Across the Distance

Fingers wrapped around the cordon, Yu Luocheng realized Xiao Bei was looking at him.

Beneath those smooth eyelids, his eyes held the same despair and aimlessness as his teammates.

Seeing his skinny, freckled little face only made Luocheng's heart twist even worse.

'I'm from a tiny little place in Gansu Province, called Xiao Bei Village. My name is Xiao Bei, too. I don't really get what this is, but I think I like it. Luocheng, can you teach me to play?'

Unbidden, a flashback came to Luocheng of the first time he'd met Xiao Bei. He'd been saying something along those lines.

A young man from the North-West, brought out from the mountains by an uncle living far away, so he could work at small jobs in ever-blooming Shanghai. He didn't have a clue about anything, except that he liked gaming.