Youth and love - A love020 fanfic

Chapter 8- Battles in game and IRL

Today was the day of the couples tournament final battle. At precisely 7:30 pm, Luwei Wei Wei, the warrior in red stood outside the arena ready for battle.

At 7:30 pm, a few kilometers away, Xiao Nai and Yugong were getting into the car to rush back to their dorm so Nai could join Luwei in battle. The ride would only take them 10 minutes, and they would be back well in time to win the final round of the tournament, with his online wife and offline girlfriend. The thought made him smile. Yugong was behind the wheel , chatting and joking with Nai about how the meeting they just had was a complete waste of time. Nai only half listened to it.

The clock struck 7:40 and Wei Wei thought, "anytime now". Nai had never stood her up or let her down during the past 5 month online and 1 month offline courtship. Thinking of him always filled her with happiness.

At the same time on the road, a drunk truck driver veered off his lane into the lane that Yugong was in. Nai noticed the vehicle to his left at the last moment, and grabbed the wheel to maneuver them away from the truck safely. Nai's reflexes had avoided the truck but they ended up hitting a tree. Nai's last thought before he lost consciousness was "Wei Wei".

Yugong noticed that Nai's quick reflexes had saved them from serious injury and he had escaped without a scratch on him. His friend had saved his life . But Nai's forehead was bleeding and he was unconscious. At precisely 7:50 pm , Yugong rushed Nai to the hospital calling emergency services. With trembling hands he called Yu Banshan , Hao Mei and Nai's parents. Shirt stained with blood, still shook, Yugong waited in the hospital for the doctor's assessment. They may not have been related by blood, but the 4 of them had a close bond as brothers and partners.

Meanwhile, in the dorm, the in-game announcement sounded a 5 min warning. Wei Wei realized that Nai's business meeting must have run longer than he anticipated and he may not make it in time. She made a split second decision and steeled herself. She needed to win this for both of them- that's what Nai would do. She would not let him down.

She contacted the moderator to let them know that her husband was tied up at work and per rule 17, clause C which said "In the event that a spouse could not attend a tournament, the other could wager 5 levels to compete by themselves. If they won, both spouses would get a boost and the prize. If the spouse lost, they would drop 5 levels and be banned from the next 3 tournaments". The rule was never used, most people just forfeited the battle. For a top ranking player like Wei Wei, losing 5 levels would erase 3 months of progress in the game. This was a first, in the Dreams of Jianghu history.

Wei Wei walked into the arena, looking fierce , ready to battle with both her swords drawn. What followed was a battle of epic proportions that would be talked about in game, recorded and shared on social media for months to come. A single female player masterfully defeating a high ranking couple from another server. Wei Wei had defended her husband and won the championship for both of them. The game forums were abuzz non stop and players from all servers had witnessed the glorious battle. As the system declared her victorious, not wanting to stick around, Wei Wei respectfully made her character bow and logged out.

She had more important things to figure out, "Where was Xiao Nai ? For that matter, where were his brothers?". They had always been honest and open with her . Nai had always gone out of his way to make her feel special, carving out time to have dinner with her every day since they had gotten together. It didn't matter that he was launching a company, had to take graduation exams and meet investors- he always put her first. Lately, she had taken to helping him with his investor pitch- it turned out  that Wei Wei had quite the talent in putting together launch/ marketing plans complementing Nai's depth of technical knowledge. She knew that the meeting they had today with an investor was important , but it was unlike him to desert her without a message.

She emailed him a dozen times on his university email and got no response. She couldn't shake off the feeling that something was horribly wrong.