Daocheng.
June 17th, Saturday, clear weather.
"Mm... ah..."
In the early morning, a series of extremely enticing moans came from the next room, waking Chen Lang from his spring dream.
By now, the sky outside the window was already bright, and the room was filled with a faint scent of hormones, with a lingering hint of alcohol.
"Damn it, can't a guy get some sleep?"
Chen Lang cursed under his breath, groggily opened his eyes, and lay in bed for a while, listening to the intermittent sounds. Then he picked up his phone from the bedside to check the time.
6:37.
"Shameless, starting so early in the morning!"
Chen Lang put down his phone, cursed again, and was quite dissatisfied with the soundproofing of the building.
The housing prices in Daocheng were high, and the place he was living in wasn't far from the city center. Due to financial constraints, he could only share an old apartment with others, and the soundproofing was quite poor.
It was a three-bedroom apartment, and he lived in the master bedroom, which had its own bathroom — not bad, but the price was even better, a full two thousand yuan a month.
Half a month ago, a young couple had moved into the bedroom next to his, separated by just a wall. Young and full of energy, they were like a fire waiting to ignite, making noise almost every day, which was quite torturous for Chen Lang, who had been single for twenty-four years.
It was indeed a kind of "torment," painful yet pleasurable.
Putting down his phone, Chen Lang expressionlessly pulled the thin blanket over himself, turned over, and was about to go back to sleep. However, the next moment, he froze...
At this moment, a beautiful girl was quietly lying beside him...
The girl appeared to be around twenty years old, extremely beautiful, with a fair and smooth face, eyebrows like a painting, long eyelashes slightly curled, a delicate nose, and exquisite collarbones that emitted a faint glow, like they were carved from sheep-fat jade.
However, on that jade-like skin, there were still traces of kisses, seemingly telling the tale of last night's madness.
Further down, a pair of full breasts were mostly covered by the summer quilt, with just a hint of white exposed.
"This... so it wasn't a dream..."
Chen Lang stared blankly at the girl in front of him, taking a long time to finally recall.
...
Time rewinds to a day earlier.
After accidentally discovering his boss's affair with the director, Chen Lang was fired by his boss on the grounds of taking too long in the bathroom. Of course, he received a compensation of twenty thousand yuan for it.
To celebrate his newfound freedom, Chen Lang invited two good friends to a barbecue joint that night, drinking until late.
And this girl, he met her while riding his bicycle home.
The girl seemed to have been drinking too, standing on the stone bridge railing, looking like she was about to jump into the river. Chen Lang, passing by, pulled her down, and as a result, his second-hand bicycle, which had weathered many storms, turned into a transformer.
Later, Chen Lang tried to persuade the girl for quite a while, but she remained silent. Helpless, Chen Lang called the police, thinking he might even get a title as one of Qinghai City's top ten outstanding youths.
But before the police arrived, the girl pulled Chen Lang away, and the two of them ended up back at Chen Lang's place in a daze.
Then...
Then the girl pinned Chen Lang against the wall.
Single for twenty-four years, Chen Lang couldn't resist such temptation. The girl was already extremely beautiful, and with the alcohol in his system, he couldn't control himself. The result was that he completely bid farewell to his virginity...
...
"Mmhm..."
Just as Chen Lang was lost in those beautiful memories, the sleeping girl suddenly let out a soft hum, startling him.
Fortunately, the girl didn't wake up, just turned over and hugged Chen Lang's arm, continuing to sleep.
"......"
Feeling the soft touch on his arm, Chen Lang swallowed hard, not daring to move, silently pondering how to explain when she woke up.
"Hopefully, she wasn't too drunk last night..."
Chen Lang thought to himself, worried that if the girl woke up and denied everything, he'd be in big trouble, at least three years in prison.
But it shouldn't come to that, after all, the girl was the one who initiated it last night.
"Mm... mm..."
The sounds from next door continued, but Chen Lang no longer had the mind to listen. He glanced at the sleeping girl, feeling not the least bit envious.
He had seen the woman next door before; although her figure and looks were decent, compared to the girl beside him, she was far inferior, not even in the same league.
Ten minutes later, seeing no sign of the girl waking up, Chen Lang tried to move his arm, but she held onto it tightly, making it impossible to pull away.
Helpless, Chen Lang could only continue lying there.
In a blissful torment, about an hour passed before the girl beside him finally woke up.
Her long eyelashes fluttered slightly as she slowly opened her eyes.
What she saw was a young face that wasn't particularly handsome but was quite pleasing to the eye.
Their eyes met, and the girl froze, her beautiful eyes widening with a hint of confusion.
At that moment, the air seemed to freeze, and they stared at each other, neither speaking.
"You... you're awake..."
Finally, Chen Lang broke the silence with a dry voice.
"Can you... can you go out first?"
The girl finally reacted, her already fair face turning even paler. She released Chen Lang's arm, trying to maintain her composure, and said, pulling a corner of the thin blanket over her head.
"Uh... okay!"
Chen Lang, as if receiving an imperial decree, quickly got out of bed, picked up his scattered clothes, put them on, and quietly left the room.
"Phew..."
Closing the door, Chen Lang let out a long breath, feeling somewhat relieved.
Judging by the girl's calm demeanor, it seemed she wouldn't deny everything.
"How did this happen..."
After Chen Lang left, the girl finally revealed her face, lifting the thin blanket to look at her naked body. Tears, like broken pearls, rolled down her cheeks, soaking the pillow...
...
Outside the room.
Chen Lang paced back and forth in the hallway, his gaze wandering, lost in thought.
"Squeak..."
Suddenly, the door next to him opened, and a woman stepped out, wearing only a nightgown. Seeing Chen Lang at the door, she paused, then spat and quickly went into the bathroom.
Chen Lang's forehead darkened, feeling somewhat speechless, as if he were being mistaken for a peeping tom.
With the poor soundproofing of this building, did he really need to press his ear to the door to hear?
"I wouldn't even bother looking if you paid me!"
He muttered under his breath, returning to his room's door. After hesitating for a moment, he knocked, but there was no response.
"Miss, are you okay?"
Chen Lang mustered the courage to ask, but still received no answer.
Helpless, he went to the living room, took out his phone, and started looking at it, though his mind wasn't on the screen at all.
"June 18th, [Tianyan] officially launches, globally synchronized!"
On the phone screen, a line of bold red text stood out, but Chen Lang only glanced at it, not paying much attention.
He was well aware of [Tianyan], a groundbreaking virtual online game launched by five global giants, with a 99.99% realism rate, touted as humanity's second world, full of infinite possibilities. It had been promoted for nearly half a year, with even the government involved in its promotion.
This game wasn't operated through a regular computer but required a special gaming helmet for full immersion.
Just last night, Chen Lang's two good friends, Guan Suo and Chen Ming, had invited him to join them in [Tianyan], but he hadn't immediately agreed.
"Hmph!"
A moment later, the bathroom door opened, and the woman came out, glancing at Chen Lang in the living room with a snort before walking back to her room with a seductive sway.
"What's her problem!"
Chen Lang glared at the door, then continued looking at his phone.
After more than ten minutes, seeing that the girl still hadn't come out, Chen Lang grew worried, got up, and went to his room's door, knocking again. But once more, there was no response.
Just as Chen Lang was about to push the door open, worried the girl might do something rash, the door suddenly opened.
The girl stood gracefully in the doorway, wearing a white T-shirt that was clearly two sizes too big, a wrinkled knee-length skirt, and white sneakers. She was tall and slender, about 1.7 meters.
Having just showered, she exuded a misty aura, her hair slightly damp, casually draped over her shoulders, looking delicate and charming.
"You... you're up."
Seeing the beautiful girl before him, Chen Lang's heart skipped a beat, and he awkwardly stated the obvious.
"Mm."
The girl pressed her lips together, saying nothing more, just looking deeply at Chen Lang.
Feeling somewhat nervous, Chen Lang didn't know what to say.
For a moment, they stood there, gazing at each other, the atmosphere a bit awkward.
"Um... I'll take responsibility."
Finally, Chen Lang, with an embarrassed expression, broke the silence.
The girl pressed her lips together, looking at Chen Lang for a long time before shaking her head expressionlessly, "No need, you saved me last night, so we're even."
With that, she sidestepped him, walked out of the room, and headed straight for the door.
"Um... what's your name?"
Chen Lang hesitated for a few seconds, then abruptly turned and asked, summoning his courage.
Hearing this, the girl paused, looked back at Chen Lang, but said nothing, just stared at him, as if trying to memorize his face.
"Squeak—"
Just then, the door next to them opened, and the shameless couple emerged.
"Hmm?"
Seeing Chen Lang and the girl staring at each other, they froze, faces full of surprise.
Having shared the apartment for over half a month, they had never seen Chen Lang bring a woman home, let alone such a beautiful one.
And judging by her attire, she had clearly spent the night here...
The woman couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy.
Women naturally compare themselves to others, even if they don't know each other.
Though she considered herself to have a good figure and looks, compared to the girl before her, she felt inferior.
As for the young man, he kept sneaking glances at the girl. His girlfriend had just accused Chen Lang of being a peeping tom, yet here he was with such a beautiful girlfriend, why would he need to peep?
On the other side, the girl pressed her lips together, her gaze lingering on Chen Lang's face for a moment before she turned and left without saying anything.
Seeing her leave, Chen Lang had no interest in dealing with the couple, quickly intending to follow her, but the young man grabbed him.
"What?"
Chen Lang, anxious, frowned at the young man.
"Um... bro, is that your girlfriend?"
The young man asked quietly.
He wasn't bad-looking, just a bit small and thin, with a slightly effeminate vibe due to his micro-bangs hairstyle.
"Yes, why?"
Chen Lang, not wanting to waste time, replied perfunctorily.
"Nothing, I just thought she looked familiar, but I can't remember where I've seen her."
The young man scratched his head, smiling.
"Familiar?"
Chen Lang was speechless, realizing this guy was clueless, daring to say such things in front of his girlfriend.
"Hmph, now that you mention it, she does look a bit familiar."
Sure enough, the woman sneered, looking at the young man with a hint of displeasure.
"Jiao Jiao, it's not what you think, I really feel like I've seen her before!"
The young man hurriedly explained, but Jiao Jiao clearly didn't believe him.
Seeing a fight about to break out, Chen Lang quickly slipped away, but the broken elevator at the entrance was stuck on the first floor, not moving, which annoyed him.
Moments later, when Chen Lang rushed down from the fifth floor, the girl was long gone...
"Idiots!"
Chen Lang cursed under his breath, feeling a bit lost, but there was nothing he could do.
Even if she hadn't left, what could he do?
...
"Jiao Jiao, look, I wasn't lying, isn't this her!"
Upstairs, the slightly effeminate young man shoved his phone in Jiao Jiao's face, his eye bearing a bruise, clearly having taken a beating.
"You know, she does look a bit like her. I thought she looked familiar too..."
Jiao Jiao, looking at the beautiful poster on the phone screen, felt a bit embarrassed, realizing she had misunderstood her boyfriend.
"Like? It's her, no doubt. Who would've thought that guy, so ordinary, would..."
The young man gritted his teeth, but stopped mid-sentence.
Chen Lang, feeling a bit down, walked back in through the door, ignoring the two, heading straight to his room.
"Bro, wait, wait!"
The young man stopped Chen Lang, holding out his phone, "Bro, is this your girlfriend?"
"Hmm?"
Stopped by the young man, Chen Lang frowned slightly, glancing at the phone, and suddenly froze.
It was a beautifully artistic poster, with mountains and waters reflecting each other, shrouded in mist, and a stunning woman standing quietly.
The woman wore an ancient-style glazed dress, her figure slender and tall, holding a golden staff, elegant and noble.
What surprised Chen Lang the most was that the woman's face on the poster was identical to the girl from earlier.
"This is... a promotional poster for Tianyan?!"