<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chapter 63
After finishing the game, Lu Hang inexplicably got a mouthful of dog food and couldn’t swallow the frustration. After turning off the lights and getting into bed, he immediately exposed them in the guild group.
Roads Stretch Far: Damn it! Little Jing actually said it was a secret! What the hell! Do you think me and Chi Chi are dead or something!!?
No Asking When to Return: Hahahaha, who told you to bring them along?
Fate’s Peach Blossom Tea: You brought this upon yourself.
Sweet Little Jing: Oh my god Roads Stretch Far you were actually eavesdropping >.<!
Lu Tiaotiao: ? ? ?
Lu Yaoyao: I’m gonna kill you.
Little Sweet View: Ahhh, brother QAQ
Heart’s Desire: Hmm
Xiaotianjing: Lu Tiaotiao wants to kill me!!
Lu Hang looked up and saw his dear roommate in the same position, lying on his side while holding his phone.
“Wait, why are you peeking at the screen without saying anything? So reserved?” Lu Hang couldn’t help but ask.
Xiang Huaizhi didn’t even lift his eyes: “I already said it.”
“Right, you only came out when Xiao Jingjing called you,” Lu Hang suddenly asked, “When are you two getting married?”
Xiang Huaizhi’s typing hand paused for a moment.
“Why should we get married?”
Lu Hang was stunned: “You’re already together, and not getting married? What, can’t spare the hundred gold for the wedding? I’ll cover it for you.”
Hearing the first part of his sentence, Xiang Huaizhi’s heart stirred slightly, his voice calm and steady: “We’re not together.”
“He didn’t…” Lu Hang couldn’t help but prop himself up, “You’re not together? Then what were you two whispering about just now??”
Xiang Huaizhi: “He’s always like this.”
“She’s always been like that, but you’re the one who walked over and crouched down in front of her to listen…”
Xiang Huaizhi silently stared at his phone screen, appearing focused, yet not absorbing a single word from the conversation displayed.
It was indeed he who walked over on his own.
Not out of helplessness, nor compromise\u2014he wanted to go over, to get closer, to find out what secret words that person had to say to him.
On the other end, Lu Hang was still muttering: “You even gave her guns\u2014two of them! Usually, when I ask you for some bullets, you just tell me to get lost.”
Xiang Huaizhi listened absentmindedly and was about to interrupt him when he saw a familiar pink avatar appear on the screen.
Xiao Tianjing: Just wanted to ask everyone~ When will the Lovers’ event approximately start? (^\u25bd^*)
Love knows no bounds: It’s said to be at the end of the month.
Lu Hang: “And there’s the thing about loving Mai Mai the most…”
“What’s the ‘Lovers’ Event’?” Xiang Huaizhi interrupted him.
“Huh?” Lu Hang was momentarily stunned. “Don’t tell me you don’t know about this? It’s the event where you can farm couple intimacy points.”
Of course Xiang Huaizhi knew the event details, he just didn’t know what it was called.
He uttered an “Oh” and continued reading the guild group messages.
Jing Huan was already chatting with the guild members. He didn’t often surface in the guild group chat, but whenever he spoke, he always managed to lure out all the lurking members. That was just how he was – when he wanted to, he could instantly hit it off with anyone.
Don’t Ask When I’ll Return: @SweetScenery I heard Autumn Maple took you to the arena and lost points all night, yet you didn’t cut ties with him?
SweetScenery: How do you know everything..
Autumn Maple: @Spring Xiao, help me kick this Guiqi out. Not only does he gossip, but he also tries to drive a wedge between me and Xiao Jingjing.
Mo Wen Guiqi: Don’t do that, what’s the relationship between you two?
Xiao Tianjing: Just friends, huh..
Autumn Maple: We’re just friends now, but who knows about the future. [shy]
Sweet Scenery: ??
Don’t Ask About the Return Date: So why were you two alone on YY that night? Has the Nine Heroes voice channel stopped being enough for you??
Autumn Maple: Don’t ask, unless you want to be sent to the penalty box.
Sweet Scenery: He said the game couldn’t recognize his microphone.
Love is sharing food with you: You actually believe this..
Lu Hang was also looking at the group chat and couldn’t help but comment, “Autumn Maple is really shameless.”
Xiang Huaizhi had already closed the faction chat and opened the dialog box with the pink avatar.
Xiang: No classes tomorrow?
Little Jing: Yes, I have two in the morning T\u25bdT
Go to sleep then.
Xiao Jing: Okay, big bro o(*\u00b0\u25bd\u00b0*)o Let’s sleep together~~
Xiao Jing: Snuggles~
Xiang Huaizi read these two sentences over and over, then replied with a punctuation-less “Goodnight.” He threw off the covers, got out of bed, picked up the glass of water on the table, and gulped down half of it in one go.
In the guild chat group.
Mo Wen Gui Qi: Such an obvious lie, yet Xiao Tian Jing actually believed it. What does this say?
Fate’s Peach Tea: It means if you keep talking nonsense, you’ll be hunted down by Lord Xiang tomorrow.
Don’t Ask About the Return Date: That won’t happen. If Lord Xiang wanted to kill me, he would have done it long ago. Since they haven’t made a move for so long, it really means there’s nothing to worry about.
Qiufeng: Haha, you’re right.
SweetJing: That’s because my brother is so nice! Not talking to you guys anymore! (\u256f\u2035\u25a1\u2032)\u256f\ufe35\u253b\u2501\u253b
NoReturn: Don’t go, let’s chat some more.
SweetJing: No! Brother’s telling me to go to sleep now! Bye bye~
BigBrother: ?
When Will You Return: ..
Lu Tiaotiao: …???
Lu Hang looked at the person on the opposite bed with a complicated expression.
So what kind of kink is my roommate playing?
I kill for you, carry you in games, gift you weapons, listen to your whispers, urge you to sleep, but I know we’re just friends?
\u2014\u2014
On the weekend, Jing Huan went out to eat with his roommates.
Jing Huan could clearly sense the heavy atmosphere at the dining table, with the two guys sitting across from him, heads bowed as they devoured their meals.
When Lu Wenhao raised his hand to ask for a fourth bowl of rice, Jing Huan finally put down his chopsticks: “What, are we planning to empty the restaurant’s rice supply tonight?”
“You don’t understand,” Lu Wenhao took the meal from the waiter, “we need to build up our stamina.”
“You’re so full of energy it’s practically overflowing,” Jing Huan said. “What’s really going on?”
Gao Zixiang wiped his mouth with a tissue: “The server merge announcement will be out tonight.”
“Tonight? You’re sure?” Jing Huan raised an eyebrow. “Which server are you merging with?”
“I’m not sure yet.” Gao Zixiang glanced at his watch. “The announcement will be out at eight, there’s still ten minutes to go.”
Lu Wenhao mumbled through a mouthful of food, “The server shuts down at twelve sharp tonight and reopens at eight tomorrow morning. It’s definitely going to be an all-out war then\u2014I bet we won’t have time to eat out for the next few days.”
Jing Huan thought it was fine: “Isn\u2019t merging servers great? More players mean more fun.”
Their server isn’t one of the most popular either, so the same players keep cycling through the arena matches, which can get pretty dull sometimes.
“Yeah,” Gao Zixiang sighed. “After the server merge, the wild zones will probably be littered with corpses\u2014either kill squads fighting over business or guilds battling for supremacy.”
At 7:59 PM, a phone lay quietly on the dining table as Lu Wenhao and Gao Zixiang, faces solemn, nervously kept refreshing the Nine Heroes official website.
Jing Huan chuckled, “Is it really that serious…”
“You don’t understand. Our guild leader said we must secure the medicinal herb development rights in the main city,” Gao Zixiang said. “What if the merged server brings in some overpowered guild… Wouldn’t that lead to three days and nights of non-stop battles?”
“Holy shit!” Lu Wenhao refreshed a new game announcement and, in his excitement, tightly grabbed Gao Zixiang’s sleeve. “It’s out, it’s out\u2014hurry up and check it, damn it!!”
“Don’t fucking rip my clothes,” Gao Zixiang said. “Didn’t we just get ready to order?”
So uncultured.
Jing Huan scoffed and lowered his head to sip tea, washing away the greasiness.
“To enhance the gaming experience for our players, we are officially launching the server merge system… The first server merge in Nine Heroes is as follows: the servers to be merged are ‘Heaven-Sent Match’… Damn, it’s really our server,” Lu Wenhao cursed while reading, “and ‘Flower in the Mirror, Moon on the Water’?”
Jing Huan nearly choked on his tea.
Lu Wenhao felt something was off as he read aloud, frowning: “Mirage? Why does this server name sound so familiar??”
He exchanged glances with Gao Zixiang, then simultaneously looked across the room.
Jing Huan covered his mouth, coughing until his neck turned red.
Fuck.
Fuck this.
Is God deliberately messing with me???
Gao Zixiang immediately sat down beside him and patted his back to help him catch his breath, with a complicated expression: “Just hearing the name of a district… Is it really worth getting this angry?”
Jing Huan shook his head with reddened ears, “No, I…”
“Damn! Huanhuan, don’t worry.” Lu Wenhao finally remembered. He slapped the table, “Your sister is our sister! Before we weren’t in the same server, so we couldn’t help much. But now that we have the chance, I’ll definitely help you deal with… I mean, arrange for that Xiang Shen\u2014Heart’s Desire\u2014properly!”
Jing Huan: “Well, that’s not really necessary…”
“Hao’er is right!” Gao Zixiang nodded repeatedly. “He needs to learn that bullying girls comes with a price. If he dares to mess with our sister, he’s dead!”
Jing Huan: “Actually, it’s not that serious…”
“And that guy who spammed the horns insulting your sister, should we take him out too?” Lu Wenhao raised his hand, “Just say the word!”
Jing Huan: “Really, no need…”
“Exactly!” Gao Zixiang said excitedly, “Huanhuan, if you’re still angry, I can lend you an account later. You can log in and join us in killing them, how about that?!”
“I might not have the time…” Jing Huan caught his breath and tactfully reminded them, “I appreciate your kindness, but do you really think you can defeat Heart’s Yearning?”
“Hey, don’t look down on people like that,” Lu Wenhao said. “Maybe we can’t take them one-on-one, but if we form a team together, that should work, right?”
Jing Huan originally wanted to say that this wasn’t very appropriate, but he swallowed his words at the last moment.
No, what’s inappropriate about it? Killing doesn’t exactly play by the rules of fairness.
If he hadn’t been overwhelmed with operations, he would have bought five accounts to surround Heart’s Yearning back then.
But now…
But now he just feels that five against one is unsportsmanlike\u2014it’s too much of a bully move.
It must be because he’s been hunted down too often that he’s developed such thoughts.
Jing Huan said with deep concern, “Then you would only be able to kill him once. After being killed, Heart Yearning for It will definitely be on guard. What if he forms a team to retaliate then?”
“It’s fine. After all, we’re still a regional team\u2014how can we just let him kill us?” Lu Wenhao snorted coldly. “It’d be best if he keeps hunting us down. Out of ten fights, we’re bound to win at least once, right? And when we do, we’ll strip him of his divine weapon\u2014wouldn’t that be even more satisfying?!”
Jing Huan thought to himself, forget ten times, you probably couldn’t even counter-kill them twenty times.
The two friends didn’t spoil him for nothing\u2014during one meal, they had already brainstormed seventy-two dreamy ways to die. Jing Huan, the person concerned, sat across from them, unable to get a word in edgewise.
Before parting, Gao Zixiang patted him on the shoulder and said earnestly, “Huanhuan, don’t worry. We’re brothers. I will definitely avenge you. Wait for my good news.”
“…”
Jing Huan went home absentmindedly.
He collapsed onto the sofa and slowly opened WeChat.
The guild chat was already in an uproar over the server merger.
Chunxiao: I’ve had someone investigate\u2014the top-ranked guild in “Heaven-Sent Match” is called Wuji. Their guild leader has already organized a team to ambush us at any moment, so after the server opens tomorrow, no one should leave the safe zone alone! Even daily quests must be done in teams! At the same time, our guild can’t just sit idly by\u2014we won\u2019t give up the development rights for medicinal herbs in the main city, and we won\u2019t let anyone take the title of the top guild! I\u2019ve already arranged a team for PvP, and the roster is posted in the group chat\u2014everyone, take a look. This is a critical moment, and I hope we can all work together to help the guild overcome this challenge! @everyone
Chun Xiao was a real tough nut to crack; within just an hour of the server merger announcement, the assassination squad was already organized.
It can only be said that neither of the two districts intends to negotiate peace in this merger.
There were many more messages below, but Jing Huan couldn’t be bothered to read through them one by one.
Fuck.
Trash Nine Heroes.
Not merging servers for ten years since launch, and suddenly doing it right at this moment.
He lay on the couch for a while, and when he came back to his senses, he realized he had already opened the chat window with Heart’s Desire.
Their last chat record was before dinner, “Heart’s Desire” said he was going to play basketball, and Jing Huan replied with a heart and a red lip emoji.
Since it was opened, of course, something had to be said,
Sweet Little Jing: Brother, our server is going to merge with “Heaven-Sent Match”…
SweetScene: Judging from the deputy leader’s tone, it seems our guild is about to fight with the top guild in that server. I’m so scared T\u25bdT…
The moment the message was sent, the “typing indicator” appeared above their head.
A few seconds later, the voice message came through.
“I get it.” The guy’s voice was slightly breathless, as deep and firm as ever, standing out clearly amidst the clamor. “What are you afraid of? I’m here\u2014no one can kill you.”
..
Stinky scumbag.
You can’t even save yourself, and you’re still worrying about me?
Jing Huan mentally mocked him, then clicked on the voice message and listened to it again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"parent":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"novel":[],"class_list":["post-3232","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3232"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3232\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3233,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3232\/revisions\/3233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"novel","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/novel?post=3232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}