Chapter 37

On the day of departure, Jing Huan finally started packing his luggage.

The plan was for a three-day, two-night trip. They had no other arrangements—they were solely going for the hotel’s signature hot springs. Gao Zixiang mentioned there were over seventy hot spring pools there, enough for them to soak to their heart’s content.

Packing was straightforward for guys. Jing Huan brought two sets of clothes and facial cleanser, then slung a laptop bag over his shoulder—that was all he needed.

Before heading out, he sent a message to Heart’s Yearning, wishing them a good morning.

Lu Wenhao’s car was parked downstairs in the neighborhood—a Volkswagen bought by his mom for commuting. She insisted on keeping it low-key during his school years, promising to get him a better car after graduation. However, Lu rarely drove it. Today, eager for the hot springs trip, he had gotten up early to make a special trip home just to bring the car over.

The two sat waiting in the car for quite a while before Jing Huan finally appeared. Lu rolled down the window, “Huanhuan, you’re so slow… Why’d you pack so little?”

“I was just finishing packing,” Jing Huan replied. “Pop the trunk.”

After putting the stuff in the trunk, Jing Huan climbed into the back seat: “Are you two moving? It’s just three days, and you brought two huge suitcases?”

Gao Zixiang leaned out from the passenger seat and winked at him: “There’s treasure inside.”

Jing Huan wasn’t interested in the treasure. He tossed his laptop bag aside and yawned.

Lu Wenhao glanced at him through the rearview mirror: “Huanhuan, what’s up with you lately? You look like you’ve been pulling all-nighters every day. Even in morning classes, you yawn a dozen times—it makes me sleepy just watching you.”

Jing Huan had been grinding quests every night these past few days.

The arena became more addictive the more he played. The more matches he participated in, the more he felt his equipment was trash. A single misstep in positioning could easily get him killed, and he had no idea how many resurrection potions Heart’s Yearning had wasted on him.

Recently, none of the equipment in the server’s marketplace suited his preferences, so he had no choice but to farm materials himself to see if he could craft something top-tier.

Gao Zixiang asked suspiciously, “You’re not secretly dating someone behind our backs, are you?”

Lu Wenhao widened his eyes: “Definitely! I asked to stay at your place for a couple of days before and you refused! Damn! Huanhuan, are you living with some girl?!”

Gao Zixiang nodded: “No wonder you’re always sleepy in the mornings.”

…What kind of nonsense is this now?

“Living together, my ass.” He put on his headphones, “Just insomnia.”

Jing Huan held his phone, double-checking repeatedly.

Twenty minutes had passed, but Heart’s Desire still hadn’t replied to his message.

All that talk about replying when free—it was all lies.

Damn liar.

“I heard that hotel has all kinds of facilities—gym, internet café, KTV… they even have a small bar.” Lu Wenhao started the car. “We can go trio-queue at the internet café later, hire a gaming buddy for a four-man squad to play PUBG, then go back and soak in the hot springs afterward. Sounds perfect, doesn’t it?”

Just hearing about it made Jing Huan’s fingers itch. During the two years after quitting Nine Heroes, he’d kept himself alive by playing PUBG, though recently he hadn’t had much time for it.

He shifted into a more comfortable position and opened the livestreaming app on his phone. Seeing that the only streamer he followed wasn’t live, he browsed the homepage to find something else to watch.

[Headshot Goddess Little Luomi: Send me gifts and I’ll be extra sweet, so sweet you’ll wanna try online dating~]

The name of this live stream immediately caught Jing Huan’s attention, so he took a look at the streamer’s profile.

Although the streamer doesn’t have a massive following on the platform, she ranked in the top ten of the gift leaderboard last week. This clearly shows she has a knack for attracting wealthy fans and knows how to charm them into willingly spending money on her.

Jing Huan was deeply impressed and clicked into the stream with a mindset of learning.

Inside, the girl was wearing a tank top, revealing a large expanse of fair skin. Her makeup was flawless, and her voice was so sweet it could practically drip honey: “Thank you, ‘Want to Drink Milk Tea’ big brother, for the little stars~ I’ll use the stars you gave me to buy milk tea later~”

The streamer got headshotted by an enemy in the game: “Ahhhh—— these campers are so annoying… It’s because they’re too sneaky, not because I’m bad! Don’t you dare laugh at me! Ahhh I’m gonna get mad at you all!”

The streamer picked up an airdrop weapon, loading it while cooing: “Dragon’s roar! Rawr rawr~”

When the streamer’s big spender boss entered the live stream: “Brother Qiu is here? Good morning, brother, just woke up?”

[Public Chat] Brother Qiu (Big Star Patron): “Mhm, came as soon as I opened my eyes. Give me a good morning kiss.”

Jing Huan was puzzling over how to deliver the good morning kiss when he saw the female streamer shyly smile, pucker her lips, and say into the microphone, “Qiu gege, mua~~”

The simulated kissing sound was somewhat sticky, and the streamer deliberately drew out her tone, lacing it with a suggestive flavor.

Jing Huan took a deep breath, his goosebumps practically rising from her “kiss,” and hastily exited the live stream.

Still shaken, he took off his headphones, finally understanding why Xin Xiang Wang Zhi didn’t like him—

Compared to a truly cute, coquettish girl with a sweet voice, he’s nothing more than a fart!!!

Upon careful reflection, both Xian Mengmeng and his cousin had particularly sweet voices—genuine loli tones. Clearly, loli voices were the orientation sniper his heart yearned for.

Unfortunately, when he bought the voice changer, he was in too much of a hurry and didn’t pick carefully. There was no way he could produce a loli voice in this lifetime.

Jing Huan closed the live-streaming software and gazed out the window with a look of deep concern.

After driving for two hours, we finally arrived at the hotel.

He had booked a king-size bed room on the 20th floor, while Lu Wenhao and the others had a deluxe twin room a few floors higher.

After checking in, Lu Wenhao couldn’t wait and said, “When are we going to the hot springs? Huanhuan, why don’t you change your clothes and come out now? Let’s go once at noon and again in the evening.”

Jing Huan replied, “Aren’t you afraid of getting dizzy from soaking too long? I won’t go at noon. You guys go ahead. I’m going to catch up on sleep—wake me up in the evening.”

With that said, the elevator arrived at the 20th floor. Jing Huan waved at them and stepped out, his small backpack slung over his shoulder.

This resort was built in the mountains, where even finding a nearby restaurant was challenging. Most guests who chose to stay here were those specifically coming to enjoy life—tourists who didn’t even want to step outside the hotel’s main gate.

To attract customers, the resort had perfected everything from its architectural design to its indoor entertainment facilities. Swiping his card to open the door, Jing Huan was immediately greeted by the mountain view from the balcony, and his mood instantly relaxed.

He walked out to the balcony, savoring the fresh mountain air for a while, then opened his laptop and logged into Nine Heroes with practiced ease.

He stayed up too late last night and planned to catch up on some sleep before continuing with quests, so he left his character idling in the Penglai Wonderland for now.

[Friend] Autumn Maple: You there?

[Friend] Sweet Little Scene: Yeah, what’s up?

[Friend] Autumn Maple: Wanna run a dungeon together? [Cute]

[Friend] SweetScenery: No thanks, I already have a fixed team for dungeons…

[Friend] AutumnMaple: I know, but Lu Tiaotiao and the others aren’t around these days. Come run with me, I’m really good at leading teams. [shy]

[Friend] SweetScenery: …No, I’m fine doing solo quests!

[Friend] AutumnMaple: Alright then, just remember to check back when you’re free.

[Friend] Xiaotianjing: What are you looking at?

[Friend] Qiufeng: Look at me. [Shy]

Jing Huan: “…”

Since his public confession to Heart’s Desire on the loudspeaker last time, those who had been blocking him had all disappeared. Only Qiufeng remained, occasionally teasing him with a few words.

Jing Huan thought for a moment and typed.

[Friend] Little Sweet Scene: Okay! I’ll go AFK in the Penglai Wonderland first. The scenery here is beautiful, and I want to take some photos to show you, big bro >.