QT: Against My Will

Chapter 17: 2.03 – Xuan Mu POV – Mr. and Mrs. Jelly

+— Author’s note —-+

Edited by Psycho S

Proofreaded by P.D Webb.

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The room couldn’t be any darker unless the walls were all painted black. The windows were veiled by roller blinds and thick curtains, preventing any eye-searing light from the sun to come through. The room, dark as it was, brought comfort to the teen who sat behind the desk in a corner of the room. He was on his old laptop, staring at one particular, gray name on his friend list.

“Stay in the room, you brat! Don’t you dare come out!” A man, whose appearance made one feel queasy and oily when looked at, ordered the fifteen year old Xuan Mu.

Xuan Mu, not the least bit affected by the man’s harsh tone, would reply uncaringly, “With pleasure.” When the grayed out name on the dusted laptop screen turned green, his bitter mood changed for the better.

.....

“You’re a damn useless brat! All you do is play games all day!” His father shouted furiously as he tried to get a reaction out of the nonchalant boy he raised. He wanted to assert his dominance.

“You give me the name of my father. Since he raised such a useless son, I’ll go teach him how to raise a son,” Xuan Mu answered with a monotone voice. He wasn’t affected in the least by his fuming father, he had gotten used to it over time.

The man swore angrily as he stormed out of the room by kicking the door open. When he left the room, he would viciously close the door again with a loud ‘BANG!’.

Xuan Mu, used to his father’s violent tantrums, ignored his dramatics. His attention was fully focused on the name that had turned green. On a not very close inspection, the name belonged to a girl, but it wasn’t any girl- it was his... friend.

But she only played MMO (1). On a whim, he invited her to a competitive play, just for fun (and also so he could play other games he enjoyed with her; think of it as him sharing his precious things with her). She readily agreed to his invitation.

Bing Shi waited until they were in a game and typed into the group chat.

?Bing Shi:?Hey, lets win this game! I’m a girl, and it’s my first time playing! I’ll cheer you all on!

The group chat went out of control. Unsurprisingly, as expected of boys who played this particular genre, they reacted... horribly:

?Garrectum:?A girl? Which bastard invited a girl to the party!?

?Alifessid:?Her rank is high! Is someone carrying her???

?Alifessid:?RIP my rank...

?Garrectum:?Fuck is this another lose?

?CourtlyItur:?Go back to the kitchen woman!

?Garrectum:?Report Bing Shi and whoever invited her!

?CourtlyItur:?Someone make a video! See what happens when a girl tries to play games!

?Bing Shi:?That one with the highest rank invited me, Atlan!??

The whole team went silent momentarily as they tried to comprehend what she said. Then they exploded. If Atlan wanted it on hard mode, then go do it yourself! No need to take them along! They cried out bitterly as they mourned for their guaranteed loss.

Xuan Mu laughed out while reading her private messages. It was a quiet laugh, but genuine.

?Bing Shi:?I just downloaded this game, are you sure about this? You really created an account with my name and ranked me up? When did you become such a troll???

She laughed with intent while typing.

?Xuan Mu:?Well, let’s win this!??

He grinned and typed back.

Seeing his answer, she couldn’t help but giggle.

?Bing Shi:?Hey, don’t learn bad things from me!

The game started. While both teams were fighting, Bing Shi simply put her avatar on dance mode and chatted with the enemy team. Occasionally, she would even cheer for them too!?

Her party members were furious. Didn’t she say she would cheer them on?! She was not only a girl but also a troll! They gave up and started to troll with her. Coming near her avatar, they began to dance, ready to lose.

But the funny thing was, the enemy team began to dance with them too. While both teams were having a socializing party in the middle of the combat, an Assassin in stealth mode sneaked behind the two groups for a surprise attack. That was how an enemy team was wiped out by Xuan Mu. They won just like that.

?Bing Shi:?Easy win! No need to thank me. ??

?Everyone:?A Goddess!

?Bing Shi:?I said no need to thank me, I wasn’t the one who wiped out the whole team, haha!

?Everyone:?Teach me senpai!

Bing Shi ignored them and whispered to Xuan Mu.

?Bing Shi:?I was so cool, did you see that? ??

?Xuan Mu:?I can’t stop laughing, that was epic.??

She even gave the spotlight to him after she was finished messing around. She didn’t want to take his credit, even if that moment was funny. Xuan Mu’s fingers hovered over the laptop keys; he wanted to say that her reaction was cute, but he was too scared to tell her.

Xuan Mu hesitantly didn’t message what he had typed out. He was afraid she’d run away. Silently, he deleted the words, one letter at a time.

Note No.1 – You have no chance with her in real life. She doesn’t approach men in real life.

He moved the conversation along after brushing everything off with a laugh. When he was with her, he had to use his brain cells like crazy... But he won’t lie: she was well worth all the thinking he had to do. Just one wrong move and she would be gone forever...

He didn’t want that. If wishes could be granted, he hoped that the gods would listen to at least one of his many wishes. He would stop wishing for any kind of affection as long as she was his friend forever (and maybe something more).

· · ———- · ???· ———- · ·

Xuan Mu reminisced about their first encounter...

He was 11 when he first met her. They were too far apart in basically everything, gaming-wise. She noticed him first and was the first one to start a conversation. When she got to know his age, she started to chase him around the lake with hearts above her head, telling him how innocent he was for running away from a girl.

Note No.2 – Be mysterious to get her attention. But if she takes an interest, always respond. Don’t ignore her.

She helped him level up patiently. They chatted and played together for at least five days before she suddenly disappeared. She was forgotten fast by all, but she was always remembered by him. A popular, high-ranking girl had talked to him. Even though it was in a game, he remembered her name: Bing Shi.

Later, he found the game boring and stopped playing too. It just didn’t feel the same when there wasn’t a girl chasing him around a lake...

+— Author’s note —-+

(1)MMO – massively multiplayer online game: any online video game in which a player interacts with a large number of other players.

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On Break