Chapter 31- Hinting at Dreams

Relating to Episode 22 of Love O2O

To his relief, Mei managed to slip into the office on Monday morning without running in to KO. Every time he thought about their phone call his face would flush and his tongue would tie itself in to knots. For some reason, what they'd done on the phone was more embarrassing to think about than what they'd managed to do together. Especially when he thought about the 'treasure chest' Will had sent over. His collar felt inexplicably tight and he loosened the top button, fidgeting his finger between collar and neck. This was no good. He needed to concentrate on coding, not on... he coughed and dragged his attention back to his screen. Work. Concentrate on work.

He'd just settled into working the codes, when the hair on the back of his neck bristled and he felt a shiver run down his spine. Headphones in, he used the music in his ears as a handy excuse not to notice KO settling in to his desk. Pretending not to notice didn't stop the blush spreading down his neck, didn't stop his heart from racing and definitely didn't stop him from shifting in his seat with an uncomfortable mix of heat and embarrassment. From the peripheral, he could see KO attempt to make eye contact, but when Mei refused to look directly at him the other man appeared to give up. Hyper aware of every move that KO made, Mei struggled to retain his concentration and when Yu Ban Shan threw his arm over his shoulder and laughingly ordered him to lunch, he gratefully grasped the opportunity to escape.

Maybe if he'd paid more attention to the rest of the office, he'd have noticed Bei Wei Wei extending the same invitation to KO. As it was, by the time he realised the four of them were in the elevator and it was too late to try and run away. For some reason, KO seemed content to let Hao Mei keep some distance between them, quietly watching as Mei and Ban Shan joked and carried on all the way to the restaurant. The banter continued once the group were seated and it wasn't long until Mei, running on nervous energy, included Wei Wei in the teasing.

"Junior Wei Wei, how come you haven't called me Senior Hao?"

Wei Wei hid a smile. "If I called you that, Da Shen would destroy me." (A/N: Wei Wei calls Xiao Nai Da Shen, meaning "Big God" and used by fans to refer to celebrities/famous people. Wei Wei calling Xiao Nai this is carried on from the game when they initially met etc.)

"Why?"

"Senior Hao... Senior Hao... Senior Hao..." Ban Shan looked up from the menu long enough roll his eyes at Hao Mei. (A/N: "Hao" sounds like the word for "fond of" so "Senior Hao" sounds like they're saying "The senior I am fond of"... to a senior other than Xiao Nai. :P)

Wei Wei joined Ban Shan in his chanting, waving her hands at Mei as if casting a spell of clarity. "Senior Hao... Senior Hao..."

Mei blanched. "Forget it! Forget it! Don't call me that. If you call me that, he won't destroy you- he'll destroy me! That's so dangerous. I could have lost my life!" While he knew full well that Xiao Nai saw him as a brother, no familial loyalty would save him if Xiao Nai saw him as a romantic threat. He shivered and grabbed the menu off Yu Ban Shan. Funny how a near death experience needed comfort food as compensation.

"I'll order. I need to comfort my young heart."

The teasing had restored Hao Mei's equilibrium, and he was able to relax and chat comfortably throughout the meal. In contrast, KO was unusually subdued at the opposite end of the table, and when Mei snuck looks at him he didn't catch the hacker looking his way even once. He did notice Wei Wei taking extra special care with a bowl of food to take back to the office for laosan. He gently kicked Yu Ban Shan under the table.

"Hey, have you noticed? After laosan got saosan he's been so well taken care of. In the past, if he didn't have time for lunch he'd just have a bun and water. Look at him now, he gets so much to eat." He smiled at Wei Wei, only half teasing. "You're so thoughtful."

"He only ate buns and water?" Wei Wei paused in the process of packing Xiao Nai's lunch.

It was Yu Ban Shan's turn to pipe up, speaking around a mouthful of rice. "That's not all. If he got caught up in work, he didn't even get a bun...."

Wei Wei's face fell and Ban Shan and Mei grinned at her.

"Look at Junior Wei Wei's distressed expression!" Ban Shan laughed when she sniffed at him.

"Yes, I've noticed he's really not choosy about food. He actually told me to bring him fried rice." She sniffed again and continued to pack lunch for the absentee subject. "That doesn't have much nutrition. Leave it to me to provide him with a balanced nutritional diet."

Mei groaned and rolled his eyes as the air around Wei Wei turned pink. Any moment now a small bubble was going to appear with an announcement saying "Achievement Unlocked: Pure Love Overdose."

"Add on a juice full of love too. There'll be food and drink. A 100% balanced nutritional diet."

Surely now the achievement would appear?

Yu Ban Shan grimaced and shielded his eyes from the pink aura radiating from Wei Wei's side of the table. "Save me! Their dazzling affection is blinding me!"

As Wei Wei pouted at Ban Shan, in good spirit, Mei had a sudden thought.

"I once had a sincere online romance right in front of me, but I didn't cherish it." At the time he hadn't cherished it because of a small issue with gender, but now that he was involved with KO he randomly wondered what would have happened if he hadn't run away. "Now that I think about it, I really regret it."

"Senior Hao," Wei Wei shook her head at him. "Online romances are not appropriate."

"Then what about you and Xiao Nai?" Match point, thank you very much.

Wei Wei cleared her throat. "We met each other online and then got to know each other in real life. And then... " She shook her head and changed track. "Whose was yours with? Let's hear it."

"It wasn't in Dreams of Jiangshu. Before I was playing Dreams of Jiangshu I played a game called Galaxy Dreams. I played a Heavenly Healer character."

... To be continued...