Ashley Shaw was quite determined to have Ariana Grant cut ties with this unemployed online friend.
But seeing the pitiful look in Ariana’s eyes, she couldn’t help but soften.
"Well... it’s just an online relationship after all, go ahead, just don’t get too emotionally involved, and definitely don’t meet in person. I’m worried you’d be deceived."
Ariana Grant suddenly sat up straight.
"But, Ashley, this is the crux of the matter for me now."
"What? What crux? What do you mean?"
Ariana simply handed her phone over to Ashley to show her the chat record.
Ashley immediately saw the last message from someone noted as "Lia."
{"Ariana, I’m not busy lately, pretty free. Why don’t we set up a time, and I treat you to a meal?"}
Ashley instantly felt alarmed.
"No way, you can’t go. The biggest taboo in online dating is meeting in person. What if he’s a bad guy? And you guys haven’t been together long, yet he’s already suggesting meeting up, that’s just sketchy behavior."
Ariana cracked a smile and said, "Don’t worry, I wasn’t planning to meet up anyway! I’m so chubby, he’d probably run away the moment he saw me."
"So... was that scream earlier because you didn’t want to meet in person?"
"Yes!"
Ashley almost fainted from frustration.
"If you don’t want to meet, just tell him you’re not ready to meet yet."
"But, but won’t he then figure out I’m not good-looking?"
Ashley frowned, "What’s not good-looking about you? Your eyes are bigger than mine, who wouldn’t be enchanted by them?"
"That’s just because my eyes are pleasant. The rest of me is awful. Besides, after summer break, I gained another four pounds, and I’m over 150 pounds now..."
Ashley replied disapprovingly, "Ariana, you need to have confidence. Even if you’re a little chubby, you’re still the prettiest chubby girl."
Ashley wasn’t wrong. Ariana might have gained some weight, but her features were delicate, and even at 150 pounds, it didn’t take away her cuteness.
She continued, "Online relationships aren’t based on love at first sight. After all, it’s across the internet, and no one has seen anyone else. People like each other for their interesting souls. I trust you’re with him not because he’s extremely handsome."
Ariana nodded, "It’s true. I just think he’s got a good temperament and great gaming skills; that’s why I like him. He doesn’t know what I look like, and I don’t know what he looks like either."
"That’s exactly right. If you’re not together because of each other’s looks, why should looks matter? If he really cares about your appearance, then there’s no need for you to be together. A good online romance should be like being with a paper person."
"You’re right!" Ariana suddenly felt resolved, "If he insists on meeting, then it shows he has bad intentions or doesn’t like me for who I am."
Ashley ruffled Ariana’s hair.
"Thinking like this puts me at ease."
"Don’t worry, I’ve grown up, and I’m more afraid of meeting in person than you are. And even if I were to meet up, I’d definitely tell you in advance and have you accompany me."
Ashley was completely reassured seeing Ariana’s sense of awareness.
"Well, I’m heading to work now. Ms. Grant gave me half the day off, and I’ll be back for lunch."
"I’ll handle the cooking at noon then."
Thinking of Ariana’s cooking skills, Ashley shook her head decisively, "No need, I’ll stop by the market after work and come back with groceries to cook."
"OK!"
Ariana watched Ashley leave the room, then picked up her phone to reply to a message.
{"I went to bed early last night, missed your message."}
Over on the other end, Leon Zeller had just woken up and heard his phone ding with a notification.
He hurriedly grabbed the phone to check. Seeing the message, he quickly typed a reply: "So when are you available?"
He had just typed the line and was about to send it when another message came through.
{"But I don’t want to meet in person for now, so... sorry! Let’s just keep things as they are."}
Leon Zeller’s eyes dimmed.
Refusing to meet, could it be... she’s really a guy?
He hesitated for a moment and sent a message.
{"Can you show me a picture of yourself?"}
{"No other reason, just wondering if I might run into you by chance."}
Ariana looked at "Lia’s" message and replied quite frankly.
{"Sorry! No can do!"}
{"To be honest, I’m not much to look at, pretty chubby too. You’d probably lose interest in chatting and gaming with me if you saw my photo."}
Lia: {"I wouldn’t, I’m not part of the looks club. Even if you were 200 pounds, I wouldn’t mind."}
Ariana was getting a little annoyed and quickly typed a reply to send.
{"Anyway, I don’t want to send photos."}
Lia: {"Alright, if you don’t want to, that’s fine."}
Ariana let out a sigh of relief.
She was actually quite worried that "Lia" might have the malicious intentions she feared, but seeing him agree to her not sending photos made her feel a lot better.
A few seconds later, another message arrived from Lia.
Lia: {"Would you like to see my photo then?"}
Ariana hesitated for a moment and replied: {"No need. If I’m not sending one, you don’t need to either. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be fair to you. Besides, I think we’re good as we are now."}
Lia: {"Okay, let’s keep it this way. Anytime you feel like seeing me, I’ll send a photo."}
Ariana: {"Yeah! I’m off to work now, bye, and see you later for gaming."}
Lia: {"OK!"}
As soon as the chat ended, the teammates from the Stardust Team gathered around with interest.
"Hey, did your online gf agree to meet you?"
Leon Zeller was expressionless, "It’s none of your business, get up and get ready for training. Warren said even as gamers, we need to keep up with physical training, or we’ll end up with long-term health issues."
The Stardust Team had been signed to the club Warren just started, and to foster their "team spirit," Warren set them up in a big house to live and eat together.
The room they slept in was a large shared dormitory.
So as soon as Leon gave the order, the other boys bounced out of bed, put on their matching workout gear, tidied up, and went out for a morning run.
However, halfway through their exercise, their stomachs started growling.
"Hey? There’s a cake shop!"
"Wolf Leader, let’s at least grab a bite first. We’ve got to eat to have energy for exercise."
Lia glanced at the cake shop not far away and nodded, "Alright, let’s see if they have any bread."
"Woohoo! The Wolf Leader’s treating, let’s go!"
The group cheered and ran towards the cake shop.
With the sound of the doorbell ringing, they entered the store, only to spot a familiar figure.
Isn’t that... Ashley Shaw?