A writer has arrived in the Chinese entertainment industry.

That's right, Chen Duling in front of me is the academic genius online friend that Su Liu mentioned in the interview. Of course, before this, Su Liu had always thought that the other party was a dead fat otaku.

The two met in 2008. The previous year, "Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone" was released in Japan, and the film was streamed to the Chinese internet, sparking another wave of excitement in the anime and manga community.

The ongoing debates between shippers and fans of the pairings are a recurring theme in this series. On platforms such as Baidu Tieba, forums, Douban groups, and personal blogs, the "Rei-ji shippers" and the "Kaori-ji shippers" argue endlessly. The "Rei-ji shippers" emphasize the sense of destiny and mutual redemption between the two, while the "Kaori-ji shippers" believe that the interactions between Asuka and Shinji are more down-to-earth, full of youthful clashes and growth.

The subtle changes in Shinji's attitude towards the two characters in the new theatrical version have further intensified the partisan conflict.

Su Liu and Chen Duling are staunch supporters of the "Li Party," and "Lingbo Li is the best in the world" is their motto. In countless late-night forum posts and online thread battles, they fought together against the attacks of the "Xiang Party," forging a deep revolutionary friendship.

At that time, neither of them knew each other's identities. In Su Liu's mind, someone who was deeply immersed in the world of anime and manga and had a special fondness for Rei Ayanami must be a "veteran otaku" over thirty years old with an aloof aura—this had almost become his stereotype.

So when he later learned by chance that his "comrade-in-arms" on the other side of the screen was only a year older than him, he was stunned for a while. But he never expected that the other person would be a girl!

During that time, the two talked about everything under the sun. She learned that Su Liu was preparing to become a writer and even helped him solve a problem with a mathematical formula.

After that, "Black Butler" started airing, and the two of them became very enthusiastic about watching the series, often seeing dozens of messages flashing on QQ as soon as they opened it.

Amidst their daily lives filled with absurdities, this camaraderie stubbornly persisted for four years.

Until 2011, when she entered the final sprint of her senior year of high school, Su Liu also established a company under An Wenxiu's planning and began to travel all over the world.

Later, she would occasionally send messages about school life and holiday greetings, but Su Liu was busy with work and rarely replied, and their contact faded away.

"You're a woman?!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Duling burst out laughing.

"What, are you surprised?"

"Of course I was surprised," Su Liu's voice suddenly rose. "I said back then that it was so unfair between us. You can find my information online, but I know nothing about you."

"Why do you need to know my identity? I'm nothing special."

"I've always considered you a brother."

Chen Duling gave a playful "humph," and said, "You haven't really paid much attention to your brother these past two years, have you?"

"Sigh, as an internationally renowned writer, I'm very busy."

"Okay, great writer."

The two looked at each other, finding the stories of the world truly fascinating, and suddenly burst into laughter. At first, it was just a slight curve at the corner of their mouths, but it gradually spread, transforming into a clear and hearty laugh.

"Ah, I still find it hard to accept. My good brother has turned into a good sister."

"Huh?" Chen Duling's eyes widened in surprise, her logic still not quite there. "How can I be your younger sister? I'm a year older than you, right?"

"That's called flexible socializing. Besides, aren't girls the kind of creatures who wish they could lock their age in a dry box and forever yearn to be called 'little sister'?"

"No. Besides, I'm not at the point where I care about such things!"

"You can't let your guard down, you're almost thirty after all."

"You're almost thirty!"

Su Liu suddenly remembered that Xiao Xu had said he was going to get the car and would probably be here soon. Hmm, he had to leave before he got back, otherwise he'd have to eat with a bunch of old men.

Okay, now that things have come to this, let's be frank: Su Liu is an incurable lecher. Even after being humiliated by beautiful girls, he keeps falling into their traps and never learns a lesson.

He had long understood that soft breasts and sweet thighs were obstacles on his path forward, but it didn't matter; he was willing to indulge in their gentle embrace.

Rebelling against fate is, in the end, nothing more than human arrogance. If a beautiful girl is willing to risk her life to have a physical encounter with you, then accept her, don't push her away.

"Hurry up!"

Taking advantage of Chen Duling's unpreparedness, Su Liu, with the decisiveness of "the world is ending in three seconds," grabbed Chen Duling's hand and rushed out.

"Wow!"

The girl stumbled and was forced to run.

"Hey, why did we run?" Chen Duling asked blankly, like a broken record, "Why did we run?"

"If we don't run now, things will get really bad!"

"Why is that?"

Su Liu didn't answer, but just dragged her along as they ran. The two of them ran westward along Zhongshan East Road for more than two hundred meters, until Chen Duling was so exhausted that she refused to move anymore.

"So... huff... why... why... did I run?" Chen Duling gasped for breath like a broken bellows.

The two of them, still holding hands that hadn't yet let go, strolled side by side under the sycamore trees.

"Of course I have my reasons, I don't need to tell you," Su Liu said irresponsibly.

"What the hell? You're being so unreasonable!" Chen Duling protested, forgetting to break free from the hand being held.

"More importantly, we need to go get dinner. Do you have any recommendations?"

Chen Duling's eyes lit up. "There's a stall over there selling crispy sesame cakes, duck fat crispy sesame cakes! They're delicious, my treat!"

"Is this all we're having for dinner?"

"There's a McDonald's right next door."

"Alright."

"Let's go, we'll catch the bus up ahead."

Su Liu took two steps forward, but suddenly felt a force pulling his body backward. Looking back, he saw Chen Duling standing still.

She lowered her head slightly, her gaze slowly moving down her arm until it landed on her two hands, which were still tightly clasped together.

"Why are you holding my hand the whole time?" she asked.

"Huh? You're only just realizing that? Your reaction time is so slow."

The girl's cheeks suddenly flushed red at a visible speed, and she abruptly pulled her hand back, so fast that she even took half a step back.

"You, you!" She tapped Su Liu lightly twice, then stomped her foot on the ground and walked past him.

"Haha." Su Liu laughed and quickly followed.

.....

Meanwhile, Xiao Xu drove back to the museum entrance, ready to welcome our great writer, only to suddenly discover that Su Liu had vanished without a trace.

He hurriedly got out of the car and shouted, "Teacher Su!"

Receiving no response, he began circling the stalled car frantically, as if Su Liu were a paper doll that would stick to the car's chassis or hide in the exhaust pipe.

As he spun around, he continued to call out to Su Liu with unwavering devotion.

"Teacher Su!" He megaphoned his arms and roared at the sky, "Where are you?!"

Meanwhile, Su Liu was leisurely wasting time with Chen Duling.

The two chatted about their interesting experiences over the past two years. Su Liu did most of the talking, while Chen Duling listened attentively, occasionally exclaiming in surprise, "Huh?" "Really?" "How come it's like this?"

Just then, Su Liu's phone rang. He took it out and saw it was an unknown number, so he hung up immediately.

Chen Duling glanced at it and subconsciously asked, "Who is it?"

"Nobody here, it's none of my business," Su Liu replied nonchalantly.