Chapter 99 Reality

Chapter 99 Reality

That evening, Shi Youqing and Bao Huai decided to stay in the village.

Meanwhile, Bao Huai inquired with the innkeeper about the reservoir where Cheng Yang's parents and friend had their accident. Although the innkeeper wasn't sure, many details and surrounding features matched up.

It was indeed the reservoir where the explosion had occurred — the same place where Shi Youqing's accident happened.

After taking a bath, Shi Youqing lay on the bed, relaxing and pondering.

Clearly, the reservoir was a key location. However, he now didn’t believe Cheng Yang was the origin of everything. In some ways, Cheng Yang might have been, like him, one of the people affected by the evil spirits in the reservoir.

But Cheng Yang chose to become an evil spirit, attempting to align him to the same side.

Thinking this, Shi Youqing again looked at the floating frame in front of him and opened the little speaker: “Weren’t you disfigured? Why does your face look fine to me?”

Cheng Yang was momentarily stunned, having been unmuted.

Shi Youqing joked with him: “Did you encounter a spirit like in 'Painted Skin'?”

Cheng Yang immediately became angry: “What nonsense are you talking about?”

Shi Youqing remained calm: “I’m just curious.”

“Curious about my face? You unmuted me just to talk about this?” Cheng Yang was astonished, unable to believe that the person he had pinned such great hopes on would ask such trivial questions at this moment, “Is this important?! Youqing, now that you know about my past, can’t you understand me a bit?”

Shi Youqing sat up straight, equally astonished: “Why should I understand you? You’re unbelievable.”

“You... don’t you see how similar our experiences are? We both could have had happy lives, worked so hard, yet everything was destroyed by those people! And you encountered it even earlier than me! You know, someone as smart as you, if you had grown up well, would definitely have achieved great things... You remember all that, how can you not hate?”

He was nearly hysterical.

“I’ve already taken my revenge,” Shi Youqing was almost dizzy from his rant, “If you want revenge, go find that driver, your business partners... Why come after me, imprison me, and drag so many others into this? I think those players who died in the game should hate you the most... You really have thick skin.”

Cheng Yang paused, speechless with anger, but then he laughed, “You don’t understand, still a child at heart even after growing up. I really shouldn’t have left you in confusion there... I should have taught you properly!”

Shi Youqing smiled, "You’re not teaching me because you don’t want to, right? If you can’t do it, don’t make empty promises."

"You!"

"What about me?"

"You always treat me like I'm the bad guy," the other party tried to circumvent, changing his tone and sighing, "Compared to reality, the gaming world isn’t so bad. As long as players keep conquering scenarios, the gaming world will become safer, until one day, it turns into a perfect utopia. Imagine if we had lived in such a world from the start; we wouldn’t have faced all that."

Shi Youqing remarked, "That kind of utopian rhetoric isn't popular anymore."

“？？？”

"You should say, 'As long as you are willing to work hard, the doors of the gaming world will always be open to you. Of course, the decision is in your hands. We are not lacking in people coming over. You can consider it carefully. The last person who came to me is now living comfortably in that world, with a car and a house. Returning to the real world is also very convenient. For every player you bring over, you will get a piece of land in an instance, which is like helping a friend and benefiting yourself, a truly mutual and beneficial arrangement! Once you bring over enough players, you can take my place! Becoming a boss is not out of the question. Look at me, I went from a small tool to a boss, quite convincing, right? Oh, and you can actually try it out for a month first. You won’t be at a loss...' After Shi Youqing finished speaking earnestly, he shook his head in disdain, 'See, being away from reality for too long, even scamming is uncomfortable for you.'"

“……”

Hurtful words can be colder than a harsh winter! Cheng Yao felt relieved for not having a physical form, otherwise, he would have been in an awkward situation.

Controlling Shi Youqing's consciousness for over a decade in the black world was indeed the right decision. With his current attitude, where was the slightest sign of enlightenment? Such ignorance and unteachability!

Shi Youqing was also bored and wanted to chat more with Cheng Yao. If he could continue to extract some information, it would be great. But just as he finished speaking, Bo Huai came out from his shower.

Now deep into autumn, the nights grew cold, and Shi Youqing, who was naturally susceptible to the cold, would have Bo Huai prepare a medicinal foot bath for him every day back in the real world.

Without a footbath tub in the guesthouse, Bo Huai brought over a basin steaming with hot water: "Youqing, time for your footbath."

Shi Youqing acknowledged with a sound, wiggling to the edge of the bed. He tentatively dipped a toe into the water, finding the temperature just right, and then submerged both feet.

"This is really comfortable."

Bo Huai gazed down at the pair of pale feet gently moving in the water, feeling a warmth fill his heart. He crouched down and started massaging one foot, his lips pressed tightly in concentration...

"What are you doing?" Shi Youqing asked.

"Massaging while soaking the feet is good for the body," Bo Huai replied in a low voice.

Shi Youqing's eyes widened slightly as he watched Bo Huai switch from one foot to the other, sometimes gently squeezing, sometimes pressing on acupoints. It was truly comfortable, but he couldn't help wanting to retract his feet... As he was torn, his phone rang.

It was a video call from Feng Bin.

Upon connecting, Feng Bin seemed surprised by the background: “Where are you?”

Shi Youqing: “In the countryside.” He laughed reflexively as Bao Huai pressed a bit harder on his foot during the massage, “Ouch…”

Feng Bin was momentarily speechless, captivated by the scene.

Shi Youqing continued: “We’re investigating the game's boss here in the countryside.”

Feng Bin regained his composure, concerned: “Be careful of mosquito bites… We haven’t had much luck here yet; still searching for the clue.”

“No worries, we’ll return tomorrow and search together.”

Feng Bin sounded worried about his health: “Why don’t you rest there for a while? It’ll give you some peace of mind. We can handle the search for clues. After all, there are only so many related places.”

Shi Youqing shook his head: “I want to eat freshly made desserts from a place near our house. They don’t have them here.”

“…” Feng Bin hesitated before asking, “You prefer them freshly baked, right?”

“Of course.”

On the other end of the video, Feng Bin glanced at Hao Tianxiang, who was hiding his face due to an allergy but still sneakily watching Shi Youqing, thinking to himself how fortunate it was that Hao wouldn't be a delivery guy for those desserts.

……

Thanks to the foot bath and massage, Shi Youqing slept soundly. The night was cold, but Bao Huai’s embrace was like a constant warm heater.

Waking up to the morning sunlight, Shi Youqing stretched languidly, only to find himself drained of energy. He sighed and dropped his head in resignation.

Bao Huai dressed him, taking the opportunity to sniff him a few times, and then cheerfully led him out for breakfast.

After breakfast, they set off, reaching home by noon via the highway.

During the journey, Shi Youqing ruled out the places Feng Bin had visited or planned to visit and listed several potential locations for clues with Bao Huai.

Planning to rest briefly upon arriving home before setting out again, they were greeted by their neighbor, an elderly lady: “Youqing, from yesterday to today, a kid has been coming to your door several times, even recently... said he was looking for you, but the frequency seems a bit much. Be careful!”

Bao Huai’s expression turned cold: “A kid?”

The old lady nodded: “Looks about eighteen or nineteen, didn’t seem like a bad person. But nowadays, you can’t tell just by looking. I’m worried it could be some thugs scouting in advance!”

Shi Youqing, thinking it was a burglar calling at a specific time, quickly thanked the elderly lady and went inside to have Bo Huai check his safe, then checked his mother's room to ensure no valuables were missing, finally feeling relieved: "Good thing we came back today."

"...", Bo Huai sometimes found Shi Youqing's obliviousness frustrating, and at other times, utterly endearing. This time, it was definitely the latter.

Trying to seduce at such a young age, but unfortunately, Shi Youqing doesn't even know who you are.

Smiling slightly, he stood up to prepare a goji berry tea for Shi Youqing.

However, Bo Huai's contentment lasted only three minutes.

After three minutes, the doorbell rang. Bo Huai opened the door to find a young man frowning: "Why is it you? Where's Shi Youqing?"

Bo Huai quickly shut the door, but the young man urgently called out: "Shi Youqing, it's Lu Wei. Are you in there?!"

Shi Youqing was still drinking his probiotics. Hearing the voice, he put down his cup abruptly: "Let him in, quick!"

Moments later, there was an additional person in the living room.

Only Bo Huai wore a dark expression.

Lu Wei's main purpose for visiting was to check on Shi Youqing's wellbeing. He had left the previous game in an unconscious state, and although he felt Shi Youqing was unlikely to be in trouble, he needed to see for himself to be at ease.

Now seeing Shi Youqing well, he found himself reluctant to leave.

Shi Youqing got straight to the point: "Do you know my mother's name?"

Lu Wei answered without hesitation: "Shi Wen." He might not remember other kids' parents, but he vividly remembered many things about Shi Youqing. Later, a classmate used a term to describe Shi Youqing's significance to him — "White Moonlight."

He thought the term was cliché, yet apt. They knew each other since childhood, often saw each other over the years, but Shi Youqing never paid attention to him, never looked at him voluntarily. Now, he doesn't even remember him, unaware of how significant he was in another boy's heart.

Whenever Lu Wei thought of Shi Youqing, he felt like the overlooked protagonist in a teen angst film...

Hearing his mother's name stirred something in Shi Youqing's heart.

Then, perhaps to help Shi Youqing remember him, Lu Wei began to recount their shared past in detail — like the times they played together in a nearby park as kids, or when they both went to the Youth Palace at eight or nine, but Shi Youqing stopped going after just one day. Or how at fourteen or fifteen, Lu Wei would run near Shi Youqing's neighborhood, spotting him quietly observing boys skateboarding from his balcony, and when Lu Wei took up skateboarding, Shi Youqing had stopped watching...

Although Shi Youqing didn't remember every single incident, most of them did strike a chord, things he had indeed experienced.

And these experiences are not false memories; Lu Wei is the witness.

He went through a real second life, but those memories were manipulated and erased in the eyes of non-players.

This is a good thing.

"Thank you for telling me this," Shi Youqing said, "It's very important to me."

"No need to thank me, I owe you a favor…" Lu Wei said, blushing slightly and sounding excited, yet restraining himself, "If you want to know more, I actually have a lot more to share..."

"Here’s my phone number. Let’s talk later, I have some things to do today," Shi Youqing handed him a piece of paper.

Surprised to receive his contact information, Lu Wei clutched the paper tightly, ignoring the cold look from the young man beside Shi Youqing, and stood up coughing, "Okay, here's my number. You can come to me for anything! After all, I owe you a favor!"

After seeing off Lu Wei, Shi Youqing went to fetch his thermos, "Let’s set off."

Bao Huai’s heart was sour, but looking at the young man’s face, all his emotions vanished.

Shi Youqing was completely unaware of Lu Wei’s intentions.

They planned to visit an amusement park in the suburbs first.

Bao Huai drove to a nearby mall, asking Shi Youqing to wait inside while he joined the queue at the dessert shop. His expression changed slightly upon spotting the name of a new product.

Ten minutes later, Shi Youqing in the passenger seat saw Bao Huai approaching briskly.

Bao Huai quickly opened the car door, handed over the bag of sweets with a slight smile, "Youqing, this is what you were looking for."

Shi Youqing looked down at the bag in his hands, instinctively opening it to find his favorite mochi and cupcakes, and a new item, labeled 'Butterfly’s Paradise.'

It was a biscuit shaped like a butterfly.

His fingertips trembled slightly as he opened the box.

Shi Youqing’s eyes narrowed instantly.

Beneath the biscuit lay a small piece of black paper.

On it, in white ink, two words — 'Love You.'

This was a hint for the next game module... the White World.

[Author's Note]

A special thanks to the angel who shot the rocket: --Waiting for the Aurora-- 1 piece;

Thanks to the angel who threw a grenade: Return Flight 1;

Thanks to the angels who irrigated with nutrient solution: Du Heng 50 bottles; Si Xuan Zhuan Yue 26 bottles; Return Flight 16 bottles; Please Show Your ID 10 bottles; Weak, Helpless, Pitiable but Capable of Mischief 3 bottles;

Thank you very much for your support, I will keep trying!