Chapter 46

Xu Qiaosheng realized he had said something silly and awkwardly touched his face. "Uh, you guys chat, I'll go check out what they're playing." The bathroom had good soundproofing, so he hoped that Yan Xi hadn't heard what he just said.

"What game are you playing?" Yan Xi asked with some interest. "Can I come see?"

"Of course!" Xu Qiaosheng eagerly agreed, then turned to see Yuan Yi with a stern face, not saying anything. He immediately regretted his words—he had just made things awkward when it was supposed to be a private moment. What was he thinking?

He felt guilty and turned his head away from Yuan Yi, leading Yan Xi into the game room. Yuan Yi hesitated for a moment but followed them inside.

When they opened the door, the room was filled with smoke. Xu Qiaosheng kicked Yang Yu's chair. "Put out the cigarettes, open the windows to air out the smell. It's our duty not to let the lady breathe in secondhand smoke, understood?"

Yang Yu, who had just been about to ask why Xu Qiaosheng was acting strange, turned around to see Yan Xi standing at the door. He hurriedly put out his cigarette in the ashtray, stood up to open the window, and waved his hand in the room to try and increase the air circulation.

"Are you guys playing this game?" Yan Xi walked up to Yang Yu's computer and recognized the game ID. Looking at the game's server area, it was the same server she had recently been playing on. "What a coincidence, I'm playing in this server too. Do you have an extra computer? We could do a dungeon together."

"Uh... Dà Hé, what dungeon do you want to play? We can carry you through anything," Xu Qiaosheng said, opening up an empty computer nearby. "I didn't know you were in this server, this is fate!"

"Are you playing a DPS or a support character?"

"Support," Yan Xi noticed that the game client was installed on the computer, indicating that Yuan Yi had probably set up the game room for a few friends. After all, who would leave a dedicated game room with multiple computers just for the sake of a game?

"Support is great! We actually need a healer, so you won't need to find one when we go into a dungeon," Xu Qiaosheng, completely immersed in the game, enthusiastically introduced his character and asked Yan Xi to add him as a friend after logging in. He completely forgot that his cousin was standing behind him.

As Yan Xi logged into the game, she thought to herself, Xu Qiaosheng isn't very bright and loves games, but how did he manage to get into the entertainment industry?

She mounted her colorful flying phoenix and hurried to the guild hall: "I'm at the guild hall, come over quickly."

The group ran toward the guild hall, and Zhang Wang casually asked, "Dà Hé, there are too many people here, what's your character's name?"

"Xīshuǐ Wānwān," Yan Xi smiled as she looked back. Seeing the shocked expressions on their faces, her smile grew even warmer. "It's the character you guessed."

"Wow, I can't believe it," Xu Qiaosheng nearly jumped out of his chair. "The notorious violent support character in the entire server..."

His voice trailed off, "So it wasn't a DPS after all?"

It wasn't surprising that he was so shocked. "Xīshuǐ Wānwān" was infamous in the server. As a support character, she was more violent than a DPS, with rare-grade gear and a reputation for relentlessly chasing down enemies. She was notorious in the server for being a powerful support who could wipe out anyone in her path.

"What do you mean by 'violent support'?" Yuan Yi frowned, clearly not understanding the term. "Qiaosheng, speak properly."

Xu Qiaosheng felt awkward, his expression changing as he glanced at Yuan Yi. Since his cousin didn't play games, he didn't understand just how fearsome "Xīshuǐ Wānwān" was. Looking at Yan Xi, with her delicate figure and gentle appearance, he had to force out a smile. "I was just speaking without thinking."

The others, who had initially promised to guide Yan Xi through a dungeon, were soon left behind as Yan Xi dominated the dungeon for over an hour, nearly wiping out the entire group. Without her, they almost got wiped in the dungeon.

"This dungeon is newly developed, so it's normal to be a bit chaotic if you're not familiar with it," Yan Xi reassured the group after exiting the dungeon, still full of energy. "At 3 p.m., a big boss will spawn at Shén Shòu Mountain, I'll take you there to fight for it."

The four of them silently mounted their rides and gave Yan Xi the team leader position.

The feeling of riding someone else's coattails was pretty great.

When they arrived at Shén Shòu Mountain, several teams were already waiting for the boss to spawn. When they saw Yan Xi's group, two teams silently left while the remaining ones continued to watch.

"Dà Hé, someone declared war on us."

Without saying a word, Yan Xi dismounted and started retaliating, occasionally healing the group while furiously pressing the keyboard, full of energy.

"When the boss spawns, there will be group attacks, remember to keep your buffs up and don't die. I won't have time to resurrect you," Yan Xi swiftly eliminated their opponents, then turned to Yuan Yi. "Yuan Yi, I'm a bit thirsty, can you get me some water?"

Yuan Yi: ...

Watching the five of them so absorbed in the game, Yuan Yi finally felt like he had been sidelined.

He went downstairs to the kitchen, prepared several cups of water, and placed them on a tray. Just as he was about to head back upstairs, Aunt Li came into the kitchen. She looked upstairs to make sure no one was coming down, then quietly asked, "Young Master, Miss Yan is a very nice girl. Are you pursuing her?"

Yuan Yi's ears turned red, and he picked up the tray of water. "Aunt Li, I'm going to take the tea upstairs."

"Such an outstanding girl, many boys must be after her," Aunt Li said earnestly. "If you don't actively pursue her, what if someone else steals her away?"

"Aunt Li," Yuan Yi paused, looking at the steaming tea on the tray. "I don't have the confidence to give her a happy family."

Aunt Li felt a little heartbroken upon hearing this, but before she could say anything more, Yuan Yi had already walked away.

"Sigh, both brothers are like this," Aunt Li sighed. But being just a maid, she felt it wasn't her place to meddle in the family's affairs.

The older brother had been dating his girlfriend for seven or eight years but hadn't brought up marriage. The younger brother was even worse, in his late twenties and still single. Now that there was finally a girl, he hesitated. She didn't know how this situation would end.

As Yuan Yi reached the door of the game room, he heard his childhood friends cheering. He paused for a moment and didn't enter immediately.

"Dà Hé, join our guild. I'm the guild master. If you join, I'll remove Xiao Yang's position and make you the deputy guild master."

"I just opened this boss chest for the first time. If it weren't for my manager nagging me, I'd want to take a screenshot and post it on Weibo to show off."

He understood his friends very well—on the surface, they were easygoing and friendly, but in reality, they were very guarded. Gaining their genuine acceptance wasn't easy. However, after today, he realized he had overestimated them. To get them to like him, all he needed to do was play games with them.

He knocked on the door. "Alright, don't play for too long, take a break and have some water."

The five of them reluctantly got up and each took a cup of water.

"Dà Hé, your ultimate move just now was amazing! I didn't expect a healer's attack skills to be so strong," Xu Qiaosheng took a sip of water. "How long have you been playing this game?"

"Almost a year," Yan Xi smiled. "I've been playing since the server opened."

Listening to them talk about equipment, mounts, gems, and skills, Yuan Yi couldn't contribute to the conversation and felt a little frustrated, sitting quietly to the side. His company was developing games, but he personally wasn't interested in these virtual online games. At most, he saw them from a business perspective, evaluating whether the game had development potential.

Deep down, he probably didn't have much interest in any kind of fantasy romance.

As they continued chatting, no one noticed the beautiful rose petals suddenly falling across the game screen, adding a stunning touch to the game.

Yang Yu, turning around absent-mindedly, casually asked, "Who's setting off fireworks for the whole server?"

Just then, a message appeared at the top of the screen.

System: "Sunshine is just right" set off a "Rose Heartfirework" for "Bend of Creek."

After seeing who the recipient of the flowers was, Yang Yu regretted not turning back earlier and seeing the firework display that was more expensive than real flowers. He regretted speaking out earlier.

Yuan Yi had excellent eyesight and immediately saw the system message. He clearly remembered that Yan Xi's in-game name was "Bend of Creek." He had heard that some players get married to others in the game—was Yan Xi also...

"What are you staring at me for?" Yan Xi, sipping water slowly, blinked her eyes at Yuan Yi. "Are you thirsty too?"

"Someone sent you fireworks in the game," Yuan Yi shifted his gaze and spoke faintly. "Aren't you going to take a look?"

"Huh?" Yan Xi turned her head and glanced at the screen. The fireworks were still going off, and the player who sent her the flowers was still spamming the world chat, saying something like how he wanted to pursue her even though she was a "demon."

"Tsk, today's youngsters are getting more extreme," Yan Xi put down her cup and opened the shop to buy a world chat horn.

[World] Bend of Creek: Sorry, you like demons, but I can't fulfill your request. Goodbye!

Xu Qiaosheng and the others quickly realized what was going on and started causing chaos in the world chat, completely ruining the romantic atmosphere the male player had tried to create.

"Boring, I'm done playing," Zhang Wang logged out and shook his head. "Players these days are getting too casual. They've never even met, yet they can swear eternal love. Their ability to speak sweet words is even better than mine."

Zhang Wang felt like he had made a great sacrifice to lower the male player's standing in Yan Xi's eyes.

"Who knows who the other person is behind the screen? It could even be a smart little kid," Yan Xi casually turned off the computer, stretched her neck, and said, "My neck's sore after playing for so long."

"The study has a massage chair. I'll take you to lie down for a bit," Yuan Yi said without expression, glancing at the others. "Are you guys coming?"

The group of friends shook their heads in unison, no, they were not coming.

Yan Xi assumed they were going to play another game, so she didn't ask further and got up to follow Yuan Yi to the study. She casually grabbed a book and noticed two copies of "Little Monster" placed on the shelf. She turned and smiled at Yuan Yi. "Did you buy two sets?"

"A friend gave them to me, I didn't pay for them," Yuan Yi sat down on another chair. "I didn't expect you to be the author of this book."

"Are you stunned by my talent?" Yan Xi sat in the massage chair, adjusting the intensity and leaning back comfortably.

"I didn't see your talent, but your thick skin is quite obvious," Yuan Yi threw a light blanket at her. "Cover up, so you don't catch a cold and make me call the doctor later."

Yan Xi pulled the blanket off her face with a grimace. "Couldn't you be gentler? Be careful not to mess up my makeup."

"You're wearing makeup today?" Yuan Yi carefully looked at Yan Xi. Her lips looked normal, not like she had makeup on.

"Do you only believe I wore makeup when my eyes are swollen with dark circles?" Yan Xi shook the blanket and draped it over herself, unwilling to think back on the last time she wore makeup.

Yuan Yi was tempted to nod but instinctively knew that speaking now would be quite unwise.

Sunlight streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, chasing away the chill of late autumn, and warming up the room. Yuan Yi noticed that the book in Yan Xi's hand hadn't been opened. He got up and walked over, and saw she had already fallen asleep.

"She can sleep even with others around," Yuan Yi took the book from her hand, lowered the chair's height, and muttered softly, "If she meets someone with ulterior motives, crying won't help."

Saying this, he pulled the curtains, leaving a small gap to let more light in for Yan Xi to sleep better.

Taking the book "Little Monster" from the bookshelf, Yuan Yi sat at the desk, turned on the desk lamp, and slowly flipped through it.

The reason he picked up the book initially was because the round, chubby little monster on the cover looked so cute, so he casually opened it.

He didn't expect each story inside to be so heartwarming, and he couldn't help but read on. He hadn't expected Yan Xi to be the author, but thinking about her hosting style, it made sense. She could easily draw such comics.

He had read the book several times, but each time he finished, his mood was always brightened.

Closing the book, he turned back to look at Yan Xi, peacefully asleep. Suddenly, he felt an impulse—if... if he and Yan Xi were together, she could go host two programs a day, and then come home to read books with him, draw comics, and after dinner, they could take a walk in the neighborhood, then... then go to sleep together...

Sleep...

Yuan Yi hurriedly left the study, closing the door behind him. He leaned against the wall and took a deep breath before he felt his heartbeat return to normal. He patted his slightly flushed face and cursed himself under his breath, "Pathetic!"

Zhang Wang had just stepped out the door when he saw Yuan Yi slapping his face. He stopped in his tracks, smiling as he said, "Wanna sit downstairs?"

Yuan Yi turned around, opened the door slightly, and peeked inside. The room was dim, and Yan Xi was sleeping soundly.

The two of them sat on the sofa downstairs. Zhang Wang looked at Yuan Yi with a half-smile, "That mysterious girlfriend on the popular app, it's Yan Xi, right?"

Yuan Yi lowered his head and peeled some fruit without speaking.

"Tsk tsk tsk, I remember someone once said he wouldn't carry his girlfriend's bag or shoes, but now he's even carrying her," Zhang Wang crossed his legs and looked at Yuan Yi sideways. "You said it so confidently back then. Doesn't it hurt your face now?"

"It hurts what?" Yuan Yi cut the fruit in half, "She's not my girlfriend."

He was talking about not carrying his girlfriend's bag or shoes, but was Yan Xi his girlfriend?

A man should stand by his word, and he hadn't done anything wrong.

Zhang Wang was stunned by his shamelessness.