Chapter One Hundred and Nineteen: Feeding to Fullness

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Last night, 7:45 p.m.: Soaring Robot—three full-health potions, seven resurrection potions, seven ultimate skills.

Today, 12:18 a.m.: Forest Valley Orc Hero—two full-health potions, one resurrection potion, six ultimate skills.

Today, 4:28 a.m.: Pyramid Osiris—three full-health potions, two resurrection potions, five ultimate skills.

Tonight, 9:51 p.m.: Northern Forest Daba—three full-health potions, six ultimate skills...

After Hong Chen logged in, messages came scrolling through the chat window to his right, one after another—fully sixty or seventy of them, all from Time’s Little Princess. The more he read, the worse he felt. His head throbbed with trouble, and in the end he could only throw back his head and let out a long sigh.

After spending three consecutive days online day and night, Time’s Little Princess began logging in after eight each evening and signing off sometime after nine. Since she stayed on for barely an hour, Hong Chen stopped taking her to fight bosses and instead brought her to the PvP arena. With her clumsy beginner’s controls, she was naturally battered mercilessly by the other players. Seeing her complain without end, Hong Chen tried to placate her by offering to bring along another friend when they logged in over the weekend. The three of them would form a party to hunt bosses, splitting the loot equally, while he would cover all other expenses.

Unexpectedly, plans could never keep up with changes. Their trip to South City meant that neither Hong Chen nor Xu Le could log in, and within less than thirty hours, Time’s Little Princess had run up an exceedingly extravagant bill for Hong Chen.

By Hong Chen’s rough estimate, it would take at least sixty thousand yuan to settle it.

“Damn. I was being supported so comfortably, and then my mouth—no, my hands—just had to get themselves into trouble.”

Hong Chen sighed and shook his head. He slapped himself once, then smacked his right hand several times with his left.

If the three of them had formed a party, he and Xu Le would certainly have been the main fighters, while Time’s Little Princess would have stayed in the rear, responsible for healing, boosting attributes, bestowing blessings, and the like. Even after an entire night, they would have used no more than a dozen full-health potions and a few resurrection potions. They would not have needed to use any ultimate skills at all. It would have been a matter of a few hundred yuan.

Now, without his supervision and guidance, she had completely let herself loose, with consequences that had expanded the cost more than tenfold.

A promise was a promise, especially between comrades. Hong Chen would certainly not welsh on the debt. He did not care about the money; what depressed him was the way it had been spent. It felt as though he had simply thrown a huge pile of cash into the water for nothing.

“Forget it. I’ll consider it compensation for standing her up.”

Fortunately, Hong Chen had a broad heart. In the time it took to smoke a cigarette, he had found himself an excuse to let go of his frustration. The gloom in his heart drifted away like smoke, and he began to settle into the game.

......

On Sunday, after lunch, Lin Yuxin hid in her room trying on outfits.

Since they were going to the shopping mall over the weekend, her usual professional attire was naturally unsuitable. She tried on two dresses, then a casual outfit, and finally changed into a tracksuit.

The door opened slightly, and Lin Yufei’s little head poked inside. She glanced first at the clothes spread across the bed, then at Lin Yuxin standing before the mirror, her eyes blinking rapidly.

“Sis, are you planning to wear sportswear to the office and work overtime?”

She crept over and hugged Lin Yuxin from behind, watching her sister’s reflection in the mirror with a coquettish smile.

“Do you think I’m still the company’s owner? I’m just an employee now. Nine to six, and no overtime on weekends... Let go.”

Lin Yuxin gathered her beautiful hair and tied it into a braid. She slapped Lin Yufei’s hands away, then walked over to tidy the clothes on the bed.

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“Sis, if you’re not going to work overtime, where are you planning to go?”

“To look around the newly opened New Plaza.”

“By yourself?”

“......”

“I’ll go with you. It’s been more than three months since we last went shopping together on Singles’ Day.”

Lin Yuxin hesitated. Touching her chin, Lin Yufei added, “We should bring that useless man along to do the heavy lifting.”

She deliberately stressed the words “useless man” and secretly watched Lin Yuxin’s reaction. Just as expected, Lin Yuxin’s hands paused. Her delicate brows drew together, and she turned her head.

“You should show him at least the most basic respect.”

“Fine, fine, I know. I’ll call him brother-in-law when I see him. Sis, I’m going to change too.”

Waving her hand, Lin Yufei trotted out of the room. Lin Yuxin silently shook her head, then suddenly froze. It seemed she had not actually agreed to go with Lin Yufei.

Oh, well. Having one more person along while shopping in the afternoon would be nice. They could have dinner early, send Yufei back to school, and there would still be plenty of time in the evening.

Thinking this, Lin Yuxin continued tidying up.

Before long, the two sisters left the house—one in sportswear, the other in her school uniform. Both outfits were blue and white, and at first glance, they could easily have been mistaken for twins. Shen Huifang watched them leave with faint surprise in her eyes.

After Lin Yuxin remained as president of Linfeng Trading, the group had provided her with a private car: a Mercedes-Benz E-Class worth more than half a million yuan. Sitting in the passenger seat, Lin Yufei examined the brand-new interior, then leaned back against the leather seat and sighed.

“Sis, your current job as a working president comes with much better benefits than when you used to be both the owner and the president.”

In the past, Lin Yuxin had held thirty-five percent of the company’s shares, making her Linfeng Trading’s largest individual shareholder. She had personally served as president and overseen its daily affairs, earning a monthly salary of only fifteen thousand yuan. She had no company car, and her year-end dividends amounted to no more than several hundred thousand yuan.

Now, the group paid her a monthly salary of fifty thousand yuan. Not only had they assigned her a private car, but she also received a monthly business-expense allowance of one hundred thousand yuan. At the end of the year, she would still enjoy dividends from her thirty-five percent stake.

The difference between the two arrangements was not merely vast—it was several times greater. Even Lin Yuxin herself felt somewhat dazed, as though it were not entirely real.

“Sis, there’s something I don’t know whether I should say...”

After leaving the residential compound and turning onto the road, Lin Yuxin stopped before a red light. A faint voice came from beside her. Seeing Lin Yufei’s hesitant expression, she smiled.

“Say whatever you want.”

“I’ve seen Hong Chen’s boss. He’s a huge, fat man, and he definitely isn’t even thirty yet. I heard he’s also the boyfriend of a girl in our university’s vocal-music department. Do you think he might have ulterior motives toward you?”

Lin Yuxin’s hands tightened involuntarily around the steering wheel. She glared at Lin Yufei.

“Don’t talk nonsense!”

She turned her gaze toward the road ahead and fell slightly into a daze. It was not until the light changed from red to green and the cars behind them began honking that she came back to herself. She quickly released the clutch, stepped on the accelerator, and drove forward.

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The new shopping mall had opened for business just yesterday. For the following week, all the shops would offer discounts starting at twenty percent off as part of the mall’s promotional campaign. Since it was Sunday, the place was packed. Lin Yuxin circled the enormous open-air parking lot twice before finally finding a space.

Hong Chen had arrived at the plaza at the appointed time. When he saw the two sisters approaching from the direction of the parking lot, he paused. Things had turned out differently from what he had expected: Lin Yuxin had not come alone.

They were far too familiar with one another to bother with formal greetings. Lin Yufei linked her arm through Lin Yuxin’s and waved her little hand at Hong Chen.

“My sister and I haven’t been shopping together in ages. Today, we’re planning to shop until we drop, so prepare yourself mentally. You have two duties: pay the bills and carry the bags.”

Lin Yuxin cast her an exasperated look, then gave Hong Chen an apologetic smile.

“Yufei insisted on coming along for the excitement. We’ll have dinner early and take her back to school afterward.”

“Sis, what’s that supposed to mean? Are you saying I’m a third wheel?”

Lin Yufei called out to Lin Yuxin, then tossed her head toward Hong Chen.

“Were you surprised to see me? Disappointed too? Hmph. If you want to spend some time alone with my sister, you’ll have to feed me first. Otherwise, I’ll keep shining my light on you all day. At worst, I’ll stay at home tonight and go back to school first thing tomorrow morning.”

Feed me.

Several dark lines appeared on Hong Chen’s forehead. He quietly looked her small figure up and down a few times, and a mischievous smile flickered across his lips.

“All right, stop talking nonsense. Let’s go.”

Lin Yuxin could do nothing with Lin Yufei. She linked arms with her sister and led the way into the mall.

The mall was bustling, especially the women’s clothing section on the third floor. Dozens of shops were packed with people, a sight rarely seen in this age of flourishing online commerce.

The reason was simple. First, women’s desire to shop far exceeded men’s. Second, the discounts were substantial. One lingerie store called Love Mom had slashed its prices by half, making them even lower than those of online specialty shops.

Hong Chen patiently accompanied the sisters around for more than two hours. During that time, Lin Yuxin bought a pair of high heels and a set of lingerie, while Lin Yufei bought two dresses, several pairs of socks, and a pair of canvas shoes. The total came to only a little over six thousand yuan, but Hong Chen was already using both hands, carrying three bags in each.

“Let’s take a look around the first floor. The stores there should be less crowded, and while you try things on, I’ll at least be able to sit down.”

Seeing Lin Yufei about to squeeze into yet another shop so crowded that it looked completely black inside, Hong Chen could not help speaking up.

“Sure. We’ll go if you pay.”

Before Lin Yuxin could answer, Lin Yufei cut in, her smile sly and teasing.

Aside from cosmetics shops, the first floor was filled with international luxury brands. Prices there were several, even more than a dozen times higher than those upstairs. It was also the only floor without any discounts. Lin Yufei had merely meant to make things difficult for him, never expecting Hong Chen to agree so readily.

“No problem. The sooner I fill you up, the sooner I can send you on your way. You two go ahead and browse. I’ll put these things in the car, then come find you.”

Lin Yufei’s eyes lit up. Once again, she beat Lin Yuxin to the punch and declared firmly, “All right. I don’t ask for much. Buy me one more dress and a pair of shoes, and I’ll be perfectly satisfied. If you think this light bulb is too bright, I’ll disappear on my own. I can even take a taxi back to school.”

Hong Chen smiled and nodded at her.

“Deal.”

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