Chapter 88.1 Unique game (6)
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Upon Zhuang Lao’s warm invitation, Lin Zhaohe decided to visit his boyfriend’s house for a gaming session.
Honestly, this was the first time Lin Zhaohe had been in a relationship in his twenties. Naturally, he felt a bit unsure about how to be himself around Zhuang Lao.
This visit also marked the first time Lin Zhaohe visited Zhuang Lao’s house since their relationship had taken a new turn. The household staff greeted him with a kindly smile, resembling that of a father-in-law meeting his future daughter-in-law. Lin Zhaohe felt a bit awkward, not knowing where to put his hands and feet.
Eventually, it was Zhuang Lao who guided Lin Zhaohe to sit obediently in the living room. Curiously, he asked if they were going to the study to play games.
Zhuang Lao cast a quick glance at him but remained silent.
After a few minutes, Lin Zhaohe emerged in Zhuang Lao’s bedroom.
The bedroom had only a spacious bed with no seating area. Lin Zhaohe glanced at the bed, and his mind filled with vivid images that made him blush. Trying to maintain composure, he asked, “Boss, there’s no chair here. Where should we play games? On the bed?”
Zhuang Lao responded with a half-smile, “The bed isn’t meant for gaming, you know.”
Lin Zhaohe: “Ah…” There was just the bed before him. Did it imply something?
Suddenly, Zhuang Lao playfully tapped Lin Zhaohe’s head and quipped, “What are you thinking?”
Walking to the side, Zhuang Lao pushed open the closet door and pressed a few buttons. With a satisfying click, the door swung open, revealing a hidden study in the bedroom.
Curiously, Lin Zhaohe followed Zhuang Lao into the study and discovered its exquisite secret design.
Inside the study, each wall displayed an array of neatly arranged books. Lin Zhaohe took a quick glance and stood frozen in awe.
What caught his immediate attention were the books on the shelves, bearing the striking title “Nie Pan,” marking his own authorship. They shone brightly, capturing his undivided attention.
Lin Zhaohe was utterly shocked. Everywhere he looked, he found his own novels on display.
From the earliest magazine publications to the later hardcovers, he recognized his own works. The bookshelf even held some anonymously published short stories, which he vaguely remembered writing. Everything was meticulously organized.
As Lin Zhaohe continued to survey the room, his mind whirled with a mix of delight and a tinge of fear. He couldn’t help but think that if the characters within these books came to life, it might lead to a tragic replay of the library incident.
If you were to say he wasn’t upset, it would definitely be false. After the Lin Yan incident, all the bookstores were shut down, let alone popular fiction and similar genres. Almost everything was destroyed, including the books of Lin Zhaohe, who existed as a best-selling novelist.
Due to the death of Lu Feihe, Lin Zhaohe carried a deep sense of guilt and directly burned all his books. Watching his words turn to ashes in the flames, a significant part of Lin Zhaohe’s soul was also lost.
But at that time, he didn’t dare to dwell on it. It was like some things, if you didn’t ponder them deeply, you could deceive yourself into believing they never happened.
“Are you, the one who collected them after being with me?” Lin Zhaohe asked cautiously.
“No,” Zhuang Lao whispered, “I have always been your fan.”
Lin Zhaohe was taken aback.
“I love your novels,” Zhuang Lao said, his fingertip gliding over the book spines, pausing at the words “Nie Pan.” His gentle gaze shifted from the novels to Lin Zhaohe, “And I really like you too.”
Lin Zhaohe: “You knew… all along?”
He remembered that rainy night, when Zhuang Lao approached him with a bedraggled umbrella, becoming his savior at that moment. He thought it was a chance encounter, but little did he know it was a long-awaited acquaintance.
“Hmm,” Zhuang Lao said, “I knew all along.”
That was why he made every effort to collect all the available versions on the market before all of Lin Zhaohe’s novels were destroyed.
From magazines to short stories, and then to published novels, he witnessed Lin Zhaohe’s writing style evolve from raw to mature, just as he witnessed the growth of Lin Zhaohe’s life.
Although they were not physically together, they knew each other through the written words.
Zhuang Lao said, “It’s a pity that you can’t continue writing.”
Lin Zhaohe smiled silently.
“If you continue writing, you will definitely create more and even better novels,” Zhuang Lao said, “You will be able to create great works that everyone will love.”
“That’s not necessarily true,” Lin Zhaohe gently shook his head. It had been a long time since he picked up a pen. He lacked confidence in himself.
Zhuang Lao said, “I believe in you.”
Lin Zhaohe lowered his head, trying to hide his moist eyes. For all these years, no one knew that he used to be a novelist. Those years of creativity accompanied him from high school to college, the most inexperienced and youthful decade of his life.
Due to the fusion, those ten years were easily erased, and the words he once loved became forbidden and untouchable.
Now, there was someone standing in front of him, speaking with the utmost sincerity about their love for him.
Lin Zhaohe felt a deep pang in his heart. He couldn’t suppress the tears that welled up in his eyes. He tried to respond to Zhuang Lao with an indifferent tone, but when he spoke, his voice choked. “Thank you.” Thank you for your love.
Zhuang Lao said gently, “You’re welcome.”
“Let’s not talk about that,” Lin Zhaohe felt that it wouldn’t be good to continue this topic. If Zhuang Lao kept talking, he would surely start crying, and that would be embarrassing. So, he forcefully changed the subject, “Let’s continue playing the game.”
“Okay.” Fortunately, Zhuang Lao didn’t press him further.
Sitting in front of the desk, Lin Zhaohe turned on the computer.
“This doesn’t seem like a game that can be created by humans in the real world. The amount of work is enormous.” Trying to recreate the entire world in a game on a one-to-one scale is simply impossible. Firstly, collecting samples would be a huge undertaking. How could a gaming company know about every individual in every household? It was beyond human capability. It felt more like a copy-paste process, directly pasting a certain point in time of humanity into a database, and then constructing and modeling from there. Lin Zhaohe controlled his character while analyzing with Zhuang Lao.
“Indeed,” Zhuang Lao agreed. “Once you reach level ten, you can go to other cities.” His character was already at level eight, so after spending some more time in the game, he should be able to level up.
Lin Zhaohe hesitated a bit. Should he tell Zhuang Lao about Lin Yan coming to see him last night? After a brief moment of hesitation, Lin Zhaohe decided to keep it a secret for now. He would wait until he reached level ten and encountered the game content that Lin Yan had mentioned before discussing it with Zhuang Lao.
The real world, riddled with problems, presented a stark contrast to the wonderful life in the game. Zhuang Lao asked if he wanted to go to an amusement park.
Lin Zhaohe was surprised. “There’s an amusement park in the game too?”
“There’s everything, just like in the real world.”
Suddenly, Lin Zhaohe asked, “Are there movie theaters and libraries?”
Zhuang Lao’s hand, holding the mouse, paused slightly. “Of course… not.”
Lin Zhaohe let out a sigh of relief but also felt a bit disappointed. Yes, there wouldn’t be any. If there were libraries, there would definitely be novels inside, which would mean bringing the whole world into the game. Once fused, it wouldn’t just include the game content, but also the novels and movies inside it. It would be another disaster altogether.
The two of them went to the amusement park, tried out some rides, and gained a considerable amount of experience.
Finally, Lin Zhaohe had a feeling of being in a romantic relationship. His character held a cotton candy and sat on the roller coaster. Zhuang Lao’s character was beside him. As the roller coaster started, the expressions of both characters changed. Lin Zhaohe’s character had a face full of fear, while Zhuang Lao’s character smirked. These subtle changes, portrayed by the characters, surprised and delighted Lin Zhaohe.
It was as if they had transcended the limitations of data, becoming lively and vivid. It felt like the one sitting on the ride was Lin Zhaohe himself.
Lin Zhaohe looked at the screen, and a smile involuntarily appeared on his face. At this moment, he finally understood why so many people were addicted to this game. The allure of this game was truly astonishing.
After getting off the roller coaster, Lin Zhaohe’s character was petrified with fear, standing in place, continuously displaying ellipsis.
Zhuang Lao’s character approached Lin Zhaohe’s character, and a heart-shaped symbol appeared above its head. Then, a line of small text floated out: “Can I kiss Xiao He?”
Even though they were right beside each other, witnessing Zhuang Lao seriously typing out these words on the keyboard, Lin Zhaohe’s heart melted. He gently tapped the keyboard and responded to Zhuang Lao’s question: “Sure.”
In the next moment, Lin Zhaohe’s cheeks were gently cupped by a pair of hands, and cool, soft lips pressed against his own.
Lin Zhaohe felt Zhuang Lao’s breath so close, and his whole body turned weak.
As the kiss ended, Zhuang Lao’s fingers caressed his lips, his tone incredibly gentle as he said, “What if one kiss is not enough? Xiao He tastes like ice cream, so delicious that I want to devour you whole.”
Lin Zhaohe couldn’t find the words to speak. With moist eyes, he saw Zhuang Lao’s gaze gradually darken, carrying a hint of danger.
“Boss,” Lin Zhaohe whispered, calling out softly.
Just that one word, “boss,” completely shattered the last strand of restraint in Zhuang Lao. He pressed Lin Zhaohe against the back of the chair, his entire body coming down on him…
That night, neither of them left the bedroom to have dinner.
The butler, who had been waiting for a long time, silently instructed the servants to clear away the cold food on the table.
It wasn’t until midnight that Zhuang Lao finally called for someone, instructing them to prepare hot water and easily digestible food.
Lin Zhaohe curled up under the blanket like a caterpillar, feeling pain all over his body. Clearly, his stamina couldn’t compare to that of the monstrous Zhuang Lao. By halfway through, he already felt like he was about to die. Now lying in bed, he had a feeling of his soul leaving his body. Even a slight touch on his shoulder from Zhuang Lao made him involuntarily shrink further inside. He muttered softly, saying that he was dying, that he couldn’t take it anymore.
“Xiao He, you don’t exercise enough on ordinary days,” Zhuang Lao said.
“Boss, are you even human?” Lin Zhaohe felt like he was about to pass out. He didn’t dare let Zhuang Lao touch him at this moment, afraid of provoking his anger again. Cowering under the covers, he resembled a pitiful turtle hiding in its shell, looking helpless. “I’m dying.”
“You won’t die. I know my limits.”
Lin Zhaohe: “?” Would Zhuang Lao only stop if he actually died?
“Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?” Zhuang Lao asked.
Lin Zhaohe: “Yes…”
After eating a bit, Lin Zhaohe finally began to recover from the state of feeling like he was dying. He thought that even when a monster was biting his back, he didn’t have this immediate sense of asphyxiation. But Zhuang Lao, who seemed upright on ordinary days, now revealed his cruel side, as if he purposely wanted to torment him until he cried.
Just when Lin Zhaohe shed tears as Zhuang Lao desired, that guy wiped away his tears and pretended to be innocent, asking if Xiao He cried because he didn’t try hard enough.
Lin Zhaohe trembled all over and wanted to say, “Please, I beg you, don’t try any harder. If you try harder, I’ll really die here.”
After haphazardly eating some food, Lin Zhaohe fell into a drowsy sleep. It had been a long time since he had such a sound and sweet sleep, as if he returned to the womb, immersed in warm and secure amniotic fluid.
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