Chapter Twenty-Nine: Murong Shanshan

Xinyu hesitated for quite a while before mumbling, “Do you… want to have an ice cream? It’s four yuan for one at KFC.”
I looked at her in surprise. “But we just finished eating. Aren’t you afraid you’ll gain weight?”
“Come with me, I’ll treat you~!” Xinyu’s voice took on a sweet, coaxing tone, and her impressive chest trembled with her laughter.
I swallowed hard and said with difficulty, “Alright, alright, don’t be so dramatic. I surrender…”
“What did you say?!” Xinyu’s delicate brows arched, her face turning cold in an instant.
Startled, I lowered my voice, “I… I said you’re beautiful, that’s all…”
“Hmph, I hope for your sake that’s true.”
Without giving me a chance to protest, Xinyu dragged me into the nearby KFC, ordered several portions of chicken wings, and handed me a drink. She smiled at me and asked, “Want some chicken wings? It’s my treat.”
“No thanks, a bit of cola is enough for me.”
By noon, the KFC was nearly full. Just then, four pretty girls walked in from outside, chatting about something as they sat down at the table right next to mine and Xinyu’s.
One of them went off to order, while the other three sat fuming, discussing heatedly:
“Can you believe that Yu Yang? How could someone like that be hired as a school security guard?” one of them, a single-lidded girl, pouted angrily.
A short-haired girl chimed in, “I was already level 13, and now I’m back to 11. I won’t get back to 13 before tomorrow. I even just learned a new skill, but with my level down, I can’t use it anymore.”
“You have it easy, just losing two levels. I dropped a robe that gave me +2 Intelligence! I spent a whole week’s allowance on that. Now I’ve got nothing left. If you were me, wouldn’t you be crying your eyes out?”
“Oh, by the way, has Shanshan got that blue warrior leggings yet? Have you seen it?”
“No, we’ll ask Shanshan when she gets here.”
I was startled—could these girls be Murong Shanshan’s group?

“Wow, this time it’s on me. I’m so sorry everyone lost levels because of my gear.” A beautiful girl with a long ponytail came over, balancing a heap of food.
When I turned to look, I was instantly awed. In real life, Murong Shanshan was even more youthful and radiant than in the game. Her creamy white wool coat set off her rosy cheeks, making her look adorable.
Only a half-height wooden divider separated our tables, so I could clearly see their every move. Murong Shanshan sat down right beside me—less than twenty centimeters away. I could even catch a faint, fresh fragrance from her.
Thud!
Xinyu slammed her milk tea hard onto the table. When I turned, I saw her face was full of anger.
“So, you can’t even eat KFC with your girlfriend without ogling other girls?” Xinyu said expressionlessly.
I scratched my head awkwardly, “She just looks kind of familiar, so I looked a bit longer. Wait… since when were you my girlfriend? How come I—the person involved—don’t know about this?”
Xinyu cocked her head at me, “What? After eating your fill, you don’t want to admit it?”
I was utterly floored by her shamelessness and could only gape in silence.
“Why don’t we just make it official right now?” Xinyu went on, grinning mischievously. Unfortunately, my attention was already drawn back to the conversation at the next table.
“Shanshan, what are the stats on that blue gear?”
Murong Shanshan’s long lashes fluttered as she answered proudly, “It’s a pair of blue warrior leggings. Brace yourselves, the stats might blow you away!”
“Come on, just tell us already!”
Shanshan took a sip of cola and grinned, “Plus 28 defense, +12 strength, +8 stamina, +11 agility. Well? …Coco, don’t drool into your plate!”
I, too, was shocked by those stats. So that’s blue gear? And it gives +11 agility? That’s a dream stat for offensive warriors. Agility boosts both attack speed and movement, and has a huge impact on melee classes’ critical hit rate. In the late stages, pure agility rogues attack fast and run faster than any other class. Unless they’re slowed, no warrior class can ever catch them.
“Hey, Shanshan, the cute guy next to you is staring at you… Oh, he’s drooling! So creepy!”

Xinyu kicked me under the table. Only then did I realize I’d lost my composure. Murong Shanshan turned to look at me, and at that close distance, my face flushed hot.
A faint blush appeared on Shanshan’s snowy cheeks as she gazed at me, hesitating. “Have we met somewhere before?”
A cold sweat broke out on my back. I remembered I’d changed my appearance in the game, so in real life, at most there might be a slight resemblance—she shouldn’t recognize me.
After a moment’s thought, I replied calmly, “Beautiful, I don’t think we’ve met. Someone as lovely as you—I’d definitely remember.”
Murong Shanshan pursed her lips, then glanced at me with a smile. “That’s fine. Since we’ve met by chance, let’s introduce ourselves. Judging by your reaction just now, you must play ‘Yueheng’ too, right? Otherwise, you wouldn’t be drooling over gear stats…”
Coco blinked and lowered her voice, “Do you think he’s drooling over your beauty instead?”
“Definitely not!” Shanshan whispered, a hint of a smile at her lips. How could a lecherous man have such clear eyes?
“Shanshan, what about that issue with Yu Yang?”
“I don’t know. I’ll just try not to run into him from now on. If Qingcai hadn’t been there that day, my quest would’ve failed for sure!”
“Speaking of, Qingcai is quite handsome, you know. About the same as the guy next to us. Hey, Shanshan, what do you think of Qingcai?”
Shanshan chuckled, “That guy? He’s just in it for the money. Everything he does has a price tag. It’s as if he can’t survive without cash.”
Xinyu gave me a sly look, barely holding back laughter. By now she’d guessed that the “Qingcai” those girls were talking about was me—otherwise I wouldn’t have been staring at them so intently.
…
Xinyu wiped her hands and said, “Lin Fan, let’s head back.”
I nodded. As I passed by Murong Shanshan, she simply smiled at me, which counted as a greeting.