fang

Every evening at precisely five to eight, Fang repeated the same ritual. He quickly finished everything, placed a mug of hot tea next to the keyboard, closed the door, and put on his large black headphones. At eight o'clock, a familiar notification appeared on the screen: "Edgar has started streaming." A smile automatically appeared on Fang's face. "Finally..." The stream opened. The camera was still adjusting, but hundreds of messages were already flashing in the chat. "FIRST!" "EDGAR, WE MISSED YOU!" "WHAT A CUTE LOOK!" A few seconds later, Edgar himself appeared in the frame. He lazily adjusted his long bangs that had fallen over his eyes and smiled at the viewers. "Hello everyone. I hope you're not too tired today." His voice was calm and soft. It was the same one that had once made Fang stay late on one random stream. Back then, he'd only intended to watch for a couple of minutes, but he'd stayed until the very end. More than a year had passed since then. In that time, Fang hadn't missed a single broadcast. He remembered practically everything. Edgar's favorite drink was sweet iced coffee. His favorite colors were lilac and white. His habit of twirling a pencil in his hands when he was lost in thought. His way of quietly laughing if someone in the chat wrote a particularly good joke. Sometimes Fang caught himself thinking that he knew Edgar too well... even though they'd never spoken. "Today we're going to play, chat, and maybe lose again in the most ridiculous way," Edgar said, starting the game. "But that's exactly why you came, right?" The chat immediately exploded with emojis. Fang grinned. "Yeah... that's exactly why." Although he himself knew he didn't come for the game at all. He simply loved watching Edgar. The way he smiled. The way he sometimes blushed at compliments. How sincerely he thanks the viewers for their support. And as always, he says goodbye to the viewers as if he knows each one personally. During the broadcast, Fang rarely texted. Firstly, the chat was moving too fast. Secondly, he didn't like attracting attention. Today was no different. He silently watched as Edgar completed another level.