My Unconventional Online Dating - Chapter 27

Xiao Nianyuan stiffened slightly, forcing a weak smile. “I don’t recall. You must have mistaken me for someone else.”

Du Xiaotong looked skeptical but didn’t press further, turning her attention to Tan Xialan instead.

Tan Xialan tapped a few buttons and quickly entered matchmaking mode.

With so many players online, the queue was almost instant. The game broadly categorized roles into three types: DPS (damage dealers), tanks, and healers.

Each role had further subdivisions into various factions, each with unique skills. Players without a faction could still choose their preferred role, though they’d miss out on some resources.

Xiao Nianyuan currently had no faction, and even her equipment was starter-level. When pulled into the team, she was assigned as DPS.

Tan Xialan was the healer, while Du Xiaotong surprisingly took on the tank role.

Upon entering the dungeon, the boss turned out to be a massive rabbit. Staring at it, Xiao Nianyuan was inexplicably reminded of the rabbit from before.

Before she could say anything, their matched teammates had already charged in. The boss’s health bar appeared, and the team swiftly engaged.

It took Xiao Nianyuan a while just to locate her weapon. Clumsily drawing her sword, she swung at the boss—only to see its health drop by a single point.

Xiao Nianyuan: “…”

Thinking she’d misread, she swung a couple more times, confirming that each hit only shaved off one HP. The rest of the damage came entirely from her teammates.

Silently, she sheathed her sword and retreated to a corner.

Lian Qiushui, who had been fighting enthusiastically, suddenly noticed Xiao Nianyuan’s absence. Puzzled, she searched around and found her standing idly in the corner. Though confused, she walked over to join her.

“Not fighting?”

Xiao Nianyuan shrugged. “I deal no damage. You?”

Lian Qiushui: “Same here.”

The two exchanged a glance and wordlessly agreed to sit out the team fight.

Meanwhile, Tan Xialan was healing when she realized only two players remained in her line of sight. Turning around, she spotted Xiao Nianyuan and Lian Qiushui in the corner. After checking Du Xiaotong and the others’ health bars—still stable—she made her way over.

“What are you doing here?”

“I deal no damage,” Xiao Nianyuan admitted honestly.

“How is that possible?”

Xiao Nianyuan stayed silent. How could she explain that her damage output was literally “1”?

Taking her silence for modesty, Tan Xialan chuckled. “No way you deal zero damage. Maybe it’s just low, but every bit counts. Come on, join the fight.”

Unconvinced, Xiao Nianyuan sighed and stepped forward. Under Tan Xialan’s watchful gaze, she swung her sword at the rabbit.

The two then witnessed the rabbit’s health bar remain completely untouched, save for a lone white “1” floating above its head.

Tan Xialan: “…”

Her lips twitched slightly, never expecting Xiao Nianyuan’s damage to be this pitiful.

As a beta tester, Tan Xialan wasn’t top-tier, but her stats were decent. Xiao Nianyuan, being an alpha tester, should’ve at least had passable damage—or so Tan Xialan had assumed.

But the evidence was undeniable. After a long pause, she finally managed, “Your gear’s just weak. Once you get better drops, it’ll improve.”

Tan Xialan was being diplomatic. Even with the best equipment, Xiao Nianyuan would still be chipping away at the boss one HP at a time.

Aside from equipment, this game also has base stats that can only be obtained through daily quests or progressing the storyline—essentially, they’re the fundamental attributes tied to your level.

If your base stats aren’t up to par, you might not even be able to equip certain gear.

However, since Xiao Nianyuan was here to help, Tan Xialan couldn’t really say anything to her. She just found it odd that Xiao Nianyuan spent all her time hanging around Lian Qiushui, completely neglecting her base stats.

Tan Xialan glanced at Lian Qiushui, who was attempting to fight monsters. Her damage output wasn’t much different from Xiao Nianyuan’s.

Tan Xialan fell silent for a moment. She had assumed that even if NPCs weren’t a burden, they wouldn’t be completely useless—yet Lian Qiushui’s damage was shockingly low. This made Tan Xialan even more confused about why Xiao Nianyuan had chosen Lian Qiushui as her mentor.

The teammate who had joined later fought for a while before realizing the boss’s health bar was still mostly full. He grew visibly frustrated. “What’s going on? Why is its health barely dropping after all this?”

Baffled, he checked the damage statistics—only to find that he was carrying most of the damage output, with Du Xiaotong, the tank, coming in second.

Teammate: “…”

Someone else could deal with this dungeon—he was done.

Despite his disbelief, he didn’t abandon them outright. Gritting his teeth, he stuck with them for another half-hour before they finally cleared the dungeon. Before leaving the party, he sent a tearful emoji and logged off.

After completing the dungeon, the game displayed damage and healing statistics. Though Xiao Nianyuan wasn’t much of a gamer, she could still understand what they meant—both she and Lian Qiushui had dealt zero damage.

Xiao Nianyuan gave Lian Qiushui a puzzled look.

Lian Qiushui: “…I’ll try harder next time.”

Xiao Nianyuan began to understand why Lian Qiushui was so eager to take on a disciple—it was likely because her combat ability was so low that no one wanted her as a mentor.

Under Xiao Nianyuan’s gaze, Lian Qiushui asked nervously, “You’re not thinking of severing our master-disciple bond, are you?”

“Why would I?” Xiao Nianyuan replied, confused. “What reason would I have to do that?”

Tan Xialan chimed in bluntly, “Her damage is terrible, and she can’t teach you anything. Don’t you want a stronger mentor? Skilled mentors might have many disciples, but they’d actually teach you useful things.”

Xiao Nianyuan refused. “No, thanks.”

The mention of “many disciples” only solidified her resolve—she had no interest in switching mentors. Having a mentor didn’t matter much to her. Others might chase after techniques or combat prowess, but she didn’t care about that.

Seeing her stance, Tan Xialan scratched her head. “Well, if you ever need help with dungeons, you can call me.”

Since Xiao Nianyuan wasn’t planning to change mentors, her combat ability would probably remain weak, making dungeon runs difficult. Tan Xialan figured that since Xiao Nianyuan had saved her once, she could consider this repayment.

Xiao Nianyuan didn’t think she’d ever be interested in running dungeons, so she just smiled without responding.

After Tan Xialan left, Xiao Nianyuan noticed Lian Qiushui staring at her intently, looking anxious.

“What’s wrong?” Xiao Nianyuan asked.

Lian Qiushui hesitated before speaking cautiously. “You… really won’t resent me for being so weak?”

Xiao Nianyuan sighed with a faint smile. “If I were going to resent you for that, I would’ve done it a long time ago.”

Lian Qiushui was half-convinced and half-doubtful as she leaned closer to Xiao Nianyuan, their faces now inches apart. Xiao Nianyuan instinctively took a step back.

Lian Qiushui didn’t press forward but asked instead, “Why are you avoiding me?”

Xiao Nianyuan lowered her voice. “I already told you—I have some issues.”

Lian Qiushui sighed and said firmly, “I don’t care. All I know is that seeing you like this makes me sad.”

Lian Qiushui was always painfully honest, never mincing her words or hiding her feelings.

Xiao Nianyuan didn’t know whether to be touched or exasperated. Someone like Lian Qiushui—so straightforward and guileless—would be the type in real life who was easily taken advantage of.

Ever since they started playing this game together, Lian Qiushui had helped her countless times. Amused, Xiao Nianyuan softened and coaxed, “It really isn’t your fault.”

She reached out first. “I won’t avoid you anymore, okay?”