Can't Shake Off My Arch-rival After Falling in Love Online - Chapter 13

Shu Xing sat on the subway and headed home in a bit of a daze. It was not until he finished showering, with the warm water clearing his thoughts, that he truly snapped out of it.

Recalling the words Xi Yang said when they parted, Shu Xing realized that Xi Yang was actually apologizing to him. In an instant, a sense of triumphant satisfaction washed over him. Regarding the “Princess and the Pea” incident, Shu Xing had finally received Xi Yang’s apology. To have someone as proud and cold as Xi Yang bow his head was enough to make Shu Xing finally let go of the grudge he had held for so long.

The more Shu Xing savored the moment, the better he felt. No wonder Xi Yang had suddenly invited him to dinner; it was all a setup for the apology. Well, he would be generous and forgive him.

After finishing the edits on the photos he took at the French restaurant, a message from Yu Hui popped up. Shu Xing then remembered that he had not replied to him all day. There were not many unread messages from Yu Hui; the most recent one asked if he was off work yet. Shu Xing checked the time; it was usually around the hour he would arrive home after a shift, so Yu Hui was likely timing the question. However, since Shu Xing finished early today, he had forgotten to mention it.

Thinking about Yu Hui’s message for a while, Shu Xing wondered if he should mention that he had dinner with someone he disliked. After all, he had complained about Xi Yang to Yu Hui so many times. To turn around and be swayed by a single dinner would make him look a bit spineless. Forget it, there was no need to say anything.

Shu Xing simply typed “Just got home” and sent it back.

Yu Hui’s voice call came through quickly. Usually, this was the time they would sweetly log on to play games together.

“Babe, do you have time to get online now?”

“Yes, wait for me a moment.”

Shu Xing walked into the adjacent gaming room while staying on the call. After logging in, he saw Yu Hui’s character standing on Friendship Island, wearing a cool, limited edition set and waiting for him. Several other people in different limited edition outfits stood nearby; they were friends from the game guild.

Yu Hui had invited Shu Xing into this guild. The players inside were all major spenders. Thanks to Yu Hui’s financial backing, Shu Xing had also become a prominent figure within the group. However, the guild members knew that Shu Xing’s account was built on Yu Hui’s real money. Many had opinions about Shu Xing being in the top five of the collection rankings, but out of respect for Yu Hui, the top ranked player, they only dared to gossip in private.

Today, there were more guild friends on Friendship Island than usual. Many were wearing their most expensive outfits, gathered together like a multi-level marketing meeting, looking ready for an online shouting match. Their sets were flashing with dazzling effects. Luckily, the computer Yu Hui bought for Shu Xing was high spec; otherwise, the game interface would have turned into a laggy slideshow just by standing near them.

Passerby players were already complaining on the world chat, saying that the big bosses were having a meeting without regard for the life of a nobody’s CPU. Yu Hui usually ignored the world chat and only focused on the guild channel.

Shu Xing saw the comments from the passersby, read them aloud, and joked, “If you really burn their CPUs, would you have to give them some compensation?”

After hearing this, Yu Hui paused and said, “Okay.”

Before Shu Xing could realize what Yu Hui meant by “okay,” several system announcements popped up on the interface. They showed Yu Hui gifting gold bars to various players. The complaints on the world chat instantly turned into “Thank you, daddy.”

Game gold bars could be sold on real world platforms for cash, but they required actual money to be recharged into the game. Seeing Yu Hui give away tens of thousands of yuan in such a short time, Shu Xing’s mouth fell open in surprise. This idiot! Does he have too much money with nowhere to spend it?

Shu Xing felt bad for Yu Hui’s money, and even worse that the money was not given to him. If that were converted into a transfer to his Yue’bao account, he could have earned so much more daily interest.

“What are you doing, Yu Hui?” Shu Xing watched the money that did not belong to him vanish like flowing water. He was so heartbroken he could barely speak. He knew he should not try to control someone else’s money, but he could not help saying, “Are you cosplaying as the God of Wealth?”

Yu Hui said in a slow tone, “Did you not say we should give them some compensation?”

Shu Xing: “…”

Their CPUs have not even burned yet!

Shu Xing gloomily changed the subject. “Why are so many people gathered today?”

“Ni Xin said the guild members should take a group photo.” Yu Hui sensed something was wrong and asked, “Did he not tell you?”

“Oh, no.” No one had notified Shu Xing about this at all.

This Ni Xin was the guild leader and used to be Yu Hui’s regular healer teammate. Ever since Shu Xing took that spot, Ni Xin had been hostile toward him. The gossip about Shu Xing’s ranking being inflated also originated from this person. However, when Yu Hui looked into the source of the rumors, Ni Xin would jump out and passionately attack the source for daring to speak about his good friend. His actions were arguably more manipulative than Shu Xing’s.

Ni Xin had intentionally neglected to notify Shu Xing about the photo, clearly wanting to exclude him. Sure enough, Shu Xing soon saw Ni Xin’s manipulative messages in the guild chat.

Ni Xin: “Oh dear, I thought I had called Hang Shu babe. My brain must be slipping. I actually forgot! T_T” Ni Xin: “Hang Shu, it is all my fault. Please do not be angry, okay?” Ni Xin: “Hang Shu babe, for Yu Hui’s sake, please forgive me!”

How disgusting. How nauseating.

Shu Xing was repulsed by the words on the screen. Even though he had no emotional reaction to the photo itself, Ni Xin’s words made others believe he was a princess who acted spoiled because of Yu Hui’s favor. Shu Xing was speechless. Ni Xin’s act was clearly for Yu Hui to see, but what he did not know was that Shu Xing was currently on a sweet voice call with Yu Hui. At that moment, Yu Hui’s heavy breathing was echoing through the room via the speaker.

Watching Ni Xin’s continuous stream of apologies, Shu Xing called out Yu Hui’s name in a soft, gentle voice. “Yu Hui, Ni Xin is calling me ‘babe.’ It seems I am not your exclusive one anymore!”

Yu Hui was silent for several seconds. Then, Shu Xing saw him reply in the guild chat.

Yu Hui: “He is not angry. Also, do not address him as ‘babe.’ It makes me uncomfortable.”

As soon as Yu Hui’s message was sent, the guild channel, which had previously only been Ni Xin’s stage, quickly filled with other messages.

Tian Yi: “Exactly! Is he your babe? Why are you calling him that!” Tian Yi: “Ni Xin, you should call him sister-in-law next time, okay?” Tian Yi: “Every day, you fail at recruiting members and only succeed at causing trouble for this couple.”

The player named Tian Yi was a veteran of the guild and a real life friend of Yu Hui. He and Shu Xing usually got along well in the game. Seeing Ni Xin silenced by the two men, Shu Xing could hardly hold back his laughter. Finally unable to contain it, he giggled and said, “Yu Hui, you get jealous so easily!”

Yu Hui gave a soft “Mn” and then asserted his claim righteously, “Only I am allowed to call you that. No one else can.”

Shu Xing, feeling like he had just watched a satisfying drama, responded affectionately, “Alright, alright. I understand.”

The incident of Ni Xin’s failed performance passed like a brief joke. The guild photo still had to be taken. Ni Xin suppressed his anger while directing everyone’s positions. He got the positioning wrong several times and was criticized by other members.

Since it was a group photo, there were naturally center positions. Given Yu Hui’s status as the top player and the fact that he and Shu Xing were considered the it couple of the game, they were destined to stand in the center. The top ten players on the collection rankings were all in this guild; the other eight players surrounded Shu Xing and Yu Hui on both sides, while Ni Xin, not being in the top ten, had to stand further back.

Ni Xin had organized this gathering specifically so he could stand in the center with Yu Hui to show off. Since he failed and became a laughingstock instead, he was so angry that he logged off immediately after the photo was taken.

Shu Xing did not have much desire to play today. After standing on Friendship Island for a bit, he also logged off. The voice call remained active, and Shu Xing could hear the sound of Yu Hui’s keyboard. After getting into bed, Shu Xing sweetly called out “Babe” to Yu Hui.

Yu Hui stopped what he was doing and brought his phone closer to the receiver. “What is it?”

Shu Xing did not really know why he called him; perhaps it was just out of boredom. He added, “Nothing, I just missed you.”

“I miss you too.” Yu Hui’s gentle tone was laced with an affectionate stickiness. As if one “I miss you” was not enough, he continued, “I miss you so much, I miss you so much. Babe, babe, I miss you every day. I really miss you. Babe, I really want to see you. You must be very cute!”

Shu Xing was overwhelmed by the flurry of “I miss you” messages. When the topic of meeting came up again, he weighed how to make Yu Hui drop the idea. After thinking for a long time, he could not find a good solution. After all, Yu Hui had picked the place where he lived. If he wanted to, he could come over at any time.

Previously, Shu Xing had used the excuse of wanting their first meeting to be in a formal setting to constrain Yu Hui. Sometimes Shu Xing felt he was quite good at manipulating Yu Hui; a few words were enough to make him obedient and send money. He wondered if he would be sued for fraud if they ever broke up.

It was not a good idea to keep ignoring Yu Hui’s requests to meet. It was better to give him some hope, estimate a time for the meeting, and then use another excuse when the time came. He could keep stalling until he graduated. It seemed like a good plan.

Shu Xing put it into action immediately. “Babe, do you really, really want to see me?”

Yu Hui paused, thinking Shu Xing had finally agreed. His tone was like a puppy waiting for a treat, excited yet cautious. “Of course. I want to see you very, very much.”

Shu Xing pursed his lips and gave him a dishonest timeline to brush him off. “Then how about we meet on our anniversary?”

The puppy finally got his long awaited treat; the excitement almost burst through the phone speaker. Yu Hui’s voice carried a restrained joy, “Okay, babe. I will do whatever you say.”

Shu Xing: “Mm.”

As he went to sleep that night, Shu Xing felt uneasy about lying to Yu Hui once again. He had told many lies to Yu Hui, but this was the first time he felt this kind of anxiety. He knew it was wrong, but he felt he had no choice.

He needed someone who could support him financially without entering his real life. This allowed him to show off his wealth on social media to his high school classmates while ensuring no one in reality would expose him as a vain person.

The uneasy feeling lasted less than ten minutes before it vanished. Shu Xing remembered that he had not posted the photos he edited today to social media. The highest end French restaurant in the city, and in a VIP room no less, how could he not show that off?

He drafted a pretentious caption, added some stickers to the photo to partially obscure his face, and clicked post. Then he switched back to his album to admire his own photos. When a person is admiring their own beauty, they do not pay attention to what those around them are saying. Yu Hui was rambling on the voice call about his day, where he went, who he ate with, dutifully reporting his itinerary. However, Shu Xing was too preoccupied to listen and only gave occasional, random responses.

By the time Shu Xing snapped out of it, Yu Hui had finished speaking long ago. Shu Xing did not know what Yu Hui had just said. He felt that asking “What did you say?” now would make his previous answers seem perfunctory. So, he simply pretended he had been listening intently and did not ask further.

After his new post received many likes and comments, Shu Xing finally turned off the screen to sleep. Yu Hui was still playing a game. Curious about who he was playing with, Shu Xing asked casually. Yu Hui said he was carrying his roommate through the arena.

Shu Xing let out a tired yawn. He knew Yu Hui was the same age as him and was also a university student, so it was normal to have roommates. He gave a simple “Oh” and did not press for details.

Drowsiness took over. As Shu Xing turned over, a thought from earlier today flashed through his mind. He felt like something was not quite right. Why did Xi Yang show up at the pet hospital? He said the person he was looking for was not Xing Ni, so who was it? Wait, who did Xi Yang say he was looking for?

Shu Xing closed his eyes and thought for a moment. When the answer came to him, he instantly snapped his eyes open.

Xi Yang seemed to be looking for his online partner! And Xi Yang’s online partner seemed to be a man as well!

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