Chapter 39

Lin Yu met his eyes and nodded. Chen Lüli saw the blush at the roots of her ears.

Chen Lüli brushed a strand of her hair with his fingertips. "How strange. It's my first relationship, and I have to sneak around like this."

Lin Yu heard the protest in his voice.

She pretended not to.

She stepped forward and kissed the corner of his mouth.

Chen Lüli: "..."

Hah.

She always used that trick.

His voice was low and languid. "What good is a peck? Only a real kiss counts."

Lin Yu shot him a look.

Chen Lüli watched her for a few seconds, smiling without a word. Soon, the elevator reached the forty-sixth floor. Star Rise occupied four office floors in Block A of Genesis Tower, and the forty-sixth was its highest. It mainly housed Chen Lüli's and Jiang Yingshan's offices. They stepped out of the elevator.

They entered the office area.

Lin Yu had been here before. It had not changed much, and she knew where his office was. But today, he led her not to his office, but to a door beside it.

Two beeps sounded, and the door opened.

Lin Yu took one look inside and saw a holographic space. She froze, then tugged his hand, a little excited. "Holographic?"

Chen Lüli glanced at her. "Not entirely, but we're working on it. Want to try?"

Lin Yu nodded.

Her eyes were shining.

Seeing her like that,

Chen Lüli wanted to kiss her again.

He looked away and fetched the equipment for her. Lin Yu set down her bag and put it on. Chen Lüli took her bag and placed it safely to one side, then adjusted the VR headset she was wearing. She tilted her head up and waited obediently, her lips rosy. When he finished adjusting it, he lowered his head and kissed her.

Chapter 39

Wearing the headset, Lin Yu felt a sudden touch on her lips. From the soft sensation, she knew at once it was him. So this was what he was like when he was in love.

Lin Yu smiled. She could not see him through the headset, but her senses were all the more sensitive.

In the darkness, she pictured him.

Memories of him from before flashed through her mind. She was a little happy: she was the first person to experience this different side of him.

Chen Lüli had no idea his girlfriend was lost in all sorts of thoughts. He finished fitting the VR headset on her, then took the controllers and strapped them on her hands, one on the left and one on the right.

They were close, and with her hands in his, he could see them clearly, without desire clouding his gaze. Lin Yu's fingers were slender and long, beautiful to look at. Back when they were good friends, he had thought her features beautiful and had even saved a photo of her rubbing Xiao Diu's fur. Those hands were in the photo, and Jiang Yingshan had praised them too. Only now did Chen Lüli confirm it by touch.

Her hands were not only beautiful; they were also soft to hold, bony without lacking beauty.

They made him want to take a bite.

He suppressed the urge, looked away, and focused on fastening the controllers for her.

Once he was done, Lin Yu turned around, not daring to move. Chen Lüli turned her to face the projection in front of her. Lin Yu asked softly, "Has it started?"

"Just a moment." His pleasant voice came through the headset, somewhat lazy and unhurried.

Lin Yu said, "Oh," and stood there obediently.

Chen Lüli took another set of equipment and put it on. He was much quicker getting his own gear on, his movements neat and efficient. Once he was ready, he turned off the lights in the room.

The room went dark, but the projection before them slowly lit up.

A gust of wind whistled past her ears, accompanied by waves of cold. In the blink of an eye, Lin Yu found herself in a frozen wilderness. A steep cliff stood beside her, a snowy path lined with dead trees lay ahead, and a forest stretched to one side, everything covered in snow. The wind howled, and it felt eighty percent real.

Lin Yu could even hear heavy footsteps not far away, as if a black bear were approaching. Startled, she instinctively wanted to call Chen Lüli.

Someone appeared beside her, and Chen Lüli's voice came through the headset. "Don't panic."

Only then did Lin Yu realize he was right beside her.

She breathed a sigh of relief. Chen Lüli's controller touched Lin Yu, and he said, "There's a gun in your backpack, and other weapons too. Pick one."

Only then did Lin Yu notice the backpack icon in the upper left corner.

She opened it and looked through the weapons on the large screen.

Chen Lüli moved his controller lightly, and in two or three motions he changed both his and Lin Yu's clothes. Once they had changed, the icy chill faded.

Lin Yu exclaimed, "That's amazing."

The corners of Chen Lüli's mouth lifted slightly, but he did not answer.

A few seconds later, Lin Yu chose her weapon, and another prompt appeared before her.

[CLL invites you to become his lover. YES or NO]

Lin Yu was shocked. "Lover?"

Chen Lüli's voice came through. "The code isn't finished yet. 'Lover' means a romantic partner. Once we're linked, we'll each get a matching couple's bracelet. Your location and safety status will be synced to me. If we accidentally get separated, I can use the bracelet's signal to find you right away. From then on, whenever we form a team, whether you're online or not, a place will be reserved for you at my side."

Hearing this, Lin Yu understood.

She immediately selected YES.

A silver couple's bracelet appeared on her wrist. Lin Yu raised her hand to look at it and saw that he had one too, worn over his outer sleeve. The two bracelets were identical and matched perfectly. She quietly admired them for a moment.

"Shh, a black bear's coming," Chen Lüli said.

He shielded Lin Yu, and she tightened her grip on her gun. Chen Lüli glanced at her weapon and switched his own to a short blade. "I'll deal with it. You shoot from behind me."

Lin Yu asked nervously, "What if I miss?"

"Take aim before you shoot."

"What if I hit you?"

Chen Lüli said, "I'll lose health."

Lin Yu panicked. "Aren't we a couple? How can you still lose health?"

Chen Lüli chuckled. "If you get sick of me, you can kill your husband in the game."

Lin Yu was astonished. "You can do that?"

She pounded Chen Lüli's game character with her fists a few times. The prompt [Flirt with him or kill him] appeared, and Lin Yu immediately asked, "What happens if I choose to kill you?"

"I'll be kicked out of the game."

He asked with a smile, "Do you really want to kill me? If you kill me, how could I feel at ease leaving you here alone?"

Lin Yu muttered, "I won't kill you, I won't."

She chose to flirt.

After she made her choice, his character pulled hers into an embrace. Lin Yu felt warmth around her waist, not much different from real life, and the roots of her ears reddened.

There was no time for them to continue flirting, though. The upper-left corner showed that the danger level had reached 99 percent, the display glowing red. Danger was drawing near. Just as Lin Yu tightened her grip on the gun, Chen Lüli pulled her behind him to protect her. The black bear came running at them, bearing down like Mount Tai. It leaped and crashed down toward Chen Lüli. Lin Yu was so nervous she nearly screamed, and a warning burst from her lips. Chen Lüli rolled over and charged straight at it with his short blade. "Shoot when you see your chance," he said.

Lin Yu stumbled backward in a panic, clutching the gun and watching the two locked in combat. Her gun shook, and she could not get a clear shot. The black bear threw Chen Lüli to the ground, and Lin Yu's heart ached. Biting her lip in tension, she asked, "What do I do?"

Chen Lüli got back up, his tone gentle. "Take it slow. Shoot when it feels right. Don't panic."

With that, he charged at the black bear again. How could Lin Yu possibly stay calm? When she saw the bear open its jaws and bite down, she closed her eyes. Bang, bang, bang-she fired three shots.

Boom-the black bear fell.

Lin Yu opened her eyes, and they lit up.

Chen Lüli got up and walked toward her. His health had dropped to just twenty percent. As he replenished it, he picked her up and lifted her high. "Nice shooting."

Lin Yu was delighted. "I brought it down," she said with a smile.

"Yes. Three shots, all hitting vital points."

Lin Yu had always been clumsy at competitive games and had never had a moment of glory like this. Seeing all the rewards dropped by the black bear go into her own backpack, she smiled. "It really was me. I killed it."

Chen Lüli put her down and smiled as he wrapped a bandage around his wrist. "Yes, it was all thanks to you."

Lin Yu had originally been afraid that she might actually hit him and make him lose health, or fail to hit anything no matter how much she shot. Now her confidence soared. Chen Lüli said, "Come on, let's keep going. We'll kill a few more and fill your backpack."

"Okay," Lin Yu said happily.

On the rest of their journey through the snowy wilderness in Extreme Survival, they walked from daylight into night. Lin Yu's blood was boiling with excitement as she played. The holographic sensations felt so real that she could not help admiring the engineers who had built the code and instinctively praised them. Chen Lüli gave a faint smile. He had written the initial code, but he did not say so for now. He would tell her once it was finished.

When they finished and took off their VR headsets, Lin Yu still felt she had not had enough. Her hair was a little messy from wearing the headset, though, and Chen Lüli noticed as he took off his own equipment. He reached out to straighten it for her. Just then, a knock came from outside the door.

It seemed someone had tried the door, found it locked from the inside, and had no choice but to knock.

Lin Yu paused.

She blinked. "Who is it? There was hardly anyone at the company when we came in."

Chen Lüli glanced at her and narrowed his eyes slightly without speaking. He went to open the door. The person outside knocked again and again, quite rhythmically.

The lights were on in the holographic space, but it was still dim. As soon as the door was pulled open, light streamed in from outside. Jiang Yingshan saw Chen Lüli and stopped with his curled fingers in midair. He raised an eyebrow. "You're here? Why did you lock-?"

He did not finish the word.

Lin Yu peeked out from behind Chen Lüli. Her beautiful eyes were like stars, still carrying some of the heat from playing the game.

The moment Jiang Yingshan saw her eyes, he was a little dazed, but he quickly recovered. He raised an eyebrow, his gaze shifting as he looked at Chen Lüli. He should have said earlier that they were on a date in here.

Chen Lüli folded his arms and said nothing, glancing sideways at Lin Yu.

When Lin Yu saw Jiang Yingshan, she smiled and blinked. "Hey~ I heard your company had holographic technology, so he brought me to try it."

Jiang Yingshan played along. "Oh, I see. But it's only half-finished. Brother Lü treats you pretty well, bringing you to try it when it's only half-finished. Do you like competitive games?"

Lin Yu swallowed. She did not particularly like them, did she? But if she played them, she did enjoy them. She smiled and nodded. "Mm, I like them quite a bit."