Chapter 32.1 – Young Talent

The next day, Lin Xiao slept until noon, then he went out, took a taxi, and headed straight to Jiangbei District.

According to Laughing Sky‘s set schedule, he was supposed to finish the meeting around three in the afternoon. There was enough time to even stroll over there without a problem.

In the most prosperous district, on the main shopping street, was the Haosheng Hotel.

Quite familiar with the surrounding area, Lin Xiao entered the hotel lobby, sat on a couch in the adjoining lounge, and looked around, sizing up the surrounding set out.

This kind of high-end hotel offers a luxury feeling much different than the usual small hotels, so anyone would inevitably feel immersed in the splendor of gold and jade. Not to mention the resplendent decoration, the unique and innovative design, even the background music is piano music that ordinary people like Lin Xiao can’t understand. Coupled with the faint and pleasant smell of wine in the air, as Lin Xiao lay on the couch, he couldn’t help but fall into a drowsy state.

Most people coming and going were dressed in neat suits and holding documents. Passing by, they stopped intentionally or not and glanced at the huge magic swordsman figure in his arms. No matter how you looked at it, it seemed extremely out of place.

The elevator stopped on the first floor, and several men in suits got out while talking to each other. They stopped at the entrance, politely shook hands, and said goodbye.

After watching the other three people leave, the young man who stayed behind picked up the document he had just obtained and flipped through it casually. Then he walked over to the nearby trash can and carelessly threw it in.

His actions piqued Lin Xiao’s interest, who squinted and did a double take.

This man was slender and looked to be at least six feet tall (1.80 meters). The way he wore his neat and straight suit expressed the quintessence of an elite businessman. His facial features were refined, sharp, and handsome, but a constant half-smile made him look particularly cynical.

After throwing away the files, he turned around, his gaze met Lin Xiao’s, and the two were taken aback for a moment.

Lin Xiao did not feel at all embarrassed that he was exposed while peeking. Still leaning on the sofa motionless, he gave a little friendly smile to the other man.

Then, he saw the guy smiling back at him.

However, seeing such a bright smile, why did Lin Xiao feel a little shy?

Originally, he thought it was just a casual response to his good-natured attitude, but unexpectedly, the man walked right up to him.

While Lin Xiao was still surprised, the guy had already reached in front of him, and his eyes fell on the eye-catching magic swordsman. He paused for a moment and hesitantly asked, “Is it yours?”

His voice was deep and low, but very pleasant to hear. The key point was that there was an inexplicable sense of familiarity to it.

Lin Xiao subconsciously nodded, sized up the man in front of him several times, from head to toe, and finally managed to associate this presence with the image depicted in his head: “… Laughing Sky?”

“It’s me.” Laughing Sky was somehow reserved, but he suppressed his slightly unnatural expression and extended his hand towards him. “We meet at last, Adorable Ghost.”

Lin Xiao also reached out to shake his hand, but it took some time to get used to this.

You know, it’s a bit difficult to connect the devilish warrior who shouts hysterically in the voice chat with this elite businessman who seems so well-mannered and polite at first glance and looks like a decent human being.

So in a way, the game world is really a place where human nature coexists in all its aspects… Thinking of this, Lin Xiao stuffed the game figure directly into Laughing Sky‘s hands and smiled slightly: “A gift for our first meeting.”

The appearance of such a handsome man in a neat suit standing there with a game figure in his arms was much more noticeable than Lin Xiao’s presence before.

“Adorable Ghost, you are really… too polite.” Laughing Sky couldn’t think of a way to express his feelings, and it took him a long time to utter this sentence. He rummaged through his pockets, trying to find something to use as a gift in return, but in the end, he could only look at Lin Xiao with an apologetic look, “I’ll make it up next time?”

Lin Xiao looked at him amusedly, “If you don’t have it, you don’t have it. Is there a need for this? Anyway, I dare not accept a gift that a big shot like you specifically takes the trouble to buy. When that happens, people will say that I cheated you with a small tattered figure.”

“This limited edition of yours is a treasure that money can’t buy, so it’s not sure who’s cheating who!” Laughing Sky was also amused by him and his slightly nervous expression instantly vanished. Glancing at his watch, he said, “It’s too early for dinner, why don’t we go and wait in my room?”

“Okay.” Lin Xiao, naturally, agreed to this proposal, he would never enter this top-level hotel on a normal day. It was a rare opportunity, it seems, to experience the lifestyle of the rich.

As the elevator rose steadily, surrounded by the faint reflections of bright lights on all sides, Lin Xiao felt a little uncertainty. It would be fine if Laughing Sky was, as he initially thought, just an ordinary small businessman, but from the current situation, it seems that he was the heir of a noble family, who grew up with a golden spoon in his mouth. Can a person of this status really be convinced to join the eSports circle that seems extremely ordinary in comparison?

Through the mirror on the wall, his eyes fell on Laughing Sky‘s handsome, well-defined features, and he pursed his lips in silence.

But even so, he still has to try…

As if sensing Lin Xiao’s unnatural gaze, Laughing Sky turned his head and asked, “… Adorable Ghost, do you want to say something?”

Hearing this, Lin Xiao recovered from his thoughts and immediately flashed a harmless smile, “No, I just didn’t expect that ‘Laughing Boss’ would be so handsome.”

Laughing Sky sized up the slender man in front of him speechlessly and, finally, looked at those unfathomable deep eyes and said sincerely: “Same here, um… well, you are handsome too.”

At this moment, the elevator stopped, and Lin Xiao straightened his posture, following Laughing Sky out. They went all the way to the room at the end of the corridor and swiped the room card to open the door.

Entering the room, Laughing Sky took off his suit jacket, hung it on the hanger, then loosened his tie, unbuttoned his shirt collar, and slowly rolled up his sleeves.

Turning his head, he saw Lin Xiao standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the scenery outside. From the side, he could only see his profile, but he couldn’t see his expression clearly.

Laughing Sky had an impulse to walk beside him, and looking at the scenery from his perspective, he saw the roads intersecting below the 40th floor and the cars like matchboxes.

After looking at it for a while, he didn’t find anything exciting, so he was a little puzzled, “What’s so interesting here?”

Lin Xiao glanced at him with a half-smile, “It’s nothing interesting if you’re used to it; if it were your first time looking out from this position, of course, you’d find the scenery quite good.”

“Oh yeah, the scenery… looks really good here.” Laughing Sky smiled after a moment of surprise and stopped admiring the beautiful scenery with him. Instead, he poured himself a cup of coffee, sat on the sofa, cleared his throat, and said with some emotion, “Honestly speaking, this is actually the first time I’ve met a friend from the Zone.”

Lin Xiao looked back at him: “So, how do you feel?”

Laughing Sky coughed harder under his gaze: “How should I put it? I thought it would be awkward, but now I feel very natural. All in all, this limited edition figure is something I’ve always wanted to buy but haven’t had the chance yet. It’s a good first-meeting gift.”

These last remarks did not match Lin Xiao’s first impression and threw his thoughts into disarray. But this detail finally gave him an answer: this was a young talent who sacrificed even his image for this basic experience.