My Dating Sim Just Got an Update - Chapter 17

After five minutes of continuous oil leakage, the mutated leopard gradually fell behind until it was no longer visible. Ren Chenxi watched the red dot on the mini-map get further and further away until it finally vanished beyond the border. Only then did she let out a soft sigh of relief. She had to admit—those “Greasy Cards” and “Flash Cards” were absolute god-tier items among the N-rank cards!

With the threat of the Tier 4 mutated leopard gone, the bus began to weave boldly through the jungle. Thanks to Ren Chenxi’s directions, they didn’t have to worry about getting lost. The students from S University, who had previously been stranded and confused in the forest, began to look at Ren Chenxi with genuine reverence. They were utterly floored by her uncanny sense of direction.

Ren Chenxi noticed a few students stealing glances at her. Eventually, a girl’s eyes met hers just as Ren Chenxi was looking back.

“Sister Xi.” Having been caught staring, the girl decided to ask the question that had been weighing on her mind since she first stepped onto the bus. “You look exactly like one of our seniors, Ren Muhui. Two years ago, during the summer break, he told his friends he was going on a trip and never came back to school.”

Ren Chenxi had expected this. If they were students from S University, they had almost certainly seen her back when she was constantly chasing after that “Wooden Goddess.” It was only natural that they would recognize her face. However, she wasn’t Ren Muhui anymore!

“Ren Muhui is my brother. I’m his twin sister, Ren Chenxi.”

“Oh!!! So that’s why!!!”

As soon as she spoke, the group of students had a collective “aha” moment. In reality, all seven of them had noticed the resemblance. Ren Muhui had been a celebrity at S University; it was hard for anyone not to notice someone with that face.

“Wow, I always thought Senior Ren was handsome, but seeing the same face on you, Sister Xi, it’s just beautiful!”

Heh, that’s only because you guys were restricted by the system’s “Male” tag, Ren Chenxi thought.

Once the topic turned to their “Senior Ren,” the students became much more talkative. Even Chang Ling, who appeared focused on driving, pricked up his ears to eavesdrop.

“Sister Xi, did you know? Senior Ren was so devoted. He really loved the ‘Ice Queen’ of our school, Senior Mu. He pursued her for over two years without ever giving up!”

No, sweetie, he was doing it for a quest.

Hearing the girls talk about her past “conquest missions” made Ren Chenxi feel inexplicably irritable. Because of that Wooden Goddess’s affection level had been trapped in the game for over two years. She had finally managed to escape, only to be dragged back in. Fortunately, the pursuit missions were over.

Since the quest was finished, she didn’t want to hear about her past exploits. Just as she was thinking of a way to change the subject, Yang Xiangrui suddenly let out a disdainful “Tch.”

“Hmph. ‘Devoted’? He was just putting on an act!”

“Hey! Yang Xiangrui! Do you have a problem with Senior Ren? Ha! I get it, you’re just jealous because you aren’t as handsome as him! Everyone acknowledged him as the school hunk!”

Wait, what? Since when was I the official school hunk? “Wasn’t your school hunk Fan Juntian?” Ren Chenxi blurted out. That guy had been her most annoying rival while she was wooing the Goddess!

“…”

Seeing the surprised looks on their faces, Ren Chenxi realized she had accidentally spoken her thoughts aloud.

“Uh. Well…” Ren Chenxi scratched her chin awkwardly, quickly trying to save face. “I heard my brother mention it before.”

“Oh! That makes sense.”

The group didn’t notice her slight slip-up. Instead, they began to explain the difference between the “official” school hunk and the “publicly acknowledged” one.

“With looks like Fan Juntian’s, he’s nowhere near Senior Ren’s level!”

“Yeah, in terms of pure visuals, I always shipped Senior Ren and Senior Mu together!”

“Besides, Fan Juntian bought his title! He bribed a huge chunk of the student body to vote for him and even paid a programmer to rig the voting system data.”

“Wow? So your school hunk’s looks are that much worse than Sister Xi’s brother? He had to bribe people AND change the data?” Song Xin couldn’t help but join in on the gossip.

“Exactly! The gap was just too big. That’s why, in our hearts, the only real school hunk was the kind and handsome Senior Ren.” Tang Ying, the girl who had clashed with Yang Xiangrui earlier, cupped her face like a fangirl. “He used to make heart-shaped bento boxes for Senior Mu, and he even knitted a scarf for her. Oh, and Senior Ren was so cool when he played the guitar. His singing was amazing, too…”

“…”

Listening to the girl list her strategies for wooing the Goddess one by one, Ren Chenxi felt so awkward she could have curled her toes right through the floor of the bus. To be honest, except for the cooking, which was half-reliant on her own proficiency every other skill had been boosted by skill points!

Fortunately, before the girl could list any more, Yang Xiangrui interrupted.

“Hmph! That’s exactly why girls like you, who only care about looks, are so easily fooled by people like Ren Muhui! He’s a total hypocrite!”

“How is he a hypocrite? Yang Xiangrui, someone is going to sew that mouth of yours shut one day!” Tang Ying snapped, furious that her idol was being slandered. “You’re just a useless student who fails every class and can’t do anything right. You’re obviously just jealous of how perfect Senior Ren was!”

“I listen to me, Tang Ying! I saw it with my own eyes! I saw your precious Senior Ren acting all arrogant, bragging to his roommates that with his charm, winning over Senior Mu would only take a few minutes!”

“Liar!!!”

I never said that!!!

Ren Chenxi managed to keep her mouth shut this time, but her face mirrored Tang Ying’s shock as she stared at Yang Xiangrui. The other students looked equally incredulous.

Seeing their skeptical glares, Yang Xiangrui’s face turned red as he yelled, “It’s true! I wasn’t the only one who saw it—Senior Mu saw it too! It was on the day of the freshman orientation… at the gala. Ren Muhui was in the backstage area talking to his roommate. I was asked by a senior to help move props, and I happened to arrive just in time to hear him. Senior Mu was right there, getting ready for the next performance, and she heard it too!”

The orientation gala? When was that? I never said such a thing! And which roommate? When I was playing as my brother, I moved out of the dorm on the second day to keep my gender a secret!

Wait! Did my idiot brother say that when he was playing the game himself?! Damn it! No wonder I spent over two years grinding for affection and that Wooden Goddess never went above 50%! She had seen through his fake affection from the very beginning!

Ren Chenxi slumped back against her seat, cursing her moronic brother a hundred times over. But after her internal rant, she froze.

If she knew the affection was fake, why did her favorability suddenly jump to 100% later on?

It didn’t make sense. Ren Chenxi rubbed her temples, then realized the students were all staring at her with shattered expressions.

“…” Why are you looking at me? I wasn’t the one who said those douchey things! Ren Chenxi’s face stiffened. She could only wave her hand dismissively, trying to apologize for her idiot brother.

“Sorry, my brother. He just liked to brag. His feelings for your Ice Queen might have been real, but… he always liked to talk big before he actually did anything…”

“Is that true?” Tang Ying looked like she was on the verge of tears now that her idol’s image had crumbled. “So where is Senior Ren now? Did he go to City H too? Senior Mu went there two years ago just to find him. What if… what if Senior Mu has actually fallen for him now? Senior Ren better not play with her heart…”

Tang Ying continued to ramble, but Ren Chenxi only caught one key piece of information. “Wait, what? Your Senior Mu went to City H?”

“Ah? Yes. The senior we’re going to City H to meet the one with the dual Water and Wood powers is Senior Mu!”

Water. Wood..

In a daze, Ren Chenxi recalled the nightmare she had earlier. The “Wooden Goddess,” soaking wet like a water ghost, dragging a thorn-covered vine as she slowly walked toward her. Ren Chenxi felt her vision go dark.

Oh, right. That Wooden Goddess… her “Blackening Level” was still at 100%!

“Xi… Sister Xi, what’s wrong? You look terrible…” Tang Ying noticed Ren Chenxi suddenly collapsing into her seat looking utterly hopeless. She nervously glanced back at the broken rear window. “Is the leopard coming back?”

“No. It’s not that.” Ren Chenxi tried to steady her breathing. She shook her head and whispered, “I just thought of my brother, and I feel sick…”

Brother! How could you leave me with such a massive mess to clean up?!

“Ah? What happened to Senior Ren? He… wait, why isn’t he with you?”

“He… he’s no longer in this world…” That bastard isn’t in this terrifying apocalypse game; he’s living his best life in the peaceful real world!!!

But obviously, everyone else interpreted “no longer in this world” differently.

“So… it really happened?” another boy said, his voice heavy. “Actually, when Senior Ren didn’t return after two months and his phone was dead, everyone guessed something had happened to him…”

That’s because my phone was stolen…

Ren Chenxi remained silent, her face expressionless. Seeing her like this, the others assumed she was grieving and didn’t dare say another word. Even Yang Xiangrui, who had exposed the “hypocrisy,” lowered his head in silence. Although he disliked Ren Muhui, the man was gone now. Out of respect for the dead, he stopped talking.

The previously lively bus fell into a tomb-like silence. Only Chang Ling remained focused, cautiously and diligently steering the bus forward.

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