Xia Jinyu was used to living alone. On weekdays, he went straight between home and work, and during holidays he never went out except to restock daily necessities at the supermarket or have a meal when invited by family.
His cousin couldn't stand watching him live like that and shoved one of her alternate accounts in an online game at him. "If you don't want to go out, you can at least make a few friends online."
As it turned out, Xia Jinyu logged in for two hours every day, finished his daily quests, then spent the rest of his time working on life skills by himself: growing vegetables and herbs, experimenting with recipes...
His cousin: Fine, do whatever you want. There's no saving you.
*
On the screen, the diligent healer gathered herbs, her skirt fluttering lightly with each movement.
A trade request suddenly popped up in the center of the screen. The trade window showed several different herbs, each in a stack of 999.
Only then did Xia Jinyu notice a swordsman standing beside his healer. He had no idea when the man had appeared.
Xia Jinyu didn't accept the trade. He sent a message in the local chat: ?
[Nearby] [Xianshi Yefeng]: Accept it.
[Nearby] [Guihua Xiaotangyuan]: Why?
[Nearby] [Xianshi Yefeng]: Because I want to borrow a little of your time and ask you to marry me.
Xia Jinyu: ?
[Nearby] [Guihua Xiaotangyuan]: I'm a man.
[Nearby] [Xianshi Yefeng]: ...Huh?
[Nearby] [Xianshi Yefeng]: That's fine too. I like your personality.
[Nearby] [Guihua Xiaotangyuan]: Online, it's easy to fake your personality.
[Nearby] [Xianshi Yefeng]: I believe you're not the kind of person who would deceive anyone!
[Nearby] [Guihua Xiaotangyuan]: Our intimacy isn't high enough to get married.
[Nearby] [Xianshi Yefeng]: ...True.
Xia Jinyu thought he'd successfully put the other guy off, but then
[Nearby] [Xianshi Yefeng]: Then I'll have to borrow even more of your time. Let's go grind intimacy!
*
From then on, Xia Jinyu's uneventful gaming life was rocked by a thousand waves.
Every day, Xianshi Yefeng took him into dungeons, to events, and to fight bosses. They even kept up with their life skills.
Xia Jinyu went from feeling uncomfortable at first to gradually thinking that this wasn't bad at all.
And Xianshi Yefeng himself... was pretty great, too.
Only after they got married did Xia Jinyu learn that Xianshi Yefeng was a member of an enemy guild.
But Xia Jinyu never took part in guild feuds, so he didn't care. He still followed Xianshi Yefeng around every day, and the two of them built a house and raised a kid together in the game.
Then one day, Xia Jinyu accidentally stumbled upon the truth.
He immediately logged off and never clicked the game icon again.
*
Many days later, Xia Jinyu started a new account.
As soon as he logged in, he saw the same person spamming the megaphone channel
[Megaphone] [Xianshi Yefeng]: Where's my wife? Has anyone seen my wife? He hasn't shown up in ages [sobbing] [sobbing]
Xia Jinyu ignored him and went off to do beginner quests.
But somehow, Xianshi Yefeng found out about his new account.
He messaged Xia Jinyu every day.
[Nearby] [Xianshi Yefeng]: Wife, it was a misunderstanding! Don't leave me!
[Nearby] [Xianshi Yefeng]: Wife, the herbs in the field have all withered, the pots at home are covered in dust, and our kid misses you.
[Nearby] [Xianshi Yefeng]: I miss you too, so, so much...
Xia Jinyu never replied, but, as if bewitched, he couldn't bring himself to block the other man.
Unexpectedly, his real identity was suddenly exposed in real life, too.
Ming Huan: Could I borrow a little of your time? Once we build up our intimacy, let's get married.
-
Younger love interest, sunny and cheerful x cool and quiet
Keyboard-based online game, no competitive gaming
Theme: Be honest with each other
