Chapter Text
"Sis, I'm hungry!" My brother whined for the sixth time since we walked into the door of our house. It was only three o'clock, a hour after our classes for the day had ended and only two from when we had lunch in the school cafeteria. But none of that mattered to Yang Ming's constantly starving stomach; he was so bad that we always had to drag him out of an all-you-can-eat buffet if we went to one.
"I'm going to tell you this one last time, Yang Ming... You, Mom and Dad are going to have to fend for yourselves tonight!" I snapped back, trying to fix my hair in the hallway mirror. No matter how many times I tried to curl, braid, or pin up my hair to look even remotely cute it would end up looking like a rat's nest. I guess a ponytail will do... Again... I resigned myself to defeat as I started to pull up my hair into my standard ponytail.
"But Dad is busy watching TV, and last time Mom made something we nearly came down with food poisoning because she didn't cook the pork long enough..." Yang Ming mumbled, giving a slight pout in case I ever looked his way.
"Now, now son! Don't pester your sister so much!" I suddenly heard our mom call from the living room. "After all, she's going out with that incredibly handsome professor! We don't want her to get cold feet when she's finally agreed to go on a date with him!"
"Mom!" I cried indigently. I was ready to argue that the reason why I finally did is because I was always worried that people figure out that A: He was trying to date one of his students and B: that I was formerly Prince, world-renown player and bishounen of Second Life; a virtual reality game that a little under a year ago was at the heart of an act of terrorism that nearly overtook the world. There's no point in arguing with Mom half the time, she is too concerned with the fact that she has an incredibly handsome man as a potential son-in-law... Wait, what!? My mind froze and face grew hot at the intrusive thought. No! I did not just acknowledge the fact that marrying Gui is a possibility! He's just... Ugh. I prevented myself from pursuing the idea, getting the feeling I was just going to make myself even more flustered.
My embarrassment did not go unnoticed by my twin, who knew this was the perfect time to fluster me even more. "Oh I wouldn't worry, Mom." Yang Ming said, an evil smirk creeping up as he spoke. "After all, Gui just got his very own Prince to agree on a date with him! There's no way he'll let her run away from him, now..."
The doorbell rang just as I had administered my hairbrush to my brother's face, causing me to freeze up. He's here...!
Unsurprisingly, my mom made record speed from the living room to the door so she could answer it. She had never truly met Gui, even in Second Life. They were not part of the castle, opting to run away from Infinite City which they claimed as their home to other continents. But everyone knew about the famous Odd Squad and its members, including the charming bard named Guiliastes, Professor Min Gui Wen's character. In a show of cowardice, I quickly hid behind my brother as my mother opened the door to reveal my professor whom I had hours earlier, droning on about some sort of literature work that was written in the 14th century.
"Lan better not screw this up..." I saw my mom mouth as I watched a trickle of saliva threaten to escape from the corner of her lips. At first I thought she was exaggerating, rolling my eyes at her reaction. Come on, Mom. Seriously. I know he's handsome, but... But... I quickly disagreed as I finally took a look at my professor-turned-date, who had cleaned up quite nicely since we had seen him in class a couple of hours ago. His hair was styled and gel fashionably, wearing stylish clothes without looking too dressed up for a casual outing. He looked nothing like a stuffy professor who taught Chinese Literature, but instead a young man that any girl would fight for attention from.
He suddenly cleared his throat, looking slightly uncertain as to what to do. "Uh, good evening! I assume you are Mrs. Feng? It's nice to meet you!" He said hastily, holding out his right hand. He's nervous! I thought in disbelief, before I remembered that Gui wasn't the best at socializing. After all, he told me that he imagines all his students as rocks... Wait, does that mean he imagines me as a rock too!?
"Yes, yes I am! And you are Professor Min Gui Wen then, correct?" My mom replied excitedly, grabbing his hand in a frighteningly tight grip. "Yang Ming and Lan have told me so much about you!"
Gui's face went pink, probably from being called a professor at his date's house! "P-Please, Gui is fine... And that's good to hear. Speaking of..." He trailed off, looking straight at Yang Ming, as if he knew I was hiding behind him. Surprisingly Yang Ming did not move, making me suspicious. Usually Yang Ming likes making me feel awkward every chance he has, but isn't doing anything right now. What is he planning?
"Oh, looking for my sister?" Yang Ming spoke up, trying to sound serious. But I knew better, there was a tone in his voice that only meant mischief. "She's still in her room, probably. She takesforever with getting ready, you know. It takes her twenty minutes just to put on a pair of pants!"
"... Oh?" Gui said, his tone changing to be more teasing. The same tone he would use on Prince whenever he was prime for a good beating. "I guess that means I'll go to that really nice restaurant I reserved three months ago and eat clam pasta with white wine all by myself..."
"DON'T YOU DARE LEAVE ME BEHIND, GUILIASTES!" I yelled. I was unable to hold back, launching myself at him. However I was caught by my brother, who was laughing hysterically.
"Gee Sis, you're just too easy to rile up sometimes!" He laughed, pushing me out the door and into Gui. "Now, I trust you two kids won't do anything I wouldn't do!" My brother teased, before slamming the door on us to increase the awkwardness of his implication. He's really going to get it when I get home!
Gui gave a slight cough, making me realized I was still leaning against him from when my brother pushed me out. Quickly I detached myself, straightening my clothes and patting down my hair. I looked up to see Gui looking at me, his eyes filled with love. I wasn't sure what to say, but my stomach decided to make a complaint with a growling noise emitting from it. "So uh... Can we eat?"
"That was probably the best meal I've ever had!" I exclaimed happily, my stomach complaining no longer. Today was Valentine's Day, so the restaurant we went to was packed with couples of all ages. I had to give Gui props for how relentless he was; he had reserved our table immediately after I gave into his constant pleas for me to go on a date with him on Valentine's Day, three months prior to the actual day. How he was able to reserve a table that late when the waiting list for the restaurant was usually a year he wouldn't say, but I have a feeling he might have mentioned his famous character once or twice in that conversation...
"I'm glad you enjoyed it!" He replied just as happily, giving off a bright smile. He leaned across the table towards me, propping his elbows up and resting his chin on his folded hands. "Is there anything else you want? Anything at all?"
"Uh..." I was completely dumbfounded, unable to break away from his gentle eyes. I leaned in closer, wanting to take a closer look as the flame from the candles on the table danced in his eyes. It seemed like his face was getting closer to mine, and his eyes even softer. Is what I think is happening, happening again...? I thought to myself, vaguely remembering what he had done in Flower City after Prince was destroyed.
"In other news... Prince..." I heard out of the drone of conversations in the dining room, snapping me out of my trance. I immediately turned in the direction of where I heard it from, where there was a TV in the bar area of the restaurant.
"I-Is there something wrong, Xiao Lan?" Gui asked, confused and slightly miffed at his chance being gone.
"Prince." I said simply.
"Prince?" Gui asked again, even more confused.
I suddenly got up and walked over to the bar area, with Gui tailing close behind me. The bartender turned around to face me, his bored expression suddenly lightening up till he saw Gui, to which it turned into a small frown. "Sir, can you turn up that TV?" I asked hurriedly.
With a simple nod, the bartender took out a remote from his waist apron pocket and turned it up. On the screen was a pretty reporter, yet she wasn't wearing traditional attire for a reporter. Instead she looked like she was ready to cast a spell, wearing a mage's hat and robe while she held a wand that she treated as a microphone. "... That's right, folks. Prince has returned!" She announced excitedly, her smile becoming less professional.
The entire restaurant had quieted down into a series of murmurs, all eyes focused on the screen. Gui and I quickly exchanged glances, with Gui looking inquiringly at me. "I'm just as confused as you are!" I whispered under my breath, loud enough for only him to hear. We turned our attention back to the screen, which was now showing a large, familiar looking city. That looks kind of like Infinite City! But the design is so sub-par compared to what Gui and Lolidragon did...
"Only a month has past since the hottest MMORPG, Reveries, was released and dominated the market of online gaming. And with it one of, if not the greatest legend to virtual reality gaming has come back onto the scene: Prince of Second Life! After nearly a year of silence, the Blood Elf has revealed himself once again and shown his dominance in the gaming world by winning in the guild tournament with his Odd Squad, successfully taking the land for the grand prize to rename it his old domain; Infinite City." The reporter said as the clips of the game's tournament played through and then finally settling on the supposed 'Infinite City'. "We now turn to Prince, who wishes to make a public statement!"
"Odd Squad!?" Both Gui and I exclaimed, once again looking at each other in disbelief. How is that even possible? We've all been so busy cleaning up the mess that Long Dian left us on top of all of our personal lives, we've had no time to play games! The camera zoomed onto the balcony of the castle in the city, focusing on a tall, white haired elf with red eyes. While he was indeed quite handsome and closely resembled Prince, he was definitely no mirror image of my beloved avatar. I just couldn't put my finger on what exactly about him seemed so 'wrong' in his image, though.
I didn't have to wonder for long though, as Gui whispered, "His eyes and smile are nothing like yours."
"W-What?" I asked, feeling my face suddenly get hot at the comment.
"He doesn't have that intense gaze, or genuine smile that you always have. His eyes are forced, and his smile is fake." He replied in a serious tone, making the heat from my face increase.
I looked up at the TV again, where my copycat was speaking and smiling. I didn't know what he was saying because the noise in the restaurant had greatly increased from the announcement, but I knew one thing- I was not going to allow anyone to take credit for the things I did or risk them tarnishing my reputation. Not sparing a moment, I grabbed Gui's hand and rushed out of the restaurant, onto one of the busy streets of downtown XX City.
"Where are we going!?" Gui cried as we raced down the street, still being dragged along by me.
I twisted my head to face him as we ran, "We're going to Long Enterprises to see a certain friend of ours."