Clutching that Star-Glow Flower, Qiao Yan hadn’t even had the chance to warm it up in his hands before he saw a massive, chaotic crowd of people swarming the entrance of his already pathetic-looking homestead once again.
Bearing a set of glittering, top-tier equipment and carrying an exaggeratedly massive broadsword, [Mighty Brother Light] was planted firmly at the gate like a guardian deity.
Beside him stood an Elf Priest named [Light Light Blossom]. It was a female account, clad in an exquisite white robe and holding a glowing healing staff. Standing there with elegant poise, she would occasionally cast a continuous health-regeneration aura on herself, as if desperately afraid others wouldn’t notice how good her gear was.
Staring at those two IDs, rage caused a fiery explosion effect to pop up over Qiao Yan’s in-game avatar.
Cen Zihao! Qiao Yunguang!
They were absolutely haunting! After stirring up trouble in the real world, they had turned around and reduced his in-game homestead into a complete wreck!
[Nearby] Mighty Brother Light: Oh, isn’t this that little noob who only knows how to farm? What’s the matter, did you bring reinforcements? Just this? A level 1 smurf?
[Nearby] Light Light Blossom: Don’t say it like that, brother. Maybe they’re just friends. Though I must say, your homestead is quite artistically renovated now.
The owners of the handful of IDs trailing behind them were clearly their lackeys; they instantly flooded the nearby chat channel with mocking emojis and text bubbles.
Qiao Yan’s fingers hovered over the keyboard, trembling with fury. Yet, facing down his opponents’ obviously superior levels and luxurious gear, he felt a bit cowed.
With his abysmal gaming skills combined with He Yanzhou’s brand-new level 1 account, wouldn’t charging forward just be serving themselves up on a silver platter?
[Private Chat] Little Peach Bites Super Painfully: daddy, there are so many of them, and their gear is so good… Should we execute a strategic retreat first?
Clashing head-on would definitely end in disaster; Qiao Yan at least possessed that much self-awareness. He quietly shifted his cursor, preparing to click a town-portal scroll.
However, the exact instant the portal’s casting bar lit up, a blinding streak of fire slammed violently right at his feet!
[System] Player [Mighty Brother Light] has initiated an attack against you!
[System] Player [Light Light Blossom] has initiated an attack against you!
Cen Zihao didn’t even wait for them to react, directly enabling slaughter mode. The Berserker’s wide-area flame skill and Qiao Yunguang’s Holy Smite crashed down simultaneously. Qiao Yan’s character’s health bar instantly tanked, his town portal was interrupted, and he was locked into combat mode.
“Holy crap! A sneak attack!”
Qiao Yan frantically hammered his healing skills, but the fragile frame of his pink-skirted character couldn’t withstand such concentrated focus fire. She was on the verge of biting the dust.
Right at that critical juncture, a figure suddenly lunged forward to shield him.
It was He Yanzhou.
Splat—!
The iron sword sliced through the air, striking [Mighty Brother Light]‘s magnificent armor with a dull thud, chipping away a pitiful single-digit amount of damage.
Meanwhile, his own health bar was practically emptied in an instant under the enemy’s subsequent counterattack.
The screen faded into grayscale.
[System] You have been defeated by player [Mighty Brother Light].
[System] Your teammate [YYYan] has been defeated by player [Mighty Brother Light].
The two characters collapsed before the homestead gate, sprawled across the un-repaired debris and ruins. Surrounding them were the gloating laugh emojis and text bubbles broadcasted by [Mighty Brother Light] and his cohorts.
[Nearby] Mighty Brother Light: Just this? A level 1 account actually dares to block a blade? A hero saving the beauty? Hilarious!
[Nearby] Light Light Blossom: Oh dear, why say it like that? This level 1 friend is actually being very responsible and dependable~~
Heh, Qiao Yunguang, do you have any idea that this classmate YYYan on the other side of the internet is actually your sugar daddy?
Qiao Yan thought with a healthy dose of malice. For now, he couldn’t reveal YYYan’s identity to Qiao Yunguang. He would wait until Qiao Yunguang courted disaster a few more times, then reveal their respective in-game identities to both of them. When their relationship shattered, Little Peach-peach could seize the opportunity to step in and reap the rewards from behind…
Genius.
While Qiao Yan remained immersed in his beautiful fantasy, things weren’t going quite as smoothly for He Yanzhou on the other end.
He Yanzhou’s screen was likewise covered in a blanket of black-and-white symbolizing death, his character splayed flat on the ground beside the gloating enemies.
The man’s face remained devoid of expression, his thin lips faintly pursed. He didn’t slam his desk in a rage like Qiao Yan did, nor did he utter any curses. He merely let his gaze darken, turning deeper and more inscrutable than usual.
He was a man accustomed to control.
Controlling his company, controlling projects, controlling every ounce of rhythm at the negotiation table, and even controlling the vast majority of variables in his life.
To him, failure was an incredibly foreign and strictly forbidden concept. Even in a game—a virtual world he originally deemed unworthy of mention—when the outcome of a loss was presented in such a humiliating fashion, a powerful streak of competitiveness and a desire for control deeply rooted in his nature were thoroughly ignited.
He could not tolerate this.
He Yanzhou tapped lightly on his phone, and the option to resurrect lit up, though he didn’t click it immediately.
[Nearby] Mighty Brother Light: What’s the matter? Playing dead on the floor? Not satisfied? If you’re not satisfied, get back up and fight! I’ll play with you anytime!
[Nearby] Light Light Blossom: Forget it, brother. They probably don’t have the face to get up~ Let’s go, they’re truly an eyesore to look at (/ω＼)
Cen Zihao and Qiao Yunguang tossed out a few more mocking remarks. Seeing zero response from the two bodies on the ground, they likely found it boring and finally led their lackeys away in a grand, arrogant fashion, leaving behind two corpses and a landscape of ruins.
Only after their figures completely vanished past the edge of the map did He Yanzhou shift his cursor to click resurrection back at town.
His character materialized within the safety zone of the nearest main city, still clad in those coarse cloth garments, yet his entire avatar seemed enveloped in an invisible low-pressure zone.
[Private Chat] YYYan: One week.
[Private Chat] YYYan: In one week, I’ll help you tear it back down.
Qiao Yan blanked out for a moment.
[Private Chat] Little Peach Bites Super Painfully: Is daddy going to get revenge for me? (*＾3＾)
YYYan didn’t reply.
The very next second, Qiao Yan felt his phone vibrate. It was the notification chime from Alipay.
He picked it up to take a look, his eyes instantly widening.
Alipay Transaction Received: 50,000 RMB.
Note: House repairs.
[Private Chat] YYYan: I don’t know how much it costs. Use this money to buy restoration materials. Buy the best ones, build whatever you want. I’ll take you to tear them down in a week.
Who knew He Yanzhou was actually an obnoxious pay-to-win whale too!!!
But he’s certainly monstrously generous when handing out cash, hehehe.
[Private Chat] Little Peach Bites Super Painfully: daddy!!! I knew daddy was the best!!! The absolute best daddy in the entire world, daddy I truly love you so much~
[Private Chat] YYYan: I still have matters to attend to on my end. Logging off first.
The moment He Yanzhou finished typing, his character logged out right on the spot.
Qiao Yan’s eyes lit up. He immediately resurrected back to town, pulled open the auction house, and began a mad shopping spree.
Limited-edition starry sky flooring, dynamic rainbow bridges, glowing magical plants…
Top-tier decorative materials that he previously couldn’t bear to buy or deemed too expensive were now dumped into his shopping cart as if they cost nothing.
Spending fifty thousand bucks left Qiao Yan feeling thoroughly refreshed. Using his sugar daddy’s money to fund his own infrastructure while simultaneously infuriating his arch-nemesis—who could possibly understand this sheer bliss?
The materials arrived in his mailbox in no time.
Qiao Yan rolled up his sleeves and got straight to work.
He lined his homestead with floor tiles that automatically shifted like a starry sky and planted it full of dreamlike fluorescent flowers that glowed at night. The cloud cottage received a total upgrade as well; its walls were replaced with fluffier cotton candy, and a cute spinning strawberry weather vane was added to the roof. The rainbow carousel was directly swapped for a radiant unicorn version that trailed mini-rainbows behind it as it ran.
Finally, he dropped a massive holographic fountain right in the center of the estate, its waters capable of spraying out the shifting silhouettes of various little animals.
Though the sequence of operations was fierce, Qiao Yan didn’t feel the slightest bit tired. Instead, the more he spent, the more excited he became. By the time the sky began to grow pale, his homestead had undergone a total metamorphosis. The entire estate looked like a miniature luxury dream theme park, sparkling with a brilliance that was easily ten times more magnificent than before.
Satisfied, Qiao Yan took a screenshot and erected a sign right by the entrance of his homestead: “Private Property. Light Light Blossom, Mighty Brother Light, and dogs are forbidden from entering.”
Perfect.
He fell dead asleep the moment his head hit the pillow, his dreams filled entirely with images of Cen Zihao and Qiao Yunguang turning green with envy upon seeing his luxurious new homestead. He let out an excited chuckle in his sleep.
Over the next few days, Qiao Yan’s life went by a bit uneventfully.
The injuries across his body had healed for the most part, leaving behind only some faint prints, and the pet hospital only required his presence in the afternoons.
Qiao Yan logged onto his “Little Peach Bites Super Painfully” account wanting to chat with He Yanzhou to pass the time, but He Yanzhou wasn’t always free to pay attention to him, often providing very brief replies.
Left with no choice, Qiao Yan spent his days binging shows, reading novels, and playing with his cyber-pets in his mobile games, occasionally heading out for a meal and a chat with Jiang Cai or Cao Jingtong.
That afternoon, just as he lay paralyzed on his bed counting sheep against the ceiling, Jiang Cai’s call dialed through.
“Yanyan! Sprouting mold in your dorm? Come out and play!”
“Go where? It’s freezing outside.” Qiao Yan was feeling lazy and didn’t want to move.
“To my brother’s company! I brought delicious snacks, so the two of us can go leech his air conditioning and see Pipi while we’re at it! I’m already at your dorm building’s entrance!”
The moment he heard he could see Pipi, Qiao Yan was instantly re-energized; he truly missed that round, chubby orange cat a bit.
“Right down!”
Qiao Yan threw on a thick down jacket, wrapped a scarf around half his face, and clattered rapidly down the stairs.
Jiang Cai drove him over to He Yanzhou’s company. Along the way, Qiao Yan still felt a bit apprehensive; after all, having been picked up by He Yanzhou last time was somewhat humiliating. But the moment he thought about getting to fluff a cat, that tiny bit of apprehension flew completely out the window.
The He Group headquarters building was extraordinarily grand. Jiang Cai’s face allowed them seamless entry, and she led Qiao Yan straight toward the top-floor CEO’s office.
Pipi had been brought to the company by He Yanzhou to be raised there. Supposedly, it was because the cat had developed a bit of separation anxiety lately, so He Yanzhou had simply set up a luxurious cat bed for it within his office partition.
The hallway was lined with thick carpeting. Jiang Cai knocked on that heavy door with practiced familiarity, and without waiting for a response from within, she smilingly scanned her face and walked right in.
“Brother! We’ve come to see you and Pipi!”
Within the massive office, He Yanzhou sat behind a broad desk, a stylus and a tablet in hand, seemingly reviewing documents.
The sunlight streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling window, tracing a soft golden edge along his sharply contoured profile, making him look focused and solemn.
Qiao Yan and Jiang Cai walked together into the office partition.
Pipi’s cat bed was situated on the rug right by the window. The fat orange cat was currently splayed out like a cat pancake, dozing in the sun. Hearing the commotion, its ears twitched, and it let out a lazy “meow” by way of greeting.
“Mm.”
He Yanzhou didn’t even lift his head, merely offering a faint murmur as his pen traced a line across a document.
Jiang Cai didn’t mind in the slightest. Placing the box of pastries she brought on the coffee table, she pulled Qiao Yan along as they stepped lightly over to see Pipi.
“Fat Pi!”
Qiao Yan squatted down and scratched Pipi’s chin. The orange cat gave a comfortable stretch and rolled over to expose its belly.
The office was incredibly quiet, save for the low hum of the central air conditioning system.
Jiang Cai leaned close to Qiao Yan’s ear, whispering in a breathy tone, “See how dedicated my brother is? Working overtime even on weekends.”
Well, obviously. With so many little lovers to maintain on the outside, doesn’t he have to make a ton of money to support them?
Qiao Yan curled his lip, remaining noncommittal.
Jiang Cai paused, then suddenly narrowed her eyes, leaning in close to Qiao Yan’s ear to whisper softly, “But I have a feeling… my brother seems to be cyber-dating lately.”