“The young miss is here!”
This exclamation stirred the chaotic crowd in the room, drawing their attention to the door and amplifying the lively atmosphere.
A wave of people surged toward the entrance.
Dressed in a wine-red, low-cut gown, Chai Yingying strode forward in high heels, her smile radiant as a flower. “My dear young miss, you’re finally here! We’ve all been waiting for you!”
She extended a hand to pull Gu Jiu over but suddenly froze, her eyes widening.
Gu Jiu and Lu Ji had arrived holding hands.
Chai Yingying tactfully withdrew her hand and teased tentatively, “You two must be very close, going everywhere hand in hand.”
Wan Xingzhou, who had led the way, blinked in stunned silence. Realization dawned on his face, which contorted into an expression of shock.
He had felt earlier that something was off. The young miss and Lu Ji had walked in hand in hand, their posture unusually intimate. But he couldn’t be blamed for overlooking it; after all, girls were less restrained than men. For them, holding hands, hugging, or even visiting the restroom together was perfectly normal. Even closer actions between close friends weren’t considered unusual.
If men did the same, however, society would label it as excessively “intimate.” But girls faced no such restrictions.
Upon closer inspection, Wan Xingzhou was struck again.
The dark possessiveness surrounding Lu Ji had grown so intense it seemed ready to envelop the young miss entirely, as if it would swallow even her shadow. Just how terrifying was this girl’s possessiveness over her?
Even couples like Ruan Yuan and Lu Haidi displayed a normal level of possessiveness toward each other. But Lu Ji? He seemed on the verge of spiraling into obsession!
Lu Ji said nothing, quietly watching Gu Jiu.
Gu Jiu, unfazed, confidently raised their intertwined hands for all to see. “Of course, we’re close. We’re dating now,” she declared.
The crowd, including Old Hei and others, who had come forward to greet them: “!!!!!!”
They’re really dating?!
Chai Yingying only paused for a moment before quickly accepting the revelation with a laugh. “I knew there was something between you two! Watching you dance around it without saying anything was so frustrating; I wanted to shove your heads together myself! Now that it’s out in the open, I can finally relax.”
Gu Jiu chuckled and thanked her.
Even Lu Ji’s gaze toward Chai Yingying softened, a rare occurrence that left her feeling amazed.
Lu Ji was truly a person of two faces. Around the young miss, she was an affectionate, considerate angel who did everything she could to please her. But in front of others, she was cold, indifferent, aloof, and regal—a person who would brook no opposition.
Old Hei and the others, though initially surprised, quickly accepted the news.
Like Chai Yingying, they had already suspected something. They just hadn’t expected Gu Jiu to act so decisively. She had barely returned to Boundless City and was already announcing their relationship.
Ever since Gu Jiu had openly stated that she now liked women, and observing her interactions with Lu Ji, Old Hei and the others had unanimously concluded that her object of affection was Lu Ji. It seemed they had only been waiting for that last layer of ambiguity to be peeled away.
The group gathered around Gu Jiu and Lu Ji, showering them with their blessings as they led them inside.
Players put their lives on the line in the game world. Surviving isn’t easy, so they live with a “live for today” mindset, making them more accepting of many things. Whether someone loves men or women, it’s met without judgmental gazes.
Thus, the “same-sex couple” of Lu Ji and Gu Jiu quickly received everyone’s blessings.
The room was large, featuring not only a fully stocked bar and a bartender but also a central stage capable of holding several hundred people.
This gathering had attracted nearly three hundred players.
Chai Yingying handed a freshly mixed cocktail to Gu Jiu and teased with a pout, “Young miss, I’ve been waiting for you to add me as a friend! Yet you’ve been so quiet—did you forget, or do you just not want to associate with me?”
Her expression turned mock-aggrieved by the end.
Gu Jiu smiled and said, “Apologies. I’ve been in the real world these past few days and didn’t notice.”
As she spoke, she opened her player panel in front of everyone and accepted over a hundred pending friend requests marked in red.
In an instant, Gu Jiu’s friends list filled to the brim with new names, the column packed tightly.
After adding her new friends, Gu Jiu joined the group for drinks and conversation. Before long, the topic shifted to the Death Train instance.
Old Hei remarked, “I asked the system administrator about it. Turns out Sasha and Lisa were twin sisters. During the disaster, they both tragically perished. In the virtual space, one became a ghost, and the other turned into a doll. Lisa, the doll, lost her hand, so the sisters have been searching for Lisa’s hand all this time.”
Chai Yingying took a sip of her drink and sighed, “I’ve encountered Sasha asking for a hand a few times. I thought she wanted help finding a doll hand, but who would’ve guessed it was a real human hand? That misunderstanding is just too big.”
“Exactly! If we hadn’t seen Lisa, who looks identical to Sasha, in the real world, we’d never have known that Doll Lisa is actually human in reality.”
“Good thing the young miss was sharp enough not to be misled by Lisa’s doll form.”
Someone asked, “Young miss, how did you figure out Lisa’s hand was a human hand?”
Gu Jiu took a sip of her drink, savoring the rich, velvety texture as it spread across her palate with a stimulating kick. The complex flavor exploded on her taste buds, making her narrow her eyes slightly.
With a languid air, she replied, “When I first entered the game world, it was at the very first station. Neither Sasha nor the hunters had appeared yet. I searched the station thoroughly and found a child’s severed hand in the studio. Later, when Sasha asked us for the hand, I gave it to her as a test—and it turned out I was right.”
“Your luck is something else,” Chai Yingying admitted, feeling outmatched. The young miss’s sharp intuition in the game world consistently gave her an edge over other players.
Wan Xingzhou agreed, “The young miss’s luck is remarkable.”
The group chatted and drank, gradually letting loose.
Some drank heavily, trying to drown themselves in strong liquor. Others played drinking games or gambled with friends. Some even stripped off their clothes and jumped onto the stage, thrashing their bodies wildly while howling like banshees to vent their emotions.
It was a scene of chaotic revelry.
Seeing a pale, bare figure on the stage, Gu Jiu reached out and covered Lu Ji’s eyes.
Leaning close, her alcohol-laced breath brushed against his ear as she murmured, “No looking.”
Lu Ji didn’t remove the hand over his eyes. He stayed quiet and obedient, replying softly, “Then you can’t look either.”
“But what if I want to look?” The young miss was not one to obey easily.
Lu Ji paused briefly, then said shyly, “Then I can show you instead.”
Gu Jiu leaned in closer, her body pressing against his. Her alcohol-tinged lips hovered dangerously close to his, as though a heated, liquor-flavored kiss could happen at any moment.
Lu Ji’s body gradually tensed, feeling the air around him grow uncomfortably hot.
The soft, alcohol-tinged lips brushed against the corner of his mouth, and a gentle voice, like a tender stream, murmured to him amidst the chaos, “Ah Ji, I seem to recall… you’ve seen me naked a few times before.”
Lu Ji: “.…”
“So,” the young miss declared with domineering conviction, “I get to look back now!”
Under the hazy lights, the quiet, flawless young man, as delicate as a magnolia blossom, turned a shade of crimson. His pale skin was tinged with a rosy hue. If Gu Jiu weren’t so close, she wouldn’t have caught the barely audible “mm” that escaped his lips.
Unable to contain herself, she burst into laughter.
“Young miss, what’s so funny? Share the joke with me,” Wan Xingzhou asked curiously as he approached with a drink in hand.
Lu Ji snapped, “Get lost!”
Wan Xingzhou, holding his drink with a pitiful expression, obediently retreated. He didn’t dare provoke someone with such terrifyingly dark possessiveness.
But in a place like this, even hiding in the corner wouldn’t bring peace.
A group of men and women, holding their drinks, staggered over. Their faces were flushed, their eyes bleary; clearly, they were already drunk. Yet they stubbornly managed to find their way to Lu Ji and Gu Jiu.
Gu Jiu recognized them as Chai Yingying’s teammates, also hunters in the game.
“Ah Ji, let’s toast to you!”
They raised their glasses toward Lu Ji. Without waiting for a response, they downed their drinks in one go.
Hearing them call him “Ah Ji,” Gu Jiu laughed again.
Lu Ji stiffened slightly, feeling an odd sense of embarrassment. Normally, he didn’t care about how he dressed—male or female outfits meant nothing to him. Clothes were simply clothes. Human concepts of propriety and shame had little to do with him. If it weren’t for his desire to better understand Gu Jiu’s thoughts, he wouldn’t have bothered studying human customs and culture.
But in front of Gu Jiu, especially after confessing his true gender to her, being called “Ah Ji” in this context inexplicably made him feel a tinge of shame.
He scowled and said, “Don’t call me Ah Ji!”
The drunk group quickly adapted. If they couldn’t call him “Ah Ji,” they switched to calling him “Big Boss Lu.”
“Big Boss Lu, we really like you! If you prefer girls, we can even change our gender for you. Why do you have to like the young miss?” one male player wailed tearfully.
Not to be outdone, a female player chimed in, “Big Boss Lu, look at me! I’m super cute! Anything the young miss has, I have too!”
Another female player added, “And I have things the young miss doesn’t!”
Chai Yingying, who had just hurried over and heard the commotion, nearly spat out her drink at the last remark. She stared at the drunk female players with a mix of disbelief and irritation, fighting the urge to retort, What do you mean ‘things the young miss doesn’t have’? Are you implying you’re a hermaphrodite?
The female players continued their drunken rambling. “Big Boss Lu, the young miss is so domineering. She’s clearly a top! Wouldn’t it be such a waste for you to suffer as the bottom? Look at us—we’re willing to be the bottoms for you! In our hearts, you’re the real top!”
Lu Ji: “Get lost!”
Sensing her anger about to erupt, the group of drunks scattered like a swarm of startled bees, retreating with surprising speed for people who were supposedly intoxicated. Their sense of self-preservation was uncanny.
Chai Yingying couldn’t help laughing and sighing at the same time. She turned to Lu Ji and Gu Jiu. “Don’t mind them. They’ve had too much to drink and got carried away.”
Gu Jiu rested her chin on her hand, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “I found it quite entertaining.”
Lu Ji remained expressionless.
Chai Yingying, worried she might actually be upset, quickly made her escape. On her way out, she instructed someone to keep an eye on those drunk troublemakers to ensure they didn’t provoke Lu Ji further. If they upset her and the young miss stepped in to defend her, the consequences would be dire.
As the party grew livelier, more and more people approached to interrupt them. Lu Ji’s expression grew darker by the minute.
Finally, it was Gu Jiu who noticed his discomfort. Feeling sorry for him, she downed her last glass of wine and took his hand, pulling him away.
Lu Ji felt a rush of happiness. It seemed the young miss had chosen him over the crowd. Yet, on the surface, he feigned concern and asked, “Is it okay to leave like this?”
“It’s fine. Chai Yingying and the others are just using this gathering as an excuse to vent. Let them have their fun; they’ll sober up by tomorrow.”
Gu Jiu led him out of the room. Along the way, she stopped a staff member and asked to book a room for the night.
The club offered rooms for players to rest, though the prices were steep—several hundred points per night, a cost most low-level players wouldn’t dream of paying.
Once she received the room key, Gu Jiu dragged Lu Ji to their assigned room and swiped the card to enter.
Lu Ji followed silently, sneaking glances at her. His heartbeat quickened, and he bit his lip nervously before asking shyly, “Ah Jiu, are you drunk?” She had consumed quite a bit of alcohol earlier, and he was concerned.
“Nope.”
Gu Jiu pulled him inside, then turned and pushed him against the door. She leaned in close, her breath carrying the faint scent of wine as it brushed against his face.
Drawing nearer, she asked with a teasing smile, “Do I look drunk to you?”
Lu Ji studied her carefully. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes slightly hazy, and the alcohol seemed to give her a languid, alluring air. She looked intoxicated—utterly enticing.
Before he could respond, she added, “My alcohol tolerance is great. This much is nothing.”
Lu Ji let out a soft “oh,” unsure how to reply. In his mind, he was convinced she was drunk. For drunk people, normal logic didn’t apply—it was best to just go along with them.
As he was pondering this, he suddenly heard her command: “Ah Ji, take it off!”
Lu Ji froze. “Take… take what off?”
“Your clothes, of course!” Gu Jiu’s eyes were bright and intense as they bore into him. “You’ve seen me naked a few times. Now it’s my turn! Take them off!”