng, who hadn’t said A word since introducing herself, couldn’t help but let out A ‘pfft’. Ji Xiaoge and Wan Yang were red-faced from laughing, and Kang Lan tried hard to keep A straight face but to no avail. Only Ji Xiaodao remained relatively calm, though the corners of her mouth curved slightly…
Yi Dong was so embarrassed, and so wronged!
He had initially thought that since his parents had so seriously asked him to attend this gathering, it would definitely be full of young people from similar backgrounds, and such people usually preferred to act prim and proper. That’s why Yi Dong had put on A decent suit and even planned to have Mo Tan change into one As well. But when he arrived, he realized—oh, great—he was the only one dressed specially. This was already quite awkward, and with Mo Tan bringing it up, the ‘awkward suit guy’ wished he could just find A hole to crawl into.
“Yi Dong, it was absolutely the right decision to bring your friend here!” Ji Xiaoge giggled, “My condolences~”
Since they were all university students, her form of address was very appropriate and made people feel close.
Wan Yang also laughed, “I have to write this joke down~ It’ll definitely be useful As blackmail someday~”
“Count me in~” Kang Lan also found it amusing.
“Seconded.” Ji Xiaodao, who had kept A poker face, unexpectedly chimed in.
Yi Dong was almost in tears: “Please, everyone, just forget it. This meal is on me. If we get together again in the future, it’s still on me~”
Then Mo Tan calmly took out his phone, pressed A button, and then…
“This meal is on me. If we get together again in the future, it’s still on me~” Yi Dong’s voice clearly came from the phone.
Mo Tan looked around at everyone: “Later, everyone exchange contact information, and I’ll send you the recording.”
“I shouldn’t have brought you here!” Yi Dong gritted his teeth and pointed at Mo Tan, shouting.
Everyone burst into laughter~ The atmosphere instantly became lively.
Therefore, Mo Tan merely had no intention of expanding his social circle, but he was by no means socially inept. In fact, As long As he was willing, livening up the atmosphere was As easy As pie. It was just that this time Yi Dong became the sacrifice, but it didn't matter. Those who could become Mo Tan's friends had basically become accustomed to being tricked by him.
They ate and chatted like that~
Young people’s topics were nothing more than school life, entertainment gossip, food, drink, and fun. Some might like to show off their wealth, but there were no such people present. The seven chatted happily, and there was no feeling of A ‘rich second generation tea party’.
However, what made Yi Dong quite nervous was that Mo Tan underwent A personality shift during the process. But because of the ‘five-minute buffer technique’ and the lively atmosphere, no one else noticed anything unusual. Moreover, Mo Tan, who was currently in his main personality, had long been accustomed to such things and continued to chat and eat As usual; everything seemed perfectly normal~
Yi Dong could only notice it because the two were simply too close.
As they chatted, the topic began to shift to games, and…
“Hey~ Do you guys know about that game, Wu Zui Zhi Jie, that officially went on sale yesterday?” Wan Yang wiped his mouth and suddenly asked everyone.
Yi Dong shook his head: “I don’t know.”
It turned out that everyone except him knew about it!
“You play that too? I was in there all night last night!” Kang Lan said excitedly, “I’m A loyal fan of DND rule-based games!”
Yu Cheng also raised her small hand: “Me too, A classmate dragged me along to play…”
“Xiao Dao and I are too, but we just created A character last night and played for A little while~~” Ji Xiaoge also widened her eyes and said, “What A coincidence!”
Mo Tan shrugged: “Me too.”
Yi Dong gloomily lowered his shoulders and sighed in extreme dejection: “So, am I the only awkward suit guy who hasn’t kept up with the trend…?”
“It’s not too late now!” Wan Yang laughed heartily: “I’m from the chaotic good alignment, the system made me A Half-Orc. My in-game name is Huo Yan Yang, A War Priest.”
Kang Lan pushed up his thick-lensed glasses and said, “I am from the neutral good alignment. My race is Tree Elf, named Luen Zhoulan, A Level 3 Forest Ranger, and Level 1 Priest.”
As expected of A hardcore gamer, Mo Tan estimated that Kang Lan should be the strongest player among the group present, but unexpectedly…
“I’m Absolute Neutral~” Yu Cheng’s eyes, beneath her long eyelashes, blinked gently: “I’m human, named Chen Wangyu, and my profession is… hmm… Level 5 Priest.”
Her words stunned everyone. Kang Lan almost tumbled out of his chair, exclaiming, “What level did you say?!?”
“Uh!” Yu Cheng was startled by his overly exaggerated reaction and timidly replied, “Priest… Level five…”
“How did you do that!?” Wan Yang also asked somewhat exaggeratedly: “From last night to this morning, you could at most play for less than twenty-three hours of game time. What kind of situation is it to level A profession to five!?”
“I didn’t play that long~” Yu Cheng gently scraped her smooth cheek with her index finger, recalling: “It was just that after the guided quest was completed, the Archbishop asked me to pray, and then I stared at the goddess statue for A while, and I seemed to hear some sound. When I came to my senses, I was already Level 5~ The Archbishop also said I was that… God… God…”
“God-blessed one.”
Mo Tan and Kang Lan said in unison.
“Oh, right, God-blessed one!” Yu Cheng nodded vigorously. Now she was no longer As reserved As before, and her voice was much louder.
“That sounds amazing.” Ji Xiaoge said, not quite understanding but impressed: “My sister and I only played for A little while, and we went offline before finishing the guided quest. I’m from the neutral good alignment, my race is Half-Orc, and my name is Ye Ge~ I haven’t chosen A profession yet~”
“chaotic evil.” Ji Xiaodao said faintly: “Dark Elf, no profession chosen.”
Mo Tan was stunned: “chaotic evil?”
“Is there A problem?” Ji Xiaodao asked.
“There’s no problem.” Mo Tan shook his head: “It’s just…”
Wan Yang interjected, “It seems there haven’t been any chaotic evil players so far, at least that’s what the forums say~”
Ji Xiaodao snorted lightly and pouted: “So uncultured!”
“Actually, I also think Xiao Dao isn’t suited for chaotic evil, but she seems A bit different from me.” Ji Xiaoge touched her lips and said: “When she logged into the game, there was only one door there. I heard that others had nine doors representing different alignments, and I also had nine.”
Mo Tan suddenly felt A slight headache.
“Uh, I want to ask something.” Yi Dong finally managed to interject, asking the others: “You said that game, what time can we start playing? Are the peripherals still for sale now?”
Mo Tan glanced at him and smiled: “Seven in the evening. If the peripherals aren’t for sale, won’t you be able to get your hands on them?”
“Then, let’s go our separate ways for now!” Yi Dong rubbed his hands and laughed: “Add me As A friend in the game tonight?”
Everyone smiled knowingly~
“Alright, oh, by the way, Mo Tan, what’s your name in the game?” Wan Yang stood up and stretched, asking: “You’re the only one who hasn’t said.”
Mo Tan thought for A moment, hesitated for A long time, and finally said, “Absolute Neutral, Human, named Black Vatican, Level 2 Priest.”
“Got it all! Well~ See you later, everyone.” Ji Xiaoge waved at everyone with A grin.
“See you later~”
“Add me As A friend.”
“Don’t forget the recording~”
“Let’s go!” Yi Dong dragged Mo Tan, As if being chased by A dog, and rushed into the elevator: “Come with me to buy peripherals first~!”
…
Two hours later
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Chapter 7: The End