In an instant, David Parker felt like he’d been duped. Looking closer, he noticed a small question mark at the end. Clicking on it, he saw: “This member is a star member and has obtained the privilege of [Close Friend]. You must apply and be approved to become this member’s close friend.

　　Once you become close friends, it means you’ve established a fairly deep emotional bond. All information will be 100% accessible, and you can also participate in exclusive site activities to win benefits and prizes.”

　　“Close friend?”

　　David Parker searched all over the screen, and sure enough, the smiling girl’s profile had an extra item: Close Friends 0.

　　“……”

　　Seeing that big fat 0, he inexplicably felt a bit better. It meant she didn’t have any close friends.

　　……

　　“QQ is so much fun!”

　　“I added five friends today, all girls!”

　　“Are you coming again tomorrow? We get out of class early tomorrow.”

　　On the way back, the classmate who had evolved to a 20% newbie couldn’t stop talking, going on and on about his first experience online.

　　David Parker felt contempt: How do you know they’re girls? Have you seen their photos? Do you have their phone numbers? All you know is how to play QQ, you noob!

　　He couldn’t help but think of that dating club again.

　　He’d just spent two hours online, exploring all the site’s features. Besides the matchmaking part, the main thing was the [Local Dating] function.

　　Members could post dating info, for example: Tomorrow at 2 p.m., watching a certain movie at a certain cinema, looking for a male/female companion, costs split, etc…

　　Even though he hadn’t seen the smiling girl’s phone number, David Parker still thought this dating club was pretty interesting.

　　He searched some non-star members’ profiles, and their phone numbers were indeed displayed, but most of the addresses were in the northeast, which was a bit odd.

　　As for the requirements to become a star member, one was uploading a real photo, and the other was real-name phone verification.

　　In other words, both the smiling girl and the “Doll Sister” had been verified. Of course, “Doll Sister” had as many as 68 close friends—scary.

　　“Sigh…”

　　The image of the smiling girl kept floating in David Parker’s mind. He’d left her a message, hoping she would reply.

　　……

　　The next day.

　　David Parker and his buddy went to the internet café again.

　　His buddy eagerly opened QQ to continue his learning, but David Parker wasn’t even in the mood to read the news—he went straight to the dating club.

　　When he saw [Messages] flashing, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of joy.

　　The smiling girl had replied!

　　“Hi, I really like your photography style. I hope we can get to know each other better.”

　　He replied: “Thank you, I also hope to get to know you better.”

　　David Parker carefully composed his words, trying to sound polite: “I’m studying at university in Beijing and really like movies. If there’s a chance, let’s go see ‘Pearl Harbor’ together.”

　　He was about to log off after sending it, but to his surprise, she was online and replied quickly: “That probably won’t happen. ‘Pearl Harbor’ is about to leave theaters.”

　　“Ah? That’s such a pity.”

　　“Yeah, I went to see it alone yesterday. Felt a bit lonely.”

　　“:(”

　　“What does ‘:(’ mean?”

　　“If you tilt your head, doesn’t it look like a sad face?”

　　“……”

　　David Parker tilted his head to the left. Huh, it really did. He replied: “This is the first time I’ve seen that. Pretty interesting. You must be a girl with a rich and interesting inner world.”

　　“Thanks for the compliment. I also hope to find a friend with a rich and interesting inner world, so I can be :) every day.”

　　This time David Parker didn’t need to be taught—he tilted his head again. That was a smiley face.

　　“Alright, I have to go eat now. Let’s chat again later.”

　　“Okay, 886.”

　　After typing, David Parker stared at the screen for a long time, his heart wrapped in a gentle sweetness and comfort, with a sense of anticipation quietly growing inside him—one he hadn’t even noticed himself.

　　Ah! She must be a wonderful girl!

　　He checked her close friends again—still 0. He felt inexplicably safer. He was about to leave, but paused and went to check [Local Dating].

　　And then he got a shock!

　　Yesterday, when he’d come, there had only been a dozen or twenty messages. Now, one page, two pages, three pages… they were all full!

　　“College student new to Beijing, wants to visit local attractions, looking for a travel companion, any gender, costs split.”

　　“Office worker in Shanghai, likes coffee, looking for female friends with similar interests.”

　　“Guangzhou, my company gave me two movie tickets, I’m all alone, looking for someone fated to go with me, or I can transfer the tickets.”

　　“Beijing, one-night stand, just one night, no strings attached.”

　　And some posts like on a BBS:

　　“Feels like there are so many people today! I came in because of an ad, thought it was interesting so I registered.”

　　“My friend recommended this. I’d never seen anything like it before—didn’t know you could have a dating club online.”

　　“Can someone tell me how to unsubscribe? I registered with my mom’s phone number, and last night a guy called her and immediately talked about getting a room. My dad’s face turned green. Now I’m afraid to go home!”

　　“Some people really have no manners. This is an SMS dating club! I’m okay though, I got a few messages today and they were all polite.”

　　“How come there isn’t even a forum? I suggest the admin set one up, so we’ll have a place to chat and hang out.”