Chapter 12

Lin Yu hadn't expected Ming Yu to come online tonight. Whenever Ming Yu logged in, she went straight for the skins and didn't like doing the whole daily check-in routine, so Lin Yu hadn't run into her again since their last encounter in the game. Now that they had crossed paths, Lin Yu pressed her lips together, smiled, and introduced her openly: "Li Yin, this is Ming Yu, my classmate and good friend."

Lin Yu: "Ming Yu, this is Li Yin, my boyfriend."

Ming Yu blinked, and her little character moved. "Hello, Li Yin."

Li Yin hurried to respond: "Hello, hello, Ming Yu."

Ming Yu laughed.

Lin Yu had already found a map with a skin. She asked Ming Yu, "Want to team up with us?"

Ming Yu smiled. "No need. Chen Lüli will be online in a bit."

The moment she finished speaking,

the friends list lit up.

CLL came online.

He happened to appear nearby, right where he had logged off last time. When Ming Yu saw him, she immediately pulled him over. He wore a full set of Heavenly Demon robes and held a Heaven-Escape Hammer. As soon as he landed, Ming Yu smiled and said, "Look, Yuyu and her boyfriend are here too."

A message flashed above his head: "Mm."

Lin Yu's skin tonight was the Ice and Snow outfit she had opened on a map last time. It was blue too. She asked, "Are you back in Li City?"

She remembered him saying in the group chat that he was in Nan City.

CLL: "I'm back."

Lin Yu: "Oh."

Wearing his default skin, Li Yin greeted Chen Lüli. "Good evening, President Chen."

CLL: "Good evening."

His reply was brief.

Ming Yu's character ran off to look at several map entrances, then came back and told Chen Lüli, "They've added a few more maps. I only have an hour, so let's pick an easier one."

CLL: "You pick."

Ming Yu: "Okay!"

Lin Yu had already chosen a map. She invited Li Yin to her team, and he joined. In the team chat, Li Yin said, "I'm in no rush. Any skin will do."

Lin Yu said, "The skin's attributes depend on luck. Everyone gets something different."

Li Yin: "Really? This game is pretty interesting, then. It's full of surprises everywhere."

Lin Yu smiled. "Mm."

The two walked toward the map. The default skin stood out and was easy to recognize. Following behind Lin Yu's Ice and Snow Queen skin, he looked a little comical and a little

funny,

like a loyal hound.

Ming Yu covered her mouth and laughed. "This Li Yin must really like Yuyu, following her so closely."

Ming Yu: "Do you think they're whispering sweet nothings in their team chat? Calling each other 'wife' and things like that?"

The game character in Heavenly Demon robes didn't answer her. He held the hammer and flipped through the maps. He had used a sword before, but this time he had a hammer. Lin Yu led the default skin into a new map, and they disappeared from the map they had been on.

Lin Yu had chosen the 2v2 arena, a map newly released in the past few days. Win or lose, once they had enough points, they could claim a skin gift box.

Li Yin looked at it. "An arena? Is it like Honor of Kings?"

Lin Yu thought for a moment. "It seems pretty similar. I played in a 3v3 arena last time."

Li Yin: "Then I know a little about this."

Lin Yu breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he knew what he was doing, that was enough. She was terrible at it. Although points were what counted here, if they won enough, they could get the reward in fewer than three matches.

Strength still reigned supreme.

The two tapped "Join Battle" and were taken into the arena. Their skins didn't change this time, but each of them gained a weapon, and its attributes were clearly listed.

Two other players landed on the arena platform, one in Heavenly Demon robes and the other in a Fire Phoenix outfit. Their IDs appeared above their heads.

CLL, Ming Yu.

Lin Yu's heart skipped a beat. How was it Chen Lüli and Ming Yu?

Ming Yu, however, was delighted and sent a sticker of someone holding their face.

Li Yin was surprised. "Aren't those President Chen and Ming Yu?"

Lin Yu tightened her grip on her weapon, a spear. She said, "Li Yin, do your best."

Li Yin: "Okay."

The countdown ended, and the Heavenly Demon and Fire Phoenix ran toward them. Lin Yu's heart grew tense. She had seen how formidable he was during the 3v3 match: in battle, his blade rose and fell. Back then she had been behind him, under his protection, but now she had to face him head-on. Chen Lüli didn't go after Lin Yu. The twin swords in his hands went straight for the default skin.

Clang! A nine-section whip struck the twin swords in the Heavenly Demon's hands. Li Yin stood in front of Lin Yu, and she cried, "Watch out."

Ming Yu said to Chen Lüli, "It's Yuyu and Li Yin. Let's fight a little slower and stretch out the time limit, so they can get more points."

The man's long fingers moved across his phone screen. He watched the default skin shield the woman in the Ice and Snow outfit behind him completely.

Two words of warning flashed above the woman's head: "Watch out."

His fingers unconsciously sped up. Just as Ming Yu's message appeared, he stabbed the game character with Li Yin's name above the default skin, killing him on the spot.

The character in blue Heavenly Demon robes faced the Ice and Snow Queen. Lin Yu couldn't believe it. Li Yin had gone down without earning a single point.

Ming Yu's typing hand froze.

What was wrong with Chen Lüli tonight?

He was so vicious.

Now Lin Yu was the only one left. Should they drag it out or not? But then Ming Yu saw that the Heavenly Demon wasn't moving. At that moment, the default skin on the ground stirred.

Lin Yu's heart leaped with joy. She remembered now: at the entrance, she had drawn a revival card and given it to Li Yin.

As soon as Li Yin got up, he swung his nine-section whip at Chen Lüli. Chen Lüli raised an eyebrow, moved, and sent his twin swords in again.

Seeing this, Lin Yu gripped her spear and charged forward. She activated her defense in time and drove the spear into the Heavenly Demon character several times.

Ming Yu couldn't believe it. She hurried forward to protect Chen Lüli, and flames burst up all around them.

But Li Yin went down.

Chen Lüli's character's health bar emptied, and he fell to the ground too.

Ming Yu: "Damn, Yuyu, you're so bold! You actually pulled off that sneak attack?"

Lin Yu activated her defense to block her.

Ming Yu: "Still, it makes sense if you were protecting your boyfriend. Now it's just the two of us facing off."

Chen Lüli looked at the Ice and Snow Queen with her defense activated, then at the Heavenly Demon on the ground. His thin lips pressed tightly together.

Lin Yu resisted stubbornly. She didn't attack again; her fingers were simply too clumsy. Ming Yu wasn't good at the game either, but she had a thick health bar, so she won. Lin Yu's game character fell right on top of Li Yin's.

Ming Yu jumped up. "Yay, we got so many more points!"

Chen Lüli: "I'm logging off."

Ming Yu: "Huh? Why?"

Chen Lüli didn't answer. He logged off.

Totally shattered.

Hahahahahahaha.

There will be another 100 red packets for this chapter. See you tomorrow.

Chapter 12

Lin Yu and Li Yin entered another round in the arena, saving up points for skins. In 2v2 mode, the focus was on the weapons. Li Yin's first match had been a little embarrassing: he hadn't lasted two seconds before being wiped out, and even being revived hadn't helped. He felt embarrassed and worried that Lin Yu would look down on him. In the second match, he began working hard to master his weapon's capabilities. Whether or not he could win, he instinctively shielded Lin Yu and marched generously to his death.

Lin Yu pressed her lips together and smiled. Although they accumulated points exceptionally slowly, she worked hard to fight too. They also encountered opponents as skilled as Chen Lüli and failed to earn a single point against them. But after a few more rounds, the points gradually piled up. When they came out of the arena, Li Yin exchanged his points for a skin box.

He opened a white knight outfit and immediately changed out of his default skin. Smiling, he asked, "Does it look good?"

Lin Yu sent a shower of flowers. "It looks good."

Li Yin thought she was truly wonderful, wonderful in every way, to have patiently played so many arena matches with him. He said, "I'll practice hard and try to make it easier for us to fight next time."

Lin Yu smiled. "Okay."

Lin Yu glanced at the time and said, "Let's get some rest. It's so late."

Li Yin checked the time. It was past two. He hurriedly said, "Okay. Good night. Kiss."

Lin Yu: "Good night."

After exiting the game, Lin Yu rubbed her fingertips. She had used her fingers more than usual tonight. Next time she wanted a skin, she had better find something like knocking on boxes, since it was simpler.

But precisely because knocking on boxes was simple, the chance of getting a skin was lower. Later on, there were more arena matches like these.

Lin Yu put down her phone, picked up her hand cream, and massaged her fingers after applying it. Then she took some body lotion and rubbed it on her legs, arms, neck, collarbones, shoulders, and the rest before going to bed.

She fell fast asleep as soon as she lay down.

A day of dating was tiring too.

The next day, at Genesis Tower.

After Star Rise's morning meeting, Chen Lüli and Jiang Yingshan left the company and went downstairs to meet a client. They entered the elevator and were talking with their gazes lowered when a figure hurried over and blocked the doors just as they were about to close. Chen Lüli and Jiang Yingshan looked up. It was Li Yin.

Li Yin wore a dark blue shirt. He was startled to see the two men in the elevator, then smiled politely, nodded to Jiang Yingshan, and greeted Chen Lüli. "President Chen."

Jiang Yingshan raised an eyebrow and glanced at Chen Lüli, his look asking, Lin Yu introduced her boyfriend to you?

Chen Lüli had his hands in his trouser pockets. His expression was cold, and he ignored Li Yin's greeting entirely. He was like a different person from the man who had said good evening the night before.

Li Yin entered the elevator.

Jiang Yingshan glanced sideways at Li Yin and sized him up. Smiling, he asked, "Your girlfriend didn't order you coffee today?"

Surprised, Li Yin looked at Jiang Yingshan.

Jiang Yingshan touched a fingertip to the spot between his brows, thinking of Lin Yu at Chen Lüli's home, the hand he had seen in the photo on Chen Lüli's phone, and the woman he had seen coming to pick him up outside the tower. He said, "I saw all the coffee your girlfriend ordered you last time."

Li Yin froze, then the tips of his ears turned red. Thinking of Lin Yu, his heart raced again. He pressed his lips together and smiled shyly. "Mm, she ordered quite a few and asked me to help her test whether they tasted good."

Jiang Yingshan narrowed his eyes.

He thought about how she had ordered coffee not only for her boyfriend but for his colleagues too, giving her boyfriend plenty of face, and she was so beautiful besides. He smiled and asked, "How did you two meet? Did you pursue her? Or did she... pursue you?"

Li Yin smiled. "Our families introduced us."

"Oh, a blind date? She's so young, and she's already going on blind dates?"