004

Fearless circled Bumble Bee for what could have been the twentieth time after gaining no response to his request for a carry. The person moving the character, Xu Wei, tapped his foot against the floor impatiently before decisively asking.

[Party] Fearless: AFK?

He could continue through the main quest, but there was a known period of what the players called the 'no quest zone' or 'new player dungeon mania' that he wanted to avoid by gaining extra exp early on.

Besides, by starting now, he would already be gathering materials and gold. Each dungeon boss gave at least 1 gold for low levels and 10 gold for high levels, whereas the loot was usually crafting materials to build and upgrade armor and weapons with.

Although players could buy gold online, it was extremely frowned upon.

The world bosses, ones that spawned across the map as timed events, also gave rewards ranging from gear, material, exp, gold, or mounts. Those were a bit trickier because although it was a PVE event, many new players would get beaten up after getting their loot.

[Party] Bumble Bee: Don't hate me…

As soon as the message was sent, Xu Wei felt chills run across his body as his phone began to blow up. The first 2 seconds consisted of four back-to-back text messages, and then, as if the sender couldn't wait any longer, his phone started buzzing.

He slowly lifted his phone and looked at the name. 'Lovely Sister'.

'Don't tell me…'

The call ended, and another began as Xu Wei slowly typed in the game.

[Party] Fearless: What did you do?

The response was immediate, as if Shin Bao had already prepared his deposition for his lawyers.

[Party] Bumble Bee: Your sister messaged me to ask if we were planning to come back on the holidays together and asked for a present idea for my half-brother…

[Party] Bumble Bee: I may have accidentally hit send on the message.

[Party] Fearless: What message?

[Party] Bumble Bee: You know, the one that I showed you yesterday…

That message. The one used to blackmail Xu Wei into coming back to Legends of Xia.

Xu Wei stiffened further as the phone silenced for half a second before beginning to ring again. All the while, text messages kept coming through as well.

What was said in that message?

That he was a video game addict and had been for the past five years, long before he'd grown of age and begun university. Hence, he was still playing video games under their roof in his room, and he had apparently dragged Shin Bao with him.

The most important note: Because of this addiction, both his and Shin Bao's grades were suffering.

Hell, he'd been painted as a big, bad villain who coerced Shin Bao into playing video games with his hands tied and a screen placed in front of him!

That idiot…

'He's trying to get me killed.'

[Party] Fearless: You bastard.

Xu Wei didn't give the other time to respond as he shut down his computer and pushed his chair back, rolling across the living room and further from the ringing phone that may as well have been a hot potato ready to explode.

As the third call ended and another began, Xu Wei ran through countless scenarios in his head.

One, Xu Ya comes to his college, barges into class, drags him out by his ear, and takes him to an alley to beat him up.

Two, Xu Ya comes to his college and demands that he come home with her.

Three, his mother shows up.

Four…

Five…

Wait - he's an adult now. Why should he worry about what happens next? The only thing he could do from now on was damage control and make sure that Xu Ya didn't dig deeper into his 'addiction-filled' past.

He got up from his chair and made his way across the room, picking up his still-ringing phone and vape off the computer desk as he passed by and headed straight to the balcony.

He leaned against the railing and looked down at the traffic below while taking a few puffs from the pen in his hand.

The call ended, and another began.

Xu Wei could only do one thing now - gaslight his older sister with his cuteness.

"Sister, is everything okay?" Despite his mood, his voice was as even as ever as he answered the call. Hell, he even sounded a bit concerned, as his sister had a tendency to text rather than call him, especially at night when he might be studying or sleeping.

Even after waiting through four missed calls, Xu Ya's voice was calm. "You're addicted to video games now?"

"What? I've never touched a video game in my life aside from the odd arcade game…"

"Shin Bao said you're a video game addict. Did he lie?"

"Well, I think he's just playing around with you. Last week, he told me I'd turn into a blueberry if I had too many - I nearly believed him!"

In fact, it was he who told Shin Bao that…

The line was silent for a bit before Xu Ya responded, still skeptical. "He lied? If I go to your computer right now, will there be a game installed?"

"Of course not! Sister, you know how Shin Bao can be. Besides, you've seen my grades, do you think I have time to spend on games?"

Although he said that… Did he delete Legends of Xia from his computer when he'd gone back on holiday?

Step 1. Gaslight his older sister.

Step 2. Make sure she doesn't check his computer.

Xu Ya hummed slightly. "You're right, with your personality, if you were really a gaming addict, you'd probably flunk out."

"…"

If only she knew…

Xu Wei forced himself to laugh and said. "Why doesn't that sound like a compliment?"

"Well, remember the reason why I stopped teaching you how to fight?"

"Didn't you stop because you taught me everything?"

Xu Ya chuckled. "You couldn't focus on your homework! You were so excited to come back home and learn to fight so you'd be able to step on everyone's backs and tower over them that your grades dropped to a seventy-five!"

Well, she had a point, but wasn't it because she'd force him to run so many laps that he'd collapse at the end of it? Really, it was her fault that his grades dropped! Alas, he could only suck it up and complain. "And you still think I had time to focus on video games? It was so hard keeping a high score…"

"That Shin Bao… When did he get so mischievous?"

Xu Wei exaggerated a sigh. "He thinks girls like funny men."

He let the sentence hang in the air as he sucked in on his vape, something his sister might also kill him for if she found out. He could hear Xu Ya snickering on the other side of the phone, trying to hold in a laugh.

On the other hand, he had no shame in throwing Shin Bao under the bus this time. It was he who set himself up for this.

After a few moments passed, Xu Wei put his vape back into his pocket and said. "I, Xu Wei, would never play video games. If I did, it would only be arcade games every now and then, but I wouldn't call myself an addict."

He continued by saying. "I'm sorry for not answering the phone, I was in the middle of doing a mock test for the finance test coming up in a few days."

"It's okay, I'm sorry for jumping the gun. Is Shin Bao addicted to video games?"

"Well… I didn't want to throw him under the bus, but he has been spending a lot of time on online games, I think he's chasing a girl on one."

"Romance in school?"

"Yeah…"

"That little brat! He should be focusing on his studies!"

Ten minutes later, Xu Wei clicked end on the call and took a few more puffs off his vape as he put the phone in his pocket.

To his right, a familiar voice said. "You would never play video games, so why were you playing one earlier?"

Xu Wei spun on his heels and found himself face to face with the neighbour he'd met not even half an hour ago. He leaned on the balcony with his left arm and held his vape with his right, commenting. "So what?"

"Why are you hiding the fact that you play them?"

"Why are you so nosy? Didn't anyone tell you it's rude to eavesdrop?"

"I was already here when you came storming out."

Xu Wei rolled his eyes and went back into his apartment, ignoring the stare of his new neighbor.