Chapter 97

Edited by: kapekopicoffee

Li Shuoxing was silent.

He looked at those sentences, thought for a long time, and suddenly realised a problem. He couldn’t help but call out the system’s name. “Ask, if you create this scene, can Mingqian and I go in and participate?”

[System: Yes.]

Li Shuoxing: “Will there be interactive NPCs? Like the ones today in the lab?”

[System: All the people in the lab today are real people. The scene I will create for Nine Crossings will have a variety of interactive NPCs.]

Li Shuoxing got it.

To put it in layman’s terms, isn’t this the virtual online game world that humans have always dreamt of?

And now, I only need to invest 10 million yuan to get a ticket to join this project and make my novel Nine Crossings the world’s first virtual online game?

What is this once-in-a-century opportunity?

Li Shuoxing was shocked. “Ask, you… calm down. Have you really thought this through? Do you understand what this means?”

The system was silent…

Just now Li Shuoxing thought that the system’s conscience would be hurt, but now it was his conscience that was really hurt. He continued to earnestly advise, “You’re still a child. I can’t cheat you. If you bring this project to anyone else to invest in, you can get billions and billions per minute, and no one will say anything about you if you just burn it for fun. But if you ask me to invest in it, you’ll only get a small investment of tens of millions. Do you think that’s really enough? Is this worth it?”

The system silently… did not want to talk to the player.

Money, the general equivalent.

Lover, important.

Player, important.

It made the [Dream Partners] random task pop up again to remind the player that there was nothing wrong with choosing the system’s option, and to grab Krypton and get the gift.

Li Shuoxing had tried everything. He said it forwards and backwards, but no matter how he said it, the system didn’t reply to him again. The game’s random task just kept displaying on the screen, showing the system’s determination to shear him.

If all the shearing in the world is one shearing of wool for ten carts of gold, then please take all the wool from my body and leave none of it for me!

Li Shuoxing still felt a little suffocated. The golden pie that fell from the sky was huge, and almost knocked him over.

He covered his chest and took a deep breath.

Mingqian and I are in love.

Mingqian created Ask.

So, am I hugging my wife’s thighs ¹ 抱大腿 [bào dà tuǐ] refers to the act of taking advantage of other people’s strengths to gain benefits. and successfully eating soft rice ² 吃软饭 [chī ruǎn fàn] usually refers to men who depend on women to support him financially. ?

…

It’s delicious.

***

Li Shuoxing decided to take this bowl of soft rice.

He accepted the random task and finished it.

Afterwards, he fell into a state of excitement and emptiness, with some balding aftereffects, which led him to ping Night Tour. “Old Night.”

Night Tour: “?”

Li Shuoxing was hinting a lot. “It’s a bit cold this winter.”

Night Tour: “??” He speculated, “It’s almost Chinese New Year. Do you want the company to send you some heating appliances? That’s not a problem. The company will send you the whole set from keyboard heating to room heating.”

Li Shuoxing directly stated, “No, I don’t want to hug a heater for warmth. I want to hug money for warmth. Has someone come to ask about Nine Crossings ’s film and television rights recently?”

Night Tour: “Yes, there has been. But since you’re short on money, sell what film and television rights, just sell the game rights. It happens that a company has really come to meet recently, with the intention of seventy million, and it will give turnover later.”

Li Shuoxing: “!”

Night Tour: “That is just a base price. If we stretch out negotiations, it should be eighty or ninety million, and depending on their character, it might exceed a hundred million.”

Li Shuoxing: “!!”

Night Tour advised again, “How much are you short of? If there’s not really no way, just carry it for a few months. The article is trending very well right now. The company has specially evaluated the value of your rights internally, and has unanimously agreed that as long as it can hold this trend and make another wave in the next few months, it’s very likely to become the biggest single project this year.”

Li Shuoxing woke up from his dream of the game rights that could be sold for over one hundred million.

He found that he had come looking to Night Tour at the moment, and didn’t look quite right, directly leading him to feel a new heartache in addition to the cold.

Li Shuoxing: “Let’s not talk about the game rights for now and just put this one aside. As you said, stretch it out. I’m not in a rush.”

He didn’t say much about Ask, a technology that had a confidentiality clause.

Li Shuoxing: “Just keep an eye on the film and television rights for me. How much does the company estimate the film and television rights will sell for?”

Night Tour: “Certainly not as much as the game rights, but according to your current performance, twenty to thirty million won’t be a big problem if you keep it solid for a few more months.”

Li Shuoxing: “Ok.”

“I’ll keep an eye out for you then. By the way,” Night Tour said, remembering one more thing, “the game rights for your Great Dispute haven’t been sold. If you’re really short on money, I’ll help you keep an eye on Great Dispute. But, it’s just that Great Dispute certainly won’t sell for as much as Nine Crossings, estimated to be about 30 million… Ximu? Ximu?”

Li Shuoxing’s avatar had already greyed out.

Half an hour’s rest time was up and he didn’t delay for a second. After sending the last word, he went off QQ, re-entered the Love Bar app, and met up with Su Mingqian.

***

In a flash, Li Shuoxing was once again inside the game.

But, instead of being in Su Mingqian’s house, he was back at the game’s house, and was left in the small house’s courtyard.

Li Shuoxing looked around and noticed that there was a small gate made of trellises beside him. He could see a cobblestone courtyard and a three-storey villa with a red roof when he looked through the gate.

He curiously reached out and touched it, and a system prompt instantly popped up.

[System: Congratulations on unlocking a game exclusive building [Su Mingqian’s Small Gate].]

[Exclusive Building]: Su Mingqian’s Small Gate

[Note]: This is a small gate to your lover’s real residence. Your lover can return to his home at any time through this small gate. Because the villa is your lover’s private property, if you wish to enter, you must obtain your lover’s consent and be accompanied by your lover in person before entering.

Although this new feature had its limitations, Li Shuoxing still felt very good.

Cub is getting back what he lost step by step. Maybe we’ll see each other in reality soon!

Having seen what was new in the courtyard, he hurried into the house without delay to look for Su Mingqian, and soon found him in the lounge.

The man was leaning against the window, holding an opened leather notebook in his hand, and standing casually. The golden light from the window fell on his thin shoulders and slid down his straight back to the floor, casting a long and slender shadow.

Stripped of his chibi shell, all the charms that belonged to the adult male were vividly displayed in this one silhouette.

“Ximu?”

In the next second, Li Shuoxing heard Su Mingqian’s voice.

He turned his face, and the warm light that had settled on him all gathered between his eyes and eyebrows. “You’re here,” he said.

“I’m here.”

Li Shuoxing came back to his senses and responded decisively. He took two steps forward, leaned close to Su Mingqian, and intimately looked at what he was holding in his hands. “What are you looking at?”

Su Mingqian: “The diary.”

The leather book in Su Mingqian’s hand was the diary.

After the two plane tickets were used, two new pages were updated in the diary.

The first page was about the laboratory, and the second was about the villa.

On the page about the laboratory, the researchers were gathered in the middle, while John and George were standing a little farther away, camera in hand, chatting and laughing. This scene was framed here, with a few lines of text below the photo:

January 18th.

Simon returned to visit the lab and we held him a welcome ceremony.

It was a little different from the one we had prepared. We didn’t get to have cake and champagne, but everyone was happy.

Simon, what about you?

Su Mingqian’s fingers pressed against this sentence.

The words seemed to have a temperature that warmed his fingers.

“Thank you, I’m happy too,” he replied in a low voice.

They turned the page and moved on to the contents about the villa.

The photo on the page about the villa became Su Mingqian’s house, a white house under a blue sky, and Li Shuoxing, standing in front of it, his hand raised pushing the door.

Li Shuoxing was captivated from the moment he saw the photo.

Li Shuoxing: “Cub.”

Su Mingqian: “Huh?”

Li Shuoxing: “When I look at this photo, I feel like this is my home, and that I’m returning to my home.”

Su Mingqian: “Do you need to feel that? Of course, my home is your home.”

This was the answer Li Shuoxing had expected.

But Li Shuoxing felt extremely happy when Su Mingqian actually said the words.

He smiled at Su Mingqian, pointed to the blank right side of the notebook, and said to Su Mingqian, “Cub, let’s play with stickers. I want so many more pictures besides this one. If I could, I’d like to record everything we do after we go in…”

The system popped up the sticker options at Li Shuoxing’s action.

As usual, a set of five stickers, four of which were normal Li Shuoxing and doll Su Mingqian, and the remaining one which was normal Li Shuoxing and normal Su Mingqian.

Li Shuoxing’s eyes were fixed on the first four stickers.

He looked at the tiny Su Mingqian, and then at Xingxing placed not far away by Su Mingqian. All of a sudden, he had a flash of inspiration.

He secretly asked the system, “System, can you give me a little Su Mingqian doll?”

Since its identity was discovered, the system had been so broken that it didn’t even give perfunctory tasks anymore.

It directly popped up the Krypton Gold option.

[Name]: Little Su Mingqian Doll

[Price]: 328 contribution points

One hand pays and the other receives.

Li Shuoxing successfully acquired a little Su Mingqian doll. He couldn’t wait to call out to Su Mingqian, “Cub, look.”

Su Mingqian, who had been focused on the last photo, suddenly came back to his senses.

He glanced to the side and said with surprise, “My doll? Where did it come from?”

Li Shuoxing: “The system gave it to me.”

As he said that, he played with the little cub, and then picked up Xingxing to let it move up and kiss the little cub.

He said happily, “Cub, we’re a couple, and so are the two little dolls. What do you think about giving a name for little Su Mingqian? What about Qianqian?”

Su Mingqian: “Sure.”

He replied, watching Li Shuoxing look around for a place to put his dolls. He didn’t pay attention to himself for the moment, and couldn’t help but turn his eyes to the last sticker in his diary, the one of him and Li Shuoxing kissing on the sofa.

He glanced at Li Shuoxing again and made up his mind.

He closed his eyes and made a wish to the system for one thing.

Li Shuoxing, with both dolls in hand, wandered around the lounge, but he couldn’t find a particularly good position, so he went into Su Mingqian’s bedroom to put them on the headboard. That way, when he woke up and went to bed every day, Su Mingqian would see the two little dolls in love and be reminded of himself being in love with him…

Li Shuoxing’s plan passed.

As soon as he put the dolls in place, he heard a voice coming from behind him. “Ximu, come and give me a hand.”

Li Shuoxing: “Okay, what is it?”

He said, turning around. At that moment, he saw Su Mingqian walking into the room, holding a large picture frame.

Su Mingqian: “Come, hang this picture frame on the wall with me.”

Li Shuoxing walked over to Su Mingqian, held the frame up with Su Mingqian, and then saw—

“A photo of us kissing?”

He felt surprised.

Su Mingqian acted like nothing had happened. “Mm.”

Li Shuoxing stammered, “You, you didn’t only enlarge it, but also want to hang it up?”

Su Mingqian coughed twice and blushed a little, but remained calm. “It’s just hanging a picture up. It’s the truth. We have to respect the truth.”

Li Shuoxing thought that it was a wonderful truth.

He stopped to admire it for a moment, and then heard the person beside him continue to speak.

Su Mingqian: “And, Ximu…”

Li Shuoxing: “Huh?”

“You look very good when you kiss me,” Su Mingqian said in a low voice.

Li Shuoxing was unexpectedly complimented to his face. “Cub, you think that I look good?”

“Of course.” Su Mingqian’s eyes wandered a bit, and his fingers quietly touched Li Shuoxing’s face and lips in the photo. “Very handsome, very charming… Ximu, that’s also a truth that can’t be denied.”

Yes, yes, yes.

Right, right, right.

Cub, you’re right about everything you say!

Li Shuoxing and Su Mingqian quickly hung this picture frame on the wall facing the bed.

When it was finished, he took his big baby and sat on the edge of the bed, admiring the photo on the wall and the dolls on the headboard.

Li Shuoxing: “Mingqian, don’t you think, this room is almost like a wedding room with these decorations?”

He didn’t wait for Su Mingqian’s answer after he said that. He sidled up to him and dropped a kiss on his cheek.

“I’ll give you another gift next month to celebrate our wedding room, to celebrate your birthday… and to celebrate all the things that have happened since you came to me.”

1

抱大腿 [bào dà tuǐ] refers to the act of taking advantage of other people’s strengths to gain benefits. 2

吃软饭 [chī ruǎn fàn] usually refers to men who depend on women to support him financially.