Chapter 100: The Love Game (1)

Chapter 100: The Love Game (1)

◎[White World Copy: The Love Game]◎

Compared to the clear instructions like “Avoid Certain Foods” or “Do Not Walk Together,” the hint “Love You” is too vague.

The hint leads to too many and too mixed pieces of information, making it difficult to make judgments.

However, finding the hint is a good thing, and Shi Youqing immediately calls Feng Bin to inform him.

On the other end, Feng Bin says, “We’ll come back to you right now!”

Shi Youqing asks, “Where are you now?”

“Near Butterfly Mountain!”

“Is it fun?”

There’s a pause on the other end, then Hao Tianxiu’s voice: “The scenery is not bad! There’s also a really good restaurant on the mountain! Youqing, do you want to come?”

“Let’s go,” Shi Youqing, with nothing else planned, exchanges glances with Bao Huai and says while holding the paper bag, “We are already on our way.”

The weather is good, the car window is half-open, and the autumn breeze blows in at a comfortable temperature. Shi Youqing, eating his mochi and enjoying the sweet taste, feels especially expansive in his heart. Despite sensing that the next copy will be more difficult, the pressure doesn’t seem to have increased; instead, there’s a sense of eagerness.

Halfway through the mochi, Shi Youqing dozes off for about ten minutes before arriving at the destination.

Bao Huai waits for him to wake up before opening the car door for him.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” Shi Youqing, holding the paper bag and yawning, steps out to admire the beautiful mountain scenery, smiling with a lifted corner of his mouth, “It really is beautiful.”

The other party looks down at him for a few seconds before responding.

The mountain isn't very tall and lacks a cable car. The car can't go in, so at the steps, Bao Huai leans forward, "Come on, I'll carry you."

"I'd like to walk a bit," Shi Youqing feels the steps aren't too steep and climbing them seems like a fun activity, "Maybe I can even make it to the top."

If someone else said this, it might provoke laughter, but when Shi Youqing says it, Bao Huai feels a heart-wrenching pain.

"Okay."

The steps are a bit mossy, and Bao Huai, concerned about Shi Youqing slipping, finds a legitimate reason to hold his hand tightly, also helping him leverage his strength while climbing.

After walking a while, Shi Youqing starts panting heavily, seeing the long stretch of steps still ahead and feeling disheartened: "Ah, I really don't have the strength..."

Bao Huai, who has been holding back since Shi Youqing started panting, can no longer care about his willingness and quickly hoists him up: "As long as you reach the summit, it'll be as if you climbed it yourself."

"I guess that's the only way..." Shi Youqing, having no strength to pretend, wraps his arms around Bao Huai's neck, turns to look at the view below where children play under the watchful eyes of adults by a waterfall, and can't help but comment, "This is really nice."

He doesn't realize he's smiling, and as he looks down, his cheek grazes Bao Huai's ear.

Bao Huai's steps falter, his jaw stiffens for a moment, he looks back briefly, feeling immensely satisfied, and continues to climb the steps vigorously.

Shi Youqing is exhausted, hanging limply like a wilted cabbage on Bao Huai's back. Hearing Bao Huai's slightly quickened breath and seeing his reddened eyes, he mistakenly thinks Bao Huai is too tired, and suggests, "You should let me down. I can walk, just slowly..."

The hands gripping his legs tighten: "No."

"Ah? Aren't you tired?"

"No."

Seeing Bao Huai maintaining a good pace, Shi Youqing stays silent, resting with his head lowered.

After a while, he suddenly hears Bao Huai say, "I'm very happy too."

It's not just 'very,' but the happiest he's ever been.

Shi Youqing blinks, smiling, "You're tired and still happy?"

Unable to see his face but still finding him endearing, Bao Huai's lips curve up uncontrollably, feeling that continuing this journey would be delightful: "Not tired at all."

"Are there really such people in the world?" Shi Youqing perked up, asking, "Is it because your consciousness is in the scales?"

Bao Huai shook his head: "The scales are just a shell for convenience. The original body remains the same as it always was."

This led Shi Youqing to another thought.

Currently, Bao Huai is using a physical form derived from his scales, while his main body is always in the game world, similar to the current state of Cheng Yang, whose cocoon shell does not allow him the freedom to move.

Knowing this was possible, Shi Youqing, inexperienced and unclear about the specifics, inquired, "You mentioned you don't remember some memories. Is that related to the scales?"

In the last instance of the game, due to the connection with the butterfly consciousness, both Bao Huai and Shi Youqing regained most of their memories.

"The amount of memory retained can be decided by the main body when using an avatar."

Shi Youqing was amazed, so Bao Huai intentionally let his current self lose part of his memory?

Pondering this, he heard Bao Huai add, "If you ask, I can't lie, so I erased part of the memory directly."

“……”

About Shi Youqing's past, the chaotic years in the game world, and the reason for returning to reality... Bao Huai knew he couldn't hide it forever, but he just didn't want Shi Youqing to know so soon.

The thought of Shi Youqing's pain from this was more unbearable than suffocation.

Shi Youqing fell silent.

The golden sunset filtered through the leaves, casting a glow on his face. Shi Youqing raised a hand, resting his cheek in it and sighed, "I used to be afraid of injections as a child, but after each one, I wouldn't dwell on it. Why did you do that?" After speaking, he languidly dropped his arms, "I'm glad I remembered."

Bao Huai paused, and after a long moment, he suddenly set Shi Youqing down.

Confused, Shi Youqing felt a cherished kiss on his cheek.

Bao Huai wanted to kiss his lips, but fearing it was too soon and might frighten him, he settled for a peck on the cheek before embracing him tightly, wishing they could merge into one.

Shi Youqing stayed still, not yet comprehending what had happened.

Bao Huai’s breathing was erratic. After a moment of silence, he hoisted Shi Youqing up again and reached the summit within a few steps.

At a nearby restaurant, Feng Bin and Hao Tianxiang had been waiting on the stone seats by the entrance. Spotting the familiar figures, they stood up simultaneously.

Hao Tianshuo had rushed over before Shi Youqing had even gotten off the ground.

"Youqing, why didn't you say something earlier? I would have come down to take turns carrying you."

Bo Huai, suppressing both anger and jealousy, sneered: "It's not your turn."

Hao Tianshuo didn't want to engage with him. Seeing Shi Youqing staring at his face, he explained with a wry smile: "It's much better now. I accidentally ate a dessert with mango yesterday and had an allergic reaction..."

Hao Tianshuo's face showed hardly any signs of the allergy now, almost completely healed. Shi Youqing was just surprised by his hair color.

His once green hair had now turned pitch black. Even though his face remained the same, for some reason, he seemed a few years older...

No, Hao Tianshuo was always older. It was just that he always intentionally called him "Youqing Bro," combined with his lively personality and memorable hair color, leading Shi Youqing to subconsciously think he was younger.

Feng Bin approached and said, "Let's go inside."

Once inside the private room, Hao Tianshuo was about to speak, but Feng Bin, who had grabbed the hint, interjected first: "Is this the hint for the next replica?"

Shi Youqing responded, "Yeah, it doesn't make much sense at the moment."

Feng Bin nodded: "...Looks like it's going to be complicated."

Hao Tianshuo, anxious, muttered, "Don't think about these things anymore. Thinking too much about such clues before entering an instance is useless... Anyway, we will be entering the instance in a few days. Let's just rest our minds."

Shi Youqing agreed with Hao Tianshuo. Specific clues could be researched in advance, but broad and life-related clues only made sense inside the instance. There was no need to exhaust too much energy beforehand.

The dishes were served one by one, and the chef’s skills were excellent. Shi Youqing, who usually had a small appetite, found himself able to eat another bowl after just one bite.

"Brother Qingqing, have you heard of the Xun Qing Guild?"

Hao Tianshuo suddenly brought this up while eating.

"What is that?" Shi Youqing looked up.

Feng Bin seemed to know about it too, with a helpless expression: "Yesterday, Hao Tianshuo discovered a game guild formed by players who like to break through levels. Its name is Xun Qing Guild. Hao Tianshuo thought this name was very strange... as if it had something to do with you, so he tried every means to infiltrate it. It turns out this guild really is related to you!"

Bo Huai immediately looked up.

Shi Youqing's face was full of confusion.

"The purpose of this guild is to follow and find the player Shi Youqing!" Hao Tianshuo said with a grimace, "I don't know who started it, but they're even faster than me... To meet their leader, I even spent some money to become a junior manager."

"Who founded it?" Bo Huai asked, frowning.

"I met with them last night... I don't recognize the person, seems like their surname is Ye..." Hao Tianshuo appeared uninterested in that individual, "I heard he’s a dark horse player, previously shunned by others, but now leading his team impressively."

Shi Youqing had encountered too many players; he couldn’t remember each one, especially if they hadn’t teamed up for an instance. Therefore, he wasn’t very interested in the topic: "This guild doesn't seem very useful, does it?"

Hao Tianshuo: "Useless! Hmph, I think they are just using your name as a gimmick! It's not sincere. Otherwise, why would the upper management even charge me? Annoying!"

"What's the guild's group number?" Bo Huai seemed to have an idea of who it was, his expression turning grim.

Hao Tianshuo usually didn’t get along with him, but now they had a common adversary, he reluctantly gave him the group number: "Add it yourself."

After joining the guild chat group, Bo Huai seemed to have confirmed something. After a moment of silence, he devoted himself to serving dishes to Shi Youqing. After dinner, the group took a brief rest before heading out to view the night scenery from the mountain top.

There were a few campers on the mountain, so it wasn’t entirely desolate. They chatted and strolled, eventually spreading a blanket on a slope to sit and rest.

With the night breeze caressing their faces, Shi Youqing leaned against Bo Huai, watching the stars, listening to Hao Tianshuo singing off-key mountain songs, and hearing Feng Bin’s occasional teasing comments. Gradually, he felt a smile tugging at his lips and sleepiness creeping in.

Time seemed to stand still in that moment.

He was sure to have a good night's sleep tonight.

……

Shi Youqing quickly forgot about the Xun Qing Guild by the next morning. Bo Huai, on the other hand, was intermittently researching someone. Shi Youqing didn't get involved but occasionally read books about love themes to pass the time, which might even relate to the hint if he was lucky.

Time flew by, and a week later, Shi Youqing didn't immediately appear in the game world upon sensing that familiar anomaly.

This time, new lines of instructions appeared in the floating prompt that weren't there before.

[Dear player Shi Youqing, greetings! The new replica allows for solo or team entry! Please choose between solo or team within one minute. If in a team, the player with the most chess pieces will decide the mode.]

[You are about to enter the new replica! Countdown begins…]

[Please make your choice quickly, players who don't choose will default to solo!]

Shi Youqing unhesitatingly chose 'team,' glancing at Bo Huai's suddenly changing expression and about to reassure him when suddenly everything went dark.

Then, in just an instant, his vision cleared.

He found himself in a delicately furnished bedroom, sitting on the bed, wearing a brown bear pajama.

The world outside was brightly lit.

Shi Youqing glanced at the blue floating frame.

[White World Instance: Love Game]

[Game Progress: 0%]

[Hehe, you are a wealthy young master who couldn’t stand the family’s control and ran away from home. Now you are residing in Lucky Apartment, Room 304. This world is a love game where you'll need to woo 4 NPCs. However, before you moved in, the previous tenant of this room died mysteriously…]

Shi Youqing: "..." Can a system not be so playful, please?

System: "Greetings, player. As this instance requires a host, I will be at your service! Let me introduce the background to you in advance."

Shi Youqing: "A host? Is this a murder mystery game?"

System: "You could think of it that way, as all players need to play their roles well. Your character card is a young master who ran away from home. Please remember this."

"Oh."

"This is a world of a love game, and you are the protagonist. You need to raise the affection points of four target NPCs to sixty or more. At the same time, you must uncover the murderer of the previous protagonist."

Shi Youqing frowns: "What about my teammates?"

System: "In this round, the player with the highest number of chess pieces is set as the protagonist of the love game, and your teammates are assigned roles as background characters. They will be around the apartment, but their tasks are to assist you. Don’t worry."

Background characters? What does that mean?

As he pondered, the system continued: "Although this is the White World, please don’t take it lightly. Even without breaking the rules, every choice you make affects your fate and could hasten your demise, following the footsteps of the previous protagonist. Of course, wise choices might help you avoid dangers… The rule background briefing is complete! You have seven days for this challenge. Good luck!"

Shi Youqing now just wanted to understand what 'background characters' meant. As he was about to get out of bed, the doorbell rang.

He went to open the door.

It was three men in different uniforms — a property manager, a courier, and a security guard.

Bao Huai, Feng Bin, and Hao Tianxiang.

They probably already knew about this instance's mode through the system, and their expressions were somber, especially Bao Huai, who had a stormy look, evidently restraining something. Only upon seeing Shi Youqing did his expression slightly soften.

Shi Youqing: "...Come in."

As soon as they entered, Hao Tianxiang couldn't help but lament, "What's the meaning of this? How can they do this!"

Shi Youqing, full of curiosity: "What are your tasks?"

Bao Huai, having recently experienced a bout of fury, spoke in a hoarse voice, his fists clenched tightly: "Perform our jobs properly… and assist you in finding the murderer."

If it weren't for the task involving Shi Youqing, he would have preferred to directly eliminate those four NPCs!

[? Author's Note]

Hundred chapters milestone!

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

Thanks to the angels who dropped mines: Return Trajectory 1;

Thanks to the angels who irrigated with nutrient solution: October 30 bottles; ... 26 bottles; Sour Oh, zbht (Cute 0 Collector) 20 bottles; Chatting with Wendy under the Covers, Begging for the Next Snow, Fei Mo, Yun Fei, Loyal Follower of Barbados 10 bottles; Ji Nan Bei Yu 5 bottles; Cute Pinch 4 bottles; Weak, Helpless, Pitiful but Troublesome 1 bottle;

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