Chapter 31

As Qiu Feng flew out of the battle scene, a line of yellow text popped up on Jing Huan’s game interface.

[Congratulations! Your arena points have reached 2000! I heard Wu Erlang has a gift for you—go check it out!]

“Brother,” Jing Huan immediately flattered, “I’ve reached 2,000 points. We won so many points tonight—you’re amazing~”

The clock struck exactly 9:30, and the arena closed, forcing all players to be teleported to the arena entrance.

Only the team leader can interact with the NPC. Xiang Huaizhi transferred the leader role to her: “Go claim the rewards.”

Jing Huan: “Okay.”

Jing Huan walked up to the NPC, silently praying in her heart.

No need for legendary gear, no need for god-tier items—just give me stats that boost healing and movement speed! Even blue-tier gear would be acceptable!

Are you sure you want to claim the point reward? (Account-bound reward, only claimable once per account.)

Jing Huan closed his eyes and clicked “Yes,” then cautiously peeked through a tiny slit—

Congratulations! You have obtained the “Plain Brocade Immortal Robe.”

…A blue-tier item, the lowest possible grade among all obtainable rewards.

Jing Huan comforted himself, thinking that at least half of his wish had come true—this blue gear only needed to have its attributes added.

He slowly moved the mouse cursor over the clothing item.

On the other end, Xiang Huaizhi took a sip of water while listening to Lu Hang’s endless complaints. Lu Hang had lost to Qiu Feng in the arena and had been venting his frustration for half an hour.

After more than ten seconds without anyone in the team speaking, he was about to ask.

[Current] Little Sweet Scene: [Crying][Breaking down]

[Current] Little Sweet Scene: GM [Choking you][Cleaver]

[Current] Heart’s Desire: Hmm?

[Current] Little Sweet Scene: [Illustrated Guide·Plain Brocade Fairy Robe]

Xiang Huaizhi opened the illustrated handbook and took a look—just an ordinary blue-tier equipment with no added attributes, total junk.

Jing Huan was so furious that only sending memes could express his rage.

Although the arena’s point rewards rarely drop top-tier items, the chances of getting trash are equally low. The system usually at least makes a token effort to give equipment suited to the player’s class.

How come when it’s his turn, it’s this piece of crap?!

[Current] Little Sweet Jing: QAQ Waaah——

[Current] Heart’s Yearning: ……

[Current] Heart Yearning: It’s okay, there’s still one more reward at three thousand points.

[Current] Little Sweet Jing: I feel like I’ll never get good equipment in this lifetime, brother. [About to cry]

[Current] Heart Yearning: You will, the next one will drop.

[Current] SweetScenery: Really? [About to cry]

[Current] HeartSeeker: …Mhm.

[Current] SweetScenery: But how could I possibly reach 3000 points!! QAQ Waaah——

[Current] HeartSeeker: I’m here. Can reach it.

[Current]Lu Tiaotiao: ?

[Current]SweetJing: T.T Brother, will you still take me to JJC in the future? I’m so pitiful now, you can’t lie to me.

[Current]HeartYearning: I won’t lie to you. Let’s go, time for the dungeon.

[Current]SweetJing: Okay. [wipes tears] [hug]

Everyone who had just finished the arena battle was dumbfounded as they watched this bizarre conversation unfold.

“Wait…” Lu Hang was also stunned, “Xiang Huaizhi, you’re abandoning your own son just to chase after a girl?”

“I already carried you to rank one, and you’re still not satisfied?” Xiang Huaizhi didn’t even turn his head, “People need to learn to grow up eventually.”

“Damn.” Lu Hang didn’t actually need him to carry—he was just curious, “…Are you really together with Little Sweet Scenery now?”

Xiang Huaizhi: “No.”

“So you were just flirting at the arena entrance earlier?”

And with this kind of talk already happening in the public channel, who knows how far it’s gone in the voice chat!

Xiang Huaizhi frowned, pondering the phrase: “It was just comfort.”

Lu Hang responded with an “Oh,” then said, “Then comfort me too.”

“Alright.” Xiang Huaizhi said, “When you climb to 4000 points and the system drops you some trash gear, I’ll console you too.”

Lu Hang pondered for a moment: “That would be too tragic. Honestly, it’s my first time seeing such lousy arena rewards… Forget it, let’s go run some dungeons instead.”

The group ran two dungeons together before calling it a night, planning to disband early to prepare for tomorrow’s guild dungeon.

“Tomorrow morning, Xiang and I have classes, so we’ll probably be back around 10,” Lu Hang said over voice chat. “Let’s gather at 10:10 to discuss the dungeon plan, okay?”

[Team] Sharing is Caring: OK.

[Team] SweetJing: I’m good too~

After disbanding, Jing Huan lay down in bed and sent a “Goodnight” emoji to HeartYearnsFor.

Only then did he leisurely start reading today’s group chat.

He had been @’ed all evening in the dorm group chat of three, but he was busy playing in the arena and didn’t have time to reply.

Xiao Jing: What’s up?

Gao Zixiang: Where have you been? We’ve already finished discussing everything and you just show up now.

Xiao Jing: Busy. What were you discussing?

Lu Wenhao: [Shared link: Mountain Paradise – Shanxi Resort Welcomes You.]

Jing Huan opened the webpage link shared by Lu Wenhao. It was a resort promotion located on a mountain in their city, just an hour’s drive away.

Lu Wenhao: Pool, hot springs, and natural scenery! 50% off room rates! We have a five-day holiday next month, want to go together?

Xiao Jing Ya: Not interested.

Lu Wenhao didn’t bother typing more and directly called him on WeChat, appealing to his emotions and reasoning with him. First, he said their university years only lasted four years, and if they didn’t take a few trips together now, they’d miss the chance later. Then he mentioned that Gao Zixiang’s parents were on a business trip, and if he went home for the long holiday, no one would be around to keep him company—it was pitiful. He insisted on dragging Jing Huan along with them.

Jing Huan had a headache listening to all this. Thinking it was just a few days off, it wouldn’t be a big deal not to go home, so he relented, “…Fine, how many days are we going?”

“OK!” Worried he might change his mind, Lu Wenhao immediately went to the hotel website to book a room. “Let’s go for three days. We’ll just book a double room and squeeze in three people?”

Jing Huan refused, “I’ll take my own room. Book me a king bed.”

He doesn’t like sharing a bed with others, and… he needs to bring his computer along, which makes gaming inconvenient when someone is around.

The matter was settled just like that. Shortly after hanging up, Lu Wenhao sent him the hotel booking confirmation via text message.

It was just a spur-of-the-moment trip. Jing Huan glanced at the message, turned off his phone, and went to sleep.

    ——

The next day, Jing Huan had no classes. He casually cooked a bowl of noodles for breakfast, and after eating, he sat down in front of his computer.

Just logging into the game, he received a friend message.

[Friend] Autumn Maple: Come to the guild’s YY, 8372xxxx.

Although the game has built-in voice chat, players still prefer using another voice software called YY. After all, YY allows voice changing, room creation, and even background music, making it more convenient in every aspect compared to the in-game voice chat.

Jing Huan quickly downloaded YY within a few minutes and entered the channel by inputting the number.

There are actually 122 people in the YY channel right now.

Jing Huan was stunned. A major guild truly is a major guild—there are so many active players even in the early morning.

“Autumn Maple, switch to endurance stats today. These big dungeon battles don’t have large combat areas, so movement speed is useless for you,” said a user named “Xiao” in a female voice, speaking casually as if discussing dungeon runs. “Sweetheart, are you logged in?”

A purple-named user called “Yearning” turned on their mic: “Yeah, I’m in… I’m so sleepy… Who’s this ID21934 in the YY channel? A level 0 newbie?”

Jing Huan recognized the two by their IDs.

…They really were both girls.

Only after ensuring his voice changer worked on YY did he cautiously turn on his mic to ask, “Can you hear me?”

“We can,” Qiu Feng replied. “Xiao Jing?”

“It’s me.” Jing Huan changed his nickname to “Sweet Scenery.”

Xiangsi Bugudong moved his fingers and assigned him a yellow moderator tag: “Morning, has your team arrived yet?”

This was the first time Jing Huan had spoken calmly with Xiangsi Bugudong, and he even felt a bit unaccustomed to it: “Chichi is here, I’ll call her over. The others will arrive soon too.”

Chun Xiao gave an “Mhm”: “Teams are all assigned. The dungeon opens in two hours. If you have any questions, ask now.”

Jing Huan had no intention of joining these people’s chatter. He opened the trading post, hoping to find some affordable yet high-quality equipment to snag a bargain.

The guild members in YY were chatting idly. No one knew who started it, but the topic had shifted to singing.

“Xiangsi sings really well, so does Taotao, and Xianxian too… Hey, has it been a while since the guild held any events?”

“Yeah, I remember during the last singing event, we had over ten thousand people in our YY channel!”

“Of course, our guild’s reputation speaks for itself, and the song is genuinely great.”

“Speaking of which…” Qiufeng paused, “Our guild has welcomed a few new girls recently. Shouldn’t we put on a talent show? Xiao Jing?”

Jing Huan was suddenly put on the spot and froze: “What?”

“The dungeon hasn’t opened yet. Why don’t you sing us a song?” Qiufeng said. “With such a pleasant voice, you must be a good singer.”

Jing Huan: “I… I don’t know how to sing.”

“How could that be? You definitely can. Don’t be shy,” Autumn Maple laughed. “I’ve got plenty of YY gifts here. Sing a couple of lines, and I’ll give them all to you.”

Jing Huan wasn’t interested in gifts. He bought the voice changer to seduce Heart’s Desire, not to sing and gain popularity.

He was about to refuse, but Qiufeng had already turned on the karaoke mode and pulled him onto the mic queue.

[Autumn Maple sent Little Sweet Scenery x99 flowers]

[Longing Regardless sent Little Sweet Scenery x3 flowers]

[Destined Peach Tea sent Little Sweet Scenery x11 flowers]

………

The screen was instantly flooded with flowers.

Jing Huan was dumbfounded and didn’t feel comfortable immediately disconnecting from the voice chat.

Qiu Feng thought she was just shy and said with a smile, “It’s fine, you can sing whatever you want. No one would dare say it doesn’t sound good…”

“What are you doing?” A cool, indifferent voice cut in, interrupting Qiu Feng.

Only then did everyone notice a new white username at the bottom of the room with the ID21935.

Jing Huan immediately recognized the voice of Heart’s Desire, as if seeing a savior, and quickly greeted, “Good morning, brother!”

Xiang Huaizhi changed his username to “HeartYearning” and then asked, “Hmm, are you online?”

“Logging in, hanging right next to you.”

“Join the team.”

“Coming~”

Qiufeng was momentarily speechless.

He couldn’t help but notice that Xiaotianjing’s voice sounded much more coquettish when chatting with Heart’s Desire compared to when speaking with him…

Disregarding everything else, Xianghuai also received a yellow moderator badge from Lovesickness.

“The rooms for each team are all set up, just below the channel,” Chunxiao said. “The room names are the team leaders’ names. Remember to join your own room to chat when the dungeon is about to start, so you don’t disturb the other teams.”

As soon as she finished speaking, they heard Xinsuiwangzhi say calmly, “Come down.”

After saying that, Xinsuiwangzhi jumped into the room with his name on it.

Before anyone could react, Xiaotianjing swiftly left the mic queue and went straight into Xinsuiwangzhi’s room without looking back. The two of them were gone in less than three seconds combined.

Looking at the two closely aligned alternate accounts, Chunxiao calmly said, “Qiufeng, I think you should just give up.”

Main Account Zhizhitaotao: “…plus one.”

Wind Chaser: “Plus two.”

Happy As Can Be: “Plus three.”

The conversation stopped there—no one added “four.”

Because while they were talking, someone with the white username “Xian Mengmeng” entered the channel.

The moment Xian Mengmeng appeared, everyone fell silent, and then the guild chat exploded with messages.

[Guild] Destiny Peach Tea: ???

[Alliance] Time Like Water: I feel a hint of awkwardness.

[Alliance] Love Is Sharing With You: ……

[Alliance] Autumn Maple: I’m speechless.

“Quite lively.” Xian Mengmeng spotted the two in the private room at first glance, her tone chillingly cold, “Xiangsi, you actually removed me as YY admin?”

Longing Without Regard: “You left the guild yourself. Only members can get the guild YY tags, of course.”

Xian Mengmeng: “After leaving the guild, does that mean we’re not even friends anymore?”

“That ended the moment you demanded we keep hunting Little Sweet Scenery—and threatened to quit the guild if we didn’t.” Chun Xiao didn’t spare her feelings. After all, when Xian Mengmeng had spammed the喇叭 (horns) earlier, she hadn’t cared about Xian Ren Guild either. “Do you need something?”

Xian Mengmeng scoffed. “Do I need a reason to be here? Half the activity in this YY channel comes from my fans. Hanging out here isn’t too much to ask, is it?”

Chun Xiao: “Up to you.”

Having received a reply, Xian Mengmeng didn’t say another word and just stayed in the voice channel.

The other gang members were all terrified by this battle royale atmosphere and cleared out within two minutes, each retreating to their own YY rooms.

Jing Huan also noticed Xian Mengmeng, of course.

He was relieved that this YY room was locked, and the white-nickname couldn’t enter without the password. Otherwise, judging by Xian Mengmeng’s aggressive stance, she would undoubtedly have barged in to pick a fight with him.

The mere thought of arguing with a girl over voice chat made his scalp tingle with discomfort.

Just as he was pondering this, he saw Xian Mengmeng suddenly jump into the room above theirs.

The scene with these three nicknames looked eerily like an illicit couple caught in the act and the scorned wife arriving to expose the affair.

Jing Huan hadn’t even processed what was happening when Xian Mengmeng’s username suddenly changed—”Are you happy being the other woman?”

“……”

Jing Huan thought numbly, there are so many happy people in the world, why can’t I be one of them?

The other guild members were practically overwhelmed by the drama, chatting excitedly in their private rooms.

Original_Zhizhitaotao: “This is the first time I’ve been this close to an 818 scandal! So thrilling!”

Chasing the Wind Youth: “Will they start arguing?”

Red Apricot: “Probably not? The room of Heart’s Yearning is locked, so Fairy Cute can’t get in.”

[YY Announcement: “Are you happy being the other woman?” was kicked out of the YY channel by admin “Sweet Little Scenery.”]

Destiny’s Peach Tea: “…That’s brutal.”

Chasing the Wind: “Damn impressive.”

Red Apricot: “He really dared to kick them out…”

A few seconds later, “Are You Happy Being the Other Woman?” re-entered the chat channel.

[YY Announcement: “Are You Happy Being the Other Woman?” has been kicked out of the YY channel by the administrator “Heart’s Desire” and banned from the channel for 7 days.]

Holy Grail Peach Tea: “Holy shit?”

Wind Chaser: “Holy shit!”

Scarlet Apricot: “Holy shit…”