Chapter 14 Part 1

The voice sounded somewhat familiar.

That was the first thought that flashed through Wen Xin’s mind after hearing those three words.

Though she hadn’t known Shi Yu for long, this wasn’t the first time the two of them had teamed up in a game. Shi Yu had never turned on her mic before, and Wen Xin had simply assumed she was shy about it. She had never pried into the reason, nor had she imagined what Shi Yu’s voice might sound like.

It could be cool and aloof, sweet and soft, or somewhere in between. Every girl was a unique and wonderful existence, free to have all sorts of personalities—and their voices should be no different, unbound by any definition.

But… Wen Xin never could have imagined that Shi Yu’s voice would sound like this.

Wasn’t it a little like Shi Qianyu’s?

Wen Xin startled herself with the sudden idea.

The headset buzzed with the clamor of voices, as if no one had noticed that fleeting slip of the mic. Everyone was still cheering over their hard-won victory that night, even though it was well past midnight.

But Wen Xin, sitting in front of her screen, had no attention left for their chatter. She simply couldn’t connect Shi Yu with Shi Qianyu in her head—a director staying up late to team up with her for games? It was pure fantasy.

Besides, hadn’t Shi Qianyu gone on a date tonight? There was no way she’d have time for this.

She must have misheard.

Wen Xin paused, doubting Shi Yu at first and then herself—until a private message popped up from Shi Yu: 【What are you doing? Why aren’t you talking?】

Her tone was as casual as ever, as if the accidental mic slip hadn’t fazed her at all: 【Or did you fall asleep?】

Only then did Wen Xin snap back to reality: 【Not asleep, just spaced out for a bit.】

Shi Yu sent a laughing emoji: 【Did you get the gear you wanted?】

The reminder finally jogged Wen Xin’s memory about the loot. She opened her inventory.

Yu An: 【Let me check.】

The event rewards were all top-tier orange gear—the kind that usually required dropping real money to obtain. It was an absolute steal.

Because of that, though, the developers hadn’t let players pick and choose. Instead, they’d handed out lucky bags, making the contents completely random.

Wen Xin’s main character was a mage, so naturally, she wanted mage-specific gear. But perhaps her luck was off tonight; when she opened the lucky bag, the mage robe and magic staff she craved didn’t appear.

In their place was a sword.

Which would actually suit Shi Yu perfectly.

Wen Xin let out a sigh, a touch of disappointment in her voice as she shared the result with Shi Yu. Moments later, Shi Yu responded with a shocked emoji.

Shi Yu: 【What a coincidence.】

Shi Yu: 【Guess what I got? The mage robe you wanted.】

This was ridiculous.

Everyone knew the developers played favorites, and Wen Xin half-suspected some behind-the-scenes rigging. Still, she couldn’t help but chuckle wryly. Shi Yu had real talent in the game anyway, and she was no slouch as a mage. She’d definitely put the gear to good use: 【Then you’d better practice your mage from now on. Can’t waste equipment that good.】

Shi Yu: 【What about you?】

Yu An: 【Nah, I’ll pass. Swordsman takes too much precise control, and I tried it before—didn’t like it.】

Yu An: 【No big deal, though. I can just pull some strings and trade with someone in the guild.】

In the game, purple gear and above could be traded between players—but only after establishing an “intimate relationship,” which also burned one of your once-a-month trade slots. Any more, and you’d have to buy them with premium currency.

Wen Xin had done this a few times before. It was pretty straightforward overall: trade, then cut ties. With so many people in their guild, she could always find what she wanted.

Shi Yu seemed less than thrilled by the idea, like she thought Wen Xin was making a mountain out of a molehill: 【No need to go to that trouble. Just trade with me. I haven’t used my slot this month.】

Shi Yu: 【Truth is, I’m not great with mages anyway. Swordsman fits me better. This way, we both get what we want—happy ending for everyone~】

She wasn’t wrong, and Wen Xin had considered it earlier.

But after suspecting Shi Yu’s identity moments ago—wondering if she might be some young, glamorous director—Wen Xin found it hard to look at her straight, let alone form an “intimate relationship” in-game.

As if sensing her hesitation, Shi Yu followed up: 【You don’t want to?】

Shi Yu: 【Relax. We can just trade and dissolve it after. I know the difference between game and reality—I won’t get clingy.】

Her frankness only made Wen Xin feel more awkward. Why should a routine move like this feel off-limits with Shi Yu?: 【Sorry, zoned out again.】

Yu An: 【Sending the request now.】

With that, the request went through. Shi Yu hit accept, and fireworks exploded across the game interface. A message scrolled across the public chat: 【Congratulations to Yu An and Shi Yu for becoming the server’s xxxxxth couple!!!】

Three exclamation points, like it was some grand ceremony.

Wen Xin had never realized how embarrassingly cheesy this was before.

She rolled her eyes but said nothing, quickly opening her inventory to swap the gear. Just as she went to dissolve the bond, Shi Yu’s avatar suddenly went dark.

It happened so fast that Wen Xin barely registered it. A moment later, a string of question marks filled her mind.

Did she… just log off?

What?

~~~

At 12:15 a.m. in the Blue Flame Bar,

After battling for hours, Shi Qianyu’s phone finally drained its last bit of battery. She frowned and lifted her gaze to Jiang Jianxue, who sat beside her, thoroughly sloshed: “Did you bring a power bank?”

“Nope.” Jiang Jianxue paused, her foggy brain processing the question before she swayed upright with a hint of schadenfreude. “Out of juice, huh~?”

“Always glued to that phone.” She huffed lightly, her pretty eyes blinking as waves of alcohol breath rolled off her. “Ignoring me.”

“I flew back just to see you—hours on a plane!” She started counting on her fingers but gave up amid the mental haze, lunging toward Shi Qianyu instead with pleading eyes. “Sis, you’re so mean!”

Shi Qianyu sidestepped without mercy, leaving her to flop into empty air, her face a mask of cool indifference: “Stay away from me.”

Jiang Jianxue had never been the obedient type, and drunk, she turned into a full-blown handful. If not for her deliberate mischief earlier, Shi Qianyu wouldn’t have accidentally triggered her mic.

Good thing Wen Xin hadn’t recognized the voice.

Shi Qianyu sighed. Jiang Jianxue had been driving her up the wall these past few days: “Don’t use me as a shield. You know exactly why you came back.”

“You’re lucky your Aunt Fang is so soft-hearted, putting up with your bratty attitude.” She laid into Jiang Jianxue without pulling punches. “She couldn’t even let you cab home alone and called me in the dead of night to pick you up from the airport.”

“Who knows who her real daughter even is.” Shi Qianyu fixed her gaze on Jiang Jianxue’s face, smirking without a trace of warmth. “Spill it—what did you promise her this time?”

“I…” The question left Jiang Jianxue speechless.

Shi Qianyu’s mother, Lady Fang, was the older sister of Jiang Jianxue’s mom—and thus her aunt by blood. Naturally, that made Shi Qianyu and Jiang Jianxue cousins, though their personalities couldn’t have been more different.

Shi Qianyu remembered Jiang Jianxue as an even bigger menace as a kid: mischievous, spoiled, impulsive, heedless of consequences. Father Jiang had been a soldier in his youth, with a stern and straightforward nature; he despised that side of her and had chased her around the yard more than once, determined to tan her hide.

It wasn’t until Jiang Jianxue grew older and wiser that things eased up. She never quite shed her bad habits, but she learned to dodge the punishment—hiding in her mom’s arms for small stuff, fleeing to her aunt’s for the big offenses. Lady Fang had been a painter in her younger days, the artistic type Father Jiang held in high regard, and he wouldn’t dare raise a hand in her presence. End of story.

Over time, Jiang Jianxue didn’t pick up much else, but she mastered the art of sweet-talking—especially with Lady Fang, whom she could wrap around her little finger.

“Silence won’t save you.” Shi Qianyu crossed her arms, watching her with calm authority. “Come clean, and I’ll let you off the hook.”

“Fine…” Jiang Jianxue had feared her cousin since childhood; even hammered, she wouldn’t dare lie. “But promise you won’t hit me if I tell.”

“Mm.”

“Well… She mentioned wanting to go skydiving a while back.” Jiang Jianxue eyed Shi Qianyu’s expression, mumbling softly. “So I said sure, I’d take her once I got back…”

Shi Qianyu bristled at once, her voice sharpening: “Do you have any idea how old she is? Fifty-five!”

“Okay, okay!” Jiang Jianxue quailed at her cousin’s tone. “Why freak out? It was just talk—I wasn’t gonna actually do it. Besides, the oldest skydiver in the world was 103… Stop looking at me like that. I’m scared. I was wrong, okay? I was wrong!”

“I’m a rising star actress, you know.” She dropped her gaze, muttering. The booze had half-sobered under Shi Qianyu’s glare. “Can you at least save some face for me in public?”

Rising star or not.

Shi Qianyu took several deep breaths. It took her a good long while to finally suppress her anger. Inwardly and outwardly, she always presented a calm, refined, and elegant front. But when it came to Jiang Jianxue, she could never rein in her temper. Jiang Jianxue had a hundred ways to set her off, and no sooner had Shi Qianyu adjusted than the other woman came up with the hundred-and-first: “You’re still a long way from being a top star. There are at least ten Yan Xis between you and that.”

“Don’t mention her,” Jiang Jianxue snapped. The name alone turned her face cold.

Shi Qianyu immediately understood the reason for her return home. “You two fought again?”

“We didn’t fight.” Jiang Jianxue’s tone dripped with sarcasm. “What’s there to fight about? We’ve already broken up!”

Talk of breakups was a constant refrain from Jiang Jianxue, so Shi Qianyu didn’t take it too seriously. “What was it over this time?”

“What else? She’s a big star now, with a big ego to match. She looks down on me! A no-name actress like me—if not for that web drama blowing up recently, who would even know I exist? I’d still be mooching off her!”

“She’s loaded. A huge celebrity. The greatest thing ever. She scoffs at the pittance I earn. I figured I’d use the break to land some roles, make real money, ease up on her workload. But no—she didn’t appreciate it. Went behind my back and had her agent turn them all down!”

Jiang Jianxue grew angrier with every word. “I hate her. I hate her so much!”

Shi Qianyu shook her head. She knew Yan Xi well enough; there had to be a reason behind it. “Did the two of you ever actually talk it through?”

“Talk about what?” Jiang Jianxue slurred, growing drunker by the minute. She slumped back in her chair, eyes closed, mumbling nonsense. “Break up. We should just break up. We’re not right for each other anyway!”

If Shi Qianyu let her keep going, this would drag on forever.

There was no reasoning with a drunk. Exhausted, Shi Qianyu decided not to bother. She snatched the glass from Jiang Jianxue’s hand. “Come on. You can cry it out back home.”

“Oh.” Remarkably compliant, Jiang Jianxue staggered to her feet in a daze and draped herself over Shi Qianyu’s arm. Shi Qianyu half-carried her, swaying, out of the private room.