Did the Top-Ranked Girl Get Exposed Today? [HoloVerse] - Chapter 7

The teleportation point at the village entrance was bustling with a constant stream of people, most of whom were newbies like Feng Xiaoxiao. They excitedly clutched their weapons, their eyes clear and naive, as they curiously stepped into the teleportation array crafted by the Qingyue Palace. Amidst gasps of awe, they vanished toward their destinations.

Feng Xiaoxiao was currently waiting in line, with about eight people ahead of her before her turn to enter the teleportation array.

There was no helping it, Taoyuan Village had only this one teleportation point. Unlike other major maps where teleportation arrays could be spotted glowing in every corner, there was no need to queue up and wait.

Feng Xiaoxiao moved forward with the flow of the crowd, her mind wandering as she idly gazed at the sky, the ground, and the distant Imperial Realm ahead…

Wait, who was that?

Feng Xiaoxiao jolted, her previously relaxed posture instantly straightening.

She rubbed her eyes uncertainly, finally confirming that the familiar figure a few meters away was none other than Celestial Feather Di Xiang, who had recently shared a “romantic evening under the moonlight” with her.

Feng Xiaoxiao stared blankly at the woman’s profile. Why wasn’t she busy cultivating feelings with the boss in some dungeon? What was she doing here in Taoyuan Village, a place swarming with newbies?

Not far away, Di Xiang stood tall and elegant, her demeanor icy and aloof, radiating an aura that kept strangers at bay.

The newbies who caught her cold gaze huddled together like frightened quails, trembling in fear.

Beside her, a young woman in a pale-yellow dress was anxiously trying to persuade her: “Girl, you’re being so off-putting, it’s really not good… At this rate, you’ll never find anyone!”

Di Xiang lifted her eyelids and let out a faint “Mm”, only adding unhurriedly when she saw the girl, who barely reached her chest, on the verge of exploding, “Finding an apprentice depends on fate.”

The girl in yellow chuckled dryly twice. “Do you still want to clear that dungeon or not?”

“I do.” Di Xiang replied honestly, nodding.

The girl patiently coaxed her, “Then do as I say. See those newbies over there? Go over and add them as friends, then…”

She carefully instructed Di Xiang, who nodded from time to time to show she was listening.

The girl smiled with relief. “Understood?”

Di Xiang nodded.

“Then start with her!” The girl in yellow pointed directly at Feng Xiaoxiao, who had been secretly observing the two of them.

Feng Xiaoxiao: What’s going on?

Feng Xiaoxiao watched as Di Xiang, seemingly under some kind of control, approached her with her perpetually icy expression. Step by step, she finally stopped right in front of her.

The frightened “quails”, startled by Di Xiang’s intimidating presence, quickly cleared away from the two, instantly creating a vacuum circle around Feng Xiaoxiao and Di Xiang amidst the densely packed crowd.

“You…” “I…” They spoke simultaneously, staring wide-eyed at each other.

Feng Xiaoxiao eyed her suspiciously. Di Xiang’s attire exuded an unmistakable aura of a top-tier player, starkly out of place among the sea of beginner outfits at Taoyuan Village’s entrance.

The sword at her waist shimmered with the glow of wealth, a special effect exclusive to the game’s highest cumulative recharge reward. The sleeves of her snow-white robes were loosely rolled up at the wrists, revealing slender, well-defined fingers adorned with a ring that gleamed like moonlight.

If Feng Xiaoxiao wasn’t mistaken, that butterfly ring, as if forged from moonlight, was a drop from the current most challenging dungeon, the Star Pavilion. It was notoriously difficult to obtain and only rewarded to the MVP with the highest damage output.

Now, Di Xiang stood before Feng Xiaoxiao, decked out in gear that screamed both wealth and power. Unable to bear the chilling aura she emitted, Feng Xiaoxiao took a few steps back.

Di Xiang moved forward, closing the distance once more.

Their cold gazes collided. Feng Xiaoxiao tried to kill the other with her mind, but clearly, it didn’t work.

Unable to bear the strange atmosphere any longer, Feng Xiaoxiao spoke first: “What do you want?”

“Do you want to take me as your master?”

They spoke simultaneously again.

“Hah?” Feng Xiaoxiao touched her ear in disbelief, making sure she hadn’t misheard.

“Do you want to take me as your master?” Di Xiang repeated her flat, unemotional words.

“You!” Feng Xiaoxiao pointed at Di Xiang, who nodded seriously.

She then pointed at herself: “Me?” Di Xiang nodded seriously again.

The refusal that had been on the tip of her tongue took a detour and was swallowed back. Feng Xiaoxiao looked at her with interest: “Why should I take you as my master, and why do you want to take me as your disciple?”

Di Xiang pursed her thin lips and answered truthfully: “The ninth level of the Star Pavilion’s secret realm requires a master-disciple team, and the disciple must be a new player who just entered the game.”

“Can’t you just create a new account for the master-disciple quest?”

“No, the system won’t approve it.”

Di Xiang’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, her usually calm eyes fixed intently on the girl before her:

“If you become my disciple, I will fulfill all reasonable requests. I will be a serious and responsible master.”

For a moment, Feng Xiaoxiao felt as if she had returned to the end of their moonlit battle, just like then, she looked up at Di Xiang, who was waiting for her answer.

Staring at her own reflection in the woman’s eyes, Feng Xiaoxiao found herself nodding inexplicably: “Alright.” Once I’ve learned all your skills, I’ll…

Feng Xiaoxiao smiled darkly.

[System Notification: Player [Di Xiang] has sent you a friend request. Do you accept?]

Feng Xiaoxiao chose to accept.

[System Notification: All encounters in the martial world are destined meetings. You and [Di Xiang] are now friends!]

Before Feng Xiaoxiao could process the fact that Di Xiang had become her friend, she watched in disbelief as the intimacy level between them in their interface suddenly skyrocketed, instantly reaching the “Heartfelt Devotion” stage.

Feng Xiaoxiao: The system’s glitching again.

After all, in this game, to quickly increase intimacy, players either had to spend real money in the shop to buy intimacy items to gift each other or team up to run dungeons and complete quests.

The former cost money, the latter took time, and aside from the big spenders, most players opted for the time-consuming latter option.

After all, the intimacy items in this game weren’t cheap, their prices were so “beautiful” they made people hesitate.

Puzzled, Feng Xiaoxiao closed the friend interface. Just as she was wondering about the sudden intimacy boost, she found herself surrounded by brilliantly blooming fireworks, with a shower of flower petals drifting down from the sky and covering the ground.

A system announcement visible to all players in the game cycled through messages from the same person,

[System Notification: “Player [Di Xiang] has gifted [Xiaoxiao Yue] 99 roses. The two are deeply in sync, their bond growing stronger by the day!”]

[System Notification: “Player [Di Xiang] has gifted [Xiaoxiao Yue] a pair of Phoenix Hairpins. The two are harmoniously united, truly the envy of all!”]

As the system’s cheerful notifications faded, a pair of golden phoenixes suddenly appeared around Feng Xiaoxiao.

Radiant and dazzling, they circled the two affectionately, their brilliant golden feathers dancing in the wind amid the ongoing floral rain.

Feng Xiaoxiao fell silent. This was the first time anyone had ever given her so many gifts.

Wait, something feels off. Feng Xiaoxiao opened the in-game store and confirmed that the three-digit-priced red roses and the four-digit-priced exclusive item for big spenders, the Phoenix Hairpin, hadn’t been discounted. She fell silent.

Feng Xiaoxiao: …So that’s the kind of person you are, Di Xiang. Your extravagant spending really lives up to your game ID.

Di Xiang calmly withdrew her hand, which had been rapidly clicking on the gifting interface: “The gifting limit’s reached. I’ll send you more after it resets tomorrow.”

In the game, the two shared a daily gifting limit of 100 times. The most expensive red roses had a purchase limit of 99 per day, while the Phoenix Hairpin could only be bought once every 15 days.

So, it was the system’s purchase limit holding Di Xiang back, not the limits of this damn rich person herself.

Feng Xiaoxiao was stunned. Although she wasn’t short on money, she would never spend so much in a game, especially on items that were purely decorative and served no practical purpose.

But even more shocked were the newbie players who had scattered earlier.

They had watched as the top-ranked player, who usually only appeared on the character selection screen, approached, and then witnessed her lavishing gifts without hesitation to raise favorability with her pre-selected apprentice.

Realizing what they had just missed out on, one of the newbies tentatively approached the pair. “Um…” He smiled shyly at Di Xiang. “Big shot, are you still looking for a hanger-on? I’m also a new player…”

“Me too!”

“Don’t crowd! I had my eye on the big shot from the start!”

“Big shot, I also…”

Feng Xiaoxiao watched coldly as the crowd, who had fled earlier thinking it was a fight, now swarmed back. For some reason, it irked her.

Even though she didn’t particularly like Di Xiang, since they were now confirmed as future master and apprentice, she didn’t want anyone else coveting what was rightfully hers.

So, Feng Xiaoxiao looked up at Di Xiang with a sweet smile. “My favorability’s high enough now. Let’s go complete the apprenticeship, Senior Sister.”

“Hmm…”

Feeling a slight chill on the back of her neck, Di Xiang gently took Feng Xiaoxiao’s sleeve and helped her onto her exclusive mount, a nine-tailed Frost Moon Fox.

With practiced ease, Di Xiang formed a hand seal and summoned her flying sword. “Let’s go.”

Feng Xiaoxiao settled comfortably onto the fox’s fluffy back, unable to resist running her hands through its luxurious fur again and again.

The Frost Moon Fox let out a compliant cry and trotted on the clouds, following its master.

The trio, two players, a fox, and a sword, soon vanished into the clouds.

Left behind, the girl in pale yellow muttered to herself, “Did you forget something?”

Quietly, she posted the screenshot she had taken during the chaos to the guild channel.

[World Channel]

[Vice Guild Leader] Danhuang Liuxinbao: Click the image to see the hidden side of the top-ranked player on the Celestial Feathers leaderboard.

[Vice Guild Leader] Danhuang Liuxinbao: [Image]

[Guild Member] Zhongji Mei: Is this really okay… Hehehe, let me see just how hidden it is…

[Left Protector] Wang Mo: Time is precious, Liuxinbao. You’d better not be messing with me again.

[Right Protector] Xian Yu: Sis Mo, why did you run off as soon as you saw me~? The guild leader’s gossip isn’t as interesting as I am~ Don’t you all agree?

[Right Protector] Xian Yu: [Link to Xian Yu’s Exclusive Private Photos]

[Guild Member] Hua Zhou: …I’m feeling a bit sick after seeing that. Logging off now, ugh…

[Guild Member] Zhen Xin: Same here, yuck…

[Vice Guild Leader] Danhuang Liuxinbao: +1.

[Left Protector] Mo Wang: +1.

[Guild Member] Hui Fei: +1.

[Right Protector] Xian Yu: Is it really that bad? With our guild leader’s looks and figure, how could the photo turn out so uncomfortable for you all?

[Right Protector] Xian Yu: @Danhuang Liuxinbao. Your skills need some work.

[Guild Member] Jueshi Mei: We’re talking about you. @Xian Yu.

[Right Protector] Xian Yu: …A boar can’t appreciate fine pearls. @Wang Mo, only Sis Mo understands me~

[Left Protector] Wang Mo: Eww.

[Right Protector] Xian Yu: What does that mean?

[Left Protector] Wang Mo: Capital V-O-M-I-T.

Xian Yu angrily closed the guild chat, fuming inwardly as she clicked open the image sent by Danhuang Liuxinbao.

So, what if it was Di Xiang? That still couldn’t shake her status as the number one beauty in the guild!

The image loaded, freezing on the frame where Di Xiang was holding up the peach-blossom-patterned sleeve of a young maiden.

Their gazes met, and Di Xiang’s usually aloof eyes actually held a trace of tender affection in the picture.

The background was blurred, the young girl proudly tilting her chin up toward Di Xiang, an intangible intimate atmosphere swirling around them.

A perfect match, extremely pleasing to the eye.

…Damn it, I lost.

Xian Yu closed the image again in frustration, then resentfully teleported to Wang Mo, who was absorbed in practicing sword techniques.

“Sis Mo…”

“Get lost.”

“Don’t be so cold, Sis Mo~”

“Get lost.”

“Sis~ Mo~”