Chapter 66: Wingman
"Man, you guys are late. Look at the queue! It's horrendous! But we bought you all the tickets!" Shi Zuo shouted at Bin Yong and Jia Le when they finally reached the store.
"Sorry sorry, I was too caught up with writing the minutes of that last meeting." Bin Yong breathed a little heavily but Jia Le appeared to have warmed up for a fight after that brisk walking session. "Oh gosh, I need more training." He thought to himself.
"Are you treating us then?" Luo Bo tried to take advantage of the situation that Bin Yong had placed himself in and Jia Le chuckled a little.
"Bro! Here are the tickets." Shi Zuo passed two pairs of tickets to Bin Yong. "The second pair is my treat." Shi Zuo winked and patted on Bin Yong's shoulder as he examined the tickets.
"I know of the Great Wall of China instance and but what is this Emerald Mountain Hot Spring instance? It was not featured on the app." Bin Yong queried Shi Zuo.
"I am not sure too, I asked Boss Jin about it and he said enter via the penguin statue on the 2nd floor."
"Penguin statue? I did not remember seeing such a thing the previous time I came here and I thought Boss Jin loved Pandas instead." Bin Yong finally caught his breath and noticed the long queue outside of Boss Jin's store.
"And I do not remember Boss Jin being so popular that he had these many customers queuing up for his dungeon!" The shophouse was quite crowded and the customers were making quite a ruckus. A number of people were standing around the stations to view the dungeon instances while others were waiting at the small park beside the shophouse.
Fortunately, the small park was brightly lit with stone seats and tables and the customers took turns to rest when the queue moved. It was also cooling for some reason as compared to the surroundings of the Tiangong shopping district and this made the wait bearable for most customers.
"Scan the QR code of your ticket in your Pandamonium app, it will automatically show you the queue number and an estimated waiting time would be given before it is your turn." Shi Zuo showed it to Bin Yong.
"Wow, the upgrade of the app is indeed a step-up. Ah, but Jia Le does not have that app." Bin Yong was concerned about Jia Le if she was being left out of the group.
"Oh, I asked Boss Jin about that. Apparently, you can share the app with anyone and they will be given a link to download the application package for the mobile app." Luo Bo commented.
"Why make it so complicated and not place it in Twentycents, Mooogle store or Gapple Store?"
"I did ask but he said does not want to pay money for it. He said passing the app recommendation through word of mouth would be sufficient." Luo Bo shrugged her shoulders.
"Oh well, we will never know Boss Jin and his weird antics. Jia Le, let me share the Pandamonium app with you. Sorry, if we make you left out." Bin Yong searched the app and easily found the share button while Jia Le took out her phone to get the transfer.
She booted up the app after installing and it asked for a QR code of a dungeon instance ticket. Bin Yong passed the Great Wall of China instance ticket to her and a temporary profile was set up for her with no name on it.
"Ah, I think you have to join the dungeon instance for the Pandamonium app to update. Shi Zuo said it's some advanced technology which he himself could not figure." Jia Le attentively listened and nodded her head as an acknowledgement.
"Now, you are the one making us feel that we are left out, Bin Bin who is that?" Luo Bo interrupted their chat.
"Ahaha! Sorry guys, this is Jia Le. She joined the company not too long ago. About 4 months odd?" Bin Yong introduced Jia Le to the couple.
"Hello! Nice to meet you." Jia Le extended her hands to the couple as they exchanged names and greetings.
Suddenly, all four of their phones pinged a notification and indicated that their station would be available shortly. The approximate waiting time was reduced to 15 minutes. "Buddy lets head to Station 6 first." Shi Zuo held onto Bin Yong's shoulder while Luo Bo was still outside of the store telling Jia Le about the essential functions of Pandamonium.
"So bro, how did it go?" Shi Zuo asked Bin Yong with regards to Jia Le.
"What? Nothing happened." Bin Yong tried to hide his feelings but it was plain clear for Shi Zuo to see.
"Liar, we saw the both of you smiling so widely as you approach from the distance. Luo Bo even said if this was an animation frame, there will be gentle colours painted in the background with white and pink sparkles all around you two. She can even make up a tune for the both of you." Shi Zuo tightened his grip around Bin Yong's shoulder.
"That description…was detailed." Bin Yong was speechless as they reached Station 6 and saw a glimpse of the new dungeon instance.
"So, I will cut to the chase, do you like him." Luo Bo stopped talking about the Pandamonium functions the moment the guys left and stared intensely at Jia Le.
"What are you talking about, Bin Yong – I mean Senior Nu and I are merely acquaintances." Jia Le was caught off guard by the sudden question. Her eyes shifted a little and she stumbled over her words.
"He liked me a lot even to this day. However, as nice as he can be, I will never be able to reciprocate his love and kindness since I am indeed deeply in love with Shi Zuo…despite his odd habits." Luo Bo revealed that she knew Bin Yong liked her all along.
"You mean he is still singl-? I mean I did not expect Bin Yong to be erm…wooing you." Jia Le was equally shocked by Luo Bo's confession and Bin Yong's relationship status. She thought someone as cool and professional as Bin Yong would have already been taken.
"Ah, from your expression. You looked relieved." Luo Bo grinned from Jia Le's state of shock and confusion as if she immediately understood the whole situation.
"I ermm.." Jia Le blushed a little and nodded her head slightly. She could never imagine her idol was still single and here she thought she would be satisfied with just being friends with him. Suddenly, she was feeling greedy and wanted more.
"Then get close to him tonight if possible. Shi Zuo and I will be your wingman for you and that dense little beetle." Luo Bo laughed sincerely and gave a thumbs up to Jia Le.
However, for Jia Le. Her mind was in a mess. She did not know whether this was a really golden opportunity presented by the heavens themselves or just a big bad joke.
"Do not worry, I can read people well enough and Bin Yong is like an open book. I have 100% confidence he does has an inkling of interest in you. But he is held up by the chains of the past, he could not see forward. Help him but not too much and see if he is worth it." Luo Bo gave a fairly sensible advice. After all, this was probably the first time Jia Le made contact with Bin Yong.
However, Bin Yong's numerous artwork had already made Jia Le understood what kind of person he was and secretly seeing how Bin Yong worked in the office for the past four months affirmed her beliefs even further.
"Why are you helping me?" Jia Le still could not understand why Luo Bo was interested in helping her.
"Because he is my darling's best friend who he could have betrayed him many times to win me over. However, he did not. A guy with such loyalty to his friend and righteousness is hard to find and I want him to have the best in life too." Luo Bo solemnly replied.
"Also, I have a good hunch about you and him and I feel that you will not let him down." Luo Bo giggled and Jia Le finally relaxed.
"I will try my best too." Jia Le bowed a little towards Luo Bo as a sign of respect and gratitude. Instead of replying, Luo Bo grabbed Jia Le close to her arms and brought her into Jin's store.