My Unconventional Online Dating - Chapter 48

Tan Xialan froze for a moment before hurriedly trying to cover up her mistake, “No wonder I didn’t recognize you…”

Du Xiaotong: “…”

Lian Qiushui couldn’t help but laugh at her, “If she looks more like her real self now and you still can’t recognize her, wouldn’t it be even harder if she wasn’t disguised?”

Tan Xialan still hadn’t realized that Xiao Nianyuan’s current avatar was actually closer to her real appearance and continued to argue, “It’s precisely because she’s disguised that I didn’t recognize her!”

Lian Qiushui couldn’t be bothered to argue further and turned to Xiao Nianyuan, “Should we remove the disguise now?”

Xiao Nianyuan nodded indifferently. Since they weren’t heading to Sky City, it didn’t matter whether she was disguised or not.

After removing the disguise, Lian Qiushui asked Tan Xialan, “Can you recognize her now?”

Tan Xialan stood frozen in place, staring at Xiao Nianyuan with growing unfamiliarity. Du Xiaotong couldn’t help but remind her, “Her disguised state actually looks more like her real self.”

Finally understanding why Lian Qiushui had mocked her earlier, Tan Xialan’s face flushed bright red, but she couldn’t find any words to defend herself—she genuinely had face blindness.

Normally, she always thought Xiao Nianyuan was very pretty and had remembered her since their first meeting in the dorm at the start of the semester. Yet now, just a slight adjustment in the avatar model made her unrecognizable. She looked at Du Xiaotong pleadingly.

Du Xiaotong patted her head reassuringly, “It’s fine, it’s just face blindness. You still recognize people you’re familiar with.”

That much was true—at least she could recognize her three roommates and the friends she often hung out with.

“I’m a little curious,” Xiao Nianyuan looked at Tan Xialan and guessed, “Is the reason you get along with everyone because you can’t recognize them?”

Caught off guard by the revelation, Tan Xialan quickly retorted, “You’re not allowed to tell anyone!”

It was true—her friendliness toward everyone stemmed from her face blindness. Since she couldn’t distinguish people well, she treated everyone equally to avoid mistakes.

She never expected that playing a game would expose her secret. Feeling at a loss, Tan Xialan fidgeted nervously. Xiao Nianyuan found it amusing and quickly reassured her, “It’s just face blindness—not a big deal.”

Seeing that Tan Xialan was still bothered, Du Xiaotong added, “If it really bothers you, I’ll help you remember the people you can’t recognize.”

Tan Xialan pouted, “But you can’t follow me around forever.”

“How do you know I won’t?” Du Xiaotong replied casually.

As Tan Xialan and Du Xiaotong chatted animatedly, Lian Qiushui quietly tugged at Xiao Nianyuan’s sleeve and whispered, “Let’s go somewhere else.”

“You don’t want to hang out with them?” Xiao Nianyuan asked.

Lian Qiushui answered seriously, “When they’re around, you divide your attention between them, and there’s less time left for me.”

“You’re quite possessive,” Xiao Nianyuan remarked offhandedly.

To her surprise, Lian Qiushui hesitated and asked, “If I’m possessive… will you dislike me?”

Xiao Nianyuan hadn’t expected her casual remark to be taken so seriously. After a moment of thought, she replied, “If it’s you, I wouldn’t dislike it.”

If someone else had displayed such strong possessiveness, Xiao Nianyuan might have found it off-putting. But with Lian Qiushui, it struck her as rather endearing. In modern internet slang, Lian Qiushui had a very “human-like” charm.

Seeing that Xiao Nianyuan didn’t mind, Lian Qiushui quietly pulled her away. By the time Tan Xialan and Du Xiaotong noticed, several minutes had already passed.

Lian Qiushui led Xiao Nianyuan to a hot spring area. “Soaking here can boost combat stats.”

“Why the sudden interest in boosting stats? Can you benefit from it too?”

“Of course we need to improve, otherwise what if you guys ditch me during dungeon runs?” Lian Qiushui explained. “This hot spring works for all players, but we NPCs have usage restrictions.”

Just as the two were about to change clothes to enter the spring, Tan Xialan’s voice came from behind: “Why didn’t you wait for us?”

Without turning around, Lian Qiushui pushed Xiao Nianyuan forward quickly.

“Hey! You’ve got your ID floating above your head! Even if I had face blindness I wouldn’t mistake you!” Tan Xialan shouted.

Lian Qiushui: “…”

Xiao Nianyuan: “…”

Nearby, Du Xiaotong sighed and facepalmed.

Since they’d already been found, there was no reason to send them away.

Lian Qiushui could only subtly keep the two separated. Before Tan Xialan could react, Du Xiaotong had to pull her away—this ditzy roommate always needed extra looking after.

Now only the four of them remained in the hot spring. Because of the distance, they had to raise their voices to be heard.

Tan Xialan yelled: “Ji Rongxue can join us when she logs in later!”

Xiao Nianyuan had to shout back: “Does she even know we’re here?”

“We’ll tell her when she’s online!”

“How would you know if she’s online or not?” Xiao Nianyuan’s question stumped Tan Xialan.

Tan Xialan turned to Du Xiaotong: “How do we know if she’s online?”

Du Xiaotong replied: “She’ll friend me when she logs in.”

Reassured, Tan Xialan shouted to Xiao Nianyuan: “She’ll add us!”

Watching them yell across the distance, Xiao Nianyuan gave Lian Qiushui a helpless look.

Lian Qiushui pouted: “Go over if you want.”

She knew it—ever since Xiao Nianyuan reunited with her roommates, her attention had been divided. Not long ago they’d been inseparable, but now she kept getting left behind.

Though displeased, Lian Qiushui didn’t stop Xiao Nianyuan as they moved slightly closer together.

Soon, Du Xiaotong said Ji Rongxue had logged in and went to find her, with Tan Xialan following.

The vast hot spring was suddenly left with just Xiao Nianyuan and Lian Qiushui. The steaming mist from the warm water made figures indistinct even at short distances.

They stayed close, so near that when Xiao Nianyuan turned her head, she could feel Lian Qiushui’s breath.