Nora followed Ethan's finger, looking somewhat dazed toward the translucent glass door.
Inside the door, the lights and shadows flickered, rows of computer screens glowing with a faint blue light, and figures moving about.
Gaming cafés—this term was both familiar and extremely strange to her.
In her distant hometown in western North Carolina, there was no place like this.
The first time she'd heard about "going online" was from a neighbor who had just returned from working in Charlotte. The older guy enthusiastically described how "magical" internet cafés were.
At that time, as a child, she naively thought "internet café" meant climbing into a huge, glowing net wall...
She glanced around the inside of the gaming café with a hint of curiosity and a bit of apprehension, then nodded vigorously at Ethan: "Mm! Alright!"
Her thoughts were simple: hurry up and buy lemonade, give it to Ethan, then head straight back to the dorm!
That way, she wouldn't owe him anything.
She had always kept her mother's words firmly in her heart.
Ethan watched as Nora turned and quickly walked toward the nearby bubble tea shop, her figure quickly blending into the warm light.
He withdrew his gaze and pushed open the somewhat heavy glass door of the gaming café. A complex scent unique to gaming cafés—a mix of cigarettes, instant noodles, sweat, and electronic devices—hit him, accompanied by suddenly amplified keyboard tapping and game sound effects, enveloping him completely.
Ethan quickly turned on the computer.
Skillfully logged into Call of Duty, and Robert's urging voice immediately came through the headphones.
The two teamed up and entered a match, and the map was the familiar one.
Gunshots, explosions, and teammates' shouts instantly filled the cramped computer booth.
Ten minutes later.
At the entrance of the gaming café, Nora was holding a glass of chilled lemonade dripping with condensation, her knuckles turning a bit white.
She took a deep breath and finally pushed open the somewhat greasy glass door, stepping into a noisy world filled with the scent of smoke, instant noodles, and the sound of typing.
Her gaze wandered through the smoke-filled, dimly lit gaming café, and finally locked onto Ethan's figure in the farthest corner.
She was a bit surprised: What is Ethan doing?
Taking a few steps closer, the screen showed a fierce gunfight.
What surprised her even more was that Ethan not only excelled academically but also seemed to play games quite well. As soon as she approached, she saw an enemy fall on the screen. Ethan's kill count for his character (a string of skull marks) had been added, and several had already accumulated below.
She hesitated for a moment, but still stepped forward and gently placed the lemonade on the table beside Ethan: "Ethan, here... here you go."
Ethan looked up at the sound, his gaze meeting Nora's head-on.
The distance was very close, and he could clearly see her deliberately retouched face... Well... it must be said, this "disguise" effect was really... quite effective.
Yeah... the disguise really was ugly...
"Thanks."
After saying that, he took the lemonade.
"No need to thank me, I'm leaving now." After saying this, Nora turned to leave.
Just as she turned around, Ethan glanced at the time in the lower right corner of the screen and suddenly remembered something: "Wait a sec..."
Nora paused, turning back to look at him curiously.
Ethan reminded her, "I just remembered, the dorms have a curfew. I can't quite remember the exact time, but the doors lock after a while. If you can't make it in time, if you can't get in... you can come back here to find me." He pointed at the gaming café.
Nora was stunned. There's still a curfew at university?
She shook her head, not taking Ethan's words seriously at all. If there really was a curfew, why were there still so many students on the street?
She turned and quickly left.
Ethan watched her hurried retreat, raised his eyebrows thoughtfully, then put his headphones back on and focused his attention on the next round of intense combat.
Nora walked briskly, and the gaming café was only seven or eight hundred meters from the school's side gate, not too far.
However, as she got closer to the campus gate, she noticed that the number of pedestrians on the road visibly became sparse.
The glow of the streetlights stretched her lonely shadow, and the quiet night breeze rustled through the leaves, making her heart inexplicably tighten.
Only then did she belatedly realize a serious problem: if she really was locked out of the dorm tonight... what should she do?
She had never even considered this possibility.
Seeing the side gate right ahead, she couldn't help but swallow, slowed her pace, and her heart raced a little.
Finally, she arrived at the side gate—in an instant, her mind went blank with a buzzing sound.
The cold, heavy iron gate was tightly shut and merciless, keeping her outside the campus.
Just as she was at a loss, another girl ran up beside her.
The girl saw the tightly closed iron gate and wailed, "We're screwed! Still missed it... looks like I'll have to spend the night outside!"
After complaining, she shook her head casually and turned to walk toward the livelier area outside campus, as if she'd been prepared in advance.
Nora opened her mouth, wanting to stop the other girl to ask where they could stay overnight or if there was any other way to get in, but the words reached her lips and she swallowed them timidly.
Just as despair began to spread, Ethan's words suddenly lit up in her mind like a faint light in the darkness: "... you can come back here to find me."
Yes, yes, he's so capable, he must have a way.
This thought was like a lifeline she clung to tightly, reigniting hope in her heart.
She didn't hesitate anymore, immediately turned around, and jogged toward the gaming café at a faster pace than she'd come.
At this moment, in the corner of the gaming café.
Ethan had just finished a thrilling match. He leisurely took off his headphones, picked up the glass of chilled lemonade on the table, and tilted his head back to take a big gulp.
The cool, sweet and sour liquid slid down his throat, bringing a refreshing and stimulating sensation. "Ahh, that hits the spot!" He sighed softly.
To be honest, he'd never been interested in bubble tea.
This was also why, when Nora offered to treat him to bubble tea, he decisively chose lemonade—this was true in his past life, and the same in this life.
Just as he was about to put on his headphones and play another round, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a familiar yet unusually downtrodden figure walking toward him—it was Nora, who had left and now returned.
She was much taller than most girls, yet at this moment she was wrapped in a bloated, dull outfit that completely concealed her figure, even making Ethan suspect she had deliberately bound her chest.
To be honest, this unattractive disguise was quite successful.
It was so painstaking, and so repressive.
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