My Unconventional Online Dating - Chapter 22

Lian Qiushui fell silent for a moment before saying earnestly, “I don’t care what the issue is. If it makes you happy, you can do whatever you want.”

Her words tightened Xiao Lianyuan’s heart.

The more sincere Lian Qiushui was, the guiltier Xiao Lianyuan felt. She changed the subject, saying, “Weren’t we supposed to formalize our master-disciple relationship? Let’s go back and do it properly.”

Earlier, Lian Qiushui had indeed been in a hurry, but upon reflection, she thought—if Xiao Lianyuan wanted to be the nominal master, then so be it. In reality, she would still be the one teaching her.

Now that Xiao Lianyuan was the one suggesting they redo the ceremony, Lian Qiushui didn’t feel the joy she had expected. Instead, she looked at Xiao Lianyuan with concern.

Xiao Lianyuan stood up, a few bamboo leaves still clinging to her clothes. Lian Qiushui reached out to brush them off, but Xiao Lianyuan took a wary step back.

Lian Qiushui’s hand froze mid-air before reluctantly withdrawing. Softly, she said, “There are leaves on your clothes.”

Xiao Lianyuan glanced down and indeed saw the leaves. She casually flicked them off, watching as they spiraled through the air. Before they even touched the ground, she had already taken several steps forward.

As she walked, she called over her shoulder to Lian Qiushui, “Hurry up and follow.”

Her voice sounded muffled. Lian Qiushui silently kept pace beside her, stealing occasional glances at her expression.

Xiao Lianyuan grew uncomfortable under her gaze. When they reached the ceremonial site, she explained, “It’s not that I have any issue with you.”

Lian Qiushui nodded but said nothing more.

She could tell Xiao Lianyuan was in low spirits, as if something weighed on her mind—something she wasn’t willing to share.

There was nothing Lian Qiushui could do but pretend nothing was wrong, hoping to make Xiao Lianyuan feel at ease.

When they returned to the ceremonial site, the NPC said in surprise, “You’ve just formalized your relationship. You can’t dissolve it yet—you’ll have to wait until tomorrow. And after dissolution, there’s a 24-hour cooldown period.”

Lian Qiushui explained, “Master, we don’t need to dissolve anything. We just made a mistake in our roles and want to redo the ceremony.”

The NPC studied them before saying, “No need for a redo. Since it was a mistake, I’ll just update the records.”

Lian Qiushui was taken aback. “Update the records?”

The NPC turned away, fiddled with something for a moment, then turned back. “Done. Take a look.”

Xiao Lianyuan opened her title menu and saw that their master-disciple relationship had been updated. She looked up to find Lian Qiushui watching her expectantly.

Silently, Xiao Lianyuan equipped the new title—”Lian Qiushui’s Disciple.”

The moment she saw it, Lian Qiushui’s lips curled into a swift, radiant smile, her eyes crinkling with delight.

Just a second ago, Xiao Lianyuan had been brooding over her inability to control her instinctive closeness to Lian Qiushui. But now, seeing Lian Qiushui so happy, her mood lifted considerably.

If the person involved didn’t mind—even welcomed it—then despite feeling she was in the wrong, she couldn’t deny her own happiness.

“I should log off soon,” Xiao Lianyuan said.

Since she couldn’t go to Sky City, she planned to check online for others’ opinions, hoping to find another way in.

Lian Qiushui’s smile wavered with reluctance. “Alright, go ahead.”

She hated to see Xiao Lianyuan leave but had no choice. Just as she was about to say more, Xiao Lianyuan spoke first: “I’ll come find you tomorrow.”

Lian Qiushui’s smile faltered for a moment before brightening even more. “Will you really come find me tomorrow?”

This was the first time Xiao Nianyuan had promised to visit her the next day.

“Yes, I’ll come find you tomorrow,” Xiao Nianyuan affirmed.

What had initially been reluctance in Lian Qiushui’s heart now mingled with anticipation. She was already looking forward to their meeting tomorrow, and the time that had once seemed interminable now felt interesting.

Xiao Nianyuan smiled and logged off.

She glanced at her phone and saw a notification in the group chat: “Remember to do your homework.”

Whenever there was homework, she always completed it immediately. Unsure whether her three roommates had finished theirs, she hesitated for a moment before sending a reminder in the dorm group: “Remember to do your homework.”

The moment the message was sent, all three replied immediately.

Ji Rongxue: “The homework isn’t much. I can finish it today.”

Tan Xialan: “So, uh, can I copy yours?”

Du Xiaotong: “…”

The small group of four was usually lively, especially during class when they couldn’t talk, with messages flooding in one after another.

Xiao Nianyuan only appeared when necessary—like during her self-introduction when she first joined the group or when splitting bills for shared dorm supplies. Otherwise, she rarely surfaced.

After Xiao Nianyuan sent the reminder about homework, the three replied instantly. Once they had, Tan Xialan raised an eyebrow and said to Ji Rongxue, “See? We really should invite her out more often.”

The three were walking back to the dorm. Ji Rongxue smiled helplessly. “I’d like her to go out with us more too, but she doesn’t enjoy it.”

Tan Xialan brushed it off. “Just because she says she doesn’t like it, does that mean she really doesn’t? If we keep inviting her, she’ll eventually come with us—just like today.”

As she spoke, she completely forgot how she had once been too afraid to get too close to Xiao Nianyuan, worried she might be disliked.

Ji Rongxue and Du Xiaotong didn’t call her out. Regardless of what Tan Xialan had thought before, the fact that she now liked Xiao Nianyuan and got along with her was a good thing.

After all, harmony in the dorm was always best.

Seeing that it was about time, the three decided to grab dinner.

On their way back, they passed by Mixue Ice Cream & Tea. Tan Xialan suggested buying ice cream. After she bought one, Ji Rongxue and Du Xiaotong followed suit.

Once they had their own, the three exchanged glances and, in unspoken agreement, bought an extra one to bring back for Xiao Nianyuan.

When Xiao Nianyuan saw the ice cream they handed her, she froze for a moment before accepting it blankly. After a long pause, she finally murmured, “Thank you.”

Tan Xialan grinned. “We’re all roommates—no need for thanks. You came out for dim sum with us today, so we should be thanking you.”

Xiao Nianyuan found it amusing. The dim sum had been split equally, so Tan Xialan’s words were clearly just her way of expressing affection.

At the mention of dim sum, the four suddenly remembered the leftovers they had packed that morning, still sitting in the fridge.

Xiao Nianyuan had only eaten a light lunch and dinner, completely forgetting about the leftovers.

Looking at the remaining snacks, Tan Xialan said cheerfully, “Well, now we don’t need to buy midnight snacks!”

They often brought back late-night snacks to eat. As for whether they’d gain weight? That was a problem for future consideration—they could always exercise more. But asking them to eat less was practically harder than asking for their lives.

When they said they were having a late-night snack, they meant it. There happened to be a small pot in the dorm, and Ji Rongxue heated up each snack one by one, calling everyone over to eat together.

Xiao Nianyuan was eating with them for the first time and seemed a little uneasy.

Before she could stay nervous for long, Tan Xialan kept piling food into her bowl: “Eat this! Try that!”

Xiao Nianyuan was so busy handling the food that she had no time to think about being nervous.

The four of them were happily eating when suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Du Xiaotong immediately stood up: “It might be the dorm supervisor. Clean up quickly.”

Ji Rongxue nodded and swiftly started tidying up.

Xialan frantically stuffed food into her mouth, her cheeks puffed up like a hamster’s.

Xiao Nianyuan couldn’t help but laugh at the sight.

Tan Xialan glanced at her, then pointed at the steamed dumplings in front of her, signaling for Xiao Nianyuan to hurry up and eat too.

“I’ll help clean up,” Xiao Nianyuan said, about to stand, but Ji Rongxue stopped her with a look: “I’ll handle it. You keep eating.”

Ji Rongxue worked quickly, and soon the pot was put away.

Du Xiaotong opened the door, and sure enough, it was the dorm supervisor. Peering inside, the supervisor asked, “Were you cooking in the dorm?”

Tan Xialan had her back turned, the dumpling in her mouth still unswallowed.

Xiao Nianyuan subtly moved to block her from view. Noticing this, the supervisor demanded, “Why are you facing away? Turn around.”

Xiao Nianyuan didn’t move aside, so the supervisor stepped in.

Tan Xialan was sweating nervously, still struggling to swallow the dumpling.

Ji Rongxue smiled and smoothed things over: “Auntie, what’s the matter? We were just having a late-night snack.”

Taking the hint, Tan Xialan quickly turned around and mumbled, “Auntie, we brought this back from outside. There’s no rule against eating in the dorm, right?”

The supervisor eyed them suspiciously, scanning their faces before landing on the bowls in their hands. “If you bought it, why is it in bowls? And why is it still steaming?” she asked, puzzled.