Since she arrived thirty minutes before the agreed time, Xiao found a corner table and sat down. She ordered a latte before she listened in to a conversation from a nearby table. Four teenagers had their tablets open and were openly discussing the answers to their assignment. After a few minutes, Xiao was certain the four of them were preparing for the entrance exam to become pilots. She and her friends did the same thing when they formed a study group.
I wonder how they are doing! After we all passed, we went our separate ways and no longer hung out anymore. We don’t even call each other anymore.
One of the teenagers reminded Xiao of her previous self. There was such optimism when teenagers applied for the test, believing that they could easily make a name for themselves once they got a foot in the door. As she learned at Cythetic, the road was not only difficult but, for many young aspiring pilots, they might not even get a chance. Many young pilots at Cythetic eventually transitioned to other departments due to how few openings open up for pilots, especially the new unproven ones.
And I’m one of the lucky ones.
Seeing that she still had time to kill, Xiao sent a message to her three friends. She wasn’t sure if she would hear from them but, on the off chance one of them replied, she could find out what they were up to. A couple of minutes later, her father arrived and the two of them embraced.
“You look well, Xiao. I take it that you found another job after leaving Cythetics?”
Xiao excitedly shared her weeks after she left her former company, mentioning her good luck with the job posting. She then took out her phone and showed her current record to her father who was amazed by the accomplishment. Then, her father’s doting side came as he asked if she was taking good care of herself. The young woman replied that she treated herself better than when she worked at Cythetics. She was given a lot more flexibility as to when she did certain tasks and it helped her improve as a pilot.
“When is your next match? Maybe I can watch it online.”
“I don’t know if you can watch it. I only participate in small matches until I can get a couple of wins. No broadcaster has time livestreaming those matches.”
When she was still at Cythetics, Xiao heard that any matches with less than twenty thousand spectators never made it online. Streaming services felt that didn’t make much so they would rather dedicate their time and energy on tournaments big and small.
“Things are changing, dear!”
Seconds later, her father sent her a link. Xiao opened the link and was shocked to see so many matches. She expanded the information on some of the streams and, as stated by her father, some matches had less than five thousand spectators. Knowing how much her father wanted to cheer for her, Xiao shared his match summary with him. A minute later, he found the match as one of the upcoming matches.
“I didn’t know streaming came this far for these small matches.”
“I don’t know who on your team handles it but, if you can start a fan club, you can get more regular views of your matches. Once the views exceed a certain number, your matches can move up in the algorithm and attract more viewers. That's how unknown pilots gain fame nowadays until they make it big.”
Xiao felt ashamed at the fact that she was so behind on the times. She quickly noted everything on her phone so she could inquire on the matters with Vesna. She was certain the little girl was better at the matter than she ever would be. After they finished discussing her career matters, the young woman asked her father how he was doing. Her mother died when she was still a newborn so she was the only one who stayed by her father’s side. After she moved out, her father lived all by himself. She knew for a fact that, even if things didn't go well, her father wouldn't reveal any of it to her.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“I’ve been seeing someone after you moved out,” said her father.
“I’m happy to hear that! I hope to meet that person one day.”
“If our relationship goes anywhere, I’ll be sure to have you two meet.”
The two of them chatted for another hour before they agreed to part ways. Xiao wanted it to last longer but she knew how much she must train in order to keep moving up in the rankings. She promised her father that, once she had time after the match, they could meet again at the cafe. Thus, the two of them went back to their respective lives.
I’ll make sure you’ll see me get another win!
Xiao hurried back to the office because she had so much she wanted to discuss with Vesna. A part of her wondered if the girl’s cheerful demeanor was rubbing off on her. She would find the girl in the mess hall having ice cream.
“Vesna, have you thought about making use of streaming platforms to advertise our brand? Or even a fan club once I make a bigger name for myself?”
Xiao watched as Vesna’s eyes lit up. For the remainder of that day, she was stuck in Vesna’s room where they went through everything about her brand. They started with all the streaming platforms out there, listing the ones that broadcasted their matches. Then, Vesna went to work creating a website that used Xiao’s feedback. The young woman couldn’t put what she had in mind into words so she gave something vague. Surprisingly, the girl was able to put the vague concepts into something concrete and, with a bit of tweaking, Xiao’s website was online.
“I know it’s not much but your name, record and mech are now public. As you have more matches and gain more accolades, we can update the website to highlight those. Once you get into tournaments, that’s where the fun begins!”
Vesna had an evil laugh at the mention of tournaments so Xiao excused herself briefly until the girl calmed herself. They then discussed the fan club idea which, after proposing it, Xiao felt embarrassed for doing so. It seemed almost like she had an ego that needed the praise of complete strangers. She shared her concern but the girl said she was overreacting.
“Let me pose this, Xiao. If you don’t have the financial backing now and you need funding from those like your fans, will you hesitate to start a fan club?”
The young woman began seeing where the girl was going with the matter. It was true that, due to her luxury of focusing on being solely a pilot, there were many things she didn’t need to worry about like putting food on the table and paying rent. In their cruel society where credits meant everything, she shouldn’t feel ashamed for wanting more of it. Any credits she wasn’t earning would go to another pilot. This was why the saying of this being a dog eat dog world existed. With this concern removed, she and Vesna spent a few hours on fan club matters like setting up the proper website and providing rewards to those who pledged credits to her.
“Don’t get discouraged, Xiao! You won’t have one fan for a long time but, once you do, you know that you have made a name for yourself. In a way, the size of your fan base is a good way of measuring your actual success.”
After all the discussions, Xiao had new respect for the little girl. She admitted that she underestimated Vesna and, the more they talked, the more she felt inferior to the girl. It always felt like the girl was just more knowledgeable in so many different fields.
“How did you become so smart, Vesna? It feels like you know so much more than me, almost as if our age gap doesn’t make a difference here.”
“Up until two years ago, I was stuck in bed due to a rare illness. My visitors were the doctors and nurses who cared for me. Beyond that, I only had books and online contents to keep me company. You’d be surprised how much you can learn when you can do nothing but consume books and videos during all of your free time.”
“Is that why you always have a positive outlook? Being cured of your illness must be like being freed from a prison.”
“Yes! Now I can do so much and I want to live my life to the fullest! One day, I’ll be known as the operator of a champion!”
Sensing Vesna was teasing her, Xiao retaliated by throwing a pillow at the girl. The two girls then got into a pillow fight late into the night until they both headed to bed.