"Whoa, these graphics, this realism-pretty damn good!"
With her VR headset on, Xie Mi felt as though she had discovered a whole new world. She suddenly wondered whether all the VR she had played before had been fake. The difference in realism was staggering.
"Try walking forward. See if you can keep your balance," Shen Yeqing's voice came from outside her field of vision.
Xie Mi did as instructed, taking two tentative steps forward, only for a cliff to suddenly appear in front of her. Startled, she jerked backward.
Thud.
She seemed to have bumped into someone.
Behind her was the pleasant, faint scent of a man. She leaned against a warm, firm chest, his voice sounding beside her ear.
"Don't be scared. It's not real. You'll need to be careful when we play. If you don't keep your balance, it's easy to fall."
His voice was soft, with a slight lilt at the end, carrying an indescribably lethal allure.
The livestream viewers were positively dizzy from his flirting.
[Awww, Old Shen, how are you so good at flirting?]
[I'm not kidding. That tone is exactly like the voice messages my boyfriend sent me when we were still flirting. He's definitely trying to seduce Old Xie!]
[Mr. Shen already took the initiative to invite Sister Xie to play games. What more is there to say? This is love!]
"Okay, let me try again. I just wasn't used to it."
Xie Mi's competitive streak flared up again. As a gaming ace, wouldn't it be humiliating to get all disoriented playing VR?
Even if these graphics were more realistic than anything she had ever seen, she absolutely refused to admit defeat!
"Yesmola!!" Xie Mi shouted as she charged forward.
Whoosh!
A flying car suddenly hurtled toward her, startling her into diving out of the way.
Then she landed in someone's arms.
His hand wrapped around her waist, his chest vibrating slightly as though he were laughing.
"You're laughing?!"
How dare he laugh at me!
"No." His tone was perfectly calm.
The viewers, however, were already smiling knowingly.
[He is. He's positively beaming.]
[Old Shen, rein in that smile. You're a grown man. Stop acting like you've never seen your wife before. Look at you, grinning like you hit the jackpot.]
[Oh no, I think I'm actually hooked. I feel like Mr. Shen really likes Xie Mi.]
[It's fake! It's all fake!]
Former Xiao Rong CP fans, unable to cope, had arrived to crash the party.
[Hahahaha, it's all fake, all fake! It's all Director Niu's script! All scripted, lalalala!]
[That's why you have to be careful who you ship. Pick the wrong couple, and the person above is a cautionary tale of what you'll become.]
After falling into Shen Yeqing's arms three more times, Xie Mi finally lost her temper.
"Screw your daddy's bananas and giant pineapples! You're doing this on purpose, aren't you? Things keep popping up! Did you set this up?!"
Shen Yeqing instantly put on an innocent act. "I'm just helping you desensitize. If you get used to it now, you won't fall later."
"Well, thank you so much! Start the game right now!!"
"You got it."
[Old Shen's going to make a fine henpecked husband someday.]
[I'm dying. He's so whipped, hahahaha.]
The game was finally about to begin, and Shen Yeqing joined in.
Upon seeing Shen Yeqing, Xie Mi couldn't help marveling at the machine again. Even the character model looked real, moving smoothly and naturally.
"Pick a skin. We're about to start."
The viewers couldn't see the 3D world inside the VR headsets, but they could watch the 2D projection, split into two screens showing Xie Mi's and Shen Yeqing's respective first-person views.
"I've picked mine."
Shen Yeqing chose his skin first. Xie Mi's view tilted upward, revealing an Ultraman wearing a security guard's uniform.
"I'm the neighborhood security guard, keeping the neighborhood safe."
Xie Mi said, "Nice."
"I've picked mine too."
After browsing the options, Xie Mi finally exited the outfit selection screen.
A sultry Ultraman wearing a fiery-red bikini appeared in Shen Yeqing's view.
Shen Yeqing said, "...?"
Xie Mi said, "Being a fox doesn't make you slutty. Being sexy doesn't make you a seductress!"
[Nice.]
[Are you really not going to apologize to Ultraman?]
[Hahahahahahaha!]
They officially entered the first stage: defeat the little monsters terrorizing Apricot Blossom City and save the students of Apricot Blossom Elementary School.
Xie Mi charged at a monster and hammered it with two punches, then fought her way into the school, swinging her fists so furiously they practically smoked.
[Unless I'm mistaken, isn't that a skill button in the bottom right?]
After using Dynamic Light Wave to wipe out a row of little monsters, Shen Yeqing turned to see Xie Mi wildly punching her way through the enemies and fell silent.
From the viewers' perspective, Xie Mi looked even more unhinged. With both fists raised, she went up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, B, A, nearly flinging herself off her feet.
[...That girl is ridiculously strong.]
[This is so absurd. Just like my life: busy doing who knows what.]
Downstairs.
Looking at his handsome reflection in the mirror, Xiao Jingxi flashed a confident smile, then turned and left the bathroom, ready to find Xie Mi.
Since Xie Mi had fallen for him at first sight back then and devotedly loved him for so many years, she could do it again now.
Ultimately, she was just sulking because he had been promoting his pairing with Xu Shuangrong. Now that it was over, she would probably settle down in a few days.
Xiao Jingxi arrived outside Xie Mi's room on the third floor and knocked, but nobody answered. As he passed the second floor, however, he heard Xie Mi's outraged voice coming from the screening room.
"Holy shit, you ambushed me! You can't play fair, you little piece of trash! You've got no skills! You don't dare fight me head-on, so why the hell are you even playing?!"
Xiao Jingxi paused, then opened the screening room door without hesitation.
Only to see a dark figure lunging toward him.
"I'll send you straight to heaven to meet your great-grandma with one goddamn uppercut!"
Bam!
Xiao Jingxi's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed with a thud.
Xie Mi burst out of the room and crawled ominously down the hallway, roaring, shrieking, and contorting as she moved.
Shen Yeqing, who had taken off his headset and chased after her, saw this scene and went, "..."
[Opening that door was like breaking a seal and releasing a zombie.]
[Hahahahaha, Sister Xie is seriously going to make me die laughing.]
[Not only is Sister Xie so pretty, her gaming is also... yeah, never mind.]
[Old Shen, promise me you won't take Old Xie to play VR next time.]
And so the afternoon passed peacefully.
Xie Mi and Shen Yeqing were on dinner duty that day. Looking at her name on the whiteboard, Xie Mi let out a deep sigh.
The inevitable had finally arrived.
"Teacher Xie."
Xu Shuangrong walked over carrying a Styrofoam box and said with a smile, "These are some local specialties my friend sent from Cloud City. Could we use them for dinner tonight? They were freshly airfreighted here. They won't taste as good tomorrow."
Despite knowing that Xiao Jingxi had now turned his attention to Xie Mi, she still greeted Xie Mi with a smile, instantly winning herself a wave of approval.
[Awww, my Shuang. You were crying just this afternoon, and now you're acting like nothing happened. Why are you always so strong?]
[She's so gracious. She hasn't made anyone feel awkward.]
[Girls who are too considerate never get cherished, sob. Our poor Shuangrong.]
Xie Mi opened the Styrofoam box and looked at the mushrooms, still glistening with droplets of water. They were indeed very fresh.
"Sure. I'll cook them."
She couldn't make elaborate dishes, but surely she could stew some mushrooms?
In the original story, Xu Shuangrong had also brought back a box of mushrooms on this day. The guest in charge of cooking had apparently made a stewed mushroom soup.
Luckily, the author loved padding the word count and had described the cooking process in detail. If she followed that recipe, she should be fine.
Before you continue