My Unconventional Online Dating - Chapter 15

Xiao Nianyuan smiled: “If you don’t cooperate, you’ll keep seeing me in your room from now on.”

To uncover the truth, Xiao Nianyuan had thrown all pretense of dignity aside. Even though she usually avoided social interactions—though Wu Jinghe being an NPC made it slightly easier—it still required some level of engagement. Fortunately, she didn’t feel the impulsive urge to cling to Wu Jinghe like she did with others.

Wu Jinghe puffed her cheeks in annoyance. “You’re really annoying.”

Xiao Nianyuan nodded, accepting the accusation. She did find herself somewhat irritating, just like those people who had once stubbornly inserted themselves into her life despite her clear disinterest. She never imagined she’d become that kind of person one day, but it didn’t matter.

Compared to what she wanted to know, temporarily becoming someone she disliked was a small price to pay.

Xiao Nianyuan was that kind of person—once she set her mind on something, she wouldn’t give up unless she achieved her goal or hit a dead end. Others might see it as stubbornness, but so what if it was?

She was fine with it.

“You—you—” Wu Jinghe pointed at her, struggling before finally blurting out, “You really have no shame!”

Xiao Nianyuan simply replied, “Oh,” without a trace of guilt, then calmly asked, “When are you going to start telling the truth?”

Wu Jinghe crossed her arms defiantly. “I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

“You don’t?” Xiao Nianyuan’s gaze darkened. “I’ve been following you. I know everything you did.”

Wu Jinghe didn’t believe her, suspecting a bluff. “I didn’t go anywhere. I just stepped out for a bit and came right back.”

“Is that so?” Xiao Nianyuan pressed. “Then why did you tell them to hide?”

Only then did Wu Jinghe realize Xiao Nianyuan had indeed been tailing her. Flustered, she snapped, “When?! How did I not notice?!”

Xiao Nianyuan didn’t explain how she had concealed her presence.

Seeing that she wouldn’t get an answer, Wu Jinghe took a deep breath and said, “I told them to hide because you’d be a bad influence on them.”

Xiao Nianyuan pointed at herself, baffled. “I’d be a bad influence?”

This was the last response she had expected. She had considered many possibilities—maybe Wu Jinghe simply disliked her and refused to help, or perhaps she was hiding something and deliberately evading the truth. But never had she imagined Wu Jinghe was worried she’d corrupt the people of Sky City.

“I don’t quite understand,” Xiao Nianyuan said bluntly. “What do you mean, I’d be a bad influence? I haven’t done anything.”

So far, she had only met two people from Sky City—Wu Jinghe and the girl who looked just like her. They hadn’t even interacted much, let alone enough for her to “corrupt” anyone.

The accusation was so absurd that Xiao Nianyuan couldn’t help but laugh—the kind of laugh that comes from hearing something utterly ridiculous.

“Do you think what I said is funny?” Wu Jinghe’s face flushed with anger.

“No,” Xiao Nianyuan instinctively denied, but after a brief pause, she couldn’t resist adding honestly, “Well… it is a little funny.”

Wu Jinghe: “…”

There was no helping it—Xiao Nianyuan rarely lied, and she genuinely found Wu Jinghe’s words amusing.

“I’m telling you, don’t laugh. I’m being serious,” Wu Jinghe insisted. Xiao Nianyuan responded with an “Oh,” then asked, “What do you mean by ‘they’ll be corrupted by me’?”

“Come with me, and you’ll see.” With that, Wu Jinghe strode ahead, leaving Xiao Nianyuan no choice but to follow, curious about what reasoning Wu Jinghe had for claiming she would corrupt the people of Sky City.

Wu Jinghe led the way, with Xiao Nianyuan trailing behind. Within minutes, Xiao Nianyuan realized their destination—the girl’s home.

Puzzled, Xiao Nianyuan followed her inside. Wu Jinghe wasn’t surprised to see Lian Qiushui there, as if she had long accepted that Xiao Nianyuan and Lian Qiushui would stubbornly remain in Sky City.

Lian Qiushui brightened at Xiao Nianyuan’s return but frowned upon spotting Wu Jinghe. She moved protectively to Xiao Nianyuan’s side.

Xiao Nianyuan patted Lian Qiushui’s outstretched hand, gently rejecting the embrace while soothing her. “It’s fine. We have something to discuss.”

Wu Jinghe whistled into the room. A jar in the corner wobbled before rolling out. A puff of white smoke rose, and when it cleared, the girl stood before them.

The girl looked dazed, cautiously glancing between Xiao Nianyuan and Wu Jinghe, as if on the verge of asking Wu Jinghe outright: “Weren’t we supposed to avoid Xiao Nianyuan? Why bring her here and summon me?”

Seeing the girl’s identical face unsettled Xiao Nianyuan. After a brief look, she turned to Lian Qiushui, finding her increasingly pleasing to the eye—at least she didn’t share her face. And Lian Qiushui was genuinely beautiful, especially those eyes that stirred an inexplicable urge to draw closer.

Wu Jinghe asked Xiao Nianyuan, “Don’t you notice any changes?”

Xiao Nianyuan snapped out of her thoughts and scrutinized the girl but found nothing different. She shook her head in confusion.

Wu Jinghe pulled the girl forward. The petite woman stood on tiptoe, cupping the girl’s face solemnly. “Look closely.”

Baffled, Xiao Nianyuan complied, yet still saw no difference. “Are you messing with me?” she asked, lowering her gaze to Wu Jinghe.

Frustrated by Xiao Nianyuan’s apparent obliviousness, Wu Jinghe exclaimed, “Look, she’s become exactly like you!”

Xiao Nianyuan frowned. “Wasn’t it your doing that she looks like me?”

Wu Jinghe gritted her teeth. “How could it be us? It’s because you’re here that she’s turned out this way!”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying,” Xiao Nianyuan retorted, irritated by her anger. “From the moment we met, she’s looked like me. I wanted to ask you about it, yet here you are accusing me.”

Lian Qiushui chimed in, “Exactly. If meeting us caused this, why haven’t you changed?”

“I’m different from them, I’m…” Wu Jinghe’s explanation was on the tip of her tongue but abruptly stopped. “Anyway, you just need to know I’m different from them and won’t be affected by you.”

Wu Jinghe resumed her refusal to answer questions.

Xiao Nianyuan glanced at Lian Qiushui. Though she said nothing, Lian Qiushui immediately understood her meaning and grinned. “Since you put it that way, wouldn’t it be a waste if we didn’t go show ourselves to them?”

Wu Jinghe thought she’d made herself clear—that Xiao Nianyuan and the others would leave. Instead, they actually wanted to parade themselves before the people of Sky City.

Wu Jinghe opened her mouth to speak, but Xiao Nianyuan cut her off: “Yes, we’re shameless.”

Xiao Nianyuan nearly bit her tongue as she said it. She still wasn’t used to this kind of behavior, but seeing Wu Jinghe’s flustered reaction made it worth it.

Understanding what Wu Jinghe cared about gave her leverage in negotiations.

Suddenly, her sleeve was tugged. Xiao Nianyuan turned to see Lian Qiushui with a strange expression, whispering in her ear, “Don’t you think she’s acting odd?”

Puzzled, Xiao Nianyuan followed her gaze. The girl stood rigidly, her previously timid expression now cold and detached—making her resemble Xiao Nianyuan even more.

Xiao Nianyuan: “?”

Becoming more like her was hardly a good thing in Xiao Nianyuan’s eyes.

Noticing Xiao Nianyuan’s stare, Wu Jinghe wailed, “See? She’s becoming more like you! Soon she’ll be your exact copy. You’re ruining her—this is all your fault!”

Before, Xiao Nianyuan wouldn’t have believed it. But now, seeing the girl’s transformation, doubt crept in. Could the girl really be changing to look like her just from their encounter?

Half-convinced, Xiao Nianyuan took two steps toward the door before abruptly turning back. “Can you swear her resemblance to me isn’t because of something you’ve done?”

“Of course not!” Wu Jinghe denied without hesitation. “This never happened before you came.”

“If simply seeing a stranger causes this change, then why not bring others to test your theory?”

If players were the cause, then bringing another player to observe whether other Sky City residents changed would settle it.

Wu Jinghe snapped, “Haven’t you caused enough trouble? Now you want to bring more people?”

Xiao Nianyuan frowned. She only wanted to verify Wu Jinghe’s claims. If they were true, why the resistance? Was she worried about Sky City being disturbed?

Xiao Nianyuan remained skeptical. In all her time here, she’d witnessed no harm—the only potential downside being Wu Jinghe’s claim about residents morphing to match players. But its validity remained uncertain.

Xiao Nianyuan’s stubborn nature meant she wouldn’t easily believe what she hadn’t seen with her own eyes. Yet this very trait had also kept her from ever being deceived.

As Xiao Nianyuan and Wu Jinghe remained deadlocked, Lian Qiushui spoke up to question Wu Jinghe: “What exactly are you thinking? If you’d just cooperate with us, we could resolve this matter and leave. Why do you keep opposing us?”

Lian Qiushui’s reasoning was simple – once Xiao Nianyuan accomplished what she wanted to do, they could return to their master-disciple relationship. The lack of progress was entirely due to Wu Jinghe’s refusal to cooperate.

Unbeknownst to herself, the scales in Lian Qiushui’s heart had completely tipped in Xiao Nianyuan’s favor. She genuinely believed her stance was reasonable and that she was being perfectly impartial.