Chapter 35
The alleys of the ancient city are winding, and the eaves on both sides are covered with moss and wet with moisture. Even if you look closely, it is no different from the real world.
Under a clear blue sky, two women walked along a pristine bluestone path. Their shadows stretched behind them, occasionally intersecting, a look of intimacy.
Finally, we saw each other again.
If Shen Fengni found out that the person next to her was lying in the game cabin in the next room, just separated from her by a wall, I wonder how she would react.
Jiang Zhuoyan thought.
As soon as this thought came to her mind, her heart beat faster.
There is a bright red in the corner of her eyes.
It was a basic sect suit from the Paradise Palace, costing less than a hundred yuan, but Chen Fengni liked it very much and chose to wear it most of the time.
Jiang Zhuoyan once asked the reason and got a very cute answer.
There is a silver bell in the shape of a cat at the waist of this suit.
It turns out that artists should design more clothes with cat elements. Who doesn’t like kittens?
Jiang Zhuoyan was thinking to herself when she suddenly heard someone beside her call out, "Where are we going?"
She paused and looked around.
The map of "Jiang Hu Nuo" is very large, and the design and layout of each main city are exactly the same as the real ancient city. When players stroll through it, it feels like they have traveled into a real ancient capital.
It is common for ordinary players to get lost while exploring the map. Even Jiang Zhuoyan, the game producer, does not dare to say that he can easily identify every location.
Just like now.
The scene before me felt unfamiliar; I had no idea which alleyway in the city it was. The quiet, narrow street was long, and the voices, muffled by the houses on either side, seemed to come from far away, barely audible.
Jiang Zhuoyan was a little at a loss.
After a long separation, her heart and eyes were filled with old friends, and she didn't care about where she was at.
She was silent for a moment: "I haven't played for a while, I want to take a walk."
"Okay, let's go for a walk."
Shen Fengni said with a smile. In fact, she was just asking casually. As long as she was with Zhezhi, it didn't matter what she did.
She clicked on the map interface on the game panel. "Let me see... Oh, I see. Turn right at the next intersection and go straight ahead. It's the road to Yue Lao Temple."
Yue Lao Temple is one of the standard features of the main city in Jianghu Nuo. It is a place to pray for blessings and marriage.
If you have a crush on someone, you can also go together and accept a series of two-person marriage tasks from Yue Lao. The two players who successfully complete the tasks will receive a marriage knot, which can be used to become a couple.
When two people become a couple, their names will be displayed on their personal homepages to announce to the world that the beauty has found a lover.
Jiang Zhuoyan was slightly surprised when he saw Shen Fengni's smooth operation.
A few days ago, when she asked if they wanted to play games together, Shen Fengni mentioned that she had played holographic online games before. At that time, Jiang Zhuoyan thought that the so-called "experience" was just a superficial taste, but now it seems that is not the case.
Shen Fengni is familiar with everything here and can move around freely without any guidance from her, just like a veteran player.
Could it be that Shen Fengni in this life has played "Jiang Hu Nuo" before?
Jiang Zhuoyan became increasingly confused.
But when she recalled Chen Fengni's heroic act of resolutely escaping from the marriage, insisting on breaking off the engagement, and even severing ties with her family two days ago, she felt relieved.
Shen Fengni has changed so much, so being able to play holographic online games is nothing.
Perhaps something happened by accident when she was unaware, which gave Shen Fengni a push and led her to where she is today.
It doesn’t matter if it’s different, as long as it’s Chen Fengni, it’s fine no matter what.
"Why are you daydreaming again?" A familiar, clean voice echoed beside my ears. "Do you have any unfinished work? If you have something to do, go get it done first."
Jiang Zhuoyan came back to his senses and smiled apologetically.
She made up an excuse, "No, I was just thinking about doing something fun."
Shen Fengni looked at her, "Well, have you thought about it?"
The smile on her face was bright, and the hem of her gorgeous dress fluttered in the wind, like a fluttering butterfly.
Free, passionate and unrestrained.
This is what Shen Fengni should look like.
She likes it very much.
Jiang Zhuoyan opened her mouth and suddenly said, "Do you want to do the marriage mission?"
The veil was ruffled by the wind and gently brushed against her chin.
She was glad that she was used to wearing a veil in the game, so that Shen Fengni would not notice the nervousness and embarrassment on her face at the moment.
Shen Fengni was stunned for a moment, "Why do you suddenly want to do a marriage mission?"
"I've heard some gossip," Jiang Zhuoyan replied. "To encourage socializing, they're going to release exclusive couple outfits and accessories. I'd like to collect them."
After she finished speaking, she began to admire her ability to speak without thinking, and she could come up with a reasonable-sounding reason in an instant.
Shen Fengni thought for a moment, "Is that so?"
In Jiang Hu Nuo, the word "couple" has many meanings.
Some people just treat it as a gaming partner, going through daily routines together and doing team tasks; some people engage in ambiguous relationships in the name of lovers, and even try to make excuses after being discovered by their three-dimensional partners; some people regard it as a serious relationship, going all the way from virtual to reality, and lovers finally get married.
But no matter which one it was, Shen Fengni felt that she was not suitable.
Logically speaking, the two accounts, "Zhezhi" and "Zhehua," belonged to Jiang Zhuoyan herself; she was merely borrowing them temporarily. Even if they became a couple, it didn't seem to mean anything, so she shouldn't have any concerns.
But even so, Shen Fengni felt that she was not worthy of it.
Her mess wasn't finished yet, and Yu Qian was keeping a close eye on her every move. If she were to be linked to Zhezhi, especially with the ambiguous word "couple," Yu Qian might make a big fuss about it and bite her back, which would cause trouble for Zhezhi and potentially affect the upcoming negotiations.
"Is that okay?"
Perhaps because they hadn't received a reply for a long time, the people around them started asking again.
"Sorry." Shen Fengni said softly, "Not yet."
Jiang Zhuoyan's expression paused for a moment. She tried her best to hide her inner disappointment, "Why?"
"I'm still dealing with the cancellation of the engagement."
Although the veil covered most of her face, Shen Fengni could still sense the other person's displeasure. She tried to explain in as much detail as possible, "My ex-fiancée is a shrewd businesswoman. If she found out I had a partner in the game, it might be used to my detriment. I already have evidence of her infidelity, it's set in stone. The situation is in my favor, and I don't want to let the details ruin my chances."
Sure enough, it was because of Yu Qian again.
Jiang Zhuoyan's face turned cold.
In her previous life, Yu Qian had caused Chen Fengni so much pain, almost completely ruining her life. In this life, the two of them had finally reached this point, but Yu Qian was still an obstacle standing in the way.
If only Yu Qian didn't exist, if possible... For a moment, she even hoped that Yu Qian could disappear from this world immediately.
Jiang Zhuoyan's eyes were deep, and he tried hard to suppress those extremely crazy thoughts.
But the next second, the words that rang in her ears made her mood turn from gloomy to bright.
"You can wait for me for a few days if you like."
Chen Fengni looked into her eyes and said sincerely, "After I have resolved the engagement issue and completely cut off ties with those people, I will be happy to do the marriage mission with you. Of course, if you find a better candidate in the meantime, you can do the mission first."
Selfishly speaking, she didn't want Zhezhi to do the marriage mission with other people, but she also didn't want to tie the other person down because of her own selfish desires.
Because I have been bound before, I know the value of freedom.
She hoped that the broken branch would be free.
That's how it should be.
"I'll wait for you." Jiang Zhuoyan's eyes darkened, and then quickly regained their composure.
She had endured for so long, and now that dawn was about to come, she could use a little more patience.
God has been kind to her, and she should be content.
Thinking of this, Jiang Zhuoyan's expression softened a bit, and she added softly, "There won't be any other candidates."
***
When I logged out of the game, it was already midnight.
Chen Fengni pushed open the door of the game cabin, stretched her body, and prepared to go back to her bedroom to sleep.
The corridor was dimly lit, with only a few floor lamps emitting faint light.
It was very quiet around. Jiang Zhuoyan should have rested by now.
Shen Fengni walked quietly through the corridor, and suddenly stopped when she reached the bedroom door.
She ate little for dinner and played games for several hours in a row. The sour feeling in her stomach reminded her that she should replenish some energy, otherwise going to bed on an empty stomach would easily affect her sleep quality.
Chen Fengni thought about it and decided to go to the kitchen to get some milk and bread to fill her stomach.
However, just before she left, a crisp sound came from downstairs, followed by a faint cat's meow, which sounded particularly clear in the silent night.
Did something happen to Nini?
Shen Fengni was shocked and didn't care about anything else. She ran downstairs quickly.
She turned on the chandelier, and the cold white light instantly filled the entire living room, illuminating the slender figure standing at the entrance.
Jiang Zhuoyan stood at the door, looking at her at the stairs.
Shen Fengni was a little surprised, "Mr. Jiang, haven't you rested yet so late?"
Jiang Zhuoyan didn't say anything, just nodded.
"I thought I heard some noise just now, and I heard Nini calling, so I came down to take a look."
Shen Fengni explained. As she spoke, she walked towards Jiang Zhuoyan. For some reason, she seemed to see a hint of panic on that usually calm face.
She was puzzled, but her attention was quickly drawn to the furry figure beside her. "Ah, here it is."
After getting closer, Shen Fengni finally realized the source of the sound.
Nini squatted on the cabinet at the entrance, tilted her head and looked at the ground, her eyes innocent and clear.
Lying quietly on the floor tiles was a jade bracelet, or rather, the shattered remains of a jade bracelet. Under the living room light, it shone dimly.
Shen Fengni was startled, "This is..."
The bracelet Yu Qian had given her was quite valuable, and she was planning to return it. Suddenly seeing this scene had a huge psychological impact on her.
"I'm sorry." Jiang Zhuoyan said, but there was no apology in her voice. "Nini was running around and accidentally knocked your bracelet off."
As soon as he finished speaking, the calico cat on the cabinet suddenly meowed several times, with a look of doubt and grievance, as if trying hard to defend itself.
Jiang Zhuoyan remained unmoved and pretended not to hear anything.
She continued, "I will compensate Mr. Xiao Yu according to the market price."
The jade bracelet was placed in a box. If it was knocked off by a cat, it should have fallen to the ground along with the box.
Shen Fengni's eyes swept over the intact jewelry box on the cabinet, and she felt confused.
She felt something was wrong, but since Jiang Zhuoyan said so, there seemed no need to delve into it further.
Shen Fengni smiled and declined, "No need to compensate, I'll find a way."
Jiang Zhuoyan had already helped her so much, and she couldn't bear to ask him to pay again. It was just an accident after all, and the person who caused it looked so cute and innocent, so she couldn't bear to blame him.
Yu Qian and I had exchanged several expensive gifts before, so she still had a few big-name items in her hands. If the price was right, they could be easily sold. She should be able to raise enough money to buy a jade bracelet.
Jiang Zhuoyan glanced at the fragments on the ground, and said with disdain, "It's just worthless things, Miss Shen, don't bother."
Shen Fengni insisted: "But..."
Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted again by Jiang Zhuoyan, "If you like it, I can give you a better one."
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