Mobile Game Wife Comes Knocking! Author: Pigeons Taste Awful
Volume One: Three
Finally Found You
"Like a flash of my blade, I'll cut down all the beef offal!"
The sudden voice in the quiet subway car drew attention. Ye Ming turned to glance at the girl beside him, who was playing on her phone.
The girl had entered the subway with Ye Ming and taken the nearest seat beside him. She had kept her head down, playing on her phone ever since. Her large mask and the hood of her padded coat concealed her face, leaving Ye Ming able to see only a few strands of long purple hair spilling from beneath the hood, skin so pale it barely looked human, and a pair of gorgeous violet eyes. She was probably a cosplayer who had done her makeup for a Comic Convention, though he had not expected her to be a Genshin Impact player as well.
"Sorry, I accidentally turned off the mute." The girl noticed Ye Ming's gaze and softly explained while holding her phone.
"It's fine." Surprised by her politeness and feeling somewhat favorably inclined toward her, Ye Ming asked one more question. "You play Genshin Impact too?"
"Huh? You play too?" the girl asked in surprise.
"I played for a while, but I quit a long time ago."
"Why did you quit? Did you think it wasn't fun?" she asked.
"It wasn't that it wasn't fun. It was just... well, probably because I got older and busier with work. I didn't have as much energy as I did when I was a student. At first I played games with great enthusiasm, then it became daily stamina clearing, then I logged in less and less until I gradually quit altogether."
"I see." Perhaps finding a shared interest had excited her. Her beautiful violet eyes fixed on Ye Ming as she eagerly pressed, "Then which character in Genshin Impact do you like best? Keqing?"
Was this girl a Keqing fan?
Thinking of the voice line from earlier, then looking at her unbelievably high-quality purple wig and violet contacts, Ye Ming suddenly understood.
"My favorite character would indeed be Keqing. I used her a lot while exploring the open world."
Ye Ming was telling the truth.
"Why?"
Perhaps because she had found someone who shared her tastes, the girl's eyes curved happily into crescents. "Don't lots of people say Keqing's damage is weak? Why do you still use her so often?"
Of course, it was because Keqing was adorable, had gorgeous black-stockinged legs, a sexy body, a perky butt, and was pleasing to watch while running, climbing, and gliding through the open world. Just like how so many people chose Lumine over the brother.
If he had been chatting with his group friends online, Ye Ming would have given those reasons without hesitation. But this was reality, and he was speaking to a strange girl. He definitely could not say something like that so bluntly.
"Probably because of her personality."
After thinking for a moment, Ye Ming said seriously, "Keqing was born into privilege, yet she has none of the arrogance that comes with it. She is straightforward and easygoing. Though she is the person closest to the gods of Liyue, she never places too much hope in them. She is self-reliant, conscientious in her work, and strict with herself. A girl like that would surely be loved by many even if she were not so beautiful."
"But what if she changed? What if she suddenly went through an enormous upheaval and lost someone crucial to her, only to realize afterward that compared to that person, things like her career and humanity's self-reliance might not be the most important after all? Would you still like that Keqing?"
Whether it was an illusion or not, Ye Ming felt that the girl sounded somewhat nervous.
"What do you mean? Is this a new Genshin Impact storyline?"
Ye Ming found it a little strange. Just as he was about to say something else, the train slowly came to a stop, and the station announcement sounded over the speakers.
"Sorry, I have to go, or I'll be late for work."
Ye Ming gave the girl an apologetic smile, stood up, and left the car.
"Cough, cough! Cough cough cough! Cough cough cough cough..."
The moment he emerged from the subway exit, Ye Ming was startled by a string of abnormal coughing sounds nearby. He instinctively walked several more steps away before turning to look.
Beside the exit, a pink-haired girl in a Haori was bent over against the wall, coughing violently as though her lungs were being torn apart. Frightened pedestrians all went around her, while a staff member with an armband was already running toward her with a grave expression.
"Cough... I... cough... I'm fine. It's an old problem. I'm fine, I'll be okay after resting for a bit... cough, cough cough... blegh!"
Before the girl could finish, she suddenly vomited a mouthful of blood. Strangely enough, after spitting it out, she immediately seemed to recover her spirits. Her coughing stopped, she straightened up, and color returned to her face.
But the armband-wearing uncle had already stopped in front of her.
"Miss, you're cosplaying Okita Souji, right? The frail look is pretty convincing, but cosplay is cosplay. Doing this in public is going to..."
That uncle actually knew who Okita Souji was.
Ye Ming gave the unbelievably authentic cosplayer another look. As he withdrew his gaze and prepared to leave, he suddenly spotted another pink-haired cosplayer across the road whose likeness was equally astonishing. The difference was that this cosplayer had luxurious long cherry-pink hair and wore a pink Miko outfit. Besides ordinary human ears, she also had a pair of animal ears atop her head, though Ye Ming could not tell whether they were fox ears or donkey ears.
The cosplayers at this event were seriously high-quality. Should he visit the Comic Convention during his lunch break?
With that thought in mind, Ye Ming hurried across the road toward the office building. If he did not leave now, he really would be late for work.
The morning dragged on endlessly. When lunch break finally arrived, Ye Ming politely declined his colleague's offer to use a coupon to order him takeout and went to the Comic Convention.
Since it was noon, not many people were still lining up outside to buy tickets. Ye Ming bought one easily. Just as he was about to join the line to enter, a childish, sweet, listless voice that sounded as if its owner had not woken up suddenly spoke behind him.
"Um... excuse me, are you Ye Ming?"
Ye Ming turned around and discovered that a tiny girl had appeared behind him at some point—or rather, calling her a little child would have been more appropriate. Her long white hair was tied into an adorable ponytail with cute bunny-ear hair clips. She wore a loose dress and a red padded jacket, white thigh-high socks, and Bunny-Ear Cotton Slippers.
At that moment, the little girl was yawning lazily as though she had not woken up while staring fixedly at Ye Ming. Tears faintly shimmered in her beautiful wine-red eyes, which resembled rubies.
Being stared at by a little girl like that gave Ye Ming an inexplicable sense of guilt.
"Uh, you are...?"
"I'm your wife."
The tiny girl rushed over and hugged Ye Ming, wrapping both arms tightly around his waist. She buried her face against his chest, her tears soaking his shirt.
"Benson-class Destroyer Laffey awaits your orders... Commander, I finally found you."
Brother, Commander, Husband
The tiny girl cried miserably in Ye Ming's arms. Ye Ming was not a lolicon, and he was utterly flustered, especially under the strange looks of the onlookers lining up at the entrance.
Normally, if a girl suddenly threw herself at someone while they were walking down the street—even a tiny girl still in the loli stage—most people's first reaction would be to assume it was a prank or a scam. To avoid trouble, the most rational choice would be to push her away so she could not latch onto them.
After several years in the workplace, Ye Ming had long passed the age of impulsiveness. Having learned his lessons, he knew how to appropriately refuse unreasonable requests from coworkers, and when maintaining client relationships, he could smoothly hand over high-value shopping cards. Yet at this moment, for some reason, he simply could not bring himself to push away the crying little girl.
"There, there. Don't cry. Can you tell big brother what happened? You have to tell me so I can help." Ye Ming gently patted the little girl's back and asked softly.
"No. Laffey... Laffey is just too happy."
As though she feared Ye Ming would disappear the instant she let go, the little girl clung tightly to Ye Ming's waist. Burying her small face in his chest, she sniffled and spoke in broken fragments. "N-Not big brother. Commander, husband. Laffey is Commander's first Oath Ship. Only Unicorn would accept Commander's ring and still keep calling Commander big brother."
The little girl's tone and expression were incredibly serious, as though she really were the destroyer Laffey from the game. Ye Ming could not help laughing.
Ye Ming looked around, searching everywhere, but could not find any prank crew hiding nearby and filming. After thinking about it, he could only patiently explain, "Oath Ship is just a term from the game. I don't know how someone your age knows about Oath Ships and Laffey, but games are games and reality is reality. You can't confuse the two."
"Big brother isn't married yet, so you aren't big brother's wife. You're still little and can't get married. Some things have to wait until you grow up."
As he spoke, Ye Ming kept looking around. Still unable to find a filming crew, he finally asked, "Little sister, can you tell big brother who told you to do this? Where is the family member who brought you here to cosplay?"
"Family? Commander is Laffey's most important family member."
The little girl did not quite understand what Ye Ming meant. She looked up at him in confusion, but after noticing his innocent expression, she remembered something very important.
"Ah! I forgot to say it. Laffey isn't cosplaying. Laffey is a real Ship-Girl. Laffey is the Benson-class Destroyer Laffey, Commander's first Oath Ship!"
"If you don't believe me, look!"
Perhaps she knew that explanation was not very convincing. The little girl who called herself Laffey kicked Ye Ming lightly in the shin with her Bunny-Ear Cotton Slippers. Once Ye Ming's attention shifted to her feet, she gently stomped on the ground.
The marble floor let out a groan of unbearable strain. Several cracks slowly spread out from beneath the little girl's foot, one of them even extending all the way to Ye Ming's feet.
Ye Ming was stunned by that stomp. He stared at the little girl and only then noticed how excessively exquisite her appearance was. Her exposed skin was flawless and translucent like the finest porcelain. Her wine-red eyes were as clear and bright as rubies, while her white hair shone with a satin-like luster. Could makeup techniques like foundation, wigs, and colored contacts really create an effect like this?
Even though she looked dazed and unmotivated whether she spoke or cried, as though she had not fully woken up, it was not unpleasant. On the contrary, it only made her more adorable.
Didn't she look exactly like Laffey from the game?
"Laffey?"
Ye Ming's brain could barely process this.
"Mm, it's Laffey. If Commander doesn't believe me, Laffey can deploy her rigging and fire some shells too." Laffey's voice remained listless, but as she spoke, she raised her right hand as though she were about to fire a cannon the next second.
"Stop!"
Startled by Laffey's movement, Ye Ming hurriedly grabbed her hand. He looked around and only relaxed after confirming that the people who had been in line had entered the Comic Convention and no one was nearby.
"You really are Laffey? The destroyer Laffey?" Ye Ming held Laffey's tiny hand. It was warm and soft, making it hard to imagine that its owner had once been a warship that roamed the oceans.
"It's Laffey." Tear tracks still hung on Laffey's face as she yawned. She had no intention of pulling her hand from Ye Ming's grasp. With her other hand, she clutched the hem of Ye Ming's shirt and lazily leaned against him, looking at his familiar yet unfamiliar face.
Ye Ming could feel Laffey's closeness toward him.
When Ye Ming had first started playing Azure Lane several years ago, Laffey had been the starter ship he chose. She had reached one hundred Affection early on. Later, when he got a ring, Laffey had been the first Ship-Girl he married, and she had also been his first Oath Ship to reach two hundred Affection.
Of course, Ye Ming was not a lolicon. It was simply that his Oath Ship happened to be a loli.
Later, as he spent more time playing, Ye Ming acquired more and more powerful ships. Yet in his heart, Laffey, who had accompanied him through the beginner phase, had always held a special place.
Still, a game was a game. In the game, the Commander was the one every Ship-Girl held dear, a hero who fought the Sirens and could easily raise a Ship-Girl's Affection to the maximum. But reality was ultimately different, with far more things to consider.
There was much Ye Ming still did not understand, and many questions he wanted to ask. But when he lowered his head and saw Laffey in his arms, all his misgivings vanished.
Tiny Laffey had one hand held by him while the other tightly gripped the hem of his shirt. Leaning against him with her eyes half-open, she nodded off bit by bit, drowsily on the verge of falling asleep.
She had no defenses at all.
Before you continue