My Dating Sim Just Got an Update - Chapter 70

Mu Ning’s words were merciless, but they reflected a cold, hard reality. And yet.

“Then why did you run all the way to the beach to find me!” Ren Chenxi burst out. “And why did you risk your life to attack that monster! If I hadn’t reacted in time, just a second later and you would have…”

She couldn’t finish. Just the memory of that colossal tentacle slamming toward Mu Ning made her heart hammer against her ribs. But Mu Ning’s response sent her heart into an even more chaotic rhythm.

“Because you are different from them.”

I can leave everyone else in danger, but I cannot leave you.

Ren Chenxi’s voice felt tight. She wanted to mock her like she used to—What is this? Ren Muhui is dead, who are you performing this deep affection for? but the image of Mu Ning’s slender back facing down that beast held her tongue. After a long silence, she could only manage a weak, “Because I’m Ren Muhui’s sister, right?”

Mu Ning didn’t answer immediately. She glanced toward the empty air where Ren Chenxi was hiding and sighed softly. “The places where Chen Gu and the others hunt don’t have Level 8 mutated beasts.”

 So I’m different because I have a death wish! Ren Chenxi let out a huff of annoyance, though she felt a strange, inexplicable sense of relief.

Hearing that small “huff,” Mu Ning’s lips curved slightly. “The area where the boys are hunting is a bit further from the base outskirts. I can walk back to the base quite quickly…”

“You… you walked back to the base?” Ren Chenxi’s eyes widened in surprise. She had assumed that Mu Ning—who was so decisive and often disregarded the feelings of others would have driven the bus back herself, or at least found someone to give her a ride.

“Yes. I’m a Level 5; walking back isn’t dangerous for me. I wanted to check if you were home first, but the first floor was empty, and no one was on the third or fourth. I went to the second floor to ask Sun Jia, and she said… she said you were likely in the bathroom.”

Fortunately, before Ren Chenxi could die of embarrassment, Mu Ning continued, “The bathroom was empty, so I guessed you might have come to the sea. I borrowed a car with fuel from one of Qi Sheng’s trusted men and drove here. Sure enough, I found you having a great time scooping up seafood on the beach.”

“…You were there while I was digging?” Then why didn’t I see you on the mini-map?

“Yes. You looked so happy and capable that I didn’t want to disturb you… until the octopus appeared.”

Ren Chenxi remembered then—she had been so focused on the red dots while harvesting that she must have completely missed the appearance of a new green dot. But if Mu Ning had been there from the start and saw her turn invisible, why did she still stupidly attack the monster? That was it! Mu Ning’s attack had forced her to stay and fight, burning through all her SR and SSR cards. Now Mu Ning was suffering the consequences—losing 10% of her health and lying paralyzed in the sand.

This crazy woman!!!

Ren Chenxi huffed again and scolded her coldly, “If you were there, you must have seen me turning invisible to escape! You should have let me go! Why did you attack that thing!”

“I  just felt that you really wanted that crystal…”

“I want a crystal so you go and try to kill it? That’s a Level 8 octopus! You’re only a Level 5! You’re insane to throw your life away like that!!!”

Silence followed for a long time. Ren Chenxi noticed that Mu Ning’s breathing had become incredibly shallow. Did I go too far? Did I hurt her feelings? Is she so exhausted and sad that she fainted? She felt conflicted. Think of all the harsh things you said to me in the past! Yet every day I still… shamelessly chase after you like a fool!

Just as Ren Chenxi was about to check on her, Mu Ning finally spoke.

“I’m not insane. In that moment, I only had one thought: if I killed that monster and got the crystal for you. Would you finally forgive me? Forgive my past contradictions, my self-deception… and the ways I hurt you, over and over again?”

“What!” Ren Chenxi tensed up instantly. “What nonsense are you talking about? I am Ren Chenxi! I am not Ren Muhui! If you want forgiveness, go ask Ren Muhui!”

Her voice turned sharp and piercing at the end.

Hearing the resistance and anger in her tone, Mu Ning fell silent and sighed. “So, you still won’t forgive me, will you?”

“You…”

“Ren Chenxi, in your eyes, I must be a heartless, cold iceberg. but no matter how heartless I am, I still have a brain to think with. From the moment you saw Tantan, your story was full of holes. Did you really think those clumsy lies could fool me?”

Mu Ning’s faint sigh and weak questioning felt like a dull knife sawing back and forth against Ren Chenxi’s chest. It wouldn’t create a new wound in her already shattered heart, but the blunt pressure was agonizing.

Ren Chenxi remained silent for a long time—so long that her invisibility buff finally expired. As she had imagined, Mu Ning was utterly spent, lying on the sand with her long hair scattered and her palms covered in bloody rope burns. There was even dried blood at the corner of her mouth.

Since Ren Chenxi’s invisibility ended first, she was fully visible now.

After finally voicing the words she had kept buried deep inside, Mu Ning felt a momentary sense of relief. But as the seconds ticked by without a response from the “invisible” person, her heart clenched again.

Is she angry again? Will she ignore me now? Will she get so mad she leaves the base?

Though she couldn’t see the invisible Ren Chenxi a moment ago, Mu Ning had been staring fixatedly at the slight indentation in the sand next to her, afraid to blink. She was terrified that if she closed her eyes for even a second, the person beside her would simply get up and walk away forever.

She had let Ren Muhui leave once; she wouldn’t let Ren Chenxi leave again!

Just as her eyes were growing dry and painful from the sea wind, Ren Chenxi suddenly appeared. She hadn’t left; she was sitting quietly, her face expressionless, but her eyes were like frozen frost.

Mu Ning immediately regretted it. She shouldn’t have laid the truth out so soon. Perhaps she should have waited until their relationship was more stable…

Her fingers were stiff from the wind. She moved them slightly, only to realize with despair that if Ren Chenxi chose to get up and leave the base right now, she had no strength left to stop her.

“Ren…”

Mu Ning wanted to take it back, to apologize and tell her not to be angry, but Ren Chenxi spoke first.

“What’s with the blood on your mouth?”

The blood? Can you see me? The complex cycle of regret and remorse in Mu Ning’s mind was instantly derailed by the question. She struggled to lift an arm, intending to touch her face, and realized her own invisibility had also worn off.

She can see me now, in this pathetic state…

Under Ren Chenxi’s icy gaze, Mu Ning wished she could be invisible again. After a moment of awkwardness, she thought she saw a flicker of concern behind the coldness in Ren Chenxi’s eyes. Right… this person has been worried about my safety from the very beginning, haven’t they?

The memory of the warmth from Ren Chenxi’s hand seemed to tingle in her palm again. Mu Ning tugged at the corner of her mouth and replied in a pitiable, soft voice, “During the fight with the Level 8 octopus, I accidentally got clipped by a tentacle… I coughed up a bit of blood…”

Clipped by a tentacle… coughed up blood…

Mu Ning made it sound trivial, but Ren Chenxi remembered those massive tentacles smashing into the sand with enough force to send plumes of dirt into the air. Being hit by that…

No wonder her health dropped by 10% instantly.

Seeing Mu Ning lying there so exhausted and unrefined, her voice so weak, Ren Chenxi suddenly didn’t want to fight anymore. She didn’t have the heart to use her sharp, sarcastic tongue to push her away. How could she say something cruel to someone who had nearly died trying to kill that monster for her?

With another helpless sigh, Ren Chenxi shook her head and called up her game panel. Sure enough, Mu Ning’s affection—which had dipped below 50 recently—had silently surged back to the maximum. At the same time, her Blackening Value had dropped from 100 to 50?

It made sense why she hadn’t acted like a “100% Blackened” person lately, but why? Was it because Ren Chenxi had appeared and Mu Ning believed Ren Muhui had returned? Or was it because Ren Chenxi’s attitude had softened?

Ren Chenxi turned to look at her again. Mu Ning was a mess—blood on her lips, ink stains on her clothes, hair tangled by the wind, and those vivid red marks on her palms.

Fine. If she insists on seeing me as Ren Muhui, so be it. If I can just make her give up on that idea completely, maybe we can finally live together in peace as friends?

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