Chapter 142
Chapter 142
Cheng Miao’s group spent every day indulging in food and entertainment. Brother Parrot, who visited from time to time, infuriated Huayu so badly that feathers flew.
Seeing the two birds arguing again, Cheng Miao pressed a hand to her forehead. “Can’t they get along peacefully?”
Qiudong seriously groomed his fur. “They’re both narcissists. Peace is impossible.”
Brother Parrot and Huayu shouted in unison, “Who are you calling a narcissist?!”
Qiudong focused with complete indifference.
Brother Parrot and Huayu fell silent. Fine. They would go back to arguing with each other.
Cheng Miao had been in frequent contact with Jiang Chen recently. Like a teacher, he quietly passed his experience and knowledge on to her without making it obvious.
Cheng Miao: Why do I feel like you’re teaching a student?
Jiang Chen: If I had a student like you, my job would be rather easy.
Cheng Miao felt that Jiang Chen treated her extraordinarily well, in a way that went beyond romantic affection or friendship.
Jiang Chen treated her like a seed, like hope itself.
She discussed the matter with Qiudong before going to sleep. Qiudong remained silent for an unusually long time before saying, “Jiang Chen is a veteran player. He’s very famous, and he isn’t a bad person.”
As long as he wasn’t a bad person. Reassured, Cheng Miao rolled over and fell asleep. She didn’t see the complicated emotion that flashed through Qiudong’s eyes, a mixture of admiration and regret.
On the final evening, Qin Musong took the group to a bar in Niaoniao Town. He ordered sparkling water for the two underage members, while Cheng Miao joined him for some whiskey.
“I didn’t expect you to drink,” Qin Musong said, swirling the crystal-clear liquid in his glass.
Cheng Miao smiled. “I was an ordinary office worker in the real world. When the pressure got bad, I needed alcohol to take the edge off.”
Qiudong seemed lost in thought. After Cheng Miao had gone through several rounds of drinks, he extended his tongue and licked the liquid in her glass. Within minutes, he collapsed into her arms.
Qiudong had only one thought: Damn it. Were cats really this intolerant of alcohol?!
Cheng Miao panicked. Ahhh, little kitties couldn’t drink alcohol!
Worried that the alcohol might harm Qiudong, the group returned to the Grand Hotel and had an owl examine him. After confirming he was only drunk, everyone washed up and went to bed.
Half asleep, Cheng Miao felt something furry and soft burrow beneath her covers and rest against the hollow of her neck.
She tugged the blanket up in a daze and ruffled the cat’s head twice.
She couldn’t let the little kitty drink again.
The next morning, breakfast came with a cup of fragrant flower juice. Qiudong gripped the cup in his mouth and drained it in one gulp. “Huayu brews this. It can restore your stamina to its peak.”
Everyone marveled at the wonderful drink and finished every drop.
At Peacock Grand Hotel, a pelican also delivered players into instances. The skiff entered a cave, and by the time light appeared again, they were already inside the instance.
Cheng Miao immediately reached for her shoulder. The cat perched there was gone. A cold sweat broke over her. Without even looking at the instance environment, she lowered her head and searched for him.
“He’s not here.” Qin Musong and the others shook their heads, all of them anxious.
Since Qiudong had said he could clear instances with them, he must have been confident. Why wasn’t the cat here now?
Cheng Miao crouched on the ground and made coaxing noises. A pair of exquisite black leather shoes suddenly appeared before her. Long legs wrapped in casual trousers stopped directly in front of her.
Cheng Miao looked up. The man’s extraordinary beauty startled her for a moment. Then she stood, quietly retreated a little, and asked in a cool, polite voice, “Can I help you?”
The man adjusted the slightly long bangs falling across his eyes. His unusually pale eyes seemed to conceal a rare savage beast sealed inside an ancient temple, and he stared at Cheng Miao without blinking.
Even though the man was inhumanly handsome, being watched that way was uncomfortable.
Qi Jiajia and the other two approached with dark expressions. Seeing Qin Musong and Lin Zhu intentionally or unintentionally shield Cheng Miao behind them, the man raised one elegant brow.
“I believe I told you not to make those noises at me.”
The familiar, cold, pure male voice came from the man before them. All four froze. Cheng Miao’s pupils widened in shock. “You’re Qiudong!!!”
Disdain appeared on Qiudong’s face, though amusement flashed through his eyes. “Are you disappointed?”
Cheng Miao covered her face. “I even slept with you!”
Qiudong fell silent. “I wouldn’t mind if you shouted that a little louder.”
Cheng Miao hurriedly covered her mouth and looked around, her entire face crimson.
Fortunately, they were inside a dense forest. Not all the players had arrived yet, and few people noticed them.
Cheng Miao lowered her hands, still blushing. “Aren’t you a cat?”
Qiudong folded his arms with the air of someone enjoying a show. “Did I ever say I was a cat?”
Cheng Miao no longer wanted to speak. She felt a profound sense of malice.
The tip of Qiudong’s pale ear twitched. He turned, moved beside Cheng Miao, and patted her on the head. “My cat form isn’t suitable for instances. Focus.”
Qiudong was about as tall as Qin Musong, with long arms and legs that made the gesture exceptionally easy. He took the opportunity to ruffle the top of Cheng Miao’s fluffy hair.
It felt rather nice, Qiudong thought distractedly. She had ruffled his head every day, after all.
Cheng Miao steadied herself, suppressed her shock, and forced her attention onto the instance.
The experience of many instances had become ingrained in her bones, allowing her to treat clearing the current one as her highest priority.
Qiudong glanced at Cheng Miao’s profile, satisfaction flashing through his eyes.
Nearly all the players had arrived. There were eighteen in total, including some familiar faces.
A beautiful young man with wildly disheveled hair ran over with a grin. “Hey, Miss Cheng. We meet again.”
Cheng Miao gave a dry laugh. “Hi, Gu Jian.”
“Miaomiao, I didn’t expect you to enter this one too.” Watching the tall man approach at an easy pace, Cheng Miao thought this instance was truly a feast for the eyes.
She nodded with a smile. “You entered too, Jiang Chen.”
The moment Gu Jian saw Jiang Chen, he threw himself onto the man. “Hey, you’re here too.”
Jiang Chen helplessly pulled him off and set him aside. “Can you stand properly?”
Cheng Miao was curious. “You know each other?”
Jiang Chen smoothed the wrinkles in his clothes and nodded. “He’s a veteran player living at Nine-Tailed Fox Resort. He’s thrown that place into such chaos that every nearby guest knows him.”
Cheng Miao hadn’t expected Gu Jian to have already reached the Resort tier. She looked at him in surprise.
Gu Jian adopted a coy expression. “Why are you looking at me like that? You’re going to make me shy.”
Jiang Chen removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose with one hand. Gu Jian had clearly disgusted him.
Cheng Miao looked speechlessly toward the sky. Gu Jian finally had a chance to move closer and study Qiudong. “Wow, this handsome guy is gorgeous. I think he’s even better-looking than Baili.”
Cheng Miao looked over. “Have you seen Baili Qianqiu since then?”
Gu Jian nodded solemnly, his tone aggrieved. “Yeah. He and his wife thought I was too noisy, so they moved to Centaur Resort.”
Cheng Miao understood immediately. Baili Qianqiu and Lian Ge had reconciled.
The thought of two such beautiful people being a couple delighted Cheng Miao.
Gu Jian aside, Jiang Chen had only recently parted ways with the group. How could he fail to know that their team consisted of four people and one black cat?
Which meant this additional man…
Qiudong’s gaze swept over him, carrying the scent of temple incense from deep in the forest mixed with a trace of cold blood.
Jiang Chen withdrew his gaze, touched the tip of his nose, and smiled.