Game of life

4:37 Dawn has not yet arrived. It's dark as hell in one place. All you can hear in the room is the quiet sniffling of the guy. The phone ringing destroys his peaceful sleep. He sleepily wipes his eyeliner and looks at the screen of the vibrating device. The name of his friend is written on the screen - March. Squinting a little, he presses the call button. — Yes? — Dan Heng asks in a hoarse voice A very active and loud female voice answers on the other side of the phone. — Morning, Dan. How did you sleep? Did you forget about the update? – the fair-haired girl chattered Dan Heng sighed and looked at the digital clock that stood on the bedside table. 4:40. Great time to play games, isn't it? Having made a dissatisfied pug, the guy returned to the conversation. — Seven devils, how many times have I told you that I’m not going to get up early for an update? – Heng asked with a tired sigh. — Hey, I asked you not to call me that! Next time I’ll salt all your five-star weapons — March said offended, which caused a grin from her interlocutor — Don’t sulk, I’m getting up, I’m getting up. Call these flea marketers and put them on discord — Yeah, but you've had enough juice — and passed out It was that same wednesday morning of every month, and it started the same way every time. Call March, discord, waiting for the servers to launch and finally the game. Dan Heng both loved and hated it. He loved it because with every patch of his favorite game, more and more different innovations are added. And I hated it for waking up earlier. It's that simple As soon as he reached the bath, the guy turned on the cold water and began to wash himself. Cold water was the best source of awakening. Having brought himself into divine form, Dan Heng headed down the corridor to the kitchen. He put the kettle on the stove, made a sandwich and turned on the phone. At that moment, a call from Mart appeared on the screen. The guy answered it immediately — Good morning — Good morning! – two joyful female voices were heard in response. Apparently the female half of their company will be in a better mood — Morning — came the sleepy voice of Caelus, Stelle’s twin brother. Dan Heng smiled tiredly — What's up guys? — Oh, fuck Stelle, sit down properly, I'm sick of it — This is who fucked who, ghoul — Who did you call a ghoul, gray-haired monkey?! — Your hair is the same color as mine, so shut up orangutan — Alright. Doesn't mean much. March, tell me honestly, didn’t you go to bed? — Yeah. I sat and played honkai impact The whistle of the kettle sounded behind the guy. He took out his favorite mug with cats, kindly presented by Mart, and, throwing in a bag of tea, poured boiling water on it. A pleasant smell filled the room. Having put down a plate with a sandwich and a hot mug, the guy began leafing through news pages on games There's a new toy coming out, there's an update here, there's scandals, nothing new. After taking a sip of the hot drink, the guy yawned. It was still dark outside the window. He sighed and took the mug, heading to the room with the computer. The twins' swearing and Marth's attempts to calm them down could still be heard from the voice chat. Dan Heng turned on the computer and sips some tea — SHUT UP, IDIOTS Guess who choked on the volume and harshness of March’s voice. The twins immediately shut up, and Dan Heng was practically lying on the floor from a violent coughing fit. A thousand apologies immediately poured in from the girl. It's a pity he can't knock on the back — Yes.. cough-cough.. It’s normal, I’ll live — Well, fine. So... It's three minutes to go. Shall we come in? Everyone silently agreed and went to the server and began to play.

***

— Phew — Mart said, stretching — How do you like it? — FUCK, STELLE STOP TOOKING OFF MY T-SHIRT I WAS JOKING! Somewhere in the background I could hear my sister's laughter and Caelus kicking. — You should have thought before you said that you have Liney stickers on your nipples, come on, take them off — Fuck, alright March laughed too. Dan Heng alone sighed for the umpteenth time. How he came across this holy trinity, he did not understand. But he definitely enjoyed spending time with them. Although sometimes forgetting to eat, go to the toilet and other worldly joys — Stelle, will you send me the photos? — Definitely, hahaha — Wha... Hey March, shouldn't you be on my side? — Hehe — Answering your question, Seven Devils, I can say that I liked the update. Of the characters, I liked Navia. I'll spin it. What about you guys? After Dan Heng's ranting, everyone suddenly fell silent, clearly pondering his question. Outside the window it was no longer early morning, but late evening. The clock shows exactly 22:00 — Neuvillette, isn't he a sweetheart? — March expressed her opinion a little thoughtfully — And in general, dragon, stop calling me that, I’m tired — I personally liked Clorinde — Well, of course, you love busty older women. I didn't tell you? He saw a pretty girl in a store and drooled over her so much that she came up and gave him her number. So now he whines to me every day about it — Stelle! March burst into hysterical laughter, and Dan Heng suppressed his laugh with a cough. But this was enough for Caelus to understand that his sister had greatly disgraced him. — Dan Heng and you too?! That's it, I'm offended. You gaslighted me as much as possible today. I'm going to sleep The loud footsteps moved away and everyone finally calmed down. After a little more silence, Stelle decided to speak about her opinion. — Well, the plot is cool. Among the characters I'll be looking forward to the Archon. Now go to sleep, right? — Yeah — March answered with some sadness in her voice — Yes. I’ll sit a little longer, but I’ll turn off the discord, if you need anything, write. Good night — Good night — the girls answered in unison and hung up. The guy sighed and looked at his watch. 22:15. For some reason I didn’t want to sleep, perhaps the tenth mug of coffee was to blame for keeping Dan Heng awake at the computer. He decided to explore the bright location a little more. Heng ruffled his unruly hair and took a sip of the now cooled drink. The clicking of the mouse and keyboard was the only noise in the room besides the guy's breathing. He was an ordinary student who had just entered the university. For the sake of this university, he had to go to another city and while the documents were being processed, he worked in a cafe where a pink-haired girl often came. As he later found out, it was March and she was a regular customer. Noticing the young man working behind the counter, she began to take an active interest in him. At first Dan Heng thought that she liked him, but he learned from a colleague that the girl often meets new workers. Usually this doesn’t last long, but with Dan Heng a different situation developed - he and March had the same interests. Therefore, after a month of communication, she invited him to go for a walk with her friends Sometimes, remembering these days, Dan Heng smiles imperceptibly and silently thanks the girl for her sociability. After all, what would have happened if it weren’t for her desire to meet all the new workers of her favorite establishment? He would probably just rot in his room playing another game. And so at least he’s not rotting alone. Putting his mug aside, Dan Heng glanced at the computer screen. A pop-up window appeared at the top of the display with a certain player wanting to join the exploration of the new territory. The guy immediately opened access and opened the chat, welcoming the user

Imbibitor Lunae

Hello

Kafka's slipper Hello. Do you mind if I collect new materials on Liney?

Imbibitor Lunae

Yes, sure

Kafka's slipper You won't spin out Liney?

Imbibitor Lunae

Nope. Aggressively waiting for Navia

Kafka's slipper Oki-doki Having turned off the chat, Dan Heng left the player to the other end of the location, exploring and collecting various kinds of materials that he came across along the way. After half an hour of playing, a new message from the player appeared in the chat Kafka's slipper Help please I'm going to die now, honestly The guy opened the map and quickly teleported to the player. Through force, through pain, there was some kind of bubble on some kind of pentagram. Barely, but in the group they managed to defeat this crap, receiving an achievement for the victory, Han entered the chat again

Imbibitor Lunae

Wtf

How much HP does this thing have?

Kafka's slipper No idea at all Thank you for helping

Imbibitor Lunae

You're welcome. Trifle

Btw, I'm interested. Who is Kafka?

Kafka's slipper A friend of my parents. Often sits with me and my friend

Imbibitor Lunae

And how old you?

Kafka's slipper Just turned 18

Imbibitor Lunae

Ooooh, I'm 17. So you and your friend play genshin?

Kafka's slipper Yes. Often. She quickly clears locations, which is why by the end of the day I have to do it alone (((

Imbibitor Lunae

That's sad

Maybe then I'll keep you company? I don't want to sleep right now anyway

Kafka's slipper How much do you have? I have 10

Imbibitor Lunae

Too. So?

Kafka's slipper I don't mind

***

The morning didn't start with coffee. And with a thousand SMS from the Silver Wolf, as she liked to call herself. The sun shone unpleasantly through the curtains, causing Yingxing to squint. As soon as he got out of bed, he lazily stretched and looked at his phone. A couple of notifications popped up on the screen and the time was 10:57. Throwing the device aside, the guy sighed heavily and flopped back into bed. I didn’t want to get up at all. So Yingxing would have continued to merge with the bed, if not for the doorbell, which forced him to get up indignantly. Crawling along the corridor, he reached the door and, opening it, met a familiar figure, already with holes in his eyes. She happily burst into the guy's house, bombarding him with questions and laying out bags of groceries and other things. Chatting incessantly, the girl walked into the kitchen. Ensign trailed behind her — By the way, Wolf didn’t call you, huh? — No. Kaf, you shouldn't come to me with groceries every single day. I can go to the store myself The woman's face took on a very serious and even slightly angry look. She left all her work and folded her hands on her chest, looking displeasedly at Yingxing — Young man, the last time I went on vacation for a week, you had nothing in the refrigerator, and you yourself were sitting at the computer in a semi-fainting state. It’s also good that before leaving I deigned to come to your place and prepare soup. In general, I would have found the body upon arrival The guy snorted displeasedly and rolled his eyes. Kafka was an acquaintance of his parents and sometimes came to visit Yingxing. If it weren't for her, the guy would really have died. He sat down at the table, lazily watching the woman's actions, making some notes in his head. He always wondered why Kafka was so concerned about him and his friend Silver Wolf. Perhaps her guardianship was related to her work as a professor at the university into which she pushed Yingxing this year. Or perhaps their parents sold them to this sweet woman. Yingxing didn’t know for sure. Although the weather was clear outside the window, dark clouds could be seen somewhere in the distance Kafka glanced briefly out the window and returned to the stove. Usually this is how it all happened: the woman would suddenly show up and immediately run to the stove. At first, Yingxing felt rather awkward, but over time it became a common sight. The omelette in the frying pan was quietly sizzling, its smell pleasantly filled the kitchen, causing the guy's stomach to rumble. Kafka chuckled as Yingxing awkwardly clutched his stomach, looking away. Having finished cooking, the woman placed a plate with a pleasantly smelling omelette in front of the guy and wished him bon appetit and returned to the stove. — Thank you... What are you cooking? — I’ll chop up some cabbage and maybe some meat for you so that you don’t completely die here. Look, how pale. What does the wolf cub call you? Blade? Very consonant Yingxing laughed. But it really does look like it. Having calmed down, he started breakfast. That's who, Kafka's cooking was simply excellent. Her food was gobbled up in a couple of moments. Just like this time. After finishing, Yingxing took the plate and went to the sink, turning on the water. — Listen, maybe you can get a girlfriend? Fortunately, the guy wasn’t eating at the moment, otherwise he would have easily choked and would have definitely died. But the lack of food in his mouth did not stop him from choking on saliva — What? — Well, I can’t run around and cook for you forever. And so at least I’ll know that you won’t starve to death — Pfft.. She’ll leave me sooner than be your replacement — Yingxing replied, rolling his eyes. And it’s too early for him to have a girlfriend. Student life will only gain momentum, and the session and other joys of life will make you think only about studying. Although the guy will still find time for his favorite toys. Suddenly there was a vibration from the phone behind me. Having placed the plate on the shelf, the guy approached him; a photo of his girlfriend with an incoming call appeared on the screen of the device. Yingxing responded immediately — Yes? — Why did you just wake up recently? — Unlike you, I don’t play games all night — Well, you’re definitely sitting until three in the morning Yingxing sighed and sat down at the table — So what did you want? — Ask, did she eat? — Kafka asked without turning around — Argh... Kafka asks, have you eaten? — Yeah. An update has been released in Genshin. I was waiting for you so as not to clean everything myself. Are you coming? The guy looked at the woman standing behind the stove, enthusiastically humming something under his breath. — Yeah, just wait a couple of minutes — Okey, I’m waiting for you — the girl dropped the call

***

— That’s it, don’t forget to put everything in the refrigerator later and be sure to eat something — Okay, Kaf. Be careful The woman smiled softly, inviting the young man into her warm embrace. And Yingxing is only happy. After an awkward hug, he moves away from her a little, waves his hand and closes the door. It’s already night outside, and the phone continues to ring with messages from the Silver Wolf. Sighing, the guy walks into the room and falls into a chair. The sound of the power supply working, a call to a friend on Discord and her indignation due to the long wait — Sorry, I didn’t think Kafka would be so late — Lord, this woman... Okay, let's go — Uh-huh Clicking on keys and mice, talking, laughing and screaming. A typical evening for a guy. Naturally, homework and coursework will soon be added to this. After about half an hour of play, the girl left online, leaving Yingxing alone with the game. This happened often. In terms of game research, Silver Wolf was much faster, 15 minutes and the location was already half cleared. Yingxing did everything gradually and slowly, studying the plot and so on with interest. Therefore, he was often left alone after half an hour. This upset the guy, which is why he often went to cooperative mode with other players. This time was no exception. After exploring the game world a little more, Yingxing became bored, so he entered the world to see some “Imbibitor Lunae”. Well, a nickname of course. But this cannot be compared with his “Kafka Slippers,” although the average player did not understand the beauty of this nickname. And the Imbibitor Lunae is also not a particularly clear nickname Imbibitor Lunae Hello

Kafka's slipper

Hello. Do you mind if I collect new materials on Liney?

Imbibitor Lunae Yes, sure

Kafka's slipper

You won't spin out Liney?

Imbibitor Lunae Nope. Aggressively waiting for Navia

Kafka's slipper

Oki-doki

Having turned off the chat, Yingxing went to the materials. Running back and forth, he came across another mob. Thinking that he would get away with it in a couple of minutes, he rushed into battle. But what a surprise awaited him when this “droplet” one-shot one of the main domagers. Needless to say, the blonde guy’s eyes widened from this? Yingxing ran to a safe distance and reopened the chat. He definitely can’t cope with this infection alone.

Kafka's slipper

Help please

I'm going to die now, honestly

The owner of the world immediately teleported to Yingxing and the two of them went to kill this bastard. Having killed and nearly died 33 times, the guy thanked the player and left his world. This Imbibitor Lunae is a good player. Having been added to his friend, Yingxing went into the arms of a soft and cozy crib

***

The alarm ringtone screamed unpleasantly throughout the apartment, forcing Dan Heng to lazily open his eyes. To his surprise, the room was terribly cold and he didn’t want to lick himself from under the warm blanket at all. But today you need to show up for a meeting at the university. It's 6:37 on the clock. Still, having unstuck himself from the bed that beckoned him to lie back down, he walked to the bathroom. Having taken off his pajamas, which consisted of pants and just a giant T-shirt, according to March, Dan Heng went into the shower stall. Warm water hit your face, forcing you to finally wake up and warm up. After washing himself and putting on a fur robe, the guy got out of the bathroom and went to prepare himself breakfast. It consisted of scrambled eggs with vegetables and tea. Having eaten deliciously and cast a fleeting glance at the clock, which already showed seven in the morning, Heng went to get himself in order. Hair styling, a neat shirt with pants and a nice cologne. Having finished with all this, the guy noticed several missed ones from his girlfriend. At that moment another call from her rang, so I had to answer — Praise be to all that is holy, you are not sleeping! - a female voice yelled on the other side of the line It was so loud that the guy had to move the phone away from his ear. — Good morning to you too, March. Something happened? — We agreed to meet, remember? — No. It would be better to call the twins, they may well forget — Nope. I'm waiting for them under the house — Alright. Shall we meet in the park? — Yeah. See you, Heng — See ya Hanging up, Dan Heng looked at his reflection in the mirror again, checked his bag again, and left the house. The weather was so-so, it was cloudy, windy and cold. This forced the guy to literally go outside for a minute and come back home over his coat. Returning to the street already in a warm coat. Cheeks was stinging unpleasantly from the cold, so Heng sped up quickly, making his way through the barely familiar streets. The park was relatively close to the guy’s house, literally a 15-minute walk. Therefore, after crossing the last pedestrian crossing, Heng found himself in a small park. The city he moved to is small in itself. All there is here are a few cafes, a university, a couple of schools, a few offices and shops A loud female voice was heard in the depths of the park. Dan Heng recognizes him out of a thousand, if not a million. So he confidently walked towards the noise. Coming much closer, the guy saw a company of three people. A tall gray-haired guy, a shorter girl with the same hair color, and March herself. The surprising thing is that they were not only not late, but also arrived earlier. You will need to buy them something as a reward for such an act. — Boo! — Dan Heng crept up from behind, grabbing the short girl on his shoulders and scaring her to death. Fortunately, the twins didn’t give him away and as soon as he scared March, they burst into laughter — Dan Heng! — the girl began to hit Heng on the chest out of indignation, but after a couple of minutes she stopped — Damn scared... Why sneak up like that? — Whatever it is — the guy answered, giving a slight click — Let’s go? And it wasn’t enough to be late Everyone obediently agreed and the group headed to the university. There was enough time to walk slowly. Everyone was talking calmly about their upcoming studies. Someone whined about not wanting to study. It was mostly Caelus. Someone like March was very optimistic. Well, Dan Heng himself was neither warm nor cold

***

—... Yes. And also a couple of people from your group are absentee and one is online — the group curator said with a little enthusiasm. Unlike the general crowd of teachers and other university administration, she looked rather unusual. A dark brown jacket draped over his shoulders, bright crimson hair, a white shirt and dark high-waisted pants The bell rang, signaling the end of the pair. Many students stood up from their seats and headed to the next classroom. Dan Heng also stood up from his seat and March immediately ran up to him. Minutes later the twins arrived. For some reason, Stelle was dying of laughter, while Caelus was blushing even more. March and Heng stared at them in surprise — What's happened? – asked March Stelle barely stopped her laughter and wiped away an invisible tear from her cheek — Phew... Heh... In short, our curator is the same girl from whom Caelus asked for a phone number in the store — this time the girl fell to the floor laughing, unable to keep her balance March also joined in the wave of laughter. Dan Heng stood and looked at this picture as if he didn’t even know who these people were and why they stood near him. There was a chuckle from the other end of the audience. The group turned around. It was the curator. She got up from the table and looked at the guys with a sly smile — I didn’t think that I would be your curator, the boy from the store — a slight grin and Caelus is literally burning with shame Fortunately, there were no classmates in the audience, so Caeelus disgraced himself exclusively in front of Kafka - that was the name of the curator, and his friends. And he’s already used to embarrassing himself in front of his sister, so she doesn’t count. Dan Heng grinned and threw his bag over his shoulder and hurried out of the audience. — Goodbye — the guy nodded his head in response — Are you guys coming? Everyone quickly gathered and followed Heng, saying goodbye to Kafka

***

— Damn, who knew that — laughed March from Caelus, sipping a milkshake from a straw The couples were over, so the guys showed up at the cafe, where March was a regular customer. Dan Heng was glued to his phone while his friends were actively discussing today. As you can understand, he was not as active as everyone else, which had its advantages. For example, he could easily stop everyone from the idea of driving 180 on city roads. And in principle, Heng’s calmness was an important lever in the group’s decisions. He always spoke his constructive and reasonable opinion, often shutting March down with it. Because of which, in fact, the guy already owed her several dozen liters of juice, which she loves so much — Yeah... How am I going to look into her eyes now — Caelus said, covering his eyes with his palms — Look higher into the eyes. You won’t miss — his sister gave sarcastic advice Having received a small blow to the shoulder, she laughed. March smiled and, out of the corner of her eye, noticed her friend sitting quietly. She looked at his phone screen. The guy played Genshin in a co-op with a certain "Kafka Slipper" — M! — the girl scream, pushing away the cocktail — Who are you with? Does this player know Kafka? From March's harshness, Dan Heng jumped a little in fear. He got so involved in the game with this “Slipper” that he forgot that he was not sitting alone. The twins suddenly fell silent and turned their attention to the young man. — No way, is Heng playing with someone in a co-op? – Stelle asked in surprise The person mentioned quickly typed something in the chat and turned off the phone. He looked at the guys — What? Have you ever played co-op with anyone? — No, it’s just strange that his nickname contains the name of our curator. That’s why I’m asking — March jabbered, pushing the drink back towards her. — I don’t know, we met yesterday. He says that his friend Stelle and March looked at each other and smiled very suspiciously. Dan Heng and his new acquaintance became the main topic of discussion in their company. The guy didn’t really like this, so he silently paid for his drink and left, citing some business.