A simple "Mm" indicated the other party wasn't interested in chatting with her.
Shi Ran held her phone, typing and deleting. She pondered for a long time, unsure what to say to him.
After much thought, she came up with an idea: "I'm also hospitalized at this hospital, and it's quite boring. Do you play Honor of Kings? Want to play a game together?"
She recalled that Tang Si particularly enjoyed this game and had even taught her how to play heroes before. If they could play together and use voice chat, she could immediately confirm if the person was Tang Si.
At that moment, Tang Si was feeling listless. He had intended to refuse, but remembering he was the one who had added her as a friend, he reluctantly agreed, "Fine."
Both of them opened the game simultaneously and logged in.
Since Shi Ran had been bored during her hospital stay, she had downloaded the game and played many times, leveling up. Her rank was still only in Gold. Seeing that Tang Si was a Peerless King, she felt a bit helpless and could only create a room and invite him to a match.
Shortly after, Tang Si entered the room and typed a message: "You're Gold rank?" His words were filled with disdain.
Shi Ran replied: "I used to play on the QQ server. I just started playing on the WeChat server. I'm quite good at playing support."
Tang Si: "..."
Sensing his disdain, and noticing the game hadn't entered the "Ready" state, she worried Tang Si might leave the room. After much hesitation, Shi Ran clicked on the voice chat and said, "Are you... are you playing?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Shi Ran immediately turned off the voice chat.
*Thump, thump, thump!* Her heart pounded. Even though it was the dead of winter and she was wearing a down jacket, she felt a warmth spread across her back, her body subtly breaking into a sweat.
"Who... who are you?"
The other party opened the voice chat in an instant, questioning her. Listening to the familiar voice, it was the voice she had longed for. In that moment, Shi Ran's eyes welled up, and tears streamed down her face. She tightly gripped her phone, covered her mouth with one hand, and buried her head between her legs, lost in her grief, unable to extricate herself.
Tang Si couldn't hear her reply and grew anxious. "Hello, I'm talking to you, can you hear me?"
"Where did you go?"
"Speak up?!"
"Hello, say something!"
In the hospital room, Tang Si sat up from the bed agitatedly, holding his phone and roaring at the person on the other end, questioning them, but he couldn't get a response for a long time. That familiar voice, unmistakably Shi Ran's. He was consumed by anxiety, closed the game, opened WeChat, and initiated a video call with "Time Flies."
Shi Ran, still immersed in her sorrow, was startled by the incoming video call. She hastily wiped away her tears and hung up the video call. Then, she typed a few words: "My boyfriend is here." After sending the message, Shi Ran, fearing Tang Si might become suspicious, immediately searched online for a very ordinary, even somewhat unattractive photo and posted it to her Moments with the caption: "It's almost New Year, I don't know when I'll be able to leave the hospital."
While she was searching for the picture, Tang Si sent many messages.
"You have a boyfriend?"
"What's your name?"
"Where are you? I'll come find you now."
Seeing the rapid replies from the other party, Shi Ran could almost feel his concern for her. While moved, she felt even more pain. So, she typed her reply: "Aren't you stating the obvious? I already said my boyfriend is here, how could I not have a boyfriend?"
"We're not familiar with each other, it's not appropriate to ask my name."
"Why are you looking for me? You're not the type of man who's looking to hook up online, are you?"
To avoid Tang Si suspecting her identity, Shi Ran, with tears in her eyes, suppressed her sadness and typed several messages, but in each message, her tone was completely different from her usual personality.