Chapter 19: Breakup Compensation
Outside the window, the sky was steadily darkening.
No lights had been turned on inside the room.
Only the Crimson-Gold Sword gave off a flowing glow, its red light brightening and dimming in the gloom.
Dong Li stood frozen in place.
He didn’t dare step backward.
He didn’t dare move forward either.
Back when they were dating, he had never seen Lufiel lose control of his emotions.
Even their breakup had happened silently.
Lufiel had simply stopped appearing.
He had always been distant, calm, and endlessly patient.
So after they broke up, whenever Dong Li thought back on their relationship, he often felt that maybe Lufiel had never liked him all that much.
So now…
Was he angry?
But Lufiel was the one who had stopped coming to the Fuling Region.
Dong Li didn’t know what to do either.
He looked at Lufiel accusingly, a hint of hurt in his eyes.
“W-Why are you acting like this…?”
Lufiel quickly realized he had lost control.
His lips moved.
The Crimson-Gold Sword disappeared at once.
The barrier of sword aura vanished with it.
Suppressing his emotions, Lufiel called softly, “Rongrong…”
But Dong Li immediately scooped up the little fox and slipped away, practically fleeing back into the bedroom.
Bang.
The bedroom door slammed shut.
Lufiel followed and stopped outside it.
His system interface was open.
The NPC affection panel was displayed before him.
When Dong Li had suddenly appeared earlier and the two of them briefly embraced, Lufiel had finally been able to obtain his affection value again.
[Dong Li: 80 Affection]
[Region: Fuling]
Eighty points.
Compared to the affection NPCs normally held toward players, that was actually quite high.
It was still enough to form a Level-One Partnership again.
But before the closed beta ended, Dong Li’s affection toward him had been 92.
It had dropped by an entire twelve points.
Lufiel lowered his eyes.
His gaze swept over the chat window.
Liufeng’s earlier message was still there.
[Liufeng: Don’t scare him.]
Lufiel forced his tense breathing under control.
For now, he gave up on going into the bedroom.
Inside, Dong Li had already crawled under the covers.
He wrapped himself tightly in the blanket and stared into the darkness.
Why had Lufiel reacted so strangely when he said they had broken up?
Thinking about it carefully…
Back then, neither of them had ever actually said the words break up.
Lufiel had simply stopped appearing for a very long time.
So Dong Li had assumed he’d been dumped.
He had been miserable for quite a while.
It had been his first relationship too.
He had no experience.
He didn’t even know what their situation counted as now.
Dong Li lay there in confusion until Rongrong crawled under the blanket and licked the tip of his nose.
Yuanbao and Heidan followed soon afterward.
Both little beasts seemed worried about him.
Heidan remained especially wary, glancing toward the door every now and then.
“I’m fine,” Dong Li whispered.
Then he asked, “Are you two feeling better?”
Yuanbao nodded.
Heidan let out a low growl and made an exaggerated biting motion, as though demonstrating how easily it could swallow someone whole.
Dong Li laughed despite himself and stroked its head.
“You’re already recovered?”
After leaving Northern Dark Forest, the information on the metal plate had disappeared again.
Dong Li couldn’t see the two beasts’ exact condition anymore.
Heidan nodded proudly, puffing itself up beneath the blanket.
Dong Li blinked.
Then he looked at Yuanbao.
Yuanbao nodded too.
It had recovered as well.
Dong Li immediately threw off the blanket and sat up, looking toward the bedroom door.
The two little beasts had healed much faster than he expected.
That meant he didn’t need to worry nearly as much now.
He didn’t have to fear players showing up and capturing a weakened Yuanbao and Heidan.
With two demonic-beast bosses beside him, there was even less reason for him to stay with Lufiel.
Lufiel was a player.
Dong Li still remembered everything he had read about him on the forum.
Maybe there was a little resentment mixed in too.
Lufiel had disappeared whenever he pleased.
Then, after suddenly reappearing in Dong Li’s world, he kept showing up everywhere, no matter how hard Dong Li tried to avoid him.
A breakup was still a breakup.
Dong Li had been genuinely heartbroken back then.
Before long, he had put on all his outer clothes and picked up his mask.
He opened the bedroom door.
Lufiel was standing right outside.
Dong Li had no idea how long he had been waiting there.
The moment the door opened, Lufiel’s gaze shifted.
“Rongrong…”
Dong Li immediately raised Heidan in front of him like a weapon.
“Don’t move! Or I’ll have him eat you!”
Heidan bared its teeth, crimson eyes fixed on Lufiel, ready to open its enormous mouth at any moment.
Before opening the door, Dong Li had made sure Lufiel was alone.
With Heidan and Yuanbao together, they should definitely be able to beat him.
Heidan had even confidently claimed it could swallow Lufiel in one bite.
Still, Dong Li’s heart softened a little.
After all, Lufiel had given him the clothes and mask.
He had bought him food too.
And given him somewhere safe to rest…
So if Lufiel cooperated, there was no need to eat him.
Heidan and Lufiel stared at each other for a moment.
Then Lufiel said,
“Okay.”
“I’m leaving,” Dong Li declared fiercely. “And you’re not allowed to follow me anymore!”
“Okay.”
Lufiel agreed again.
He was being so cooperative that Dong Li became suspicious.
“T-Then move!”
Lufiel obediently stepped aside.
Rongrong darted toward the front door first.
Dong Li hurried after it.
Before leaving, he glanced back.
Lufiel really was still standing where he had been.
He made no attempt to stop Dong Li.
Dong Li finally relaxed.
He gave Lufiel one last look, then turned and left the room.
The sky outside had darkened even further.
Dong Li went downstairs.
Several of the semi-open floors were actually busier now than they had been during the day.
He put on his mask.
His hat hid his golden hair, while Rongrong tucked itself beneath the oversized black robe.
With his head lowered, Dong Li walked out of the inn.
Once he reached the street, he looked left and right, randomly chose a direction, and decided to explore for a while.
He had slept all afternoon and was wide awake now.
The novelty of arriving somewhere new hadn’t worn off yet.
But Dong Li had only taken a few steps when he heard movement behind him.
He turned around.
Lufiel had jumped straight down from one of the upper floors of the inn.
He bent his knees and landed steadily on the street.
There were more players around now than there had been during the day.
They seemed completely accustomed to sights like this and barely paid any attention.
Lufiel straightened.
His black robe stirred in the wind as he looked toward Dong Li.
“…”
Dong Li turned around and immediately walked faster.
He regretted everything.
If he’d known this would happen, he should have let Heidan eat Lufiel upstairs!
There were too many people on the street now, though.
It wasn’t exactly convenient…
Dong Li was also wary that Lufiel might attack Heidan.
But he soon realized Lufiel was doing exactly what he had done that morning.
Following at an unhurried pace.
Never too close.
Dong Li looked back several times and even glared at him in warning.
Lufiel remained unmoved.
He had put his mask back on too, making his expression impossible to read.
Under the streetlights, his shadow seemed almost motionless.
Dong Li: “…”
Forget it.
Dong Li decided to ignore him.
Maybe once they reached a crowded enough place, he could lose him.
Maidong City at night was several times livelier than during the day.
It was completely different from the quiet evenings in Dragonbone Town.
Countless shops were still open.
There were even entrances to night markets and areas where people browsed street stalls for bargains…
Dong Li had never seen anything like them.
He gradually became absorbed.
Just like when he first arrived in Dragonbone Town, he wanted to look at everything.
Outside one shop, he even spotted a sign displaying stones that looked very similar to the orange one in his pocket.
Only the colors were slightly different.
There were orange ones.
Red ones.
Yellow ones.
White ones…
No prices were listed.
Dong Li had no idea whether they were expensive.
He touched the stone in his pocket.
He had been carrying it around for quite a while and didn’t seem to have any use for it.
Maybe he could sell it and get some money…
But he wasn’t familiar with this city.
And there were no players inside the shop, only two NPCs with their heads lowered as they hammered away at chunks of metal.
In the end, Dong Li gave up on the idea for now.
He kept walking until another lively place caught his attention.
It looked like some kind of theater.
The building was enormous.
Several NPCs stood outside, loudly calling,
“New performance tonight! Ticket prices unchanged!”
A performance?
What kind?
Dong Li couldn’t help staring.
There were posters pasted near the entrance, but he couldn’t make out the details from where he stood.
There were also far more players entering this building than anywhere else—at least two or three times as many.
Dong Li was desperately curious.
He wanted to go inside too.
Then he reached into his pocket.
Still no money.
He agonized over it for a while.
Then slowly turned around.
Sure enough, Lufiel was still standing not far away.
Dong Li thought about it.
Then, just like that morning, he slowly walked toward him.
Lufiel stayed where he was, silently waiting for Dong Li to approach.
The street was packed with players.
All kinds of noises blended together into a chaotic roar.
Dong Li stopped in front of Lufiel and said something.
Lufiel apparently didn’t hear him.
He bent down slightly.
“What?”
Maybe because he was afraid he had frightened Dong Li earlier with the Crimson-Gold Sword, his voice was unusually soft.
Almost coaxing.
Dong Li held his mask in place and slowly asked,
“Do you have money?”
His violet eyes looked up at Lufiel, round and clear.
He looked as innocent and harmless as ever.
Like a little cat.
“Yes,” Lufiel replied. “How much do you need?”
Dong Li hesitated.
Then asked,
“How much do you have?”
He lowered his voice.
His violet eyes widened even more as he threatened,
“Give me half! Or I’ll have you eaten!”
Author’s Note:
Dong Li: (T ^ T) Asking for a little breakup compensation isn’t too much, right?!
Lufiel: Why only half?
