Chapter 53: Dating


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    [Diana’s P.O.V.]


    ‘When I saw that Patrick had sent a message asking me to meet him the next day, I was a little hesitant, to be honest. But I couldn’t really say no, or maybe it’s because I didn’t want to say no. It’s probably just a meeting between two friends. I’m just overthinking things. I needed to move on with my life


    and start making new friends anyway.


    Patrick wanted to meet up after lunch and said that he would pick me up. I was curious about where he would take me since dates usually happened in the evening and involved a dinner followed by a movie.


    ‘When it was about time, I chose to wear a tight-fitting white T-shirt and a denim skirt. I ditched the high heels for sneakers since I didn’t want to look too sexy. I wanted to go for a student look since, well, I was a student after all. And while I wasn’t sure what type of woman Patrick liked, my outfit


    should be fine for a lunch outing. D*mn it, why was I getting conscious about what he would think?


    ‘When Patrick told me he was downstairs, I added thest touch of light pink lip gloss before meeting him.


    The moment I saw him, I noticed that we were dressed like a couple because he was also wearing a white T-shirt and jeans. I started to be a little shy when I realized this coincidence. Gosh, this man was hot all the time.


    Patrick opened the door for me and I sat in.


    “Diana, you look beautiful today.” He might haveplimented me out of courtesy, but it still made me happy.


    “Thank you, Patrick. Where are we going now?”


    “You’ll know when we get there. I hope you’ll like it.”


    I thought Patrick would take me to the movies, or maybe we would be going to an exhibition, the park, or something. But his car stopped only two blocks away as he led me toa ce that looked like a studio.


    “Good afternoon, Mr. Valentine. I’m so d you coulde and inspect the work.” Was Patrick the owner of the studio?


    “Miguel, Show me your coolest toys.”


    ‘We were led into a huge room by the man named Miguel. It was blue and white and it looked very technical. There were helmets, VR masks, mock race car models, and other kinds of sensors.


    “Have you solved the dizziness problem?” asked Patrick.


    “We have improved some of the game scenes to effectively reduce the experience of dizziness, sir.”


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    “Diana, do you want to try it?” asked Patrick as he took the two VR masks.


    “Is this a VR game? I’ve only heard of them but I’ve never tried one before. I’ll try it.”


    Patrick helped me put on the VR masks, his fingers carelessly touching my cheek as he did so. His touch felt gentle and warm.


    “Then let’s start with something simple. How about a snowball fight?”


    Although the name of the game sounded stupid, I was shocked by what I saw and experienced the moment the VR game started up. This was my first time experiencing VR and it was quite realistic. Ignoring the fact that I couldn’t really feel the cold since it was summer, I was almost convinced I had been


    suddenly transported to a world of ice and snow. A few seconds in, I started to shiver.


    As I was immersed in the beauty of the vast snowy wilderness, something hit me in the leg, It was Patrick throwing a snowball at me, and I could tell from the way he had beat up Jefferson that he wasn’t using much force against me this time. I made a snowball and threw it at him. The two of us fought


    like children. I didn’t even care that people might look at us like idiots.


    Thanks to Patrick, the afternoon passed by magically. We tried almost every new game in the studio. I got on a horse and galloped across an endless prairie, then took up arms and hid behind Patrick as we fought with monster. But my favorite was a high-end simtion of life where I was transported to


    France, then brought to Fifth Avenue to splurge on clothes and shoes as Patrick tagged along like my little brother while carrying my shopping bags.


    I finally understood why Zuckerberg had changed Facebook to Meta. When the whole experience was over, I felt exhausted, yet better than ever. Even when I got in the car, I was still talking to Patrick about some of the impressive scenes from the game.


    “Patrick, are you their boss?” asked I as we made our way to the dinner ce.


    “Not exactly. They’re actually your seniors. They’re doing a VR startup project and ourpany has invested in them.”


    I nodded. From the way the staff treated Patrick, I guessed that he was the management of an investmentpany. But I didn’t ask any further because I then noticed that Patrick had stopped the car in front of an small, ordinary-looking restaurant.


    This was the second surprise of the day. Despite its outer appearance, I almost cried when I tasted the food that they had served. I was immediately taken back to my hometown in Beaufort, North Carolina. This was definitely not a coincidence.


    “Lasked Lily and she said that you’re from there. It’s not easy for a girl attend a school so far away from home alone. I hope this food will bring you somefort.” Patrickughed as he picked up arge piece of cottage cheese and stuffed it into his mouth. He had been so observant. Even I didn’t know


    that there was such a small restaurant hidden near our school.


    As we made our way back, I realized that I had been enjoying spending time with him so much that I was starting to hope that time would simply stop. When he parked the car outside my dorm, I thanked him for his hospitality today and told him how much I had enjoyed our time together. Then I got out


    of the car and headed for the dorm.


    I could feel a burning gaze on my backing from behind me. He didn’t say anything, but I could tell what he was thinking.


    Still, what was I thinking? I admitted I had feelings for Patrick, but I had just broken up with that jerk yesterday. Or was this fate?


    I decided to go with my feelings and turned around to look at him. He hadn’t left. Instead, he was leaning against the car door as he watched me leave.


    My heart felt warm and I couldn’t help but blurt out,


    “Hey, I mean, do you want toe up and drink some juice or something?”