Chapter 25 - I Was Wrong, I Shouldn't Have Lied

Qiu Yanzhi turned his head and glared fiercely at Big Yellow, who was on the ground.

"Big Yellow! Didn't you say that a reset would fix most of the bugs?! Why am I still stuck in this game?!!"

Big Yellow said weakly, "Maybe the bug just happens to be one of the few that can’t be fixed like that..."

Qiu Yanzhi: "Then what did I go to all that trouble and spend so much money for that Reset Card for?”

Big Yellow cringed and said pitifully, "Didn't you just say that this game was like a beautiful dream that you never wanted to wake up from?”

Qiu Yanzhi grit his teeth, "I was exaggerating! Motherfucker, did you really think I want to sleep forever?!”

Big Yellow pursed its lips with an aggrieved expression. "Why are you yelling at me? I didn't know it would be like this either! I didn't guarantee that it would succeed! Besides, now you can interact with the world and I have control over the settings. I just took a look, other than the log out and emergency buttons not working, everything else is back to normal.”

Big Yellow added: "Qiu Yanzhi, to be fair, although you didn't get out of the game, you're definitely in a better position than before."

His situation was indeed better than before. With his personal background unchanged, none of his friends and parents would leave. And not only could he now see the world without relying on He Zhou, he could also adjust his personal and environmental settings.

Compared to before, where he was in danger of starving to death if he wandered off too far from He Zhou, he now had a safety net in this game world.

And all it took was discarding one He Zhou.

...I must be this upset because Big Yellow made me too hopeful.

Qiu Yanzhi thought angrily in his heart.

But anger was useless, and abusing Big Yellow passionately wouldn’t help his current situation.

Qiu Yanzhi let out a long sigh and lay down on his bed.

Wait a minute, why is this bed so hard??

Only then did Qiu Yanzhi realize that he was now in a dormitory.

Although he’s always been a university student, his capture target last time was the CEO He Zhou. His identity as a student didn’t mesh with that setting, so Qiu Yanzhi rarely went to his campus.

Who was the target this time around? Was it that underclassman?

Huh. Looks like the university will be the main battlefield from now on.

Qiu Yanzhi sighed leisurely.

But he wasn’t in the mood to swoon a little boy.

All he wanted right now was to get out from this dumpster fire of a game.

Not to mention some sunny junior, he wouldn’t even be tempted if there was pork belly in front of him.

Just then, the door to the dormitory was pushed open.

A clear voice rang out.

"Hello seniors! I'm Ye Mingxu, a second-year German student! We're in the same dorm!"

The light brown-haired boy had a beaming smile on his face. He was so very bright and energetic, the picture of a vibrant youth.

He was so dazzling when he walked into the dormitory that Qiu Yanzhi felt as if he had seen the sun.

"I'm Qiu Yanzhi." Qiu Yanzhi had a wolfish smile on his face, "If you're free tonight, this senior will treat you to some barbecue."

“Just me?" The male student was stunned.

Qiu Yanzhi smiled gently. "No. To be more precise, I’m inviting the entire dorm to tag along so everyone can welcome you to our 304.”

Ye Mingxu beamed and said, "Thank you, senior!"

When Ye Mingxu finished arranging his things, he changed into a jersey and grabbed a basketball: "Senior, I'm going to play basketball. Do you want to come along?"

Qiu Yanzhi shook his head: "No, you go ahead. Don't forget about dinner."

Watching Ye Mingxu  leave, Qiu Yanzhi sighed and lamented his youth. Then he laid back on his bed like a sardine.

"I thought you said you weren’t in the mood.” Big Yellow muttered.

Qiu Yanzhi slowly put on his headset. "What else is there for me to do in a dating simulator?”

Big Yellow grumbled quietly, "I didn't think you'd move on from He Zhou so quickly. I thought you would be like the average player and wait a day or two after changing your capture target.”

“He Zhou isn’t here anymore, baby. I was married to him, but it's not like I'm going to swear off all relationships forever for his sake. Besides, that was the last round of the game. People have to keep looking forward, got it?"

Big Yellow pursed his lips. "Got it."

"And..." Qiu Yanzhi paused for a moment, "I was thinking, since all the functions of the last round were corrupted and only the Reset Card could be used… If that was a deliberate easter egg left by the developers that only appeared after the game was corrupted, then does it mean I can only leave if I successfully capture my next target?”

"Wow. Your theory makes a lot of sense." Big Yellow soullessly quipped, "You’re just saying all this to try and justify pursuing Ye Mingxu, aren’t you?”

Qiu Yanzhi shrugged. "Can't I?"

"Of course you can, that's what you’re supposed to do after using the Reset Card.” Big Yellow said.

Qiu Yanzhi felt a little sleepy, so he covered himself with a blanket and took a nap.

Qiu Yanzhi felt that humans were very strange creatures. He clearly slept by himself just fine for more than twenty years. He was also well suited to a solitary lifestyle. But after sleeping on the same bed as He Zhou a couple of times, the bed felt very empty now that he was alone.

Qiu Yanzhi closed his eyes, but He Zhou’s image appeared in front of him again.

...Are you an idiot? What do you miss him for?

Qiu Yanzhi secretly cursed himself out and slapped his head.

...Think of your junior, think of your junior. Your sunny junior, the junior who’s way more fresh and tender than He Zhou.

Qiu Yanzhi took a nap. When he got up, Zhang Yuxuan arrived.

Zhang Yuxuan had bought a condo near the university, so he didn’t stay on campus. The only reason he would come to the dorms would be for Qiu Yanzhi.

Qiu Yanzhi looked at Zhang Yuxuan, who seemed a little down as he came in. He was stunned by his friend’s miniskirt, wig and crappy make-up.

In the last game, Zhang Yuxuan rarely dressed up like this after Qiu Yanzhi’s intervention.

How did he relapse so severely in one go??

After Zhang Yuxuan came in through the door, he slumped onto a chair. "Yanyan, my senior will be coming back from overseas soon."

Qiu Yanzhi was startled.

Didn't your senior come back already? He even got married and his husband cheated on him already. Oh, and he already rejected you too.

Qiu Yanzhi took a closer look at the dress Zhang Yuxuan was wearing. The more he looked at it, the more familiar it looked.

--Wait.

Wasn't this the exact same dress Zhang Yuxuan wore in the last game when he sadly informed Qiu Yanzhi that his senior was almost back?

Qiu Yanzhi asked tentatively, "Are you wearing Patrick Star underwear?"

Zhang Yuxuan was stunned. He scrambled to keep his legs together and straighten his skirt. "Did I just flash you? I thought I was prepared this time..."

Qiu Yanzhi: Fuck, this was really happening.

Qiu Yanzhi said to Zhang Yuxuan, "Feel free to hang out here, I'm going to smoke a cigarette and cool down."

Qiu Yanzhi opened the dormitory door and walked to the open corridor before leaning against the wall and lighting a cigarette.

"Big Yellow." Qiu Yanzhi deadpanned, "What's going on?"

Big Yellow fluttered its wings and flew to him. "What do you mean? You used the Reset Card, so all of your progress has been reset, ah. Think of it like you’ve started a new game if that helps. Well, a new game where He Zhou isn’t in the main story.”

Qiu Yanzhi frowned. "Give me a little more background on the story."

Big Yellow: "There’s four people in your dormitory. Yang Fengcheng, Zhou Qi, Zhao Rui and yourself. Do you still remember those three? You even took them to He Zhou's house for hotpot in the last round."

Qiu Yanzhi nodded: "Continue."

Big Yellow: "But because you’re all fourth-years, most of the time you guys aren’t in the dormitory. Two days ago, Yang Fengcheng found an internship and went to live in the staff dormitory. His vacancy was filled by his cousin, Ye Mingxu, who was in the downstairs dorm before. His bed collapsed two days ago, so he moved in.”

Good, looks the game really went to great lengths to get him close to his capture target...

It even took the initiative to create an accident so that they could live in the same dormitory.

When Qiu Yanzhi was on the He Zhou route, he had to work himself to the bone. His abysmal luck at card drawing made him doubt his life. Never had opportunities just been handed to him like this.

But Qiu Yanzhi felt like things couldn’t be this simple. "In the last round, my role was a character who fell in love at first sight with He Zhou and madly pursued him. Then what about now, does my role have any special quirks? Since Ye Mingxu is a sunny and puppy-like junior, am I a cold and aloof senior? An unreachable schoolyard male god? The white moonlight that my junior saw once many years ago and fell in love with?

Big Yellow: "You fell in love at first sight with your junior but never pursued him fiercely."

Qiu Yanzhi: "...F*ck."

Qiu Yanzhi looked at Big Yellow with a very gentle smile. "It’s a good thing your game never got released. If it did, I can guarantee that it would’ve bombed and your company would’ve gone bankrupt.."

Big Yellow pursed his lips. "Actually, your performance just now wasn’t bad. You’ll be fine if you keep it up."

Qiu Yanzhi: "Thank you so very much for the compliment."

After the game was reset, all the character storylines restarted. The Zhang Yuxuan of the last round managed to give up on his senior, but now he was interested again.

Qiu Yanzhi decided to make Zhang Yuxuan give up sooner this time, so he encouraged him, "Since your senior is about to come back, why don't you use this opportunity to confess?"

Zhang Yuxuan buried his head in his hands and whispered, "I can’t.”

"There's nothing to be afraid of."

Zhang Yuxuan pursed his lips: "...I'm ugly."

Qiu Yanzhi patted his shoulder and comforted him, "Although you are ugly on the outside, your heart is beautiful."

"My brain..."

"Although you are stupid, you have a good temper."

"I don’t..."

"You have no culture, but you have money, ah."

"But my senior wouldn’t like it..."

"Don't be discouraged, ah. Who knows? Maybe that senior is blind!"

"My senior is not blind!"

Qiu Yanzhi suddenly realized that their dialogue...sounded oddly familiar, as if everything was progressing in the same direction as the last round.

Could it be that Ye Mingxu would also become the next He Zhou?

Qiu Yanzhi felt a bit of a headache coming on.

But even so, he wanted to change things this time.

He would start with Zhang Yuxuan.

Qiu Yanzhi would either help him woo his senior before he got married, or make him give up on this crush completely. But no matter which way he went, Zhang Yuxuan really shouldn't wear miniskirts anymore.

He forcefully dragged Zhang Yuxuan to the nearest shopping mall to buy men's clothing.

As a result, Zhang Yuxuan refused to take off his miniskirt.

Qiu Yanzhi said, "Zhang Yuxuan, your senior actually likes men."

Zhang Yuxuan didn’t believe a word he had. “Hmph, don't lie to me! If my seniors like men, how could I not know!"

Qiu Yanzhi: "......"

Qiu Yanzhi had no choice. "Okay, I'll be honest with you..."

Zhang Yuxuan: "About what?"

Qiu Yanzhi: "A junior that I like is coincidentally moving into my dorm. Today’s his first day. I really like him, but he likes tall, strong and handsome guys like you, especially if they wear skirts. If the two of us show up in front of him, guess who he’ll be busy looking at?”

“...Do you get what I’m trying to say?”

Zhang Yuxuan gripped Qiu Yanzhi's hands with a face full of sincerity. "Don’t worry Yanyan, I understand! I won’t steal your man! I'm going to put on men's clothes now and eliminate any chance that he’ll fall in love with me!”

Qiu Yanzhi seemed to be moved to tears. "Baby Yu, you’re the best!

Zhang Yuxuan winked, "Then we can go buy you some miniskirts after this, so you can seduce him!!”

Qiu Yanzhi: "......"

...Sorry, I was wrong. I shouldn't have lied.

Zhang Yuxuan dragged Qiu Yanzhi straight to the women's section after changing into men's clothes.

Qiu Yanzhi tried his best to refuse, but how could he stand a chance against the 1.95m tall Zhang Yuxuan who could drag him along with one arm?

Zhang Yuxuan said earnestly: "Yanyan, since you like him so much and he happens to like crossdressing men, how can you say you like him if you don't make an effort?"

Qiu Yanzhi: "I don't want to, I don't want to, I don't want to......"

Zhang Yuxuan: "Yanyan, don’t be such a scaredy cat! It's no big deal to wear a miniskirt!!"

Qiu Yanzhi: "I don't want to..."

Zhang Yuxuan frowned. “Yanyan, for love, we have to be bold! We have to bravely move forward!"

Qiu Yanzhi clung to a pillar in the mall’s lobby in a last-ditch struggle. "I don't want to...”

Zhang Yuxuan suddenly stopped walking. He seemed a little hurt. "...Yanyan, do you also think wearing miniskirts is humiliating?"

Zhang Yuxuan was already tall and strong, and wearing a skirt just made him stand out more. Even his parents got into many arguments with him because of how embarrassed they were of him. That was why he had to move out and rent a condo. It wasn’t that Zhang Yuxuan didn’t know that people were laughing at him, he just pretended to not notice.

Qiu Yanzhi was silent for a while.

Then he slowly let go of the pillar and staggered forward like he was on his deathbed. "Let's go, I'll wear it."

Qiu Yanzhi was shorter than Zhang Yuxuan, and his figure was pretty slender, so Zhang Yuxuan picked out a slightly puffy black silk skirt for him. It nicely accentuated his masculinity while also perfectly showed off his narrow waist and long legs.

When Qiu came out of the dressing room, Zhang Yuxuan simply wanted to hug him and cry: "Wuwuwu... You're so beautiful!"

Qiu Yanzhi was expressionless; a lifeless corpse.

After leaving the women's section, Qiu Yanzhi went to buy a long, curly, black wig with bangs.

Zhang Yuxuan was teary-eyed, "Yanyan, you have so much talent!"

No, I just want to cover as much of my face as possible so people don't recognize me.

As for the people I don’t know… It’s probably better for them to think that I’m a woman rather than a crossdresser...

After returning from the basketball court, Ye Mingxu was playing games in the dorm while waiting for Qiu Yanzhi. When he heard a noise, he took off his headphones and turned to look.

His entire body froze. "W-who are you two looking for?"

Qiu Yanzhi said grimly, "It's me."

Ye Mingxu's pupils constricted. He immediately shot to his feet, ignoring how his headphones unplugged from his computer. He stammered, “S-Senior, why, why are you…”

Qiu Yanzhi: "Because I felt like it. You’re fine with me going out later like this, right?”

"S-sure." Ye Mingxu was still reeling. He said dully, "It's very, very pretty."

"He's going to fall in love with you, he's going to fall in love with you, he's going to fall in love with you....." whispered Zhang Yuxuan as he leaned in towards Qiu Yanzhi.

Qiu Yanzhi cruelly slapped Zhang Yuxuan's face away.

Qiu Yanzhi said he was inviting the entire dorm, but most people were busy studying or interning. The only one who could come other than him was Ye Mingxu. Zhang Yuxuan also tagged along.

Qiu Yanzhi’s outfit almost caused a riot in the boy’s dormitory.

For example, some of the boys wandered around the dorm in nothing but their underwear or forgot to close their door. When Qiu Yanzhi passed by, those innocent boys panicked at Qiu Yanzhi's unintentional glances and tried to cover up their pasty, skinny bodies. They soon flushed red from head to toe.

There was even one poor little boy who let out a shriek and slammed the door shut.

But there were also bold ones who came to the door and whistled at Qiu Yanzhi.

Then they were so frightened by Qiu Yanzhi's murderous aura that they fled and quickly locked the door.

The group met with more difficulties on the way out.

The auntie in charge of the dorms stopped Qiu Yanzhi. “Don’t you know that girls aren’t allowed in the boys’ dorms? When did you get in, and why didn't I see you just now?"

Ye Mingxu has already experienced a lot of things on the way out. His mind had become strong. When he heard the auntie ask, he couldn't help but explain, "Auntie, he's my roommate, a boy."

The auntie looked disdainful: "Who are you trying to fool?"

Qiu Yanzhi pulled off his wig and placidly said. "Auntie, I'm really a man. I live in Building 5, Room 302."

Before the astonished eyes of the dormitory aunt, Qiu Yanzhi put the wig back on. "Goodbye, Auntie."

As they left, Zhang Yuxuan even deliberately poked fun at him, "Hey Yanyan, don't you think it's strange? I’ve been in and out of the dorms countless times in a skirt, but that auntie’s never stopped me.”

Qiu Yanzhi coldly glanced at him. He continued walking rather than dignify that with a response.

"Yanyan, wait a moment." Ye Mingxu reached out to adjust Qiu Yanzhi's wig with a smile, "It's a little crooked."

Qiu Yanzhi narrowed his eyes. "What did you just call me?"

"I'm sorry, senior." Ye Mingxu blinked. His mouth was apologetic, but his eyes were filled with laughter.

Because his role wasn’t too different from the last round, Qiu Yanzhi originally suspected that he would have to retract his steps. He was worried that Ye Mingxu would turn into a second He Zhou. By now, he knew that he was overthinking things.

The proof was right in front of him.

Not all NPCs were bastards like He Zhou.

For example, when Qiu Yanzhi bought fried skewers from a roadside stall in front of the campus for Ye Mingxu, he happily said thank you before pointing at a milk tea shop across the road, saying, “Senior, let me treat you guys to some milk tea!”

If Qiu Yanzhi dared to give fried skewers to He Zhou, that guy would definitely look down on him and tell him to keep them. It would be even worse if it was the pre-marriage He Zhou.

If the NPC capture targets had different difficulty ratings, Qiu Yanzhi felt that He Zhou must be hell difficulty.

"What are you thinking about? Why did you laugh?" Zhang Yuxuan looked at Qiu Yanzhi in confusion as he nibbled on a fried skewer.

Qiu Yanzhi was stunned. The corners of his mouth flattened out, "I wasn't, you saw wrong."

He chose to treat Ye Mingxu to dinner at a large barbecue restaurant with a good reputation for its lively atmosphere.

It turned out to be really busy inside. Qiu Yanzhi couldn’t find an empty table even after looking for a while.

“Mingxu?" A man suddenly spoke, sounding surprised, "What are you doing here?"

Qiu Yanzhi turned around to see that it was Ye Mingxu's cousin and his other roommate, Yang Fengcheng.

Before Ye Mingxu could even open his mouth, Yang Fengcheng saw Qiu Yanzhi. His eyes widened, and he was so scared that he couldn't speak properly: "...Qiu, Qiu Yanzhi?"

Qiu Yanzhi was getting used to it. He changed the subject with a blank face. "We came to eat, but we can't seem to find an empty table."

Yang Fengcheng's eyes never left Qiu Yanzhi's skirt and wig. He spoke incoherently: "It's because our company booked out......to welcome new employees like us. We're having a welcome party here today, so there are no empty tables."

“Little Yang, are these your friends?" A middle-aged man happened to be passing by.

Yang Fengcheng turned to him, "Yes, Section Chief. This is my cousin and his roommate. They came to eat, but they weren’t aware that this place was fully booked by our company."

When the section chief saw Qiu Yanzhi, his expression immediately became very friendly. He turned around and said to Yang Fengcheng, "Why not let them join us? We have plenty of space at our table anyway."

Yang Fengcheng was a little hesitant. "That might not be..."

Section Chief: "It's fine, it's fine. We're all friends here. The more the merrier."

Qiu Yanzhi was about to refuse when Zhang Yuxuan pulled him forward.  "Yanyan, hurry up! I'm so hungry."

Yang Fengcheng was a very adaptable person. He quickly recovered from his shock at Qiu Yanzhi’s get up, and even cracked a few jokes. “Qiu Yanzhi, Qiu Yanzhi… This outfit suits you, hehe.”

Then Qiu Yanzhi eviscerated him with a single glance.

Instead, it was that section chief whose face paled miserably after learning that Qiu Yanzhi was a man.

But there were so many people here and it was really lively. Qiu Yanzhi wasn't shy at all, so in no time he got to know everyone well.

He even felt like he had seen some of the people here before… When he recalled where he last saw them, Qiu Yanzhi silently cursed out this dumpster fire of a game again. It reused so many NPCs! Were NPCs like bricks that you could move to wherever you want?!

Suddenly, the whole restaurant went quiet. Then many people stood up, followed by a chorus of greetings.

Confused, Qiu Yanzhi turned to look.

He froze in his tracks.

Only then did he realize that these NPCs had not been recycled and reused.

The shop was bustling with people.

There was a man at the doorway, steeping in smoothly and attracting everyone's gaze.

He walked in Qiu Yanzhi's direction.

--It was He Zhou.

For some reason, Qiu Yanzhi actually felt his heart beating wildly. With every step the man took, his heart beat faster as well.

The man raised his head and looked at Qiu Yanzhi.

There were hundreds of people in the restaurant who stood up to greet He Zhou, hundreds of pairs of eyes looking at He Zhou, and hundreds of of voices greeting him.

But at this moment, the man's dark and unfathomably deep pupils pierced through all the bustle, looking straight into Qiu Yanzhi’s eyes.