Chapter 415: Chapter 415: Riverside
Itâs late February now, and the temperature in Star City has warmed up considerably. Even at eleven in the evening, itâs still around ten degrees Celsius.
The wind along the river isnât too strong, and the four of us strolling, well-bundled in our jackets, donât find it cold at all.
Initially, Yang Zhenâer was excitedly discussing about how cute and adorable the âCustard Pieâ at Little Fat Girlâs House was, discussing with Tang Baona whether they should buy a cat as well, debating over whether to get a British Shorthair, American Shorthair, Garfield, Ragdoll or a Tortoiseshell, or maybe they should simply adopt a stray cat?
However, after Xia Libing casually mentioned the moonlit riverscape a few times, Yang Zhenâerâs attention shifted to the river as well.
âThe river view here really is quite nice, isnât it? How come we never seemed to notice during the day?â Yang Zhenâer remarked as she gazed at the moonâs reflection on the river.
âI remember that the city where you studied had a Riverside Road too, from which you could get a good view of the river,â Xia Libing brought up casually.
âOh yes⊠Hey, do you guys remember when I invited you over to play in the city where I studied during my graduation? The six of us, including me, my three college roommates, ate at a roadside stall by the river, then sang songs facing the river. Ah⊠other than emotionless Xia Libing, everyone else burst into tears, their faces a mess of snot and tears. How embarrassing⊠No, I mean how touching it wasâŠâ
Yang Zhenâer sniffled, then asked, feeling nostalgic, âNana, the song we sang then, the one that made us cry a lot, what was it called again? âThey are getting oldâŠThey are over thereâŠâ?â
Tang Baona laughed and replied, âIt was âThose Flowers.â I remember I was singing along with you guys and it brought back my own graduation memories â it was really moving. Sigh, it has been a while since I gathered with my roommates.â
While saying that, she began to softly hum the song, âHow that laughter reminded me of Those Flowers, scattered in the quiet corners of my life, gently blooming for me. I once thought Iâd stay with them forever. Today, lost among the crowd, weâve parted ways~â
Even Xia Libing started humming the song while occasionally glancing at Xiang Kun.
Xiang Kun immediately understood Xia Libingâs intention â
It was undoubtedly because heâd previously mentioned that Tang Baonaâs singing could easily invoke emotions. Hence, Xia Libing deliberately used the riverside atmosphere to evoke Yang Zhenâer and Tang Baonaâs graduation memories, prompting them to hum the songs they sung back then, and stir his emotions. Then, through âEmotional Assimilation,â Xia Libing could experience the same feelings.
The three girls sang âThose Flowersâ twice, swaying from side to side, should-to-shoulder before transitioning to âYou Were Once Young.â This song was released the same year Tang Baona graduated and became popular during graduation season. When Yang Zhenâer graduated, they also sang this song along the riverside with her roommates â everyone cried their eyes out.
Well, everyone except Xia Libing.
Yang Zhenâer suddenly noticed Xiang Kun, who was smiling gently at the river, and asked, âBrother Xiang, did you cry your eyes out at your university graduation with Chang Bin and Zi Cheng? It looked like you guys had a great bond in your dormitory!â
Xiang Kun caught Xia Libing giving his cousin a look. It was the same usual look, not revealing any emotions, but he understood that Xia Libing was probably praising Yang Zhenâer in his heart.
Obviously, Xia Libing hoped that Yang Zhenâerâs question could help him better immerse himself in the past, remanence the student days, and experience the âEmotional Assimilation.â
Xiang Kun went along with Yang Zhenâerâs question and reminisced, âI remember the four of us in our dorm went out for a small feast. Chang Bin and one of our roommates drank four bottles of beer while Zi Cheng and I had Coca-Cola. Then we all bragged. Oh right, Zi Cheng had already confirmed that he was going to study abroad at that time and bragged about finding a blonde girlfriend, like Scarlett Johansson. Heh⊠Anyway, I remember we had a jolly time. After dinner, Chang Bin took the train to leave that night; another roommate left to be with his girlfriend. Zi Cheng and I went back to the dorm and pulled an all-nighter playing games. When I woke up, packed up, and left, Zi Cheng was still fast asleepâŠâ
Yang Zhenâer curiously asked, âYou mentioned that you all were bragging during the meal. What were you bragging about, Brother Xiang?â
âI was boasting?â Xiang Kun smiled as he recalled, âI was claiming that Iâd develop a software or a game that everyone wouldnât be able to do without someday. Just boastful chatter⊠Chang Bin said he wanted to buy an island and occasionally invite us for fishing and hunting trips.â
âDonât laugh! But youâre not far from achieving what you boasted about! Our game might turn into a âgame everyone wants to playâ!â Tang Baona said with a chuckle.
âYes! Yes! Itâs really possible!â Yang ZhenâEr responded, nodding emphatically with bright eyes, as if envisioning herself becoming a beautiful female CEO.
Xiang Kun stated with a smile on his face, âAlthough I have high hopes for our game, we must stay grounded. It does have its limitations. Whatâs more, it doesnât offer players the opportunity for fragmented time playing, requiring at least over 30 minutes for a single round under a quiet vocal environment. But this is just the beginning. We can develop more games and related applications in the futureâŠâ
Before long, the conversation had shifted from graduation reminiscences to the subject of gaming.
As they chatted, they arrived at the hotel.
Although Old Xiaâs expressions remained unchanged, Xiang Kun knew she must be a little disappointed for not being able to invoke âEmotional Assimilationâ, to experience those emotions of graduation and parting with friends.
In fact, after figuring out Old Xiaâs intentions, Xiang Kun wanted to go along. But his own emotions during his high school and college graduationâhaving no sense of melancholy or regret, combined with regular meetings with Chang Bin and Zi Cheng, made it hard for him to empathize. Moreover, a significant part of his attention was on the river.
For some reason, from the moment he walked along the river, the sound of the water strangely captured his attention, as if the water noise contained a vast amount of information. freeweÉnovÄl.coɱ
He had obtained similar information through his previous senses, but apart from sensing the information when river water hit the bank and boats sailed on the river, he didnât see any special significance.
However, these pieces of information now seemed to convey more content to him. He speculated that it was due to the sensory mutation after swallowing the âmutated parasiteâ.
As he walked, Xiang Kun listened to the river, all the while secretly throwing four beads of âsuper-connected objectsâ into the river.
Through these four beads, Xiang Kun extended his magnetic field to expand the range of his sensory information and extend his sensory âantennaeâ across the entire river surface and even into the water.
It was only when he approached the hotel that Xiang Kun quietly retrieved the four beads of âsuper-connected objectsâ.
The reason he could not empathize with Old Xia and experience some nostalgia for college life was that he was distracted.
Emotions⊠are not that easy to dive into.
Once at the hotel, Xiang Kun had planned to book another standard room for Tang Baona and Yang ZhenâEr, but they refused and chose to squeeze into one room with Old Xia.
So that left Tang Baona, Yang ZhenâEr and Xia Li Bing to squeeze into two beds while Xiang Kun slept alone in his two-bedded room.
After bidding goodnight to the three girls, Xiang Kun returned to his own room, went straight into the bathroom, filled the sink with water, and plunged his head in.
After a long while, Xiang Kun raised his head out of the water, wiped his face, and stared at his reflection in the mirror, frowning.
He noticed that these standard rooms only had showers and no bathtubs. So, after thinking for a while, he checked the maps on his phone, recalling what he had observed on the riverside, grabbed his room card, and left his room.