“Chapter 103: Love Game (4)”

"Chapter 103: Love Game (4)"

"◎ Bai Mingliang ◎"

"Back home, Shi Youqing rested for a while and then shared the revelation about players being among the targets of the conquest, emphasizing that the players in this episode were divided into opposing factions."

"Bo Huai wasn’t very surprised, only showing a reaction upon hearing the name Zong Tu Yuan."

"Shi Youqing couldn’t fathom his thoughts, unaware that Bo Huai was planning how to circumvent the rules to confront Zong Tu Yuan. He said somewhat melancholically, 'I wonder how Feng Bin and Hao Tianshuo are doing with their mission... We need to inform them too, at least to be wary of the NPCs.'"

"As he spoke, footsteps stopped outside the neighboring door, followed by a familiar male voice: 'Your delivery has arrived.'"

"It was Feng Bin."

"Next door lived Lu Yuze."

"The two exchanged glances and approached the door."

"Shi Youqing quietly opened a crack and listened in, pressing his ear against the door."

"Bo Huai was alert to the surroundings, occasionally glancing at Shi Youqing with his peripheral vision, ensuring his stability."

"The door next door took a while to open."

"Feng Bin eyed the man in front of him and set down the heavy box he was carrying, its contents unknown."

"Lu Yuze, wearing an apron and carrying a faint fishy smell, apologized, 'Sorry, I was cooking and didn’t hear the door.'"

"'No problem, just need your signature here.'"

"The man signed his name, then carried the box back inside, quickly closing the door."

"Feng Bin, sensing something amiss, didn't leave immediately. He moved closer to listen, and soon heard a thudding sound from inside, like something being chopped."

"Frowning, he was about to leave when he heard a whisper from behind: 'Feng Bin.'"

"He turned around immediately."

"It was Shi Youqing from next door, beckoning him."

"Unable to suppress a smile, Feng Bin wiped his sweat and followed him inside."

"Now only Hao Tianshuo was left. Shi Youqing knew he was on duty at the security room and couldn’t leave. He called him directly."

"'Brother Qingqing, are you in danger?!' came the anxious voice from the other end."

"'No,' Shi Youqing, sitting on the sofa with the speakerphone on, replied, 'Bo Huai and Feng Bin are here with me. I’m going to share some findings. Since you can’t leave, just listen over the phone.'"

"'Oh...' The voice from the other end sounded a bit disappointed."

"Shi Youqing briefly explained the situation about the opposing factions."

"Hao Tianshuo reacted with surprised exclamations."

"'Pure NPCs won’t know we’re investigating the murderer, but player-impersonated NPCs could guess our main task, so we must be wary of them,' Shi Youqing spoke earnestly, 'Our mission is to find the murderer amidst their sabotage and obstruction. Even if we have clues, we mustn't let them find out. We should appear completely disorganized and slow in progress... that might make the conquest easier.'"

"'No problem!' Hao Tianshuo responded enthusiastically."

"Bo Huai and Feng Bin were at a loss for words."

"...Just be yourself."

"After sharing the crucial information, Shi Youqing was about to hang up, but Hao Tianshuo hastily interjected, 'Don’t hang up! I’m bored in the security room! If you guys aren't busy, just keep the line open. It'll be like I'm there with you.' Unable to see them, he could at least listen to Brother Qingqing’s breathing."

“……”

"Shi Youqing saw no reason to refuse and kept the speakerphone on."

"He then remembered the sudden five points of favorability Huo Xu had shown in the car, which he found very strange."

"Could it be another player he knew? So he began to detail this incident as well."

"Hearing this, Bo Huai’s expression grew even grimmer."

"Even if NPCs liked Shi Youqing, they could never be with him. He hadn’t seen them as a threat, merely as an annoyance. But players were a different matter..."

"'What was he doing at that time?' Bo Huai asked."

"Shi Youqing recalled, 'He seemed to be looking out the car window…'"

"Bo Huai: '…'"

"Shi Youqing: 'What’s wrong?'"

"Bo Huai’s gaze turned icy: 'I was chasing you on my bike at that time. He must have seen me.'"

？

"Shi Youqing didn’t understand at first, blinked, and then exclaimed in shock, 'He must have known you were chasing me!'"

"After all, it was too coincidental: picking up a stranger and then being chased by someone else almost immediately."

"Feng Bin couldn't help but feel exasperated: 'Does this person... like stealing others’ love interests?'"

"Shi Youqing: 'Apparently so.'"

"Bo Huai, fuming with anger, fell silent."

"The more he liked Shi Youqing, the more this Huo scoundrel seemed to like him too… How could he deal with that?"

"After his initial surprise, Shi Youqing actually felt pleased: 'This means that conquering Huo Xu won’t be difficult.'"

“……”

"As it approached noon, Bo Huai suppressed the turmoil in his heart and went to fetch ingredients from the fridge, preparing to cook for Shi Youqing."

"'…It’s already noon, half of the first day is gone, and seven days is too short,' Shi Youqing frowned, 'Finding the murderer in such a short time is one thing, but conquering several people in this time frame, it’s not like we’re hooking up… it’s troubling.'"

"Feng Bin, who was drinking water, almost spat it out upon hearing those words, quickly averting his gaze, not expecting to hear such language from Shi Youqing."

"Bo Huai, not far away, clearly heard as well, his hands shaking with anger!"

"...If it really came to that, he’d rather kill those conquest targets and restart the episode!!!"

"Shi Youqing, oblivious to how his words were received, continued, 'We need to find a way to tie those people to me, that should be more efficient.'"

"Hao Tianshuo, on the phone, suggested, 'Maybe join a dating reality show? Even if there were such a program here, it’s too late to sign up now!'"

“……”

"Shi Youqing pondered, 'They say adversity reveals true feelings. How about this – if their favorability scores aren’t close to the target in the last few days, you guys can just kidnap all four of us. Use those fake magician knives to stab them, and I’ll block each one. That should work, right?'"

"'...' Bo Huai crushed the vegetables he was holding in his hand."

"Feng Bin looked skyward."

"After a moment of silence, Feng Bin suddenly realized a discrepancy, 'Aren’t there four conquest targets, making it five including you?'"

"Shi Youqing waved his hand dismissively, 'Yan Chuan is actually Zong Tu Yuan, so we don’t need to worry about him. Just slap him if his favorability is low. He seems to like that.'"

"'...' Feng Bin’s mouth twitched."

"He likes being slapped by you, doesn’t he?"

"After some idle chat, Feng Bin received a message to return to his post for a meal and had to leave."

"Hao Tianshuo, eating his boxed lunch in the security room, chattered non-stop, 'I can monitor the CCTV here, but not the old footage. If you suspect someone, let me know, and I’ll keep an eye on their comings and goings!'"

"Shi Youqing thanked him, 'I appreciate it.'"

"Hao Tianshuo chuckled in response."

"Bo Huai went to the kitchen to cook."

"Soon, a rich aroma wafted into the living room."

"At that moment, the doorbell rang."

"Shi Youqing peeked through the peephole and quickly signaled Bo Huai to stay hidden."

"He opened the door."

"Bai Mingliang stood outside, holding the bag of candy from Zong Tu Yuan, 'Are you the new neighbor, Shi Youqing? Is this from you?'"

Shi Youqing nodded in agreement.

"The other man smiled, 'Thanks.' He sniffed the air, 'Smells good. Are you cooking?'"

"Needing to keep his conquest mission secret, Shi Youqing blocked Bai Mingliang’s view into his apartment, 'Yeah, just trying something I learned online, nothing much.'"

"Bai Mingliang gazed at him for a few seconds, then smiled gently, 'Are you staying here permanently?'"

"'I suppose,' Shi Youqing adjusted his hair, 'after all, it wasn’t easy getting out.'"

"Saying so would surely prompt a question."

"Indeed, Bai Mingliang inquired, puzzled, 'Not easy getting out?'"

"Shi Youqing offered a wry smile, 'My family is very controlling, wanting me to live as they wish. I couldn’t take it and moved out on my own. Being alone for the first time, I thought making more friends would be good, and you seem like a nice person.'"

"'I see...' the other man murmured in wonder, 'You’re really interesting... Since we’re neighbors, let’s exchange contact information. If you need anything, feel free to reach out to me.' Saying this, his gaze briefly swept past Shi Youqing and into the room behind him."

"Shi Youqing took out his phone, exchanging WeChat contacts with the man in a reserved manner."

"After the exchange, the favorability rating of the young man in front of him rose from 0 to 5."

"See, this is a normal fluctuation. Not like with Zong Tu Yuan..."

"After the man left and he closed the door, Shi Youqing turned around to see a gloomy face in the kitchen."

"Feeling inexplicably guilty for just a second, Shi Youqing approached to share his progress: 'Thanks to your cooking's enticing aroma, Bai Mingliang’s favorability increased by 5 points.'"

"Bo Huai: '...'"

"Despite his annoyance, it was a situation beyond his control. He gritted his teeth and brought the dishes to the table."

"Shi Youqing first took a photo of the meal, then eagerly checked Bai Mingliang’s WeChat moments. Moments later, he excitedly lifted his phone, 'Look at this!'"

"It was a group photo featuring a smiling Bai Mingliang, along with several cool-looking guys, most holding musical instruments, likely band members."

"The focus was on Wang Fan next to Bai Mingliang, making a scissor hand gesture towards the camera."

"'It seems Wang Fan was very close to Bai Mingliang before his passing!' Shi Youqing concluded confidently, 'If not lovers, then very good friends.'"

"At least a significant amount of favorability had been conquered."

"No wonder he was so interested in his room before."

"Wang Fan used to live here."

"Bo Huai raised an eyebrow, adding fuel to the fire: 'They must have been lovers.'"

"'I’ll probe further,' Shi Youqing, feeling accomplished and in a good mood, picked up his chopsticks and smiled, 'Let’s eat, you’ve really worked hard.'"

"Not hard at all, but rather blissful."

"Before dinner, Bo Huai quietly ended the call with Hao Tianshuo, feeling utterly content."

"After the meal, Bo Huai had to deal with issues from several residents. Before leaving, he handed Shi Youqing an alarm."

"Shi Youqing was surprised: 'Where did this come from?'"

"'Someone living alone moved out this morning and was going to discard it. I bought it instead.'"

"'Why buy it?' Just pick it up after they throw it away."

"Bo Huai looked away: 'I have the money anyway.'"

"How could he bear the thought of picking up discarded things for Shi Youqing? Even the idea was intolerable."

"After Bo Huai left, Shi Youqing tucked the alarm into his pocket and then posted the photo of the food he had taken earlier to his WeChat moments."

"Soon after, Bai Mingliang liked the post and commented: 'Great cooking skills!'"

"Subsequently, a pink choice box appeared."

"[You won’t be able to finish all the food, and Bai Mingliang hasn’t eaten yet. Do you want to share some with him?]"

"1# Share."

"2# Don’t share."

"Of course, he decided to share! There were leftovers anyway, and it was best to offer them to someone in need."

"Shi Youqing packed up the remaining food and the leftover dishes into a lunch box. After some effort to arrange it nicely, he carried it over to Bai Mingliang’s door."

"Bai Mingliang opened his door quickly, surprised to see him: 'You…'"

"'I made too much for my first attempt at cooking, and I wasn’t sure if you’d mind…' Shi Youqing spoke softly."

"'For me?' Bai Mingliang looked at the exquisite dishes in the lunch box, appearing as if they were specially prepared, 'This…'"

"'Ah, I knew this wouldn’t be good,' Shi Youqing hung his head low, 'I didn’t mean any offense. It’s just that you said it smelled good earlier, so I…'"

"'Offense? You’re overthinking it,' Bai Mingliang laughed heartily, taking the lunch box, 'You are genuinely kind! First the candy, now this delicious meal, you’re like a little chef…'"

"Shi Youqing felt goosebumps rise but managed a smile: 'Really?'"

"Lifting his eyelids, he saw Bai Mingliang’s favorability rise to 10, and his goosebumps vanished."

"Bai Mingliang observed Shi Youqing’s conflicted expressions, his smile widening, 'To be honest, I was planning to cook myself tonight after smelling the aroma from your place. Since it’s like this, why don’t you come over to my place for dinner? But no complaints if it’s not good!'"

"Bai Mingliang spoke casually. Knowing he had the alarm and could alert the entire building with just a press, Shi Youqing felt reassured and agreed: 'Okay, that would be great, thank you.'"

"Bai Mingliang went back inside with a smile."

"[Author’s Note]"

"Special thanks to the angel who sent a rocket: --Waiting for the Aurora-- 1 rocket;"

"Thanks to the angels who nourished with nutrient solutions: Leap over the Asylum, 49786070 20 bottles; Lillian, Hating All Who Can Stand Before My Mother 10 bottles; Chatting under a blanket with Wendy Pure, 6 bottles; leeeeeemon, Palace Goose Fu 1 bottle each;"

"Thank you all for your support, I will continue to strive for improvement!"