Star Abyss Walker

Chapter 140: Improvement (Bonus Chapter 21)

late at night.

"Dudu..."

A phone call came in, unsurprisingly from Milo.

"Ding Han, what the hell is wrong with you?!"

He launched into a tirade: "After I helped Xiao Bei get the business license this afternoon, she went out happily, saying she was going to have some alone time with you. But as soon as it got dark, she came back to the hotel crying, slammed the door shut, and wouldn't say a word to me. What are you trying to do? What did Xiao Bei do to deserve this? How did she end up with such a heartless guy like you!"

"Milo, don't be angry. How is Xiao Bei now?"

"She locked herself in her room. She won't reply to my messages or answer my calls. She's probably crying. Damn it... What's going on? Xiao Bei brought millions of yuan to Huaining to open a flagship internet cafe. You don't really think this store has to be in Huaining, do you?"

"I……"

I was somewhat speechless.

Can you tell me something from the bottom of your heart?

Milo seemed a little tired and said, "What do you really think of Xiao Bei? Don't tell me you don't like her at all. I can tell you like Xiao Bei too."

"I've already said it, it stops at just liking."

I slumped into the sofa and said, "Luo'er, do you think I should accept Xiao Bei under these circumstances?"

"Correct."

Milo said, "No man would refuse Lu Xiaobei, so aren't you, Ding Han, a man?"

"I am, but..."

I frowned: "Let's analyze this. What do you think Xiao Bei likes about me?"

"This one……"

That one sentence completely stumped Milo.

"Put it this way."

I calmly said, "When I was in Xicheng, I was the only internet cafe manager at Feiyang Internet Cafe who had repair and programming skills. You could say I was a jack-of-all-trades. I helped Xiaobei a lot and was also the one who was closest to her among the internet cafe managers. This inevitably left a positive impression on Xiaobei. In addition, on the day Typhoon Ginkgo was raging, I rescued Xiaobei from the typhoon and brought her home. Perhaps it was the sense of security that I gave her that made her the way she is now."

"so……"

Milo said, "What does all this analysis prove?"

"Xiao Bei's personality is too impulsive. Her behavior is always habitually driven by her emotions. Otherwise, she wouldn't have taken advantage of me while I was drunk and slept with me. So I think Xiao Bei's feelings for me might also be emotional, like a young girl idolizing a hero. This kind of feeling will eventually pass, so I asked you..."

I paused for a moment, then said, "If I really do fall in love with Lu Xiaobei, and one day in the future, her feelings fade, she no longer settles into a mundane life and continues to pursue exciting things, leaving me all alone, what should I do then?"

"..."

Milo said, "You mean Xiao Bei's feelings for you are too emotional and not rational enough, and that's what you're worried about?"

"It's one of them."

I frowned. "What she needs is someone to joke around with her, to go crazy with her, and to travel around with her. I'm obviously not that person, Milo. I'm a pretty steady person, and I'm not looking for those things. Besides, we're players. I think the issues I should be considering right now are not dating or starting a family, but how to become stronger in Star Abyss and survive. So, the reason I can reject Lu Xiaobei is that I don't want to become a burden to her in the future, nor do I want to be a burden to her in the future."

"I understand……"

Milo calmed down, lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and said, "Ding Han, now I finally understand why you treated Xiao Bei like that."

"Brother, I'm glad you understand."

"However, it's really heartbreaking to see Xiao Bei like this. Even if you reject her, you shouldn't hurt her like this. I just saw that she changed her tickets, changing both our tickets to the earliest 10 o'clock tomorrow."

He sighed: "I think you should come and see her off."

Will she let me deliver it?

"Couldn't you have come secretly and tried to coax her?"

Milo said speechlessly, "After all, you, her, and Old K have a partnership with the Feiyang Internet Cafe flagship store. Besides, even if you can't be lovers, you're still friends. Do you want to lose Lu Xiaobei as a friend?"

"In no mood!"

"That's settled then. I'll send you the flight information in a bit, so you can go to the airport early tomorrow."

"Row!"

After hanging up the phone, I messaged Fatty and asked him to ask me to take half a day off tomorrow so I could go to the airport to see Lu Xiaobei off.

……

The next day, early morning.

I woke up early, washed up, went downstairs and bought a jianbing guozi (Chinese crepe). I walked along the street, munching on it, and then came to a nearby gift shop. After looking around for a while, my eyes finally settled on a music box. This music box suited the aesthetics of a typical straight man. It had the words "happy" and "joyful" engraved on it, so I bought it.

Looking at the time, there was no time to pack it up, so I grabbed the music box and got into a taxi.

Half an hour later, at Huaining Airport.

I didn't go anywhere else; I stayed hidden at the security checkpoint.

"drop!"

A message came from my inside contact, Milo: "Our car is parked on the second floor of the airport. Get out now. Xiao Bei is still angry and will definitely head straight for security. Make the most of this opportunity."

"Row!"

I held the music box and hid in the crowd.

Sure enough, Lu Xiaobei and Milo walked into the hall one after the other.

I rushed over and slid to a stop in front of Lu Xiaobei!
"you……"

Lu Xiaobei's eyes were still red. She looked at me, then at the music box in my hand.

"Xiao Bei, don't be angry. I apologize for what I said yesterday. I admit I was too harsh. Don't take it to heart. To put it another way, we're still good friends, the best kind."

"Oh……"

The resolve in her eyes softened considerably.

"Here, a little gift for you." I handed over the music box.

"This……"

Lu Xiaobei was stunned: "What kind of straight male aesthetic is this?"

"Nima..."

Milo glanced at the music box and sighed, "What kind of junk is this..." I said seriously, "Xiao Bei, this music box has the words 'happy' and 'joyful' on it. I think it's very meaningful. This music box tells us that we must be optimistic, look forward, and not be trapped in the past or the future. People should live in the present. Happiness and joy are the true meaning of life."

"Ok."

Lu Xiaobei hugged the music box to his chest and said, "I'll only be happy if you come with me to Wangyuehai. What should I do?"

"I'm too busy with work, I don't have time..."

"Ah."

Lu Xiaobei finally smiled: "Ding Han, do you know what? You've finally started making up lies to appease me instead of directly refusing me. That's a big improvement, and I'm very happy about it."

"..."

I was speechless and felt a little ashamed of myself.

"Alright, alright, security check."

Milo said, "Xiao Bei, if you really want to go to Wangyuehai, you can take a picture of your back at home, and I'll have a friend Photoshop it into the background of Wangyuehai."

"Thank you so much, Milo."

"Don't be so polite, we're all on the same side!"

"Ding Han, come here!"

Lu Xiaobei grabbed me and pulled me over, then unlocked his phone, opened the camera, and said, "Let's take a picture of the three of us together."

"okay!"

Milo immediately came over.

I was slightly taken aback. Lu Xiaobei's phone screen saver photo looked grayish and seemed... somewhat familiar, but I didn't have time to ask. The two of them had already gone to security.

Shortly after, the two passed through security and appeared on the other side.

"Ding Han!"

Just as I was about to leave, Lu Xiaobei suddenly jumped up and down at me from the security checkpoint, waving and shouting, "You should be happy too! I'll come see you again!"

Many people looked over.

For no apparent reason, my nose suddenly stung with tears.

……

In the afternoon, Luo Mei.

"Is your sister-in-law really gone?"

The mouse stared at me, "How could you bear to do that?"

"I'm sorry..."

I really wanted to kick him: "I told you, she's not my sister-in-law. Xiao Bei and I are just friends, not lovers, at least not yet. If you keep calling me 'sister-in-law,' I'm not done with you!"

The fat man quipped, "It's a real shame. Lu Xiaobei is such a pretty girl, and she's so devoted to you. If it were me... I might be having my second child by now..."

"Your sister..."

I was speechless and could only pretend to be dead and remain silent.

"correct."

The fat man said, "Ding Han, do you know what day it is in a few days?"

"I know, December 22nd is your birthday!"

"Ok!"

The fat man said, "Shen Yue and I have already agreed to go to a music restaurant on the 22nd to celebrate. It will just be the three of us, plus Shen Yue. There won't be many people, but we'll all be friends, so we can talk about anything."

"Okay!"

I nodded and smiled, "What kind of gift do you need?"

"Tch, what do grown men need gifts for? Besides, your birthday is just two days after mine. Are you trying to boost Huaining City's GDP by sending gifts back and forth? Let's skip it and just have a few drinks."

"also!"

I sighed with emotion, realizing that my first birthday in "Star Abyss" was almost here.

……

Around four o'clock in the afternoon.

"drop!"

A WeChat message came from Lin Qingying, whom he hadn't contacted in a long time: "Ding Han, my business trip is over, and I've landed at Huaining Airport."

"it is good!"

I replied, "Want to have dinner together tonight?"

"Next time."

Lin Qingying said, "I have to go back to the company immediately. There is an urgent meeting that I must attend. I will probably be busy until very late today. You can eat by yourself."

"it is good."

After that, the two stopped chatting. Lin Qingying was too busy, and I didn't want to distract her.

……

At night, lying in my room, I logged onto the dark web on my phone to look at various useful information, as well as information on equipment and weapons for sale on the dark web. But it didn't seem necessary to look at it. High-end equipment is very expensive now, and I've already invested 50 yuan in an internet cafe. Even if there was equipment suitable for me, I could only look at it.

Lin Qingying still hadn't finished get off work by midnight.

And so, in a hazy state, I drifted off to sleep.

I woke up and it was already morning.

"dong dong~~"

There was a knock on the door, followed by Lin Qingying's voice: "Ding Han, I'm going downstairs to buy breakfast. Get up and wash up quickly."

Soon, the sound of her closing the door and the clatter of her high heels as she walked downstairs could be heard.

(End of this chapter)