Back Rub

Morning

Chen Ming woke up groggily, feeling a heavy weight on him. When he looked down, he saw Dong Qianqiu pressed against his left side and Di Qiu'er against his right.

He looked up at his status bar again. The Weakness and Cold effects were gone. He really wanted to complain that this game's underlying code was even more powerful than Douluo Continent's.

By rights, with four God-tier Martial Souls at his side, a mere cold shouldn't have affected him at all.

In truth, the cold only gave Steve Weakness III and Mining Fatigue III.

Weakness III reduced the damage he dealt to a fraction of its usual amount. At Weakness V, he couldn't attack at all.

Steve could still bounce around just fine, but for fragile people like Chen Ming, it was deadly. They didn't even have the strength to get up.

Chen Ming immediately got up and nudged Di Qiu'er and Dong Qianqiu aside. After checking the time—it was seven in the morning—he got out of bed.

The movement woke Dong Qianqiu, too. Her long eyelashes fluttered faintly, and after a moment, she opened her pale blue eyes.

Confusion flickered in her eyes as she looked at Di Qiu'er, still sleeping soundly beside her, then listened to the sound of someone washing up in the bathroom.

Di Qiu'er seemed to feel uncomfortable without her body pillow. She immediately reached out to look for it.

"Hey! Ow!"

Di Qiu'er's little hand soon found Dong Qianqiu's, and she yanked her over while Dong Qianqiu was still in her opening state.

The little shark was caught off guard and pulled into the little Auspicious Beast's arms, where she was hugged like a body pillow.

"Your Majesty Qiu'er... you're squeezing too tight..."

Dong Qianqiu was uncomfortable in Di Qiu'er's embrace. Her cheeks flushed as she spoke.

"Quiet... let me sleep a little longer... breakfast isn't ready yet..."

Di Qiu'er pushed Dong Qianqiu back down. Dong Qianqiu's mouth was blocked by something soft, and her eyes widened in shock as she stared at the soft bosom before her.

Shock, confusion, bewilderment, envy, and insecurity flashed through her eyes. She struggled a little, but to no avail. In the end, she gave up, like a salted fish that had lost all its dreams.

Your Majesty Qiu'er smelled so nice and felt so soft. How could she be so curvy when she was so slim? She was strong, too. Dong Qianqiu wondered how those little hands could be so powerful.

Chen Ming had just finished showering when he saw the alluring scene. It was certainly quite a sight, but when had those two gotten so close?

Puzzled, he headed to the kitchen and took out some of the seafood they'd caught the day before to prepare.

Before long, the aroma wafted through the air. Di Qiu'er was drawn to it, and Dong Qianqiu managed to free herself from her grasp. The little glutton immediately called toward the kitchen:

"That smells so good! Chen Ming, what are you making?"

"Seafood porridge."

The reply came quickly. The smell of breakfast really did seem to be Di Qiu'er's personal alarm clock.

Soon, Di Qiu'er and Dong Qianqiu had washed up and come over to sit down for seafood porridge.

"It's so fresh! What happened last night, anyway? Why were we completely weak as soon as we got back?"

Dong Qianqiu praised his cooking, then remembered what had happened the night before and asked curiously.

"It's because this world has certain rules. For example... staying somewhere cold will make you freeze, getting wet will give you a cold, and extreme heat will cause heatstroke."

"We were in the deep sea for a long time yesterday, surrounded by freezing water. Our body temperatures got thrown off, and we caught colds."

"It's not because our constitutions are too weak. Even a God King would catch a cold. That's how the code is written."

Dong Qianqiu didn't understand what code was, but now that she knew the reason, she'd be more careful next time.

"I understand. I'll be careful when I go underwater from now on, too."

As they talked, Di Qiu'er hugged a huge pot of seafood porridge and shoveled it into her mouth, her eyes fixed on nothing but the food.

Morning

Chen Ming picked a spot in the palace, and the three of them worked together to build a huge artificial lake. Then they put the Demon Soul Great White Shark Dong Qianqiu had caught into it.

"Does it not eat anything?"

Dong Qianqiu looked at the pixelated Demon Soul Great White Shark, which wasn't eating at all, and asked in confusion. Chen Ming looked at the shark, which was staring straight at him, and hesitated.

"It seems to only eat players."

"I see..."

Dong Qianqiu had no idea what to do about the Demon Soul Great White Shark staring straight at Chen Ming. At least she wouldn't be lonely anymore; she had a little shark to keep her company.

The palace where Chen Ming lived had grown livelier, too. Before, he'd been all alone. Now he had a little Auspicious Beast and a little shark.

The little Auspicious Beast kept a ten-thousand-year-old Golden-Eyed Black Dragon, and the little shark had a little shark of her own.

Of course, to avoid a repeat of the situation where they caught colds and had no Milk to remove the negative effects, Chen Ming raised a few bees and stored some honey. He also made some milk tea with milk, so even if Di Qiu'er secretly drank it, they'd still have honey as a backup.

Fun fact: In My World, honey can remove negative effects.

Fun fact: When you're hungry, you can put food into the hole below your philtrum, then chew or swallow to transport it into your stomach and relieve your hunger.

Evening

Chen Ming was exhausted after a full day. He'd made breakfast in the morning, dug an artificial lake, made lunch, taken the two girls target shooting in the afternoon, and cooked dinner at dusk. He collapsed onto the sofa.

"I'm exhausted..."

Seeing how tired Chen Ming looked, Dong Qianqiu sat down and rested his head on her lap.

"Then take a break. I'll keep you company."

Chen Ming's head rested on Dong Qianqiu's soft thigh. The comfortable sensation was indeed wonderful.

"My body feels a little sore. Qianqiu, you and Qiu'er should step on my back."

"Step on you?"

Dong Qianqiu was puzzled by the unfamiliar phrase. Then she saw Di Qiu'er take off her slippers and climb onto the sofa.

"Turn over."

Di Qiu'er gave the brief instruction, and Chen Ming turned over to lie face-down on Dong Qianqiu's lap. A faint milky fragrance reached his nose.

His warm breath fell against Dong Qianqiu's leg, making her cheeks turn red. Curious, she kept her eyes on Di Qiu'er.

Di Qiu'er stepped onto Chen Ming's back barefoot, then put both feet on it and marched in place.

"So... this is stepping on someone's back? Does it work?"

Dong Qianqiu was full of curiosity. She'd never seen anyone use a back rub to ease aches and soreness before.

"Little Shark, come up too."

Di Qiu'er beckoned Dong Qianqiu to join her. She hesitated, then looked down at Chen Ming, whose face was buried against her leg.

Chen Ming gave a thumbs-up to show he was fine with it. With his approval, Dong Qianqiu stood up and climbed onto the sofa.

Dong Qianqiu lifted her small, fair, crystal-clear feet and gingerly stepped onto Chen Ming's back, afraid of hurting him. Only when she saw that he looked comfortable did she dare put both feet on him.