{"id":3240,"date":"2026-05-10T01:19:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T01:19:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/guide-on-how-to-fail-at-online-dating-67\/"},"modified":"2026-05-10T01:19:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T01:19:44","slug":"guide-on-how-to-fail-at-online-dating-67","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es\/chapter\/guide-on-how-to-fail-at-online-dating-67\/","title":{"rendered":"Guide on How to Fail at Online Dating 67"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Chapter 67

Jing Huan returned home, poured a cup of hot water to take his medicine, then climbed onto the bed with his laptop and pulled the blanket up to his shoulders.

Only after adjusting to a comfortable position did he look up and realize his in-game character had been standing completely still.

The two of them had stopped near Qingxuan Platform, standing quietly one behind the other.

Jing Huan canceled the follow and circled around him twice.

[Team] Little Sweet Scenery: Brother?

No response.

Perhaps he was busy with something, Jing Huan didn’t mind and rolled over to lie down while playing with his phone.

When Xiang Huaizhi returned to the dorm, Lu Hang was sitting on his bed searching for something.

“Where did you go so late at night?” Hearing the noise, Lu Hang turned around and looked at him with a confused expression.

Xiang Huaizhi couldn’t be bothered to come up with another excuse, so he reused the previous one: “Night jogging.”

Lu Hang was even more baffled: “At 10:30 p.m., you went for a night jog wearing a thick coat?”

“No?”

Lu Hang frowned and said, “Fine.”

You can even night fly if you want.

He grabbed his wallet and stuffed it into his pocket: “Xiangxiang, I’m staying next door tonight. We agreed to play cards all night\u2014don’t miss me too much.”

Xiang Huaizhi nodded: “Better make it a full week.”

“How could I bear to part with you?” Lu Hang opened the door, already halfway out, but still managed to leave with a parting remark, “Wait till I win some money\u2014I’ll treat you to a nice meal tomorrow.”

Xiang Huaizhi had just put on his headphones and didn’t catch what he said clearly: “Close the door.”

Xiang Huaizhi noticed that the teammate had already stopped following and was now standing right beside him.

He opened the chat channel, where there was a record of the other person calling him “brother,” sent ten minutes ago.

Jing Huan was awakened by the sound of his phone hitting the floor.

His eyes snapped open, filled with confusion, the corners slightly red from drowsiness. The strong overhead light made him squint, and it took him a while to fully wake up.

Jing Huan rolled over and reached down, fumbling a few times before picking up the phone that had fallen to the floor. His first instinct was to check the time.

    4:23\u3002

No way.

He slept until the afternoon??

He covered his eyes and rubbed them gently before unlocking his phone to check his messages.

Xiang: Had to make a quick trip to the supermarket, just got back.

The timestamp was yesterday at 10:30 PM.

Xiao Jing: Gege, I fell asleep last night QAQ Good afternoon…

The status “typing…” quickly appeared above the chat box. Jing Huan lay still, quietly waiting for a reply.

Xiang: Afternoon?

Xiang: It’s half past four in the morning now.

Jing Huan was stunned for a moment, pulled open the curtains beside him to take a look\u2026 it really was.

Xiao Jing ya: I got it wrong T\u25bdT!!

Xiao Jing ya: …But, brother, it’s already half past four in the morning, why aren\u2019t you asleep yet?

Xiang Huaizhi didn’t understand why he was suffering from insomnia.

However, since he couldn’t sleep, he didn’t force himself. With no classes tomorrow, he simply brought his laptop to bed and randomly started watching a movie.

Just as he began the second film, his phone screen lit up.

Xiang: Watching movies, why are you awake?

Xiaojing: My phone fell on the floor and startled me awake…

Xiang Huaizi pictured the scene in his mind, and the tense corners of his mouth finally relaxed a little.

The temperature had dropped sharply these past few days, and it started raining in the middle of the night. Xiang Huaizi had been trying to fall asleep without turning on the lights, so the glow from his computer and phone were the only sources of light in the room.

Xiang: Mmm, go back to sleep.

Xiao Jing: Okay, big bro should sleep early too. Goodnight.

This was the second “goodnight” of the evening.

Xiang Huaizhi typed an “Mm” but then remembered what Jing Huan had said that evening.

After a moment, he lowered his gaze and deleted the “Mm.”

Xiang: Good night.

Xiang: Put your phone away. See you tomorrow.

This should be… enthusiastic enough, right?

Xiang Huaizhi had never consciously changed his attitude toward anyone before and was a bit unsure. His fingers hovered over the stickers.

Xiao Jing: (*\u00b0\u25bd\u00b0*)??

Xiao Jing: Okay, snuggles.

Xiang: Mm.

Jing Huan stared at the word “Hmm” and began to doubt whether he was dreaming.

Does Heart’s Desire even know what “snuggling” means?

Before, he wouldn’t even let me send a simple kissing emoji!

Perhaps the sound of his phone hitting the floor was too loud, or maybe the rain outside was too noisy\u2014whatever the reason, Jing Huan suddenly felt wide awake.

So he turned over, his computer still on in front of the pillow. Heart’s Desire had taken him into Penglai Wonderland, where the two stood on the bridge at the top of the map. Despite being such a remote location, it was surrounded by a crowd of people.

Noticing that “Don’t Ask the Return Date” was also nearby, Jing Huan instinctively opened the guild’s WeChat group.

Sure enough, he didn\u2019t have to scroll far before seeing his own name.

Don’t Ask the Return Date: [Screenshot] Are these two already at the stage where they team up just to AFK farm EXP in Penglai Wonderland?!

Fate’s Peach Blossom: …If in the future any hall leader in the guild can\u2019t resist the urge to kill Guiqi, please don\u2019t involve our team. The others are innocent\u2014just go after him alone.

Mo Wen Guiqi: How could that be? Hall Leader Qiufeng is so easygoing, Xiang Shen doesn\u2019t check the group chat, and Little Sweet Jing won\u2019t blame me either [shy]

Qiufeng: That\u2019s hard to say [cleaver emoji]

Maimai\u4e0d\u8bed: Their location is so remote\u2014how did you know they were AFK here?

Don’t Ask When I’m Back: Saw this on the forum\u2014just one screenshot and those folks managed to chat over two hundred replies. Lord Xiang is really something.

\u2026\u2026\u2026

Jing Huan was already used to being bossed around by Don’t Ask When I’m Back, so he felt no emotion and casually opened the forum.

Don’t Ask When I’m Back wasn’t wrong\u2014the original poster of that thread did only share one image and even blurred their character’s appearance.

He scrolled the mouse, quickly browsing through the replies.

11L: What’s so strange about that? In our server’s Penglai Wonderland, there are tons of married couples teaming up to AFK farm\u2014free dog food for everyone.

12L: The key point is these two aren’t married at all.

33L: Why even make a post about this? Wasting forum resources? Isn’t it common knowledge that Little Sweet Scenery has a thing for Heart’s Yearning?

38L: …But the party leader is Heart’s Yearning. By all appearances, wasn’t it Heart’s Yearning who brought Little Sweet Scenery into Penglai Wonderland?

47L: Reply to 38, who knows how Xao Tian Jing acts all clingy and whiny in private… Probably Even Heart Towards Her got fed up with her pestering too.

Jing Huan closed the post after reading this.

Although he had been trying to hypnotize himself into believing that the ID “Xao Tian Jing” wasn’t actually him, it clearly didn’t work\u2014at the very least, seeing posts like this still infuriated him.

So angry he couldn’t sleep.

A few seconds later, he opened the game interface and angrily clicked “Leave Team.”

I’ll just say I disconnected tomorrow.

Having settled on an excuse, he steered the little fox fairy toward the exit of Penglai Wonderland.

[Friend] Heart-Yearning: ?

[Friend] Sweet Little Scene: ……..

So why haven’t you gone to bed yet, old man, and are even staring at the game interface???

[Friend] Heart’s Desire: Weren’t you going to sleep?

[Friend] Sweet Scenery: …The sound of rain outside is too loud, can’t fall asleep.

[Friend] Heart’s Desire: Then what do you plan to do?

[Friend] Sweet Scenery: Not sure, maybe go window shopping.

[Friend] Heart’s Desire: It’s past midnight, wanna do today’s dailies?

Dailies dailies, is that all you ever do!

What a boring man!

[Friend] SweetScenery: Don’t feel like it. These past few days it’s been nothing but PvP and dailies, I can’t even bear to look at our faction master anymore QAQ

[Friend] Heart’s Desire: Then who do you want to meet?

[Friend] Sweet Scenery: I want to meet you, big brother (*^\u25bd^*)

As soon as these words were sent, the black-robed man on the bridge moved.

[Heart’s Desire has invited you to join the party. Yes, No.]

“\u2026\u2026”

Shit.

I was just being polite, I didn’t actually want to see you!!

Xiao Tian Jing escaped for less than two minutes before being caught and dragged back into the team.

Jing Huan really wanted to screenshot the pop-up and show it to those haters.

It’s your Xiang Shen who keeps inviting me every day!!!

I did NOT want to team up with him and go AFK!!

Having remained silent for a long time, Xiang Huaizhi’s voice was slightly hoarse: “Not sleeping anymore?”

“Mmm, really can’t sleep.” Jing Huan paused, “Brother, weren’t you watching a movie?”

“It’s already turned off.” Xiang Huai didn\u2019t return to the bridge but instead held his hand and walked toward the exit.

Jing Huan asked, “Where are we going?”

“To complete a mission.”

“…” So you didn\u2019t actually listen to my refusal at all, did you?

Never mind, Jing Huan thought as he propped his chin up. There really wasn\u2019t much to do in the middle of the night.

Heart\u2019s Yearning led him back to the main city, heading straight toward the teleportation NPC.

Just as Jing Huan was about to start a movie to kill time, the game scenery suddenly shifted\u2014they had entered a special map.

The developers of Nine Heroes put some thought into it, creating unique event maps for every special occasion. The Matchmaking Tree they were now standing under was one such location. By interacting with the NPC beneath the tree, players could accept the “Lovers of the World” quest.

Jing Huan hadn’t even processed what was happening when the quest popped up first.

[Matchmaking Fairy: I heard that Ru Mo (Fallflower Valley 12,111) has always deeply admired the Scholar (Main City Bookstore 12,22). Please deliver a bouquet of peach blossoms to the Scholar on her behalf.]

Xin Xiang Wang Zhi took him to the general store to buy the peach blossoms. Jing Huan couldn’t help but call out, “Brother…”

“Mm.”

“Do you know what kind of event this is?”

“All the lovers in the world.”

“…” Jing Huan felt there might be some misunderstanding and said tactfully, “The EXP rewards for this event are very low.”

“I know.” Xiang Huai pursed his lips. “You don\u2019t want to do it?”

Jing Huan blinked. He really… wasn\u2019t very keen on doing it.

Who would want to do such a tedious process with ridiculously low rewards? It’s a total waste of time!

“I do.” His eyes darted playfully as he chuckled, “I want to do it with you, brother.”

Xiang Huaizhi’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly. Without another word, he took his hand and set off toward the wilderness map to find the scholar.

[Scholar: You’re too kind, Rumo girl. Please deliver this letter to her for me.]

[Rumo: Ah, this is indeed his handwriting (blushing). So the Matchmaker Deity has heard my wish? Thank you both. Please tell him I’ve received the letter.]

[Scholar: You two have worked hard. I just bought a hairpin on the main street that I think would suit Rumo perfectly. Could you deliver it to her for me?]

[Rumo: What a beautiful hairpin! I’ve finished reading his letter. Here’s my reply\u2014could you also deliver a peach blossom to Scholar Brother for me while you’re at it?]

Jing Huan: “…”

Jing Huan: “?”

Asking us to deliver flowers\u2014at least give us money for the peach blossom, huh??

And what, am I a carrier pigeon or something? Don’t you two have legs or what??

What kind of crappy event is this anyway??

Jing Huan was too exhausted to complain. After several back-and-forth trips between the two, they finally reached the final confession stage.

[Rumo: This is a lock of my hair. Please deliver this along with the letter to the scholar, young hero.]

Jing Huan let out a sigh of relief, thinking this goddamn mission was finally about to be completed.

\u3010Scholar: (Surprised) Wh-what? Lady Rumor actually has such feelings for me?\u3011???

Otherwise, why would they send you flowers? Why would they write you letters?

Jing Huan found it amusing and genuinely laughed out loud, then couldn’t resist playfully teasing: “I feel the same way about you, brother.”

Hearing this, Xiang Huaizhi paused, and the impatience that had built up while doing this tedious task gradually dissipated.

\u3010Scholar: What should I do? I have no romantic feelings for Lady Rumo.\u3011

Jing Huan was once again full of confusion.

If you have no interest in her, why did you reply to the letter? Why give her a hairpin?

\u3010Scholar: The thing is… Lady Rumo bears a striking resemblance to my late wife, so she holds a more special place in my heart than most. I truly didn’t expect this misunderstanding to happen… Here are the peach blossoms and letter she sent me. Please help me return them to her. I really cannot accept her feelings.\u3011

“\u2026\u2026”

Got it.

Even a lovers’ event ended up with a bad ending.

Truly worthy of the Nine Heroes.

After completing the quest, Jing Huan glanced at the experience points. They had been running back and forth for nearly ten minutes, only to gain a few thousand experience points.

What the hell… this is such a waste of time.

After turning in the quest, Jing Huan tentatively said, “Bro, the experience points for this event are really low.”

“Yeah,” Xiang Huai glanced at the stats, “but the intimacy points increase really fast.”

They completed one round of the quest and gained 20 intimacy points.

“What’s the point,” Jing Huan said casually, “you won’t marry me in-game anyway. Our intimacy level maxes out at 9999.”

Xiang Huaizhi paused his mouse movements.

He lifted his eyelids slightly, staring at the little fox spirit’s tail behind her, then after a long pause asked, “When did you want to get married?”

“You and Lu Tiaotiao also have 9999 intimacy. Even if we reach that, there’s no difference between me and him in your eyes… Huh?”

Jing Huan suddenly widened his eyes, suspecting the sound of rain outside had affected his hearing.

He slowly reached for the headphone wire, pulling the microphone close to his lips, and asked uncertainly, “What… did you just say?”

Xiang Huaizhi suddenly recalled the scent on Jing Huan.

Carried by the wind into his senses was the faint fragrance of shampoo.

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