Master of Trading Star Card Game - Chapter 13

Chapter 13 – The One Who Left

“Xiao Xie, it’s six o’clock now. Let’s have dinner first.” Brother Chen came over and patted Xie Mingzhe’s shoulder. Hearing his words, Xie Mingzhe took off his helmet and followed Brother Chen to the living room. Other members in the studio also took off their helmets. Xie Mingzhe saw their faces for the first time.

Chi Qing was a slim beauty more than 1.75 meters high. She had short hair around her ears, and her clean, fair face was devoid of expression. It seemed that she was an indifferent person; difficult to get along with.

Pang Yu was a cute fat man, as high as Chi Qing. But Chi Qing was slender, “growing longitudinally”, while Pang Yu was rotund, “growing horizontally.” He stood next to Chi Qing, and they were in sharp contrast to each other.

Jin Yue, of average appearance and stature, was an everyman. He wore a pair of silver-rimmed glasses, looking gentle and polite.

Xie Mingzhe walked over and greeted them, “Hello everyone.”

Seeing a handsome guy in front of him, Pang Yu’s eyes widened in disbelief, “You are the one in the game…Uncle Chubby?”

Xie Mingzhe nodded, “Yes, I just casually created a name in the game.”

On the verge of collapse, Pang Yu cried out, “Ahhhhh, I should be Uncle Chubby! You are tall and slim, why do you call yourself Uncle Chubby? Are you kidding me?”

“Calm down,” Jin Yue pushed his glasses up and said, “it’s common for players to change their gender in the game, not to mention figure.”

“…” Pang Yu could not refute.

Chi Qing was a girl of few words. She looked quite calm, giving Xie Mingzhe a nod as a greeting.

Brother Chen said with a smile, “Let’s go! I’ll treat you guys to a feast to welcome the new member!”

Seldom had anyone treat Xie Mingzhe, so he really wanted to go. However, his doctor warned him to take care of his stomach when he was discharged from the hospital, since his gastrointestinal functions had not recovered. Although he wanted to eat chicken legs, roast duck, pork ribs, and beef… Unfortunately, his poor health only allowed him to drink porridge.

Xie Mingzhe swallowed hard and said, “Brother Chen, don’t bother. Two bowls of porridge are enough.”

The others, “? ? ? ?”

Who would treat others to porridge?

When he saw the others’ strange expressions, Xie Mingzhe hastily explained, “Don’t get me wrong. I was just discharged from the hospital due to my weak stomach, and the doctor warned me that I could only have a liquid diet for the next three days. So even if I have some, it can’t be digested.”

Brother Chen looked at him uncertainly, “Did you stay in the hospital before?”

“Um, I just got out of the hospital today.”

“Coming to work directly as soon as you’re discharged from the hospital? Why not stay at home for a few days? Doesn’t your family care about you?”

“I’m already an adult, and my family doesn’t care much about me.” Xie Mingzhe didn’t want to let people know that he was an orphan, let alone seeing others’ sympathetic looks.

The otherse three people looked at each other.

It was hard enough to work as soon as he left the hospital. This teenager’s family condition was certainly not good.

“Alas, your life isn’t easy either.” Brother Chen sighed and asked with concern, “You came to work immediately after being discharged; are you up to it?”

“It’s all right, and I’ve recovered. Besides, it doesn’t take much energy to play games.” Xie Mingzhe smiled and shifted the subject, “Right, Brother Chen, I’m currently level 15 in the game. I’ll level up to level 35 tonight, then we can collect materials together.”

“OK.” Brother Chen turned to Chi Qing and said, “Since Xiao Xie can’t have a big meal, then we’ll look for a bite to eat. A’Qing, please go and cook a pot of porridge. After two days, when Xiao Xie is well, I’ll treat you again.”

“En.” Chi Qing turned around and walked into the kitchen to cook porridge.

“Xiao Xie, follow me. I’ll show you to your room.” Brother Chen took Xie Mingzhe upstairs.

Along the way, Xie Mingzhe observed the environment of the game studio.

The house was a duplex structure, two stories tall, located on the top floor of the residential building. On the first floor, there was the lobby and the hall, equipped with helmets and revolving chairs, in addition to the kitchen, dining room and bathroom. On the second floor, there were four rooms. The master bedroom had one big bed, and the other three rooms had two single beds that were placed side by side.

“Originally, there was a girl living with Chi Qing in our studio, but she has been on leave for a month, to get married, so I’m trying to recruit someone to substitute her as there are many instances in the game that require five players to enter.” Lighting a cigarette, Brother Chen said while smoking, “At present, Chi Qing lives alone. I live with Jin Yue. Would you mind living with Xiao Pang from now on?”

“No, I wouldn’t.” Following Brother Chen, Xie Mingzhe took his baggage to the bedroom.

Xie Mingzhe had expected this game studio to be a gloomy workplace, but to his surprise, the environment here was really good. The hall on the first floor, where players worked, was spacious and bright, and their bedrooms on the second floor were clean and tidy. Looking through the French windows, leading to the balcony on the second floor, people could see the lush garden downstairs.

Opening the French window, and walking out onto the balcony, Xie Mingzhe noticed that the balcony was large. The innermost part of the balcony had a comfortable lounge chair, under which lay a fluffy white rug. Beside the rug, there was a flower rack where many adorable succulents, that were as big as a child’s fist and in various colors, were planted. In front of the flower rack, there was a wooden tea table that had a tea set on it. The four delicate tea cups were as white as a polished jade.

Looking at the layout of the balcony, Xie Mingzhe could almost imagine that there was a man, lying in the comfortable lounge chair during a summer afternoon, with a delicate tea cup in his hand, tasting the tea and watering the succulents occasionally; a pleasant and carefree life.

The style of the balcony was incompatible with boosters. Taking a closer look, Xie Mingzhe found that the pictures hanging on the wall, the white window screening, the warm-colored wallpaper… shouldn’t have appeared in a studio providing boosting services.

Xie Mingzhe couldn’t resist to ask, “Brother Chen, do you rent this house?” He thought that it was the landlord who had arranged the house, because boosters were not carefree enough to lie in the chair on the balcony, watering flowers and tasting tea.

Hearing the question, Brother Chen suddenly became silent, with a glimmer of pain in his eyes.

He was smoking, his face covered with the exhaled smoke, so Xie Mingzhe couldn’t see his expression. But his sudden silence made Xie Mingzhe aware that he shouldn’t have asked that. He quickly corrected himself, “I’m just wondering. It doesn’t matter if it is inconvenient to answer.”

Brother Chen expelled the smoke slowly. When Xie Mingzhe thought he wouldn’t get the answer, Brother Chen said in a deep voice, “This is my older brother’s house.”

Xie Mingzhe was stunned, and then turned his head around. He watched as the other man walked to the window, and squinted at the garden in the distance, whispering, “Everyone who comes to the studio for the first time will feel confused – why would the game studio be arranged like this? Actually, this house was previously my brother’s residence. After he left, I transformed the first floor into a game studio and the second floor into a dormitory, but the balcony layout remains the same.”

Brother Chen picked up the delicate jade cup on the table and played with it in his hands.

Seeing his sad expression, Xie Mingzhe had no idea of how to reply to him.

Xie Mingzhe had thought Brother Chen a very decadent young man. His messy hair, his love for smokes, the wrinkled shirt that seemed to be made of rags from the garbage dump, the stubble on his chin from who knows when he shaved last; all of these constituted a typical young internet addict.

But when he mentioned his brother, the sadness on his face made Xie Mingzhe heartbroken.

The decadent man, who spent a whole day playing the game, had a secret in his heart.

Had his brother passed away?

Xie Mingzhe dared not ask and instead changed the subject, “Well, when are our working hours?”

“The holographic game will restrict the online time of players, so our work-rest time is regular. Go to bed at midnight and start work at eight o’clock in the morning.” Brother Chen put down the cup, and seemed to be freed from his memories. He put out his cigarette in the ashtray and turned to Xie Mingzhe, “If I guess correctly, you are a college student getting a summer job for living expenses, right?”

“Yeah,” Xie Mingzhe replied calmly, “I am a first-year student at Capital University. I will start school September 1.”

“That’s a nice school. Work hard and you will definitely find a good job after graduation.” Brother Chen patted him on the shoulder with encouragement. “After the term begins, if you have time, you can come over here. I will pay you by the hour.” It was not easy for this boy to earn a living on his own, so Brother Chen wanted to take care of him.

“Really?” Xie Mingzhe rubbed his hands with excitement.

“Yes,” seeing his bright eyes, Brother Chen couldn’t help but smile at him, “You are smart. Quickly level up to 35, so you can come and help me.”

“Roger!” If he could work part-time in this studio, which is near the school, he would not have to worry about living expenses during his four years of study.

“For both our reassurance, let’s sign the labor contract.” Brother Chen took Xie Mingzhe aside and brought out a contract template. “The contract is a guarantee for each other. You don’t have to worry about unpaid wages, and I can also know your history. I don’t hire unidentified people.”

Brother Chen taking out the contract obviously meant that he was going to formally hire Xie Mingzhe. Xie Mingzhe immediately pulled out his ID card, scanned it into the smart computer, and then signed his name on the screen. He noticed that the number in the salary column was 3000, and he asked, “I will be an intern for the first month, so I can only get half of that, right?”

“No, you will get the full salary.” Brother Chen also signed his name, and answered frankly, “With your understanding, you learned how to play the game in two days?. So you will be paid as a proper staff member. The basic salary is 3000, and you can accept tasks privately. You will get a 10% commission on every task completed by yourself. If our business goes well, then you will get dividends at the end of the month.”

“Thank you, Brother Chen!” Xie Mingzhe felt like he’d won a lottery prize.

“You’re welcome.” Brother Chen’s handwriting was cursive. The name he signed on the contract was: Chen Xiao.

It turned out that his full name was Chen Xiao.

Since Chen Xiao helped him so much, Xie Mingzhe thoroughly bore this name in mind.

***

Besides the tasty lean porridge with green vegetables, Chi Qing also made two vegetarian dishes that were easy to digest, in consideration of Xie Mingzhe, who had just been discharged from hospital.

Sitting around the living room table, Xie Mingzhe and the others had a simple dinner.

Pang Yu squealed, “For me who is fat and has a bigger stomach than yours, only vegetables and porridge are not enough!” Then he stared at Chen Xiao eagerly, saying, “Boss, can I take an hour’s leave to eat half a kilo of beef outside?”

Jabbing at Pang Yu’s stomach, Chen Xiao said jokingly, “Forget the meat; you should lose weight. Look at Xiao Xie, whose weight is less than half of yours.”

“…” Pang Yu was speechless, simply saying in despair, “I have innate genes that contribute to my weight gain. Dropping pounds won’t make a difference.”

Pushing his glasses up, Jin Yue turned his head to laugh at Pang Yu, “I think it is because you are lazy.”

Pang Yu grabbed Xie Mingzhe’s arm mischievously, saying, “Xiao Xie, you are so thin, allow me to share with you some of my weight.”

“…” Xie Mingzhe didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

To his surprise, the people in the studio got along well with each other, and they didn’t exclude him. Instead, they genuinely cared about him. Xie Mingzhe, who was an orphan either in his previous life or in this world and only had a few friends, felt a trace of warmth in his heart while watching them ridiculing each other, but were still close-knit.

He was really lucky to have found a job like this after his rebirth.

This should all be because of Chen Xiao, a tolerant boss.

However, what had happened to Chen Xiao’s older brother?

Xie Mingzhe didn’t know, however, Chen Xiao’s attitude told him that something serious had happened to his brother. Maybe Chen Xiao’s brother had died or because of other reasons, he had left. The reason Chen Xiao was living in his brother’s house, and retaining his brother’s layout of the balcony on the second floor, was because he missed his brother, but this worried Xie Mingzhe.

He hoped that Chen Xiao’s brother hadn’t died, otherwise it would be irreversible.

Xie Mingzhe stopped thinking about it. He knew his top priority was to level up to 35, and join their team to help farm materials for others.

After all, the moment he had signed the contract, he had become a professional booster.