Gu Jiu bit on her straw, lazily sipping from a boxed milk drink, her eyes fixed on the tavern’s entrance. After seeing four players walk in, she casually glanced at them. Upon noticing Lu Ji wasn’t among them, she quickly averted her gaze.
Hearing someone call her name, she looked over again.
Her indifferent gaze swept over the four of them, and Gu Jiu’s demeanor remained calm, as though she didn’t recognize them at all.
Jiang Ze followed her line of sight, his eyes scanning the four figures.
The speaker was a young man with strikingly handsome, mixed-race features. He was taller and more robust than the average Eastern man. His gaze was locked onto Gu Jiu, his expression a mix of shock and delight. Clearly, seeing Gu Jiu here was a pleasant surprise for him.
Beside him stood a girl with long, wavy hair and exquisite makeup, giving her a mature and alluring look. Like the man, her expression also carried shock, but unlike his unabashed delight, her face revealed displeasure, as though she wasn’t happy to see Gu Jiu here.
The other two—a man and a woman—seemed unfamiliar with Gu Jiu. Their gazes carried curiosity and unfamiliarity.
Since the young man hadn’t lowered his voice, everyone in the tavern turned to look.
Chai Yingying, who had been gathering information nearby, noticed the commotion and immediately walked over to stand by Gu Jiu’s side, signaling her support. Regardless of whether these people were friends or foes, siding with the young lady was the safest choice.
The mixed-race man strode over quickly, stopping in front of Gu Jiu.
His eyes fixed intently on her as he exclaimed with delight, “Gu Jiu, when did you become a player? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Gu Jiu replied with a puzzled look, “Why should I have told you? I didn’t even know you were a player.”
The man was momentarily stunned. “…” Her reasoning was sound—he hadn’t expected Gu Jiu to be a player either.
After a moment of silence, the man sized her up and sighed as if in admiration. “Gu Jiu, you haven’t changed a bit.”
Her presence here meant that she was now a B-rank player, indicating she had been through quite a few game worlds. Yet she still looked the same as he remembered, suggesting the game worlds hadn’t left much of a mark on her.
Gu Jiu’s reaction remained indifferent. She merely hummed in acknowledgment.
Unbothered by her lack of enthusiasm, the man continued, “If I’d known you were a player, I would’ve gone to Haishi to find you.”
He looked regretful. Ever since he became a player, he had been consumed by tasks in the game worlds and the Boundless City, which had kept him from seeing Gu Jiu for over two years. He had planned to visit her once his strength and confidence in the game world’s challenges improved.
Hearing this, both Chai Yingying and Jiang Ze immediately understood: this man was a player from the same world as Gu Jiu.
Contrary to the man’s regret, the woman beside him looked increasingly displeased. Finally, she couldn’t hold back anymore and spoke up, “Gu Jiu, does Dad know you’ve become a player?”
Gu Jiu finally gave her a glance and asked plainly, “Who are you? What does your dad have to do with me?”
“You—!”
It was clear to everyone present that the woman was furious, her body trembling with anger. This showed just how adept the young lady was at infuriating people.
Or perhaps, it was simply that she cared too much about Gu Jiu’s attitude, making herself vulnerable to a single remark.
Gu Jiu paid them no further attention.
Even if they came from the same world, what of it? Her attitude remained unchanged.
Clearly, Gu Jiu gave off a gentle appearance, but her attitude was flippant and casual, enough to infuriate anyone half to death.
Chai Yingying suddenly had an epiphany: these two people clearly didn’t have a good relationship with the young lady in real life. The man, at best, seemed like someone with a casual acquaintance, someone Gu Jiu would tolerate to some degree. But the woman? There was definitely some tension there.
Especially with the line, “Does Dad know?” It was reasonable to assume these two were sisters.
But definitely not full-blooded sisters—they were more likely half-sisters, sharing the same father but not the same mother, and their relationship was far from cordial.
Seeing Chen Zhiru so angry, the other two players with them stepped in to diffuse the situation. “Huo Ting, Chen Zhiru, let’s go to the counter and gather some information first.”
Having just entered the tavern, they were completely unfamiliar with its layout and operations. They should be figuring that out rather than catching up with old acquaintances. There were plenty of other players in the tavern, not to mention NPCs, all potential sources of information.
Huo Ting didn’t delay the matter. After giving Gu Jiu a long, meaningful look, he joined his companions at the counter.
Chen Zhiru’s gaze, however, remained fixed on Gu Jiu, her eyes intense, almost terrifying. Just as everyone thought she might do something, she turned abruptly and followed the other three.
Once the four of them left, Chai Yingying leaned in with a gossipy expression. “Young Lady, who were they?”
“An old acquaintance and someone I’m not familiar with.”
The “old acquaintance” referred to Huo Ting, which was why she had shown him some courtesy. The “not familiar with” one was clearly Chen Zhiru.
Seeing that Gu Jiu had no intention of elaborating, Chai Yingying dropped the subject. However, she couldn’t help but speculate: if she wasn’t mistaken, that handsome man, Huo Ting, seemed to harbor feelings for the young lady. Could he be one of her admirers from the real world?
Thinking about it, she felt a little sorry for Huo Ting.
No matter how handsome or manly you are, it’s useless. The young lady likes soft and sweet girls—especially those like Lu Ji’s younger sister, who are obedient, clingy, and charmingly reliant.
Just the gender difference alone was enough to make it impossible for Huo Ting to win her over.
Meanwhile, Huo Ting and his group didn’t get any useful information from the tavern owner either. However, as fellow players, someone nearby kindly shared some details about Ella Town and the tavern’s circumstances.
The four of them quickly booked the last two rooms available.
With two men and two women, the two rooms were perfectly distributed.
After securing the keys, Huo Ting didn’t go upstairs to rest. Instead, he walked back toward Gu Jiu.
Chen Zhiru, her face tense, followed closely behind.
Huo Ting sat directly across from Gu Jiu, his gaze deeply fixed on her. His face broke into a bright smile as he said, “Gu Jiu, I’m really happy to run into you here.”
In truth, what made him happiest was that Gu Jiu hadn’t changed.
No matter what had happened, she remained the proud young lady of the Gu family, unshaken by anything. Not even the dangerous game worlds seemed capable of altering her.
Only those who were also players could understand just how perilous the game worlds were and how many players, having survived through countless challenges, looked back and realized they had become entirely different people. The person they saw in the mirror was a stranger compared to who they used to be.
The game world was the ultimate test of character and also the greatest catalyst for transformation.
But Gu Jiu remained unchanged. One glance was all it took to know she was still the Gu Jiu he once knew.
Gu Jiu, however, continued staring at the tavern’s entrance. She asked without looking at him, “When did you two become players?”
“Two years ago for me, and a year and a half ago for Chen Zhiru,” Huo Ting replied. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he quickly asked, “I heard your vision was deteriorating. Is it better now?”
Gu Jiu adjusted her glasses and said, “It’s still the same. Only when I become an S-rank player will my eyes fully recover.”
Huo Ting pressed his lips together and said, “When I heard about your vision problems, I thought of looking for medicine in the Boundless City that could heal your eyes…”
“Who told you about that?” Gu Jiu glanced at Chen Zhiru beside him.
Chen Zhiru sat stiffly, feeling as if all the blood in her body had turned cold under Gu Jiu’s gaze. Her entire body felt icy.
“Chen Zhiru mentioned it,” Huo Ting said matter-of-factly. “Once, she brought it up and said you were in a very pitiful state.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
Under Gu Jiu’s amused yet cold gaze, Chen Zhiru fidgeted uncomfortably, on the verge of fleeing from this awkward situation. But she didn’t leave. Instead, she gritted her teeth and forced herself to stay.
Out of everyone’s view, her fingers clawed at her palms, using pain to distract herself. Her heart was filled with a mix of shame and anger, an overwhelming humiliation threatening to swallow her whole.
Huo Ting wasn’t foolish. With one look at Chen Zhiru, he guessed her true intentions when she had made that comment. His tone turned suspicious. “Chen Zhiru, you didn’t use your player abilities to mess with the Gu family, did you?”
Huo Ting knew full well the grudge between Chen Zhiru and Gu Jiu, and he wasn’t about to take her side just because they were teammates.
“I didn’t!” Chen Zhiru immediately denied. “You know me—I haven’t done anything.”
She had only been working from the shadows, helping the Chen family rise again to become one of Haishi’s elite families while trying to dig pits for the Gu family. She knew how much the Gu family adored Gu Jiu, so she set up traps, hoping their concern over her vision would lead them to fall into her schemes, ultimately dragging them down to the level of the old Chen family—a bottom-rung clan anyone could trample on.
But after months passed and the Gu family ignored every trap she set, she grew confused. How could the Gu family remain so calm? Was it possible that their affection for Gu Jiu was just for show? The thought delighted her, and she began to believe that Gu Jiu, who had been the proud Gu family young lady for twenty years, wasn’t anything special after all.
Now, she realized she had celebrated too early.
The reason the Gu family didn’t fall for her schemes was undoubtedly because Gu Jiu, as a player, knew her own condition well and saw through the traps.
She had once considered using player abilities to sabotage the Gu family, reasoning that if they went bankrupt and Gu Jiu lost her status as the Gu family’s young lady, she would no longer be able to look down on her or dismiss her and the Chen family as mere ants.
But she dared not act because Huo Ting would never allow it.
Even though both she and Huo Ting were players, naturally standing on the same side and separate from ordinary people, Huo Ting liked Gu Jiu.
As long as Huo Ting liked Gu Jiu, she couldn’t touch her or the Gu family.
In the past, she could comfort herself, thinking, What’s the point of Huo Ting liking Gu Jiu? Gu Jiu was just an ordinary person. Ordinary people had short lives and fragile bodies, and players couldn’t truly be with them.
But now that she discovered Gu Jiu was also a player, such thoughts seemed laughable.
Huo Ting’s suspicious gaze remained fixed on her.
Seeing his distrust, Chen Zhiru’s expression grew even uglier. She felt as if she might cough up blood. Unable to help herself, she glared at Gu Jiu.
She had come to realize that no matter where or when, Gu Jiu was her nemesis. This young lady, who had always overshadowed her, continued to suppress her even now. Even as a player, Chen Zhiru still found herself stuck in Gu Jiu’s shadow, forced to endure her arrogance and superiority.
Huo Ting looked at Gu Jiu and asked her directly, “Gu Jiu, has anything happened with the Gu family recently?”
“No,” Gu Jiu replied, flashing an exceptionally gentle smile toward Chen Zhiru. “My family is doing quite well.”
Only then did Huo Ting smile, turning to Chen Zhiru. “Zhiru, you’ve done well. Becoming a player doesn’t give you the right to interfere with ordinary people.”
Chen Zhiru stiffly replied, “Don’t worry, Brother Ting. I know that. I never intended to use my player abilities to do anything.”
But inwardly, she was seething, her hatred boiling over. She wanted nothing more than to use her player abilities to crush this detestable woman, Gu Jiu! To ruin the Gu family and repay them tenfold for everything they’d done to the Chen family over the years.
—
Chai Yingying observed Huo Ting with a hint of admiration. He turned out to be one of those rare handsome guys with solid principles.
At this point, she had pieced everything together.
Chen Zhiru liked Huo Ting, but Huo Ting liked the young lady. Even when they initially thought the young lady was just an ordinary person, his feelings didn’t change. This fact left Chen Zhiru both furious and helpless.
To Chen Zhiru, the young lady was like a nightmare she couldn’t escape, no matter where she went.
Which was why the young lady was so impressive. Those who hated her could never truly free themselves from the crushing pressure of her mere presence.
Huo Ting, eager to make the most of this rare encounter in the game world, genuinely wanted to have a good chat with Gu Jiu.
Gu Jiu’s attitude wasn’t bad. She treated him like a casual acquaintance, briefly summarizing her experience of becoming a player.
As they were talking, someone else walked in from outside.