This night, Xiang Xu, who had been able to fall asleep the moment his head touched the pillow for the past 20 years, found himself unable to sleep.
Today is June 3rd, Xiang Xu’s 20th birthday. Yesterday, he experienced great highs and lows, immense joy and deep sorrow. Lying in bed with a sore body, he kept his eyes wide open, staring blankly at the dark ceiling.
2.05 million!
His Royal Sister told him that they owed 2.05 million in external debt.
Xiang Xu did the math. If he and his sister saved 5,000 every month, excluding interest, it would take them 35 years to pay it off!
Discovering on his 20th birthday that he was in massive debt, Xiang Xu suddenly did not know how to face the situation. The life of the modern-day Xiang Xu had burst into his heart like a home invasion, giving him no say in the matter.
In the darkness, the rustling sound of a small insect gnawing beneath the bed was particularly distinct in the silent, clear night.
Xiang Xu kicked his quilt in frustration, turned on the light, and crawled under the bed to bring the culprit disturbing his sleep to justice.
The playful pigtails flicked back and forth between his fingertips, as if shaking their head at him.
He opened the window and flicked the cute little creature out with a “biu.” He could not see its graceful arc in the darkness, but the summer breeze stirred his pajamas and soothed away his irritability.
I know! I know! I will just endure it, okay!
He sat poutily at the computer desk, much like when he would kneel poutily in the Buddhist hall after being scolded by the Emperor. Two minutes later, his self-generated anger dissipated on its own.
“I was already short on money, now it is just more obvious. Fundamentally, there is no difference.” Xiang Xu started to delude himself incoherently. “It is all about making money anyway, so I will just go out and make more. What good does it do to worry so much!”
He opened his computer and logged onto the official forum of Epoch of God’s Erosion. Previously, boosting the ranking for “Money-Burning Temper” had been excruciating, leading Xiang Xu to wonder if the 600 fee was a low-ball offer intended to scam him. Consequently, he had done thorough research on the official website, browsing many posts regarding boosting, power-leveling, and grinding. Based on this, Xiang Xu gained a clear understanding of the market price.
Thus, in just 20 minutes, he edited a post offering boosting, power-leveling, and grinding services. He opened the game, recorded a video of himself hammering a boss while fully geared in purple equipment, and posted it to the official website along with proof and his UID.
After posting, he switched back to the game to wait for friend requests while running through his daily tasks. The friend box flashed.
“Money-Burning Temper”: “Online so late? Are you trying to die of overwork?”
What right did he have to say that? Xiang Xu rolled his eyes internally and pretended not to see it.
“Money-Burning Temper” clearly did not like being ignored.
“Are you blind? Take a look at my ranking.”
Xiang Xu clicked on the leaderboard and discovered that he had dropped to 12th place.
Is this not looking for trouble? Xiang Xu replied: “I will boost it back in two days.”
“Money-Burning Temper”: “I have not done my daily quests, bring me along.”
Xiang Xu thought to himself that he now charged money for daily quests, but since this was a big spender, he did not mention it. With a click of his mouse, he pulled the other party into the team.
This time, “Money-Burning Temper” did not “play dead,” but he was only slightly better than that, occasionally attacking a few times just to go through the motions.
After finishing the daily quests, “Money-Burning Temper” said: “Bring me for the world boss as well.”
World bosses also cost money. Xiang Xu did not mention it and obediently clicked into the dungeon.
“And the weekly dungeon.”
Xiang Xu good-naturedly took him through the weekly dungeon. To be honest, he was a bit puzzled. “Money-Burning Temper” had always looked down on the measly rewards from dungeons and world bosses. After all, if he lacked materials, it was just a matter of spending a little money in the shop. Yet today, he was wasting precious time grinding for these small materials.
When something is abnormal, there must be a demon. Xiang Xu asked: “Why do you suddenly want to play dungeons today?”
“None of your business. If you keep talking, I will deduct your pay.”
Xiang Xu stopped asking.
“Deducting pay” had much more killing power than “hacking the account.”
After finishing the weekly dungeon, Xiang Xu expected the other party to mention the ranking again, but “Money-Burning Temper” cleanly quit the team and went offline.
He could not understand the thought process of rich people. While he wandered around in the game, the friend request notification sounded. He clicked on it and saw that it was someone looking for him to grind!
Before he could reply, several more friend requests popped up.
So the forum post promotion has a lag time. Xiang Xu happily added over a dozen friends, only to discover that they were all looking for him to grind or power-level. Not a single one wanted a ranking boost.
Xiang Xu was puzzled. The video he posted clearly showed off his skills. Logically, more people should have wanted a ranking boost.
He asked one of the clients. The client sent him a link to a forum post. Xiang Xu clicked on it and almost fainted.
“Money-Burning Temper”: “Probably because the booster is too poor and not used to playing with red-tier equipment. With such good gear, he still cannot make it into the top ten.”
He had posted Xiang Xu’s UID. The image attached was a screenshot of the leaderboard showing 12th place, along with a few screenshots of the equipment stats.
Slander! Pure slander!
With the dog-shit red-tier equipment he had paired, it was only through his “miraculous hands” that he made it to 12th. Furthermore, he had previously reached the top ten; it was only because he had not looked at it for two days that someone surpassed him!
No wonder no one came to him for ranking boosts. As the saying goes, experts look for the technique, while laypeople look for the excitement. They only saw him covered in high-value red-tier gear and listened to him sternly criticizing others, so naturally, they doubted his skills.
Why is this person so petty? Ruining a person’s livelihood is like killing their parents!
Xiang Xu flipped through the comments below and almost vomited blood.
Because “Money-Burning Temper” was a high-spending player who nurtured the server, the comment section was filled with people kowtowing to him, following his lead in attacking Xiang Xu’s skills.
Even more infuriating was that for almost every comment agreeing with him, “Money-Burning Temper” had sent token red packets, attracting even more people to watch and comment, making the scene extremely lively.
This person had reached a certain level of spitefulness. Xiang Xu’s brain, which had been injured by an iron rod, was buzzing.
Thinking that the post he had made had likely been conquered, Xiang Xu clicked on it to see, only to find that the post had been blocked for violating community rules. It showed only dozens of views and zero comments.
So where did the client come from?
With a “ding,” the client said “sent it to the wrong person” and sent him a new forum link.
The post was very simple, containing only one video: the video of Xiang Xu taking “Money-Burning Temper” through the daily quests and dungeons.
Top comment: “Is the Big Brother going down to the mortal world to do daily quests too?”
“Money-Burning Temper” replied: “Power-leveling. I just hang there; it is more cost-effective than buying gift packs.”
Because Xiang Xu’s name, “Not Saving Oneself,” was in the video, many people followed the post to search for his friend request.
Switching back to his original post ranting about boosting, it did not reveal his UID. Even though several comments were warning people to avoid him for boosting services, “Money-Burning Temper” ignored them entirely.
Xiang Xu felt a complex mix of emotions. He opened the browsing history of the blocked post, and the name “Money-Burning Temper” was prominently listed.
He was momentarily stunned. It was the first time he had seen someone do a good deed so ungracefully.
Mu Lianyi tossed and turned, then pressed his phone to light it up.
It was already three in the morning, and he still did not have a shred of sleepiness.
His body ached all over. Sleeping on a soft bed felt like sleeping on a pile of stones, and nothing felt comfortable. Images of a bruised and battered Xiang Xu, the dilapidated urban village, and the cake held in the girl’s hand constantly swirled in his mind, eventually returning to Xiang Xu’s face.
That face, no matter how he thought about it, looked so pitiful.
His heart was abnormally restless. He originally wanted to play a game to relax, but instead, his sympathy overflowed, shining upon “Not Saving Oneself.”
Thinking back, he felt it was inexplicable, and his mood did not lighten one bit.
He should have taken him to the hospital, should have offered him more words of comfort, at least should have shown some concern. Why had he been so immersed in the shock of his illusions being shattered that he left without saying a word?
Those illusions were originally imposed by himself, were they not? He had never said he was waiting for him.
At the thought that everything had been his own wishful thinking, Mu Lianyi felt a bit sad again.
Upon first meeting Xiang Xu, Mu Lianyi felt he looked very familiar, very much like a deceased friend buried in his memory. Today, when he asked his name, he suddenly felt a pang of heartache.
Xiang Xu might not look that pitiful, but Mu Lianyi brought his own emotions and the shadow of that high-spirited young man into the picture, making it impossible for him to view him impartially.
He tossed and turned again, facing away from the pitch-black window.
In the darkness, the silhouette of the tea canister on the nightstand was faint and indistinct. A faint, subtle rose fragrance seemed to be present.
Mu Lianyi stared blankly at it. The rose fragrance drifted over again, pulling back his train of thought. He propped himself up from the bed and turned on the desk lamp.
This was the rose tea Xiang Xu had insisted on stuffing into his hands. Truly, he had tasted many fine teas in his life. Even though he was too poor to see a doctor, he still wasted money on this.
He picked out two flower crowns and threw them into the health pot to boil. The two flowers tumbled slowly in the water. The sound of gentle bubbling filled his ears, and in the quiet night, the white noise seemed exceptionally peaceful.
He picked up the tea canister to look.
“Promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis, soothe the liver and relieve depression.”
Eight characters were written in the efficacy column.
“It is good for your body, it suits you.”
Mu Lianyi recalled Xiang Xu looking at the hand he used to cover his abdomen when he said this, and he could not help but laugh.
Why is a boy so careful and thoughtful?
In the health pot, the color of the rose flowers gradually faded, and the color of the tea turned into a light orange-red.
Mu Lianyi recalled his blushing face and his watery, glistening eyes.
He poured a cup and drank it. The steam from the rose tea steamed his face. The hot tea entered his stomach and was absorbed through the stomach wall, and the heat immediately traveled throughout his body.
After one sip, his mood was much calmer, and his body did not seem to ache as much. Mu Lianyi felt that this tea was not just ordinarily effective.
After finishing the cup, his brain was much clearer. Mu Lianyi thought about Xiang Xu’s situation again, and his opinion had shifted.
Xiang Xu was optimistic, gentle, well-bred, careful, thoughtful, and polite. His personality was impeccable, yet he was so unlucky. Heaven must be blind!
Mu Lianyi was very clear about what he should do.
At 4 AM, Li Li, who was dreaming, was woken up by a phone call from his boss.
Fortunately, the next day was a day off, otherwise, based on the degree of soreness in Xiang Xu’s body, he certainly would not have been able to support working half a day.
He woke up at noon. Xiang Xu pressed his throbbing head and opened the computer. On WeChat, Zhao Yan asked him if he wanted to go out to hang out, promising to arrange everything.
The tacit understanding between brothers was probably just this well-understood. Zhao Yan did not say any mushy words, but Xiang Xu guessed the general idea.
Zhao Yan knew today was his birthday, so when he threw the phone to him yesterday, he said, “Tomorrow is a good day.” That phone was Zhao Yan’s birthday gift to him.
It was already broken.
Xiang Xu dared not open his eyes. Zhao Yan had been kind, and he had ruined it in less than a day. He felt guilty.
Moreover, in his current state, all beaten up and black and blue, he really did not have the face to go out and meet people.
Xiang Xu thought for a long time but could not come up with a reason, so he had to send: “I stayed up all night, I have a bit of a headache. Next time, let us do it next time.”
Zhao Yan: “Where did you go to mess around last night? Were there any beautiful girls? You are truly unbrotherly, why did you not call your good brother to come along? (Evil grin) (Evil grin)”
“At home, playing games. The male-to-female ratio of the game players is 9.5 to 0.5, and within that 0.5, there are cross-dressers.”
After a silence, Zhao Yan sent a speechless panda meme: “Your way of celebrating your birthday is plain and uninteresting enough.”
“Then how do you plan to help me celebrate?”
Zhao Yan excitedly said: “Picking up girls all night long!”
What right did he have to say that to me? Xiang Xu sent the speechless panda meme back.