Chapter 13

The two healers in the team knew each other. They had been chatting just fine, but the moment Little Sweet Scene joined, they immediately went silent and stopped talking.

Lu Hang, however, perked up with interest: “Hey… why did you invite her?”

Xiang Huai replied succinctly: “Just asked randomly.”

Lu Hang crossed his legs enthusiastically.

[Team] Lu Tiaotiao: Good evening [flying kiss]

[Team] Lu Tiaotiao: Have you ever cleared the Water Demon instance before?

[Team] Sweet Scenery: Nope [shut mouth]

Jing Huan was telling the truth—he genuinely hadn’t cleared it. During the four years he’d been away from the game, Nine Heroes had added many new instances, and “Water Demon Uprising” was one of them.

[Team] Sweet Scenery: Is this dungeon hard?

[Team] Long Journey: It’s the hardest dungeon, but it’s not too bad actually. The mobs before can be cleared on auto, but the boss is tough—squishy characters can get wiped in one hit.

[Team] Sweet Scenery: Okay! [pats head]

After replying, Jing Huan pulled up a water demon strategy guide and skimmed through it.

As Lu Tiaotiao said, the small monsters in front were all the “battle intent” of the Water Demon, posing little threat. However, after dying, they would possess the Water Demon, making it stronger. Many players complained that they spent ten minutes clearing the small monsters but two hours killing the BOSS.

Other strategy posts only had double-digit comments, while the Water Demon dungeon had over a thousand. Most of them were telling the game designers to go eat shit.

But no matter how hard it was, it was still just a dungeon. A coordinated team of five could still clear it, let alone a top-tier team like Heart’s Desire. With an account like that in the party, they could even carry four healers through it.

While Jing Huan was reading the guide, the rest of the party was AFK, and no one spoke up.

There are only two healers complaining in private chat.

[Friend] LoveIsSharingFood: Why is LittleSweetScene here? I really don’t want to run dungeons with her.

[Friend] JiXiaoNian: I don’t know either, we already have two healers here. What’s she even good for? Being a cheerleader? [eye roll emoji]

[Friend] LoveIsSharingFood: Plus she’s probably a catfish, look how she talks – so damn pretentious… [zipped mouth emoji]

[Friend] Ji Xiaonian: Probably not, someone has heard her voice, she’s a girl. Must be a real stunner.

[Friend] Love is sharing with you: Were those previous men blind? Never seen a woman before? How could they fall for that.

[Friend] Ji Xiaonian: I heard from a friend that this account changed hands, and the previous owner wasn’t as skilled as her.

[Friend] Love Is Sharing With You: Not necessarily. If she’s not a scammer, why is Xianren Pavilion still chasing her? Honestly, her skills are mediocre. Last time during the Demon King fight, it was mostly luck and Heart’s Longing being good at positioning. Anyway, I don’t like her!

[Friend] Ji Xiaonian: Me too, I could take on ten of the current me in a fight! Hmm, wait a second… I suddenly have an idea…

Women’s kindness and hostility often come inexplicably. Jing Huan had no idea he’d already made enemies within the team. He finished the remaining popsicle in one bite and switched back to the game.

[Team] Sweet Scenery: Brother War God [peeking], have you had dinner yet?

Xiang Huaizhi glanced at this message before lowering his head again to reply on WeChat.

“He’s looking for you, SweetJing,” Lu Hang couldn’t help saying when he saw this scene. “You’re so mean, who pretends to be AFK these days?”

“None of your business,” Xiang Huaizhi didn’t look up.

Lu Hang tutted twice and started typing.

[Team]Lu Tiaotiao: He’s AFK watching a movie [shhh]

[Team]SweetScene: Oh wow, how did you know 0.0

[Team]LongRoad: We’re roommates in the same dorm.

[Team]SweetScene: Ah, company dormitory?

[Team]LongRoad: No, student dormitory!

A student dormitory?

Jing Huan frowned in confusion. He remembered Xian Mengmeng once mentioning that Heart’s Yearning was a thirty-year-old uncle?

…Could it just be that he looks older than his age?

A friend’s message notification flashed. Jing Huan shook his head and temporarily set aside his doubts.

[Friend] Energetic Mosquito Coil: Wow, little sister!

These past few days, Jing Huan had cleared out almost all his friends, leaving only Heart’s Yearning and Energetic Mosquito Coil. The former goes without saying, but the latter…

She’s actually quite amusing, keeping her around isn’t a problem.

[Friend] Sweet Little Jing: [Confused]

[Friend] Cheerful Mosquito Incense: You’re really wild, aren’t you?

[Friend] Cheerful Mosquito Incense: But it’s so exciting, I support you, bro! Don’t take it to heart! Just ignore what others say!

[Friend] Sweet Little Scene: …What are you talking about?

[Friend] Cheerful Mosquito Incense: Your confession to Heart’s Desire! I saw it all!

Jing Huan was at a loss.

He did intend to confess his feelings… but it was still just a plan. Judging by Heart Towards You’s current attitude, he’d have to be insane to go through with it.

[Friend] Little Sweet Jing: I haven’t confessed to him [surprised], what did you see?

[Friend] Energetic Little Mosquito Coil: No way, you still don’t know?

[Friend] Lively Little Mosquito Coil: [Shared link: Little Sweet Jing’s Truth or Dare Confessions!]

Just seeing this title made Jing Huan feel something was off.

He clicked on the video, and the moment he saw the conversation, an indescribable embarrassment sprouted from the soles of his feet and instantly shot straight to the top of his head!

Fuck!!

How could his chat history with Xian Mengmeng appear here???!!!

Jing Huan was dumbfounded, his scalp tingling from the audacity of his own words in the video.

To make matters worse, the video was edited—only his own remarks were left, while all of Xian Mengmeng’s responses had been cut out.

After a long moment, Jing Huan finally regained some composure and took a shaky sip of water.

Stay calm, absolutely stay calm. This video only has a few hundred views, and probably most of them are just here for the spectacle. Likely not many people in the game even know about it, let alone those who aspire to it.

He glanced at the game with a glimmer of hope.

[Team]Lu Tiaotiao: What about you, Sweet Scene? How old are you? Still in school too?

[Team]Lu Tiaotiao: Hello?

[Team]Distant Journey: [Puzzled] So just because I’m not bad enough, you’re ignoring me?

Jing Huan: “…………”

Damn it!

I’ll kill Xian Mengmeng!!!

Xiang Huaizhi saw this too and frowned as he spoke up, “Aren’t you bored? Why bring that up?”

“Just teasing her a little…” Lu Hang said, “Don’t you think she’s quite interesting? Nowadays, girls in the game are fiercer than the last, going at each other like it’s the battle of the century. Someone as soft and cute as Jingjing is already a rare breed.” Noticing that Little Fox Fairy hadn’t made a sound, Lu Hang muttered, “Wait, why did she also go AFK mid-conversation?”

Jing Huan, of course, didn’t go AFK. He directly left his computer desk and ran to the bathroom to splash some water on his face.

That video was too embarrassing; his cheeks were burning. Usually, when he acted cute and played the girl in front of Xiang Wangzhi, he didn’t feel it, but suddenly seeing that chat log presented right in front of him…

He even wondered if his soul had been swapped at that time.

Just as he finished wiping his face with a towel, his phone suddenly rang—it was a special notification from Weibo.

Jing Huan’s Weibo account was a barren land, filled with silly posts from his younger days. He couldn’t be bothered to post new content or delete the old ones. Among the few dozen accounts he followed—all friends—the only one with special notifications was his sister Liang Ran.

He quickly opened Weibo.

[Liang Ran: Everything will get better. [Photo]]

The photo she took was of the sea, a vast expanse of blue, calm and wave-free.

Jing Huan immediately liked it and left a comment.

[Top Dog of Mancheng No.1 High School: [Hug][Hug]]

Liang Ran replied extremely quickly.

【Liang Ran: [Crying]】

Jing Huan looked at the tears on the little yellow face emoji and recalled Liang Ran’s haggard figure going through security. The emotions he had felt earlier were instantly stomped underfoot, ground into the dirt, and sealed away.

He sat back down at his computer desk and tossed his phone aside.

[Team] Sweet Jing: Ahh, sorry, I just went to the restroom… Luckily, we haven’t started fighting the boss yet. QAQ

[Team]Little Sweet Scene: Lu Tiaotiao, you’re so annoying! Why did you have to bring that up!! [Angry][Blushing]

[Team]Little Sweet Scene: …Don’t tell me Brother War God also saw that video? Ahhh, I can’t go on living! [Facepalm Scream][Crying]

Jing Huan selected all the cute emojis in the game and sent them out in one go.

Embarrassed? Ashamed? Mortified?

That doesn’t exist.

The one passionately confessing in the video was Xiao Tianjing – what does that have to do with him, Jing Huan?