SFBF CH91.2

Seeing the system message in the chat box, Shen Qing finally reacted. It turned out that what was surrounding his body right now wasn’t fireworks, but the in-game special effects when someone gifted him roses.

For such a formidable special effect, the item “Rose” went without saying that it was no ordinary object.

In fact, as soon as the system message came out, a huge wave was quickly stirred up on the World Channel.

For no other reason than that the rose item itself was an expensive consumable, priced at 30 RMB each in the official mall. It could also be obtained by doing specific event dungeons and could be traded; buying it from private players might be slightly cheaper, but it would still cost over 20 RMB. When it got close to Valentine’s Day, it would be scalped to around 25 RMB per flower.

It was practically more expensive than real roses in reality!

However, one item rose ,only increased intimacy by 10 points…

Which meant that to grind intimacy up to 1000 points, it would require 100 flowers!

That value would range from two thousand to three thousand RMB!

…An ordinary casual player spending a few hundred bucks on a game was already considered hitting the ceiling.

Even for people who liked pay-to-win, they generally wouldn’t buy so many roses all at once to grind favorability.

Gifting a few flowers on Valentine’s Day to add some romance was about it.

…With that two or three thousand RMB, wouldn’t it be great to buy a finished weapon instead? It could even forge divine gear!

Of course, what truly shocked the players on the World Channel was:

[Player A: Wait, I just noticed the one being gifted roses is Great God Zi Jin. When did Great God Zi Jin change his name?!]

[Player B: And it’s a couple’s name with the one gifting the roses!]

[Player C: Is the love of whales always this sensational? I don’t understand the world of the rich.]

[Player D: Just passing by, come to the small pavilion in the wild to watch the fireworks, comrades, no need to thank me.]

“Where did you buy the roses?”

Because someone had gifted him 99 roses in one breath, and the system would faithfully present the special effect of each individual rose in sequence without swallowing any effect just because they were gifted all at once—this was probably the other reason why it sold so expensively besides the fact that it would be broadcast on TV when gifted.

Therefore, the “fireworks” surrounding Shen Qing exploded for a long time without stopping.

Splendid flowers kept bursting forth on both of their screens.

Many people were watching around them.

Gu Huaiyu said, “Bought them from the store.”

Shen Qing: …

Sure enough.

Those were the ones that cost 30 RMB each!

Ah, ah, ah. Although he knew it was impossible for Gu Huaiyu to collect so many from other players in such a short amount of time and that he most likely bought them directly, Shen Qing still felt a pang of heartache at this moment.

Even as a mega-whale who loved to pay-to-win, Shen Qing’s main philosophy was to strive for perfection without being wasteful… wasting a few thousand bucks was still a waste!

To this, however, Gu Huaiyu had his own perspective and understanding: “But I didn’t come to play the game.”

“I came to keep my wife company.”

Shen Qing: “…”

The boss’s expression was solemn, and his words were powerful and resonant, sounding quite reasonable.

…That’s true. He hadn’t come to play the game; he had come to play with him. Therefore, spending money on things that made it convenient to keep his wife company wasn’t a waste.

In fact, it was completely natural and fair.

…

Shen Qing was completely convinced.

And he marveled from the bottom of his heart: …As expected of the big boss!

The big boss always had a clear objective and knew exactly what he wanted!

On the game interface, the two of them stood facing each other.

The other players who hurried over were either finding fancy ways to photobomb them for screenshots or spamming the map chat frantically.

[Who exactly is this You You Wo Xin? Why is she showering the mega-whale with gifts? Shouldn’t it be the mega-whale showering her?!]

[You You Wo Xin used to be Dao Ge.]

[What?!! Isn’t Dao Ge straight as steel! Plus, his old flame is currently in a guild war against Shi Fei Cheng Bai…]

[It’s obviously been sold. The nickname has changed, and the account owner is different. Everyone, stop speculating.]

[So why aren’t the whales saying anything?]

[Probably talking in private messages.]

[I bet Brother Zi Jin didn’t accept her. Heh, did she think spending a few thousand bucks on roses could move Brother Zi Jin’s heart?]

[Disperse, disperse. Someone from Shi Fei Cheng Bai leaked the news—it’s a “he,” not a “she.” And he is Zi Jin’s family member. Real family, the original spouse.]

[…]

After the splendid flowers vanished from the screen, Gu Huaiyu sent one final rose to Shen Qing.

Gorgeous flowers burst forth at the feet of the two small characters once more, and Qing Qing Zi Jin and You You Wo Xin were broadcast on TV again.

In the friends list, their intimacy level reached exactly 1,000. They could now get a marriage certificate.

Gu Huaiyu: “How about we go register first?”

Sincerely, Shen Qing: “…”

Due to the game mechanics, the limit for gifting items at one time was 99. Any amount exceeding that would be returned directly to the inventory.

Shen Qing figured Gu Huaiyu had only just realized he was short by one rose.

Having noticed he was short by one, he smoothly sent it out without coming over to ask what was going on.

The big boss’s main trait was emotional stability.

Yet this man, who was so calm, who naturally took the lead the very first time he played a game, and who knew to gift him roses, seemed a bit eager to register with him.

Even if it was just a game.

Shen Qing laughed, his lips bright red and teeth white. He purposefully patted the other man’s thigh and introduced, “Actually, once intimacy hits 500, we can become sworn brothers. After swearing brotherhood, the two of us can summon each other, you know.”

Hearing this, Gu Huaiyu slowly looked at the young man.

Shen Qing felt his gaze was somewhat sharp.

So he braced himself and continued: “…Strictly speaking from the perspective of functional utility, 500 intimacy is the same as 1,000.”

“So.” Gu Huaiyu’s long finger tapped on the desk:

“You only want to swear brotherhood with me?”

Shen Qing: Uh…

In that instant, Shen Qing felt that although the big boss’s tone remained detached, it invisibly carried a sense of disbelief and a faint touch of grievance.

This left Shen Qing completely dazed as well.

The key was that he had only brought up swearing brotherhood to tease him on purpose.

And what kind of question was the big boss asking? What did he mean by only wanting to swear brotherhood with him…?

It was glaringly obvious that the big boss was phrasing this incorrectly!

The hand resting on the other man’s thigh caressed it a couple more times.

Not letting himself get carried away by the other’s question, Shen Qing, having come to his senses, very cleverly turned the tables. He said enthusiastically, “No, of course we’re getting married! Don’t tell me that with a relationship like ours, we still have to be good bros in the game?”

…Okay, let’s keep turning the question back on him like this and see how the big boss responds!

Gu Huaiyu, however, had already looked down at the young man’s restless hand the moment he began answering the question.

By the time Shen Qing finished speaking, he looked back at the young man, his gaze steady: “You can swear brotherhood with many people, but there is only one marriage partner.”

Gu Huaiyu: “Your marriage partner can only be me.”

Shen Qing: “…”

Fine. When he didn’t throw a straight ball, the big boss would play the counter-question game with him.

And when he did throw a straight ball, the big boss would only throw an even straighter ball than him!

In short, it seemed he couldn’t quite win an argument against him.

How infuriating.

Besides, the big boss must have known all along that the functions of swearing brotherhood and getting married in this game were practically the same.

…

That made sense. Otherwise, how would he know to send roses to grind intimacy?

He had known all along, but he took it for granted that they were going to get married, so he wouldn’t consider any other possibilities…

When he thought up to this point, Shen Qing’s breath suddenly hitched.

—A large, slightly cool hand suddenly covered the back of his restless hand.

Shen Qing: “…”

Lowering his head somewhat sluggishly, he realized that while he was lost in thought, his actions of caressing the big boss’s thigh had been rather uninhibited—a couple of times, it seemed he had almost had a close encounter with President Gu’s real good bro.

…

Shen Qing: !

His fair cheeks suddenly flushed red, and Shen Qing didn’t know where to look.

But in the relatively quiet room, he still seemed to catch, with some delayed realization, a faint, barely audible breath from the person beside him.

“…Um, I didn’t mean it that way. Your body, your injuries…”

Shen Qing’s eyes darted around as he stammered.

Fortunately, at this moment, his computer began ringing frantically with notification sounds; someone was sending him messages on QQ.

Shen Qing quickly pulled his hand away to grab the mouse.

Gu Huaiyu looked at his suddenly empty palm and raised his brows slightly.

At the same time, Gu Huaiyu scanned the computer screen once more. The text flying across the small chat window did not escape his eyes; it was captured by him.

Map Channel:

[Ah? Great God Zi Jin’s family member is real? Then what about Qi Pao Shui?]

[That Xia Meng Qi Pao Shui? What do you mean ‘what about him’? He has nothing to do with Great God Zi Jin. If there’s any connection, it’s just wishful thinking on Qi Pao Shui’s part.]

[But isn’t Qi Pao Shui quite a pretty boy? The photos he exposed on the Tieba forum are so damn good-looking. If it weren’t for the fact that I don’t like guys…]

Guild Channel:

[Xia Meng Qi Pao Shui: What’s the situation? A newcomer joined the guild?]

[Ah, Brother Shui, you’re finally online Something huge happened! The guild leader’s family member dropped in from above]

[Xia Meng Qi Pao Shui: ???]

Gu Huaiyu glanced sideways again.

The young man’s computer screen was very large.

Large enough that with a casual glance, he could see that the person currently chatting with the young man had the nickname “Xia Meng Qi Pao Shui.”

And the young man looked quite impatient.

He casually typed a few characters and closed the dialogue box.

Right after that, Gu Huaiyu also received a private message.

[Xia Meng Qi Pao Shui (Stranger): Are you really the leader’s family member???]

Gu Huaiyu’s response was to close the chat box directly.

The next second, Shen Qing received a party invitation from You You Wo Xin.

A few minutes later, on the World Channel—

[Congratulations to players “Qing Qing Zi Jin” and “You You Wo Xin” on tying the knot. May you be united for a hundred years!]

In the eyes of many players, this wedding was handled very abruptly. Because Shen Qing had a lot of friends in the game, a flood of people rushed over all at once to ask him about the situation.

Shen Qing was exhausted from dealing with them, but out of politeness, he still had to type replies. In the end, he simply tagged everyone in the group chat, stating: Yes, that’s right, he got married today, and he would distribute wedding candies to everyone tonight.

Only then did things quiet down.

It wasn’t like he was a teenager experiencing first love anymore; Shen Qing didn’t feel much about getting married in a game, especially since he and the big boss were already husbands in real life.

For him, playing the game together was where the fun lay.

So according to their original plan, Shen Qing teamed up with Gu Huaiyu, taking him off alone to grind mobs and enjoy their two-person world.

This feeling was truly novel.

Because it couldn’t be denied that in daily life, he relied on Gu Huaiyu more.

Even though Gu Huaiyu sat in a wheelchair and looked sickly, the impression he gave everyone was one of profundity and immense power.

He was disciplined, emotionally stable, and seemed omniscient and omnipotent.

Thus, once you formed a united front with such a person, you didn’t need to think about anything else in front of him; you just had to lie down comfortably and wait to be carried to victory.

But in the game, the situation changed.

Gu Huaiyu would ask him what a dropped item was and ask him how to operate things.

Usually, the big boss mostly gave orders.

He was low-profile but had always been confident, strategizing seamlessly.

There had never been a situation like this before—where he asked simple questions in such quick succession and controlled the small female character on the screen looking somewhat clumsy.

And all of this gave rise to an unwarranted desire to protect him within Shen Qing.

The more powerful a creature is, the more that when you discover he has shortcomings one day, not only will you not mock him, but you will instead try your best to think of how to save face for him.

What’s more, this was Gu Huaiyu’s first time playing a game.

And he didn’t even like playing games.

He could have ridden high in his comfortable domain forever, or he was already powerful enough to directly gather a wave of talent to develop and create a brand-new game.

Yet at this moment, he patiently came to understand all the relevant settings, constantly controlling the small avatar on the screen to try and deal damage.

Occasionally, he even appeared a bit clumsy.

…

Shen Qing answered very patiently as well.

Looking at the slightly sluggish character on the screen, he even found it incredibly cute. Subconsciously, he kept wanting to touch the person beside him.

And Shen Qing did exactly that.

After a while, Gu Huaiyu’s private message icon flashed once more.

[Xia Meng Qi Pao Shui (Stranger): Do you dare to come to the wild for a solo fight?]

Gu Huaiyu’s expression showed neither sorrow nor joy, but a trace of disdain slipped through his detached eyes.

The next moment, he turned his head, asking seriously just as he had asked the young man common-sense questions earlier: “Wife, what does going to the wild mean?”

“It means PK, a duel, actual killing where dying makes you lose money and drop equipment… Wait, what do you mean going to the wild? Who asked you to go to the wild?”

Having answered the question, Shen Qing had already looked over at Gu Huaiyu’s screen.

Xia Meng Qi Pao Shui’s game avatar came straight into view.

Shen Qing: “…Why is it him again!”

Shen Qing had always felt that Qi Pao Shui must be a kid, definitely a minor. Otherwise, how could he always do these bizarre things?

For example, he had once publicly declared his love for Shen Qing. Even after being explicitly told that Shen Qing had a family member and didn’t do online dating, he still didn’t give up and went around spreading rumors everywhere that there was something between them.

However, considering that the other party was young—maybe even a middle school student—Shen Qing had never wanted to argue too much with him.

After all, Qi Pao Shui was a veteran in the guild and shared many mutual friends with him, so making a scene wouldn’t end well.

“Oh?”

Hearing Shen Qing’s description, Gu Huaiyu expressed his doubt inconspicuously: “He exposed his photo on Tieba; does he look like a middle school student?”

Shen Qing: “I don’t use Tieba, I’ve never seen his photo.”

“You really haven’t seen it?”

“Really haven’t.”

Perhaps Qi Pao Shui’s photo had been forwarded into the group chat before, but Shen Qing didn’t actively lurk in the group chats. Once messages scrolled past, they were gone, so he really hadn’t seen it.

…Shen Qing also failed to notice that President Gu beside him, upon hearing his words, suddenly curled the corners of his mouth slightly.

Shen Qing: “Wait, how do you know he exposed his photo on Tieba??”

Beside him, Gu Huaiyu had already typed a reply to that classmate Qi Pao Shui: [Sure.]

Qi Pao Shui on the other side of the network: !!

Didn’t the leader’s family member not play games… Didn’t he just buy a new account? How did he dare to face him in the wild?!!

Their leader had personality, was smart, witty, humorous, and had a particularly attractive voice. From the first time the man organized a guild war, Qi Pao Shui couldn’t control himself and fell for him.

Later, when the leader publicly admitted that the person he liked was a man, Qi Pao Shui began pursuing their leader.

In the end, the leader coldly rejected him: I have a husband, and our kids are old enough to buy soy sauce. Sorry.

But Qi Pao Shui refused to accept it, always feeling that online dating didn’t need to be taken so seriously, and his husband wouldn’t know anyway… However, the leader displayed a level of deep affection and exclusivity that didn’t match his usual carefree style.

Consequently, Qi Pao Shui—who had always been curious about what the leader did normally, who would miss him crazily whenever he wasn’t online, and who would imagine what kind of luxurious and fulfilling real life he led—was driven nearly frantic.

And now, he had finally made contact with the leader’s husband.