Upon hearing this, Yun Li’s relaxed mood tensed up again despite his seemingly practiced actions.
What did he mean by “first time”?
Yun Li didn’t quite understand his words and hesitantly asked, “Haven’t you tied this for others before?”
The man: “No.”
“…”
His matter-of-fact response left her speechless.
Yun Li even began to wonder if she was overreacting.
Although this attraction seemed only about two meters high, it still carried some risk. At this point, Yun Li couldn’t help but speak up again, seeking reassurance: “Did you receive any training before starting work?”
The man didn’t look up: “What training?”
“Well, like,” Yun Li couldn’t think of anything else and couldn’t be subtle anymore, pointing directly, “how to tie the safety rope most securely to minimize risk.”
After listening to her, the man replied: “No.”
“…”
At that moment, Yun Li felt as if she were about to go bungee jumping for real, and the staff had told her, “The rope might break, but it might not. You can try it first.”
Yun Li froze completely: “So if the safety rope isn’t tied properly, could I be flung out?”
The man glanced at her, seeming to consider for a moment: “I’m not sure.”
Seeing both of them so relaxed, Yun Li pressed her lips together, trying not to scare herself. Suddenly, the man lightly tapped the safety rope’s buckle and said casually: “Do you want to try?”
Yun Li: “…”
Yun Li: “?”
The man’s words sounded like a demon’s whisper.
However, he only mentioned it once and then withdrew his hand without any further action. Yun Li even began to suspect that he might be harboring resentment for her earlier words and was trying to intimidate her.
Yun Li’s back stiffened as she lowered her head to check the buckle’s position, making sure it hadn’t come loose.
At that moment, someone in the distance called for Xu Qingsong.
Before leaving, Xu Qingsong chuckled softly and reassured her: “He’s just joking with you, don’t take it seriously.” Then, turning to the man, he reminded him: “What are you doing? Be more responsible and don’t scare people with careless words.”
The man still wore a “perfunctory service” expression, but because of this, he said something more human to Yun Li: “Don’t worry, everything has been checked.” Then he pointed to the rope beside her: “If you’re scared later, just hold onto this.”
Yun Li nodded, hesitating for a moment before slowly moving her hand away.
The man picked up the VR headset from nearby and put it on her: “There’s a knob at the back, adjust the tightness yourself.”
The scene before Yun Li’s eyes changed to a line of distant text with a burning effect.
The man: “Is it clear?”
Yun Li squinted: “It’s a bit blurry.”
As soon as she said this, she felt the man’s hand against her glasses, pushing them down slightly. Her vision became clearer, and Yun Li raised her hand to make a small adjustment to a comfortable angle.
Because this attraction involved up and down movements, the glasses could easily fall off if worn normally. So two straps were added, and fastened under the chin, similar to how a helmet is worn.
Once the VR headset was on, Yun Li’s view was disconnected from the real world.
She didn’t know what was happening around her and felt a bit nervous. She only heard the man say as if announcing, “It’s starting,” and the scene began to change.
A cliff so high the bottom couldn’t be seen, with misty mountains in the distance.
The game didn’t start with an immediate jump; there was a buffer. An NPC in front of her opened and closed its mouth as if speaking. Then Yun Li’s perspective shifted to that of the protagonist, wanting to jump but afraid, hesitating for a long time.
Before she could react, there was a sudden leap.
The suspended chair she was sitting on began to move.
Falling to the bottom, then bouncing up and down due to the elastic rope. The sensation of weightlessness was intense, with the deep sea seemingly within reach, then suddenly rising again.
For a moment, Yun Li was so frightened she closed her eyes and then forced herself to open them.
She was the type who was both timid and adventure-loving. Every time she went to an amusement park, she was interested in those high-altitude thrilling rides, but when she reached the entrance, she lacked the courage to ride them.
But for this kind of VR experience, Yun Li knew it was virtual and not actually that scary, so she wanted to try everything.
In short, her courage only existed in the virtual world.
It reset to zero as soon as she returned to reality.
The attraction didn’t last long, but because of the realistic feeling, Yun Li still felt like every second lasted an eternity. However, after “surviving” the experience, she felt refreshed, excited, and thrilled.
Yun Li took off the VR headset.
The man took it from her and unfastened the buckle.
Yun Li returned to solid ground. She turned her head and saw a screen nearby, which seemed to be synchronously displaying the scenes she had just seen. What she had seen, others could see too.
According to He Jiameng, to produce better quality videos, these images would later be sent to the corresponding people.
Yun Li thanked him and, after a moment’s thought, raised a question: “Does this game not have any sound?”
The man looked up.
Yun Li explained: “I saw characters moving their mouths, but I didn’t hear any sound.”
The man wasn’t sure either, so he put on the headset himself. After a while, he took it off and examined the VR device in his hand: “There is sound, but the right ear canal seems to be broken.”
After saying this, he confirmed: “You didn’t hear anything at all?”
“…”
Yun Li’s breath caught.
This happened to coincide with her congenital defect.
With the right ear canal broken, it meant only the left ear canal had sound.
But her left ear was congenitally deaf.
So she heard nothing.
“Ah, is that so?” Yun Li said dryly, “Maybe I was too nervous just now, so I didn’t hear clearly.”
“Mm.”
The man didn’t pay much attention. Having finished Yun Li’s “task,” he resumed his “nothing concerns me” attitude and focused on testing the equipment quietly-
Later, when Yun Li went to play other attractions and passed by this area again, the man was nowhere to be seen. After trying all the attractions she was interested in, excluding some, most of the day had passed.
She was among the more energetic of the visitors.
Some people got dizzy from playing for long periods and had already finished, now chatting in the rest area.
Finding an empty corner, Yun Li quickly checked the footage she had just shot while mentally going through how she would edit it later.
Soon after, He Jiameng found her and shared some news.
As the host, Xu Qingsong wanted to treat everyone to a meal, to formally meet them and see them off. Hearing that others had already gladly accepted, Yun Li swallowed her intention to refuse and chose to go with the flow.
…
The dinner venue was a famous restaurant in Nanwu.
EAW had reserved a large private room with two large round tables on the left and right. Yun Li sat in an inner position, with He Jiameng on her left and Zhi Bu Liao on her right.
Some people knew each other before coming, while others had become quite friendly over the course of the day. The dinner table was particularly lively, with most still enthusiastic, discussing their experiences with various attractions.
Yun Li dreaded such occasions and pretended to be busy with her phone as soon as she arrived.
The last to arrive were Xu Qingsong and the man.
Only two empty seats remained at the inner table, so the two walked over. He Jiameng blinked, seeing the man, her appreciation for handsome men surfacing: “Teacher Xian Yun, did you see what this handsome guy looks like under his mask today?”
Today?
Yun Li answered truthfully: “I didn’t see today.”
She paused, considering whether to add: But I’ve seen before.
Before she could say it, Xu Qingsong called out: “Little He.”
He Jiameng: “Huh?”
“Would you mind changing seats?” Xu Qingsong observed the seating arrangement and patted the man’s shoulder, “He’s had a cold these past few days, and this spot is right under the air conditioning vent. Let him sit on the inside.”
He Jiameng immediately stood up, saying repeatedly: “Of course, no problem.”
Before Yun Li could react, they had somehow ended up sitting together.
Already avoiding such group situations, and now seated next to a stranger she had encountered several times, Yun Li didn’t know whether to greet him and felt even more uncomfortable.
She didn’t look over, lowering her head to drink water.
Xu Qingsong showed no intention of introducing this man. When someone at the table tried to engage the man in conversation, he remained silent for a moment before answering, as if confirming whether the person was speaking to him, but his responses were always brief.
It was as if another conversation killer had suddenly appeared.
Yun Li empathized and wanted to see if he also felt annoyed, but she didn’t dare look over.
Soon, the focus of the conversation returned to Xu Qingsong.
Yun Li also turned her attention that way.
Her mind, however, inappropriately wondered why everyone seemed to have forgotten to ask the man’s name.
After a while, the man took off his mask.
In their previous encounters, either the lighting conditions were poor, the angle was off, or she hadn’t looked closely. Now, seeing him up close, Yun Li realized his hair color was somewhat light, unsure if it was dyed or natural.
Looking down, his features were still flawless, with a mixed-race appearance.
His physical attributes were quite superior.
Yun Li suddenly felt he looked familiar.
As if she had seen him somewhere before…
Before she could think deeper, the waiters began serving the dishes.
The table was filled with a variety of dishes, catering to everyone’s tastes.
Whether due to poor appetite or being overly picky, Yun Li could see from the corner of her eye that the man hadn’t eaten much throughout the meal. The porridge he had ordered separately was only a little less than half finished.
After the dinner, someone suggested going to a nearby KTV to sing.
Xu Qingsong smiled and agreed.
The dinner had cost quite a bit, and the others had no intention of letting him pay again. They proposed playing a small game, with the two tables as two teams, and the losing team would pay.
After pushing and pulling among various games, they finally chose a simple and quick one called “Whisper Down the Lane.”
The rules were that each team would send one person to tell a sentence to the first person of the opposite team, within 30 characters, the more tongue-twisting the better. Then it would be passed down the line, with voices kept low so the third person couldn’t hear.
The team whose last person could repeat the most correct characters would be the winner.
Yun Li’s heart sank.
Then she heard an even worse piece of news: “Let’s pass it counterclockwise.”
Counterclockwise meant passing from left to right.
Which meant the man on her left would pass the message to her.
Does that mean she’d have to lean her left ear towards him…
Each team quickly decided on their sentences and started passing the message from one end.
At their table, Xu Qingsong started, with four people between him and Yun Li. The message was passed quickly, and as the distance shortened, her anxiety rose.
Although her left ear deafness didn’t greatly affect Yun Li’s life, she didn’t care much about it.
Nevertheless, she didn’t want to publicize this defect.
Yun Li hesitated for a moment, then looked at the man: “Um…”
The man turned his head.
She opened her mouth, wanting to say “Can I use my right ear to listen later,” but feeling it was too deliberate, she deflated: “Never mind, it’s nothing.”
Before she knew it, it was the man’s turn.
Watching the person next to him whispering to him, Yun Li subtly leaned to eavesdrop but couldn’t hear a single word.
As the whispering ended, the man looked at her.
Yun Li met his gaze and reluctantly leaned in.
They froze for a few seconds.
The man didn’t move, suddenly saying: “Come closer.”
Yun Li was stunned: “Huh?”
His words, devoid of emotion, could be easily misinterpreted. Some people at the table couldn’t help but tease them a bit.
The man seemed oblivious, resting his elbow on the table and lazily supporting his chin. As if he had seen through her concerns, he shifted his gaze to her right ear and repeated flatly.
“Lean in closer.”