Love 020 : Love and family

Chapter 1: A mesmerizing battle

It was the last day of summer before Senior year. Xiao Nai,  the campus heartthrob and budding entrepreneur was playing a game of go with his uncle at the video game cafe. His uncle had owned that cafe for a number of years.

Uncle "Nai, how are the plans for your company coming along?"

Nai smirked, he was about to win in 5 moves. Calmly he answered, "Going well uncle. We have the concept ready for the game. We are working on the game architecture and design. We are also getting ready for pitching to investors."

Uncle: "That's wonderful news! The two of us in this family are the anomalies who love the world of technology. Everyone is engaged in scholarly pursuits. Tell you what, if you win this game, I will give you a gift."

Nai took a sip of his tea and made his final move, "I win", he said.

Uncle: " As per my word, I will give you a gift today. This space is yours. You need an office. You can renovate this space to suit your needs."

Nai, "Uncle, those are your terms and that is very generous of you. But I cannot accept this gift. I want to start from nothing"

Uncle: "Alright my son. Besides it is fun to start with nothing anyway. Let's get dinner together." As he was saying that, his assistant came by with a folder in hand and started ushering him into his office to take care of some urgent business.

Nai was slowly making his way to the door to when his eyes were drawn to one of the terminals. A female avatar, a swordswoman was engaged in a furious battle with an evil boss on Dreams of Jianghu. Nai's body moved involuntarily towards the terminal to get a closer look at a pair of hands that were maneuvering the avatar.

In that moment, it was as if time had stilled. Nai's heart was beating to the sound of the symphony generated by the fingers clicking on the key board. Majestic yet feminine , the player had a quiet aura of power about her. " I didn't think anyone could play as the swordswoman in red so beautifully", he thought. Only when the player finished her game culminating in the defeat of the boss, did Nai's eyes move the top left where the player's handle was flashing.

" Swordswoman and certified herbalist @ReedWeiwei KO winner against boss Meng"

Nai stood transfixed as the player stood from her seat. It was only then did he realized how stunningly gorgeous the player was. She quickly grabbed her backpack and left unaware of her voyeur. Nai still rooted to his spot exclaimed, "ReedWeiwei". I have seen her somewhere on campus, he thought.

He wanted, no he needed to know who this mesmerizing person was IRL. With that singular thought in mind, dinner long forgotten, he rushed to his dorm and fired up his laptop.

He decided to start with the college's student registry first, after all , it was very likely she went to the same college. While he was engrossed in his research, his dorm brothers were milling about the room.

Banshan: "Nai, what are you doing? Don't tell me you have already started coursework for this term. It is only the first day, come play basketball with us"

Houzi: " No no, he must be working on the architecture of the game already. That's why he's our CEO. Nai, come play with us today, we need a break. We've worked all summer on this"

Hao Mei : " Have you seen the concentration on his face? This is surely about some girl" he joked. None of them actually believed that considering Nai had not given any girls the time of day over the last three years.

Banshan, "That's right. This is our last year to find a wife. Otherwise, we'll become bachelors for life like Nai", he guffawed.

If only they knew. Hao Mei yelled loudly, "Nai, come on man. What are you doing at this late hour on the last day of our vacation?"

By then Nai had just managed to sift through CS department students to discover to his pleasant surprise that the woman that had cast a spell on him was none other than Bei Wei Wei. Satisfied with his victory, he smiled broadly and finally responded, " Research".

Houzi: "Research? What research? It can't be the game, considering we need Mei ren to do some basic architecture for our game first"

Hao Mei yelled angrily " Don't call me Mei ren. But what research Nai? And what's with that strange expression on your face? Is that a smile?"

Only half listening to them, Nai was going through Weiwei's student information. She was at the top of her class on a full scholarship. She had interned with several big tech companies already but also somehow found the time to voluntarily tutor a physically challenged kid.

Hao Mei was now about to walk right behind Nai's screen, before he could see, Nai closed his laptop and said, "Personal research" and walked away to the balcony with a serene smile on his face. The three brothers exchanged puzzled looks.

"If only they knew!", Nai thought.