Chapter 26

“Pfft—”

Yu Mi spat a mouthful of water onto the computer screen, then choked and coughed: “No… I didn’t! Cough… cough cough…”

Everyone in the team channel burst into laughter, while Chen Ziming quickly got up to hand Yu Mi a tissue and gently patted his back.

Yu Mi was in a sorry state, and it took him a while to clean up the computer and keyboard.

“I don’t have a crush!” he clarified formally.

Shen Gun spoke leisurely, “With such a big reaction, and you say it’s not a crush? Who would believe that?”

He clicked his tongue twice, “Turns out you’re the real deal, sweet and sticky.”

Yu Mi’s cheeks flushed, “I really don’t!”

“Come on, just admit it,” Chen Ziming had already returned to his seat, “I can testify, there’s indeed a handsome senior pursuing our TNN.”

“Don’t talk nonsense,” Yu Mi turned to look at the back of his roommate’s head, “He’s not pursuing me.”

“If you say so,” Chen Ziming coughed lightly, “Anyway, TNN won’t find a partner in the game.”

“Hmm?” Shen Gun chuckled, “Are you hinting at me, bro?”

Chen Ziming immediately distanced himself, “I didn’t name any names!”

Shen Gun laughed, “You’re with the Empress, Jinjiang Zai Tao Shizun is his master, so that only leaves me, right?”

Haitang Si Ai Nüdi immediately asked, “So the question is, are you pursuing our TNN?”

“What are you all talking about?!” Yu Mi quickly interrupted the topic, “This is too scary.”

Shen Gun didn’t answer the Empress’s question but instead said to Yu Mi, “You can send me both of your birth dates, and I’ll help you see if you have any fate together.”

“No way, no way,” Yu Mi said, “I don’t believe in that stuff.”

Besides, he didn’t even know when the senior’s birthday was.

Oh right… he should ask! For the senior, birthdays should be important and happy occasions, right?

It would be awkward to ask directly, so Yu Mi thought about checking the senior’s profile later or asking someone in the club.

To change the subject, he quickly put on a new appearance, transforming from a pure Daoist priest into a mighty muscular man!

“Guys, come admire my pecs!”

Yu Mi did a 360° view of his game model, “Whoa… is this still me?”

“TNN, you’re using the default body type, right? It’s a bit skinny,” Haitang Si Ai Nüdi said, “I have a more sensual adult male body type here, I’ll send it to Mingming. Mingming, you send it to him, see if he likes it.”

Shen Gun asked, “There’s a sensual body type? What does it look like?”

“It’s sexy!” Haitang Si Ai Nüdi laughed, “I can’t believe you haven’t heard of the sexy and sensual joke!”

Everyone really hadn’t heard of it, and they burst into laughter.

Yu Mi got the new body type from Chen Ziming, and when he put it on, his pecs were much bigger…

Without a word, he bought the new body type and used it.

So the team turned into one adult female and four muscular men.

They took group photos together.

After taking a few shots, perhaps their team was too eye-catching, and a stranger approached them.

[Nearby Chat] Carrot Bunny: Weakly asking… can I join the photo? #Pleading

Naturally, they generously agreed.

Soon, more people came to take photos, and some naked men joined in, serving as background props for tourists to take pictures with.

Some people were making flirtatious comments on the map, talking about burying their faces in pecs and sucking on them. Many Qingyun Alliance players passing by on escort missions copied the lines.

It seems that liking pecs is a common interest.

Yu Mi decided to forgive his “sharp-tongued” self.

Make peace with yourself, TNN!

The senior didn’t blame you, so why be hard on yourself?

But it’s still a bit hard to reconcile…

Someone reported the location on the world channel, saying there were male models here, attracting even more people.

Yu Mi silently blocked everyone, planning to take some solo shots.

Admiring the perfect body type and his handsome face, Yu Mi couldn’t stop taking pictures.

As he took more, he found the scene a bit monotonous, so he started using skills.

Gotta say, the Daoist skills’ special effects are really beautiful! Various Taiji and Eight Trigrams, a myriad of swords, mysterious formations… it’s like a sword immortal descended, too handsome for words!

He chose this faction partly because of the skill effects.

After all, as the saying goes, “Being strong is temporary, being handsome is forever.”

Among the many skills, most require a hostile target to release, while a few can be released without a target.

In the screenshot system, Yu Mi casually released a move, and instantly, white sword shadows danced around him.

He snapped screenshots.

The next moment, the screen suddenly flashed red!

[System: Entering combat!]

*

Yu Mi panicked, “Huh? How did I get into combat? Who’s attacking me?”

He quickly exited the screenshot system and found that a Qingyun Alliance player on an escort mission had accidentally stepped into the sword formation he just released!

The other player had their faction mode on, and upon entering, the sword formation attacked them, forcing Yu Mi to activate faction mode as well.

He was about to type an explanation, but the player thought he was robbing the escort, and in a panic, started attacking him.

Haitang Si Ai Nüdi immediately healed Yu Mi, but she also got dragged into the fight.

The situation escalated quickly, and the beautiful photo-taking atmosphere turned into a bloody battle, with many people entering combat in an instant.

A few seconds later, Yu Mi heard a “kill” sound in his ear!

[System: You injured Taotao Oolong.]

“Ah!!” Yu Mi screamed, “I killed someone? I killed someone! I didn’t mean to!”

He was like a criminal who accidentally committed manslaughter, frantically shouting, “I killed someone, I killed someone…”

His teammates were amused by his reaction, laughing and comforting him over the mic, “It’s okay, it’s okay, you killed them, so what.”

Jinjiang Zai Tao Shizun said, “I was like that when I first played, scared and panicked after killing someone, apologizing like crazy… but after playing for a while—kill, kill, kill! Combat, awesome!”

Yu Mi hadn’t evolved to that stage yet.

He glanced at the other player’s equipment, and sure enough, their gear score was low, indicating they hadn’t been playing for long.

As a fellow newbie, he knew the pain of being robbed during an escort mission and felt very guilty!

He quickly private messaged the fallen Taotao Oolong.

Just as he sent “I’m sorry,” the other player revived on the spot, raised a big flag, and suddenly, over ten experts stood in front of Yu Mi, attacking without a word!

The battle was on the verge of breaking out!

“Oh my god!” Yu Mi was shocked, “How did it turn out like this?! What’s going on?”

“Fun,” Shen Gun laughed, “It’s a faction war now. I’m leaving the team, bye.”

Then Yu Mi saw this guy recruiting in the faction channel.

[Map] What Are You: Anti-escort robbery ++++ Need healers +++ Need DPS ++++

Yu Mi was on the verge of tears, “I wasn’t robbing the escort!”

“Hahaha, it’s fine!” His master was quite excited, “Just fight! That’s what PVP is all about!”

She immediately went to the Chiyan Valley faction channel to recruit people.

So the friendly photo session turned into a wild faction battle!

And neutral players were left bewildered.

[Map] Tui Zhan: Did you guys start a PVP fight? Is this PVP? #Shocked

[Map] Dongfang Bai Miao: Did you guys start a PVP fight? Is this PVP? #Shocked

[Map] Ye Yu Mo: Did you guys start a PVP fight? Is this PVP? #Shocked

[Map] Jin Mo: This is PVP! Combat, awesome! #Laughing

Since everyone was taking photos earlier, many were wearing the shirtless appearance, so the fight turned into a brawl of naked men.

Releasing skills without clothes made the actions look particularly comical, and Yu Mi was no exception. In an instant, his image was ruined, looking like a monkey, unbearable to watch!

He fought while taking screenshots.

The fight grew from dozens to five or six hundred people, lasting until almost midnight, leaving him exhausted.

As the battle ended, someone in the faction channel asked: So what was the fight about?

Yu Mi quickly confessed.

[Faction] Sweet and Sticky: I’m really sorry TAT, I was taking photos over there and released a sword formation for special effects, accidentally hitting someone on an escort mission. Then the fight broke out. Thank you all for your hard work!!!

[Faction] Xiao Xiang Shui Xie: It’s okay, darling, no need to apologize! #Pleading. Just asking, you’re… so serious, so cute! If you get hit next time, you can call me directly! #Delighted

[Faction] Yu Za: Such a cute darling, my heart is melted… PVP is all about finding fights every day! No need to feel guilty.

The faction people are so nice! Yu Mi felt warm inside.

But before he could be moved, the channel’s tone changed.

[Faction] Selected Beef: Such a cute darling, my heart is melted… want to kiss you. #RedLips

[Faction] Jiangnan Hao Feng Jing: Such a cute darling, my heart is melted… want to kiss you. #RedLips

[Faction] Xia Yu: Such a cute darling, my heart is melted… want to kiss you. #RedLips

Perverts!

Yu Mi quickly logged off.

*

After logging off, his master poked him in the sect group, asking if it was Shen Gun who anonymously wrote that blessing for him.

Yu Mi: “I don’t know Orz… I haven’t asked yet. I’ll let you know when I find out!”

But he had no idea how to ask.

If he didn’t ask, it would probably just pass.

His senior sister even popped up to ask, “Junior brother, do you want to know who that person is, or do you want to know if that person is Shen Gun? These are two different questions. [Smirk]”

Yu Mi was confused, “How are they different? 0.0 I want to know who it is, and if it’s him.”

Ye Guanlan: “They’re different, think about it yourself. [Side-eye smile]”

Yu Mi thought for a long time but couldn’t figure out the difference between the two questions.

Lying in bed, he searched the chat records in the anime group and quietly inquired, learning that the senior’s birthday was November 11th.

A very… special date.

And it was just recently.

He suddenly felt a bit regretful; they weren’t familiar back then, otherwise, he would have definitely sent his blessings. Now he could only wait for next year.

But the senior’s birthday was as easy to remember as his own, so he definitely wouldn’t forget it.

Next year… but by next November, the senior might have started his internship, maybe not even in the same city, who knows if he’ll stay here…

Then Yu Mi remembered that Shen Gun’s name ended with the same character as the senior’s, which was quite a coincidence.

Meanwhile—

After logging off, Qi You’an also opened the payment record to check the last character of Sweet and Sticky’s name.

The result showed that the person who transferred the money was named “** Ming.”

“** Ming”… was his last name “Ming”?

Qi You’an initially accepted this.

But after closing his eyes for a few minutes, he suddenly realized something was off.

He had teamed up with them a few times, and if he remembered correctly, Sweet and Sticky had called his roommate “X Ming,” and today Haitang Si Ai Nüdi also called Strawberry Bobo “Mingming.”

So, this “** Ming” might not be Sweet and Sticky’s name, but Strawberry Bobo’s.

He immediately poked someone on QQ.

“Was it your roommate who transferred the money to me today?”

Yu Mi hadn’t slept yet and replied instantly, “Yeah.”

At the time, he had scanned the payment code Shen Gun sent, ready to pay, but then hesitated. He silently got up, poked Chen Ziming, and pointed to his computer, asking him to help with the payment.

Of course, he quickly transferred the money back to him.

As for why he had his roommate help, it was simply because his name was a bit unique.

“X Mi,” it’s easy to recognize.

If his name were three characters, XX Mi, it would be more ambiguous, and he would have paid himself. Two characters were really tricky, so he had to do it this way.

Shen Gun replied with an “Oh.”

Looking at the indifferent “Oh,” Yu Mi weakly asked, “Are you… mad?”

The other side didn’t reply.

Although Shen Gun didn’t say anything, Yu Mi felt the atmosphere was a bit off.

To ease the tension, he sent another message, “Are you that curious about my name, bro?”

He waited for about ten minutes, feeling sleepy, but Shen Gun still didn’t reply.

It was past midnight, and he didn’t know if the guy had fallen asleep or was angry.

It made Yu Mi a bit restless.

But online, it’s important to protect your privacy, and he didn’t think he was wrong in doing so.

Forget it!

Sleep!

However, just as Yu Mi closed his eyes, he noticed his phone screen light up.

He instantly opened his eyes and picked up the phone again.

Shen Gun replied, “A little bit.”

A little bit mad? Or a little bit curious?

Yu Mi didn’t know how to respond for a moment, but the other side quickly explained.

“Just a little curious, not that curious. You don’t have to tell me your real name, protecting privacy is normal, I’m not mad. Sleep well.”

He said he wasn’t that curious.

But Yu Mi was very curious about something.

He hesitated for a few minutes and couldn’t help but ask.

“Today during the day, after you logged off, I was there looking at lanterns. I accidentally found someone had sent me a blessing… was it you?”

Shen Gun: “Huh??”

A “Huh??” not knowing if he was completely unaware of this, or surprised that the anonymous lantern he released was seen by Sweet and Sticky himself.

Or maybe he was playing dumb.

Yu Mi: “If you tell me if it was you, I’ll tell you the last character of my name, how about that?”

After proposing this trade, Yu Mi stared at the chat box in the dark, feeling a bit nervous.

He felt guilty because he thought the last character of his name wasn’t worth much… not enough to exchange for the answer to his question.

About thirty seconds later, Shen Gun responded.

“Do you want it to be me?”

This question was like a soul-searching inquiry, shaking Yu Mi’s emotions.

He subconsciously asked himself—

Do I want it to be him?