Chapter 1316: I'M ALRIGHT

BAI ZE lay on his bed with his arm thrown over his eyes. He didn't want to move. He didn't want to do anything. Everything still hurt. His body felt heavy and wrong. His chest ached. His head pounded. It was like something was attacking him from the inside and he couldn't fight it off. He had no idea what he was supposed to do now.

He could remember a time when his grandmother was still alive, when his grandfather was still himself. All those wonderful memories were still there, still clear in his head. Now they were both gone. And he didn't know what to feel anymore except the grief.

He didn't want to cry anymore. His eyes were swollen from days of it, puffy and sore every time he blinked. He was so tired. Tired of crying, tired of hurting, tired of everything. He just wanted to feel better. To wake up and not have this weight sitting on his chest. But he didn't know how to make that happen.

Don't get him wrong. He wasn't thinking about doing anything stupid. He would never put his parents through that, never put his family through more loss. He just wanted a break. Just for a little while. A moment where the hurt would stop pressing down on him.

Bai Ze moved his arm away from his eyes and looked around the room. His gaze landed on the VR pod in the corner. It was a new model, released by Moonlight Media right after the Arcadia Cup finals. The company had only made it available in the domestic market for now. Since Yunyue had won the championship, each of them got one for free.

Ever since his grandfather died, he hadn't logged into the game. Maybe killing some monsters would help. Let him hit something, release some of what he was holding inside. He pushed himself off the bed and walked to the pod. He powered it on, waited for it to boot up, then opened the lid and climbed in. He lay back, and the lid closed over him. A few seconds later, he was standing in Arcadia.

A notification popped up in front of him showing Rowan's current location. Since Rowan was registered as his pet, the system always sent one of these whenever Bai Ze went a few days without logging in. According to the notification, the red dragon was in the kitsune village. Dusk was probably there visiting because of Eclipse. And Rowan, being the loyal sidekick he was, would naturally hang out there as well.

Bai Ze dismissed the notification. He was about to open his map and teleport to a high-level monster zone when another notification appeared in front of him. It said he had received a private message from Catnip. He opened his inbox right away to read it.

Catnip: [Ah Ze, I saw you're online. Where are you right now? Can we meet up?]

He didn't know why, but seeing a message from Xia Li felt like cool water spreading through his chest, easing some of the heaviness that had been sitting there since his grandfather died.

White Marsh: [Let's meet at Yuexing Pavillion.]

***

Bai Ze took a sip of tea. He was waiting for Xia Li in one of the private rooms at Yuexing Pavillion. Since Luo Yan owned the place, all of them got to use the rooms here for free. Food and drinks too. Even for guests they brought along.

After a few minutes, the door to the private room opened. An NPC servant held it open and Xia Li walked in. Her eyes went straight to him, worry clear on her face. Before Bai Ze could say anything, she crossed the room quickly and sat down right next to him.

"Ah Ze," Xia Li started, her voice hesitant. "I don't want this to sound like I'm jinxing your family or anything, but... are you connected to the old patriarch of the Bai family? The one who passed away recently?"

Her father worked as a manager at a pretty big company. Last night, she overheard her parents talking about the funeral for the patriarch of the Bai family. She wouldn't have paid it any attention normally. But when she heard the name Bai, she immediately thought of Bai Ze.

She wasn't sure if Bai Ze was actually connected to that family. She knew he had money, but that didn't automatically mean he was part of some rich Bai family. She couldn't just message him and ask if he was related to someone who died. That would be weird. What if she was wrong? So she looked online instead. She found nothing solid. Just comments on Weibo saying Bai Ze was from that family, but they were all rumors. There was no available information that could directly confirm it.

But Xia Li was still worried. So when she saw Bai Ze logged into Arcadia, she messaged him right away. And now here they were.

Bai Ze blinked. A strange sound came out of him, something between a laugh and an exhale. He knew he shouldn't be laughing. It felt too inappropriate. But the worried look on Xia Li's face, the way she was so careful with her words, it just hit him wrong. Or maybe right. He didn't know anymore. His feelings were just too all over the place right now.

But maybe that brief laugh helped. It loosened something in his chest and made it easier to speak. He looked at Xia Li and said, "Yeah. He was my grandfather."

Xia Li's eyes went wide when he heard it. Before she could think about it, she reached out and took his hand, holding it tight. "I'm so sorry, Ah Ze."

Bai Ze looked at Xia Li. Her face was full of worry and sadness, like she wanted to say something but didn't know what, wanted to do something but didn't know how. As he continued to stare at her, the heaviness in his own chest began to lighten.

He glanced down at her hand resting on top of his. Slowly, he turned his hand over, palm up, and laced his fingers through hers.

He lifted his head and gave her a small smile. "It's okay. I'm alright now."

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