The Frozen Support Is Leaving—Remember to Ask Me Out in Secret

"Easy! Take it easy!!!"

"Bonk, bonk, bonk!"

"Slow down, slow down!"

"Ya!"

"Charlotte, get moving—freeze them!"

"Smack, smack, smack!"

By the little river, several Hilichurls lay sprawled in all directions, dead or alive unknown.

Wu Wanghai was relentlessly pummeling the last torch-wielding Hilichurl.

Just moments ago, Little Ball, his only summon, had been burned away by its torch.

That was just ridiculous, okay?!

"Rules are meant to be broken!"

"Stop!" Furina became lively again once the battle ended, hurriedly snatching her weapon back from Wu Wanghai before he could deliver one final blow to the torch Hilichurl.

"I lent you my weapon, so why are you using my sword like a club?!"

"Huh? This club works pretty well." After saying that, Wu Wanghai glanced at his phone. His normal attack had indeed changed into Bonk-Invincible Sword, but after Furina took the sword away, it had reverted to fists.

"It's a cl—no, it's a sword! It's called Splendor of Tranquil Waters. It is a scepter wreathed in waters of utmost purity! Long, long ago, it symbolized supreme authority." Furina held her signature weapon with aching care, checking whether it had been chipped anywhere.

"Oh, it's a scepter! No wonder it doesn't look like a sword at all. It doesn't even have a blade."

"It's a one-handed sword! I'm not lending it to you anymore, hmph! Go fight monsters bare-handed yourself!"

"My mistake, my mistake! My dear master, I won't use it as a club next time. Let me carry your signature weapon, okay? At least it gives me Crit DMG!" Wu Wanghai immediately begged for mercy, gripping Furina's left hand—the one holding the weapon—and refusing to let go.

With Furina's signature weapon backing him up just now, fighting monsters had become so much easier. He couldn't go without her weapon.

"Hey! What are you doing? There are people around." Furina spotted Charlotte slowly turning away before running off to catch butterflies. She fiercely yanked Wu Wanghai's arm.

"Didn't you say before..."

When he called her that in private before, she had not felt much about it. But with someone suddenly nearby, hearing him call her "master" made her feel truly embarrassed. Furina was so ashamed that she said, "Oh, I regret it. You don't have to call me Master anymore! Just call me Lady Furina!"

"Then I'll stick with Fufu!" Wu Wanghai nodded. He did not really mind.

"No Fufu!" Furina put her hands on her hips, her tone sharpening.

"Got it, got it!" Wu Wanghai gave an OK sign.

Next came the time to loot the spoils.

Obtained Hilichurl Wooden Stick. Obtained Hilichurl Torch. Obtained Hilichurl M-M-Mask...

Wu Wanghai grabbed a Hilichurl's face mask and spent ages trying to yank it off, but it would not budge. This was kind of hard.

Furina was speechless at what Wu Wanghai was doing. "What are you collecting that stuff for?! And stop pulling already—no taking Hilichurl masks! Why are you like those people from the Adventurers' Guild, always looting trophies? Besides, nobody would want the loot you're carrying around. It's completely worthless."

"Huh? Is that how it is? Then I'll just farm materials whenever I need them later." Wu Wanghai tossed away the wooden stick and torch in his hands, then clapped his hands clean.

Wu Wanghai held out his hand toward Furina.

"What are you doing?" Furina looked puzzled, then placed her right hand in his.

Did he want to hold hands?

But Furina had not expected Wu Wanghai to flick her hand away in an instant and snatch the signature weapon cradled in her left arm. "Let me use it just a tiny bit longer. I'll fight the monsters for you, and you can just applaud from the back."

"You really don't stand on ceremony at all!" Furina said with her hands on her hips. Still, she did not try to snatch her weapon back. She had not used it in a long time anyway, so she could let him use it for now.

"But use it gently! You can't treat it like you did earlier!" Furina said with her arms crossed.

"Understood, understood!" Wu Wanghai replied, then looked at his level, which had become Level 2. The road to max level was long and arduous.

"Charge! Our goal is to grind our way to Level 20 today!" Wu Wanghai strode ahead a few steps and patted Charlotte, who had drifted to the edge of the scene and begun using her camera to photograph the scenery.

"Look over there!" Charlotte pointed at the sky.

??? Wu Wanghai was confused.

"It's already noon! We should figure out lunch!" Charlotte replied.

"Mm, I want some little cakes too." At Charlotte's words, Furina became hungry as well.

Half of Wu Wanghai's enthusiasm instantly died. "All right, I'll treat you two to a big meal. Then after we eat, we'll continue???"

"No, no, I have important business to handle at the newspaper office later." Charlotte hurriedly shook her head and waved her hands. As she spoke, she thought for a moment, pulled out paper and pen from her bag, and began scribbling away.

"Here, this is my contact information. When you have time, don't forget to ask me out alone. You promised me an exclusive interview just now, so don't forget!" Charlotte looked at Furina, then at Wu Wanghai. With Furina nearby, she truly had no chance to ask certain special questions, so she could only secretly arrange to meet him alone.

"Sure, sure, sure." Wu Wanghai nodded and accepted the note.

Seeing him put the note away, Charlotte nodded. "Then I really won't disturb you this time. I'm leaving!"

Without giving the two of them a chance to respond, she darted away and vanished in a flash.

"Charlotte is actually a pretty nice girl~ Quite cute." Furina suddenly remarked out of nowhere.

Wu Wanghai nodded instinctively. "True, but her combat strength is really weak. I saw her Burst too—the pictures Wriothesley took were pretty fast, but the damage was truly pathetic. Still, she can heal. She's purely a freeze support."

Furina was left speechless. His mind was actually still on that? Charlotte had barely left, and he was already talking behind her back.

Wu Wanghai sighed. "Well, there goes Freeze. How are we supposed to farm monsters now? The monsters here move pretty fast. I can barely keep up."

These monsters that had become real were smarter and stronger than the last. Their positioning, their moves...

It was nothing like beating on stationary targets in a game. Wu Wanghai admitted that he still was not used to it.

"Fine! Then let's keep leveling! Once our levels are up, who can't we one-shot for 99,999 damage!"

Furina patted Wu Wanghai's arm twice. "Hm? Isn't it lunchtime? You said you'd treat me to a big meal just now! You can't go back on your word, or you'll face the judgment of justice!"

"Don't you always carry little cakes with you? Just take a couple bites to make do and come farm monsters with me!" Wu Wanghai knew Furina could conjure little cakes whenever she wanted.

"No, no, I want a big meal! I want a big meal!!!" Furina actually sat down on the grass beside them, seemingly starting to act spoiled.

He could not handle this.

"But the situation in the city is a little bad right now, isn't it?" Wu Wanghai rubbed his chin.

Furina thought about it. If they went into the city, she would have to hear people saying that the god had really started dating, that he was the male lead, and so on. She would also have to face crowds of spectators gathering around to watch.

Far more people than she had ever dealt with in all those years. Even walking down a street meant passing through a path left open by a whole crowd.

Just thinking about it gave Furina a headache. This was no longer simply a matter of being popular and attracting attention.

Those strange looks from the onlookers made Furina deeply uncomfortable. That was why, after experiencing it once early this morning, she had brought Wu Wanghai out here to get away from everyone's eyes.

She figured that once the fuss died down in a few days, things should be fine.

"All right, you're right!" Furina drooped dejectedly.

Wu Wanghai crossed his arms and tilted his mouth into a smug grin. "But I can cook! Let's go fight monsters and gather ingredients!"

"Okay! I want dessert!"

"No dessert. How can dessert count as a meal?"

"Then... I want sweets!"

"No! Eat that many sweets and desserts, and watch out—you'll turn into a big fatty!"

"Wah..."

"But I can make you sweet-and-sour... Uh, have you eaten Liyue cuisine before?"

"I haven't."

"Okay! I've got it. Let's have pasta!"

"Wait, shouldn't you normally make Liyue cuisine for me?"

"I'm afraid you won't be used to it."

"You do have a point." Furina nodded, then added, "But now that you mention it, I suddenly want to try Liyue cuisine."

When it came to the best Liyue cuisine, Wu Wanghai naturally thought of someone. "Then I won't do. If it's your first time, of course you should have the best. I'll take you to find Xiangling when the time comes. Her cooking is heavenly, but whatever you do, don't eat her new experimental dishes."

"Eek! I hate creative cuisine the most! Most of it has left me traumatized! Maybe we shouldn't find this person after all. I can try what you make."

"Fine, then. Where are we getting the pasta?"

"Buy it in the city..." Furina stopped.