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It’s still so hot…
The summer holiday is already over, so why is it still this scorching?
Beside Yan, Nan Shi grumbled incessantly.
“If you’re hot, then keep your distance from me.”
Yan tried his best to maintain his composure, speaking calmly, yet the involuntary twitch of his brow betrayed his desire to thoroughly pummel Nan Shi.
“On such a sweltering day, you’re eating such fiery red buldak noodles? Are you out of your mind?! The scorching spice is practically radiating over to me!”
He cast a bewildered gaze at the bowl of crimson buldak noodles on the table before Nan Shi, his voice filled with exasperated complaints.
“I haven’t been to the school cafeteria in ages, so I simply craved it. Got a problem with that, son?”
Nan Shi proudly tilted his face upwards as he spoke, utterly oblivious to how his lips, flushed crimson from the spice, now resembled plump sausages.
“Call me that again, and I swear I’ll hit you. Wouldn’t it be better to address me properly, like you do in the game…?”
Yan brandished a fist, delivering his threat, though he knew he would never truly strike anyone.
“Oh? I gave you some face in the game when others were around, and now you’re getting cocky? In reality, you’ll always be Daddy’s favorite son.”
Nan Shi lifted his bowl, tilted his head back, and slurped down the remaining fiery red noodles in one go, leaving the other students eating nearby utterly dumbfounded, their minds collectively exclaiming, ‘Holy cow, what a man!’
“You!”
Yan slammed his hand on the table, his eyes widening as he prepared to erupt, when Nan Shi abruptly rose from his seat.
“Want some ice cream? Daddy will buy it for you.”
Yan gritted his teeth. ‘You think such a small favor is enough to take advantage of me? Do you truly believe I’m so easily bought!?’
“…Fine!”
“Alrighty then.”
Nan Shi grabbed a napkin, wiped his crimson lips clean, and turned towards the ice cream counter.
A moment later.
“Here, strawberry.”
Nan Shi returned with two sundaes, placing one topped with a layer of vibrant red strawberry sauce before Yan.
“…”
Yan found himself beyond the point of complaining; an ice cream swapped for a sundae was a clear win in his book.
“Thanks.”
Yan murmured, scooping a spoonful into his mouth.
“No problem. That’ll be five yuan. WeChat Pay or Alipay?”
“Damn it.”
Yan nearly choked and sprayed his mouthful.
Such was Yan’s daily routine during his free time at school. The fact that Nan Shi, this incredibly popular and outgoing handsome guy (TL Note: ‘Xianchong’ refers to a person who is popular and enjoys a fulfilling real-life, often in contrast to an ‘otaku’ or ‘gamer’), was such a character in private was likely known only to Yan.
Despite possessing a face handsome enough for a model or celebrity, and being a cheerful, popular student who could deftly read the room, in private, he was this goofy bastard.
Come to think of it, he certainly let loose in the game.
Yan glanced at Nan Shi beside him, who, having just finished his buldak noodles, was now enjoying a chocolate sundae – a veritable ‘ice and fire’ culinary experience – and letting out soft ‘hiss-ha, hiss-ha’ sounds. Yan couldn’t help but smile wryly.
Perhaps it was a common phenomenon? People presenting a serious facade in reality, only to transform into entirely different individuals in relaxing environments like a game world, liberating their suppressed ‘true natures.’
Yan, however, felt he was the same everywhere, which in itself seemed a little strange.
Well, as long as he was having fun, that was all that mattered.
“I’m telling you, wouldn’t it be much better to live on campus?”
Nan Shi turned his head, looking at Yan beside him.
“Why did you only stay for a year before moving out? Without you, Daddy gets awfully lonely, you know? How about showing some care for this ’empty-nest elder’?”
“Lonely, my foot! Don’t you have four ‘sons’—or ‘daddies’—in your dorm already?”
Yan retorted with a playful laugh.
“But they don’t really let loose like you do…”
For once, Nan Shi didn’t retort or scold Yan for his jest. Instead, he looked at Yan seriously, a helpless expression on his face.
“…There’s no real need for me to live on campus.”
Yan said softly, then offered a smile.
“My home is right here in this city. A bus stop is just outside the school gate, and a half-hour bus ride takes me home. Why would I want to suffer here with you all?”
“Ah, you local bastard, I really can’t argue with that.”
Nan Shi said, forcing a laugh.
****
A brief silence then fell between the two.
At a nearby table, a small group of girls enthusiastically devoured spicy hot pot, their chatter filling the air. As it wasn’t a regular mealtime, the school cafeteria was sparsely populated, allowing the two silent friends to clearly overhear their discussion.
Their volume, however, didn’t suggest they were trying to hide anything.
“Hey, hey! Did you play ‘Companion God Realm’ during the holidays?”
“Oh, yeah! Ever since they promoted that… ‘Arena Tournament’ last time, I started playing it. It’s so much fun! How did I never discover such an amazing full-dive game before?”
“So, does that mean we’re all on the new server? Let’s add each other as friends once we’re back in the dorm!”
“Sounds good~”
These days, full-dive helmets were as essential for most university students as laptops once were, a must-have item to bring to school.
Nan Shi was no different; he’d likely put on his full-dive helmet as soon as he returned to the dorm, probably logging on frequently even during school hours.
Yan smiled wryly, finding himself unable to comment on the matter, as he harbored similar intentions.
“Hey! Look over there!”
A sudden stir rippled through the group of girls nearby, and Yan followed their gazes towards the cafeteria entrance.
An elegant young woman, clad in a light brown dress, appeared there. Her smooth, long black hair cascaded over her shoulders, and a dainty, charming beret adorned her head. A sweet smile graced her delicate features, and a pair of beautiful, crystalline eyes surveyed the cafeteria’s interior, seemingly searching for someone.
“Isn’t that the Esteemed Young Lady Su from the business school? The famous one.”
“Huh? Famous? Why haven’t I heard? What’s the story, tell me!”
“Young Miss Su is our school’s renowned beauty queen, ranked among the best. It’s said she’s proficient in all sorts of musical instruments. Didn’t she play the piano at the last school anniversary?”
“Oh, right! I remember now! That was her? Her piano performance was absolutely stunning!”
“And that’s not all. Apparently, she doesn’t live in the dorms; a private car picks her up at the school gate after every class. And get this: it’s not her parents who pick her up, but a real butler! I saw with my own eyes a handsome old man in a black suit bowing to her!”
“A real butler?! That’s the first time I’ve ever seen one in real life!”
“She must be the Young Miss of some tycoon’s family! So calling her ‘Young Miss’ wasn’t just a nickname after all.”
“What’s more, Young Miss Su has absolutely no airs about her; she’s incredibly kind to everyone. The last time I saw her in the teaching building, I accidentally gasped out loud, and she even smiled and greeted me!”
“Ahhh! She’s looking this way! She smiled at me!”
As if sensing their discussion, Su Mubai looked over, nodding slightly at the group and offering a friendly smile.
She then turned her face away, her bright eyes continuing to scan the cafeteria.
“Young Miss Su is too beautiful! Even I, a girl, am almost enchanted by her!”
“Absolutely!”
“Could it be that Young Miss Su is going to eat in the cafeteria? How could an elegant Young Miss eat the same ‘commoner’ food as us!?”
“Don’t talk nonsense. She clearly came to find someone. Perhaps a close classmate is in the cafeteria.”
Just as that person speculated, at another table some distance away, a short-haired girl was waving her arm towards Su Mubai, seemingly beckoning her over.
Su Mubai noticed the girl, too, and with a soft smile, she gracefully raised her slender, pale arm, giving a gentle wave in return. Then, her white sandals tapping a light ‘da, da, da’ against the cafeteria’s tiled floor, she swiftly walked towards her.
“Huh? Do you think Young Miss Su might also play ‘Companion God Realm’? Maybe we could even add her as a friend in the game?”
A girl at the table next to Yan, still seemingly immersed in their previous conversation, chuckled as she half-jokingly suggested.
“Stop dreaming. An elegant Young Miss like her would undoubtedly be well-read and have absolutely no connection to games.”
“That’s true…”
****
‘Hmph? A Young Miss, you say?’
Yan watched Su Mubai’s graceful figure, and his thoughts drifted to someone he knew in the game—a person who also bore the title of ‘Young Miss.’
Only someone as elegant and beautiful as Su Mubai truly deserved to be called a ‘Young Miss.’
Perhaps Qing Bai also…
No, no, that couldn’t possibly be the case, no matter how he thought about it.
Yan shook his head with a wry, helpless smile.
Really, Qing Bai, that one couldn’t be further from someone as elegant as Su Mubai.
Hmph, after all, she was a tsundere and overbearing sort.
****
“So popular, our Young Miss Su~”
The short-haired girl teased Su Mubai with a smile as she approached.
“Oh, really~ Xiao Lin, stop teasing me~”
Su Mubai adopted a perfectly feigned expression of slight grievance, yet the smile at the corner of her lips remained undiminished.
“Hahaha, what can we do when our Young Miss Su is so popular?”
Xiao Lin said, chuckling.
She considered herself quite fortunate to be in the same class as such an elegant Young Miss like Su Mubai.
Su Mubai carried no pretense in class either; she was exceptionally friendly to everyone. Both boys and girls were charmed by her sweet smile and her knack for engaging in perfectly-pitched conversations.
The ‘well-known’ phenomenon of ostracism or other forms of school bullying simply ceased to exist in her presence. This amiable Young Miss seemed to have no enemies, capable of conversing happily with anyone.
Such a Young Miss was truly adored and envied~
Xiao Lin mused inwardly.
Little did she know, the friend she admired and cherished wore an entirely different expression in the game world.
Our Young Miss Qing Bai, in the game world, would never betray her true feelings, would she?
‘Tsk, that scumbag Yan, he actually leveled up to fifty-five in just one day without me checking. Is this guy riding a rocket?’
Su Mubai thought this, yet the smile on her face remained as sweet, gentle…
and elegant as ever.