That night, Xia Zichen did not sleep well. Over and over again, he kept dreaming about things in the game, but if you asked him what exactly he dreamed about, he couldn’t remember.
Dazedly opening his eyes, the sky outside was just barely bright. He reached over the pillow and took a look at his phone; it was still early. But this sleep had given him a headache, and even if he wanted to sleep again, he couldn’t fall asleep anymore. From the time he started playing the game until now, he had never really worried about things in the game, or it could even be said he didn’t care that much, but after encountering Canmo Wuhen, everything seemed to have changed.
The dorm room was very quiet; he could only faintly hear everyone’s shallow breathing. Xia Zichen looked at the ceiling, letting his mind go blank to ease the headache caused by anxiety.
After lying there until past seven, Xia Zichen really couldn’t gather any more sleepiness, so he simply got up to eat breakfast.
After getting dressed, he took his wallet and keys, and Xia Zichen quietly walked out of the dormitory. Today all four of them had no morning classes, so they would probably sleep until noon. Xia Zichen did not disturb them; after all, the only one who couldn’t sleep was himself.
It was too early. Except for those who had morning classes and had already gotten up, most people were still lying in bed. In cold weather like this, nobody wanted to go out, so the dorm area was very quiet.
The A University cafeteria officially started selling breakfast at 6:30. The breakfast variety was very rich. Most students would buy it and take it back to the dorm to eat, or because they were in a hurry, directly take it to class, which resulted in many people coming and going in the cafeteria, but very few actually sitting down to eat.
Looking around in front of the counter, Xia Zichen didn’t feel like eating anything in particular. Maybe because he hadn’t slept well, although he was a bit hungry, he had no appetite.
Just as he was thinking, he suddenly felt his hair being gently rubbed. Xia Zichen instinctively turned his head and met Gu Xu’s eyes with a faint smile.
Meeting Gu Xu here, Xia Zichen was a little surprised, but quickly came back to his senses and slightly revealed a smile, saying, “Good morning.”
“Morning.” Gu Xu nodded, lowering his hand that had brushed his hair, and asked, “What do you want to eat?”
“I haven’t decided yet.” Xia Zichen looked again at those neatly categorized breakfasts, still not feeling like anything.
“Let’s find a place to sit.” Gu Xu looked at the seats in the cafeteria; most were empty.
Realizing that Gu Xu might want to treat him to breakfast, Xia Zichen did not move, “You’ve been treating me before. This time let me treat you.”
From cakes to pastries, to take-home food boxes, Xia Zichen felt like he had always been taking advantage of Gu Xu. This time he should return the favor, even if a breakfast didn’t cost much.
“Don’t be so calculating with me. Go find a seat.” Gu Xu patted him, “Sit by the air-conditioning side, don’t sit by the window.”
Xia Zichen still wanted to say something, but he was lightly pushed toward the seating area, and then Gu Xu walked toward the ordering counter ahead without giving him a chance to speak.
He exhaled. Xia Zichen felt that taking advantage of Gu Xu might someday become a habit, but for some reason, although he wasn’t very familiar with Gu Xu, he did not reject being treated by him.
He found a corner seat. It was close to the air conditioner, and warm air blew away the cold from his body.
A few minutes later, Gu Xu came over carrying a tray, and behind him was a cafeteria aunt helping to carry another tray.
Xia Zichen quickly stood up to take the tray from the aunt and thanked her. Gu Xu looked at the seat Xia Zichen chose and moved two chairs over.
“Too close to the air conditioner. You’ll catch a cold when you go out later.” After putting down the tray, Gu Xu sat down.
Xia Zichen also moved over and sat opposite him, putting down the tray. Gu Xu really ordered a lot for breakfast; it felt like even calling An Jing and the others would be enough.
“I didn’t know what you like to eat, so I just ordered randomly.” Gu Xu placed soup dumplings between them, and put egg tarts beside Xia Zichen, “Desserts after eating.”
“Mm.” Xia Zichen responded and picked up chopsticks to start eating.
Although Gu Xu ordered a lot, each item was only one portion. The two of them shared it, and it wasn’t wasteful. Maybe it was the warm breakfast stimulating his taste buds, maybe it was having someone accompany him to eat breakfast driving away the morning dullness… Xia Zichen’s appetite came back, and his headache also eased.
While putting a fried shrimp ball into Xia Zichen’s plate, eating it with pumpkin porridge and side dishes, Gu Xu asked, “Didn’t sleep well last night?”
Xia Zichen looked up at him, as if asking how he knew.
“You have dark circles.” Gu Xu explained.
“Mm.” Xia Zichen replied softly, not denying it.
“What’s wrong? Ran into trouble?” Gu Xu continued asking.
“Not a big deal.” Xia Zichen pulled the corner of his mouth and continued eating.
Gu Xu unwrapped a smoked meat roll and placed it within Xia Zichen’s reach, “If it’s something you’re stuck on, as long as it doesn’t violate your principles, you might as well try taking a step forward. Trying isn’t scary; what’s scary is not even having that courage.”
Gu Xu’s voice felt very comfortable to Xia Zichen, and those words unconsciously went into his heart. After a moment of silence, Xia Zichen asked back, “You like trying things? Even if there might be no way to handle the outcome?”
Gu Xu smiled, “I will try when I have confidence. You can prepare for the worst, but you can’t always think toward the worst outcome.”
Xia Zichen stopped eating and thought seriously about Gu Xu’s words.
Gu Xu lightly tapped his bowl, signaling him to continue eating.
Xia Zichen bit a shrimp ball, thought for a while, and then said a bit helplessly, “I don’t have confidence.”
“Then do you have thoughts?”
Xia Zichen didn’t speak. He himself wasn’t sure what he was thinking. He only knew he couldn’t move forward, and didn’t dare to move forward.
“If you have thoughts or longing, that means you don’t completely want to give up. That can be a reason to try. As for confidence, it can be planned before starting and found during the process. Even if it still doesn’t work in the end, it won’t be hard to let go.” Gu Xu paused, then said, “What lingers on is the most pitiful.”
Xia Zichen smiled. He wasn’t sure whether Gu Xu’s words would help him, but at least after hearing them, he felt a lot lighter.
After finishing breakfast, Gu Xu had classes to attend. Xia Zichen brought the egg tarts packed for him back to the dorm and took a nap, then went to class obediently.
The PK final was scheduled for Saturday at 8 p.m.
At 7:30, Xia Zichen went online. Canmo Wuhen was already waiting for him.
[PM] [Canmo Wuhen]: You’re here?
[PM] [Chenxi]: Mm.
Canmo Wuhen sent a party invitation. Xia Zichen clicked confirm.
[PM] [Canmo Wuhen]: The enchantment you sent, I already used it.
[PM] [Chenxi]: Mm, I also used all the stones you sent on refining the Flame Sun Chasing Moon set. I’m planning to use this set today.
[PM] [Canmo Wuhen]: Good.
Xia Zichen had thought about it before. The Flame Sun Chasing Moon outfit was worn by Jian Lang and Baicao Zhe as well; they would definitely use it in this PK match. Although not as strong as Canmo Wuhen’s full set, it still could not be underestimated, so he had to go all out.
As a man, Xia Zichen still had a strong obsession with winning.
At 8 o’clock, Chenxi and Canmo Wuhen were teleported into the battlefield. The countdown began.
When it reached zero, the gates opened and four people met in the arena.
‘Nearby’ [Baicao Zhe]: Haha, couple outfits.
Canmo Wuhen and Chenxi, one black and one white, were very eye-catching.
‘Nearby’ [Canmo Wuhen]: Same to you.
Jian Lang and Baicao Zhe were also in black, not losing out at all.
Without further talk, Baicao Zhe immediately went to restrain Chenxi. Chenxi applied a damage-over-time buff to Canmo Wuhen, then gave herself a large heal after dropping to half HP, and began running across the field with Baicao Zhe chasing her, letting Canmo Wuhen and Jian Lang fight.
Canmo Wuhen and Jian Lang both had strong mobility and fast mechanics, but because Canmo Wuhen had a sustained healing skill, his HP recovered quickly, giving him an advantage over Jian Lang, who could only lose HP. Jian Lang was a tank class with very high HP, and his DPS was not weak either, so Canmo Wuhen still needed some skill to deal with him.
Fortunately, Canmo Wuhen’s sect could fight melee and ranged, so he frequently knocked Jian Lang away and took opportunities to output damage, preventing Jian Lang from counterattacking at close range.
Although Canmo Wuhen’s side was intense with flashing sword light, it was not too difficult. Compared to Chenxi running all over the field, it was easier.
Chenxi alone could not beat Baicao Zhe, so he could only kite him, healing himself while dodging attacks. He occasionally used a stun to buy himself two seconds of breathing space. He also had to time his movement to return near Canmo Wuhen to refresh buffs.
Xia Zichen could say Baicao Zhe was the most troublesome opponent he had ever met, except for Canmo Wuhen.
Chenxi kept running, and Baicao Zhe kept chasing. After several rounds, Chenxi no longer aimed to stay full HP; as long as he wasn’t instantly killed, it was enough.
Baicao Zhe’s attacks grew fiercer. After using all big healing skills, Chenxi had to run back toward Canmo Wuhen. Noticing Chenxi’s HP, Canmo Wuhen immediately used AoE skills to help him stabilize.
After repeated cycles, Chenxi’s mana was nearly empty.
‘Team’ [Chenxi]: MP.
‘Team’ [Canmo Wuhen]: 1.
Without waiting long, Chenxi ran back again. His HP was also almost gone. Recovery skills were useless due to cooldowns.
Knowing Chenxi could no longer sustain group healing, Canmo Wuhen directly switched to AoE attacks and chased Jian Lang, finally taking him down.
At this moment, Chenxi was left with a sliver of HP. Canmo Wuhen swung his chain, pulling Chenxi to his side, dodging Baicao Zhe’s attack. Chenxi used his last opportunity to heal Canmo Wuhen heavily and applied two more buffs. Then Baicao Zhe struck him down, and Chenxi’s name turned gray.
When Jian Lang fell, Canmo Wuhen still had 40% HP. Against Baicao Zhe at 80%, the chance of winning was low. Realizing he was also low on mana, he decided to prioritize Canmo Wuhen instead of himself, fully healing him.
After Chenxi died, Canmo Wuhen targeted Baicao Zhe and unleashed all AoE skills, trapping him completely. After a flurry of sword and zither light, Baicao Zhe fell.
System announced Canmo Wuhen and Chenxi as champions of the PK tournament.
After being teleported to the victory platform, fireworks exploded.
And then a heart-shaped firework appeared.
System announcement: Canmo Wuhen used firework “One Life Only Love” on Chenxi…
Chenxi froze.
And then he reached out and unplugged the computer.