Middle-aged Love Patch

The two arrived at a Sichuan restaurant and ordered two dishes with a soup. Despite her slender appearance, Shi Yue ate as if there was a bottomless pit in her stomach.

Xu Youyuan sat across from her, sipping soup while watching Shi Yue leisurely polish off two bowls of rice, bite after bite, nearly clearing all the dishes. Stunned, Xu Youyuan pulled up the ordering screen, ready to add two more dishes.

"Don’t," Shi Yue stopped her. "I’m full, no need to waste."

"Really? Looks like you could easily go another two rounds."

"I do have a decent appetite, but I’m not a pig… This is enough. Any more and we’d have leftovers. Meanwhile, you’re just having one bowl of soup? So restrained."

"I’ve been ordering late-night deliveries a lot recently and didn’t hold back. Stepped on the scale—gained three pounds. No more indulgence for me."

"Fair. You’ve always had an easy-gain physique," Shi Yue chuckled, serving herself a bowl of soup.

Xu Youyuan shot her a sidelong glance. "Mocking me, huh? You’re only eating like this because you’re young and your metabolism’s fast. Wait till you hit thirty—you’ll blow up like a balloon."

"All the more reason to eat like there’s no tomorrow now."

Xu Youyuan laughed, then noticed the back of Shi Yue’s hand, where the redness had darkened into a bruised purple, looking worse than before.

Xu Youyuan asked her to wait, hurried to a pharmacy, and returned with ointment. "This works well—I’ve tested it myself. Apply it gently every two hours; rubbing too hard will hurt. Three days and it should heal."

Shi Yue thanked her and took it.

As they finished up, Xu Youyuan suggested heading back.

The neighboring table was served a sizzling bowl of boiled fish in chili oil. Shi Yue stared, clearly tempted.

Xu Youyuan hadn’t expected the girl’s appetite to be this boundless—her stomach had somehow made room again in the time it took to buy medicine.

Pitying her longing gaze, Xu Youyuan ordered a portion for her.

Shi Yue dug into the fish with delight for the first two bites, but by the third, her pace slowed drastically.

"Alright, stop if you can’t finish," Xu Youyuan said. Kids were impulsive—this was just a craving, not a real capacity to devour it all. "Don’t force yourself. Overeating will keep you up all night."

Shi Yue covered her mouth, suppressing a small burp, then set down her chopsticks and asked for a takeout box.

When Xu Youyuan went to pay, scanning the QR code on the ordering screen, a notification popped up: the bill had already been settled.

"When did you pay?"

"Let’s go." Shi Yue ignored the question, grabbing the takeout bag and striding off.

"I was supposed to treat you," Xu Youyuan called after her.

"Strategic thinking," Shi Yue turned, her tone playful. "This one’s on me. When Sister Youyuan makes her comeback, you can treat me to a feast. That’s a better deal."

Xu Youyuan studied her smug expression and suddenly asked, "So you planned the extra fish from the start? Paid for that too?"

Shi Yue’s eyes widened, but she showed no guilt—just her usual sweet grin as she cheerfully walked ahead.

Xu Youyuan trailed behind, torn between amusement and exasperation.

All this effort… just to stretch out their time together?

In the car, Shi Yue proposed grabbing dessert to "aid digestion."

Xu Youyuan couldn’t linger any longer—the pet shop where Shuang was boarded closed at 11 PM, and she needed to pick him up before then to avoid an extra half-day charge.

"Shuang? The one I found in your neighborhood back then?" Shi Yue asked.

The reminder jogged Xu Youyuan’s memory. "Yeah, that’s him."

Back then, Shi Yue used to come to Xu Youyuan’s place for tutoring, always punctual. One day, she was half an hour late. Worried, Xu Youyuan went out to look and found young Shi Yue struggling with a heavy cardboard box, stumbling as she walked.

Inside the box were three shivering puppies.

"Where’d you find them?" Xu Youyuan took the box and set it down.

"In the bushes over there," Shi Yue said, her cheeks flushed, hiking up her slipping backpack strap. "They looked so helpless, no mom around. Sis, can we feed them?"

Xu Youyuan checked—the puppies were lifeless.

She hesitated, unsure how to break it to the girl.

"What’s wrong?" Shi Yue sensed it immediately, crouching to inspect.

"They seem unwell. Let me take them inside."

Shi Yue followed. Xu Youyuan laid the puppies on a towel, warming them gently, but there was no response.

Shi ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌‍Yue watched silently, eyes slowly reddening, though she didn’t cry.

Unable to bear the girl’s sorrow, Xu Youyuan searched on her phone, then brought over a heater to raise their body temperature. She massaged their backs and tapped their chests—and one tiny paw twitched.

"It moved!" Shi Yue gasped.

The other two were gone, but the survivor was rushed to a vet and pulled through. That was Shuang.

Shi Yue’s family didn’t allow pets, and Xu Youyuan couldn’t bear to abandon the puppy after saving it, so she adopted him. She even took him along when she moved for work, caring for him ever since.

Over a decade later, Shuang was old, and Xu Youyuan had nearly forgotten he was Shi Yue’s discovery.

Shi Yue insisted, "Then I have to see him. Where’s the pet shop? Set the GPS."

Xu Youyuan entered the location. Shi Yue turned on music—oldies from her childhood—and drove toward the western suburbs.

Xu Youyuan eyed the playlist. "Eclectic taste. Very retro."

"Don’t let my ‘Gen Z’ label fool you. Every personality test says I have the soul of a 40-year-old."

"You believe those?"

"Absolutely."

"That just proves you’re still a kid."

Shi Yue: "…"

The trip was long, and half the highway was clogged red on the map. Xu Youyuan suggested taking the next exit to detour.

"Which exit?" Shi Yue asked after a long pause.

"…The one we just passed."

"Oh. Any others?"

"Another in five kilometers, but it’ll add seven more miles backtracking."

"Then let’s stick to this route. Probably just an accident ahead—it’ll clear up. Even at this pace, we’ll make it by eleven."

Singing along to the vintage tunes—toasting the sun and moon—Shi Yue remained unfazed by the traffic, her mood bright.

True to her word, they pulled in at 10:45, just before closing.

Shuang spotted Xu Youyuan through the gate and erupted into barks, wagging his tail so hard it threatened to dismantle the shop.

The staff handed him over, and Shuang glued himself to Xu Youyuan, though he spared a sniff and a paw at Shi Yue too.

"Shuang, sit," Xu Youyuan ordered, tightening the leash.

"It seems she still remembers me." Shi Yue patted Shuang's big head.

"She's a bit simple-minded—acts like this with everyone. The kind that would help a burglar open the door, so don’t take it personally."

Shi Yue: "..."

Leading Shuang, the two women and the dog arrived at the building entrance. Xu Youyuan carried her luggage in one hand and held Shuang with the other, considering whether she should invite Shi Yue upstairs. If not for her tonight, she might not have been able to hail a cab anytime soon.

But their relationship was a bit… delicate. Inviting someone she’d slept with to her place late at night, alone—any adult could read the obvious implication. She didn’t want Shi Yue to misunderstand.

As Xu Youyuan hesitated over how to phrase it or how to wrap up the evening, Shi Yue’s phone seemed to ring. She answered it, apparently discussing work, and while talking, she waved at Xu Youyuan and walked toward the neighborhood exit.

Well, that saved Xu Youyuan the trouble.

That little brat Shi Yue—sometimes she was so considerate you’d think she was an angel, and other times she was so infuriating you’d want to wring her neck. But most of the time, she knew exactly how to handle things, making it hard to stay mad at her.

Xu Youyuan took the elevator up. After arriving home, she hadn’t even unpacked her luggage before walking to the window and looking down. In the dim, desolate darkness, Shi Yue’s car was already gone.

After showering, Xu Youyuan returned to find a message on her computer screen.

She sat down, drying her damp hair, and clicked to play the voice message.

Shi Yue: "Do you have to wake up early tomorrow?"

When Xu Youyuan had added her as a friend earlier, she’d noticed something odd—Shi Yue used her real name as her WeChat ID, and her profile picture was a bright red peony against a green leafy background. This wasn’t the style of someone born in the 2010s; even Xu Youyuan’s parents’ generation had fewer people this… quaint.

Was this kid under some misconception about what "aunties" liked? She was trying way too hard to act mature.

With a smile Shi Yue couldn’t see, Xu Youyuan replied: "Unemployed people don’t need to wake up early."

Shi Yue responded quickly: "Then wait till I get home, and we’ll log into Shadowbox."

Xu Youyuan asked: "You don’t have work either?"

After sending it, she went to blow-dry her hair. By the time she returned, Shi Yue still hadn’t replied, so she went to feed Shuang.

Close to 1 a.m., Shi Yue finally responded with two simple words: "Log in."

Xu Youyuan entered Shadowbox. The moment she logged in, Shi Yue sent a date invitation. After Xu Youyuan clicked "Accept," an overwhelming surge of seawater flooded around her, roaring above her head, threatening to drown her—until a thick arched glass barrier sealed it off.

Schools of fish swam peacefully behind the glass. Xu Youyuan realized she was in an aquarium, with children tugging at their parents’ hands and laughing as they passed by, and couples on dates coming and going.

Soft music played in the background, a stark contrast to the previous scenes she’d experienced.

Standing in the crowd, the vampire avatar smiled at her. The appearance was familiar, yet somehow overlapped with Shi Yue’s real-life features.

Xu Youyuan knew all avatars were layered over the user’s original customized face. She hadn’t noticed before, but Shi Yue had modeled hers after her actual facial features.

"Still not sleeping this late? How many gallons of coffee will you need tomorrow?"

"It’s fine. Young people don’t fear exhaustion."

"Even if you’re young, you should at least fear baldness or sudden death."

"Spare me the curses, sis."

Xu Youyuan, dressed in her usual plain attire, stood beside Shi Yue’s extravagant vampire avatar, which carried an air of novelty wherever she went. Strangely, the NPCs around them turned to glance at them subtly.

Xu Youyuan sensed it immediately: "They’re not NPCs. They’re all players?"

Shi Yue: "Exactly. This place, like the Titanic where we first met, is a public space—an open dating scenario that can host 200,000 players simultaneously. Since you’ve decided to unlock all achievements with me, as a veteran player, I should brief you on some key points so you’re prepared."

Shi Yue led her to the aquarium entrance and expanded the announcement board—details about Shadowbox’s new season.

"Last time I contacted you, the qualifiers had already started. The deadline is in a month and a half, so we still have time to catch up," Shi Yue said. "This is Shadowbox’s first season. Only one team will win. Besides being the first couple account to unlock all achievements, there are other rewards—like exclusive dating scenarios and high-end couple avatars. Just the avatar alone could fetch a sky-high price on Caps."

"Wait, you’re saying we not only have to clear the stages ourselves but also outperform other competitors?"

"Right. So you really haven’t read the tournament rules at all."

Xu Youyuan would’ve liked to, but her inbox was flooded with random gifts from who-knows-who. The moment she opened it, they all exploded out, blinding her.

A scantily clad game sprite appeared, explaining the new season’s rules to Xu Youyuan.

Shadowbox’s dating scenarios were divided into three themes—Adventure, Horror, and Romance—each with five progressively difficult stages.

They had already cleared the first Adventure stage, earning access to the second phase.

The first three stages were qualifiers with no direct competition. Apart from paired players, everyone else inside was an NPC. Scoring was based on survival and difficulty—no head-to-head battles.

Only teams that scored above 5 in all three themes’ first three stages could advance to the final two competitive phases. In the competition, stages from all three themes would be randomized by the system. Teams would face brutal eliminations until only one remained as the season champion.

Before the game sprite finished her sweet-voiced explanation, Xu Youyuan had already skimmed the announcement board, grasping all the rules.

The developers’ intent was clear. As a dating app, selling avatars and traffic alone wasn’t enough anymore. They were pivoting toward gaming, and this first season was their test run.

Xu Youyuan wasn’t afraid of competition. As a game producer and seasoned player, she was confident.

But…

She pointed at the words "Romance Theme" and asked Shi Yue: "What does this mean?"

"Dating, obviously," Shi Yue said, as if the question were redundant.

"...I can read. What I’m asking is—does this mean the two teammates have to roleplay a romance? How is that scored? And how do you compete in the later stages?"

"Probably based on who does romance better. More dramatically."

"Quit the nonsense. There must be criteria." Xu Youyuan beckoned the game sprite over to clarify the mechanics.

Shi Yue lounged on a bench, squinting at the sky where a massive white whale floated, and penguins shot past like cannonballs.

She stole a glance at the sky, then at Xu Youyuan’s back, suppressing a quiet laugh.

Xu Youyuan turned to look at her, an odd expression in her eyes.

“Hmm?” Shi Yue raised an eyebrow, a flicker of guilt at being caught staring—though Xu Youyuan had her back turned and shouldn’t have noticed.

“The competition teams must consist of two people, right?” Xu Youyuan asked.

Shi Yue nodded.

“Then it must be tough for you.”

Shi Yue: “?”

“Didn’t you say you’ve unlocked all other achievements, except the adventure-themed duo mission? So you’ve already completed the horror and romance themes with someone else. Won’t teaming up with me now mess up your previous records?”

Faced with Xu Youyuan’s pointed question, Shi Yue froze for several seconds, completely short-circuiting.

“Hmm?” Xu Youyuan walked toward her, amused, only to find her utterly still—soon her entire figure even turned gray.

She’d actually logged off.

Xu Youyuan chuckled.

A few seconds later, Shi Yue reappeared. “My sister called. What were you saying earlier?”

“Nothing.” Xu Youyuan leaned back in her chair, basking in a childish sense of victory.

That childishness made her nostalgic. For so many years after entering society, the only thing hanging over her head had been KPIs.

Only during her student days had she been this carefree, able to revel in the smallest things, to delight in trivial wins.