My Newbie Disciple Is Actually My Old Flame from Before I Quit the Game?

Blurb saved as a screenshot on 2024.11.6. It may be expanded or revised later, but the core won't change.

Lin Xu was born into a family of mystics, but he was determined to live an ordinary life.

In college, he played a keyboard-based online game under the ID Lin Wuxi. Later, he started a gaming studio and found an in-game partner, or more accurately, a regular arena teammate.

His teammate was called Jiangjiangjiangjiang. He was rude and arrogant, but really just had a short fuse, and his voice made him sound young.

They won two consecutive championships in the 2v2 arena, teamed up for the Qixi Festival quests two years in a row, and joked that they'd keep playing together until the servers shut down.

But then, starting on an otherwise ordinary day, Jiangjiangjiangjiang's avatar never lit up again. Even the signature on his social media account, which was obviously an alt, changed to "Taking a break from the internet, don't ask after me."

Without a compatible teammate, Lin Xu stopped playing 2v2 arena.

Seven years passed. In the game's tenth year, the official team released a full-dive version.

Lin Xu logged in with a wait-and-see attitude, but the moment he reached max level, he received a letter asking him to take someone on as an apprentice.

Standing in front of him was a youth who seemed to have appeared from nowhere. He looked up with a smile, black hair streaked with red and skin strikingly pale.

The apprenticeship letter said things like, "I'm an obedient, motivated newbie. Please take me on as your master." It was signed Jiang You.

As if possessed, Lin Xu accepted.

Due to his equipment, Jiang You could only play the full-dive version. Since Lin Xu wanted to explore the full-dive gameplay anyway, he joined him.

His apprentice was clingy and adorable, quick to learn, and good at fighting. He and Lin Xu were an unusually good match.

Jiang You said he wanted his master to carry him through the 2v2 arena. Lin Xu said, "Team up with me."

Jiang You said he wanted the Qixi Festival quest rewards but had no partner. Lin Xu said, "Come to me."

Jiang You asked if his master could always play with him. Lin Xu said, "Of course."

They had similar interests, and Lin Xu once jokingly brought up Jiangjiangjiangjiang, saying it was a shame he had quit, that he'd been waiting all these years, and that maybe this year would be a fresh start.

Whenever he did, Jiang You's mood would sink.

Time passed like this, until Lin Xu logged into the PC version, which he hadn't used in a long time, and saw a lit-up avatar at the top of his friends list.

Jiangjiangjiangjiang.

Without thinking, he sent a message.

[Lin Wuxi: ?!!]

[Lin Wuxi: Jiangjiang?]

[System notice: The other player is offline.]

[System notice: Your apprentice Jiang You has invited you to join a party. Accept?]

Lin Xu fell into thought.

The full-dive version only synced account data with the PC version. Characters in the two versions couldn't interact at all.

So why could Jiang You in the full-dive version send him a party invite while he was on PC?

Jiang You said he had bought equipment compatible with the PC version, explaining the party invite.

When Lin Xu asked customer service about Jiangjiangjiangjiang's account, they said it was a bug and nothing was wrong.

But Lin Xu still found it strange.

He hadn't studied his family's craft, but once he started thinking along those lines, he could still gather some information.

Auras, news, destiny...

His calculations went from rusty to practiced, and his mood shifted from carefree to urgent. When Lin Xu finally reached a result, the afternoon sun was shining brightly.

The game was idling in the PC version's home interface. The character with the ID Lin Wuxi was fishing by the pond.

Lin Xu looked at the divination results on the paper, momentarily dazed.

Jiang You was Jiangjiangjiangjiang.

But he didn't exist in this world.

Jiang You had died seven years ago?

"..."

A sudden chill crept into his heart.

Lin Xu instinctively covered the paper and looked up at the computer on his desk.

In the PC version's home interface, a youth had appeared at some point, watching him.

[High talent for the occult, gentle, slightly gloomy, and prone to doing nothing top 1 (Lin Xu) x formerly short-tempered and edgy, now gloomy and theatrical bottom 0 (Jiang You)]

1. Lin is the top, Jiang is the bottom. Older top. They may both be a little crazy. Happy ending.

2. My own take on mild supernatural elements, with some gaming. Romance is the main plot.

3. They were in-game partners seven years ago but never dated, though they did have feelings for each other.

Theme: Stay by his side