Chapter 16: Playing Games Isn't Called Fooling Around

Beside Wu Shan, the middle-aged man with a goatee patted him on the shoulder and whispered, "Let's watch for a bit first. Don't make things difficult for Brother Liang."

Only then did Wu Shan resentfully withdraw his hand. "If I find out this place is just parlor tricks fooling people after making me wait so long, don't blame me for—"

"Smashing the shop... Brother Wu, we've all said those words plenty of times..." Seeing this as nothing unusual, Liang Shi pulled at Wu Shan, who was still waving his weapon and shouting. "Come on, let's go inside and play first."

"The owner opened the doors quite late today." Xu Zixin was also somewhat displeased.

Fang Qi simply shrugged nonchalantly. "I was too tired yesterday."

"Keeping Zixin and me waiting outside for a full half-hour, I have no idea what's so great about a little roadside shop like this!" The young girl in green who came with Xu Zixin also complained.

Just then, the two regular customers, Liang Shi and Xu Zixin, looked into the shop, and their eyes instantly lit up!

They had originally been worried that there wouldn't be enough computers, but now they discovered eleven computers arranged in neat rows within the shop!

"How are there suddenly so many?!" Xu Zixin exclaimed in surprise.

"I brought a few more over last night." Fang Qi naturally wouldn't tell them that the system had upgraded the internet cafe last night.

"No wonder the doors opened late today." The few of them seemed to have "figured out" the reason for Fang Qi's late opening, so they stopped dwelling on it.

Liang Shi even apologized to Fang Qi, saying, "I'm truly sorry about earlier. The owner bringing over so many of these... computers must have taken a lot of effort? Thank you for your hard work!"

He was clearly still a bit unfamiliar with the new vocabulary word "computer."

Fang Qi was hardly tired from moving computers, considering all of these things were handled by the system.

But at this moment, he could only nod. "It was alright, alright."

The group found their respective seats one after another and skillfully booted up the game.

"Zixin, you play first," the girl who came with Xu Zixin said. Seeing how small this shop was, her originally slight anticipation completely vanished into deep disappointment. "I don't really care for games, I'll just watch."

The two men behind Liang Shi also chimed in, "We'll watch for a bit too. This might just be some deceptive trickery, Brother Liang, don't go letting yourself get conned!"

...

Outside the shop entrance, a man dressed in dark purple martial attire approached, guided by a figure in black.

"Are you certain Zixin comes to a place like this?" This man possessed a rather heroic and martial bearing.

"Young Master Ming, it is absolutely true!" the black-clad figure whispered. "My subordinates saw it with their own eyes."

"Instead of practicing in the Lingyun Academy cultivation rooms, what is Zixin doing running off to a place like this all by herself?"

"That, this lowly one does not know." The black-clad figure offered an awkward smile.

The man in martial attire pushed the door open and entered, and sure enough, he saw Xu Zixin sitting at the outermost seat.

The man drew a delicate little box from his robes, immediately stepped forward, and cleared his throat. "Zixin!"

No response?

He quickly called out again, "Zixin!"

Only then did Xu Zixin seem to notice him, and upon seeing this man in martial attire, her expression instantly shifted. "What are you doing here?"

"Why would you come to a place like this? Besides, why didn't you tell me when you came out of the Martial Arts Tower?" Hearing Xu Zixin's words, the man felt a bit awkward, yet he still proffered the delicate little box. "A Heavenly Heart Pill, extremely beneficial to one's cultivation. The moment I obtained it yesterday, I specially brought one for you, Zixin."

"Whether I have come out of the Martial Arts Tower or where I go, what business is it of yours?" Xu Zixin felt a wave of irritation. Why was this fellow always buzzing around like a fly?

The man in martial attire only felt that the situation had become immensely awkward.

"I was only worried about you..." The man was clearly getting a bit anxious as he gestured to their surroundings. "Look at what kind of people are in here. How can you stay in an obscure, dilapidated little shop of unknown origins..."

"What dilapidated little shop? Xue Ming, let me tell you, don't think you can control me just because our families are on good terms!" Xu Zixin's face grew darker by the second. If not for this shop, she probably wouldn't have had the chance to break through. "Get out!"

"Uh..." Xue Ming froze, somewhat unable to understand why Xu Zixin was suddenly throwing him out. Although her temper hadn't been great in the past, she had never been like this. "Zixin... this..."

"Is Zixin a name you can call? Get out! Furthermore, I cannot afford to accept something as precious as a Heavenly Heart Pill, you had better keep it for yourself."

"Forget it, Zixin, why bother getting upset with this kind of fellow," the girl beside Xu Zixin advised. "We don't need to pay him any mind."

Only then did Xu Zixin give a cold snort, sit back down in her seat, and speak to Fang Qi, "Owner, please throw this person out."

"..." Xue Ming stood dazed. What exactly was going on here?

And why was Shen Qingqing here as well?

Fang Qi was also feeling a wave of annoyance. What kind of mess was this?

"You are the owner of this shop?" The man in martial attire finally noticed Fang Qi. Recalling Xu Zixin's words asking Fang Qi to throw him out, his face instantly darkened. "This is a private matter between us. I advise you it is best not to meddle! Otherwise, I don't think there will be any need for this dilapidated little shop of yours to exist anymore!"

"I think you've misunderstood," Fang Qi said earnestly. "I only wish to refute your point. Our shop is actually very high-end, it is by no means a dilapidated little shop."

Hearing Fang Qi's words, the man grinned and laughed aloud, as though he had just heard a hilarious joke. He scrutinized Fang Qi from head to toe. "Do you even know what the words 'high-end' mean?"

He glanced at the small blackboard by the door and sneered, "Do you think extorting a bit more money qualifies as high-end?"

"Ignorant youth, though I do not know how you define the term," Fang Qi pointed to the computers behind him, completely at ease, "back in my hometown, there is a phrase called 'low-key luxury.'"

"Low-key luxury?" He carefully pondered the meaning of those words. The phrasing was rather novel and sophisticated, but no matter how one put it, this was still just a tiny shop opened on a city corner, was it not? It wasn't as if it could conjure up miracles.

"Why don't you explain exactly how it is low-key, and how it is luxurious?" The man finally noticed the screen in front of Xu Zixin. "What are they doing? Just looking at this?"

Xu Zixin wasn't even going to the cultivation rooms just to look at this?

"It's not looking, it's..." Fang Qi said, "playing."

"Playing?" The man looked at Fang Qi, utterly baffled.

Fang Qi chuckled. "What is your relationship with this Miss Xu? The girl of your heart?"

"Uh..." Mentioning this, the man puffed out his chest. "We, the Xue family, share generations of friendship with Sister Zixin's family, and we study together at the Lingyun Academy. We are a match made in heaven—"

"..." Fang Qi's mouth twitched. He could tell that a girl like Xu Zixin definitely had no shortage of suitors, and this fellow was just one of them.

Fang Qi patted his shoulder. "Young man, that's not how you pick up girls."

"Pick... pick up girls?" Xue Ming looked at Fang Qi with some confusion.

"In short, you must grasp her interests and hobbies." Fang Qi pointed to the screen in front of Xu Zixin.

"Just this?" Xue Ming scoffed. "What is there to love about this sort of thing?"

"In our place, a sage once said, 'You are not a fish, how do you know the joy of the fish?'" Fang Qi said. "You are not her, how do you know she doesn't like it?"

Hearing Fang Qi's words, Xue Ming pondered briefly, a slight shock rising in his heart. "'You are not a fish, how do you know the joy of the fish,' what profound logic! Could it be this owner really isn't an ordinary person?"

"If you can make her admire you in the area of her hobby, wouldn't everything that follows be easily achieved?" Seeing the other party falling into deep thought, Fang Qi struck while the iron was hot. "Look at just now, not only did you refuse to acknowledge what she likes, but you even spoke out to criticize it. Anyone would be furious. Is this how you expect to win a girl over?"

Hearing Fang Qi's words, Xue Ming's eyes instantly lit up, and he gave a thumbs-up. "Listening to your words is better than reading books for ten years! Reasonable!"

"So, Sister Zixin has fallen in love with this now?"

Fang Qi simply opened Resident Evil and had him put on the virtual reality headset. "Experience it for yourself. Of course, remember to pay!"

"Resident Evil!"

The imagery on the screen began to darken. Suddenly, Xue Ming felt that everything around him was so close, as if it were right before his eyes! It was as if he had entered the world within the screen!

A worldview completely different from the one he resided in, all sorts of weapons never seen before, terrifying zombie monsters, and danger permeating every corner—this game instantly drew Xue Ming in deeply!

He finally understood what Fang Qi meant by "playing."

"Is this really just a game?!"

"Haven't you already died several times? If it weren't a game, could you revive?"

"True indeed! True indeed!" Xue Ming nodded with mounting excitement. This, after all, was what a real game ought to be! As a scion of a noble house, it was only fitting that he indulge in such a pastime—one that others had never even heard of, let alone witnessed!

"An understated luxury... it truly is! Just watch me conquer everyone here! When the time comes, Sister Zixin will surely fall madly in love with me!"

Beholding the fervent gleam in Xue Ming’s eyes, Fang Qi could not help but shake his head in silent amusement. "Far too easy to hoodwink..."

"No, wait..." Fang Qi rubbed his nose. "When it comes to gaming, how can one call it hoodwinking?"

Suddenly, Fang Qi noticed several furtive figures loitering just outside the threshold.

"Should we venture inside?" a martial artist clad in tight black attire murmured softly. "They have been in there for so long, yet none have emerged."

"Shall we go in and take a look?"

"Look, someone else just went in!"

Before long, another troupe arrived at the internet cafe. They were a party of six, all youths of about sixteen or seventeen, including two young maidens.

The leader of the group was a youth garbed in white. "Song Qingfeng and the others mentioned 'Origin' multiple times. I have investigated, and this is the only establishment bold enough to adopt such a name!"

The newcomers surveyed the shop, noting that several patrons were already seated. In front of each person sat a vivid, expansive screen, upon which strange and unfamiliar images shifted incessantly.

"What exactly does this shop do?" They watched for a long while, yet remained utterly mystified as to its purpose.

It bore absolutely no resemblance to any establishment they had ever known!

Left entirely bewildered, they had no choice but to deploy their ultimate recourse—summoning the proprietor.