Chapter 98

Chapter 98

At these words, both Zhong Xiaye and Guan Jizhong had giant question marks materialize above their heads. The former also had an exclamation point.

The screams around them even paused for a moment: Bro, wait, isn't there still evidence of a suspected murder scene here? How did the topic suddenly jump to the Pacific Ocean???

Is this really the time to talk about who's sleeping with who?

The good-looking black-haired guy stood still, calmly holding a grimy human finger in his hand. The contrast made the scene pretty creepy, like some legendary vengeful spirit—since vengeful spirits are usually super hot.

Guan Jizhong was the first to calm down. Ever since he stopped seeing Bai Fuling as human, he could always calm down fast.

Maybe it was an angel trying to save all beings by getting up close to purify an evil kidnapper, just in a kinda special way that needed a more private setting. Guan Jizhong let his imagination go wild.

He hardly ever got to go into the city, spending most of his time deep in the woods as a forest ranger, pretty much only talking to his boss and sister. Now, Guan Jizhong had no clue about the social boundaries of city people.

Maybe it was a new trend. Guan Jizhong thought so. And this time, Bai Fuling had initiated it, so he didn't raise any objection to the "sleeping together" comment.

Because past experiences had shown that Fresh Cabbage was always right. The road was bumpy, but the result was right. So, he might as well just go with the kid.

So Guan Jizhong spoke up first, saying: "Dorm beds probably aren't big enough for two. School dorms usually have twin beds."

No good? Bai Fuling paused a bit at that. Oh, the player hadn't really noticed if dorm beds had a limit on people.

He tilted his head, thinking: "Then let's try stacking up."

Let's see if we can glitch and clip through the models!

I mean, sandbox games and pixel games usually have a high chance of clipping.

Bai Fuling remembered the first time he played a sandbox game, he put 999 chickens in a small square space he dug out. Since there was no quantity limit, the chicken models were almost on top of each other, but the outlines were a bit off because of the movement, so from far away it looked like a blurry martial soul true form.

So in this game, Bai Fuling wanted to try clipping first. As long as the single bed's description doesn't say it can only fit one, he figured he could keep piling people on until the martial soul true form effect shows up.

Especially the Rainbow Rich Heir—that rainbow glow, glitching together would totally look like a martial soul true form! If it works, the player is definitely taking a screenshot.

But this time, Zhong Xiaye was the first to say no: "No way!"

Bai Fuling looked over in surprise.

Wasn't Zhong Xiaye the one who was all about taking the player away, all controlling? Why was he backing out now that they could share a bed?

"No." Zhong Xiaye denied it again. He pulled up his mask, covering his face even more. "...We can't sleep in the same bed. That's way, way over the line. We're not that kind of people."

His voice wasn't as steady and calm as before, lowered and softened a bit, like he was embarrassed to say it.

Ah. Almost forgot. Bai Fuling realized. This guy was still a pure love crusader.

Actually, Bai Fuling just thought the guy couldn't handle threesomes or kinky stuff. He didn't think he couldn't even handle sharing a bed???

That was way beyond just being innocent—this kind of person, if they said "I'll lock you up and do it," they'd probably mean it literally as "work out"! Bai Fuling's mind went off on a weird tangent.

Zhong Xiaye grabbed his mask and pulled it away from his face. His face was red, and he felt a bit hot.

Being in that scene, Zhong Xiaye really knew a lot and could always pick up on those hints, subtle or not, but he always steered clear.

Since he was a kid, his tutors taught him the most traditional view of love—like, no sharing a bed before marriage.

Call him a fake, a knight with a purity complex, whatever. Zhong Xiaye just did what he thought was right.

Even though he knew logically that sleeping together was the safest way to protect her, he still couldn't handle sharing a bed... Actually, with tech and money, there were plenty of ways to protect someone without being there.

"Come to my house." Zhong Xiaye continued. "My place is big enough, and I've got a room ready for you."

"Ready that fast?" Bai Fuling was slightly surprised.

"I've got a lot of empty rooms. I already called and had the butler clean one up." Zhong Xiaye replied. "You can just come and stay."

Bai Fuling stood there thinking for a bit.

He'd now changed his mind from before and planned to hang out with Zhong Xiaye more.

Since Zhong Xiaye wasn't down with the player's dorm bed glitch—

Bai Fuling threw out another suggestion: "How about you crash in the principal's office?"

The principal's office is empty anyway—oh wait, the player's got pigs and ducks now.

But that's fine, right? Bai Fuling only hesitated for a second. Yeah, it's totally fine. Whether it's NPCs or animals, they're all just data. Code living with code is no problem at all!

Remember, this is a game.

So Bai Fuling happily explained further: "Conveniently, there's a pig in the principal's office. If anyone messes with you, just hide behind the pig. As soon as I hear the pig squeal, I'll come save you!"

Bai Fuling planned to put this in his idle description: Hear pig squeal, head to principal's office, activate combat mode.

Too bad, he didn't hear a happy yes, and no dialogue box from Zhong Xiaye popped up on the screen.

Instead, some classmate nearby yelled: "What do you mean there's a pig in the principal's office?! Pelland Academy's principal's office is the most sacred place!! Don't you dare talk crap about it!"

"Most sacred?" Bai Fuling's eyes lit up. "Sweet, livestock raised there will sell for more."

Pigs and ducks with a "Sacred Aura" tag!

Nearby classmates: "...Did you even get the point?! Dare to badmouth the principal, and you'll get locked up!"

"School jail? That's pretty unhealthy." Bai Fuling nodded. "But it's fine if it's all-ages."

Breaking up this totally off-topic conversation was Zhong Xiaye saying: "I'll give you a house. Come stay there."

That immediately perked Bai Fuling up: "For real?! Boss, you're the best!!!"

Now Bai Fuling had no other ideas.

Forget about staying at school—nothing beats free money. That's a whole house—the player doesn't mind living far. It's a game; he can just set an auto-walk to school.

And he doesn't have to walk. He's got a mount.

"I'll stay. I'm definitely coming." Bai Fuling planned to go gladly and see if he can sell the house for some extra cash.

If not, that's fine too—it means the player has another base. He can keep farming, raising animals, and planting fruit trees.

And—the Rainbow Rich Heir's place definitely has plenty of stuff to exploit! Maybe even the grass there gives more HP than the school's.

After thinking it over, Bai Fuling changed his mind. A smile spread across his face: "Text me the address. After I finish up here, I'll come over tonight."

"..." Zhong Xiaye had a line of dots pop up above his head.

In the distance, police cars were already pulling up. A few cops hurried over to the flowerbed. Things had changed, and the focus of the scene had shifted. More people were crowding around.

Zhong Xiaye gave up trying to hold Bai Fuling back. He simply extended his hand, signaling for Bai Fuling to hand him that finger. "Leave the police interrogation to me. This is someone I know."

A moment later, he added, "You promised, so you have to come."

He took off his sunglasses, revealing his eyes. His eyes swept over Bai Fuling's wrist, then landed on that pure, flawless, beautiful face.

"You have to come," Zhong Xiaye said calmly. "No matter where you are, I'll know."

Bai Fuling blinked.

That impressive, huh? Next time, I'll strap the tracking watch to a dog. Just a quick test to see if the NPC chases the dog!

The player was really curious about the logic behind this game's positioning system. By real-world standards, the NPC should be tracking the watch itself, but the system might just directly tag the player's location instead.

So, he'd split it into two routes: one for the dog wearing the watch, one for the player, and see which side the NPC follows.

Bai Fuling's mind was wandering as he tossed the finger back to the NPC. The player had gotten the info and didn't need it anymore.

He answered cheerfully, "Of course I'll come! Don't forget to bring the household register so we can register—"

Zhong Xiaye froze!

Bai Fuling: "—and then handle the property paperwork."

Zhong Xiaye: "...Mm."

Having snagged a house out of nowhere, Bai Fuling was in a great mood. He happily steered his character to turn and leave, not even minding the hassle of talking to NPCs along the street to find Plum Cake.

Guan Jizhong had been standing off to the side with his arms crossed, watching the whole scene. Only when Bai Fuling left did he take a few steps after him.

Bai Fuling shifted his view and suddenly spotted a pixel character trailing behind him on the screen. He almost jumped in surprise, then realized, "You're still here?—Oh, right, did you need something from me?"

Logically, NPCs shouldn't show up in random places. Guan Jizhong suddenly popping up must mean there's another plotline.

So Bai Fuling took the lead and asked. A perfect player never misses a single quest, right?

"..." Guan Jizhong, now habitually lighting a cigarette he'd just taken out, held it in his mouth, careful about the wind as he stood to the side. "Actually, it's nothing."

"I just came today to clear out my sister's stuff. If I bumped into you, I wanted to say thanks," Guan Jizhong said. "I saw the news about the Crescent Scythe Murder Case."

Oh! So this is the wrap-up for that case! Back then, Guan Jizhong's wish was to find the killer, even if it wasn't a perfect ending.

So the game had the NPC come remind him. Bai Fuling thought, typing it into the dialogue box.

"That case is tied to the Liao family, but the real mastermind is someone else! I haven't fully caught the culprit and brought them to justice, but I will—"

"That's enough, kid." Guan Jizhong cut off Bai Fuling's words, putting out the cigarette he'd just lit, and stepped half a pace forward. "You don't need to dig any deeper."

Guan Jizhong wasn't stupid. Even if he'd been living in the woods, he wasn't clueless.

The Liao family's influence was already huge, and the mastermind was someone you couldn't touch.

Back then, he'd clung to a desperate, wishful hope, putting out the wish to find the killer, never expecting the Black-haired Youth would actually follow through.

Guan Jizhong still remembered how he'd treated the Black-haired Youth at first, yet the guy didn't hold a grudge. The only thought rising in his heart now was: Is he an angel? He's got to be an angel.

Could the guardian angel his sister drew really show up after all these years? But still, the guy could still get hurt. Guan Jizhong had seen in the news that he'd been in the hospital.

Knowing the mastermind was connected to the Liao family was enough for Guan Jizhong. He'd figure out the rest himself, no longer letting this kid take risks.

He didn't know if angels were real, but if, if this really was the guardian angel his sister had drawn back then...

Guan Jizhong looked at Bai Fuling like he was a link between this world and heaven, tied to his sister.

It hit him suddenly: Come to think of it, angels might not have a gender? Maybe, maybe he could even call this kid "little sister."

The person in front of him was small, thin like his sister. But when he smiled, it was beautiful, as bright as his sister.

Guan Jizhong couldn't help reaching out, gently touching the Angel Halo on Bai Fuling's head. His one remaining eye held a warm, deep emotion.

Bai Fuling tilted his head a little, hearing a notification sound. He paused, then opened the character encyclopedia to check.

The second line under Guan Jizhong's character traits showed a brown wooden house. This time, the pixel house's shape looked a bit different—some colorful pixels had appeared in front of it.

The miniature was too blurry to see clearly, so Bai Fuling zoomed in curiously, barely making out: three figures stood at the wooden house's door—Guan Jizhong, Guan Jiayue, and... the player with an Angel Halo?!

"Brown Wooden House (90%): [Guan Jizhong] has placed his trust and his feelings for his sister on you. He sees you as his sister now."

Bai Fuling: ...Huh?! That offhand "sworn brother" thing actually turned into brotherhood—wait, how did it become siblings?!