nFaint sunlight shone through the curtain of the room and reflected on the floor next to the bed.

nAfter Tang Mo finished his words, there was a brief silence. Tang Mo looked up at Fu Wenduo and Fu Wenduo watched him, slowly narrowing his eyes.

n“…It isn’t important?”

nTang Mo understood the other person’s meaning and his lips curved. “Is it more important than Eve’s Reward?

nBang!

nFu Wenduo suddenly pressed his hands against the wall, surrounding the youth sitting cross-legged on the bed.

nSeven days ago, Fu Wenduo had found an office building and settled the unconscious Tang Mo in it. They were currently in a small bedroom inside the office, which was relatively narrow and concealed. The bed was only 1.2 metres and close to the wall, making it convenient for Fu Wenduo to abruptly lean towards the wall.

nThe distance between the two men shrank sharply.

nFu Wenduo watched quietly for a moment before suddenly asking, “When did you discover my birthday?”

nTang Mo, “…”

nFu Wenduo raised his eyebrows. “Last December, you were at Grandmother Wolf’s place in the Monster Valley. Your secret was about the person you secretly liked and his birthday is September 9th. That’s how you will know your lucky number is 9. However, I never divulge personal information like my birthday on the Internet.”

nTang Mo looked calm despite being sandwiched by the wall and this man’s chest. He simple leaned back against the wall and asked lightly, “Who said it is you?”

nFu Wenduo showed a rare expression of surprise. “It isn’t me?”

nTang Mo’s lips curved. “I also didn’t say that it isn’t you.”

nFu Wenduo, “…”

nTang Mo said, “You are nervous, Fu Wenduo. If you were in a normal state then you would tell it was a joke and wouldn’t ask this. In any case, you liked me first. Was it… last February?”

nLast February, the black tower hadn’t arrived yet. Tang Mo and Victor had known each other for half a year and often teamed up on the Internet to play cards.

nTang MO also didn’t like to divulge his own information on the Internet and never participated in offline bridge games. Victor was more mysterious than he was and didn’t even reveal his age.

nHe didn’t even go to the offline bridge game where masters gathered. Then in February, someone organized an online bridge competition. As it happened, Victor was often online at that time and the two of them signed up. However, they didn’t enter the finals. The night before the semi-finals, Victor suddenly messaged Tang Mo on QQ and said he couldn’t come the next day.

nTang Mo didn’t think too much. He knew that Victor’s work was always busy. Come to think about it now, Fu Wenduo might’ve had a mission at the time.

nThen when Tang Mo came home from work, he saw a message on QQ and was more surprised than disappointed.

nVictor: I have something tomorrow and can’t come. Sorry.

nFive minutes later.

nVictor: I’m going to Suzhou for business next week. Do you want to meet?

nTang Mo didn’t immediately agree.

nAt the time, he had a bit of affinity to Victory but it couldn’t be called ‘like.’ Victor was a cup of cold coffee without a rich fragrance. Tang Mo wanted to try a mouthful and feel the mellowness hiding in the cold temperature but he didn’t want to break the habit of never meeting netizens.

nNot to mention…what if the bubble burst as reality became apparent?

nHe hesitated for a few days before he saw Victor online again. Tang Mo considered it and replied: If it is convenient then we can.

nVictor was silent for a long time before replying: Sorry, there is a temporary change of itinerary and I can’t go.

nTang Mo froze for a moment before typing back: Okay.

nHis feelings suddenly became weird.

nHe was mentally prepared to see Victor but the other party refused. Tang Mo didn’t know exactly when he started liking Victor but this was definitely a turning point. Prior to this, his feelings towards Victor were more of a tacit understanding that didn’t fit into words. The powerful and decisive Victor attracted him. It was a strong gravitational pull but it wasn’t a black hole.

nAfter this incident, he became more concerned about the other person and it became a type of affection that he wouldn’t hesitate if the other person proposed to meet.

nTang Mo leaned against the wall and analyzed with a smile, “With your personality and identity, you would never go to see a netizen if you really don’t want to meet them. So… was it last February?”

nThis young man was too clever.

nHowever, this cleverness and sharpness was exactly what Fu Wenduo liked. He avoided Tang Mo’s question as he closed his eyes for a long time and thought about something. Then he asked, “…October the year before last?”

nTang Mo’s body stiffened.

nFu Wenduo’s lips curved. He knew that he was right.

nOn October 16th, Mo Tang and Victor had known each other for three months. They met in an online bridge game and weren’t teammates at the time. They were opponents and Fu Wenduo took Tang Mo’s home. They were clearly opponents but Tang Mo was aware that this person’s pace was exactly the same as his own. Every idea and card routine fit with his.

nTang Mo lost the game since his teammates were useless. At the end of the game, Tang Mo added Fu Wenduo as a friend. On the bridge platform they played on, the system would automatically send a greeting to the other person when adding them as a friend. Tang Mo’s greeting hadn’t been sent when he received a message.

nVictor: You play cards very well. Let’s be friends.

nMo Tang: You play cards very well. Let’s be friends.

nThe two of them were only one second apart.

nTang Mo was startled and subconsciously read the name. “Victor…”

nThere were a few casual chats and they added each other on QQ. Then they started playing as a team.

nIn October, they matched with a couple with very interesting IDs. One person was called ‘The Future is Long (lai ri fang chang)’ and the other person was called ‘My Name is Fang Chang’. The names of these two people were funny and their technique of playing cards wasn’t bad. The four people fought for five minutes and after seeing that Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo were going to win, the Future is Long hurriedly said: Today is my girlfriend’s birthday. These two big brothers, please give me some face. bbu.

nIt was the first time Tang Mo had encountered such a situation.

nVictor asked: What does ‘bbu’ mean?

nThe Future is Long: Ball ball you. We had bad luck today and met great gods. We even lost 10 games. Give me some face. My girlfriend said that if we don’t win a game then I absolutely can’t sleep.

nTang Mo and Fu Wenduo didn’t have much interest in winning or losing. They only cared about the process of playing cards. Thus, the two of them directly gave up.

nIn the private chat, Tang Mo suddenly asked, “Big brother, then who is the oldest?

nVictor: When is your birthday?

nTang Mo didn’t expect him to say this. It is still early. He thought about it and asked back: What about you?

nVictor: It is also still early.

nIt was the only time they walked about their birthdays. The time they knew each other was short and none of them revealed their birthdays. After that, Tang Mo subconsciously remembered this matter. He took careful notice of Fu Wenduo’s phrase ‘It is also still early.’

nThese words were very special.

nLater, Tang Mo speculated that Fu Wenduo’s birthday had just passed, which was what he meant by ‘it is also still early.’

nIt was difficult to say who liked each other first. Tang Mo knew that his heart was moved very early. Perhaps he had placed a ‘this person is special’ feeling towards Victor from the first meeting. However, he couldn’t mention a specific time when he first liked Victor. It was probably the same for Fu Wenduo.

nHowever…

nTang Mo’s expression didn’t change. “You must like me first.”

nHe had the timing as evidence. On February 17th, Fu Wenduo wouldn’t have proposed to meet an online person unless he liked them.

nFu Wenduo refuted, “You secretly liked me first.”

nHe also had the timing as evidence. On October 16th, if there was no affection then why would Tang Mo pay attention to the birthday of a netizen and try to guess the specific date?

nThey were both determined not to be crushed. Tang Mo had a tone that indicated he wanted to fight. Fu Wenduo’s words the other night allowed Tang Mo to understand that this man liked him but it was unknown when this man started liking him. Did he like Tang Mo or Mo Tang? Perhaps it was both. (TL: he other night when they talked about gaining Fu Wenduo’s ability and if it wasn’t selling themselves)

nFu Wenduo’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Tang Mo. Tang Mo didn’t show any weakness and looked back quietly.

nA long time passed before footsteps were heard from the stairs. Tang Mo smiled, “You aren’t young and shouldn’t be childish.”

nFu Wenduo removed his hand from the wall and didn’t answer this question. He just responded with his eyes: You aren’t childish?

nTang Mo had to admit that in some aspects, Mo Tang and Victor had always been childish.

nThe footsteps got closer and then Fu Wensheng opened the door, making a startled expression. “Brother Tang, you woke up?”

nChen Shanshan entered the room. “Brother Tang woke up. Is there anything wrong with your body?”

nTang Mo got out of bed and took two laps around the room, moving his body. “There is no problem. I’m just a big hungry from going a few days without eating. Fu Wenduo said that I was unconscious for seven days. What happened in those seven days?”

nChen Shanshan took out a bag of biscuits ad said, “Many things. Major Fu didn’t tell you?” The little girl helped Tang Mo find an excuse. “Is it because you just woke up?”

nTang Mo paused while opening the biscuits bag and nodded.

nFu Wensheng asked, “Brother Tang, what exactly is Eve’s Reward? Quickly tell us!”

nTang Mo ate two biscuits and the hunger in his stomach eased. He put the rest of the biscuits away. He looked seriously at Chen Shanshan and spoke in a solemn tone, “This matter needs Shanshan’s analysis. First of all… I didn’t get any substantial rewards.”

nThe group was startled.

nChen Shanshan quickly responded. “Well, the reward for this definitely isn’t a prop. You were knocked unconscious by a red apple and Major Fu grabbed the apple. We checked it and found it was the same as Ning Zheng’s apple. It is called Eve’s Reward and has no special effect. It only represents Eve’s Reward.’ The short-haired girl took the red apple from her bag and handed it to Tang Mo. “It can be said that the apple is a symbol that represents Eve’s Reward but it has nothing to do with Eve’s Reward.”

nTang Mo nodded. “Ning Zheng and Xu Yusheng have this apple. All returnees in the world also have the red apple. However, as long as it doesn’t open then it is just an apple.”

nChen Shanshan continued, “Yes, that’s what it means. So it isn’t the reward. When you were unconscious, I talked with Major Fu and Xiao Sheng. We all agreed…. Eve’s Reward might be related to the truth of the black tower.”

nThe girl stared at Tang Mo with anticipation but she was destined to be disappointed.

nTang Mo sighed. “This is the second point I want to say. I was unconscious for seven days but from my perspective, it was only a moment. There was a dream that seemed to be both long and short but I forgot it. I could hear what you were discussing and sensations like sound and touch still exist.”

nThe indifferently listening Fu Wenduo heard this and his eyebrows twitched. Then he glanced at Tang Mo and his fingers.

nFu Wenduo, “…”

n