CHAPTER 35: CHAPTER 35: COLLECTING A LITTLE REWARD

Ruan Li handed the clothes inside. The door only opened a small crack.

"Isn’t Your Highness coming in?" The man looked at the small hand reaching through the crack and couldn’t help but chuckle.

Is he some kind of terrifying beast? Why is she hiding from him like this?

"No, no need, you put on the clothes first, I’ll come in after you’re dressed."

There was a moment of silence inside the room, and Ruan Li felt her hand lighten, meaning the clothes had been taken.

After waiting for a moment, "I’m done, you can come in."

Ruan Li shielded her eyes with one hand as she pushed the door open with the other, her vision darting through her fingers.

"You’re doing this... quite interesting," said the fully dressed man upon seeing her cluelessly trying to do the impossible.

Ruan Li smiled awkwardly and then asked, "What’s the next part of the plot?"

"Learning that Her Highness the Princess is engaged to the Prince, the furious knight completely darkens and decides to imprison Her Highness in eternal night, torturing her day and night, making her belong only to him.

Do you want to continue this plot?"

Ruan Li recalled the plot she saw back then, feeling something was off. She remembered it was meant to be a sweet story, "Wasn’t it supposed to be the princess and knight kicking out the prince and living sweetly together? Why has the knight darkened?"

"You remembered incorrectly."

Ruan Li touched her chin, "Alright."

The man looked down at her, his eyes half-closed, gentle yet somber, "Still want to continue?"

Ruan Li suddenly felt a tightness in her lower back and shook her head vigorously, "No, no need."

Xu Mo curled his lips, "There’s one last step left."

"What?"

Xu Mo took a step forward, grabbed her waist, and gently yet dominantly placed her on the bed.

"Wait, what are you going to do?" Ruan Li asked with a serious face.

The man leaned down, very close, his breath lightly tickling her eyelashes.

"To collect a little reward."

He leaned in completely, his warm lips pressing against hers.

Like the damp spring season, gentle, delicate spring rain fell without interruption, soaking the soil with tiny drops.

Ruan Li saw the man close his eyes, so she closed hers too, wrapping her arms around his neck, trying to respond.

Intertwined warmth, the unnoticed budding affection.

Beep—

"Player has successfully logged out of the game, time spent 72 minutes."

The mechanical voice echoed in her ears, Ruan Li opened her eyes, the first thing she did was look at Xu Mo beside her.

He had just gotten up, turned to look at her, and raised a hand to touch his lips.

Ruan Li’s cheeks slightly reddened, the corners of her lips turned up as she opened the game pod.

"How did you two find the experience?" the staff asked with a bright smile.

"Not bad," Ruan Li replied simply, pulling Xu Mo along as they walked out.

Upon reaching a quiet corner, Ruan Li stopped and looked up, "Was it you who logged us out of the game just now?"

"Yes, I was afraid if we stayed longer, I wouldn’t be able to hold back," Xu Mo curled his lips, lowered his eyes to look at her. His snow-white cheeks flushed slightly pink, like perfectly carved jade, tiny light-colored peach fuzz radiated like fine gold dust under the dappled sunlight.

His eyes held a playful aggression, Ruan Li only indulged for a fraction of a second before quickly averting her gaze, ducking out from beside him and walking down the sunlit path, her voice drifting back, "Xu Mo, aren’t we going anywhere else to play?"

Xu Mo smiled helplessly, turning to follow her, "What do you want to play?"

"This, a walk in the clouds," Ruan Li pointed to the people above dressed only in protective suits.

"Alright, do you want something to drink?" Xu Mo noticed the females around them holding cold drinks and asked Ruan Li.

Ruan Li thought for a moment, then replied, "Chilled bayberry juice!"

"I’ll go check if they sell it, there are benches over there, do you want to sit and rest for a while?"

Soon, Xu Mo returned with two cold drinks, one chilled bayberry juice and one chilled watermelon juice.

Ruan Li took the chilled bayberry and began to drink it sip by sip.

They walked side by side towards the next attraction.

"Tourists, please ensure your protective suits are properly worn, and remember not to charge recklessly when the suspension magnetic field launches."

"Let me check if you’ve worn yours properly," Xu Mo half bent down and carefully checked the protective suit on Ruan Li’s body, ensuring it was correct, then said, "Make sure to stay by my side later, don’t stray far."

It was the first time Ruan Li saw Xu Mo being so motherly and nagging, she held the half-finished drink in her hand and handed it to him, "Xu Mo, what if I can’t finish it?"

Without hesitation, Xu Mo took the cup, "If you can’t finish it, don’t drink it. I’ll go throw it away."

Ruan Li refused to give up, "But I don’t want to waste it."

Without hesitation, Xu Mo bit the straw and finished off the remaining bayberry juice in two gulps. He lifted the empty cup, "Can I throw it away now?"

Ruan Li hadn’t expected Xu Mo to drink it without hesitating when she was only joking, even though he drinking it was fine... No, how could he drink it!

But they had even shared a kiss... though that was in the game!

Ruan Li’s inner conflict raged.

"The suspension magnetic field is being activated, ladies, please ensure your safety—"

Ruan Li felt herself being gently lifted by a supporting force, slower than an elevator.

Xu Mo observed her from dozens of meters away, silently mouthing the words, "Wait for me."

Once the magnetic field stabilized, Ruan Li found herself in the clouds, reaching out to touch the ethereal layers. Xu Mo saw this heartless woman turn away and seemingly forget him, so he had to slowly move from thirty to forty meters away.

The sky wasn’t like the ground; every step took effort.

Slowly, Xu Mo moved closer to Ruan Li, his expression unchanged, his voice melancholic, "Didn’t you notice I wasn’t by your side for over ten minutes?"

Ruan Li tried to grab a small cloud from the large one, but came back with only a handful of dew.

"I noticed, I knew you’d come find me."

She opened her wet palm for Xu Mo to see, her voice honestly aggrieved, her expression pitiful, "Why isn’t there a cloud? I was planning to secretly bring you a piece."

Xu Mo hadn’t thought she’d ignored him for over ten minutes only to bring him a gift, his expression slightly awkward, "It’s okay, if there’s no cloud then there’s no cloud. I don’t mind these things."

Ruan Li smiled, the sunset glow bathing her smooth cheeks in gentle light, the fragments of gold sparkling in her brown-black eyes like a drunken sea, brewing love’s waves.

Xu Mo’s eyes flashed red, his cheeks faintly blushing.

"Xu Mo, how did you get here? I can’t seem to muster strength," Ruan Li eyed a cloud shaped like a sheep and wanted to touch it, but found herself stuck in place despite her efforts.

"Let me teach you." He took her hand.