Chapter Thirty-Nine: Eating Without Paying

Murong Shanshan spoke as she pulled me over to sit beside her, leaving Xu Xing suddenly all alone. The dishes began arriving, all but the roasted whole lamb had been served. Xu Xing's face regained some color; judging from his designer clothes, he was clearly a child of wealth, yet he seemed shaken by the thought of spending ten thousand in one go. With each new dish, I saw his face twitch.

Poor kid—he seemed to have a crush on Murong Shanshan, that notorious spendthrift.

"Shanshan, is he chasing after you?" I whispered.

Murong Shanshan ignored my question and suddenly grabbed my pocket, exclaiming, "Hey, Lin Fan, whose letter is this?"

I was stunned—what was she up to?

Exaggerating her words, Murong Shanshan pulled out the letter she had stuffed in my pocket and placed it on the table. Across from us, Xu Xing stared with wide eyes, clearly interested.

"Wow, a love letter! Who did you write it to? Lin Fan, your handwriting isn’t bad~"

The letter was almost certainly written by her, shamelessly praising herself.

"Ah~!"

The moment Murong Shanshan unfolded the letter, her expression changed; she glanced at me with a shy look.

I folded my arms, waiting to see what tricks she was playing. She opened the letter and began to read:

"To my dream Shanshan: From the first moment I saw you, I was captivated, truly!"

I struggled to hold back laughter; across from us, Xu Xing looked devastated, while Murong Shanshan continued reading as if nothing were amiss:

"Today, I finally summoned the courage to write this letter, hoping you’ll understand my heart. Remember when we first met? It was unbearably hot, and your stunning figure mesmerized me. How can I describe the impression you left on me? Perhaps you’re like a plucked swan~!"

"Pfft~!" I sprayed out a mouthful of tea—this silly girl couldn’t even copy a love letter properly…

Murong Shanshan widened her beautiful eyes, gave me an innocent glance, and continued reading: "Shanshan, after reading my letter, are you moved, thinking I’m incredibly talented? I suppose you are. The first day I saw you, I fell madly in love. For you, I quit smoking and drinking—I heard those affect certain functions. I also stopped peeking at the girls’ dorm across the way, though the curtains they put up played a part. Mainly, it was because you don’t live in that building, which shows how deeply I love you…"

"Enough, enough~!" I finally couldn’t take it and protested, "Did I really write this letter? Why does it sound so sleazy?"

Murong Shanshan scolded, "If not you, then who?"

Seeing his goddess play hard to get, Xu Xing was crushed and asked, "Shanshan, did you say yes?"

"Of course! You see, he’s overflowing with sincerity!"

Like all boys who’ve been rejected, Xu Xing looked heartbroken, ordered a bottle of white liquor, and began drinking alone.

Murong Shanshan gave me a look, then started scavenging the table, all her earlier restraint gone.

I was here to eat, so I joined Murong Shanshan in devouring the feast at lightning speed.

Xu Xing was in a terrible mood, barely responding to my attempts at conversation. I decided not to bother and filled myself quickly.

"Xu Xing, I’m full. I’ll head out first—you take your time. Remember to pay the bill~"

Murong Shanshan wiped her mouth, grabbed my hand, and heartlessly pulled me out the door.

Walking along the sunlit street, I couldn’t help but scold her, "Shanshan, I don’t even know what you were up to. Wasn’t that a little too much for Xu Xing, the poor guy footing the bill?"

Murong Shanshan frowned slightly. "What, you pity him?"

"No, but wasn’t that a bit overboard?"

"Hmph! You don’t know how awful he used to be—he dared to use his father’s relationship with mine to threaten me!" Murong Shanshan said indignantly.

"He threatened you?" I couldn’t believe it. With Xu Xing’s bookish look, how could he possibly have the nerve to threaten someone as tough as Murong Shanshan?

"Believe it or not, his father is my dad’s boss. He thought a word from his father could ruin my dad’s career. Hmph, he assumes his father is as childish as he is!"

I shook my head; I wanted nothing to do with these student dramas. All I cared about was hunting monsters and making money!

"Shanshan, where are we going? Aren’t you going back to level up this afternoon?"

Murong Shanshan smiled, "The school’s power is out until six, so…"

"So you found a sucker to treat you to lunch, then go shopping together?"

"Exactly!" Murong Shanshan snapped her fingers triumphantly.

"Well, Shanshan, you’re mistaken…" I stopped and said seriously, "I’m a professional gamer—time is money. If there’s no compensation, I won’t waste time on meaningless things."

Murong Shanshan bit her lip and said angrily, "Must you have money to live? Is spending an afternoon with me really so difficult?"

I paused, then smiled, "How about this—you buy me an ice cream, and I’ll spend the afternoon with you. That’s not too much, is it?"

Murong Shanshan grinned, "No problem, let’s go~!"

…

I rarely went shopping with girls. Back when I was with Xiaoyu, I was obsessed with AR3 and had no time. In the past half year, I simply hadn’t met a girl I wanted to be with. Murong Shanshan was probably an exception; from the moment I met her, I felt she had something in common with Xiaoyu—pure, beautiful, lovable. The only difference was she had a bit more of a rogue streak, like muttering “damned couple” at the pairs embracing by the roadside…

Murong Shanshan was very beautiful, even more so than Xiaoyu. Whenever we went out together, she drew all the attention.

On Guanqian Street, young couples strolled side by side. We quickly settled into our roles—drooling over the roast duck in the oven, staring at girls in short skirts, daydreaming, even going into KFC to buy just one ice cream, sitting face to face—just to listen to "Cowboy Is Busy"…