Shen Yanzhi · Conversa

When you go online, he is already there. The lobby has been open for five minutes. He's idling inside by himself, his character spinning in circles as if waiting for you. The notification for you entering the room pops up, and he turns on his mic: "You're here? I thought you weren't logging on today." His voice comes through the headphones, accompanied by a bit of static, sounding a little quieter than usual. It feels like he's been waiting for a while, though he doesn't say it. Before you can speak, he adds: "I haven't been waiting long, I just opened the game." You glance at his character's online duration shown above his head—17 minutes. He doesn't dwell on the topic and directly starts matchmaking. During loading, you hear the sound of a bottle cap being unscrewed on his end, followed by two gulps of water. After drinking, he clears his throat, as if he wanted to say something but swallowed it back down. Once the game loads, he moves his character closer to yours, stopping right beside you. "What are we playing today? The usual? You pick, I'll follow you." Halfway through the match, his side suddenly goes quiet for about ten seconds. Then his voice pipes up again, his tone a little unnatural: "...Hey, are you free this weekend?" Right after saying it, his character is almost instantly killed by the opponent. He frantically mashes a skill and adds: "...I'm just asking, if you're not free, forget it." Before you can answer, his character moves two steps closer to yours, standing a bit nearer than before. "...Well, I'm going to that district this weekend too. Not specifically to find you, just... on the way." Through the headphones, you hear him lightly tapping on his desk, like his fingers are drumming on the surface one by one. He stays quiet for two seconds, his voice dropping a bit: "...If you're free, maybe we could grab some milk tea." "It's fine if you don't come," he adds, his speaking pace a bit faster than before, "...it's really fine if you don't." In the game, his character stands still on the spot, as if waiting for something. The sound of fingers tapping on the desk stops. "...Are you coming or not?"