Neal shook his head slightly and murmured, “No worries, it’s really okay.”

Brock persisted, “I insist, I really must.” Then he carefully navigated Neal’s phone to add himself as a friend and tapped to confirm the friend request.

Upon seeing his name appear on Neal’s friend list, a broad smile spread across Brock’s face, radiating happiness.

“I’ve bought tickets for the semifinals already,” Brock said proudly. “I’ll be there rooting for you, so you better bring your best game!”

“Thank you,” Neal replied, looking at him. “Your name is Brock, right?” He recalled the girl mentioning that name earlier.

Brock responded with an eager nod.

Nearby, Sloane observed the others linking up digitally with Neal. As another girl came up to connect, Sloane suddenly clasped her wrist.

“Hold on a second!”

The girl gave her a puzzled look.

Sloane leaned in to examine the girl’s phone, then, recognizing the avatar, she gasped, “Oh, it’s you!”

With a puzzled expression, the girl responded, “I’m sorry, do we know each other?”

Excitedly turning to Fernanda, Sloane explained, “Remember, at the beginning of last semester, we had that gaming session during one of our meetings and invited ‘Mimi Berry’?”

Fernanda’s eyes lit up in recognition. “Oh, yes, I remember that.” The name was too cute to forget.

Sloane showed the avatar on the girl’s phone to Fernanda, pointing it out. “Look, it’s definitely her. The avatars match.” The avatar featured distinctive pink hair.

With this revelation, the girl realized she was in the company of past gaming acquaintances, though she struggled to remember the specific game from her extensive play history.

Sloane eagerly explained further, “You joined us in the game once and famously scolded a rude teammate throughout the match. You were terrific! We even added each other afterward. Here, this is my profile.”

The girl peered at the screen, her memory clicking into place. “Ah, I remember now.”

Sloane smiled. “What a small world, right?”

Brock laughed and said, “Mika, so you’re connected with Neal’s friends? What a surprise. Hahaha…”

Sloane and Mika Sugden were both amazed by the chance encounter of gamers meeting like this in real life.

In a gesture of hospitality, Sloane suggested they merge their groups at one table to make sharing stories easier.

Turning to Mika with a touch of curiosity, Sloane whispered, “You don’t seem as captivated by Neal as everyone else. You’re not really a fan, are you?”

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