Chapter Ninety-Two: Kept by Him

Late at night, the bedside lamp still glowed in the room. Lin Yuxin sat on the bed, clutching the fluffy white doll in her arms, distractedly watching a period drama on television.

At one point, her phone on the nightstand vibrated. Lin Yuxin snapped back to herself and reached for it at once, only to find it was a spam message. The faint hope on her face instantly vanished, replaced by a trace of disappointment and resentment.

It had already been five days since she and Hong Chen began living apart, and not once had that man called or sent her a message. She could not help wondering whether she had never truly existed in his heart at all. Perhaps there was already another woman outside, and this separation was not some new beginning for them, but merely an excuse to shake her off.

It was only after she woke from surgery today that Lin Yufei told her Hong Chen had learned of her accident and rushed over at the first possible moment, leaving only after the surgery had succeeded. Added to that, he had also hurried home previously to make a scene, exposing before the Shen father and son and her own family the truth she had deliberately concealed, as well as the filthy dealings between Qian Duoduo and the Shen father and son, and then left in haste.

Only then was she finally certain that her suspicions had been unnecessary. Hong Chen did have her, his wife, in his heart.

But why had he not returned, come to see her, keep her company, or at least called to ask after her? Even if he had been afraid of disturbing her rest, he could have at least left a message.

By the doctor in charge's account, today she had been less than half a centimeter from death. If things had gone differently, she might have left this world forever, and they would have been separated by life and death. Shouldn't he have cared even a little?

Yet hours passed without the slightest sign.

Lin Yuxin stared at the phone screen in a daze. She opened Hong Chen's avatar in the messaging app, typed a line into the chat box, then erased it. She typed an even longer line, then erased that too...

After repeating this five or six times, she gave a small snort, her delicate face cooling at once. She flung the phone back onto the nightstand, turned off the television, extinguished the lamp, and burrowed beneath the covers.

The room sank into silence.

And yet a quarter of an hour later, she sat up again. Her eyes flickered with hesitation, but in the end she still got out of bed, carried the laptop from the writing desk back to the bed, and set it on her lap.

She powered it on, went online, visited the official site for the game Rise of the Demon Legion, downloaded the client, registered an account, and chose the name Blue Dream. More than ten minutes passed before she entered the game. She sent a private message to Stud Stallion.

As expected, Stud Stallion was online.

Stud Stallion was none other than Hong Chen's in-game ID.

An inexplicable anger surged in Lin Yuxin's chest. That fellow really did play from dawn to dusk, eating and sleeping for the game! A thought suddenly struck her: perhaps the reason Hong Chen had always come and gone in such a hurry was because his heart was entirely aflame for the game!

Was this online game your wife, or am I your wife?

Lin Yuxin gritted her teeth and forced down her temper before typing: Hello.

Stud Stallion replied quickly: In a boss fight. What is it?

Blue Dream: Can you take me along to fight bosses?

Stud Stallion: This is your alt, right? What's your main character's level and class?

Lin Yuxin hurriedly flipped through the character guide on the official site. Before she could reply, Stud Stallion typed again: Level ninety and above. Demon Priest, Demon Mage, Demon Blacksmith only. Nothing else accepted.

Blue Dream: Oh.

Lin Yuxin logged out of the game and went to the treasure site, browsing a shop that specialized in selling game IDs. She picked a level ninety-three female Demon Priest with the ID Time Space Little Lady, and spent a thousand yuan to buy it.

Then she went back to the official site to study the Demon Priest's skills before logging into the game once more and privately messaging Stud Stallion again: This is my main character.

Stud Stallion: Come to the south gate of the capital.

Five minutes later, Stud Stallion and Time Space Little Lady met outside the south gate. Stud Stallion wore a silver helmet and golden sword, astride a tall horse, imposing and grand. Time Space Little Lady stood in a colorful dress, spirited and handsome. Standing together, they truly had the air of a hero and a beauty.

Without another word, Stud Stallion sent a party invitation: In thirteen minutes, we’ll farm Robots in Feiyang. In twenty-seven minutes, South Cave for the South King. In forty-three minutes, Ant Cave for Pyramidion. In fifty-seven minutes, the Pyramid for Oseris. Get ready, we leave in five minutes.

Time Space Little Lady: What do I need to prepare?

Stud Stallion paused, then replied with a bead of sweat: Ten resurrection waters, ten full-heal elixirs, and ten ultimate-skill enhancers.

Time Space Little Lady: Oh.

Stud Stallion: ........

Lin Yuxin did not know that the items Hong Chen had told her to prepare were not ordinary consumables at all, but things exchanged on the official site with real money: resurrection water, ten yuan a cup; full-heal elixir, three yuan a bottle; ultimate-skill enhancer, five yuan each.

In the end, the inexperienced Lin Yuxin followed his instructions exactly and bought the full set, spending nearly two hundred yuan.

During the first battle, against the giant robot, besides Stud Stallion, there were two other parties fighting for the boss. At first, Stud Stallion was frustrated to death, because he discovered that aside from healing him, Time Space Little Lady knew nothing about blessing skills, attack boosts, or the like. She was a complete novice.

Later, he saw that Time Space Little Lady had been hacked to death twice by the robot, yet each time she revived instantly with resurrection water. Stud Stallion felt a bead of sweat creep up his brow and typed: Did you bring the ultimate-skill enhancers? Use them!

He had only said it casually, never expecting that Time Space Little Lady would actually unleash them, and in succession at that: a Goddess's Wrath to knock off one-eighth of the robot's health, then a Clear Sky Lightning to strip away another tenth, then another Thunder Tribulation...

What should have taken three parties at least three minutes to bring down was blasted to the ground in just one minute. Above Time Space Little Lady's head appeared the VIP marker. That still wasn't the end of it. The robot even dropped a card with a one-in-two-hundred chance, which Time Space Little Lady bent down and picked up.

In the villa, in the study, Hong Chen let out a howl into the computer: Damn it! I've killed no fewer than a hundred robots and only ever gotten a single golden helmet. This person is clearly just some idle fool, a noob grinding away with the game on auto, yet he actually used real money to bludgeon the boss to death, and it even dropped a card? This is cheating, blatant cheating!

After his outburst, Hong Chen rolled his eyes a few times. Once the two of them flew back to the south gate, he typed: Lady Little Princess, since we're in a party to farm bosses, why don't we split the loot fifty-fifty? How about letting me keep the card that just dropped for now?

This robot card could be inserted into armor and add about ten points of enhancement. It was a top-tier card in the game, worth at least five thousand yuan if sold for cash. In a temporary party like this, it was already generous to get a sip of the soup; not splitting it would have been normal. Hong Chen had only made a casual suggestion, never expecting Time Space Little Lady to obediently send a smiling nod and directly toss the card to the ground.

Hong Chen immediately picked it up. A bead of sweat rolled off Stud Stallion's brow, and Hong Chen himself felt another cold sweat break out. He had really run into a little rich lady today.

Hong Chen's eyes flickered several times before he shamelessly typed: Little Princess, why don't we make our party permanent from now on? I have another brother, and the three of us can form a team that will sweep the world.

Time Space Little Lady: All right.

Stud Stallion: Um, but I'm a bit poor. Could we do it this way? Every time we fight a boss, you provide the resurrection water, the full-heal elixirs, and the upgrade skills. We don't need ten of each; half is fine. Five of each will do.

Time Space Little Lady: All right.

Before the computer, Hong Chen slapped his forehead and burst into tears of excitement. He had played online games for six years, and at last he had successfully latched onto a little rich lady. No, maybe it was a cross-dressing guy, but that didn't matter. In any case, he had succeeded in getting supported!

On the other side, looking at the computer screen, Lin Yuxin's lips curved slightly in delight. "This way, every move you make won't escape my surveillance."

Over the next three hours, the two of them moved through fifteen maps. With Lin Yuxin sparing no expense in real money, all fifteen bosses had their VIP rewards claimed without exception. Gradually, the two of them also grew familiar with each other. Though they did not speak intimately, they were both willing to mention the little trivialities of everyday life.

Time always flew in the game. Outside, the sky was gradually growing light. Lin Yuxin yawned and typed: I'm tired. I'm logging off. What time will you be online tomorrow?

Stud Stallion: Up to you. I can be on anytime. I'm a professional player!

Time Space Little Lady: Didn't you say just now that you usually had to go to work?

Stud Stallion: Work? What work? Oh, I quit two days ago. Now gaming is my profession. In a day of boss runs, the loot can be worth anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand yuan. I earn much more than ordinary office workers.

Lin Yuxin's temper flared, but in the end she forced it down and typed: Noon, then. I'm logging off.

After logging out, Lin Yuxin clenched her teeth and said, "Hong Chen, you've really disappointed me."