“Absolutely, this much should be more than enough,” An Dong declared, glancing at the time displayed on his system interface.
“Is it already five o’clock?”
“Ah, so it is,” Yan replied with a resigned chuckle.
“I suppose the arena matches must have concluded by now, right?”
The afternoon matches were scheduled from three to five o’clock, so it was highly probable that the five champions for the afternoon session had already been determined within the event venue.
“Haha… I truly apologize for making you all come with me to farm materials, preventing you from watching the afternoon arena battles.”
An Dong scratched the back of his head, a hint of guilt coloring his awkward smile as he spoke.
“It’s quite alright,” Yan said, waving a hand to dismiss his concern.
“Then allow me to express my gratitude once more. Thank you, both of you.”
An Dong’s face brightened with a hearty smile.
“How about I treat you to something at a coffee shop?”
“Excellent, that’s settled then!”
He declared with a grand sweep of his hand, making a cheerful decision that brooked no argument.
“It works out perfectly, as I’ve arranged to meet my wife at the coffee shop to hand over these materials to her.”
“And you can meet her too, while we’re at it.”
Thinking of his significant other, An Dong beamed with a look of pure happiness, his words carrying a subtle, almost boastful, undertone.
Yan and Tian Jiu exchanged a glance, noticing the glimmer of eager excitement in the little foodie’s eyes, and could only offer a helpless smile.
“Ah, haha… since the matches are over, and we have nothing pressing to do, we won’t stand on ceremony.”
Yet, a question lingered: An Dong’s wife? What kind of person might she be? A flicker of curiosity stirred in Yan’s heart.
“Oh! Then let’s be off!” An Dong exclaimed, already reaching for a Teleport Scroll to return to Fengxing City.
“I won’t be joining you.”
Hearing Guan Ying’s somewhat cool voice, An Dong turned, surprised, to look at him.
“I need to go back and find Xiao to discuss the evening’s finals, so I’ll have to excuse myself. My apologies.”
Seeing the slightly apologetic smile on Guan Ying’s face, An Dong could only concede.
“Alright then, please tell Sister Xiao I said good luck for the finals.”
He offered a hearty smile, his blessing genuinely given.
“Understood,” Guan Ying replied, and taking a step ahead of the others, he used the party teleport function.
It seemed he had already left their group to team up with Xiao, his tall, slender figure vanishing from the spot.
“Then let’s go as well,” An Dong said, being the first to use a Teleport Scroll to return to Fengxing City.
Yan, with a smile, glanced at Tian Jiu, and together they utilized the party teleport-follow function, trailing An Dong back to Fengxing City.
****
“An Dong!”
The moment they pushed open the coffee shop door, a crisp voice rang out, startling An Dong so much that his body stiffened.
A gentle woman sat at one of the coffee shop’s round tables, her orange hair meticulously styled, cascading smoothly over her shoulders.
Her light brown artisan’s robe was utterly devoid of wrinkles.
She clearly exuded an air of meticulous order, a woman precise in every detail, even within the game world.
Yet, at this very moment, a hint of anger marred her otherwise delicate and refined features; her cheeks puffed out, and her bright eyes fixed intently on An Dong.
“Ah, haha, wife, you’re here so early,” An Dong chuckled, scratching the back of his head, an awkward smile plastered on his face as he tried to bluff his way through.
“Get over here!”
“As you command.”
An Dong instantly straightened his posture, not daring to disobey the woman’s order in the slightest, and moved towards her with stiff, robotic steps.
She remained seated by the wooden table, tilting her face up to look at the tall An Dong standing beside her, her slender brows knitting together subtly.
“Bend down!”
An Dong, like a machine, gently bent at the waist.
She then raised a delicate, fair hand and firmly pinched An Dong’s ear.
“Ah, ow, ow, ow!”
An Dong let out a shriek worthy of a slaughtered pig.
The resolute and powerful [Immovable Fortress] from the arena was utterly subdued by this petite woman.
“Oh? So you’ve grown bold, have you? Do you know what you did wrong, or not?!”
“Ow! Ow! Ow… Wife, I was wrong!”
With his ear still pinched, An Dong slumped miserably onto the coffee shop’s wooden table, writhing in pain as he confessed his misdeeds.
“Oh? I’d like to hear exactly what you think you did wrong.”
She released her grip, and An Dong, sighing with relief, sank into the chair beside her, his face a picture of misery as he nervously looked at her.
An Dong licked his lips, then tentatively began, “I shouldn’t have forgotten the task my dear wife entrusted to me?”
“…”
Her expression remained unchanged, her eyes still fixed intently on An Dong.
Growing even more flustered, An Dong glanced at the clock in the coffee shop.
“Was it because I was one minute late for our agreed meeting time?”
“…”
Her expression still did not change.
An Dong nervously swallowed, his face falling.
He clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and ventured another guess.
“Did you discover the private stash of money I hid under the bed?”
“What?!”
Her expression finally shifted, her bright eyes now blazing with fury.
‘Damn it, so that wasn’t it after all?’ An Dong’s heart sank.
‘I’m finished.’
“Oh, you! You actually dared to secretly stash away private money? Is the allowance I give you every month not enough?”
“Ah… daily expenses are definitely covered… it’s just, if I want to buy anything else, it’s not quite enough…” An Dong muttered meekly, his face a picture of utter dejection.
“Still daring to talk back!”
“Mmm…”
An Dong promptly clamped his mouth shut, nervously watching her furious expression.
“Hmph! I’ll deal with you when we get home.”
She seemed to realize that others were present, so she quelled her anger somewhat, turning her gaze towards Yan and Tian Jiu.
Ever since An Dong and his wife had begun their marital spat, Yan and Tian Jiu had been standing there, unsure whether to stand or sit, awkwardly wondering if they should interrupt.
“You’re the ones who helped An Dong farm those materials, aren’t you? Lian told me everything; thank you so much.”
She offered an apologetic smile as she spoke.
‘Damn it, wasn’t she just annoyed that I forgot to farm materials? She actually tricked me… Lian, that tattletale.’ An Dong’s helpless grumbling was ignored by the others.
“Haha, it’s no trouble at all. Big Brother An Dong has also taken great care of us,” Yan replied with a smile.
“Please, sit down quickly. I was so caught up in being angry with him that I completely forgot to invite you to sit. How rude of me.”
“Oh,” Yan nodded, then he and Tian Jiu took seats opposite the couple.
“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Suo Liya, and I am An Dong’s wife in real life.”
Suo Liya smiled gently, a stark contrast to her earlier demeanor when scolding An Dong.
It seemed her fierce side was reserved solely for him; to others, she remained quite friendly.
“I’m Yan, and this is Tian Jiu,” Yan said with a smile.
“H-hello,” Tian Jiu, still a little shy, simply blushed and nodded at Suo Liya by way of greeting.
“Hmm? Yan… you say? Why do you look so familiar to me?”
Suo Liya seemed to recall something, scrutinizing Yan carefully.
“Before the first zone boss raid, wasn’t he the one who recommended Lian to us?” An Dong murmured beside her.
“Oh! So you’re ‘Yan’! I knew it!”
Suo Liya’s mouth opened slightly in surprise, then she broke into a smile.
“Huh?” Yan tilted his head, puzzled.
“I was in An Dong’s party back then, remember me? The healer,” Suo Liya said, covering her mouth with a laugh.
“Oh, oh! So that’s how it is!”
Yan suddenly remembered.
Back then, An Dong’s party had included a healer and a mage, and it turned out that healer was Suo Liya.
“In that case, I owe you a debt of gratitude, Yan, wouldn’t you say?”
Suo Liya’s eyes crinkled as she smiled.
“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have met Lian, and I certainly wouldn’t have gained such a wonderful best friend.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
Yan had been curious about the relationship between An Dong and Lian.
When Yan had recommended Lian to An Dong’s party, the two had been complete strangers, yet now they seemed quite close.
It appeared Suo Liya was the reason for their burgeoning friendship.
“Thankfully, Lian is willing to help me keep an eye on An Dong in the game,” Suo Liya said, spreading her hands in a gesture of helplessness.
“I can’t play as often now, and if it weren’t for Lian watching over him… given An Dong’s careless nature, who knows how much trouble he’d stir up?”
“Hey! Don’t spill all my secrets!” An Dong cried out, embarrassed, but Suo Liya showed no sign of stopping.
Instead, she merely cast him a smiling glance, seemingly finding the situation quite amusing.
“Haha, is Big Brother An Dong really that careless in real life?” Yan asked, now intrigued.
“Oh, yes, he is.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have just casually handed over the clothing factory he started from scratch and built up with his own hands to me.
Honestly… I just wanted to be a regular boss’s wife, staying home and raising our child…” Suo Liya’s expression turned troubled.
“But now I’ve become the factory manager, and he’s dumped everything on me while he plays games here.”
‘Ah, well… instead of “careless,” perhaps “oblivious” would be a more fitting description…’ Yan mused internally.
‘To think Big Brother An Dong is also a business magnate in real life, having built a clothing factory from the ground up? To call such a person merely careless seems hardly appropriate.’
Yan wasn’t sure what expression to make, only seeing An Dong’s smile, which he couldn’t discern whether it was boisterous or simply guileless.
“Big Brother An Dong must have recognized your talent for management, Sister-in-law, which is why he entrusted it to you with such confidence,” Yan offered, a wry smile on his face as he tried to defend An Dong.
In such moments, male compatriots needed to stand united.
“Exactly, exactly! Wife, you’ll definitely manage the clothing factory far better than I ever could,” An Dong echoed immediately.
“I can build an enterprise, but I can’t maintain it.
You know my nature; if I were to manage the clothing factory stably for a few more years, it would either become a major brand or I’d be left with nothing.”
‘Hold on, why is the disparity so immense? What kind of brain structure does this man possess…?’ Yan grumbled inwardly, yet his silent complaints did nothing to deter An Dong’s smooth-talking.
“It’s because I have you and our child now, and I want to settle down, that I entrusted it to you,” An Dong said, smiling as he gently clasped Suo Liya’s hand on the table.
“It’s all for our stable and warm little family.”
“Hmph,” Suo Liya unexpectedly snorted, seeming quite susceptible to his charms.
She turned her head away, a blush spreading across her face.
“All you do is say these useless things all day long…”
‘She’s shy, she’s shy.’ It seemed there truly was a reason they ended up together, after all.
Yan watched the scene unfolding before him, a faint smile gracing his lips.
‘Marriage…?’ This warm feeling, it seemed, wasn’t so bad after all.