My Virtual Lover

Live 19: The Adored Matchmaking

“You’re an odd one” Kevin pats the cat head gently as he feeds the stray cat with a bowl of milk.

Nut the cat always visits him through the window, jumping into his room unannounced when he’s opening his laptop, he was checking whether he had any homework to do when the little cat surprised him on his lap. Kevin chuckles as he pats the cat fur with his large hands, the cat mewls satisfyingly.

Kevin sees the clock on his desk, presumably to check the time he will play with Tempesta. He had a promise to play with her through Discord anyway, he can’t wait to see how bad she will place. The young man already planned everything, telling himself that he will be the one who teach her to play APEX.

He wants to impress her, hopefully, he can befriend her for a long time since she looks like a friendly person to hang out with. Kevin smirks when he sees his empty schedule today, doing the homework beforehand turns out to be good for him. All of his sketches are inside the paper map, ready to be scanned and send to his lecturer.

The cat purrs when

He is heading to the internet cafe with his usual motorcycle, not forgetting to free the stray cats before his uncle finds out about his attraction to strays. They exchanged Discord ID, they’ve been talking for days about their favorite game which is Pokemon. He feels a connection with Tempesta, she’s unlike any girls he knew.

She’s approachable, perhaps due to the fact she’s in love with games more than men. Tempesta is blunt and straightforward with what she wants, it’s easy to read her like an open book. She’s a terrible liar, her tone shows whether she’s uncomfortable or cozy with someone’s companion.

Hence, in this case, he knew that Tempesta is attracted to him because of her bashful tones. He often teases the girl, only to make her snap at him bashfully. He already sees the Glory Internet cafe on his left, he parks his white motorcycle in the parking lot. Taking off his helmet, he can’t hide his smile that he’s been waiting for this to happen.

Even if Tempesta herself is bashful, the girl is somewhat reluctant and a loner despite her popularity in Holorealm. He needs to be the one who instigates a conversation since Tempesta is as cold as the north pole. Perhaps, rather than cold, shy is the correct way to describe Tempesta’s personality.

She’s too embarrassed to start a conversation with a stranger unless it’s about games, he felt rather exclusive to be the first one who Tempesta adores. He enters the internet cafe with a confident smile, he swears he could see his nose growing boldly due to arrogance. Arya who

usually stays at the counter looks at Kevin irritatingly.

“You look happy, something in your mind young man?” Arya raises his eyebrows. “Did you get yourself a girlfriend?”.

“Huh? As if!” Kevin laughs horridly, surprising the people inside the internet cafe who hears his outburst of laughter. “You know me, there’s no way I would be attracted to people who are not 2D! That is impossible for me Arya”.

“Oh well, why am I not surprised?” Arya sighs heavily. “Dude, you’re already grown-up! You’re twenty years old now, get a life”.

Kevin ignores Arya’s concern and pays for five hours of playtime, the young man pays in front of Arya as he takes his payment quietly while facepalming. He tells him that the VIP room he uses is currently empty, hence it’s his lucky day once again. The glasses man nods in enthusiasm, thanking Arya joyfully.

Wearing his grey hoodie up, he suddenly notices his cellphone beeping from his pocket. Tempesta is already online on APEX, she’s waiting for Kevin to be online.

“Kani! I’m already inside, please tell me if you’re online so that I can call you through discord” she chats with him with a big thumbs up.

“Sure, I’ll contact you” Kevin replies with a big grin.

Kevin goes to the second floor, the VIP room is ready for him to be used. He opens the discord in the PC, calling Tempesta to alert her that he’s ready to play. Tempesta eagerly answers his calls, he can hear the tomboyish voice of Tempesta from the other side of the phone. Kevin smiles wider as he hears the excitement in her voice.

“Are we going to play APEX now? Can you teach me the basics?” she asks enthusiastically from the call.

“Sure, I’ll teach you from the top to the bottom” he grins.

The matchmaking stars as soon as the room master, Tempesta search for a match. After that character selection, she somewhat chose the same character as Rhapsody, the one Vtuber she once played with. He’s amused with her choice, it seems Tempesta fonds of Bangalore's character. As usual, Kevin’s first choice would be Wraith the aggressive player.

“Are you ready?” Kevin asks from the discord. “Are you scared?”.

“Not at all, I learned a few bits about this game a few days ago” she sounds satisfied. “So let’s get on with it while it remains fresh in my brain!”.

He remembers the time when he played with Rhapsody a few days ago, she also picks the same character as Tempesta as well. Such coincidence is gold, he chuckles when he remembers how Rhapsody plays recklessly as Bangalore. She’s the type of person who barges into the enemy’s base even if it endangers her life.

It fits her role well, except that Rhapsody’s aim is not as good as him, it only makes her a liability sometimes. He wonders if Tempesta will do well as Bangalore since she plays the game before, she admitted to practicing it a few times before Saturday comes.

“Alright then show me your ability as a Bangalore player and what you’ve learned these past few days!” Kevin grins. “I’ll help you out if you’re in danger alright?”.

“Gotcha!” she beams enthusiastically.

The game starts after the countdown becomes zero, they fly down from the airship as they enter their new battle arena, The World Edge.