"Pursuits in life are very much like fishing."
"You could have done everything you could, buy the right gear, make the best baits, go to the best locations."
"But what you catch is ultimately out of your control."
"Some walk away satisfied. Some keep trying."
"While some are still trying to make their first catch." Lanster chuckled with bitterness in his smiling eyes.
The sound of chattering washed over the silent couple.
Speechless, the two picked up their drinks for a sip.
"So. This time, this is your excuse." The girl finally spoke.
Lanster looked at the girl with raised brows.
Excuse? He wasn't trying to make an excuse. He was just stating how he saw the situation.
Sure. Things weren't working out for him. But maybe there will be an opportunity tomorrow.
Maybe in a month, a year.
It won't always be like this.
"Please don't look at me like that Lanster. Please." The girl looked at Lanster with exhaustion in her gaze.
"I can't Lanster. I just can't anymore."
"It's been seven years already. My parents, my friends, I…"
"You said IT is hot. You'll get a diploma, and you'll be decent off. OK."
"You said your resume and cover letter needed improvement. Fine. I waited."
"You said you needed a better portfolio. Sure."
"You needed networking. You needed to look better, talk better."
"Certifications. How long will it take Lanster. How long!"
"…"
"…"
"I think it's time for me to find another fishing spot."
Lanster had a feeling that this would happen.
But even with the mental preparation, looking at the girl he'd loved since middle school, Lanster still felt his throat tightening up, like he's being strangled.
"I… understand. Fair enough." Lanster smiled.
"Others have made it. I haven't." Lanster spoke with a lighthearted tone.
"Thank you for sticking with me through the years."
"And I wish you find your other half." Lanster extended his hand, offering a handshake.
"Yeah... I hope things work out for you too." The girl mumbled, stood up, picked up her purse, and walked off in a hurry.
Like a deflating balloon, Lanster slowly slumped against the back of his chair.
Someone must have hit the mute button, because the world seemed to have fallen silent.
Lanster didn't cry. Out of respect of the last seven years, at this moment, perhaps he should cry his eyes out.
But Lanster just felt tired, unattached, as if he'd disconnected from the world.
Thoughts popped up in his mind.
'It is what it is.'
'It's OK. Let's move on.'
Yet, thoughts were just words without meaning. Gradually, those thoughts quieted out as well.
…
"Young man…"
"Lad? Hello?"
Lanster's mind snapped back to reality. There was an old man with a long white beard and rosy cheeks standing by his table.
The old man was holding a cup of coffee. A red string was tied on his wrist.
"Welcome back lad. Mind if I share this spot with you?" The old man warmly asked.
"Sure thing." Lanster gulped down his lukewarm coffee and stood up. He was ready to leave.
"Young man, I did not mean to steal your spot."
"And you don't look like you've had enough coffee to lift your mood."
"It's not like we'd ever meet again. Maybe I can hear your story and offer you another perspective."
Lanster stood still and paused in thought. "I… I'd prefer not."
"Wait." The old man looked at Lanster as if he was staring into Lanster's soul. "Before you go, I have a simple question for you."
Lanster looked back at the old man, waiting for the question.
"If you could go to a parallel world." The old man asked with a serious tone. "Your history wiped clean. With a new identity. A new start. Would you?"
"Heh." Lanster chuckled at the question. "Are you some alien looking for humans to abduct?"
"Very funny." Lanster looked at the old man with a gaze void of emotions.
"Would you?" The old man asked again with a dead serious gaze.
"Why not." Lanster shrugged.
"I've given everything I've got, but clearly, that's not enough." Lanster lightheartedly chuckled.
"It's been 29 years of rejections and failures."
"And for that, everyone I've cared for have left me."
"I'm just by myself in this world now, alone and abandoned."
"No more ties, no more connections, no more attachments."
"And the funny thing is, I've only got myself to blame."
"It's not like this world owes me anything."
"Or I deserve anything…"
"Forget it. A restart? Why not."
"Very well. Welcome to our game then." The old man extended his hand.
"My honor." Lanster chuckled. He didn't care anymore.
"Thanks for having me." Lanster grabbed the old man's hand.
Ocean-scented breeze softly lifted up the window curtains.
Locked in a handshake with the old man, Lanster tiredly looked around in confusion. This… was a cabin by the ocean side? He could hear the sound of waves outside.
How did he get here?
Lanster looked at the old man in disbelief. "Oh. So you really are an alien."
The old man raised a brow in dissatisfaction. "Alien? You make it sound like I'm an individual of an alien species."
"I assure you lad, I am unique."
"A unique being with many names! And many forms!"
In a white flash, the old man turned into a chubby floating infant with wings. In his hands were a bow and an arrow with a heart-shaped arrowhead. "Cupid. As you probably have guessed."
In another white flash, the infant turned into a gorgeous woman with long streaming hair covering the key parts of her nude body. "Aphrodite. Also known by many in your world."
"So you are the god of love." Lanster slowly nodded and looked away.
"Don't call me Love. Any other name works great, love." The gorgeous woman winked at Lanster.
With a final white flash, the woman returned to the form of the old man. "But I do prefer to take the form of YueLao, the Chinese god of love. This form causes less… fervor… in your world."
Lanster slowly nodded in agreement. He couldn't imagine the god of love walking down the street in the previous two forms.
"You sure accept things quickly lad." The old man looked surprised.
Lanster nodded and calmly asked: "Have you read Isekai novels before?"