Chapter 78

Chapter 78

The rumbling sound echoed in the background sound, audible only to the player, never ceasing.

Bai Fuling was deeply worried about this. He suspected that something had gone wrong with his feeding method, causing the little black blob to keep making a tractor-like noise.

...Is it really okay for a cat to keep making that sound?!

Although this wasn't exactly a proper cat, it was fluffy with pointy ears—close enough to count as one.

Could it be that Liao Zhiqiu had used unknown organs as feed before, so the feed packet he condensed also contained impure ingredients? Did this game really expect players to identify feed safety on their own? That's just too much!

He couldn't just let Little Pitch Black die right after he started raising it... That would be a huge fail for a player who used to be number one in raising sim games as a kid.

Bai Fuling wanted to open the little garden again to study it more closely. But this game didn't have a pause button; players couldn't stop the story to focus on the little garden's issues.

Fortunately, the current story only required simple player actions and following the dialogue, without much brainpower.

For now, he just needed to handle the immediate situation simply, cooperate by starting things off, and leave the rest of the heavy stuff to Olbert.

After all, everyone knows foxes gotta use their brains a lot to keep their fur shiny. If anyone asked where that common knowledge came from... well, the player's always right!

Bai Fuling pulled his thoughts back. He spotted the colorful NPC silhouette in the distance, he selected Olbert beside him, leaned in close like before, and made a gesture introducing Pang Chengyu.

"This is my classmate—Pang Chengyu." The player spun the expression wheel to a standard smile, briefly answering Olbert's earlier question.

"Oh, hello." Olbert naturally extended his hand forward, his eyes crinkling with a smile. "Nice to meet you. Please look after my Bulingbuling at school."

"...??!" Pang Chengyu was totally stunned. He didn't reach back, just stared at Bai Fuling leaning against the mixed-race youth, with a giant exclamation mark popping up over his head.

Before Pang Chengyu could say anything, Bai Fuling winked and went on, "Hey Pang Chengyu, I mentioned him to you earlier—Olbert. We met over on Gelin Avenue before."

The town's mental hospital is at the end of Gelin Avenue, so Bai Fuling couldn't directly bring up topics related to the hospital. He used a more vague description instead, hinting that this was connected to the events back then.

The player wasn't sure if the NPC could understand. Was this game really that smart? Either way, he'd give it a try first.

The exclamation mark above Pang Chengyu's head was still stubbornly there, not catching the subtext right away. But he wasn't a hothead, so he didn't loudly voice any doubts. Whatever the transfer student said, he went along with it.

Pang Chengyu hesitated for just half a second before muttering, "Ah... yeah, I remember."

He reached out and shook Olbert's hand.

Pang Chengyu answered verbally, but his frozen mind started racing again.

Okay, the transfer student must have a reason for this... but why was he suddenly hanging off some guy's arm? He'd never seen this guy before!

Eyeliner, earrings, fox-like lips—where'd this shady guy come from? How could a sweet cabbage like the transfer student get snatched up by some random stranger!!

He conveniently forgot the fact that he, with his dyed yellow hair, looked more like a thug than the mixed-race youth did.

Pang Chengyu eyed Olbert with a biased look, and he couldn't help but squeeze his hand a little harder.

Feeling the squeeze from the handshake, Olbert raised an eyebrow slightly, silently squeezing back, though his smile didn't change at all.

Pang Chengyu was just a student, not as strong as Olbert was, but precisely because he was a student, he had a stubborn streak, unwilling to lose face. So they ended up having a strength contest right there in the handshake.

Bai Fuling watched the two on the screen, who, after shaking hands, seemed stuck, like a glitch, their hands continuously clasped without letting go.

Did the code get tangled? Or did someone have glue on their hands?? Bai Fuling let his mind wander. Congrats to the two male guests on a successful handshake!

For now, the NPCs being stuck was a good thing for the player, since it meant he could keep working on his little garden's issues.

In the past, whenever the game got stuck, Bai Fuling would try everything to fix it fast, but this time he wasn't in a rush.

Since the performance had already been seen by that colorful Zhong Xiaye, and to avoid accidentally triggering the NPCs and continuing the story, Bai Fuling decided to slip aside first, check the little garden, and then come back to tap them to trigger the next task.

He controlled his character, ducking into a nearby sink area in just a few steps. He opened the little garden.

Little Pitch Black in the fish tank now looked even more like a cat than before, though without eyes, nose, or mouth. The tail swaying behind it had tiny suction cups visible—in reality, the cat form was just a mimicry.

At that moment, Little Pitch Black was in a cat-loafing pose, bubbles rising along with the rumbling sound.

When the player entered, it immediately noticed him, quickly shifting from its loafing position to a graceful float, its whole body puffing up, black lines flowing with the water ripples, and the rumbling sound growing louder.

Hearing the sound intensify, Bai Fuling frowned even more. He selected Little Pitch Black, held down the screen, and lifted it out of the fish tank.

Little Pitch Black only hesitated briefly before clinging to him. Its floating black tentacles grabbed onto the finger graphic on the screen, wrapping around affectionately twice, its fake cat paws rubbing against it, the rumbling sound becoming clearer.

Bai Fuling's reason for scooping out Little Pitch Black was to see if there was any treatment reminder, but the game didn't pop up any related options.

Bai Fuling had never owned a pet in real life, and this was his first time seeing such an illness in a game—normally, in raising sims, animals only get sick with fevers, colds, or stomach issues. How could there be this weird, sticky symptom?!

"What's going on? There's no treatment option on the screen either." Bai Fuling fell into thought, muttering to himself, "A cat that keeps making noise and rubbing against people... What kind of problem is that?"

Little Pitch Black, which had been rumbling, suddenly paused.

Huh, it stopped. Bai Fuling, relieved that Little Pitch Black had finally quieted down, relaxed a bit and focused his attention to analyze carefully.

From noisy to quiet, the difference was whether it was in the water or being held by the player—so the constant noise earlier must have been because it had been in the water too long!

Not long ago, after the player fed Little Pitch Black Liao Zhiqiu's small cat feed, it had mimicked a cat shape.

As everyone knew, cats were land animals and generally didn't like water. And just now, Little Pitch Black had been bubbling in the water! That meant it had entered some kind of difficult breathing state.

Bai Fuling thought this through, his logic smooth and self-consistent, and he smoothly concluded: So from now on, he just needed to leave Little Pitch Black out to air-dry for a while!

So Bai Fuling lifted Little Pitch Black out, his finger pressing on the screen.

The dangling Little Pitch Black was still dripping water. Though it had no eyes, nose, or mouth, it somehow managed to look confused. Its black ear tips twitched, and its tentacle tail curled up.

"Too bad there's no hairdryer," Bai Fuling muttered. "Air-dry it is."

He pinched the wet Little Pitch Black and placed it on the table next to the fish tank. When he let go, Little Pitch Black landed on the table with a soft "pat" sound. The tentacle blob's suction cups initially didn't want to let go, but they were shaken off by the player's smooth moves.

Just then, Bai Fuling heard the sound of footsteps tapping in the background—someone was approaching!

Usually, the game wouldn't amplify the sound of footsteps unless it was some kind of special hint.

So Bai Fuling dropped Little Pitch Black, immediately closed the little garden, rotated his character's view, and looked toward the direction of the sound.

A human-shaped walking colorful neon light came through the door—it was the rich heir, Zhong Xiaye!

Up close, the player could further feel the intensity of that glow. When Zhong Xiaye stepped in, the restroom seemed to brighten by a whole level.

Why did the game have to create this kind of light pollution? This glow had already broken away from the pixel art style—it was way too out of place!

Bai Fuling grumbled to himself, silently adjusting the screen's brightness to make the colorful light less glaring.

During this time, he didn't control his character, so the pixel figure on the screen just stood there blankly.

Zhong Xiaye stood at the doorway, looking at the black-haired youth before the sink—his frame was slender, like a small antelope, exuding a delicate yet agile vitality. His obsidian-like eyes shifted as he turned his head, the fishbone braid at his ear swaying gently with the motion.

...So this is the person Olbert likes?

Zhong Xiaye swept his gaze up and down twice, the corners of his mouth turned downward.

As a rival in love, he naturally bore no goodwill toward the person before him.

But due to his upbringing, with a certain knightly chivalry, he couldn't muster any malice toward someone so antelope-like in appearance.

His face stiffened, and he was unsure what to say.

To be honest, Zhong Xiaye inwardly regretted his impulsive decision to ditch the others and follow him alone.

Back in the parking lot, he hadn't expected to witness such a scene—the always-smiling, seemingly approachable yet inwardly distant, outwardly warm but inwardly cold Olbert, actually holding the black-haired youth in his arms, openly declaring him his boyfriend.

Boyfriend?! He hadn't even seen this person before—how did he suddenly appear by Olbert's side?

Besides, Zhong Xiaye didn't believe Olbert would truly fall in love. It was a gut feeling.

Though he liked Olbert, he could sense that Olbert had never opened his heart to anyone.

Everyone was captivated by the fox's looks, but who could truly win him over? Yet, despite knowing this, Zhong Xiaye couldn't suppress his infatuation.

Zhong Xiaye's knightly chivalry had two sides: one was protecting the weak, and the other was admiring the strong.

That was why he was drawn to Olbert—he had seen moments when Olbert's demeanor differed from usual, the steady, ruthless precision of his gunshots at the club, making his admiration skip a beat—he was drawn to strength.

He hadn't delved deeper into the secrets beneath the surface. Having had an easy life since childhood, Zhong Xiaye wasn't one to overthink things.

Now, looking at the dazed black-haired youth before the sink, Zhong Xiaye couldn't keep his face stern, feeling that his actions might have startled the other.

Alright. Zhong Xiaye opened his mouth. "You..."

Before he could say anything, the figure before him suddenly moved—the black-haired youth walked up and grabbed one of his hands!

"...What are you doing?!" Zhong Xiaye was startled, his face flushing bright red. He hadn't expected the antelope-like person to suddenly take his hand; it felt like touching jade.

He gritted his teeth, forcing a serious expression, he said, "...You have a boyfriend, please show some restraint!"

"And then?" The black-haired youth before him actually grew excited, "Aren't you supposed to say next, 'Here's three million, leave him'?"

His big eyes blinked, his tone sounding full of anticipation.

Zhong Xiaye:...?

He paused, silently forming a question mark.

Bai Fuling was beaming, already eager. He had just adjusted the brightness and quickly came over to catch up with the plot.

According to the classic cheesy script, this was the moment for the indispensable scene: Take this money and leave ×××!

As a player, he certainly wouldn't say something like, "Don't think your dirty money can humiliate me." He just wanted to say:

Hurry up and humiliate me with cash! Please, this is the plot I've been waiting for!!