Chapter 69

The wedding ceremony ended, and the two game characters returned to their original positions. The surrounding players instinctively left them some space. The couple stood intimately close, gazing deeply into each other’s eyes, presenting a picture of perfect harmony.

But it was only surface-deep.

Just the world chat channel alone had already exploded into chaos.

[World] Sea King Bro: Holy shit!! I knew things weren’t that simple!!!

[World] Love Congee: Hard to believe. If it really wasn’t him before, why didn’t he clarify after getting his account back?

[World] Unknown Cave Master: Those who don’t believe must be from the merged servers, right? God Xiang has been in this server for so many years and always kept a low profile. It was only around March this year that his style suddenly changed—I suspected back then that someone else was using the account.

[World] Little Strawberry: Now that you mention it, it does make sense. But why didn’t he clarify?? Xian Mengmeng was out there playing the victim and acting pitiful, while God Xiang said he had already communicated with the victim and was willing to compensate… So what was Xian Mengmeng thinking?? How could she even go after Xiao Tianjing??

[World] MyExIsDead: HAHAHAHAHA Xian Mengmeng dated a leveling service for months HAHAHAHA!!!

[World] Ji Xiaonian: Anyway, Xianxian is also a victim, OK? Just saying “it was the leveling service” absolves responsibility? Shouldn’t the account owner take responsibility when something happens to their own account?

[World] Luoluoya: So how should they take responsibility towards Shen? Money compensation isn’t enough, should they pay with their life?

[World] NotYourCupOfTea: Stop arguing, isn’t Xiao Tianjing the real victim here?

[World] Momo: What’s so tragic about Little Sweet Scene? She just got married to Heart’s Desire, and right now she’s whispering sweet nothings with her hubby in front of the Matchmaker.

It felt like an eternity before Jing Huan managed to pull half of his wandering soul back into place.

The moment he regained his senses, this was the first message he saw.

Of course, there were no whispered sweet nothings. After the wedding ceremony, the party chat fell into complete silence.

Jing Huan struggled to move his mouse, blocking all channel chats—instantly, half the world became quiet.

Then he buried himself in digesting the announcement Xiang Wangzhi had just posted.

From March to August, it wasn’t him—his sister’s incident… happened during those months.

His first thought was that Xiang Wangzhi was lying.

The person earlier was right—if the account hasn’t been used by its real owner these past few months, why would Heart Towards the Moon take the blame for it?!

No one’s that stupid!

Jing Huan hesitated but decided to get to the bottom of it. He said, “Bro…”

Shit.

No.

Why is he still calling this person “brother”?!

Hearing this address, Xiang Huaizhi slightly furrowed his brows, then asked him, “Did you see the announcement?”

“……” Jing Huan’s heart sank, “I saw it… What does it mean?”

His voice was trembling.

Fortunately, it wasn’t obvious. Had it not been for his unsteady grip on the mouse, he might not have even noticed it himself.

Recalling the bold words Jing Huan had said to Xian Mengmeng, Xiang Huaizhi asked, “If I weren’t a scumbag, would you still like me?”

Jing Huan felt like he was in hell.

Could he say he didn’t like him?

He couldn’t.

“Of course I like it.” Jing Huan spoke each word with difficulty.

Xiang Huai Zhi gave a faint “Mm” and said casually, “This account was given to a leveling service before. I’ve never been with anyone else.”

Jing Huan’s vision went dark.

Jing Huan felt as if struck by lightning.

A few seconds later, he forced himself to calm down—what Heart’s Desire said might not necessarily be true. What if he just had a sudden impulse to whitewash his own image?

“But the gameplay videos you watched were all from when I personally logged into the account.” Xiang Huaizhi suddenly spoke up again.

Jing Huan’s train of thought was interrupted: “…Huh?”

Xiang Huaizhi explained: “So you don’t have to worry about liking the wrong person.”

“……”

It was then that he remembered the first excuse he had used to approach Heart’s Desire was being captivated by his combat videos.

Jing Huan felt like one foot was already in the coffin.

No way!

He would never admit defeat so easily!

The friend messages were completely flooded, every single one saying “Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations.”

Congratulations my ass!!!

Jing Huan closed all these messages and finally found the person he was looking for.

Lu Tiaotiao: Congrats, Xiao Jingjing! Perseverance has finally paid off!

Xiaotianjing: …………Yep 🙂

Xiaotianjing: But is what’s on the horn true?

Xiaotianjing: It’s not that I don’t trust you, bro, it’s just that I’m a bit… surprised.

Lutiaotiao: Hahaha, I get it. Don’t worry, it’s absolutely true. We have the booster’s address and phone number, but the guy’s gone into hiding and won’t even go home. That’s why Xiangxiang hasn’t been able to catch him yet.

Little Sweet Scene: ..

Lu Tiaotiao: Fairy Mengmeng is aware of it too, but that woman is missing a screw in her head. She probably just can’t accept it, which is why she keeps pestering you.

Little Sweet Scene: “…I remember, wasn’t there someone named Ran Xin? Was she scammed too?”

Lu Tiaotiao: You even know about this? Yeah, Xiangxiang also contacted her. He was planning to compensate her with money, but the girl was really stubborn—said it was her own bad luck and deleted her account that very night before leaving.

Okay.

Very good.

Jing Huan had already laid flat in his coffin.

Gripping his mouse, he thought to himself that if he turned on the video and kowtowed to Heart’s Yearning to sincerely apologize, maybe he could at least keep his body intact.

With a dazed expression, he was imagining a hundred and one ways he could die when suddenly the game screen brightened.

【Heart’s Desire set off a lifetime’s most beloved firework for you.】

【System Announcement: Heart’s Desire has set off a lifetime’s most beloved firework for Sweet Scenery at the Matchmaker’s Temple, increasing their intimacy by 999 points.】

Burst after burst of fireworks soared into the sky, illuminating the Marriage Tree beside the Matchmaker’s Temple, and also stunning Jing Huan beneath it.

The lifetime’s most beloved fireworks could only be purchased by newlyweds on their wedding day—not too expensive, just a fucking 9999 gold.

9999 gold, this price is enough for this bundle of fireworks to light up the entire main city and include a server-wide announcement.

Jing Huan told himself to stay calm—9999 gold was still something he could afford to lose.

“Bro…”

[Xinxiangwangzhi set off a bundle of “Lifetime Beloved Fireworks” x9 for you.] ??????

Jing Huan watched helplessly as their intimacy level skyrocketed, feeling his heart bleed with every point gained.

He barely managed to find his voice: “Stop releasing them!!”

If you release any more, I won’t be able to afford the compensation!!!

“Mm,” Xiang Huaizhi said, “they’re all released now.”

Jing Huan’s voice sounded weak: “Bro, I… I have something to tell you…”

“Tell me later.” The sound of fireworks was too loud, and Xiang Huaizhi only vaguely caught the last sentence.

He opened the volume control and turned down the game sound, then continued reading the game strategy post.

I can’t wait any longer!

Let me speak! Let me die quickly and be reborn sooner!!!

Jing Huan steeled his heart and opened the voice changer control panel, just about to turn this thing off.

[Matchmaker: Heart’s Yearning and Little Sweet Scene have prepared a flowing banquet for the guests, lasting for twenty-four hours.]

[Current] Mo Wen Gui Qi: ?!

[Current] My Favorite Peach Tea: [collapsed in awe]

[Current] Spring Xiao: [thumbs up]

[Current] Sweet Little Scene: ??????

Running buffet wedding banquet, 999 gold per hour, 30 tables in total. Anyone in the server can take a seat as long as there’s space. Each person gets 30 seconds with a minor buff effect.

Jing Huan was dumbfounded.

He slowly opened his phone’s text messages, glanced at his bank card balance, and his eyes were filled with despair.

When he looked up again, he realized they were no longer at the Matchmaker’s Temple.

Jing Huan was led to the front of the sedan chair carriers.

Having a vague idea of what he was about to do, Jing Huan’s heart tightened as he opened his mouth to say, “Bro…”

[Wedding Sedan Bearers: Today marks the grand wedding day of Heart’s Desire and Little Sweet Scene! May they be of one heart forever and remain a devoted couple! The bride shall now board the sedan—]

Jing Huan was forcibly stuffed into the wedding sedan.

The wedding sedan was luxuriously decorated, with the bridal procession ahead being grand and spectacular. Heart’s Desire sat atop a white horse, wearing black robes tied with a large red floral ball.

This is the most luxurious tier of wedding sedan, dropping silver or items every few steps. Jing Huan wasn’t sure of the exact price, but it certainly wasn’t cheap.

In all his years playing Nine Heroes, this was the most extravagant wedding he’d ever witnessed.

Yet he wasn’t the groom, nor was he one of the spectators scrambling to collect the sedan’s scattered silver.

He was the bride.

What the hell is all this!!!

Just as Jing Huan was scratching his head in confusion, a voice finally came through the headphones.

“I checked a lot of strategy posts and asked some people.”

Jing Huan froze for a moment before slowly squeezing out a response: “What…?”

Xiang Huaizhi said, “There seem to be only these few steps for the wedding. I wasn’t sure what kind you wanted, so I prepared everything.”

Jing Huan: “…”

“I originally wanted to set off the name fireworks you gave me last time, but there wasn’t enough time. I’ll make it up to you next time.”

Jing Huan choked up.

His mind was a mess now, with emotions like guilt and shame all rushing to his throat, leaving him speechless.

“You… didn’t have to go this big.”

Jing Huan could bet that within half an hour, this wedding would be known by everyone across the entire server of Nine Heroes.

There might even be haters accusing Heart Towards Him of flaunting wealth. On forums, people hiding behind anonymous usernames dare to say anything.

Xiang Huai-zhi didn’t care about these things. He simply wanted, in the purest way, to give Jing Huan a perfect wedding.

But he had never gotten married in-game before and didn’t know how to make the other party happy. So, he could only gather the best of everything and present it all to him at once.

Xiang Huaizhi looked at the wedding sedan behind him and asked, “Do you like it?”

Jing Huan was utterly ashamed, wishing the ground would swallow him, his heart pounding wildly.

He didn’t know what to do.

If he came clean with Heart’s Yearning, this grand wedding banquet would turn from a romantic tale into a laughingstock.

Xin Xiangwangzhi might immediately drag him to divorce, then delete him as a friend, and hunt him down across the entire server.

Jing Huan wasn’t afraid of being hunted down—he was the one who mistook the person and messed up. Even if Xin Xiangwangzhi slaughtered him a hundred times, it wouldn’t be excessive.

But…

But still.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Xiang Huaizhi asked.

Even if they were going to have it out, it couldn’t be inside the wedding sedan.

Jing Huan forced himself to say, “…I like it, thank you.”

The wedding sedan made a round through the main city before returning to its starting point.

The two stepped down from the wedding sedan, surrounded by a crowd of people all offering their congratulations.

Xiang Huaizhi said, “There’s one more thing.”

Jing Huan froze. “No need! I’m already very satisfied! Really!”

Xiang Huaizhi paused briefly, then let out a short laugh. “No… it’s not about the wedding.”

Jing Huan: “What is that…”

He couldn’t take any more tonight.

Xin Xiang Wang Zhi took him home.

“Once married, we can only live in the same house,” Xiang Huai Zhi asked. “Do you want to live in a bigger one, or should I move into your small house with you?”

Jing Huan’s mind went blank, and he followed up with a question: “Where do you want to live?”

“Come live with me.”

“……”

Jing Huan felt his face burning. He ran a hand through his hair and let out a long sigh. “Brother… no, I mean… ah, forget it. I’m just a little curious… why did you suddenly agree to marry me?”

At this moment, Jing Huan was just waiting for Heart’s Desire to say something like “I got tired of you pestering me,” so he could immediately confess, apologize, and offer up his own head.

But Xīnxiàngwǎngzhī remained silent for a long time.

Then, in a calm and steady voice, he stated softly by his ear, “Because I like you.”