My Unconventional Online Dating - Chapter 26

Xiao Nianyuan nodded in agreement when her senior sister said, “Could you cover my shift for me? I have something to attend to later.”

Shift swaps were common, but they were usually arranged in advance. Xiao Nianyuan asked about the timing and, considering she had nothing else to do at the moment, agreed to take over the shift.

During her shift, Xiao Nianyuan kept checking her phone for messages, worried that Ji Rongxue might not be able to reach her if she called. She even switched her phone from silent mode to vibrate.

Every time her phone vibrated, she would take it out to check, but by the time her shift ended, Ji Rongxue still hadn’t contacted her.

Xiao Nianyuan hurried back to the dorm and found all three of her roommates there. Ji Rongxue’s expression seemed no different than usual, and Xiao Nianyuan let out a sigh of relief.

Tan Xialan noticed her return and asked, “Where were you today?”

All three roommates were familiar with Xiao Nianyuan’s routine, and since she had been spending more time in the dorm lately, their relationship had grown closer. Tan Xialan asked the question without hesitation.

Xiao Nianyuan replied, “My senior sister had something to do, so she asked me to cover her shift.”

“Oh, I see. Come here quickly!” Tan Xialan excitedly waved her over. “We’ve already bought the gaming equipment, and we got an extra one. You should join us.”

Tan Xialan handed Xiao Nianyuan a box containing a gaming device. Xiao Nianyuan looked at the box, then at Tan Xialan, and asked, “Do I really have to play?”

Tan Xialan pouted. “Why won’t you play with us? Just think of it as keeping us company while we check out the game.”

Xiao Nianyuan tactfully declined. “This is what you bought—you should use it yourselves.”

Tan Xialan, assuming she was just being polite about using their things, smiled and said, “It was a ‘buy three, get one free’ deal. This one’s free. If you don’t use it, no one else will.”

Xiao Nianyuan was about to suggest she could sell the extra device, but Ji Rongxue spoke up first. “She’s been busy lately. She’ll play with us when she has time.” Then, turning to Xiao Nianyuan, she asked, “Right?”

Xiao Nianyuan had no choice but to reluctantly agree. “We’ll see when I have time.”

As long as she kept saying she was busy, they couldn’t force her to play.

Tan Xialan couldn’t stop praising the game, and it seemed she would be spending most of her time in the dorm playing it for the foreseeable future. Du Xiaotong would inevitably be dragged into it as well.

Xiao Nianyuan felt uneasy, wondering if she should rent a place outside to play the game—logging in when she wanted to play and returning afterward so her roommates wouldn’t find out she was also playing.

Since Xiao Nianyuan couldn’t join them in the game, the three roommates felt a bit disappointed, especially Tan Xialan. Even Du Xiaotong, who wasn’t fond of gaming, had been roped into playing. With one person missing from their dorm group, it just didn’t feel complete.

Xiao Nianyuan’s prediction was correct. Over the next week, Tan Xialan practically skipped classes just to stay in the dorm and play. The moment lectures ended, she would rush back, eager to log into the game.

Though Tan Xialan was somewhat addicted, no one criticized her for it. She still managed her responsibilities—she had simply replaced most of her usual shopping and dining-out time with gaming.

In the end, Xiao Nianyuan didn’t go through with renting a place to play. Aside from whether it was cost-effective, her roommates would undoubtedly ask questions every time she left.

Once or twice was fine, but if it happened too often, her roommates would surely worry she was up to something shady. Not that they thought she was a bad person—they simply saw her as one of their own now and feared she might be getting scammed by someone else.

Xiao Nianyuan felt a warmth in her heart, mixed with a touch of helplessness. She had no choice but to log into the game only after Tan Xialan and the others had already started playing.

Since adding her as a friend that day, Tan Xialan hadn’t reached out. The game probably had too many features to explore, and with Du Xiaotong keeping her company, she hadn’t thought to look for Xiao Nianyuan.

Today, Xiao Nianyuan expected it to be just like any other day. But the moment she logged in, Tan Xialan immediately messaged her, asking if she was free.

Xiao Nianyuan hesitated before answering honestly, “I’m free now.”

Lately, Xiao Nianyuan hadn’t been focusing on the main storyline. The updates were too slow, and most beta testers who hadn’t quit had already completed it.

She wanted to go to Sky City, but she couldn’t access it yet. These days, whenever she logged in, she and Lian Qiushui brainstormed ways to find a path there.

As for the system, it had been silent for a long time—she still hadn’t managed to contact it.

Many players online had posted about being unable to reach the system, questioning whether it was a bug. The developers had only issued a notice stating they would quickly fix and relaunch the system, as the previous version wasn’t fully optimized.

With that explanation and some compensation, most players let it go. After all, they didn’t rely on the system much during regular gameplay.

Only Xiao Nianyuan was desperate to ask the system about Sky City. She wanted to contact customer support, but the game didn’t offer any direct way to reach them.

At first, she thought she just hadn’t found the right channel, but later she learned the game promoted a “humanitarian approach,” claiming that many players took out their frustrations on customer service staff. As a result, they had removed direct support and delegated issue resolution to the system.

There was no live customer service, but feedback was collected—a method designed to spare support staff from psychological stress.

When this approach was first introduced, it received widespread praise. Players lauded the company for its thoughtful policies and grew even more optimistic about the game’s future.

Those familiar with the gaming industry knew some companies exploited their employees—small teams of planners working around the clock, sleeping only two or three hours a day while fixing bugs.

Such companies usually collapsed within six months. So, having a humane company like this—one that didn’t even demand extra money from players—naturally made them happy.

Xiao Nianyuan sent her reply and waited for a response. Instead of an answer, she heard Tan Xialan’s voice behind her: “Are you free? We can’t beat this boss.”

Xiao Nianyuan: “…”

“What boss?”

Tan Xialan had already cornered her—how could she refuse?

Since joining the game, Xiao Nianyuan had never fought a boss. The mention left her completely baffled.

Tan Xialan sounded surprised. “Are you playing in story mode?”

Xiao Nianyuan was confused. Tan Xialan explained, “If you’re in story mode, you don’t need to fight bosses. Normal mode requires actual gameplay, and there’s also a Hell Mode—though not many people play that yet, and it’s still pretty unpolished.”

Xiao Nianyuan tentatively replied, “I’ve never fought one before… I might not know how.”

It would be best if they gave up on inviting her after hearing she couldn’t fight.

“It’s fine, you can just come make up the numbers for us,” Tan Xialan said, oblivious to Xiao Nianyuan’s reluctance, kindly suggesting she only needed her to fill the spot.

“Make up the numbers?” Lian Qiushui pointed at herself. “What about me?”

She wanted to join in too.

Tan Xialan gave Lian Qiushui a strange look, surprised she was still following Xiao Nianyuan. She had heard Lian Qiushui claim to be Xiao Nianyuan’s master before but hadn’t taken it seriously.

In this game, while most players preferred taking other players as apprentices or masters, some chose NPCs instead. She just hadn’t expected Lian Qiushui to stick with Xiao Nianyuan this long.

Players could only take on five apprentices, while NPCs had no such limit. Because of this, most players opted for the strongest NPCs in the game as their masters.

When no answer came after a while, Lian Qiushui repeated, “What about me?”

Tan Xialan paused, then smiled. “We need five people. You can come too.”

The game was highly flexible—even NPCs could be dragged into dungeons. Overpowered NPCs would face some restrictions in dungeons, but ordinary ones wouldn’t be limited.

Lian Qiushui was just a regular NPC, so bringing her along wouldn’t hold them back.

Probably. Tan Xialan thought to herself. She couldn’t possibly be completely useless in a fight. If she were, why would Xiao Nianyuan have become her apprentice?

“We have four now. Do you know anyone else?” Tan Xialan, assuming Xiao Nianyuan had agreed to join them, asked if she had anyone else in mind.

“No,” Xiao Nianyuan replied.

“Then we’ll just match with a random player.” Tan Xialan started operating something as she spoke.

Du Xiaotong, who had been silently watching Xiao Nianyuan the whole time, suddenly turned to her. Xiao Nianyuan felt uneasy under her gaze and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Du Xiaotong asked, “Have we met somewhere before?”