“Why won’t you let me stay longer?” Ren Xingmei asked.
“No,” Ren Suo replied.
“Why not?” Ren Xingmei said as she grabbed Ren Suo’s arm. She continued, “I won’t let go of your arm unless you allow me to stay longer!”
“Because… there are some secrets which I cannot tell you about,” Ren Suo said. He thought for a moment and said, “Anyway, you have two days, yes, you have to go back the day after tomorrow.”
The day after tomorrow was the 23rd of the month. It was the day when “The Mage Under the World Tree” would start to become reality, and it was also the start of the Major Heat solar term.
At present, the [Exclusive Level-Up Games (Level 3)] section had disappeared, which meant that Ren Suo could now continue to buy promotional games. However, if her sister was around, Ren Suo would certainly not be able to play on the Mini Worlds game console openly.
If multiple accounts could be set up at the same time on the Mini Worlds game console, Ren Suo would not have minded letting his sister play together with him. In that way, she would also be able to reap the benefits provided by the game console—at the least, the skills she learned could be turned into abilities. That was already very powerful as it would be equivalent to her being 100% proficient in any of the abilities when she equipped them.
However, the problem was that the game console could only be tied to one account. The Mini Worlds game console that Ren Suo had was already in the ‘form’ of ‘Naisser Ren’.
At most, his sister could help him in clearing the games, but she would not be able to gain any benefits from the game console.
After weighing the risks and benefits, Ren Suo decided not to let his sister know about this secret which would not give her any benefits. Ren Suo himself had long prepared for being found out with his Mini Worlds game console—if he were to be discovered and his capabilities at that time were still weaker than that of the powerful forces, he would most likely be placed under house arrest and forced to play games on the game console. Those who knew about his possession of the game console would likely end up in the same way.
If Ren Suo was the only one who knew about the secret of the Mini Worlds game console, then his family would still be able to enjoy their freedom, at the least.
“Why must I go back so quickly, am I not welcomed here?!” Ren Xingmei questioned.
Ren Suo thought for a moment and replied, “You’re welcomed, but I need my personal space too. After all, adults have their own secrets!”
Personal space… Adults… Secrets…
(Have they progressed so far already?!) Ren Xingmei took a deep breath, then carefully scrutinized the looks on Lin Xianyu, Gu Yueyan, and Dong Chengling’s faces. In her heart, she secretly tried to figure out who among the three of them was the fox—but she suddenly recalled something and asked:
“Bro, do you have a girlfriend?”
“No,” replied Ren Suo, who was eating a slice of watermelon as dessert.
Ren Xingmei scrutinized the three other people at the table again—Mmm, they all appear calm and do not seem to be hiding anything.
Ren Suo said, “Alright, alright, don’t be angry. Let’s go shopping tomorrow, I’ll pay for everything you want to buy. It’s your reward for doing so well in the college entrance examination. It’s rare that you came all the way here, so I can’t possibly make you stay home to play games with me all day long.”
“No, I’m already content to be able to play games with you, Bro…” Ren Xingmei replied.
“Sure, let’s go shopping!” Gu Yueyan said suddenly. She proposed, “I have been too scared to go out often the past few days. Let’s go out together! Don’t you agree, Xiao Yu?”
Lin Xianyu said, “Ah? Why am I involved in this… Alright, let’s go then, if you wish.”
Dong Chengling also said, “I have not gone out in a long time too, it would be good to have a break as well.”
Gu Yueyan said, “Teacher Dong is willing to go too… That would be even better. With Teacher Dong around, we would certainly not meet with any danger!”
Ren Suo was fully supportive of the idea. He said, “I’m not sure what to buy for my parents too, it would be great if you guys can give me some suggestions at the same time.”
Watching as the others quickly finalized tomorrow’s outing, Ren Xingmei uttered in her heart, “Tch.”
With only two days left, she could not continue with her plan slowly—she had to act quickly and decisively to make sure that their feelings for Ren Suo died. An idea popped up in her head and she hugged Ren Suo’s arm. She said, “Bro, I have not seen you for such a long time, let’s sleep together today!”
Of course, she did not actually want to sleep with Ren Suo, but would any ordinary girl not step back when a guy actually had such a cute sister who fancied her brother?!
“Sure!” Ren Suo replied.
Ren Xingmei blinked and let go of Ren Suo’s arm. She moved farther away from him and questioned, “What did you say?”
Ren Suo said, “I said ‘yes’. I was still thinking about how to ask you to do just that, but all is well now that you asked first.”
Indeed, Ren Xingmei possessed a key.
It was most likely that she had not told their parents about her being Awakened. After all, not all Awakened Abilities could be divulged and explained, so Ren Suo could understand if his sister had wanted to keep that a secret, and thus, he did not expose her.
Regardless, however, he still had to obtain the key. Ren Suo was still thinking if he should ‘strike’ at night, but who would have expected that Ren Xingmei asked first, on her own accord.
“… I was actually joking,” said Ren Xingmei, blushing. She turned to look at Gu Yueyan and the others, then laughed and said, “It’s really just a joke, we often fool around like this.”
“So it was a joke,” Gu Yueyan and Lin Xianyu said, as they sighed in relief. On the other hand, Dong Chengling was still eating her food calmly—though she had been chewing the food in her mouth for more than 10 seconds.
Ren Suo shrugged. It did not matter to him if his sister was unwilling—it was just a 1-star key anyway.
Moreover, he could still ‘strike’ in the night.
After the meal, Ren Suo and Ren Xingmei left first, while Gu Yueyan and Lin Xianyu stayed behind to do the dishes. As they were washing the dishes, Lin Xianyu sneaked away into the living room and found Dong Chengling. She asked in a whisper:
“Teacher Dong, Brother Ren said just now that he does not have a girlfriend, aren’t you angry?”
“Huh?” replied Dong Chengling, who was deep in thought. She opened her eyes and looked at Lin Xianyu. She slowly shook her head and said, “I’m not angry.”
“Why not?” Lin Xianyu asked. She could not suppress the curiosity in her heart any longer. She continued, “Aren’t both of you in such a relationship?”
“No,” Dong Chengling replied as she tilted her head slightly to one side. She said, “We are currently just friends.”
“Are you guys just friends?” Lin Xianyu remarked. She secretly felt happy for her friend, but she thought about it and felt that something felt amiss. She said, “Teacher Dong, you are clearly very nice to Brother Ren though, and that night, Brother Ren even asked you to…”
“Mmm, it’s because he found out that I had been promoted to tier 2 that day, and he pretended to have forgotten what happened that night. Ever since then, he has been Practicing diligently, so I suppose that this is how he is preserving his self-esteem.”
Dong Chengling recalled something and said with a smile, “He does not want to hinder my progress, and he understands my ideals, so he wants to fight alongside me.”
“Oh… Teacher Dong, does that mean that you will date Brother Ren if he manages to catch up with you?” Lin Xianyu asked.
“No,” Dong Chengling said expressionlessly.
She continued, “I will become his wife.”
At that juncture, Gu Yueyan finished washing the dishes and returned to the living room. She exclaimed loudly, “Xiao Yu, here you are skiving again! Let’s go back to our dorm!”
Along the way, Lin Xianyu followed behind Gu Yueyan. She saw Gu Yueyan playing with her mobile phone, and naturally patted Gu Yueyan on her shoulder and sighed.
Gu Yueyan did not turn her head and continued staring at the screen of her mobile phone. She asked, “What’s the matter?”
“You are too weak,” Lin Xianyu said with a sigh.
“Huh?” replied Gu Yueyan. She gave a puzzled look at Lin Xianyu, then looked back at her mobile phone.
Lin Xianyu remarked, “You have been looking at your mobile phone a lot more recently.”
“No,” Gu Yueyan said as she finally looked away from her mobile phone. She remained silent for a moment, then asked Lin Xianyu, “Do you feel that…”
“Ren Suo’s sister… is just putting up a show, and does not seem to truly like Ren Suo.”
——————
It was 1.30 p.m. the following day, and the location was After Lianjiang City Park Subway Station Exit E.
“Why are you here?” Ren Suo questioned as he looked in surprise at Qiao Muyi, who was dressed in casual clothing. He remarked, “It’s my first time seeing you dressed normally!”
“Don’t make it seem as if I don’t wear clothes usually!” Qiao Muyi exclaimed, gritting her teeth. She said, “I would obviously not be wearing the Countermeasure Division uniform when I’m not working!”
Ren Suo asked curiously, “Sorry, sorry, I was so surprised to meet you. Anyway, why are you here?”
“It’s just a coincidence to have bumped into you. I arranged with someone to meet here, but she suddenly said that she was going to shop with her secret crush and would not be able to meet me,” Qiao Muyi replied.
Qiao Muyi remained calm and did not blush as she lied to Ren Suo—or perhaps it was not a lie—then looked at Ren Xingmei, Dong Chengling, and Lin Xianyu who were behind Ren Suo. She asked, “Is she… your sister?”
“You could tell?” Ren Suo replied with a laugh. He said, “This is my sister. Her name is Ren Xingmei, but call her Little Star.”
Qiao Muyi said expressionlessly, “No, both of you do not look like each other at all, except that both of you have a pair of eyes, a nose, and a mouth. However, I have seen your file.”
She walked over to Dong Chengling and grabbed her hand, saying, “Are you guys here to shop too? What a coincidence, me too, let’s shop together! At the same time, I can catch up with Chengling.”
Ren Suo said, “Tch, why do I feel like nothing good will happen out of this…”
Qiao Muyi said, “I’m going to be hurt if you mean that. What are you intending to buy here?”
“It’s mainly to buy a present for my sister, to celebrate the end of her college entrance examination and also to reward her for doing quite well in it. I will buy anything she wants,” Ren Suo replied.
At that juncture, Ren Xingmei quickly demonstrated the qualities of a “good sister”. She said, “No, I don’t really want anything, being able to go out with Brother is already very…”
Qiao Muyi clapped her hands together suddenly and said, “How about this! Let’s all pick a gift while we are shopping and then tell Ren Suo what the gift is via WeChat. He will pay for the gifts later and we shall see which one of them is Little Star’s favorite.”
“Mmm? Let’s not do that, it will be a waste of Brother’s money…” Ren Xingmei refused quickly.
Ren Suo clapped and said, “That’s quite a good idea, useful words are finally coming out from your mouth! I’m supportive of this idea, everyone must participate, alright?”
At that juncture, Ren Suo suddenly realized that: Dong Chengling, Qiao Muyi, Gu Yueyan, Lin Xianyu, and Ren Xingmei… All five of them were Awakeners!
All of them were engaged in the same activity at the same time, and Ren Suo also had to put in the effort (by paying)—that fulfilled the requirements of the Coupling System!
Would he be able to acquire five Couplings in one go?
“Why won’t you let me stay longer?” Ren Xingmei asked.
“No,” Ren Suo replied.
“Why not?” Ren Xingmei said as she grabbed Ren Suo’s arm. She continued, “I won’t let go of your arm unless you allow me to stay longer!”
“Because… there are some secrets which I cannot tell you about,” Ren Suo said. He thought for a moment and said, “Anyway, you have two days, yes, you have to go back the day after tomorrow.”
The day after tomorrow was the 23rd of the month. It was the day when “The Mage Under the World Tree” would start to become reality, and it was also the start of the Major Heat solar term.
At present, the [Exclusive Level-Up Games (Level 3)] section had disappeared, which meant that Ren Suo could now continue to buy promotional games. However, if her sister was around, Ren Suo would certainly not be able to play on the Mini Worlds game console openly.
If multiple accounts could be set up at the same time on the Mini Worlds game console, Ren Suo would not have minded letting his sister play together with him. In that way, she would also be able to reap the benefits provided by the game console—at the least, the skills she learned could be turned into abilities. That was already very powerful as it would be equivalent to her being 100% proficient in any of the abilities when she equipped them.
However, the problem was that the game console could only be tied to one account. The Mini Worlds game console that Ren Suo had was already in the ‘form’ of ‘Naisser Ren’.
At most, his sister could help him in clearing the games, but she would not be able to gain any benefits from the game console.
After weighing the risks and benefits, Ren Suo decided not to let his sister know about this secret which would not give her any benefits. Ren Suo himself had long prepared for being found out with his Mini Worlds game console—if he were to be discovered and his capabilities at that time were still weaker than that of the powerful forces, he would most likely be placed under house arrest and forced to play games on the game console. Those who knew about his possession of the game console would likely end up in the same way.
If Ren Suo was the only one who knew about the secret of the Mini Worlds game console, then his family would still be able to enjoy their freedom, at the least.
“Why must I go back so quickly, am I not welcomed here?!” Ren Xingmei questioned.
Ren Suo thought for a moment and replied, “You’re welcomed, but I need my personal space too. After all, adults have their own secrets!”
Personal space… Adults… Secrets…
(Have they progressed so far already?!) Ren Xingmei took a deep breath, then carefully scrutinized the looks on Lin Xianyu, Gu Yueyan, and Dong Chengling’s faces. In her heart, she secretly tried to figure out who among the three of them was the fox—but she suddenly recalled something and asked:
“Bro, do you have a girlfriend?”
“No,” replied Ren Suo, who was eating a slice of watermelon as dessert.
Ren Xingmei scrutinized the three other people at the table again—Mmm, they all appear calm and do not seem to be hiding anything.
Ren Suo said, “Alright, alright, don’t be angry. Let’s go shopping tomorrow, I’ll pay for everything you want to buy. It’s your reward for doing so well in the college entrance examination. It’s rare that you came all the way here, so I can’t possibly make you stay home to play games with me all day long.”
“No, I’m already content to be able to play games with you, Bro…” Ren Xingmei replied.
“Sure, let’s go shopping!” Gu Yueyan said suddenly. She proposed, “I have been too scared to go out often the past few days. Let’s go out together! Don’t you agree, Xiao Yu?”
Lin Xianyu said, “Ah? Why am I involved in this… Alright, let’s go then, if you wish.”
Dong Chengling also said, “I have not gone out in a long time too, it would be good to have a break as well.”
Gu Yueyan said, “Teacher Dong is willing to go too… That would be even better. With Teacher Dong around, we would certainly not meet with any danger!”
Ren Suo was fully supportive of the idea. He said, “I’m not sure what to buy for my parents too, it would be great if you guys can give me some suggestions at the same time.”
Watching as the others quickly finalized tomorrow’s outing, Ren Xingmei uttered in her heart, “Tch.”
With only two days left, she could not continue with her plan slowly—she had to act quickly and decisively to make sure that their feelings for Ren Suo died. An idea popped up in her head and she hugged Ren Suo’s arm. She said, “Bro, I have not seen you for such a long time, let’s sleep together today!”
Of course, she did not actually want to sleep with Ren Suo, but would any ordinary girl not step back when a guy actually had such a cute sister who fancied her brother?!
“Sure!” Ren Suo replied.
Ren Xingmei blinked and let go of Ren Suo’s arm. She moved farther away from him and questioned, “What did you say?”
Ren Suo said, “I said ‘yes’. I was still thinking about how to ask you to do just that, but all is well now that you asked first.”
Indeed, Ren Xingmei possessed a key.
It was most likely that she had not told their parents about her being Awakened. After all, not all Awakened Abilities could be divulged and explained, so Ren Suo could understand if his sister had wanted to keep that a secret, and thus, he did not expose her.
Regardless, however, he still had to obtain the key. Ren Suo was still thinking if he should ‘strike’ at night, but who would have expected that Ren Xingmei asked first, on her own accord.
“… I was actually joking,” said Ren Xingmei, blushing. She turned to look at Gu Yueyan and the others, then laughed and said, “It’s really just a joke, we often fool around like this.”
“So it was a joke,” Gu Yueyan and Lin Xianyu said, as they sighed in relief. On the other hand, Dong Chengling was still eating her food calmly—though she had been chewing the food in her mouth for more than 10 seconds.
Ren Suo shrugged. It did not matter to him if his sister was unwilling—it was just a 1-star key anyway.
Moreover, he could still ‘strike’ in the night.
After the meal, Ren Suo and Ren Xingmei left first, while Gu Yueyan and Lin Xianyu stayed behind to do the dishes. As they were washing the dishes, Lin Xianyu sneaked away into the living room and found Dong Chengling. She asked in a whisper:
“Teacher Dong, Brother Ren said just now that he does not have a girlfriend, aren’t you angry?”
“Huh?” replied Dong Chengling, who was deep in thought. She opened her eyes and looked at Lin Xianyu. She slowly shook her head and said, “I’m not angry.”
“Why not?” Lin Xianyu asked. She could not suppress the curiosity in her heart any longer. She continued, “Aren’t both of you in such a relationship?”
“No,” Dong Chengling replied as she tilted her head slightly to one side. She said, “We are currently just friends.”
“Are you guys just friends?” Lin Xianyu remarked. She secretly felt happy for her friend, but she thought about it and felt that something felt amiss. She said, “Teacher Dong, you are clearly very nice to Brother Ren though, and that night, Brother Ren even asked you to…”
“Mmm, it’s because he found out that I had been promoted to tier 2 that day, and he pretended to have forgotten what happened that night. Ever since then, he has been Practicing diligently, so I suppose that this is how he is preserving his self-esteem.”
Dong Chengling recalled something and said with a smile, “He does not want to hinder my progress, and he understands my ideals, so he wants to fight alongside me.”
“Oh… Teacher Dong, does that mean that you will date Brother Ren if he manages to catch up with you?” Lin Xianyu asked.
“No,” Dong Chengling said expressionlessly.
She continued, “I will become his wife.”
At that juncture, Gu Yueyan finished washing the dishes and returned to the living room. She exclaimed loudly, “Xiao Yu, here you are skiving again! Let’s go back to our dorm!”
Along the way, Lin Xianyu followed behind Gu Yueyan. She saw Gu Yueyan playing with her mobile phone, and naturally patted Gu Yueyan on her shoulder and sighed.
Gu Yueyan did not turn her head and continued staring at the screen of her mobile phone. She asked, “What’s the matter?”
“You are too weak,” Lin Xianyu said with a sigh.
“Huh?” replied Gu Yueyan. She gave a puzzled look at Lin Xianyu, then looked back at her mobile phone.
Lin Xianyu remarked, “You have been looking at your mobile phone a lot more recently.”
“No,” Gu Yueyan said as she finally looked away from her mobile phone. She remained silent for a moment, then asked Lin Xianyu, “Do you feel that…”
“Ren Suo’s sister… is just putting up a show, and does not seem to truly like Ren Suo.”
——————
It was 1.30 p.m. the following day, and the location was After Lianjiang City Park Subway Station Exit E.
“Why are you here?” Ren Suo questioned as he looked in surprise at Qiao Muyi, who was dressed in casual clothing. He remarked, “It’s my first time seeing you dressed normally!”
“Don’t make it seem as if I don’t wear clothes usually!” Qiao Muyi exclaimed, gritting her teeth. She said, “I would obviously not be wearing the Countermeasure Division uniform when I’m not working!”
Ren Suo asked curiously, “Sorry, sorry, I was so surprised to meet you. Anyway, why are you here?”
“It’s just a coincidence to have bumped into you. I arranged with someone to meet here, but she suddenly said that she was going to shop with her secret crush and would not be able to meet me,” Qiao Muyi replied.
Qiao Muyi remained calm and did not blush as she lied to Ren Suo—or perhaps it was not a lie—then looked at Ren Xingmei, Dong Chengling, and Lin Xianyu who were behind Ren Suo. She asked, “Is she… your sister?”
“You could tell?” Ren Suo replied with a laugh. He said, “This is my sister. Her name is Ren Xingmei, but call her Little Star.”
Qiao Muyi said expressionlessly, “No, both of you do not look like each other at all, except that both of you have a pair of eyes, a nose, and a mouth. However, I have seen your file.”
She walked over to Dong Chengling and grabbed her hand, saying, “Are you guys here to shop too? What a coincidence, me too, let’s shop together! At the same time, I can catch up with Chengling.”
Ren Suo said, “Tch, why do I feel like nothing good will happen out of this…”
Qiao Muyi said, “I’m going to be hurt if you mean that. What are you intending to buy here?”
“It’s mainly to buy a present for my sister, to celebrate the end of her college entrance examination and also to reward her for doing quite well in it. I will buy anything she wants,” Ren Suo replied.
At that juncture, Ren Xingmei quickly demonstrated the qualities of a “good sister”. She said, “No, I don’t really want anything, being able to go out with Brother is already very…”
Qiao Muyi clapped her hands together suddenly and said, “How about this! Let’s all pick a gift while we are shopping and then tell Ren Suo what the gift is via WeChat. He will pay for the gifts later and we shall see which one of them is Little Star’s favorite.”
“Mmm? Let’s not do that, it will be a waste of Brother’s money…” Ren Xingmei refused quickly.
Ren Suo clapped and said, “That’s quite a good idea, useful words are finally coming out from your mouth! I’m supportive of this idea, everyone must participate, alright?”
At that juncture, Ren Suo suddenly realized that: Dong Chengling, Qiao Muyi, Gu Yueyan, Lin Xianyu, and Ren Xingmei… All five of them were Awakeners!
All of them were engaged in the same activity at the same time, and Ren Suo also had to put in the effort (by paying)—that fulfilled the requirements of the Coupling System!
Would he be able to acquire five Couplings in one go?
