Chapter 50 Side Story 4 Once Again, Finally. We’ll Always Meet.

Chapter 50 Side Story 4 Once Again, Finally. We’ll Always Meet.

The morning subway station was packed with people.

Even though he had made a point to wake up early, he was still squeezed onto the subway like everyone else.

Looking left and right, it was all people.

It felt like being crammed into a sardine can.

The air was thick with a mix of scents and fragrances. If he hadn’t been wearing a mask, it would’ve been unbearable.

Ye Jishu was pinned against the door by the crowd on both sides.

"I can’t even pull out my phone."

"..."

Why did he have to get up so early? It was such a hassle.

Normally, Ye Jishu wouldn’t be caught dead waking up before noon. It was only because a few days ago, the game company’s rep said he needed to come in person to finalize the contract and sign it on-site. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have taken the subway.

"I should’ve just taken a taxi."

It had been ages since he’d been out.

Ye Jishu had underestimated the morning rush, which landed him in this situation.

He stared out the window.

The subway sped along, the scenery blurring past.

Even though it had been a while since he’d been around people.

The blurry reflections of the people around him held no interest.

Boring. Just plain boring.

...

So far, life had been just like this.

Although he’d attended a prestigious university, he’d majored in math, which left him with limited job options.

He’d aced his classes and even landed a research institute offer before graduating, but office politics drove him out. Needing to make a living, he ended up in a career he’d never planned on.

Now, he was yjs, the game streamer.

Though he was a big name online, in real life, he was just another face in the crowd.

A life stuck in a routine.

Even college, which most people look back on fondly, felt like being an NPC, completely ignored, just passing through the world.

Ye Jishu stared at the glass, his own blurry reflection staring back—a face he couldn’t care less about.

Just spacing out.

After what felt like forever, the subway shuddered to a halt, and the station announcement finally blared overhead.

As soon as the doors opened, the damp air of the subway station hit him.

Ye Jishu noticed that most people were holding umbrellas, leaving puddles that reflected the light on the ground.

"Ah... is it raining outside?"

He paused for a moment.

Then, a large crowd next to him exited the station.

Pushed from behind, Ye Jishu walked towards the open subway doors and also got off at the station.

He pulled his hood up and took out his phone.

For the past ten minutes, he could feel his phone vibrating in his pocket. But because he was so tightly squeezed, he couldn’t pull it out to respond.

The screen lit up when he lifted it.

It showed two missed calls and several texts.

The missed calls were from a few days ago, that had suddenly come in.

Although the tone was serious, the content was surprising, making him wonder if he was still dreaming.

It was a man named "Lin Lin."

He claimed to be an employee of the Bureau of Infection Management and Control.

He mentioned anomalies in the world, and that Ye Jishu was the anchor stabilizing reality.

Oh, right. I almost forgot.

He added that the anomaly index around him had spiked recently, and for safety, it was time to reveal the truth.

He was doubtful about this.

In all his life, he hadn’t noticed anything unusual around him. The sudden call felt like a scam or cult—something most people wouldn’t buy.

Since becoming a streamer, Ye Jishu hardly ever went out.

Nothing around him had changed.

The only change was his neighbor moving out and new people moving in.

But they hadn’t crossed paths in the hallway yet.

So Lin Lin’s claim about the rising anomaly index was nonsense.

But Ye Jishu, bored and intrigued by the novel-like situation, didn’t block him.

Despite his relaxed attitude, the other party was very tense.

Lately, he kept calling, urging caution and warning against interacting with strangers.

"I’ll report to Captain Chen and get equipment to prove this is real."

That's what Lin Lin said on the phone.

...

Basically, these two calls were likely proof the other side had found.

He didn’t plan to call back right now.

He glanced at the text messages.

"You there? Need a ride?"

"I just got a new car,"

"Wait, you’re not lost, are you? (freaking out)"

...

So irritating.

Ye Jishu thought.

He didn’t even need to check who sent it to know it was Bao Zhehan.

Bao Zhehan was a college buddy of his. He said they were in the same major and class, but Ye Jishu never really paid attention.

Bao Zhehan talked way too much, and Ye Jishu barely listened.

Basically, since Bao Zhehan was a big fan of YJS’s gaming streams, being the gaming platform owner’s son, he used his connections to become YJS’s manager—

This game proposal that needed signing was something Bao Zhehan came up with, thinking it’d make YJS an even bigger streamer.

Ye Jishu initially refused without a second thought.

But Bao Zhehan kept bugging him, and eventually, out of sheer annoyance, he gave in.

"But that wasn’t the real reason."

Ye Jishu remembered the message he’d gotten a few days ago.

"The plan involved bringing in an amateur."

Basically, it was about YJS teaming up with someone for a live stream, creating some buzzworthy moments to trend online.

Ye Jishu wasn’t too concerned about the details.

Back in college, he’d even done a fake couple act with a streamer named Bai Feng.

The only thing that concerned him was one thing.

He saw the name and information of the amateur sent by the company.

"Yan Mei."

Just seeing this name.

He felt a strange, buzzing sensation in his chest, like the hum of summer cicadas.

At the same time, his mind flashed back to those days, under the shade of the trees, when he had inadvertently caught a glimpse of that person’s profile.

Actually, Ye Jishu didn’t know "Yan Mei."

At least...

Not that kind of "knowing."

He had only heard the guy’s name.

They had attended the same university.

Unlike just another face in the crowd like him, the guy was very famous on campus.

Almost everyone gushed about him with obvious infatuation. But not liking someone like that would be weird, just as humans cannot live without breathing.

In the year Ye Jishu graduated, there was even a saying—

"If you don’t confess to Yan Mei during graduation season, your life would be meaningless."

"Is the meaning of life really so easily defined?"

Ye Jishu stayed up all night gaming, so he didn’t get up that day, missed the opening ceremony, and got chewed out by the counselor. He didn’t get to hear Yan Mei’s speech, nor did he ever get a chance to see his face.

However, it’s not like they never crossed paths.

Because he hid away to play games, he often stumbled upon people confessing to Yan Mei.

Each time, he felt like he was intruding. But he never barged in to ruin the moment.

Instead, he couldn’t help but think, "Maybe I picked a bad spot to play games?"

Therefore, when he once again inadvertently witnessed a confession, Ye Jishu put away his phone, stood up from the bench he was sitting on, and slipped away under the swaying summer shade without alerting anyone.

Days turned into weeks.

After summer came winter, and then summer again.

The leaves on the branches fell and grew back.

Unconsciously, his university life just drifted by.

The campus was huge, with four different areas.

Since they weren’t in the same department, and the teaching buildings were far apart, the odds of running into each other were pretty low.

He never saw Yan Mei again.

He successfully completed his studies.

On the day of graduation photos, he didn’t show up. Not feeling any attachment, he used the excuse of "having to intern" to skip it.

After that, the counselor didn’t bother him.

Perhaps after four years, they’d given up on trying to keep him in line.

It is said that the average lifespan these days is close to eighty.

"A quarter of my life is already gone."

Why does it feel like nothing’s changed?

Sometimes, just before falling asleep at night, Ye Jishu would zone out, staring up at his bedroom ceiling, and inexplicably think—"Is it because I never met Yan Mei that I’m so bored now?"

That rumor is truly terrifying.

It’s so deeply ingrained that even years after graduation, it suddenly comes to mind at certain moments.

Just because he didn’t confess to a classmate he didn’t know, his life has completely lost its meaning... Isn’t this just an exaggeration, a random target to vent frustration on? Poor Yan Mei, huh?

However,...

As someone who has never met him, feeling sorry for this "heartthrob" might be a bit meddlesome.

Occasionally, he would think of that name.

So when he saw that the game designer had arranged for the amateur to be that very person, Ye Jishu felt a weird feeling wash over him.

"Finally."

That rumor he’d been thinking about for ages finally had a chance to check it out.

--Extra chapter--

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