I completely lost the mood I usually had for joking with her; at this moment, Xin Yu seemed like a completely different person.
"Lin Fan, your girlfriend, she's very beautiful, isn't she?"
Xin Yu said softly, and my thoughts immediately drifted back to memories that felt like years ago. Perhaps, Chen Yu was a beautiful girl, and very smart, but now all that was left for me was a pang of pain. For her, I dropped out of school. Ye Qiu, standing up for me, his good brother, was also cut and injured.
It was hard to say who was right or wrong. I never blamed her. Everyone has the right to choose, and she was a girl, a girl who needed to be cherished. What I couldn't give her, others could.
Curling my lips, I said, seemingly self-deprecatingly, "She's pretty enough, just a little less than you."
Xin Yu chuckled, pushed me away, and tidied her hair, saying, "You're quite cute when you lie!"
"Please, we're all adults here. Don't insult my intelligence with words like 'cute,' okay?"
"Oh, come on. If I said Lu Xuehan was cute, you probably wouldn't object."
"That's a different matter. By the way, you should be Level 10 by now, right? When we go back, I'll give you that bow. It has very high attack, 18-32. Once you equip it, you can completely solo monsters no more than 3 levels higher than yourself."
Xin Yu smiled ambiguously, "Is this a gift for me? Do you want me to give you something in return? My first time is gone, so how about my first kiss in the past six months!"
"Damn, first kiss in the past six months? You'd better let me go. I don't want Sister Lin to accuse me of seducing a fellow woman."
"Hehe, look at you blushing!"
Xin Yu laughed like a happy little girl. If she wasn't a hostess, how wonderful that would be... "Lin Fan, tell me, if I hadn't gone into this line of work, what would I be doing now?"
I looked at Xin Yu's beautiful face in the moonlight, thought for a moment, and said, "You'd probably still be pestering your parents, or busy with your graduation project and job hunting. But, given your personality, you'd probably find a rich husband first, after all, it's better to marry well than to work well."
"You're such a philistine!"
"Hehe, perhaps! Should we head back now?"
I checked my watch. Unknowingly, I had been standing idly outside with Xin Yu for two hours. The server was going to undergo maintenance in another two hours, so it was a good time to get some sleep.
Xin Yu nodded, released my arm, and we walked side by side on the way back, both silently, like a couple in a cold war.
When we returned to the lodging, Sister Xu was still playing the game. Everyone else had gone to sleep. I rubbed my eyes and lay down on the bed. Xin Yu just now was so gentle, I had never seen her so vulnerable. Some wounds, it seemed, could not be forgotten by simply falling into depravity.
A wave of sleepiness washed over me, and I quickly fell asleep. In my dream, there were my parents, Chen Yu in tears, and my brothers from the TOT Team. It felt like I was back in that deep night I tried so hard to forget. Ye Qiu's blood stained half his body, but his eyes were still stubborn and fervent. No matter what he faced, he didn't want to lose me, his brother. But I retreated, I abandoned them, a group of companions who trusted me... There was no blame, no complaints, but my heart ached. I cursed myself as a coward countless times, but it was useless. My longing for her gnawed at me like a venomous insect.
I slept restlessly. When I woke up, I was drenched in sweat. A white towel was beside my pillow, still damp. Clearly, someone had already wiped my sweat.
Just then, Xin Yu walked in from outside in her pajamas, holding a thermometer. "Goodness, the indoor temperature is only 12 degrees Celsius. Is it that hot that you're sleeping in a full sweat?"
I really wanted to say "thank you," but seeing Xin Yu's provocative attire, I lost the mood.
"A 34D cup figure must wear a bra, or it'll sag, Sister!"
Xin Yu rarely blushed, glaring at me and saying, "None of your business, I like it!"
I was too lazy to argue with her anymore. I fumbled for the watch beside me and checked it. It was already six in the morning. I hadn't expected to sleep for eight hours, wasting two hours of leveling time for nothing.
"Xin Yu, why aren't you leveling up yet?"
Xin Yu smiled sweetly, "Waiting for you. I just made you a poached egg. Come and try it quickly!"
I was stunned. Had this girl changed her ways? When did she become so diligent...? I quickly brushed my teeth and washed my face. Sure enough, there was a poached egg on the dining table. Although some parts were burnt, it didn't affect the overall taste.
"How is it? Is it delicious?" Xin Yu looked at me with wide eyes, her face full of anticipation.
"Not bad, very promising!" I praised her without reservation.
"Hehe, that's good. I'm going to play the game now. Remember to contact me!"
Watching Xin Yu's graceful figure leave the room, I muttered "weird" and then entered the game.
I appeared at the foot of Half-Side Mountain. A few Level 18 One-Claw Werewolves were patrolling nearby. Behind me was the golden needle grass guarded by the Orc Witch Doctor Nicola. However, with my current strength, I couldn't challenge this quasi-BOSS, who was at least Level 20. His level was so high that even I, a Level 15 expert, couldn't see it!
I contacted Xu Lin and Xin Yu; they were both online. After agreeing to meet at the East Gate of Hurricane City, I used a return-to-city scroll, which cost 10 silver coins.
First, I went to the armor shop. The blacksmith, Hughes, was busy. I immediately took out the 20 pieces of rare copper ore. Hughes said excitedly, "This is great! With these materials, we will definitely be able to eliminate all the Plague Spreaders this time. Thank you so much, young man! This is your reward!"
"Ding ~!"
System message: You have completed the quest "Blacksmith's Trouble," gaining 50050 experience, 2 gold coins, +150 reputation, and received the item "Miner's Pickaxe." You have learned the skill: Mining!
Hmm? A miner's job quest? This time, I've been forced to become a little miner!
After leaving the armor shop, I walked directly to the East Gate of Hurricane City. From a distance, I saw Xu Lin and Xin Yu there. They were probably very confident, as they hadn't adjusted their appearances at all. After Xin Yu carefully scrutinized me, she jokingly said, "Eh? Our Lin Fan seems to have lost some of his masculinity?"
I ignored this hooligan and directly traded the equipment to her:
[Wolf Tail Longbow] (green equipment)
Attack: 18-32
Stamina: +6
Agility: +4
Required Level: 10
Xin Yu unceremoniously accepted the item, then went off with a beaming smile to repair her equipment.