[This might be the strangest yet most peaceful scene I've ever seen in Gong Yao's livestream... Wait, this is the Death Instance channel, not the melodramatic romance channel, right?]
[The last time I saw a combination this weird was the last time... I mean, that time with the Ghost Bride.]
[No hidden meaning here, I'm just a little blade of green graaaaaass lmaooooooo]
Amid this lush green atmosphere of harmony, an exuberant Gong Yao, an utterly impassive Li Qing, and a reluctant Bai Cha sat together in a small private room at an upscale karaoke club.
"You have a crush on Yu Xiaohe? You knew her before? When did this happen? How come I didn't know?"
Gong Yao looked as though he had discovered a whole new world. His barrage of questions scrambled Li Qing's brain for half a second.
He answered them one by one. "Yes. I did. A while ago."
Gong Yao rubbed his chin. "I never imagined someone like you could have anything to do with the words 'secret crush.'"
Seated on the other side with his arms folded and his face turned toward the wall, Bai Cha said coldly, "I can't see the slightest sign that you like her."
Li Qing blinked.
Bai Cha said, "You say you like her, but you don't care about her. You spend more time with Gong Yao than you do talking to her."
Li Qing felt obliged to clear this up. "It's not that I spend time with Mr. Gong Yao. He's always coming to find me."
For once, Gong Yao didn't argue. He cheerfully said, "That's true."
Bai Cha paused, then lowered his eyes.
"Say whatever you like. You can't hide it when you like someone."
Li Qing was a little bewildered.
"So what should I do?"
He humbly sought advice.
Gong Yao said eagerly, "So you're going to pursue her? I'll teach you. I've got plenty of experience!"
Li Qing instinctively looked over.
"Huh?" Gong Yao froze reflexively, then immediately said, "Why are you looking at me like that? I've acted in plenty of idol dramas. What romantic trope haven't I seen?"
"...Oh." Li Qing looked away again.
"Well, when you're pursuing a girl, you need to take the initiative. Stick close to her all the time, be unable to resist talking to her, keep track of where she goes, listen to her troubles, share her joys and sorrows..."
Li Qing listened attentively, nodding now and then as he silently added a long string of entries to his Secret Crush Guide...
"...That's everything for now. There should be more. I'll look through my scripts when I get back and tell you when I remember!"
Gong Yao patted his chest, looking every bit the dependable older brother.
Li Qing stared blankly at the guide, which had grown to seventy-seven entries, and felt stressed about work for the first time.
"...This is even more complicated and tedious than my work procedures."
Once again, he expressed his inability to understand this emotion.
Gong Yao laughed. "It's not complicated at all. If you really fall for someone, you'll do all of this without me reminding you..."
His voice gradually trailed off.
Then his brows shifted slightly, and a thoughtful look appeared on his face, mingled with a trace of confusion.
His head swimming, Li Qing failed to notice anything unusual about Gong Yao.
Neither of them spoke. Bai Cha, who had been silent beside them, glanced up at them, then crossed his other leg and asked, "So is this love consultation over? If it is, I'm going back to rest. I've got scenes tomorrow."
Li Qing said, "I'm going back too. I need to check on Yu Xiaohe."
Gong Yao sounded a little helpless. "Go on, then. Why do you make it sound like I'm holding you both hostage?"
Li Qing reminded him, "You're the one who brought us here. We were going to leave in the first place."
"..." Gong Yao pushed him out of the room. "Hey, I'm a huge star. How could I stand right outside a restaurant openly discussing romance?"
Li Qing tilted his head up to argue with him. "I wasn't planning to discuss it with you in the first place."
Gong Yao had no fight left in him. "Fine, it was me. I wanted to hear the gossip, all right?"
"."
With his hands in his pockets, Bai Cha quietly followed behind them, his gaze flickering.
The three of them got into the car back to the hotel together. Li Qing took out his phone and began working on it.
Gong Yao leaned over curiously again. "What are you doing now?"
Li Qing said calmly, "'Paying attention to her every move.'"
In front of the only livestream camera, Li Qing naturally had to put the Secret Crush Guide's instructions into practice right away.
A moment later, footage of Yu Xiaohe's hotel room appeared on the screen-just as in her livestream, she was sunk into the sofa playing video games again.
Bai Cha: "?"
Gong Yao blanched and covered the screen. "...You don't need to take it this far!"
Li Qing shot Gong Yao a murderous look.
Rule one of the Secret Crush Guide: show murderous intent toward perceived rivals for your crush's affections.
"..." Gong Yao was practically worrying himself sick. He turned off Li Qing's phone screen. "This is a society governed by law. You can't do that. Weird, why did I say 'this'..."
Having achieved his goal of reinforcing his persona, Li Qing obediently put his phone away.
Gong Yao let out a long sigh. "...No, I really do need to keep an eye on you. My subconscious wasn't lying..."
The next day.
Despite saying the day before that he would keep an eye on Li Qing, Gong Yao left the hotel early that morning to attend to other work.
Finally free of Gong Yao's surveillance, Li Qing sighed in relief and went to find Yu Xiaohe without any worries.
Yu Xiaohe looked listless. Only when she saw Li Qing did she relax a little, as though she had found a lifeline.
"I thought about it all night..." She looked around and said quietly to Li Qing, "I still don't know whether I was right or wrong."
I didn't see you agonizing over it while you were gaming yesterday, Li Qing thought, but his face betrayed nothing. He considerately placed a cup of hot milk in her hands and adopted an attentive posture.
"To tell you the truth, when I went to the control room yesterday, I felt... like I wasn't myself. After I got back that evening, even my memories of that time were a little hazy..."
Then she gave a bitter smile.
"Maybe I subconsciously think I did something wrong, so my brain automatically made up an excuse for me."
Is this what happens when a dungeon instance's assigned persona conflicts with the player's own personality, but the player's will can't defy the instance's settings...?
That was Li Qing's analysis.
Seeing Yu Xiaohe grow despondent again, he immediately recalled the romance guide's advice and offered some comfort. "No, you weren't wrong. You just aren't strong enough."
Because she wasn't strong enough, she wavered between her own vulnerable nature and the dungeon instance's influence. If it were Gong Yao...
...No.
Li Qing immediately cut off that train of thought and looked at Yu Xiaohe, whom he had just comforted.
-Yu Xiaohe didn't seem comforted at all. Why did she look even more confused?
Just then, Yu Xiaohe's manager finally found her. "The morning shoot is about to start. Hurry up and get ready!"
Yu Xiaohe snapped out of her daze, hastily said goodbye to Li Qing, and left with her manager.
The set.
As a production assistant, Li Qing naturally wouldn't miss this shoot.
The King of Hell had come along too. Who knew which unlucky NPC he would take away this time?
-Li Qing had completely given up hoping he was capable of taking away a player.
The leads in this scene were the second male lead, Bai Cha, and the female lead, An Ya:
The playboy Bai Cha tried everything he could to get An Ya, but An Ya remained utterly devoted to her boyfriend, Gong Yao. So Bai Cha followed An Ya, intending to force himself on her.
While resisting Bai Cha's assault, An Ya would send him flying.
Bai Cha would step on the female lead's Pearl Necklace on the floor, then knock over a cabinet and fall beside the wall. The chain reaction caused by the collapsing cabinet would dislodge a decorative knife hanging on the wall.
-Then the falling knife would behead him.
Apart from Bai Cha and An Ya, only the female ghost, Yu Xiaohe, had a part in the scene.
Yet apart from Gong Yao and Tao Lele, who had gone out together that morning on business, all the other actors had come to watch the shoot. Perhaps they thought that even if something happened today, it wouldn't involve them.
The spacious, luxurious hotel room was oppressively dim. Several actors sat quietly behind the director and camera operator.
As filming began, Bai Cha and An Ya immediately slipped into character and began grappling in the room!
Bai Cha practically dragged An Ya across the room and threw her onto the bed. She immediately slapped him backhanded, her sharp nails scratching his cheek.
Bai Cha froze, then instantly assumed a frenzied expression and clamped his hands viciously around An Ya's neck!
One second, two seconds...
Ugly veins bulged along the man's beautiful arms and handsome face, while An Ya's face had already turned a dark purplish red.
Fear finally appeared in her eyes, and she instinctively looked toward the director-
"Great, very realistic. Keep going!"
Despair filled An Ya's eyes.
Before you continue