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Chapter 6: “Then see you in an hour and a half. I’ll wait for you…”

Li Huanhuan had set a time to meet with Zhang Canyang, and the video she had stayed up all night editing was finally posted.

She glanced at the analytics, responded to a few comments, and then, remembering something, called her mother who lived in the suburbs, reminding her not to forget about her hospital check-up next week.

On her 20th birthday, Li Huanhuan “awakened as an NPC” and realized the world was a book, and she was just a minor character in it. At first, she felt lost and hopeless, questioning whether life was even worth continuing. But then she learned from the storyline that her mother would fall ill and pass away when she turned 28.

The illness wasn’t initially severe, but by the time it was discovered, it would be too late.

Since learning this, Li Huanhuan had been grateful for that “NPC awakening” — it gave her time to prepare. Every year since, she made sure her mother got regular check-ups, hoping to change her fate.

Still, even with all her precautions, as her 28th birthday approached, she couldn’t relax. She was constantly on edge, fearing something would go wrong.

She accepted blind dates arranged by her family, even chatting patiently with strange or difficult people like the one with the screen name “Tranquil Heart.” Even when she rejected someone, she tried to do so gently, without hurting anyone’s pride — all for her mother’s sake.

Until her mother’s “turning point” passed, she didn’t want to do anything that might disturb fate. So, she made many compromises when it came to dating.

“Alright, I got it. I’m not senile, you know,” her mother laughed over the phone.

“I’ll come pick you up at the station,” Li Huanhuan said gently.

Hearing her mother’s strong and energetic voice, she felt relieved.

“No need. Your Uncle Liu will drive me there,” her mother replied.

Uncle Liu was her stepfather, her mother’s husband after remarrying. He wasn’t wealthy or particularly talented, just a down-to-earth man — no smoking, drinking, gambling, or wasting money. He liked to cook, clean, and fish, and he treated her mother well.

After her biological father passed away, Li Huanhuan was heartbroken for a long time. But when her mother met Uncle Liu, she was genuinely happy for her.

After setting the check-up date, Li Huanhuan hung up the phone, and her thoughts drifted to “Little Sun.” After a moment’s hesitation, she asked, “Mom, do you remember our old neighbors from when we lived in the old house? The ones downstairs? The man who drank himself to death?”

Her mother did remember them — especially the boy’s family — though she didn’t understand why Li Huanhuan was suddenly bringing it up, thinking she might be missing her late father.

Not wanting her mother to overthink, Li Huanhuan quickly added, “Do you remember what the lady’s name was?”

Little Sun’s father had been abusive — a drunk and a gambler who beat his wife and child. None of the neighbors liked him. But since Li Huanhuan’s parents had once helped them, Little Sun’s mother would occasionally leave him at their place when things got bad.

Maybe her mother knew something more.

“That was a long time ago,” her mother, Su Mei, replied thoughtfully. “I can’t remember clearly. Maybe her last name was Zhang?”

“Are you sure it was Zhang?” Li Huanhuan pressed.

“I think so? It’s been too long,” her mother replied. The two families weren’t that close, and the years had blurred her memories.

“Why are you asking this?” her mother probed.

“Oh, I just met someone who reminded me of her,” Li Huanhuan replied vaguely, not mentioning Zhang Canyang yet.

After chatting a bit more, she hung up.

Though her mother wasn’t sure, Li Huanhuan remembered calling her “Auntie Zhang” back then. Since Little Sun’s father died, it made sense for the boy to take his mother’s surname.

“Zhang Canyang?” she muttered, thinking of the boy with the angelic smile. “Could he really be Little Sun?”

If so, how had he been all these years? Did he still remember her?

“Argh…” she groaned, pulling at her hair in frustration.

Zhang Canyang was a villain in the story, and she was just a background character. Running into a main character during a blind date was already wild enough. But now a villain, too?

That was way too un-passery.

Heaven better start paying her a salary for this!

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The next day, she didn’t stay up late. She had plans — a meeting with the adopter and Zhang Canyang.

Their appointment was at 6 PM. That morning, she fed her cat and finished writing an article for her side job. Her main video account was focused on “Stickman Adventures,” but the clicks were low. Maybe the content wasn’t exciting enough?

She sat at her desk, trying to come up with new themes: adventure, animals, whimsical ideas, life, childhood nostalgia…

Her bestie Xiaojing chimed in:
“You never considered doing romance content?”

Huanhuan: “Love?”
Huanhuan: “Pfft. Wise women don’t fall in love.”

Xiaojing: “…Then why are you still going on blind dates?”

Huanhuan: “You wouldn’t understand, mortal.”

Xiaojing: [side-eye emoji]

By afternoon, she still hadn’t come up with a new video theme. Around 4 PM, she shut her computer and got ready to head out early, planning to take a bus with a winding route.

Meanwhile, at the eSports competition in City C…

The popular Tianlang (Sky Wolf) team had just beaten the CoolPlay team 2-0. In the backstage area, the atmosphere was energetic.

“Star, that final move of yours was epic!”

“Hey, hey, what about my clutch play earlier?”

Everyone was laughing and celebrating. Qin Shi, wearing his bright red team uniform, was checking his phone, distracted.

“Hey, aren’t those CoolPlay guys? Why are they fighting?”

Everyone turned and saw CoolPlay players blocking the corridor. One of them punched Zhang Canyang. The Tianlang members gasped. Canyang, unfazed, touched his face and smiled nonchalantly before walking away — but not without flipping them off.

“That guy’s nuts,” someone muttered.

Apparently, Canyang had messed up big time in the match. Despite being talented, he lacked discipline — a criticism made by a veteran eSports pro that had proven true.

“His coach is Cao Xufang,” someone whispered.

The topic changed: what to eat for the celebration dinner?

“Qin Shi, what do you want to eat?” Hu Xun asked.

Qin Shi glanced at his phone. “I’m not going. I’ve got a date.”

“A date???”

His teammates were stunned. Despite his popularity, Qin Shi had always kept things clean — never flirted online or accepted fan advances.

“Who is it? Don’t tell me… Huanhuan-jie?” Hu Xun teased.

All eyes turned to him.

“She’s a cute older woman. Two years older than him. Pure and pretty,” Hu Xun revealed, before his mouth got covered by Zhou Jianyu.

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At 5:30 PM, Li Huanhuan was already at the alley entrance. Soon the adopter — a young woman — arrived. They found the mother-daughter calico cats, and the adopter immediately adored them.

Huanhuan was relieved but asked the adopter to wait a bit — the previous caretaker, Zhang Canyang, still needed to meet them.

As she reached for her phone to text him, she got a call instead.

“Qin Shi?” she answered in surprise.

“I’m here. Where are you?” he asked, standing outside Chen Guang Plaza, clearly having dressed up for their date.

“Huh? You didn’t see my last text?”

“What text?”

“I said I can’t make it today,” she admitted.

There was silence.

“I should’ve called, I’m sorry,” she added guiltily.

“Okay,” he said, calm. “How long will your thing take?”

“About 30 minutes…”

He asked for her location. She told him.

“Then I’ll give you 1.5 hours. 7:30 PM, meet me at the restaurant upstairs in Chen Guang Plaza,” he said.

She hesitated.

“It’s just dinner — to ease both our parents’ minds. Unless you really want to reject me again?”

She thought about it. She was already out, and her mom would feel reassured…

“…Alright.”

“Then see you in an hour and a half. I’ll wait for you,” he said.

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