☆ Chapter 14

It was absolutely impossible to invite his “gege” to have dinner together. Not a chance.

Ling Shaoze remained calm and indifferent:
“No need. Didn’t you say it yourself? This thing between us—shortest a week, longest a month.”

It wasn’t a real relationship anyway. No need for the whole “meet-the-family” act.

But unexpectedly, his newly-official, top-ranked swordsman boyfriend gently scratched his palm and said,
“If Guoguo’s willing to stay with me long-term, I wouldn’t mind giving it a shot. We’ve only been together half a day, and I already like you more and more—I can’t even bear the thought of breaking up.”

Ling Shaoze replied expressionlessly,
“Let’s not. Your feelings come way too easily—they’ll probably fade just as fast.”

He Yi thought to himself: if Ling Shaoze had used that one-night stand to guilt-trip him into taking responsibility, he would’ve done so. But his interest in Ling Shaoze wouldn’t have become this intense, deep and genuine.

As they spent more time together, he started to see different sides of Ling Shaoze.

Though he talked about being a heartless scumbag, in reality, he was actually someone with very firm principles. He never deliberately misled or toyed with anyone’s feelings.

This time, Ling Shaoze hadn’t been upfront about his real gender, but that was only because he himself had taken a “just for fun” attitude first—he’d even said outright he didn’t care whether Ling Shaoze was a guy or girl in real life.

Back when He Yi was dating Ling Shaoze using his alt account “Wuying,” he gave him plenty of gifts. But Ling Shaoze always found a way to return the favor and pay him back—on Wuying’s account, aside from outfits, there were two or three rare pieces of purple gears and valuable materials that Ling Shaoze had bought at high prices from the auction house.

Even if it didn’t completely match in value, every single gift had been something He Yi basically shoved at him—and Ling Shaoze only ever accepted them reluctantly.

He Yi had even hinted more than once that he was someone important in real life. But Ling Shaoze never dug deeper—he even went out of his way to change the subject. It was like he was trying to avoid any real-world entanglements with him altogether.

All in all, Ling Shaoze was definitely not the type to sell himself out for power or profit.

Even when it came to intimate gestures like hugs and kisses, he was almost always the passive one—so he clearly wasn’t someone who casually chased after beauty either.

When He Yi treated him with gentle attentiveness and thoughtful care, he could vaguely feel that Ling Shaoze was somewhat moved too—but almost immediately, he’d put on a front of complete indifference again.

It was more like he was hiding behind the label of being a “scumbag” to protect himself—afraid that if he got emotionally involved, he’d end up getting hurt.

You could say… this was a kid who had zero trust in love.

He Yi knew that with someone like Ling Shaoze—deeply guarded and lacking a sense of security—no amount of sweet talk would work. The only way to earn his trust was through long-term companionship, to slowly prove his sincerity.

So He Yi didn’t say anything more. He simply followed the mode of interaction he’d worked out back when he was with Ling Shaoze as “Wuying”—the one that made the little guy feel most relaxed and comfortable—and stepped into the role of the new boyfriend.

Yijian Fenghou: “A new restaurant just opened in the main city. Let’s go try it.”

Ling Shaoze let out a quiet breath of relief and happily agreed, “Sure.”

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Private room, second floor of a restaurant in the main city.

This was actually the same restaurant Wuying had mentioned wanting to take him to a few days ago. Back then, it hadn’t officially opened yet. And now that it finally had… they’d already broken up.

And yet… here he was, coming with his current new boyfriend.

Thinking of the near-perfect boyfriend that Wuying had been, Ling Shaoze’s thoughts drifted off for a moment.

By the time he came back to his senses, his new boyfriend, Yijian Fenghou, had already ordered seven or eight dishes. He was looking at him gently, asking in a sweet, pampering tone:
“Guoguo, take a look—anything else you’d like to eat?”

Ling Shaoze glanced at the menu—every dish on it was his favorite.

Looking at Yijian Fenghou’s gentle face, he shook his head, and said, “No, this is good.”

But a sliver of doubt crept into Ling Shaoze’s heart.

How did Yijian Fenghou know exactly what he liked? Could it be that this guy was actually just Wuying using another alt—like, a split identity or something?

After all, he had two accounts and even a gender-swapped avatar—who’s to say Wuying didn’t have more than one persona too?

But then again, the game’s avatars were auto-generated to resemble the player’s real-life appearance. Yijian Fenghou’s cold, aloof, ethereal beauty—like an ice sculpture was a completely different style from Wuying’s seductive, sickly-sweet charm. There was no way they were crafted from the same face.

So Ling Shaoze asked directly,
“How did you know I liked these?”

Yijian Fenghou smiled,
“Oh? Guoguo, you like these too? I just ordered based on what I like. Looks like we have similar tastes.”

Ling Shaoze’s food preferences weren’t particularly niche—he liked anything that was well-made. It just so happened that he liked these particular dishes a bit more than the rest.

Hearing Yijian Fenghou say that, Ling Shaoze figured it was probably just a coincidence.

However, during the meal, Yijian Fenghou skillfully deboned his fish, peeled his shrimp…

That sense of familiarity—the same one he’d gotten from Wuying—was creeping back in!

But then again, a boyfriend taking good care of his girlfriend during meals—that wasn’t that unusual, right?

After the delicious dinner, Yijian Fenghou dragged Ling Shaoze along to take a stroll by the scenic riverside in the main city.

That was also something Wuying used to do a lot. It was just a game world, and yet he insisted on this kind of health-conscious habit like post-meal strolls…

But aside from Wuying, there were plenty of other lovey-dovey couples walking along the riverside boulevard. Everyone was just using “taking a stroll” as a cover for flirting and dating.

Ling Shaoze started to feel like maybe he really was kind of a jerk. Here he was, wining and dining with his current boyfriend, all cuddly and close… yet his thoughts kept drifting back to his ex.

He forcefully shoved the name “Wuying” out of his head. They were strangers now, with nothing to do with each other.

That was what he told himself, anyway. But over the next few days—whether they were grinding mobs, leveling up, or running quests together—he still found himself thinking of Wuying again and again…

Maybe he was just overthinking. Maybe all men in relationships were like this.

What did strike Ling Shaoze as strange, though, was that ever since their breakup, Wuying hadn’t logged in once. He’d even lost his top spot on the Assassin leaderboard.

It was the fifth day since Ling Shaoze started dating Yijian Fenghou. They were working on a long chain quest and had just reached stage 9.

The two of them worked in perfect sync. After defeating a level 30 field boss, they finally gathered all the quest items needed for that stage.

Back in town, they turned it in and got a generous reward.

Then Ling Shaoze suddenly said,
“Just now, when the boss went berserk at 10% HP, I really thought I was going to die. I called out for help…”

In the heat of the moment, he wasn’t sure if it was subconscious or just habit, but when he cried for help, the name that came out was:
“Wuying, save me!”

Yijian Fenghou, who had been on the other side of the battlefield, instantly used a rare item worth ten thousand gold to teleport to his side—shielding his squishy mage self from the boss’s fatal blow, protecting him flawlessly.

Just like Wuying used to do. Even using the exact same pay-to-win teleport scrolls, no less.

Things were too hectic at the time for either of them to dwell on it.

Especially He Yi—after all, Wuying and Yijian Fenghou were both his alt accounts. Of course he wasn’t going to be bothered by his “current self” being mistaken for his “former self.”

But now Ling Shaoze was bringing it up on purpose…

He Yi had never intended to keep his identity secret forever. While interacting with Ling Shaoze as Yijian Fenghou, he hadn’t disguised his personality or behavior at all.

If Ling Shaoze didn’t at least suspect something by now, that would’ve been more weird.

Still, He Yi had no intention of coming clean just yet. If he did, the little guy might never dare date anyone again. And if that happened, what good would it do having seven alts—hell, even seventy?

So He Yi simply smiled and said,
“Guoguo, did I just hear you call out ‘Wuying’ back there? Isn’t that the pervert ex you told me about on our first day together? If I remember right, Wuying is supposed to be the boyfriend of your older brother, Domineering Lingling. You two seemed pretty close though… So, let me guess—did you break up because you found out he was two-timing you? Dating you and your brother at the same time?”

Not only did Yijian Fenghou dodge the probing hidden in Ling Shaoze’s words, he even threw a brand new problem right back at him.

Ling Shaoze: …?!

If he admitted that Domineering Lingling was also one of his own alts, then hadn’t the last five days he spent pretending to be Yijian Fenghou’s girlfriend on a female account, all gone completely to waste?

Still, considering about how they’d already been “together” for five days, and how they were getting close to their agreed minimum breakup deadline—ending things two days early didn’t seem like such a big deal.

Ling Shaoze cut straight to the point and bluntly said:
“You remind me of Wuying a lot. That’s why I called the wrong name just now—sorry.”

He didn’t bother sugarcoating it.

If Yijian Fenghou wasn’t Wuying, then hearing a “you really remind me of my ex” would piss off any normal boyfriend.

Sure enough, Yijian Fenghou’s expression darkened. His voice dipped low and gloomy:
“So it’s because you still haven’t gotten over Wuying that you think I resemble him, huh? Or… was it because I reminded you of him that you agreed to date me so quickly in the first place?”

Here it came again—this man, once again, throwing the hard questions right back at him!

Ling Shaoze had already lost interest in continuing this fake relationship using his girl avatar. Whether or not this guy was Wuying, his way of talking and doing things constantly reminded him of Wuying.

As for the question itself—Ling Shaoze instinctively denied it. He didn’t like Wuying! He definitely wasn’t still hung up on him!

If it weren’t for this guy who looked nothing like but acted so much like Wuying, he would’ve forgotten all about that pervert ages ago.

Ling Shaoze activated his scumbag mode, face emotionless:
“Whatever the case, I’m not interested in you anymore. Let’s break up. This stuff—just consider it a little compensation for the early breakup.”

As he spoke, he initiated a trade, handing over the rare materials they’d just earned from the chain quest, plus 400,000 gold coins.

That amount basically covered everything Yijian Fenghou had spent on helping him grind materials, buying him meals, and those little gifts—maybe even a bit more.

The message was clear: he wasn’t letting Yijian Fenghou lose out.

Ling Shaoze figured, hey, they were both adults. Yijian Fenghou had acted all aloof and emotionally detached—like a scumbag—at the beginning too. This second breakup shouldn’t be a big deal.

But to his surprise, Yijian Fenghou didn’t accept the trade at all.

Instead, his face turned cold, as he grabbed Ling Shaoze’s wrist tightly and said in a low, sinister voice:
“I don’t want any of that. I only want you. We agreed to be together for at least one week. That means one week—not one second less.”

If one day, in real life, he told Ling Shaoze he wanted to be with him for life—and Ling Shaoze actually agreed—then he wouldn’t allow any take-backs.

So, even in-game, he had to stick to his word. Otherwise, in the real world, Ling Shaoze would never take him seriously.

Ling Shaoze stared blankly at his boyfriend’s sudden mood switch. He tried to shake off the man’s grip—but couldn’t.

So in next second, without hesitation, he mentally summoned his system panel, navigated to the relationship tab, and unilaterally hit “break up.” Then he turned on the setting to block all physical contact from strangers—and bam, Yijian Fenghou got forcibly bounced away.

Cue another scumbag speech from Ling Shaoze:
“For me, you’re already a thing of the past. Right now, all I want is to find my next spring. If you’re so upset that you want to take revenge on me, go ahead. Oh, and don’t bother with any ‘whoever you date next, I’ll make their life hell’ drama—worst case, I’ll just quit this game entirely!”

This Yijian Fenghou was clearly a pervert. Possibly even more of a pervert than Wuying. He had to get ahead of any potential crazy talk this pervert might throw his way and shut it down first!

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Author’s Note:
Go check out my bestie’s new modern BL novel “The God is Back at It Again with His Live-Streamed Face-Slapping!”—it’s a ride!

T/n: New chapter Is up! Well He Yi is really not afraid of ticking all of the boxes of being a pervert in our MC’s mind🤣🤣🤣 Chaos is going to be the dynamic of these two going forward😏 Stay tuned for more🤣😏😎. You can support the original author here. If you’re enjoying what I’m doing you can buy me a Ko-fi. Happy Reading 🎊😁.