Chapter 83: Rest Hall

[Task Failed—]

As long as the task ended, whether it failed or succeeded, the soul fragment she had split off would automatically return to her main body.

But this time, the emotional fluctuations seemed overly intense. Lu Xunchen frowned as she felt the sour emotions stirring in her heart.

It was getting stranger and stranger. For events in small worlds, the System would automatically blur them out, allowing the tasker to remember only the general outline.

Neither the memories nor the emotions should have been this intense.

She had failed three task worlds in a row. In every world she experienced now, there was always a crybaby and spoiled NPC.

And every one of her split-off fragments went crazy over that NPC, causing each fragment’s role task to fail.

Lu Xunchen pinched the bridge of her nose. She strongly suspected that the NPCs from those three worlds were all the same one.

But Lu Xunchen immediately dismissed the idea, since they were completely unrelated worlds.

It was probably just that her fragments really had a taste for that type.

Her fragments were truly hopeless to fall for that kind of type.

She would never go crazy over a crybaby like that.

With these thoughts, Lu Xunchen blinked and arrived at the supermarket in C District.

She did not particularly want to come here. It was just that the spoiled little thing called Shen Ke had told her to come again next time last time. If she did not show up, would Shen Ke not cry again?

Though she was not exactly a good person, she would not deliberately make someone else cry.

This time, Lu Xunchen did not enter the supermarket. Instead, she sat on the bench outside and waited.

Thinking back to how Shen Ke had smiled so sweetly last time just from getting a bit of food, Lu Xunchen unconsciously curled her lips.

Once she realized what she was doing, Lu Xunchen schooled her expression.

Then she realized she was wearing a mask—no need to change her expression at all. No one would notice.

Lu Xunchen’s body stiffened for an instant. Had she gone mad from doing tasks? What was she doing, entertaining herself like this?

She had already told Shen Ke her name. She wondered what expression Shen Ke would make upon learning she was Points Leaderboard #1.

Shen Ke looked like she had no points at all. If Shen Ke wanted her to buy things, she could get her some that were not too expensive.

Anything too pricey, she would not buy. She was not some fool with money to burn.

All sorts of thoughts bubbled up in Lu Xunchen’s mind, and time slipped by unnoticed.

This space had no nights—always daytime. Lu Xunchen checked the time. An hour had already passed.

Lu Xunchen continued sitting motionless on the chair, her gaze sweeping over the passersby through her sunglasses.

Until a soft call rang out: “Lu… Lu Xunchen.”

Lu Xunchen shot up from the chair and took a big step over to the person who called her. “What a coincidence. Shen Ke, you here to buy things too?”

Shen Ke bit her lower lip as tears began to swirl in her eyes.

Lu Xunchen furrowed her brows slightly. She did not think she had said anything too harsh.

Why did Shen Ke look about to cry? She must have already cried—her eyes were all red and puffy.

Had someone bullied her?

At the mere thought, the air pressure around Lu Xunchen dropped sharply.

“Shen Ke, did someone bully you?”

“Tell me. I’ll teach them a lesson for you.”

With the mask and sunglasses, Shen Ke could not see Lu Xunchen’s expression, but her words made Shen Ke’s nose tingle.

She had only gone through three worlds so far, but finishing each one felt like forever. She had worked so hard, only for the task to fail.

She had nearly been left behind in the small world. Though the System pulled her back at the last second, the ordeal left Shen Ke feeling awful.

She desperately needed comfort right now, but the System was too busy to stay by her side.

It had given her five hundred points and then rushed off.

Shen Ke shook her head and looked up at Lu Xunchen, her voice thick and sticky. “No one bullied me. My task failed again.”

Lu Xunchen was half a head taller, so with a slight dip of her head, she could take in Shen Ke’s entire face.

Shen Ke’s eyes were upturned at the corners, her lashes so thick they looked lined. When she looked up, her eyes seemed huge, her nose and chin petite, dusted with a touch of pink. She was breathtakingly beautiful.

Lu Xunchen felt her heartbeat inexplicably quicken. Her eyes flickered behind the sunglasses as she averted her gaze from Shen Ke’s. “My task failed too.”

“It’s just one failed task. Nothing to get sad over.”

Listening to Lu Xunchen’s stiff words of comfort, Shen Ke let out a little “wu” and burst into tears. “But I… I have no points to buy anything.”

“There’s nothing in my room.”

“My clothes haven’t been changed in so long.”

Shen Ke cried until her cheeks were filthy. Lu Xunchen’s fingers twitched. She gently raised her hand and placed it on Shen Ke’s slender shoulder.

“What do you want? I’ll buy it for you.”

Shen Ke sniffled and threw herself straight into Lu Xunchen’s arms, hugging her waist and nuzzling against her. “Really? That’s great!” From now on, this person’s place in her heart ranked even higher than the System!

Her nose filled with Lu Xunchen’s scent—an indescribable fragrance. Shen Ke’s ears flushed pink.

Truth be told, she had been a little scared that Lu Xunchen might refuse her. After all, Lu Xunchen had seemed so fierce at their first meeting.

They had barely spoken a few words at their second encounter.

If Lu Xunchen pushed her away, she would never speak to her again.

A soft body suddenly crashed into her embrace, and Lu Xunchen’s tensed to the max.

She could have dodged, but the thought never crossed her mind. She simply let Shen Ke hold her.

Fragrant and soft, warm with another person’s body heat.

Lu Xunchen’s mind turned to chaos. How could Shen Ke just throw herself into the arms of someone she had only known for a short time?

Did she do this with everyone else too?

The odd thoughts made Lu Xunchen’s body heat up. She felt that no one should lack boundaries like this. Lu Xunchen reached out with both hands and pressed down on Shen Ke’s shoulders, intending to push her away. But as she looked down, she met Shen Ke’s eyes—brimming with tears, bright and beautiful.

Shen Ke gazed at Lu Xunchen, her voice tiny. “Can we not shop here?”

It was obvious Shen Ke was not happy. Lu Xunchen’s heart skipped, and before her mind could catch up, her arms stretched out. She scooped up Shen Ke by the waist and thighs, lifting her into her arms.

Shen Ke took to it effortlessly. Once lifted, she looped her arms around Lu Xunchen’s neck and buried her face in the crook of her neck. “Why do you like hugging me like this too?”

Her memories of the small world were blurry, but she vaguely recalled always being carried around like a child.

Lu Xunchen’s body went rigid as could be. How had she suddenly done something like this—picking someone up without a word?

Reason told her to let go, that she should not handle others so casually. But her arms did not budge, holding Shen Ke tight as could be.

What did Shen Ke’s words even mean, though?

Lu Xunchen asked in a feigned casual tone, “Oh? Who else likes to hold you like this?”

“Just a casual question. You don’t have to answer.”

Shen Ke breathed in Lu Xunchen’s fragrance—sweet and at odds with her aura. Rubbing her soft cheek against Lu Xunchen’s neck brought a pleasant sensation, and Shen Ke’s mood inexplicably improved. She said, “People from the task worlds.”

Lu Xunchen let out a scoff. “People from task worlds sure are casual. No sense of boundaries at all.”

“Alright, next up, I’ll take you to a bigger place. Whatever you want, I’ll buy it for you. I’ve got plenty of points.”

She took Shen Ke to a larger mall.

Lu Xunchen had figured Shen Ke would spend a ton of points, but she only had a meal and bought one pretty dress before calling it quits.

Lu Xunchen frowned. “Not buying more? Want a few more outfits? How about a storage device? You could buy stuff you like and keep it inside.”

“You said your room has nothing in it. You could get some furniture or whatever.” If anyone overheard Lu Xunchen, they would probably think she had lost her mind. Clothes and furniture were the most pointless things.

Taskers spent most of their time on tasks and rarely stayed in the System Space, so everyday necessities went unused.

Shen Ke shook her head. “No, I want to go back. Send me there—like our first meeting, when you whisked me away to someplace far in an instant.” Shen Ke’s mood had stayed low the whole time. Even good food and nice clothes had not lifted it much.

Lu Xunchen did not refuse. “Sure.” She gripped Shen Ke’s wrist. “Address.”

Shen Ke gave her the address, and the next second, they were at the door to her room.

Lu Xunchen took in the shabby surroundings and frowned without thinking.

How could she live in a dump like this?

“Shen Ke, want to switch to a new place?” She could buy Shen Ke a new rest area—even one right next to hers.

The house next to hers belonged to Zhao Ling. She could just kick Zhao Ling out.

Shen Ke stared at Lu Xunchen’s masked and sunglassed face and shook her head. “Lu Xunchen, will you come find me again next time?”

“You’re the first person I met here.”

Gazing into those beautiful eyes, Lu Xunchen answered firmly, “Yes.”

Shen Ke had put it that way—how could she not?

Shen Ke bit her lip, leaned in close, and rose on tiptoe to plant a kiss on Lu Xunchen’s cheek through the mask. Then, with damp eyes, she declared loudly, “You have to come!” With that, she flung open the door and slammed it shut again.

Inside the room, Shen Ke flopped onto the bed, her cheeks burning red.

Mama had said that if she kissed someone, they would never refuse her requests.

So she had kissed Lu Xunchen. Lu Xunchen would definitely come find her.

She just did not want to be alone—a tiny bit!

Shen Ke’s gaze landed on the Special Training Helmet the System had given her. She clenched her fist. She would keep up the special training. Next time, she definitely would not fail!

Outside the door, Lu Xunchen slowly touched the spot that had just been kissed.

The mask felt especially obnoxious. Without it, Shen Ke would have kissed her face directly.

No—that was not what she should be thinking. She should be wondering why Shen Ke had kissed her.

Did Shen Ke like her?

It would be normal if she did. After all, Lu Xunchen had too many good qualities.

But she probably could not return those feelings. She had no such emotions toward Shen Ke.

Right—next time, she would pick the Supernatural World. That should not fail, should it?