The small dorm room, which Mei Lin usually used as a quiet place to relax, was full of frantic energy during Liang Ru's crisis. Gu Zimo sat on the edge of Liang Ru's bed and watched the whole "hacker to the rescue" operation with wide, impressed eyes. He was Liang Ru's best friend from their time as trainees at Graceful Productions, and to be honest, he had expected the usual tech support struggle: hours on the phone, frustrating resets, and maybe even a few tears from Liang Ru. Instead, he saw Mei Lin, who was quiet and focused, take down a digital wall with almost casual skill. Her fingers moved across the keyboard like a concert pianist, and each command was perfect. Each line of code scrolled by like a secret language that only she knew. The way she handled things was amazing, and it was very different from how Liang Ru was acting when he was desperate. It wasn't just impressive; it was really interesting.
Gu Zimo looked at Mei Lin with a new respect that was almost awe as Liang Ru finally let out a triumphant shout and logged back into his restored account. "That was... amazing," he said, his voice full of sincerity, as Liang Ru kept thanking him. "How do you even do that? You are like a superhero on the internet. Mei Lin smiled shyly, even though she didn't like the praise too much. But there was something about Gu Zimo's open admiration that struck a chord with her. It was more than just needing a tech fix; it was a real curiosity. He wasn't asking for a favor; he was asking about her, about what she could do that no one else could. After that, a tentative friendship began to grow. It was unexpected but completely natural. Gu Zimo, who was easygoing and excited about their shared dreams of performing, started looking for her not only to ask tech questions but also to talk about random things, tell funny trainee stories, or just hang out.
For Mei Lin, whose life was mostly made up of heavy academic texts and working on code alone, this was a big change that happened quietly. Her parents, a few trusted academic friends, and people she met online who she didn't know in person were always in her close circle. Gu Zimo brought a new, lively energy to the group. He was from a completely different world of idol training, music, and performance.
He wasn't a fellow coder or a teacher; he was a way for her to see a part of Shanghai's youth culture that she didn't usually interact with. This new, unexpected friendship with Liang Ru's cheerful, grateful trainee friend quietly, but meaningfully, began to expand Mei Lin's network. It gently pulled her beyond the limits of her immediate academic and digital world, adding new threads to the complicated tapestry of her life.