Forces of Temptation

Boss Zhong is a silver-haired old man in his early sixties, dressed in a plain gray-blue robe, with a fat waist and a very kind demeanor.

Take off this suit, and you will be an old man next door who walks the street with a birdcage and instructs people to play chess.

He was leaning on a small pond at the back of the house, snorting and smoking a hookah made of tobacco, honey and orange, when he heard the sound of the thick cloth curtain being lifted in front of him.

Then came the footsteps of three guests entering one after another.

Boss Zhong hurriedly hugged the hookah, and walked out quickly, with a bright smile on his face: "Come on (guest). Just take a look."

Jiang Fang stepped forward and said politely, "Excuse me..."

Following his words, Nan Zhou placed an apple firmly on the counter and followed his words: "... Please take a look at this apple."

Li Yinhang found that he had been miscalculating the number of things in Nan Zhou's hands.

There is always an apple in the storage tank of Nanzhou.

Nan Zhou had held the apple firmly in his hand since they met on the bus.

Even though it was gnawed into a mess by the Antarctic Star, and the bitten areas were a little shriveled and yellowed, Nan Zhou still put the apple in his storage tank, trying to keep it fresh.

Boss Zhong picked up the apple that had been ravaged by the Antarctic Star, inspected the color, then spoke Mandarin as standard as possible, and said with a smile: "This is an apple grown from the seeds sold in our store. It will not be sold."

Nan Zhou asked: "How many people bought it?"

Boss Zhong smiled and narrowed his eyes slightly: "Although the store has an account, but the sale of apple seeds is really too much. Can the customer remember when they bought it?"

Nan Zhou opened his mouth and said, "About a year and a half ago."

Li Yinhang was startled, and turned to look at Jiang Fang.

She mouthed the question: A year and a half ago?

Shouldn't that be when "Gravity" first started serving?

Boss Zhong was holding a hookah, squinting his eyes and recalling his expressions and small movements in the past. He looked very much like the boss in reality.

He said: "That's even more unclear. At that time, the seeds in my store were doing activities. Who can get them depends on their own fortune."

Li Yinhang digested his words and probably understood.

Oh, the starter pack.

The free novice gift packs given by "Gravity" are similar in general categories and have a certain degree of randomness.

There was also an entry of #晴一昱《重生力》novice gift package# that was popularly searched.

Her colleague bought a game pod and got 500 points of "Rust City" shopping coupons, 3000 points of "Paper Gold" consumption coupons, 5 free viewing coupons of "Squirrel Town", and 10 coupons applicable to "Homeland Island". "Rare snow lotus seeds of a specific land, 10 bags of high-grade fertilizers, a bow and arrow blue weapon suitable for the "ancient city state", and a set of good quality skins.

When Li Yinhang was called to like her in Moments, he glanced roughly at it.

If apple seeds were also distributed in large quantities as part of the novice gift package, it is still unknown which player will be distributed to them.

……

Walking out of the seed shop with the apple in his arms, Nan Zhou looked a little sad.

After Li Yinhang walked for a while, he stopped suddenly.

She stretched her waist: "ah, I'm a little tired."

She sat down on the stone steps behind her and said, "Let's rest here for a while."

Nan Zhou looked around the surrounding environment: "Yes."

All around is the aroma of wet plants.

Under the fresh and natural woody taste, people's mood is naturally relaxed a lot.

Nanjixing was lying on Nanzhou's shoulders, his little buttocks writhed excitedly, eagerly coveting a passing red dragonfly.

The three of them sat in a row horizontally on the stone steps.

Li Yinhang sat in the middle, Jiang Fang and Nan Zhou sat on both sides.

She felt that such a ranking and atmosphere were not quite right.

She tried to break the deadlock and asked Nan Zhou, "Are you looking for someone?"

Nan Zhou: "Yes."

Li Yinhang thought that when he first met them, Nan Zhou, like Jiang Fang, was dragged from other places and forcibly airborne.

Thinking about it this way, the confusion in my heart became more and more difficult to solve.

Why are the two of them special?

Where the hell did they come from?

However, confusion is nothing but confusion, Li Yinhang always knew it in his heart.

She stopped asking further questions, patted Nan Zhou on the shoulder, and said in relief, "You will find it."

Nan Zhou blinked, looking at her hand on his shoulder.

The palm is very warm, and the fingertips are also very soft, as if gently resting on his heart, gently comforting.

He said, "Thank you."

Jiang Fang coughed unnaturally beside him.

Nan Zhou looked at him.

Jiang Fang: "A 'friend' from the past gave you this apple?"

Nan Zhou nodded.

Jiang Fang reconfirmed: "'Friend'?"

Nan Zhou: "Well..."

In fact, in Nan Zhou's concept, Ms. Apple Tree is considered to be a very important person to him in a certain sense, not to the extent of a friend.

But Nan Zhou recalled it again.Jiang Fang said that he has a lot of friends.

...he has a good memory.

So, Nan Zhou nodded: "Yeah."

Jiang Fang was angry and funny, leaned back, leaned his elbows on the stone steps, and smiled self-deprecatingly: "Ha."

Nan Zhou: "...?"

Nan Zhou: "What's wrong with you?"

Jiang Fang turned his face to the side, suppressing the surging jealousy in his heart, which made him have to grit his teeth to relieve the uncomfortable soreness in his heart.

What's going on here?

How could he treat his past self... as a friend?

Why can we be friends when we have only met once?

……

About a year and a half ago.

Jiang Fang visited every corner of the city where his mother lived.

It wasn't until he was about to renew the room fee at the five-star hotel where he stayed that he realized that he couldn't swipe his credit card.

Two months ago, the $13 he got in Las Vegas that was deposited into his Chinese credit card has been squandered.

Jiang Fang shrugged and smiled.

He took out one of the 52 playing card-like credit cards on his body with a special suit, and showed his gentle and alienated standard smile to the front desk lady: "Do you support UnionPay payment in other countries?"

Jiang Fang's expression carried a kind of reserved and self-respecting nobility, combined with just the right amount of arrogance, it really added points to his already outstanding face.

Under his smiling gaze, it is very difficult to maintain the signature smile of the assembly line.

The lady at the front desk tried her best to keep her smile from being too bright: "Of course. The exchange rate is based on today's rate, and you need to pay a part of the handling fee. Can you accept it?"

Jiang Fang nodded softly in approval: "Hmm."

She opened the drawer and was about to take out the card machine: "What currency is it, which bank? Does it support VISA?"

Jiang Fang held the bank card on his fingertips like a poker card, looked at it for a while, and finally said: "Bahamian coins."

The lady at the front desk: "..."

Jiang Fang showed her the face of the card, and tapped twice on the VISA mark with his fingertips.

This was something he won from the Atlantis casino in the Bahamas. He didn't have time to convert it into US dollars, so it was a little troublesome to convert it.

Jiang Fang gently reminded: "It is a currency that can be exchanged with US dollars one to one. Don't worry, look for it slowly."

The front desk lady who was busy looking for currency exchange: "...Thank you."

After spending part of the handling fee, Jiang Fang finally paid the room fee.

In the next half day, he counted all his assets.

He found that his existing assets conflicted with his plan to buy a house in City C.

After all, the casino career has affected Jiang Fang's outlook on money.

Even if his technology supports his slightly distorted view of money, he develops strange hobbies under the influence of this view.

- He likes to buy properties in his favorite places all over the world.

And it is a one-off payment without any loan.

City C is where my mother lived before.

He deserves a house here.

It is convenient for him to run away at any time and come back at any time.

But the money he has on hand now is only about 260 million in various currencies.

It was still 150 yuan away from the 40-square-meter garden-style apartment he was fancying.

It is still 240 million short of the single-family second-hand villa he likes.

Gambling is not allowed in the Mainland.

Jiang Fang understood the principle of doing local things wherever he went.

Therefore, Jiang Fang needed a sum of money that came from a legitimate source, but came quickly enough.

At that time, the publicity campaign for "Gravity" was already in full swing.

Jiang Fang put down the iPad displaying housing information in the coffee in the central square, and when he raised his eyes, he saw Nanzhou on the giant LED screen opposite.

In the promotional PV of 20 minute and [-] seconds, "Southern Boat" only occupied one second.

But Jiang Fang still recognized it at a glance.

That was the cover of the last single volume manga of "Eternal Day".

Nan Zhou sat alone on the roof, with the huge sun behind him.

The phantom of his whole body, like a piece of melted cheese, is slightly deformed and distorted in the sunlight.

Nan Zhou is looking at the sun, seeing the freedom that he will never be able to reach.

And Jiang Fang stood on the street, looking up at Nanzhou in the giant screen.

Jiang Fang's father had a large collection of books covering a wide range of subjects.

There are astronomy, insects, psychology, sociology, anthropology, as well as popular novels, newspapers and magazines, and erotic albums.

My father's reading never sticks to anything, just grab it and read it.

He likes tacky and nasty words and pictures, and he also loves the stars and seas that he has never seen in his life.

Tomes, small books, and comic strips occupy the entire wall of the home.

When Jiang Fang was able to read, he shared the bookshelf with his father.

His father asked him: "Which of your father's books is your favorite?"

Jiang Fang, who was only eight years old, tiptoed, took out "Eternal Day", raised it high with both hands, and held it back to his chest like a bouquet of flowers.

His father asked him, "Why?"

Jiang Fang said seriously: "Because he is very lonely. He needs me. One day, I will rescue him."

Father laughed heartily and kissed his forehead.

"This is a medal awarded to our excellent Lodoka knights."

Jiang Fang imitated the example, and gently pressed his lips to the cover of the book, and said to the boy Nan Zhou on the cover seriously, "This is a kiss."

"Wait for me. I will accompany you when I find the door."

Later, something happened that no one would want to happen, but no one could prevent.

At the loneliest moment in Jiang Fang's life, amidst her mother's frantic crying, after sending her to the alcohol rehabilitation center...

There is always a Nanzhou by his hand.

Nanzhou was in his quilt, under his pillow, where he could touch it as soon as he stretched out his hand.

Jiang Fang has grown up.

He no longer has the strength to believe in fairy tales.

But he liked the book more than ever.

He seriously believed that Nan Zhou might really exist in a certain corner of the world.

The world is too big for them to meet.

Nan Zhou didn't even know that there was such a person as himself, and he had friendship and sympathy for him on his own.

At that time, Jiang Fang gently stroked Nan Zhou on the cover and comforted Nan Zhou softly.

Don't be afraid, the world is big, it can accommodate you, and it can also accommodate me.

Also because the world is so big, we may never see each other.

We are friends who cannot touch each other.

But you do have a friend.

He was comforting Nan Zhou, and he was also comforting his own heart.

At this time, Jiang Fang was looking at Nanzhou on the LED screen.

It was as if I was witnessing an illusory dream when I was young, gradually taking shape in front of my eyes.

In order to watch the second when Nan Zhou appeared, Jiang Fang watched the advertisement on the big screen 67 times.

It wasn't until No.60 eight times that he realized how funny he was.

He looked at the iPad and clicked on the official website and forum of "Gravity".

Jiang Fang originally wanted to find a job related to "Gravity".

Unexpectedly, after wandering around, he actually found a short-term business that he often received when he was in Ukraine.

During Jiang Fang's working life wandering on the fringes of society, he has seen many wealthy second generations with special requirements.

Therefore, when he learned that the other party had obtained two game cabins from the game company in advance and asked him to level up an account for him, Jiang Fang accepted it without any hindrance.

At the same time, he also accepted a series of requests——

Jiang Fang had to play the female role, and he could pinch his own face.

He needs to unify his equipment and levels. It is best to play for more than 12 hours a day, so that he can use it to show off his account in front of friends who also play "Gravity".

The most important thing is that Jiang Fang needs to make more friends and develop a network of relationships, preferably mostly men.

Jiang Fang was in charge of developing skills, and he was in charge of occasionally going up to flirt with those men, chatting about love, and meeting those who were pleasing to the eye.

It's a good game, but he just developed a different kind of same-sex dating journey.

This is also the reason why he chose Jiang Fang, who has strong communication skills, a lot of time, and is willing to try new things.

Jiang Fang's reason for choosing him was also very simple.

He wants to fulfill his unilateral agreement in childhood.

——Go and see Nanzhou.

Because the cabin was obtained in advance, the first thing Jiang Fang did after logging in to the game and receiving the novice gift package was to go to the copy of "Eternal Day".

In those years, he accompanied Nan Zhou all over the streets and alleys of Yongwu Town outside the comics.

Jiang Fang was familiar with every layout of Never Town.

So he found the house where Nan Zhou lived without much effort.

After so many years, Jiang Fang was no longer the outstanding knight in his childhood.

He no longer imagined that he could bring Nanzhou out of the dungeon.

He just wanted Nan Zhou to know that he still had a friend in this world.

Even if the other party may be a poor copy of the game company, a virtual illusion constructed from data, he still wants to give his childhood an explanation.

So, he carved a line of words on the apple seeds in the novice gift package, covered the seeds with special "Homeland Island" soil, and sprinkled "Homeland Island" fertilizer.

If there is no accident, the apples will bloom and bear fruit in front of Nanzhou's window tomorrow morning.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Fang felt a line of sight cast from above while he was busy.

He raised his head, and through the thin veil, by the window on the second floor, he saw a friend he had never met.

Jiang Fang smiled slightly at the illusory figure.

Like a cat, Nan Zhou put his hands on the window curiously, tilted his head slightly, and his eyes were pure beyond Jiang Fang's imagination.

Jiang Fang thought that after all these years, it was impossible for Nanzhou to have such eyes.

What touched his heart even more was that Nan Zhou's eyes were too real.

That kind of real and ignorant purity and curiosity seemed to be warmly poking at Jiang Fang's accustomed hard heart.

Under such gazes, Jiang Fang shuddered and subconsciously touched the "Abort Mission" button.

Standing on the somewhat desolate streets of Rust City, Jiang Fang raised his hand to caress the position of his heart, feeling the abnormal rhythm there full of surprise.

……What's going on here?

Didn't you want to at least say hello?