Chapter 30

Jing Huan returned to the dining table, and Gao Zixiang immediately leaned over. “Huanhuan, were you just chatting with Xiang Huaizhi?”

“Yeah,” Jing Huan handed him the milk tea. “Here’s yours.”

Gao Zixiang poked a hole in the plastic lid with a straw. “Since when did you two get so close?”

Jing Huan shook his head: “Not familiar.”

Gao Zixiang let out an “Oh”: “I thought you two knew each other before.”

Jing Huan yawned. He had stayed up too late gaming last night and had to get up for an 8 a.m. class this morning, remaining drowsy until now: “We hardly ever run into each other normally, how would we know each other?”

It would’ve been different in high school, where everyone attended classes punctually every day, making encounters more likely. But in university, with varying class schedules and locations—even the basketball courts they use are different—after over a year on campus, that day in the stairwell was the first time he’d ever seen Xiang Huaizhi.

“We met through playing games.” Gao Zixiang swallowed a bubble. “Senior Xiang also plays ‘Nine Heroes’.”

Jing Huan was a bit surprised: “Really?”

“Really. I know his roommate, who also plays ‘Nine Heroes.’ He seems to be a pro—I met him at a player meetup before,” Gao Zixiang said.

Jing Huan asked: “Which server are they on?”

“It seems to be… Starlight? I can’t remember clearly.”

Jing Huan nodded and murmured, “…I wouldn’t have guessed.”

“Wouldn’t have guessed what?”

“That Xiang Huaizhi actually plays games too.”

Gao Zixiang laughed: “You think you look like an internet addict?”

Jing Huan also smiled, lowering his head to finish the remaining braised lion’s head in one bite.

Xiang Huaizhi returned to the dormitory and casually picked up the cloth next to the sink to wipe his shoes.

The rag was dry and couldn’t clean properly, so he simply gave up, planning to send them for cleaning when he had time.

“What’s wrong with your shoe?” Lu Hang came out of the bathroom, rubbing his hair with a towel while glancing over. “Wow, the mark is pretty obvious. Got stepped on? Who stepped on you so hard?”

Xiang Huaizhi: “A junior.”

“A junior? Which junior? You even know juniors?”

Only then did Xiang Huaizhi realize he didn’t know the junior’s name, only remembering that his friend called him “Huanhuan.”

“What’s with all the questions?” he said. “Did you collect all the materials?”

“Nope,” Lu Hang said dejectedly at the mention of it. “I’ve been shouting all morning, and not a single person messaged me. Why is it so damn hard just to craft a divine weapon?”

Xiang Huaizhi scoffed. “Back then, it took me half a year just to gather all the materials.”

Lu Hang, who had already collected most of the materials in just a month, instantly felt a sense of satisfaction.

Xiang Huaizhi sat down in front of his computer. Before leaving, he had left his character idling in a corner of Penglai Wonderland. Now, a little fox spirit was sitting right in front of his avatar.

With such a vast map in the Penglai Wonderland, it’s impressive she managed to find it.

Xiang Huaizhi plugged in his phone to charge it. As soon as it turned on, he heard a soft ding from WeChat.

Xiao Jing: [fist][fighting spirit][cheer up]

Xiao Jing: First day of the challenge to not like my brother!

Xiang Huaizhi: “…”

He typed a question mark but hadn’t had time to send it before his phone vibrated again.

Xiao Jing: Challenge failed!

Xiang Huaizhi couldn’t help but laugh.

Xiao Jing: What are you doing, big bro? How’s the weather there today? Can you take me dungeon-crawling later, big bro?

A triple “big bro” followed by several heart emojis.

Xiang Huaizhi was already used to it. He deleted the question mark.

Xiang: Sure.

When are you coming online?

Xiaojing: I’m logged in at Penglai Wonderland. After I finish lunch, I’ll head back to the dorm right away.

Xiaojing: [photo]

Xiaojing: Getting bubble tea. [cute]

Xiang Huaizhi casually glanced at the picture Little Sweet Jing had sent. A few seconds later, his gaze returned to the photo.

The photo’s subject was a cup of milk tea, only half-drunk, placed on an orange dining table.

This milk tea shop is a nationwide chain brand, with locations in many places, including their school cafeteria.

But this orange tabletop and the corner of the window peeking into the frame—he had just walked past them twenty minutes ago, and he even remembered the small tutoring advertisement stuck on the window in the photo.

Xiang Huaizhi raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Is Little Sweet Scenery his schoolmate?

“What photo are you looking at that’s got you so mesmerized?” Lu Hang glanced at him as he passed by, “A selfie?”

Xiang Huaizhi closed the image: “No.”

Lu Hang didn’t pay it much mind: “Oh, I have class this afternoon. My account is logged in on Penglai Wonderland. If it gets disconnected, just log back in for me.”

“Yeah.”

Xiang Huaizhi controlled his game character to fly away from the Penglai Wonderland and absentmindedly began his daily in-game tasks.

If it were just about milk tea and dining tables, that would be one thing, but that little advertisement… He had paid special attention to it today and shouldn’t have mistaken it. Moreover, Xiao Tianjing had mentioned before that she was a college student.

Coincidence, or on purpose?

A few seconds later, he dismissed the latter possibility. Xiao Tianjing was so clingy to him in the game—if she knew they were at the same school, she definitely wouldn’t have stayed completely silent in real life.

After just half a minute of consideration, Xiang Huaizhi made his decision.

If they really attended the same school, then Little Sweetie must never find out. Having her follow him in-game was one thing, but if she started clinging to him in real life too, he genuinely wouldn’t know how to handle it with girls.

And to keep it from Little Sweetie, he’d have to keep Lu Hang in the dark as well.

“I’ll grab food on my way back. What do you want to eat?” Lu Hang remained blissfully unaware that his roommate had just revoked his trust privileges.

After a long moment without any response, he called out again, “Xiangxiang?”

Xiang Huaizhi looked up, “Hmm? Whatever you’re having, just get me the same.”

After Lu Hang left, Xiang Huaizhi picked up his coffee and took a sip. Just as he set the cup down, he noticed the friend icon in the game flashing.

[Friend] Qiufeng: Xiang Shen, the team assignments for tomorrow’s first kill raid are set. Check them out in the guild interface.

[Friend] Heart’s Desire: Mhm.

The team assignments made by the guild leader are displayed in the guild interface. Xiang Huaizhi opened it and glanced—the five-member team consisted of him, Lu Tiaotiao, Love is Sharing with You, and two unfamiliar guild members.

Though unfamiliar, their IDs looked recognizable—all were top-ranked players on the leaderboard.

The twenty-member team had practically gathered all the top players from the Idle Pavilion, with flawless and impeccable setups.

Xiang Huaizhi scanned the list briefly before closing the interface, not even bothering to check their character classes in detail.

[Friend] Heart’s Desire: I said before joining the guild—Lu Tiaotiao, Love is Sharing with You, and Little Sweet Scene must stay on my team. No splitting up.

[Friend] Autumn Maple: I know, but we discussed it later and agreed that Mount Putuo is still more stable than Fox Fairy Cave… Besides, this is just the lineup for tomorrow’s first clear. Once we get the first kill, I’ll swap her back.

[Friend] Autumn Maple: Don’t worry, Little Scene will be safe in my team [hug]. Our team isn’t weak either—who knows, we might even beat you to it.

[Friend] Heart’s Desire: Non-negotiable.

[Friend] Autumn Maple: Don’t be like this, I’m considering the bigger picture. Besides, didn’t you always complain about Little Jing being noisy?

[Friend] Heart’s Desire: When did I ever say she was noisy?

[Friend] Heart’s Desire: Either swap her back in, or all four of us will leave the guild.

[Friend] Autumn Maple: …Fine. When Spring Xiao comes online, I’ll have her switch members. You know only the vice-leader and guild leader have the authority.

Qiufeng sent the chat log directly as a screenshot to Chunxiao via WeChat, and Chunxiao replied almost instantly.

Chunxiao: Got it. I told you before—Xin Xiangwang would never agree to let Xiaotianjing join another team.

Qiufeng: Sigh, but he usually doesn’t pay much attention to Xiaotianjing either.

Chunxiao: He doesn’t engage in small talk—just straight to the point, always sending gifts. Remember that ring? Anyway, I’ll go switch now. And stop teasing Xiaotianjing—unless you’re actually serious about that account?

Autumn Maple: Of course not. If I changed the name and face, it wouldn’t feel like the same account to me anymore. I genuinely think Sweet Scenery is an interesting person.

Spring Xiao: What’s so interesting about her?

Autumn Maple: How should I put it… Just chatting casually with her or running a simple dungeon feels more fun than playing with anyone else. Games are all about having a good time, after all.

Spring Xiao: …Well, good luck then. I hope you don’t end up clashing with Heart’s Desire. We’re all in the same guild, and it’d be awkward for me and Mutual Yearning to handle.

Maple Autumn: Hahaha, if Heart’s Yearning is really interested in Little Sweet Scene, we’ll just compete fairly. No fighting, don’t worry.

Xiang Huaizhi had no intention of competing fairly with Maple Autumn.

He just felt that someone he brought into the guild should be his own responsibility. Moreover, since Autumn Maple’s team already had Xiangsi Buguyi, there was no way he’d let Sweet Little Jing join them.

Just as they finished discussing this, Sweet Little Jing sent him an adorable emoji, saying she was back.

Without replying, he immediately teleported to her side and pulled her into the team.

“Good afternoon, brother,” Jing Huan greeted obediently.

“Yes,” Xiang Huaizhi said. “Share your dungeon list with me.”

[Party] Sweet Scenery: [Player Sweet Scenery’s Dungeon Log]

Xiang Huaizhi opened it and glanced—the lit-up dungeons were all the ones he had taken her through, while the rest were grayed out, indicating the player hadn’t attempted them this week.

Could it be that without him, she wouldn’t even know how to run dungeons on her own?

Jing Huan listened carefully and realized that while the voices of Heart’s Yearning and Xiang Huaizhi were similar, Heart’s Yearning’s seemed slightly deeper.

Despite the similar voices, one was a kind senior, while the other was an absolute scumbag.

How ironic.

“Lu Tiaotiao is AFK, and that healer isn’t around either,” Xiang Huaizhi thought for a moment. “Shall I take you to do another quest instead?”

Jing Huan said, “Whatever you say, big brother.”

Jing Huan had initially thought it would be some low-level, trivial task, since there were limited quests two people could do together. Unexpectedly, Xiang Huaizhi led her all the way to the War God NPC.

“Big brother…” he quickly spoke up, “isn’t this quest too expensive?”

The War God quest had no player limit and offered high experience points, but each attempt cost 1 gold coin. Due to the steep price and the abundance of alternative ways to gain experience, hardly anyone chose to undertake it—even when Jing Huan had been short on experience in the past, she’d never opted for the War God quest.

“I lack experience myself,” Xiang Huaizhi said.

Jing Huan had no choice but to shut up and quietly follow him like a shadow.

Probably because they paid for it, the task was particularly simple; sometimes the tasks they received didn’t even require fighting.

After two hours, Jing Huan finished the last sip of his milk tea and asked, “Brother, how long are we going to keep farming?”

“Up to you,” Xiang Huai asked, “Do you have something to do?”

“Yes,” Jing Huan answered truthfully, “I want to play in the arena today and would like to enter early to find teammates.”

Most players who compete in the arena bring their own teammates. He didn’t have many friends to team up with, and “Love is Sharing with You” was a healer—if the two of them went into the arena together, they’d only lose. So he had no choice but to join random teams.

Xiang Huaizhi paused: “Why do you suddenly want to play in the arena?”

Reaching 2000 points in the arena rewards players with a random bound piece of equipment. The lowest rarity is blue, but there’s a chance to get an orange-tier drop.

“Don’t we have the guild dungeon tomorrow? I was thinking I might get a usable piece of gear to make do…” he said quietly. “I don’t want to drag you all down too much.”

Jing Huan had originally planned to go straight to the exchange to buy equipment instantly, but unfortunately, he had previously sold the persona of a runaway working girl, which not only made him afraid to spend money recklessly in the game now but also forced him to pretend to go out for work several nights in a row.

Having money but not being able to spend it—what a tragedy.

Xiang Huai Zhi: “If you team up with random players, it’ll only help you lose points.”

Jing Huan: “I still have to give it a try, though.”

Huai Zhi bluntly said, “No need to try. Those who team up with a Fox Fairy Cave player in the arena aren’t exactly the brightest.”

Jing Huan: “…”

Although the words were harsh, Jing Huan had to admit he was right.

There were too few players who knew how to play Fox Fairy Cave well, and even a random healer would be more reliable than someone using that class.

Jing Huan forced a smile and said, “…Then I’ll have to think of another way.”

Xiang Huaizhi was silent for a moment. “You really want to fight?”

Jing Huan casually replied, “Yeah.”

“Then I’ll carry you.”

“Huh?” Jing Huan was stunned, “What about Brother Lu then?”

“He has many teammates, so no need to worry about him.”

When Lu Hang returned and heard that his ace player was going to carry someone else to rank up, he suddenly felt abandoned by his dad.

But upon hearing it was Xiao Tianjing, he didn’t mind as much: “What? She still hasn’t gotten the 2000-point equipment reward? Then you should hurry up and try to get it for her tonight.”

At 7:20 PM, Jing Huan appeared punctually in the arena and joined the team led by Heart’s Desire.

Lu Tiaotiao and the friends he called over were standing right beside them.

[Current] Lu Tiaotiao: Xiao Jingjing! [fist]

[Current] Sweet Little Jing: I’m here! [fist]

[Current] Lu Tiaotiao: If you run into me later, remember to go easy on me, or I’ll lose my top spot on the leaderboard!! [angry]

Jing Huan couldn’t help but laugh. Lu Tiaotiao really had no shame, actually saying something like that in the current channel.

[Current]SweetScenery: No way! My brother and I will never admit defeat!! [Cute]

Seeing this approach wasn’t working, Lu Hang decided to try another tactic. He leaned out and said to his dear roommate sitting at the desk across from him, “Xiang Xiang, if we get matched later, you should throw the game. SweetScenery won’t be able to tell anyway.”

His dear roommate curled his lips into a ruthless smile: “If we run into them later, you’d better run for it yourself.”

“?”.

“To avoid wasting weapon durability.”

“……”

Perhaps Lu Hang’s prayers worked—after queuing all night, the two teams never matched against each other.

Jing Huan had a blast playing tonight. With the new ring, his healing output skyrocketed. In many battles, Heart’s Desire’s health bar remained full until the PK ended.

Xiang Huai-zhi noticed it too. Whether it was due to diligent practice recently or not, Little Sweet Scenery’s mechanics had improved rapidly, especially the accuracy of their seals—it was frighteningly precise.

Her skills and game sense are excellent.

He even felt she wasn’t much worse than Lu Hang, and on top of that, she had a healing skill that the Warlock lacked. He didn’t need to worry about his own health or the opponent’s crowd control—he could just focus on dealing damage to secure the win.

Another match ended. Xiang Huaizhi took some medicine and suddenly asked, “Which game did you play before?”

Jing Huan was taken aback, then named an MMORPG with a style similar to Nine Heroes. “Why do you ask?”

“It’s fine.” Xiang Huai glanced at the time. “Once we get the medicine, there’s still time for one last round.”

Jing Huan agreed, quickly refilling his backpack with medicine.

Half a minute later, they entered today’s final PK round.

[Current] Autumn Maple: [Surprised]

[Current] Autumn Maple: Little Jing Jing. [shy]

Standing opposite them was none other than Autumn Maple, flanked by his teammates who ranked among the top ten DPS in the server.

Autumn Maple was still typing, hoping to exchange a few more words with Sweet Jing, when the opponent abruptly drew their sword and charged straight at them.

Autumn Maple twitched his fingers, intending to silence Heart’s Yearning.

【You have been sealed and cannot use spells.】？？？

Qiufeng was stunned, finally noticing his current situation.

He saw four small spiders crouching at his feet, all circling around—he had been sealed by Xiao Tianjing.

…When did she seal him? He had only typed a few words.

Qiu Feng stopped joking around and sat up straight, preparing to engage in a serious PK.

Unfortunately, getting crowd-controlled right from the start was a major setback. By the time he broke free from the stun, his only option was to try and control Xiang Wang Zhi to protect his own DPS output. But Xiang Wang Zhi had excellent movement—Qiu Feng’s crowd-control skills missed more often than not, landing maybe one out of three attempts. So he turned his attention to trying to crowd-control Xiao Tian Jing instead.

Only to realize that would’ve been better off sticking with Xiang Wang Zhi.

…Had the Fox Immortal Cave always been this terrifyingly fast in PK battles?

Ten minutes later, he had taken most of the medicine he brought, but his health bar still wouldn’t recover, and it was already beyond saving.

“Damn, the Fox Immortal Cave faction is so annoying. They don’t seal my spells or physical attacks—they just root me in place…” the team’s DPS complained over voice chat.

He was like a punching bag, rooted in place taking hits from Heart’s Desire.

Autumn Maple was also feeling the pain. He turned on his mic and joked, “Little Jing Jing… You’re usually so sweet, why so vicious in the PK arena? Can’t you go easy on me?”

Jing Huan froze for a second before immediately stating his stance in the team channel: “Bro, I’m not close with this guy at all.”

Heart’s Desire simply replied, “Mhm. I know.”

He switched his weapon from knife back to sword, swiftly depleting the opponent’s last bit of health bar.

Qiufeng gave up struggling and didn’t even revive his teammates: “Xiao Jingjing, how could you bear to torment me like this?”

Several seconds later, he finally got a reply.

The voice in the headphones was clear and pleasant—not as sweet as the previous “Don’t Frown” voice, but comfortable to listen to: “Haven’t you heard this saying?”

Qiu Feng was taken aback: “What words?”

Little Sweet Scene said coldly: “Beautiful roses all have thorns.”

Qiu Feng: “…”

Then shouldn’t those thorns of yours also prick Heart’s Yearning a bit?

Author’s Note:

Not only did he not prick, but he also kept blooming toward people.