Chapter 61: Partnering with Li Liu
Later that noon;
In great disappointment of failure at the guild, Lin Fang returned home. As he walked through the main door, he was greeted by an unusual silence.
No voices. No cooking sounds. No faint music playing from someone’s phone.
"Weird," he muttered to himself, dropping his bag near the shoe rack. He looked around the living room, and it was empty. The kitchen remained untouched.
There had never been a time like this before.
Even with everyone’s busy schedules, at least one of them, Li Liu, Yu Xiaofei, Hao Bin, or Zhi Yan, was always home. It has been this way since he entered this house.
He couldn’t help but frown, pulling out his new smartphone, and dialed Zhi Yan’s number.
However, there was no response.
"Whatever... I don’t care."
Lin Fang, who was already filled with frustration and disappointment, trudged to his room and kicked the door open. "Maybe they all went out for something," he mumbled, throwing himself onto the bed before shutting his eyes.
A few hours passed;
His eyes snapped open. The sunlight no longer comes through the windows. It was already past sunset. Yawn escaping his lips, Lin Fang shuffled into the living room.
The quietness in the home still lingered. But this time, he noticed a soft light glowed from under the master bedroom’s door.
He hesitated for a moment, then took out his phone again and dialed Zhi Yan’s number once more.
Still no answer.
"Alright then," he muttered and walked up to the room.
He knocked gently.
After another knock, the door opened slightly, and Li Liu peeked out. Her hair was tied back in a loose bun, and she had changed into a casual lavender hoodie. She looked surprised for a second before smiling faintly. "You’re up," she said softly.
"Yeah," Lin Fang replied. "I was just wondering where everyone went. It’s kinda weird that the house’s so quiet."
Li Liu stepped out, closing the door behind her. "Brother Hao and Sister Xiaofei went out for a date," she replied casually. "Yan’er had some family issues. She said she’ll be back by morning."
"Oh..." Lin Fang blinked. Then, without thinking, he blurted out, "So that means... It’s just the two of us tonight?"
Li Liu paused at that.
Her expression didn’t change much, but a slight flush crept into her cheeks as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Yes," she replied, voice soft. "Just us."
A brief silence settled between them.
A strange, awkward silence filled between them, not just because they are alone, but because of their last piece of conversation.
But eventually, Lin Fang broke that awkwardness, averting his gaze and scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment. "So, umm... want to order something for dinner? What do you think about Greek? My treat."
Li Liu looked up from her phone and blinked. "Ah? Yeah. Not a problem."
A couple of hours later, they were seated across from each other on the floor around the low coffee table in the living room.
Laid out between them were paper bags and takeout containers brimming with savory smells of gyros wrapped in soft pita, crispy spanakopita, slices of moussaka, grilled lamb souvlaki skewers, and a container of lemony avgolemono soup still steaming faintly. There was even a small container of baklava set to the side, oozing with honey and crushed pistachios.
Lin Fang took a long sip of the beer. Li Liu was on her second can and her cheeks faintly flushed. Her hair had come loose from its tie and now framed her face softly.
The room stayed quiet for some time. Both of them could feel the tension between them.
Finally, Lin Fang put down his fork, wiped his lips with a napkin, and broke the silence once again, "You know... what you said before... I thought about it a lot and understood your view, too. But we kinda see each other every day, and I don’t want to distance myself or feel awkward because of it. So, I thought of a solution."
"Hmm?" Li Liu turned curious.
Lin Fang answered with a steady gaze on her. "You know I’m a part of this guild named Zero, right?" As Li Liu nodded, Lin Fang replied, "Actually, a while ago, a receptionist over there kinda asked me out."
"A receptionist?" Li Liu blinked in surprise. She leaned forward a bit. "So?"
Lin Fang shrugged indifferently, "I felt it was too fast to date someone. And of course, I kinda had feelings for you. So, I didn’t say anything, but it seems she is still interested. So, I’m just thinking that dating her would ease the situation, and I can also draw a firm line between us, too. What do you..."
*Slam*
Before he finished those words, Li Liu slammed the table, looking a bit serious and slightly angry, "Are you serious? You can’t just date someone for such idiotic purposes. You date someone because you love them. I didn’t expect you to be such a person. Do you want to play with the poor girl’s feelings like this..."
"Eh?" Lin Fang didn’t expect such a reply. He expected either jealousy, timidness, understanding, or relief, but didn’t expect anger instead.
Li Liu, beet red in anger, continued. "And how can you easily switch girls like this? That earlier talk about first sight love was all a bunch of bullshit... isn’t it? I knew it. Handsome ones are the worst..."
"Woah... woah... woah... stop it right there..." Lin Fang hurriedly grabbed her arms and stopped her rambling off about his character. For a second, he felt as if there was a sudden change in shift in her character. A gentle and understanding soul, suddenly turning into this raging bi*ch. "Aren’t you the one who implied that you have feelings for me, too, but don’t want to go out with me? I was just doing it for you."
"Why do you think that this will ease me at all?" Li Liu shouted at him, trying to get free of his grip. "You don’t know the pain of loving someone who is with you but doesn’t love you back."
At that, Lin Fang became silent for a few seconds before he slowly opened his mouth. "I know." His tone lowered, turning serious.
Li Liu blinked.
Lin Fang let out a heavy sigh and grabbed another can of beer, "I know what that feels like. I know what it means to be devoted to someone who acts around me as if she loves me. But, Liu’er..." He leaned forward and stared into Li Liu’s surprised, fluttering eyes, adding. "Love is a strong word. You are only 22 and have devoted yourself to becoming a Monster trainer. So, you might not have much experience. Having feelings for someone and loving them are different. It’s like comparing the foundation laid for a building and a villa that is constructed. For you, I have feelings, but if you are already putting up a defense right from the start, those feelings won’t develop into love, and circumstances will easily change them. It’s the same for our case. If you are making it impossible for us, I can develop feelings for another girl, too, maybe... once I completely move on."
Li Liu puffed her cheeks as she muttered in a quiet voice. "It’s not like you are a 30-year-old man. You are only 2 years older than me."
"Hmm?"
"Nothing." She hurriedly shook her head, "I was just... sigh... You know... It’s complicated."
"Yeah, I know." Lin Fang took another sip of beer. "That’s why I’m trying to pull myself out of that equation to make it simple for you." After a pause, he added. "Also, I have something else I want to talk about."
"Hmm?"
"You see... recently, I got a big order from my client, and I think soon, I will open a pet store again."
Li Liu gave him a thoughtful look and asked, "But why open a pet store? If you can get a million credits worth of bulk orders online, you can just continue to keep on running the digital store. If you run a physical store, there will be rent, electricity bill, salaries, and whatnot..."
"I know." Lin Fang smiled. "But a digital store can only sell products. With a physical store, I can provide services like training, nurturing, guidance sessions, maybe even day care. I was thinking of hiring a good Monster Trainer. Maybe a B-rank to get a good set of customers. I’m going to post the ad to hire a trainer the moment I get the money. So, I want to ask if you know anyone in your circle who is willing to work on a partnership basis, and not salary."
Li Liu put down her fork in response with her eyes narrowing with mock offense. "Fang-ge, why were you looking for someone else when an A-class is sitting right in front of you?"
Lin Fang froze for a second and then chuckled nervously. "But won’t this be uncomfortable for you? Moreover, hiring an A-rank Trainer like you is way above my league."
Li Liu raised an eyebrow, hiding her smile behind her drink. It’s S-rank, though... she thought silently, amused.
"I’m serious," she said aloud. "And it won’t be uncomfortable for me either. Also, I won’t charge you high either. How about 20% of just the trainer service earnings?"
Lin Fang looked stunned. "Eh? Liu’er, if you’re going to handle everything for me, paying only 20% feels wrong. That’s not worth it at all."
She tilted her head. "Then how much do you think is fair?"