My Unconventional Online Dating - Chapter 23

Ji Rongxue remained calm and explained, “We brought takeout back. We were quick, so it’s still steaming hot. Eating from bowls is more convenient. See, our takeout containers are still here.”

The containers were indeed there, but the dorm supervisor felt something was off. She suspected there was a hidden cooking pot in the room but couldn’t find any evidence.

Her gaze fell on the refrigerator nearby. It had been there since they moved in, with the explanation that Ji Rongxue had health issues and needed to refrigerate some medication. That was why they had bought the fridge.

Ji Rongxue did have some medicine that needed refrigeration, and the dorm supervisor’s room also had a fridge. But if the medicine were kept there, the girls would have to frequently visit the supervisor’s room to retrieve it—something the supervisor didn’t want to deal with.

The school didn’t explicitly prohibit refrigerators, only cooking in the dorms. So the supervisor turned a blind eye to the fridge.

The fridge wasn’t her concern, but whether they were cooking in the dorm was. She was always hoping to catch them in the act, but so far, she hadn’t found anything. She warned, “You absolutely cannot cook in the dorm. You kids always end up causing accidents.”

She was afraid they’d blow up the dorm.

Tan Xialan grinned and said, “Don’t worry, Auntie. We definitely won’t blow up the dorm.”

They wouldn’t blow it up, but they would still use the pot.

There were many rumors online about how young people these days couldn’t cook and often ended up wrecking kitchens. But if they weren’t allowed to learn, they’d never know how.

They couldn’t speak for others, but in their dorm, they always prioritized safety and never acted recklessly.

The school also turned a blind eye—otherwise, they wouldn’t sell groceries and meat in the residential area.

The teachers lived off-campus, and groceries were cheaper outside. Unless they were out of their minds, who would specifically buy ingredients at school to cook?

The main customers in the residential area were students. The school had to know this. If they really wanted to crack down, they could just check the surveillance footage to see who was buying the ingredients.

Everyone knew the truth, but no one called it out.

The dorm supervisor was just doing her routine checks. If she caught them, she’d have to confiscate their appliances. But if she didn’t, as long as nothing happened, she’d pretend not to know.

She was also glad she was in charge of the girls’ dorm. Most girls were cautious and didn’t act recklessly. Unlike the boys’ dorm—last year, they had brazenly cooked hotpot in their rooms while drinking and smoking. When they got drunk, they even invited the supervisor to join them.

That kind of audacity? If the supervisor didn’t bust them, she’d be failing at her job.

Worse than the cooking was the fact that they got so drunk they lost their senses. A few of them even dragged the supervisor into dancing. She had to call in backup from other supervisors to restrain the little troublemakers and make them reflect on their actions.

Before leaving, the supervisor, reminded of the past, added another warning: “And no drinking, either.”

“Don’t worry, we don’t drink,” Tan Xialan said cheerfully as she escorted the supervisor out, with Du Xiaotong following along.

When the two returned, they were barely holding back laughter. Before Xiao Nianyuan and the others could ask, Tan Xialan spoke first: “The supervisor just told us that if we ever want to drink, we can go to her room. She’ll keep an eye on us—she’d feel better that way.”

Xiao Nianyuan was somewhat surprised—she hadn’t expected the dorm supervisor to be so open-minded.

The remaining dim sum was quickly polished off. As the four of them cleaned up together, Tan Xialan suddenly exclaimed, “The game’s open beta starts tomorrow!”

Xiao Nianyuan had just returned from taking out the trash when Tan Xialan turned to her and said, “I don’t think I mentioned this before, but after the game launches, we’re all going to play together. Do you want to join?”

Worried that Xiao Nianyuan might not know which game she was referring to, Tan Xialan went into detail, explaining everything and even raving about how amazing the game was, with all the beta testers saying it was incredibly fun.

She had already managed to rope Ji Rongxue and Du Xiaotong into playing, and since Xiao Nianyuan was part of their dorm, she hoped she’d join too.

“I…”

Xiao Nianyuan was stunned. She had heard Tan Xialan mention wanting to play this game before, but she hadn’t expected the open beta to start so soon. Not only was Tan Xialan planning to play, but she was also dragging the entire dorm along.

The problem was, Xiao Nianyuan was already playing—and her three roommates had no idea.

“I don’t like playing games,” Xiao Nianyuan blurted out.

Tan Xialan looked disappointed but didn’t press further, sighing, “Alright, we’ll just go ahead without you, then.”

Xiao Nianyuan was distracted, worried they might find out she was actually playing. Though she genuinely didn’t enjoy games, the truth was, she was already deep into this one.

All she could do was silently pray that Tan Xialan and the others wouldn’t discover her secret.

Once she uncovered the truth about Sky City, she could quit the game for good.

But the thought of quitting inexplicably brought Lian Qiushui to mind, making her frown slightly.

After that, Xiao Nianyuan tuned out the rest of the conversation about when the game would be playable and when the servers would go live.

The next day, Xiao Nianyuan cautiously waited until Ji Rongxue and the others had left the dorm before logging in. She was nervous about being caught, but she had promised Lian Qiushui she’d be online today, and she intended to keep that promise.

If she didn’t show up, Lian Qiushui would surely be upset, and Xiao Nianyuan didn’t want to log in next time only to find her crying over a broken promise.

When Xiao Nianyuan logged in, she didn’t see Lian Qiushui at first. Just as she was starting to wonder, she heard Lian Qiushui’s voice from behind: “You’re here!”

Lian Qiushui stepped around to face her and handed her a peach blossom branch.

The branch must have been picked today, but it didn’t look as fresh as before—as if it had been plucked some time ago. Xiao Nianyuan wondered how long Lian Qiushui had been waiting.

After studying Xiao Nianyuan for a moment, Lian Qiushui asked, “Is something on your mind today?”

Xiao Nianyuan did have something weighing on her—something big—but talking to Lian Qiushui wouldn’t solve it. She shook her head helplessly. “No, it’s nothing.”

Seeing that Xiao Nianyuan didn’t want to talk about it, Lian Qiushui didn’t push further. Knowing that Xiao Nianyuan wanted to go to Sky City, she suggested, “Do you want to try heading there today?”

“Sky City is accessible now?” Xiao Nianyuan asked, surprised.

“Not exactly, but it’s visible again,” Lian Qiushui explained.

As an NPC, Lian Qiushui couldn’t go to Sky City, whether before or after the update. After the update, Sky City had vanished—but now it was back in sight.

Since Xiao Nianyuan wanted to go, and there was a chance they could reach it now, Lian Qiushui decided to propose giving it a try.

Xiao Nianyuan naturally had no objections and walked with Lian Qiushui toward Sky City. However, when they reached the vicinity of Sky City, there was a sudden flash before her eyes, and she found herself back at the spot where she had just logged in.

Xiao Nianyuan froze for a moment, glancing at the distant Sky City and then at Lian Qiushui before her.

Lian Qiushui frowned. “Seems like we can’t go up after all.”

She looked even more disappointed than Xiao Nianyuan, who couldn’t help but ask, “You really wanted to go up that badly?”

Lian Qiushui blinked in confusion. “Didn’t you want to go up?”

Xiao Nianyuan nodded. She did want to go up, but she had long accepted that it wasn’t possible for now. When Lian Qiushui suggested giving it a try, she hadn’t held much hope either.

Seeing Lian Qiushui so crestfallen, Xiao Nianyuan found it somewhat amusing and ended up comforting her instead. “If we can’t go up now, we’ll manage it eventually.”

Since Sky City had already been created, it couldn’t possibly remain inaccessible forever. The only question was whether they’d still see the same things they had glimpsed earlier when they finally got there.

“Alright, let’s not dwell on this for now,” Xiao Nianyuan changed the subject. “You haven’t shown me around since the update. Is there a main storyline now?”

She hadn’t checked what the main storyline entailed yet, and the main quest was a crucial part of any game.

Lian Qiushui’s eyes lit up, and she began gesturing animatedly. “I know about the main quest! Do you want to try it? I’ll take you there!”

Lian Qiushui led Xiao Nianyuan to the location where the main quest could be triggered. The world-building for the main storyline was vast, and Xiao Nianyuan immediately began working on the tasks. During the questline, Lian Qiushui wasn’t by her side.

Xiao Nianyuan felt a twinge of regret but focused on progressing through a segment of the main quest.

By the time she emerged from the main quest, two hours had already passed.

The moment Lian Qiushui saw her come out, she immediately bounded over excitedly. “So? Was the main quest fun?”

Xiao Nianyuan lowered her gaze to look behind Lian Qiushui, half-expecting a tail to suddenly appear or fluffy ears to pop up on her head—ears that would twitch upon seeing her, with a tail happily wagging in circles.

She couldn’t help but smile. “It was pretty good. Quite interesting.”

“How was it? How was it?” Lian Qiushui pressed eagerly. “What’s the main storyline about? Can you tell me?”

Xiao Nianyuan was puzzled. “You don’t know what happens in the main quest?”

Lian Qiushui hesitated for a moment before murmuring, “I have a vague idea, but I don’t know the specifics.”

The information Lian Qiushui had was pieced together from other NPCs. She didn’t know the exact details of the main storyline—only the NPCs involved in the quest and the players who completed it could fully grasp the plot. NPCs like her, who weren’t part of the main quest, naturally had no way of knowing.

Sometimes, Lian Qiushui wished she could be one of the main quest NPCs—preferably one who appeared throughout the entire storyline.

But if she became a main quest NPC, she wouldn’t be able to appear by Xiao Nianyuan’s side whenever she wanted. And if her character died in the main storyline, she would disappear from the game entirely, unless it was a special event where the game temporarily brought back departed NPCs.

She constantly wrestled with the dilemma: was it better to become a main quest NPC or to maintain her current carefree existence?

“You want to know what the main storyline is about?” Xiao Nianyuan, unaware of Lian Qiushui’s thoughts, asked softly. “If you’re curious, I can tell you.”

Lian Qiushui looked somewhat surprised and asked uncertainly, “Can I know about it?”

“Try and you’ll find out,” Xiao Nianyuan replied as she sat down nearby.

Lian Qiushui also took a seat beside her, listening intently.

Xiao Nianyuan began recounting the main storyline, and nothing stopped her as she spoke. Lian Qiushui listened, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.

“It’s just so tragic.”

Most of the main plot was built on tragedy. Compared to mundane narratives, tragedies left a deeper impression and inspired more players to create secondary works, attempting to mend those unresolved regrets.

The story itself had no glaring flaws—it was clear the writing team had profound skill, and the character models were well-crafted. If Xiao Nianyuan hadn’t been wholly fixated on Sky City, she might have taken the time to fully immerse herself in the game.

The thought of Sky City inevitably dampened Xiao Nianyuan’s mood.

Just then, a figure suddenly appeared before her. Xiao Nianyuan took two steps back and realized it was another player.

The player was about to speak to her when Lian Qiushui tugged Xiao Nianyuan aside. The player scratched their head in confusion before turning and walking away.

The place where Xiao Nianyuan was experiencing the main storyline happened to be on the central street of a bustling city, crowded with people coming and going. Worried that Xiao Nianyuan might bump into someone again, Lian Qiushui pulled her toward a quieter area.

Xiao Nianyuan, still dazed from the earlier collision, only snapped back to reality once they reached the less crowded spot.

Lian Qiushui kept glancing at her and sighed when she saw Xiao Nianyuan regain her focus. “What am I going to do with you?”

She desperately wanted to help Xiao Nianyuan, but she had no idea what was troubling her or what she truly wanted.

She knew nothing—the only thing she was certain of was that she wanted Xiao Nianyuan to be happy. Yet, she couldn’t figure out how. She had never considered herself foolish before, but now she felt dumber than a block of wood, utterly clueless.

“Don’t be unhappy,” Lian Qiushui managed to say.