140: Chapter 140 Tomorrow's problems will be dealt with tomorrow; tonight belongs to the "Ape God"!

After dinner, Shen Qingxue leaned against the sofa with her phone in hand, her expression looking somewhat conflicted.

She was still thinking about that announcement about "skipping a day".

She had read the wails in the comment section, and to be honest, she really felt a bit guilty inside.

But on second thought, since it was already posted and couldn't be taken back, then...

Skipping it is what it is.

The moment this thought popped up, Shen Qingxue herself was slightly stunned.

When had she ever been someone who would feel guilty for half a day over being a minute late to an announcement, yet now she so calmly accepted something like "ditching her fans"?

She turned her head to glance at Lu Li, who was washing fruit in the kitchen.

She must have been led astray by him.

Mhm, that must be it.

Thank goodness Lu Li couldn't read minds, otherwise if he found out, he would definitely have to ditch his fans for three days straight.

Fans: So? You...

"Come on, eat some fruit and replenish some vitamins."

At that moment, Lu Li walked out holding a fruit platter, set it on the coffee table, flopped down onto the sofa, picked up a piece of watermelon, and took a huge bite.

Juice streamed down the corner of his mouth, and he wiped it off casually, completely unconcerned about his image.

Shen Qingxue watched his way of eating, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly before she reached out and picked a grape.

"Right, that game of yours..."

Shen Qingxue paused, seemingly weighing her phrasing.

"What's wrong?"

Lu Li took another bite of the watermelon and asked indistinctly.

"It's just, when will my level be able to rise enough to play co-op with you?"

Lu Li's motion of chewing the watermelon paused, and he raised his head to glance at her, a trace of surprise carrying in his eyes.

"What? You're unhappy with me coaching you from the side? In a rush for me to carry you?"

Shen Qingxue turned her head away, not looking at him, her tone remaining calm.

"No, it's just that playing alone feels a bit boring."

Lu Li's mouth slowly split open into a smile that screamed punchable.

"Alright, alright, alright, it's not letting me carry you, it's just feeling that playing alone is boring, I get it, I get it."

Shen Qingxue heard the tease in his words, her earlobes turning slightly red, but she refused to yield verbally.

"What do you even get, eat your watermelon."

Knowing better than to court death any further, Lu Li lowered his head to finish gnawing on the last bite of watermelon, wiped his hands with a tissue, and leaned in to look at her phone screen.

"Let me see what level you are."

Shen Qingxue tilted her phone toward him, and the screen displayed the character interface, with the level column reading "14".

"Level fourteen... Mhm, you're still two levels away from being able to play co-op. At your current speed, another hour or two should be about right."

Shen Qingxue's brows furrowed slightly.

An hour or two?

She subconsciously glanced at the time; it was almost nine o'clock.

"It's too late, let's play tomorrow."

"Don't!"

Lu Li abruptly straightened his body, his face full of disbelief.

"You've already played up to level fourteen, and you're just two levels away from co-op. You're giving up at this point? Don't you find it a pity?"

Shen Qingxue looked at him without speaking.

Lu Li continued to coax her step-by-step.

"Think about it, once you reach level sixteen, the two of us can run dungeons together."

"Those BOSSes that you can't beat alone, I'll help you hack them down; those treasure chests you can't find, I'll lead you to find them."

"By then, you'll just have to pick up gear in the back, how awesome is that."

Listening to this description of his, a trace of hesitation flashed across Shen Qingxue's eyes.

"But... I still have to release a song tomorrow..."

"Tomorrow's matters can be discussed tomorrow!"

Lu Li waved his hand grandly, his tone heroic.

"Tonight's time belongs to yuanshen! Launch!"

Shen Qingxue stared at him for two seconds, and in the end couldn't hold it back, the corners of her mouth curving slightly.

"...Then let's play for a little longer."

"Alrighty!"

Lu Li instantly bounced up from the sofa, ran to the kitchen to grab two more boxes of coconut milk, handed one to her, and opened the other for himself to take a sip.

Don't ask why he wasn't drinking yogurt anymore; if you ask, it's because he drank too much yogurt and his stomach had been acting up a bit lately.

"Come on, I'll coach you, guaranteed to double the efficiency."

Shen Qingxue took the coconut milk, took a small sip, and then picked up her phone again to enter the game.

Over the next two-plus hours...

"Left, left! There's a treasure chest in that bush!"

"Don't hit that monster! You can't beat it, run quickly!"

"You ran in the wrong direction, go to the right! Right! Oh goodness, you're out of stamina, that's a cliff over there!"

Lu Li's voice grew louder and louder, his expression increasingly animated, wishing he could play it himself.

Shen Qingxue, on the other hand, grew increasingly composed; although her controls still couldn't be considered smooth, at least she wouldn't fall off cliffs at every turn.

Because she had learned to open her wings and fly.

"Look, this monster's attack pattern is like this; when it raises its hand, you dodge. Have you played Sekiro? Dodging has invincibility frames."

"I know, don't make noise."

For the first time, Shen Qingxue interrupted him, her tone calm, but her fingers had already operated according to what he said.

The character performed a dodge to avoid the attack, and then turned around with a combo sequence. Although the damage wasn't big, the operation was just like that.

Still, Lu Li gave a heartfelt compliment.

"Not bad, aren't you playing pretty well? Why were you acting like a blockhead just now."

Shen Qingxue turned her head to glare at him, but the arc of her mouth couldn't be pressed down no matter what.

"You're the blockhead."

Lu Li grinned wide, minding it not at all, and continued watching her operate.

Time ticked away minute by minute.

Finally, a little past eleven in the evening, a system prompt popped up at the top of the screen.

[Congratulations on reaching level sixteen! Co-op mode unlocked!]

Shen Qingxue stared at those words for two seconds, then turned her head to look at Lu Li, a rare trace of excitement carrying in her eyes.

"Reached."

"Holy crap! It's finally reached."

Lu Li was even more excited than her, quickly picking up his own phone, unlocking it, and entering the game.

"Come, come, come, add friends, I'll carry you through it!"

Shen Qingxue nodded, operated according to his guidance, and sent a friend request.

Soon, the two people's characters appeared in the same scene.

Lu Li's character wore a red outfit, with red hair fluttering, holding a greatsword, standing there with full aura.

Shen Qingxue's character stood beside him, a claimed little loli character, looking tiny.

"This character of yours... why does it look so fierce?"

Shen Qingxue glanced at his character, then glanced at her own, and couldn't help saying.

"This is called domineering!"

Lu Li retorted righteously.

"Look at this greatsword, look at this outfit, look at this red hair, isn't it very handsome?"

Shen Qingxue fell silent for a second, then slowly spoke.

"Mhm, it's just that I somewhat dislike this nouveau riche vibe."

Lu Li: "..."

He wanted to retort that the person was definitely not any nouveau riche, this person was a proper master character after all~

But thinking about how Shen Qingxue was exceptionally blockheaded regarding this game, he decided not to explain after all.

"Let's go, let's go, never mind, I'll take you to beat monsters."

Lu Li manipulated his character to run forward, and Shen Qingxue followed behind him, the two characters one after another, weaving through the game's world.

These monsters were not difficult, at least for Lu Li they were.

He sliced through them effortlessly all by himself in the front.

Shen Qingxue just followed behind, occasionally hitting minor monsters twice, spending most of her time picking up dropped items.

"You should actually fight, don't just pick up things."

Lu Li shouted while hacking monsters.

"I am fighting."

Shen Qingxue's tone was righteous, but inside the screen her character was squatting on the ground picking up dropped materials.

Lu Li's mouth twitched, too lazy to expose her.

It's fine, a collecting obsession after all, understandable.

When he first started playing back then, he also looked around everywhere instead of doing actual tasks.