The Gloomy Paper-Man Came to My Door to Pursue His Love - Chapter 25

Qin Fei did not know how he had fallen asleep. This slumber was extremely restless; his body felt as though it were trapped one moment in a suffocating deep sea and the next under a scorching, fierce sun.

When he woke up, he saw a chair pulled up by the bed. His paper person was fast asleep, propped up by his hand.

It appeared he had watched over him all night. Qin Fei did not wake him, opting instead to log out of the game directly.

As Qin Fei’s figure dissipated from the room, Xi Li opened his eyes from the sofa. He stared intensely at the spot where Qin Fei had vanished, his gaze dark and unreadable.

The glass canopy of the gaming pod opened, and Qin Fei pushed himself up by the edge. He did not feel as miserable as before, though the sudden fever had left some lingering discomfort in his body.

Qin Fei glanced at the coffee table. The ring that had been placed there was gone; only the detached physical Terminal remained. It seemed that while he was in the gaming pod, someone had entered the cabin and retrieved Prince Xi Li’s ring.

Without a word, he walked to the table and strapped the Terminal back onto his wrist. As it booted up, he found a pheromone-blocking patch, applied it to the back of his neck, and pulled open the door.

The memory of being deliberately induced into total sensitivity was etched deep. Qin Fei did not know what Song Yun intended to do, but he did not want to guess; it was better to ask directly.

The two rows of soldiers stationed outside had withdrawn. The passengers, previously ordered to remain in their cabins, were now free to move about. The starship continued toward Planet Obsidian, but there was no longer any trace of the First Military District on board.

Only the idle chatter of passengers drifted into Qin Fei’s ears from all directions.

“Yesterday’s inspection took quite a while. Did something happen?”

“Probably not. If something happened, the ship would not be moving forward.”

“But routine checks were never this long before.”

“It is likely due to Planet Obsidian’s location.”

Qin Fei felt several pairs of eyes watching him from the crowd. When he turned around, he found no one. Only the discussions remained.

“Handing Planet Obsidian to the First Military District is actually a good thing.”

“I heard it was an order issued by the Little Highness before he died.”

“But Obsidian is not a strategic fortress, nor is it wealthy or rich in resources. Why did the Little Highness want it?”

“Hey, who can guess the Little Highness’s mind? Look at the Imperial Military Channel; their predictions are never right. Even now, the top content is the Little Highness’s final battle.”

“Speaking of that, his last fight was against the Interstellar Allied Forces. I heard they had already won, but he insisted on pursuing alone into the Cosmic Rift. Affected by the rift’s gravity, his mecha exploded. Later, the Emperor sent troops to find his remains, but they found nothing. After months, they only recovered the mecha’s black box.”

“So, the tomb does not contain the Little Highness’s remains, but the S-1 mecha’s black box?”

“What else could it be?”

“Sigh, the Federation used to bully the Empire so much until the Little Highness fought back. He tore up those unfair treaties and threw them in the Federation President’s face; it was so satisfying! He personally stationed himself on planets harassed by the Zerg and Xenomorphs until they dared not invade. And those space pirates on the star routes? He beat them so badly they ran with their tails between their legs. Even now, they steer clear of Imperial ships. To think that was the Little Highness’s end.”

There were too many voices talking about Xi Li. Discussing the Little Highness inevitably led to talk of his fiancé. Despite the marriage being over, his name was still linked to the Imperial Little Highness.

Qin Fei could not bear to listen anymore and returned to his cabin with a grim expression.

Though the First Military District was gone, Qin Fei remained uneasy. This journey was meant to be for freedom, yet it felt as elusive as ever. He did not understand why Song Yun was giving him trouble. He had self-reflected on whether he had done something wrong or if there was a misunderstanding to clear up. That was why he had logged out immediately to find Song Yun.

Yes, Prince Xi Li had achieved great military merit and sacrificed much for the Empire. But he truly did not want anything to do with Prince Xi Li ever again.

The Terminal, sensing Qin Fei’s tension, chimed in: “Wow! Shabei has reached number one on the rankings! Climbing to the top in such a short time has broken the all-star record! Do you need me to pull up the interface?”

Qin Fei remained silent.

Terminal: “We are arriving at Planet Obsidian soon. I have organized several housing listings for you. Would you like to take a look?”

Still, Qin Fei did not respond.

Terminal: “The gaming pod is not shut down yet. Do you want to continue playing? According to the game forum, there was a hot-fix update with new events that are quite fun, and they can increase intimacy!”

At the word intimacy, Qin Fei finally looked up.

He vaguely remembered that his intimacy with his paper person had already reached 100%. If it was at 100%, he could at least deal with the Ministry of Marriage.

Qin Fei returned to the game. He intended to check the intimacy level, but upon entering, he saw his paper person first. He had logged out from the paper person’s home, so he naturally returned there.

The paper person was still by the bed, but unlike when Qin Fei left, he was now awake. As soon as Qin Fei appeared, the other man stared at him intently, as if he had been waiting, fearing he would not return, yet saying nothing; he only watched him in silence.

“I went to handle some business,” Qin Fei sat up on the bed, forcing a smile. “I saw you were sleeping, so I did not wake you.”

“Mhm.”

Qin Fei looked at his paper person. Perhaps because his own mood was poor, he felt the paper person’s spirit was also low.

“How are you?”

“Was it handled?”

They spoke simultaneously. Qin Fei lowered his voice: “No.”

“Is it,” the paper person seemed to hesitate, weighing his words before finally asking, “what was it about?”

“Nothing much.” Qin Fei looked at him with concern. “What about you? Why are you unhappy?”

“I am not unhappy,” the paper person replied instantly.

The conversation hit a dead end. If Qin Fei were in a better mood, he might have probed further. But currently, his spirits were dampened by Song Yun’s appearance, so he stopped asking.

Just as he was about to open the Intimacy Level interface, a stiff voice sounded beside him.

“I.”

Qin Fei paused and looked at him. The paper person seemed extremely uncomfortable speaking from the heart. After several deep breaths, he said stiffly, “I just thought you would not come back.”

He knew the 100% intimacy Qin Fei wanted was to deal with the Marriage Department. Now that it was reached, Qin Fei likely would not play the game anymore.

Qin Fei: “How could that be?”

Xi Li looked at him.

Qin Fei: “Really.” Just as he had promised last night not to mistake him for anyone else, Qin Fei guaranteed, “I will always be with Shabei.”

He thought this promise would make his paper person happy. Instead, he saw the other man’s eyes dim for a moment before he masked it: “Mhm.”

After a pause, he added: “Okay.”

After another pause, he asked: “Want to play the main story?”

Qin Fei was surprised; he felt the paper person was significantly different from before.

“Shabei,” Qin Fei called out.

“Mhm.” For the first time, he responded to the name.

He actually responded?

Because of the change in his paper person, the tension in Qin Fei’s heart dissipated significantly. He asked worriedly, “Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”

Xi Li: ” ”

Qin Fei tried to hop off the bed. “Did you not rest well last night? I will give the bed to—”

A hand pressed down on his shoulder. Qin Fei looked up; the paper person was standing before him. “Do not.”

Without waiting for him to finish, Qin Fei slowly raised his arm and touched Xi Li’s forehead to check his temperature, then touched his own.

Xi Li: ” ”

Qin Fei’s eyes were full of concern. “If you are unwell, you must tell me.”

The lingering warmth of Qin Fei’s palm stayed on his forehead for a moment before fading. Xi Li said, “I am not unwell.”

“Then, if you are in a bad mood, tell me that too.”

” ”

“I am very worried when you are like this,” Qin Fei said honestly. He peered at the paper person’s expression cautiously and asked, “Did something happen?”

“I am not in a bad mood, and nothing happened.”

“But you were not like this before.”

” ”

“If you are not in a bad mood and nothing happened, can you be a bit more normal?”

” ”

Xi Li exhaled a long breath of turbid air. He felt like this was all karma.

“I did not mean you are abnormal; it is just that your sudden change makes me”

“It was not sudden.”

Qin Fei looked at Xi Li, waiting for him to continue.

Xi Li said hoarsely, “Did you not want to check the intimacy level just now?”

Reminded by Xi Li, Qin Fei remembered his goal. He gave Xi Li one last uneasy look before resuming his interrupted action.

A heart was filled to the brim. There was not a single gap left.

Qin Fei was silent for a moment, then concluded: “It is a bug.”

After all, he had not been playing the game, except for the fact that the paper person had run from the game into reality. But that was not unheard of; the game did have a function to project characters into reality.

Xi Li closed his eyes in despair.

Qin Fei looked at the full heart, then at Xi Li, guessing that Xi Li’s change in attitude was likely due to the 100% intimacy setting. He clicked on Game Feedback.

More than 100% intimacy, he hoped his paper person could be himself, rather than being bound and driven by program commands.

“Qin Fei,” Xi Li called him.

Qin Fei responded while typing the feedback: “Mhm?”

“Before,” Xi Li looked at the person before him, his words carrying a double meaning for everything in the game and the past, “I am sorry.”

This was the Little Highness’s first apology in his entire life.

It was offered covertly, with him daring not to reveal too much.

However, Qin Fei’s attention was not on the Little Highness. He finished sending the feedback and then turned back: “What did you just say?”

Naturally, and quite reasonably, he had been ignored.