Chapter 199
Chapter 199
“Cough, cough, cough…”
The dense, mint-scented smoke sent everyone coughing and scrambling away. When the smoke finally dispersed, the man had vanished, and a black cat sat crouched on the ground.
Qiudong ground his teeth without expression.
Fine. I’ll remember this, King.
Cheng Miao walked over and picked up the cat. She examined him from left to right, and only after confirming he was unharmed did she cradle him and give him a few strokes.
“Didn’t she say it would last half a day? It’s only been a few hours. Why did you change back already?” Cheng Miao did not particularly mind. She took over Qiudong’s former job and began grilling the meat.
“Oh, right. Weren’t you about to tell me something?”
Cheng Miao remembered Qiudong saying her name just before he changed back.
She kept her eyes on the meat but turned her face slightly toward Qiudong to signal that she was listening.
Qiudong: …
He absolutely refused to speak from the heart while he was a cat!
It would have to wait until next time.
Qiudong did not know whether he felt relieved or disappointed. He sprawled on the grass, breathing in its fresh scent. “It was nothing.”
After finishing the barbecue, the group rested on the lawn for a while.
Lin Zhu took Qi Jiajia to buy a kite, and Qi Jiajia chose one shaped like a cat.
Lin Zhu held it by the cat ears and ran into the distance while Qin Musong guided Qi Jiajia as she let out the line.
Cheng Miao lay on her stomach in the grass with her chin propped on both hands, her feet hooked together and swaying lazily.
Qiudong loafed beside her, basking in the sun as he lazily slipped into a light doze.
After watching Qi Jiajia fly the kite for a while, Cheng Miao took out her phone and photographed the three people laughing together, then posted it to her social feed.
Caption: A Spring Outing to Remember.
At Unicorn Resort, Jiang Chen sat alone, watching heavy snow whirl through the air outside. He stirred the charcoal with a pair of fire tongs and exhaled a cloud of mist as a few sparks popped free.
He picked up his phone and scrolled through his social feed.
Few people who still had ties to him remained. Yet the posts made by people from the past were still vivid in his mind.
“Help! Can anyone save me? I don’t want to enter another instance!”
“This damned Game! Let me out!”
“This terrifying Game, these terrifying receptionists! Do they think dressing up as animals makes them cute? They’re horrifying!”
The profile pictures of the people who posted those pleas and curses had turned black. Only their final words remained on certain people’s phones.
Jiang Chen scrolled slowly, feeling the pain and helplessness they had once endured.
Suddenly, his fingertip stopped. A new post had appeared.
He looked at the brightly colored photo. A charmingly plump cat-shaped kite floated in a sky of blue and white.
On a lush green lawn, a little girl laughed happily, her habitually cold catlike eyes curved with joy.
An energetic young man ran toward the little girl. Not far away, a handsome man shaded his eyes from the sun and leisurely watched the kite overhead.
There was also something black and furry in the bottom-right corner of the photograph. Jiang Chen studied it for a while before recognizing the tip of Qiudong’s ear.
Thinking of what Cheng Miao must look like right now, Jiang Chen laughed softly.
He left a small like beneath Cheng Miao’s post, then turned back to the drifting snow and took a shallow sip of tea.
Cheng Miao’s phone chimed as she returned to the Grand Hotel.
She opened it to find a transfer of 2,000 Travel Coins from Qin Wen.
Qin Wen: I’ve reached a Hotel. This is what you lent me last time. Thank you.
Qin Wen truly was a veteran player, experienced and extraordinarily capable. It had not been long since she last saw him, yet he had already gone from penniless to a guest who could afford a Hotel.
Cheng Miao’s fingers paused. Qin Wen was desperate to resurrect Qin Wu and had to be short of money.
But repaying her also demonstrated Qin Wen’s pride. He did not want anyone’s help or charity.
Cheng Miao accepted the transfer and sent back a cute sticker.
On the other end, Qin Wen sighed with relief when Cheng Miao accepted the money. He collapsed inside the most basic room at the Hotel. Though he had no physical injuries, his mental exhaustion was severe.
After leaving the company instance, he had rushed through many more instances without stopping. He did not want to rest. He wanted to exchange for his brother’s return as soon as possible.
But when he tried to rise, he stumbled and crashed heavily to the floor. He clutched the corner of the table until his fingertips turned white.
Only after struggling for a long time did Qin Wen manage to call the receptionist. “Hello. I’d like to book a counseling session.”
…
Several days later, Cheng Miao’s group happened to encounter Qiao Jin and Qian Ming, whom they had not seen in a long time, inside a candy store.
Qiao Jin wore a floral-print dress and hummed as she selected candy.
Qian Ming carried a small basket on his arm, already filled with a considerable amount of candy.
He wore a smile, his gaze fixed firmly on Qiao Jin.
“Xiao Ming, which of these lemon candies do you think…” Qiao Jin turned to speak to Qian Ming and saw Cheng Miao smiling a short distance away.
Qiao Jin’s eyes lit up. Chattering like a lark, she ran over. “Well, if it isn’t little Miaomiao!”
Cheng Miao grinned and took out her phone. “Come on, let’s add each other on WeChat.”
Qiao Jin froze, then immediately smiled with pursed lips. She swiftly took out her phone and scanned Cheng Miao’s code.
“What are you doing here?” Qian Ming greeted everyone, then moved behind Qiao Jin and stayed close.
“Shopping. I didn’t expect such a coincidence.” Cheng Miao picked up a basket and placed several bags of cotton candy inside for Qi Jiajia. After some thought, she added two bags of fruit candy.
She remembered that the cockroach brothers had seemed very interested in the fruit candy at the Hotel reception desk last time.
She would bring it to them at dinner. Brother Parrot liked tea, so she would buy some when she found a suitable kind.
“Would you like to have dinner together later?” Qiao Jin was very fond of Cheng Miao’s group. Although the air of powerful veterans around them was now much stronger than around her and Qian Ming, that did nothing to change her belief that she was their senior.
Cheng Miao looked troubled. “We already made plans with someone else. If you don’t mind, you could join us…”
Qiao Jin knew Cheng Miao fairly well and understood that she was not someone who made a fuss over nothing.
She tilted her head. “What is it? Who are you eating with, and why would we mind?”
Cheng Miao scratched her head. “We’re having dinner with some former receptionists, but the receptionist from my Dormitory is a cockroach…”
The corner of Qiao Jin’s mouth twitched. She knew Cheng Miao never followed the usual path, but she had not expected her to be this unusual.
Not being afraid of receptionists was strange enough. Even after leaving the Dormitory so long ago, Cheng Miao still arranged meals with them.
Qiao Jin and Qian Ming strongly disliked receptionists. The receptionists had never personally done anything to them, but no one would like the NPCs who dragged them into a Game where they gambled with their lives.
Qiao Jin was considering whether to warn Cheng Miao when Qian Ming tugged at her dress, signaling her to look at Cheng Miao’s shoulder.
Only then did Qiao Jin notice the black cat sprawled there.
Although she had never visited Black Cat Hotel, Qiao Jin had heard about the Hotel in Starry City changing receptionists.
Connecting that news with the cat on Cheng Miao’s shoulder…
Qiao Jin stared in disbelief. “This cat… isn’t he a receptionist too?”