Chapter 66
There was a moment of silence by the bonfire.
Tang Ruo’s gaze fell on Jiang Liu. She saw her looking down, lost in thought, staring blankly at the ring on her finger.
Tang Rui had put away his phone at some point. He stared in Jiang Liu’s direction and opened his mouth, as if about to say something, but was stopped by a look from Tang Ruo.
A moment later, Jiang Liu finally looked up and said calmly, “You looked so surprised just now. Is it because players without handlers can’t enter the Points Arena?”
Tang Ruo shrugged and reached out to poke at the faintly glowing embers of the bonfire—a simple wooden rack was set up over it, with Jiang Liu’s original set of clothes hanging there.
“Not necessarily. But you’ve seen the difficulty of the instances. It’s harder than climbing to the heavens for an ordinary player to achieve outstanding results, so naturally, they have no chance of entering the Points Arena.”
So, in the perception of most people, the players matched in the Points Arena all had handlers backing them. This naturally formed various groups. If two handlers had a good relationship, their players would often cooperate.
Jiang Liu understood.
It was like the difference between a paying player and a free-to-play one. One had resources backing them, so playing was naturally much smoother. The other was probably like the people Zhao Ziming mentioned at the lottery station, struggling with every step.
If she were to use this theory to describe herself, would she be considered a hardcore grinder?
Jiang Liu almost laughed at her own thought. She leaned back on the sand and stretched, saying sincerely, “I really did fight my way up here on my own. I had no idea about what you said. Thank you for telling me all this.”
Tang Ruo had a strange expression on her face. This person was truly odd, she thought.
Having no handler was equivalent to having no background, which would naturally put one at a disadvantage when competing with others. But not only was Jiang Liu not anxious or worried, she seemed to have let out a sigh of relief, looking as lazy as a tourist on a beach vacation.
However—to be able to climb up on her own also proved, to some extent, that this person was extraordinary.
She could figure that out, but her foolish brother, Tang Rui, was completely oblivious. He quickly scooted over to sit between them. “Your reaction is not right. Aren’t you worried something will happen to you?”
Jiang Liu gave him a half-smile, her features relaxing. Her striking beauty made him stare blankly. Her voice was calm but held an undercurrent of pride that was not easily discernible. “I may not have a handler, but I have a girlfriend.”
She reached into the pocket of her semi-dry clothes and took out a waterproof bag. Inside, Yang Caisi’s ID photo was clearly visible. Jiang Liu proudly waved it in front of the two of them, as if showing off a treasured possession.
Although she said it in a half-joking, half-serious tone, Jiang Liu firmly believed in her heart—
No matter what desperate situation she encountered, Yang Caisi would find a way to find her.
Just like every time before.
It was just a bit of a pity… Jiang Liu sighed internally, her mind conjuring up images of Lin Sa’s golden hair and green eyes. For a moment, she couldn’t help but imagine what Yang Caisi would look like as a mermaid.
If only she were still the guide NPC, she really wanted to see that fishtail!!!
Seeing the unmistakable happiness in her eyes, the Tang siblings, who were suddenly fed a mouthful of dog food, were speechless: “…”
Tang Rui opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it again after a long pause.
So it’s true that love is all you need. Fine.
Jiang Liu carefully put the photo back in her pocket. Seeing the two of them looking speechless was quite amusing. She couldn’t help but snap her fingers in front of them. “Snap out of it!”
What she said just now was just a little joke that contained her inner hopes, but there was another reason she was so confident.
Jiang Liu looked sideways at Tang Ruo’s ear. The flashy butterfly earring, which was so out of place with her overall style, reflected a glimmer of light under the bonfire. She couldn’t help but ask, “The person you’re looking for, is her name Xu Meng?”
It was a question, but the words were spoken with the tone of a statement.
From the first time she saw her, she had felt that the earring was familiar. It wasn’t until she heard Tang Ruo’s story that she realized this was probably the lover Xu Meng was longing for, the girl who had left her the gardenia flower in the garden instance.
Tang Ruo’s hand, which was poking at the fire, suddenly froze. The wooden stick in her hand fell into the fire due to her unconsciousness. The originally weak flame shot up, and even as it was about to lick her fingers, she didn’t react, just stared at Jiang Liu as if in a trance.
“You’ve seen her?”
From her reaction, Jiang Liu knew she was right.
She didn’t explain, instead taking out her phone and finding the photo album. On it were photos of the group from the previous two instances.
Jiang Liu didn’t like taking pictures, but Zhang Xiaochen surprisingly enjoyed documenting their lives, a habit that was completely at odds with his gangster persona. He would say that they didn’t know when they would run into each other again, and this might be the last time, so he would send photos to everyone whenever they arrived at a new scene.
The layout of the photos was usually fixed. Jiang Liu would be standing or sitting in the center, surrounded by the others. Next to her would be the slightly shy smile of Xu Meng. Zhang Xiaochen and Zhao Ziming would be on either side, making faces as if competing to see who was funnier.
The latest photo was taken in Teacher Yang’s dormitory. The four of them, along with Zhu Yan, were all sitting on the sofa. Xu Meng was in the front, holding up her phone, her eyes curved into crescents as she smiled.
She vaguely remembered that it was because Zhang Xiaochen had told a cold joke.
There were only about ten photos in total, but Tang Ruo looked through them back and forth for nearly twenty minutes. The originally tense air about her instantly softened. Her fingers gently brushed across Xu Meng’s smiling face, and she finally couldn’t hold back the redness in her eyes.
“Has she been matched with you all this time?” Tang Ruo’s voice was choked with emotion for a rare moment.
Jiang Liu nodded. “We met in the first instance. She’s been doing well right up until we entered this instance. You don’t have to worry.”
Tang Ruo’s fingers trembled slightly. She took a deep breath to compose herself and gave Jiang Liu a deep look, her tone sincere. “Thank you for taking care of her.”
No one knew Xu Meng’s personality better than her. Being suddenly thrown into a situation like this, she would definitely panic. If it weren’t for someone protecting and taking care of her, she would never have been in such a good state, able to laugh in such a situation.
Jiang Liu patted her shoulder. Although she didn’t say anything, it somehow soothed her turbulent thoughts.
The atmosphere fell into a moment of complexity. Only Tang Rui looked from one to the other, his eyes widening as if he had remembered something. “That’s not right. The handler never mentioned that my sister-in-law was also in here?”
If Xu Meng was really in the game, then why didn’t the handler say so?
At this, Jiang Liu’s expression darkened. She recalled the situation at the time and explained, “Xu Meng and I are the same. We both woke up here without knowing how, and we never made a wish.”
Tang Ruo wiped away her tears, her expression finally returning to its usual indifference, but the way she gripped her phone still betrayed her inner anxiety.
Her finger quickly swiped across the screen, finally stopping on a photo. In it, Jiang Liu was arranging a table full of lilies, with Xu Meng sitting next to her helping, a look of concentration on her small face.
“You’ve been to that garden, haven’t you?” Tang Ruo asked, pointing at the numerous potted plants in the photo.
Jiang Liu grunted in affirmation. The moment she spoke, she had already sensed what she was about to say and took the initiative. “She saw the gardenia you left.”
Tang Ruo pursed her lips, her gaze fixed on the distant sea, her voice somewhat grave. “That pot of flowers… an NPC reminded me to leave it.”
If that person hadn’t mentioned making a wish through flowers, she would never have been so bold as to mess around in an instance.
Jiang Liu’s mind stirred. She once again took out Yang Caisi’s photo from her pocket and handed it to her.
To avoid Yang Caisi’s identity as an NPC being recognized, she had only flashed it in front of the two of them just now, making it impossible to see clearly.
But now—
The moment her eyes fell on that face, before Tang Ruo could react, Tang Rui had already cried out in surprise, “It’s her! But isn’t she your girlfriend? How could she be…”
He didn’t finish his sentence, staring blankly at Jiang Liu, as if he didn’t know how to continue.
Jiang Liu cleared her throat, thinking to herself how she could have known things would be so coincidental. The one time she decided to show off her wife, she ran into someone who knew her.
She didn’t explain the complex relationship between them, just gave a subtle look that effectively shut Tang Rui up.
The three of them looked at each other, at a loss for words.
In the garden instance, Jiang Liu had initially thought that Tang Ruo had entered the system first, and then Xu Meng was pulled in by some twist of fate. But now it seemed she had gotten the cause and effect reversed.
First Xu Meng entered, and only then did a handler approach and recruit the Tang siblings.
And at that time, Jiang Liu and the others had already met Yang Caisi. She must have known about the relationship between Xu Meng and Tang Ruo, which is why she prompted Tang Ruo to plant the flower and then told Xu Meng the meaning of that flower.
What was Yang Caisi’s purpose?
Jiang Liu felt a tangled mess in her heart. From the very beginning of the instance, countless scenes were like a jumbled ball of yarn. She knew that if she could just find the starting point, she could unravel it, but she couldn’t find the key no matter what.
Xiao Si…
She repeated this name in her heart, unconsciously turning the ring on her finger. An impulse rose in her heart, a desire to contact that person again.
It wasn’t just because she wanted to ask about all this, but also because she wanted to express the budding feelings in her heart.
She raised her hand to the moonlight in the sky, her longing reaching its peak at this moment. She was about to subconsciously call out that number but managed to stop herself.
Jiang Liu wasn’t afraid to face anything, but she was afraid of causing trouble for Yang Caisi because of this one communication.
Who knew that before she could lower her hand, the ring would emit a faint vibration.
“Hello, can you hear me? Follow the note. Someone will be there to assist you.”
The familiar voice entered her ears through the ring without any obstruction. Jiang Liu’s heart suddenly pounded. She subconsciously glanced in the direction of the Tang siblings.
The two of them were still studying the current situation, as if they hadn’t heard the voice at all.
She moved her somewhat dry throat and spoke quickly, “Where are you?”
The voice on the other end replied quickly but didn’t answer her question, just continued with a steady reminder, “Don’t let anyone discover the scale on you. Be careful, and watch out for…”
Before the sentence was finished, it was interrupted by Jiang Liu’s next words.
Perhaps worried about being heard by the Tang siblings, Jiang Liu covered her mouth with her hand. Her murmured words were quickly drowned out by the sound of the rolling waves, but they were transmitted to Yang Caisi’s ears without any interference.
The moment she heard Yang Caisi’s voice, all hesitation vanished, leaving only the sound of her pounding heart echoing through the world.
She said, “I want to see you.”
The Yang Caisi on the other end instantly froze, her mouth agape, unable to speak for a long time.
Jiang Liu repeated it once more, her voice firm and decisive. “I want to see you.”