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Chapter 1206: Good Love, Bad Love
“But you still got together with him?” Zhang Wei asked with surprise and an envy he couldn’t name.
“He was interesting. I couldn’t resist an interesting man.” White Dew picked up her goblet and took a sip like she could taste it. “I told myself that we were both playing the game, but slowly, I found myself falling for real.”
“Then?” Zhang Wei asked curiously.
“Then I broke up with him.”
“Decisive, I like that!” Zhang Wei said with admiration.
“Nah, it was only a front.” White Dew’s gaze grew distant. “I was beside myself after the breakup, but I didn’t show it.”
“To forget about him, I found myself a new pastime. Not long after that, he sought me out and fought my new boyfriend, crying and saying that he wanted to get back with me. He realized that he was jealous, which made him realize that he loved me more than he thought.”
“Fuck, that’s exactly what a scum would say!” Zhang Wei raged.
“Yeah, a real piece of work, that man.” White Dew chuckled. “Then I got back with him.”
“Huh?!” Zhang Wei almost popped a vessel. “Why?!”
“Because I still loved him.” White Dew cocked her head in resignation. “So I didn’t have a choice.”
Zhang Wei fell silent. Love was an irresistible force.
White Dew rested her head back on her palm and said, “Some love makes people better. That’s a good love. Some love makes one lose their principles and become pitiful, coy, or even shameless and ugly. That’s a bad love. Unfortunately, we were the latter.”
“What happened next?” Zhang Wei was invested.
“Next?” White Dew narrowed her eyes slightly. “There’s a silver lining. Our bad love slowly became a good love. He stopped playing around and loved me with his whole heart. And I loved him back. We were happy together.”
“Oh, then I approve.” Zhang Wei nodded. He just couldn’t stand a beautiful woman getting cheated by a playboy. “But wait, why did you break up then?”
“A lot happened after that, but I wasn’t in the mood to go into it.” White Dew’s index finger tapped gently on the rim of the goblet. “In the end, I ate him.”
“You ate him?”
Zhang Wei’s eyes widened. He finally remembered that White Dew was a Spectre, and Spectres ate people.
“So he was an awakener!”
“Yeah.” White Dew’s voice lit up with mirth. “He always said he was a hunter, and I was his prey. Ha, in the end, he became my prey.”
Zhang Wei shuddered. He finally lost his fascination for beautiful things. The appearance was often there to conceal lethal danger.
White Dew put the goblet down and ended the conversation, “I don’t think Zhou Jing’s showing up tonight. Skip ahead. Time’s ticking.”
Zhang Wei glanced at the NPCs on the dance floor. The silhouetted figures were losing their substance and colors—Vermilion Bird was approaching her limit with the Strange Realm.
“I’ll be going then.”
Zhang Wei skipped the scene.
Back in his dorm room, the space was barely a room. There was only a boundless darkness with a lone bunk bed. Raven Shark lay on the upper bunk.
“Whoa!” Zhang Wei jumped. “I thought I had entered a morgue.”
“We’re running out of time. Elder Vermilion Bird’s realm is crumbling.” This time, Raven Shark didn’t fall asleep. His eyes widened with worry.
“I know.” Zhang Wei was anxious, too. “I went on a date at the bar with White Dew. I wonder if that worked.”
His phone rang then. Zhang Wei took it out and shouted, “Shit! It worked!”
He waved his phone around. “Zhou Jing sent me a message. White Dew is good! She checkmated with one move!”
“Respond to her,” Raven Shark urged.
“Oh, right.”
[Zhou Jing: Are you free now?]
[Zhang Wei: Yeah.]
[Zhou Jing: I’ll be waiting in the grove.]
[Zhang Wei: Be right there.]
Zhang Wei ended the exchange. Before skipping ahead, he took a deep breath. “I’ll be settling this, Raven Shark. What else do I have to watch out for?”
Raven Shark thought for a few seconds. “Reality isn’t a game...”
Zhang Wei blinked at him.
Raven Shark concluded, “If you want someone to open their heart, open yours.”
Zhang Wei broke into a grin and did a two-finger salute. “Roger that.”
...
The next moment, he was in the grove—well, only a protruding rock and a few tree trunks suggested that it was the grove. Even the moon above looked more like a yellow lamp. The scene appeared more like a simplified stage in a play than anything.
The female lead, Zhou Jing, suddenly appeared on the rock. Zhang Wei’s heart pounded, his eyes twitching.
Zhou Jing was no longer dressed in the outfit given by the game, but back as the death monster Lust. Only a few scales provided little modesty. Pink patterns covered her entire body.
“Here you are.”
Zhou Jing stood up as soon as she saw him, looking like a nervous girl with an expression of anticipation.
It was at odds with her current appearance. The eerie contrast unnerved Zhang Wei, but he pushed the fear down and put on a look of nonchalance.
“Yeah, what do you need me for?”
“Tonight, I saw you drinking with White Dew...” Zhou Jing blinked. “Were you on a date?”
“Sort of.” Zhang Wei gave her the spiel he had rehearsed. “I was heartbroken after the argument with you. White Dew comforted me then. To show my gratitude, I went out with her...”
“Zhang Wei.” Zhou Jing looked hurt. “Can you stop going on dates with her?”
“Why?‘ Zhang Wei asked on purpose.
“I-I don’t know. Seeing you like that makes it hurt in my chest. It feels like I’m being pricked by a needle repeatedly.”
“No,” Zhang Wei said.
Zhou Jing stared at him. She didn’t expect him to turn her down so quickly. “Why?”
“Because it makes me happy to date her.”
Zhou Jing’s eyes fixed on him. “How about me? Were you not happy when you were with me?”
“I was.”
“Then who makes you happier?” Zhou Jing took a step forward.
“Why should I compare you?” Zhang Wei laughed. “As long as I’m happy. No one’s going to complain about having too much of it...”
“No!” Zhou Jing shouted suddenly. “Don’t be with her!”
“Are you trying to restrict me, Zhou Jing? To control me?” Zhang Wei gave her a taste of her medicine.
“That’s not right!”
“What isn’t right?” Zhang Wei pressed.
“I’m not trying to restrict or control you. I just...just...” Zhou Jing’s chest heaved with overwhelming emotions. The words were at her throat, about to escape her mouth.
“Just what?” Zhang Wei grabbed her hand. “Don’t be scared, Zhou Jing. Say it.”
“Just...” Zhou Jing’s panicked and uncertain eyes slowly settled down. A tear fell from her reddened eyes. She broke into a happy smile. “So love is real... Zhang Wei, I love you.”
Zhang Wei’s heart clenched.
It was a moment of victory. He should be happy, but for some reason, he felt guilty and pained when Zhou Jing bravely expressed her love.
Zhou Jing lost. She would die.
Zhang Wei didn’t want her to die.
He didn’t know if it was because of the rules of the Strange Realm or because of his genuine feelings. He couldn’t tell, and he didn’t care.
“I love you too, Zhou Jing,” he said seriously, gaze locked with hers.
“Yeah, I know. I know... You’re not like the others... I’m not like myself when I’m with you...”
She laughed and cried at the same time. Head tilted up, she stood on her toes and closed her eyes. Moonlight shone on her tear-streaked face. She looked like a daisy blooming sadly at night.
[Do you choose to kiss Zhou Jing and cement your relationship?]
[Please make the choice carefully.]
A window that only Zhang Wei could see popped up. He knew that this was the locking-in Raven Shark talked about. It was the last step to clearing a romance.
He placed his hands on Zhou Jing’s shoulders and leaned in. Tilting his head, he moved to kiss her.
