The Crown Prince Ascends the Entertainment Throne - Chapter 16

Xiang Xu opened the game’s chat box. The other player’s message was still hanging there, ending with the threat: “If you keep playing dumb, you bastard, I will find someone to hack your account today!”

Hack my account again? How unoriginal.

Xiang Xu scoffed inwardly and typed on his keyboard:

“I can play it for you again.”

The other person was clearly in a rage, and messages started popping up rapidly:

“Shouldn’t replaying it be what you are supposed to do!”

“I paid you to play ranked for me because I thought highly of you!”

“What is the meaning of disappearing for half a month and ignoring me? What is the meaning of pulling this stunt the moment you get back?”

“Do you think I will forgive you just because you said you would replay it? Who do you think you are!”

Even knowing what kind of person the “Big Shot” was, Xiang Xu felt his anger rising line by line as he read the interrogation. His temper flared, and the explanation he had prepared completely vanished from his mind.

“Have you ever told me what numbers you hate before you started scolding me?”

This was the first thing he countered with; it was the truth.

“Do you know what I have experienced in the past half month? Do you think I ignored you because I wanted to?”

He had no idea what was going on! His Crown Princess had “poofed” into thin air! He had been suddenly dragged to this chaotic place! Every day had been a struggle for survival in total darkness.

“Even so, I still finished this ranked match for you. Did I delay your business?”

Even if he only finished it on the last day, it was finished! Even if it was for money, training his skills so hard was not easy! Earning this little bit of money had been so undignified. When had he, a Crown Prince of the Yin Dynasty, ever suffered such grievances?

After he sent these three messages, the other person fell silent for a long time. Xiang Xu, having worked himself into a rage, started clicking his mouse wildly on the Big Shot’s gleaming golden avatar, as if trying to hammer his brains out.

However, he clicked too fast. His hand slipped, and with a “ding,” both his hand and his face froze.

He had accidentally deleted the Big Shot from his friends list.

Oh no! My long-term meal ticket has turned into a one-time transaction!

Xiang Xu frantically flipped through the rankings to find the “Pay-to-Win Temper” account, sending a friend request in a desperate bid to win him back with sheer speed.

[The other party has disabled friend requests!]

!!!

It is over! He had disabled the Big Shot’s friend requests yesterday!

It was a sweltering afternoon in June, so why did he suddenly feel a chill creeping over him?

With his heart turned to ash, he closed the rankings, but a pop-up suddenly jumped out from the bottom right corner of the screen.

[Pay-to-Win Temper] has requested to add you as a friend!

Xiang Xu: !!?

In the two seconds he spent in astonishment, the pop-up appeared at least five more times.

Stunned, he moved his mouse over and clicked “Accept.”

“How much do you want to replay it?”

Seeing this message, Xiang Xu let out a genuine “ah” and sent an “ah?” back.

“It is already the last day, where am I supposed to find another booster? Name your price! How much for a replay?”

Xiang Xu was dazed. Recalling that “Tired of Being Scolded Daily” had sent him 600 earlier, he typed in 600.

Three seconds later, the sound of money being distributed echoed in the background.

He opened WeChat, suspecting he was seeing things.

How many zeros are there? Is this not 6,000?

He switched back to the game, certain he had indeed entered 600.

[Pay-to-Win Temper]: “Oh, sent the wrong amount by mistake.”

Not Saving Oneself: “I will refund it so you can have your assistant resend it.”

[Pay-to-Win Temper]: “Do not you dare! What do you take me for? I never take back money I have spent! I will not allow even the slightest possibility of you gossiping about me being stingy behind my back!”

Xiang Xu said “Ah?” again. Giving away piles of rare gear and treating 6,000 like 600, who would dare call such a person stingy?

Not Saving Oneself: “I do not think you are stingy.”

Just a bit short-tempered, that is all.

[Pay-to-Win Temper]: “Who knows what you are thinking. Anyway, do not you dare refund it! If you do, I will hack your account!”

Xiang Xu: …

Since he is threatening me already…

Switching back to WeChat, he had no choice but to accept it reluctantly while secretly delighted.

As the “cha-ching” of the money hitting his account rang out, he suddenly remembered the person he met at the bookstore a few days ago, who had shouted with great authority:

“I do not lack this bit of money. If you try to refund it, I will report you!”

The minds of the rich in this world were truly unfathomable.

[Pay-to-Win Temper]: “You are sensible. From next month, the boosting fee will increase to 1,000. I like round numbers.”

Xiang Xu did not understand his logic, but who cared? As long as the pay increased, the client was the king!

Xiang Xu typed out a response with glee: “Understood, Boss!”

Looking at the golden, glittering avatar of the Big Shot, Xiang Xu’s eyes filled with affection. The more he looked, the more pleasing it became.

Short-tempered? Unreasonable demands? So what? That is his unique personality; why should I not respect that?

Xiang Xu was a man of principle, but if the other party was a God of Wealth, those principles could be pushed aside.

Early the next morning, Xiang Xu groomed himself carefully before leaving. As he clipped his bangs back with a pin, he gave himself a smile in the mirror.

His face now held less of the heroic sharpness he once had; he was shorter and thinner, but he had gained a quiet, shy air. After a simple grooming, he looked clean and delicate. If not incredibly charming, he was at least not displeasing to the eye.

At the entrance of Reverie Bookstore, the cashier girl had just pressed the remote for the security shutter. As it rose, she saw Xiang Xu standing behind the Endless Summer hydrangeas.

“You are so early! I just arrived myself!” She gave the boy a smile, but noticed him peering into the shop through the glass with a look of confusion.

“We were closed for renovations the last two days, we even had two days of paid leave! How is it? Does it feel like summer?”

The arch of hydrangeas at the door went without saying, but inside, the store had been fitted with brownish-retro high shelves wrapped in vines with yellow flowers. Huge, oversized art prints of coastal beaches hung on the walls, and sheets of water-blue crystal curtains hung from the ceiling.

It is all money, he thought.

Xiang Xu nodded vigorously.

Huang Siyi, the cashier, smiled. “You will get used to it. Our boss has his own artistic pursuits; often on a whim, he will renovate the store. Gradually, this bookstore has started neglecting its real work and went down the path of an internet-famous spot, haha.”

“Right, let me introduce myself. My name is Huang Siyi. When Sister Wen is not around, I will be your mentor. Your job is mainly to organize books and occasionally help at the register. When things are quiet, you can read any sample books you like.”

“Understood, Sister Siyi.”

Huang Siyi nodded with a smile. “We have a lot of customers here, and they are all sorts. If anyone gives you trouble, come tell me or Sister Wen, and let us handle it.”

Xiang Xu was a quick learner. Within a few days, he did not need Siyi’s guidance to complete his work efficiently. Incidents of customers giving him trouble almost never happened, and his life began to smooth out.

Zhao Yan was worried and came to check on him a few times in the first few days. Finding that while Xiang Xu was quiet, he was humble, polite, and kind to others, not nearly as socially anxious as he had imagined, he finally set his mind at ease.

Xiang Xu worked in the mornings, studied language and exercised with Old Xu in the afternoons, and in the evenings, he learned the language through books, gathered information, or did game boosting. His understanding of this world gradually took shape through his interactions with others.

The social rules here were not as different from the Yin Dynasty as he had expected, though people’s thinking was more open and inclusive, and information spread much faster and wider. Xiang Xu felt that information dissemination was something he could potentially utilize; perhaps he could find clues about the Yin Dynasty. But he was still in the adaptation period at work, and his language skills were still forming, so he could not delve deeper into this complex area just yet.

He exchanged some cash with Old Xu and took his phone to a repair shop.

The technician disassembled his phone, poked around the green board with all the little metal bits with his tools, and looked up to seek his advice.

“It can be repaired, but the motherboard is damaged. The data inside will likely be lost.”

Xiang Xu understood what “likely be lost” meant. After considering it carefully, he asked:

“Is it really unrecoverable?”

“Unrecoverable.”

He struggled with the decision for a while before sighing:

“Repair it.”

“This phone is very old. The motherboard, the battery, and the back cover are all broken. It is not cost-effective to repair it; even if you fix it, it will not last long. You would be better off getting a new one.”

“How much to repair, how much to replace?”

“For repair, the motherboard is 300, batteries range from 100 to 500, and the back cover is 190. If other parts are broken, you will have to pay more. For a replacement, it depends on what you want, anywhere from 1,900 to over 10,000.”

Xiang Xu’s heart skipped a beat: “Please put it back together for me.”

“Huh?”

After paying a 50-yuan service fee, Xiang Xu walked out of the repair shop, dejected.

The phone was not fixed, and he had spent 50 yuan. He felt truly stupid.

Actually, as the technician said, replacing it would have been more cost-effective, but he had not expected the price to exceed his imagination. He had assumed his 1,000 yuan would be more than enough.

He had underestimated electronic products.

“Electronic products” was what Old Xu called these things. He had wanted to exchange contact info with Xiang Xu, only to find out Xiang Xu did not have a phone number.

“I did not expect there to be a young person even worse at using electronics than I am. Where exactly is this old antique from?”

Should he exchange more money with Old Xu? But Xiang Xu did not feel that not having a phone caused him any inconvenience; after all, that was how he lived in the Yin Dynasty. Since phones were so expensive, he decided to put the matter of buying one on the back burner.

As for the money in his virtual account, Xiang Xu lacked trust in that digital entity. He was worried that the Big Shot might claw it back someday, so he decided it was better to leave it alone for now.

Aside from eating, Xiang Xu did not spend a single cent. He had originally planned to use that money to buy “bright and cheerful” clothes to save face, but a few days into work, he received two sets of uniforms.

Another cost saved.

Xiang Xu felt no sadness at losing his freedom of dress, only the joy of saving money.

Many employees made excuses not to wear their uniforms, but he wore his every day. Their bookstore’s summer uniform, a white shirt with a tan double-breasted vest, thin tan dress trousers, and a tan newsboy cap, fit the bookstore’s atmosphere perfectly, adding a touch of bookishness to Xiang Xu.

Once dressed in the uniform, individual characteristics were slightly diminished, but he had truly become a member of “Reverie,” someone who now had the added identity of a clerk.

Xiang Xu did not know the impact this identity would have on him, until one day, while he was filling in at the register, two fashionably dressed girls looked at him several times with flushed faces, their gazes passionate yet somewhat shy.

Their faces glowed with excited smiles as they whispered to each other, suppressing their excitement:

“It must be him!”

“You go! You go! I am too shy…”

Xiang Xu assumed they were looking for a book, so he raised his head and gave them a professional smile: “Do you need help?”

“He spoke to us!” one whispered excitedly to the other, “Quick! Go!”

The other girl pulled her friend, and they pushed each other forward: “Excuse me! Excuse me! Are you the clerk from that popular post on Xiaohongshu? Can we take a photo with you?”

Xiang Xu had absolutely no idea what was happening.