Chapter 51: Live Declaration of Love

At this moment, both the audience of Lu Sheng’s fans at the scene and those watching the live stream at home were in perfect synchronization—Who is this stunning, wealthy beauty?!

That fiery Phoenix, whose exclusive reward, worth 880,000, is said to require a massive recharge all at once—who would spend so much during a beta test?

And her armor set and appearance, all made of divine attributes, were obviously high-tier, paid rewards. The total value of her outfit is probably much higher than the combined recharges of all the players present!

Players who had spent a little or moderately would instinctively look at the purple weapons in their hands, all feeling frustrated by the vast gap between the rich and the poor in this capitalist system—For the majority of players still wearing beginner gear, a purple weapon was already something to look up to.

Yet, in front of the owner of the Phoenix, these all seemed like nothing.

Money truly lets you do whatever you want!

Unlike the players seething with jealousy, the official studio was buzzing with excitement—What could be better than pulling in a wealthy player as a high-profile client?

The director gave a command: “Follow her with all the cameras! Let’s spark the players’ passion for recharging!”

In the live stream, as the legendary beast, the Fire Phoenix, made its appearance, lower-tier monsters like the Nine-Headed Serpent were immediately frightened out of their wits. Even a careless sneeze from the Phoenix sent them retreating in panic.

The rising temperatures scorched the Nine-Headed Serpent, even making the swamp bubble and boil. It hissed in pain, unwilling to leave the treasure chest it had guarded for so long but too scared to approach.

Meanwhile, Lu Sheng’s fan sniper team became the Serpent’s punching bag, receiving indiscriminate attacks and scattering like ants on a hot pan, fleeing in all directions.

A large section of the misty swamp was thrown into chaos, with all sorts of turmoil, but at the center of it, only Xiao Chi and Ji Chenxuan remained unaffected.

Concerned about Xiao Chi’s live stream being audible, Ji Chenxuan couldn’t directly reveal his identity and silently sent a team invite.

Lingshua Mirror: Player 【Xuan Chen】 has invited you to join the team.

Xiao Chi hesitated for a moment—if they became teammates, she wouldn’t be able to snatch his treasure chest, right?

The Fire Phoenix, bending its neck to preen its fiery red feathers, let out a sharp cry toward its master. Xiao Chi sneaked a glance and decisively accepted the team invite.

Instantly, the live stream was filled with envious and jealous comments. The sour comments swarmed from all directions, drowning out the screen:

“Who’s this? Does having money make you so amazing? Can you just steal our Chenchen away like that? Have you asked my opinion as his wife?”

“Wuwu, being rich is so great. I also want to ride the Phoenix and go to pick up Chenchen on a rainbow cloud!”

“I’m so jealous. My Chenchen can’t resist the attack of the sugar-coated cannonballs, and he just threw himself into the arms of this rich lady?”

“Ying Ying Ying, this rich woman is so shameless. Although I also want to be this shameless…”

Ji Chenxuan gave a command, and the Fire Phoenix obediently lowered its head, allowing its master to climb onto its back.

He gently stroked the Phoenix’s neck, where the blazing feathers were, and the flames that could burn any enemy to ash seemed tame under his touch, as harmless as a lamb, not even singeing a hair.

The woman with the veil turned her head and extended her hand to Xiao Chi again: “Climb on. I’ll take you away.”

“Thank you.” Xiao Chi’s eyes sparkled, and despite struggling to maintain a façade of composure, he climbed onto the Phoenix’s back, gripping the other person’s—one finger.

Ji Chenxuan was both amused and helpless: “Is this how you usually shake hands with people?”

Xiao Chi kept a polite distance, his expression indifferent, speaking sparingly, “You’re a girl.”

With a sharp cry, the Fire Phoenix, at its master’s signal, flapped its wings and soared into the sky, ignoring the Nine-Headed Serpent and the player-ants below, all of whom were growling and roaring in vain.

As the Phoenix flew higher and higher, the Nine-Headed Serpent let out one last defiant roar. Its tail slammed into the ground, and the massive body immediately soared into the air, with all nine heads desperately lurching toward Xiao Chi on the Phoenix’s back, determined to reclaim its treasure chest!

Ji Chenxuan cast a cold glance, drew a silver longbow from her back that was almost as tall as a person, and summoned nine silver-feathered arrows, their tails gleaming with light. With a flick of her fingers, the arrows were shot in quick succession, trailing long tails as they mercilessly targeted the Nine-Headed Serpent’s heads.

Every shot hit its mark!

The Nine-Headed Serpent, struck by the arrows, wailed in agony as it fell from the air, blood pouring from its wounds. Its lengthy body crashed into the swamp, sending water splashing in all directions, while the players who had failed to escape were caught in the chaos.

Xiao Chi, lying on the Phoenix’s back, watched as the woman with long hair elegantly defeated the formidable enemy. His eyes sparkled as he sincerely praised, “Amazing!”

The corner of Ji Chenxuan’s mouth curled up beneath her veil, and she handed the shimmering silver longbow to him: “This is a silver weapon. If you like it, it’s yours.”

Instantly, the live stream erupted with a chorus of howls:

“I also want to give Chenchen a weapon! My green weapon, he can take whatever he wants!”

“The rich lady goes all out with a silver weapon, I’m so jealous I could explode!”

“I also want a rich lady to send me silver gear!”

Xiao Chi was taken aback. With just one glance, he could tell the silver longbow was priceless. He lowered his gaze slightly but didn’t take it.

Ji Chenxuan didn’t mind showing affection in front of the live stream audience. She put away the longbow and took out a pile of expensive, high-quality items: “How about this? The Purple Frost Aurora Sword? The Meridian Resurrection Talisman? Hmm… If you don’t like those, how about this? The protagonist’s limited edition appearance, you can pick whichever you like.”

At first, the viewers in the live stream expressed their discontent about the capitalist extravagance, but when they saw the dazzling pile of golden items, their frustrations faded. The audience grew numb and silent, leaving only a sea of lemon emojis flooding the comments.

Xiao Chi was stunned: “Why are you giving these to me?”

Ji Chenxuan found his reaction amusing. Confident in her disguise and with no hesitation, she straightforwardly confessed, “I like you, so I’m giving them to you.”

Xiao Chi felt a little embarrassed at himself for doubting whether she was after his treasure chest. He looked at her with gratitude: “You’re a good person, but I can’t accept this. I’m sorry.”

The plot took an unexpected turn. The viewers, who had been immersed in the bitter feelings of watching their idol being publicly confessed to by a rich woman, suddenly burst into laughter at the scene:

“Chenchen is so straightforward! Even the rich lady gets turned down! This is so satisfying!”

“Is our Chenchen really that easy to buy off?”

Surprisingly, Ji Chenxuan didn’t get angry at being turned down. Instead, she felt a little pleased. She tried to maintain her calm and asked, “Why? I can buy anything for you, even the moon from the sky. Unless…”

She paused slightly, testing the waters, “Do you already have someone you like?”

Xiao Chi blinked his lashes gently, suddenly muting the live stream’s sound. The only things left in the live feed were the visuals and game background sounds, with no voices coming through.

Xiao Chi stared at her seriously, shaking his head: “I can’t tell you, but it definitely isn’t you, so don’t waste your time on me. I won’t fall for anyone else.”

He silently added to himself, except for that person.

Can’t say it, does that mean it’s true? Xiao Chi would never lie!

Ji Chenxuan had never been more grateful for his honesty than in this moment.

It was hard to describe Ji Chenxuan’s feelings at that moment—sweeping and intense, even thrilling wouldn’t be enough. It was like a sour fruit that had been carefully nurtured and finally ripened, round and smooth, held gently in her palm, bursting with sweetness.

The Fire Phoenix’s flames reflected the clouds, turning them into a crimson sunset. Time seemed to slow down as Ji Chenxuan’s exposed eyes gleamed brightly, fixed on Xiao Chi without even a blink.

Xiao Chi felt an eerie sensation in his chest under the gaze of those smiling eyes. It was strange—he had just rejected her, yet it felt as if she was entirely satisfied.

Women’s hearts really like needles at the bottom of the sea!

Meanwhile, the live stream audience, whose sound had been muted, was now scrambling and anxious:

“What are they saying? Why did the sound suddenly cut off?”

“Is our Chenchen really going to be taken by the rich lady?”

“I’m paying big money for a lip-reading translator!”

This unexpected twist took the official broadcast team by surprise, but it didn’t stop them from enjoying the drama. Fighting and monster-slaying battles couldn’t compare to the eye-catching allure of a dramatic romantic confession.

Over at the control center, Liu Bing, who had been closely monitoring Xiao Chi’s every move, saw this scene unfold and felt a bittersweet mix of emotions. He opened up the social media platform, and as expected, the trending topics were already filling the screen:

#Rich lady proposes love live in the game to Xiao Chi, gets rejected with the “good person” card

#Waiting for a rich lady to give me silver gear

“Although it’s a bit different from what I imagined…” Liu Bing compared the trending search data for Xiao Chi and Lu Sheng, nearly laughing out loud as he saw Xiao Chi’s line shoot up, “Thanks to this rich lady barging in halfway, at least the goal was achieved…”

“Wait a second?” Liu Bing furrowed his brow, staring at the masked, voluptuous woman in the live stream, a bold thought suddenly rising in his mind. His lips twitched. “No way… She couldn’t possibly be…”

As the live stream viewers continued to gossip about the high-profile confession, Lu Sheng’s fans, who had been hit hard by Xiao Chi’s rise in popularity, could no longer sit idly by!

At this rate, Xiao Chi was stealing all the spotlight. What about their Lu Sheng?

After much deliberation, the Lu Sheng fan club decided to stop chasing Xiao Chi and refocus their efforts on heating up Lu Sheng’s popularity—time to make a big move and grab the live stream camera back!

Xiao Chi’s fans quickly caught wind of their opponent’s plans—they were about to start the main storyline quest of the trial mission!

—Break through the Serpent Guardian’s blockade and awaken the fallen goddess of the ice coffin who had been asleep for a thousand years.

Xiao Chi’s fans were frantic. Their idol was floating in the sky with the rich lady, and no one could relay the news to him!

After a long period of silent footage, the live stream finally resumed with voices.

Xiao Chi, sitting on the Phoenix’s back, suddenly remembered that he still had a treasure chest to open.

He removed the seal, and the dazzling golden light nearly blinded both of them. Inside the chest lay a single item: Scales of the Serpent.