[Music Recommendation: "A Sweet Smile" by Yu-Peng Chen (Genshin Impact OST)-available in Youtube or Spotify] ~ Please listen to it in a loop while you read this part to experience the utmost beauty of this chapter ~

After probably an hour of my non-stop talking, I finally toned down to catch my breath. Poor Kai, having to listen to all my nonsense. He's really kind. He must have lots of friends in real life, like Scarecrow and Casper. Oh my goodness! I hope I'm not taking too much of his time!

"I'm so sorry! I talked too much!" I immediately apologized as soon as I realized it. "It's Saturday, Guild Wars day, right?" Yeah, he told me about that before. "You must be preparing for that and I'm taking too much of your time. I'm really so sorry!"

"No, you're not. I have assistants in the guild to take care of that. It's okay."

"I see. Ahmm… Kai, do you…," Come on, Senara, you can do this! Ask him! "Do you not find it boring talking to me?" I asked in one go so I wouldn't pull back and hesitate. "I mean, I'm a girl, and you're a boy… so you probably like talking to boys your age than me, right?"

"Hmm… if I'm bored talking to you, then I wouldn't talk to you anymore and just ignore you."

Awwww… I felt my heart skip a beat from his answer.

"Really?!"

"Yeah."

"Why? What part of me is not boring you? And I've always wanted to ask… back then, when I asked you to be my friend, why did you agree?"

Badump! Badump! Badump! Ahhh! Calm down my heart!

"Hm? Because you seemed smart. I liked talking to smart people. Only they can really understand me."

"Huh? Smart? When did I sound smart?"

"When you said you wanted to see this game in a virtual reality."

"Oh, that one."

"Yeah. I've always wanted to do that years ago. So I'm researching how to make it a reality. Many said that it's impossible and even if I managed to pull it off, it's not something that can be sold to the mass since it will cost too much, hence, will be a bad investment. But I don't think so. There's a way to make it affordable but still has the quality I want it to have."

"Woooow! Are you a genius, Kai?" I blurted it out in my surprise. I mean, he's a real genius for sure! VR games were released around 2016 in my past life! That's 7 years from now! And he thought of that idea years ago? When was that years ago? "I mean, I just thought of it in a whimsical way, and you thought of it so deeply, even researching it."

"Hah. Yeah. I get that a lot."

"But really! You're amazing!" If he only knew what I know, he'd celebrate in joy. "I'm sure you'll be able to make it! Those VR games, they'll be hit in the future for sure! You'll sell lots and earn lots! Go for it Kai! I support you!" Oh my, I sounded like a cheerleader.

"Pft! Ha-ha-ha-ha! Thanks for the support," he laughed at me again. Ugh, I'm turning into a comedian these days, aren't I?

"Hey! I'm trying to support you from the bottom of my heart. Don't laugh at me."

"Ha-ha-ha! I'm not making fun of you, though. I'm just—Pft! Sorry, you sounded so cute like a little child cheering for me."

My eyes widened in shock. Did I really sound like a child? Me?

"But nice name—VR games. I'll call it that then."

"Hmf! Why, thank you," I pouted. Somehow I felt like I wanted to sulk all of a sudden. "Done laughing at me?"

"Ha-ha! Yes. Anyway, I'll read this story in my free time and let you know once I'm done so we can go over it. For the meantime, have your friends and other people you trust read it for you. Take their comments and learn from it."

"Yeeesss." I'm still sulking.

"And… since someone's birthday is coming up, I'm thinking of sending a gift," he suddenly changed the topic. But—someone's birthday? Was he pertaining to me? "Too bad, it seems that she's still sulking. Hmm… I wonder if I should still send a gift since she's angry at me."

Okay. That's definitely me! My eyes sparkled in an instant. A gift! A gift from Kai! My Idol Guardian Angel! How did he know my birthday, though?

"I'm not angry at you," I changed my sulking tone to an energetic one.

"Really?" he asked, obviously teasing me.

"Yessss. H-how did you know my birthday, though?" I shyly asked.

"You put it in your in-game profile."

"Oh yeah! I did that." I'm such a Dory—easily forgetting things.

"Uh-huh. Now, since Lady Pumpkin is no longer sulking, what gift would you like?"

My heart beated loudly again. Now that he's asking, I'm suddenly feeling so nervous.

"A-ahmm… anything is fine, actually."

"Really?" There he was, with the teasing tone again.

Then, an idea came to my mind.

"Phone number! H-how about giving me your number as a gift?" I could feel my cheeks burning as I asked the question. "So I can… ahmm, you know… text you or call you aside from doing it in the game? Sometimes, it's a hassle having to turn on the console just to call you even if I wasn't really planning to play. And you too, I might be disturbing you while playing whenever I call. But if I have your number, then I can just text you and you can reply when you're free."

I sounded so defensive, giving lots of excuses just to get his number. This would have been 1000 times much easier to do if she's a girl!

I heard him chuckle on the other line.

"Are you sure that's the only gift you want?"

"Yes, I'm good with that."

"You're not very materialistic, huh? Most girls would have asked for accessories or flowers and other stuff. My sister always asked for those, and my mother liked clothes."

"Hm? Not really. I prefer books over clothes and accessories. Flowers are nice, though. Only problem is, I kill plants effortlessly so… you know what will happen if I receive one. I feel sorry for the flowers already."

"Pft! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

"Hey! I'm serious! Why are you laughing at me again?"

"Maybe I should send pumpkin instead. That way, you can eat it, and it wouldn't have to die on you."

"Waaaa! Stop! Noooo, not pumpkin!"

And so, we squabbled a bit more after that. He asked for my address and I gave it to him but he reprimanded me not to casually give my address to anyone in the future. Of course I knew that. I'm only giving it to him because I trusted him. Anyway, I felt sleepy around 9 in the morning and laid myself to bed. I sure hope he won't send me pumpkins. I'm already pumpkin enough.