At that time, Yu Nan, who had switched careers halfway through her career, had not yet mastered the engine. It was Lang Xi who stayed up late during his spare time to help her and teach her how to model, render, and build scenes.
Yu Nan's game initially went unnoticed. It was Lang Xi who started streaming and gained countless fans with her excellent gaming skills, which then brought traffic to Yu Nan's game.
When Yu Nan left Li Jiji, Lang Xi also wanted to go with her.
“Go back,” Yu Nan said, looking into Lang Xi’s eyes and pushing her back to Li Ji Studio. “I can’t afford to support a genius like you here.”
“It’s okay,” Lang Xi said, lowering her head and looking at Yu Nan with a gentle yet persistent gaze. “I have formal training; I systematically studied game development abroad. You switched careers halfway through, so there are many things you don’t know…”
"Then I don't need you!" Lang Xi's denial ignited the last bit of rationality in Yu Nan, who was already very agitated.
"I'd rather bang my head against a wall until I'm bleeding than need you! I'm really annoyed by you! I don't want to see you!"
Lang Xi's affection suffocated Yu Nan.
After saying those hurtful words, Yu Nan ran out of Li Ji Studio, and the two tacitly stopped contacting each other. They only learned about each other through Yu Hua and Li Yue, or through the gossip of netizens.
And so the collaboration between Yu Miao and Lang Dao'er ended. Although countless netizens asked Lang Dao'er why he didn't update Yu Miao's game, Lang Dao'er never replied, remaining calm as if he hadn't seen the comments that were pushed to the top of the video.
Until that day, Lang Dao'er saw Yu Nan in Zhu Yao's article and reconnected with Yu Nan. The two tacitly kept quiet about that time.
"I'm going to sleep now, so I won't disturb you two," Lang Xi said with a sly smile, waving her hand as she walked towards her room.
Zhu Yao and Yu Nan looked at each other in bewilderment. The background music of "Layers of Fear" was still playing in the game room, but neither of them was in the mood to listen to it or continue playing the game.
Each with their own ulterior motives, they returned to their bedrooms. Zhu Yao privately messaged Lang Xi, "Are you asleep?"
[Wolf Knife]: Not asleep
[Yaoyaoling]: Miss Lang, may I have a word with you in private?
[Wolf Blade]: That depends on what you want to talk about, Demon King. If you want to date me, I'm always ready~
[111]: I want to ask about Yu Nan's hands, and what happened to her...
[Wolf Knife]: Inconvenient
[Wolf Knife]: If you want to know about Yu Nan, you'll know more from Yu Nan than from me.
[Wolf Knife]: If there are things Yu Nan doesn't want to tell you, then as an outsider, I have even less right to tell you.
[111]: Thank you
[Wolf Knife]: Is Demon Master concerned about Yu Miao? (Something's up.jpg)
Is she concerned about Yu Nan?
A strange emotion welled up in Zhu Yao's chest, reminding her of the gloomy feeling she had when she met her high school classmate on Mount Kongtong.
[111]: Maybe...
[Wolf Knife]: If you care, then tell her.
【Yaoyaoling】: But she's not feeling well, and I'm afraid of bothering her.
Wolf Knife sent a laughing emoji.
【Wolf Knife】: Demon Master, you don't actually like Yu Miao, do you?
111: No!
[Wolf Blade]: Getting anxious?
【111】: The concern between roommates.
Wolf Knife posted an emoji, "Those who know, know.jpg".
Zhu Yao felt like a scholar encountering a soldier, unable to reason with him.
Was Wolf Blade always this difficult to talk to before?
However, Lang Xi is right, it would be better for her to ask Yu Nan directly…
Wait, why would she ask? She has always insisted on not communicating with people, willingly remaining an invisible person in society. Being a writer is her way of avoiding entanglements with others.
Zhu Yao has always lived a solitary life, refusing help from others, not taking the initiative to care for others, and not getting involved in other people's disputes.
Standing at Yu Nan's door, Zhu Yao hesitated for a moment, lowered her hand that was about to knock, lowered her eyes, and prepared to turn around and go back inside...
"Miss Zhu, why are you standing here? Are you looking for Yu Nan?"
Lang Xi opened the guest room door with a smile, crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame, "I was just looking for her too, let's go in together."
Her voice was loud, and Yu Nan opened the door from inside the house upon hearing it. The three of them looked at each other in the doorway.
Lang Xi pulled Zhu Yao into Yu Nan's bedroom, while Yu Nan glanced at Lang Xi's hand on Zhu Yao's shoulder with displeasure.
"What are you doing here?" Yu Nan took a step back, letting the two of them into the house, and looked at Lang Xi warily.
"Hair dryer," Lang Xi shrugged. "I don't have one in my room, so I came to borrow one from you."
Yu Nan picked up the hair dryer and threw it into Lang Xi's arms. Lang Xi wasn't annoyed. She took the hair dryer and went straight out, closing the door behind her.
He also left a message: "Be careful to exercise restraint."
Yu Nan/Zhu Yao: ………
Lang Xi definitely did it on purpose!
Yu Nan turned her gaze to Zhu Yao, who was momentarily speechless and unsure of what to say.
"I…"
The two spoke at the same time, then paused for a moment, and then said simultaneously, "You go first..."
Yu Nan chuckled, "We're quite in sync."
This blunder broke the tense atmosphere.
Zhu Yao was unusually candid for once, "What Lang Xi said today made me a little worried about you, so I came to check on you."
"Am I being cared about?"
Zhu Yao nodded slightly, neither confirming nor denying, and saw Yu Nan quietly moving in her direction.
“I’m fine,” Yu Nan said, raising her right hand.
The light shone on her hands, and Yu Nan squinted, as if looking at her hands, or perhaps peering through her fingers at the glaring light.
“I used to be a researcher. Back then, I had a quick reaction time and very steady hands,” Yu Nan said calmly, as if she were telling someone else’s story. “Then the lab exploded, and my hands were injured.”
"If you ask me... Wolf Blade used to be no match for me. If it weren't for that accident, it's hard to say who would have become the Valkyrie."
"Do you remember the room next to the study? That was my music room. I used to be able to play many kinds of instruments."
Zhu Yao remained silent, unsure how to begin. Should she comfort Yu Nan?
No wonder Yu Nan got angry while playing Layers of Fear, identifying with the painter's musician wife...
"What a pity," Yu Nan smiled at Zhu Yao, "I really wanted to play the piano for you."
Zhu Yao fell completely silent; she didn't know how to comfort Yu Nan.
Yu Nan flicked Zhu Yao's forehead with a "smack," and said, "Don't overthink it. This matter is long over. I'm not so fragile that I can't get over it."
Zhu Yao grasped Yu Nan's right hand, which was resting on her forehead, and examined it closely. Yu Nan's fingers were fair and slender, but there was a long scar under the knuckles of her ring and middle fingers on her right hand.
A piece of flesh was missing from his hand, and a hideous scar was hidden in his palm.
Yu Nan felt a little shy when she saw Zhu Yao staring at the scar with a serious expression, and she was too embarrassed to pull her hand away.
With her right hand held by Zhu Yao, Yu Nan scratched her head with her left hand. Zhu Yao looked at her with sympathy and heartache in her eyes, which gave her a strange feeling.
Being looked at with such heartache by Zhu Yao actually gave me a secret thrill!
Yu Nan, a woman of strong character, asked herself honestly, was she the kind of person who would play the sympathy card? Yes, she was!
"It hurts so much!" Yu Nan said in a coquettish tone, her voice trembling with tears.
Yu Nan was disgusted by her own affected manner, but her coquettishness and vulnerability were surprisingly effective on Zhu Yao.
Zhu Yao quickly let go of her hand, "Ah...did I hurt you?"
Yu Nan lowered her eyes, her body seeming to flinch slightly. "It's nothing... It hurts even when I don't move, I'm used to it..."
Zhu Yao's inner thoughts: Yu Nan is acting strange today?
"You seemed a bit down just now, and I was worried about you," Zhu Yao leaned closer to Yu Nan. "Our day has just begun. After Miss Lang falls asleep, shall we go downstairs and continue playing games?"
Yu Nan looked at Zhu Yao pitifully, "I want to hear you read poetry."
"Okay..." Zhu Yao sighed, "Is she going to sleep right after waking up?"
"Can't you listen to poetry if you don't sleep?"
"I can... but it feels weird," Zhu Yao said helplessly, picking up her phone to search for poems.
“Yeah, I also feel it’s better to listen to it before bed,” Yu Nan tugged at Zhu Yao’s sleeve. “I want to hear your bedtime poem every day.”
"But there are only so many poems in the world..."
"It's fine to read the same thing every day!" As long as it's what you read.
Zhu Yao finally gave in to the pitiful Yu Nan and agreed to read poetry to him every night.
Yu Nan turned on the computer in the bedroom with a clean and efficient motion. "Let's continue playing games! Let's finish 'Layers of Fear'."
Aren't you going downstairs?
"No, I can play in my bedroom too, and the cloud saves are synced."
The main reason was to go to the basement to play games. Lang Xi's elusive nature annoyed Yu Nan!
Hmph, Lang Xi isn't someone who can just walk into the bedroom!
Outside Yu Nan's bedroom, Lang Xi stood quietly with her back to the door. The living room lights were off, and half of her body blended into the shadows in the hallway, as if she had been abandoned by the world.
After a long while, she sighed and gave a bitter smile.
I really want to apologize to Yu Nan, to tell her that I've reflected a lot and changed a lot over the past few years, and to show her through my actions that I won't easily dismiss people anymore...
Lang Xi wanted to tell Yu Nan that she was the most talented game planner he had ever met, and he wanted to praise her ingenious ideas and never-give-up spirit.
Now it seems unnecessary.
Game background music and the two talking could be heard coming from Yu Nan's bedroom. Lang Xi tiptoed back to the guest room without making a sound.