Chapter 4 - 004 "A smile on his face which he couldn't explain"

🌷"Some barriers are meant to be tested…

And some hearts are meant to be patient, quietly waiting for trust"🌷

Shakti opened the game as always. But this time, curiosity was clearly visible in his mind, and his expectations were a little higher than usual.

While opening the game, he asked himself,

"Why does something feel a little interesting today?"

"Why am I feeling so energetic?"

There was a slight smile on his lips and confusion in his heart. His thoughts were mixed between tiredness and a strange happiness, but he wasn't aware of the reason behind this feeling.

Shakti wondered,

"Is Sophia the reason for this feeling?"

"Or is it just another mood swing?"

Shakti said to himself,

"Whatever it is, it's good for me. It's much better than feeling lonely."

"At least this feels better than being bored and carrying all the burden on my head after such a tiring day."

Shakti's brain said to his heart,

"Oh come on, this is just your overthinking. It's nothing like that. Let's get some fresh air and chill a bit near the river."

Then he defeated some enemies because he needed materials for one of his game characters.

He kept doing one quest after another, and finally, his commissions were completed.

He took a deep breath and said, "Wahhh, finally it's done."

Shakti: "Now I can sit somewhere peacefully."

He walked toward a nearby bench and sat next to an NPC of that region.

He hadn't even been sitting for ten seconds when a notification rang in his ears.

He looked at the screen with a happy face and held the phone tightly; his eyes widened with excitement.

Shakti said to himself,

"If I am not wrong, it must be her."

Then he checked the private chat section —

it was from Sophia.

Shakti told himself,

"I was right, it's her."

He saw Sophia had typed,

"Hello 👋 Shakti, how was your day today?"

"I hope you had a great day 🙃"

Shakti replied,

"Oh helloo ma'am 👋, my day was good as usual. We can say it was normal."

Sophia smiled behind her phone at the way he said "ma'am."

With a cute smile on her face, she asked,

"Hahaha, why ma'am? Hmmm? Do I seem old to you or something?"

He replied,

"Nahh… I said ma'am because it's a gentle word, and I just wanted to be a little polite."

Shakti's brain told him,

"Hey fool, what are you saying? Did you drink or what?"

His brain always reminded him what he was really like, but his soft heart often spoke first.

Sophia said,

"I know, I know 🤭 I was just teasing you. Never mind."

Shakti: "Haha okay, I understood."

Shakti asked her,

"By the way, I forgot to ask — how was your day? Was it good?"

She replied,

"Hmm… it was tiring."

She started explaining,

"I went to school early in the morning, then classes, homework. I helped Mama a bit and took the garbage out…"

Shakti smiled. His heart felt strangely warm. He thought,

"My God, she is so cute the way she explains her day."

Shakti told her,

"Owww, I see. I think you should take some rest instead of playing."

She replied,

"Nope, I'm all fine."

Shakti: "Okay!"

Shakti was still sitting on the bench next to the female NPC after finishing his commissions.

Sophia asked (they were still in the private chat),

"Anyway, what are you doing? Hmm?"

Shakti typed,

"Nothing, I'm just wandering like a cloud!"

"Just chilling and sitting next to Carrie."

Sophia replied,

"Ehh Carrie? Who is Carrie?"

Her expression made Shakti start thinking,

"Why that expression? Is she jealous? Or is she mad by any chance? But if she is, then why?"

Many questions started running through Shakti's mind. He thought,

"I don't know why all this is coming into my mind… maybe it's just my overthinking brain."

Shakti replied,

"You don't know about Carrie? She is a girl NPC here."

Sophia replied in a slightly cold but playful way,

"I don't know what girl you are talking about."

She was smirking 😏 Her teasing mode was fully on. Then she asked,

"Is she your girlfriend? Huhh?"

Shakti, with a serious and surprised tone, said,

"Sheesh! I don't have any girlfriend. She is just an NPC, completely virtual."

Shakti typed,

"How could someone love a virtual character who doesn't even exist in the real world?"

Sophia replied,

"Hey, don't take it seriously 😂 I'm just pulling your strings."

Sophia was clearly teasing him.

Even though Shakti knew she was joking, he felt so, so happy. He kept imagining her face every time she teased him and smiled.

Shakti thought to himself,

"Even though she isn't here in real life, her face keeps coming to my mind, and it makes me feel good."

Shakti typed, "Ohh haha, I see."

Sophia: "Yeah!"

Shakti asked,

"How about you? What are you doing?"

Sophia replied,

"Nothing much. I'm playing with Ajay and Bunty. We three are just chilling here."

When he read this, the smile on his face faded for a moment.

Shakti replied,

"Ohhh okay, have fun with them!"

He didn't ask to join, nor did he mention anything else.

Sophia sent another message,

"Do you want to join us? You can join if you want."

He kept a poker face. For a moment, no words came to his mind. But inside, Shakti thought,

"I think I should join them. It would be better."

He replied,

"Of course, let me join!"

Sophia: "Come fast, fast!"

Then he joined them with a calm state of mind. (He didn't mean anything wrong — it was just his soft heart making him think that way.)

The moment he joined, three chats popped up one by one:

Sophia: "Hiiiiiii!"

Ajay: "Woww, hiiiiii Shakti!"

Bunty: "Hello Mr. Gentle!"

Bunty was unfamiliar to Shakti.

Shakti saw the messages and thought,

"Does this guy know me?"

Shakti typed,

"Hello everyone, how are you all doing?"

Ajay replied,

"We're all good. We're just talking while exploring. How about you?"

Shakti replied,

"I'm also good. I joined because I got bored opening chests alone."

Although Shakti was talking nicely with them, something else was going on inside him — something he himself wasn't fully aware of.

To be continued…