"Xu-jiejie?"
When Kurose Akira heard Xu Feiyan ask him to address her that way, his gaze paused for a brief moment.
The word stirred an old memory.
It reminded him of his own older sister. But ever since the shift in the worldline, he had no idea whether he would ever see her again.
At the very least, the home they had once lived in together had vanished without a trace.
Akira had tried going back to that place once. But the person living there now was a recently divorced young woman.
His thoughts drifted for only an instant—yet that fleeting distraction did not escape Xu Feiyan's notice.
While pouring him a cup of hot tea, she asked softly,
"What's wrong? Don't like it?"
Although it was merely speculation, Xu Feiyan was already fairly certain that Kurose Akira must have some kind of connection to Su Jing.
Siblings?
Perhaps.
Even their facial features carried a faint resemblance.
"It's not that I dislike it," Akira replied with a small smile. "Then I'll call you Xu-jiejie from now on."
He lifted the teacup and took a sip. The rich fragrance of the tea spread across his tongue, instantly lifting his mood.
At that moment, waiters began bringing dishes into the private room one after another.
Before long, the entire table was filled with beautifully arranged delicacies—each one colorful, aromatic, and exquisitely prepared.
"You ordered all this?" Akira asked Xu Feiyan.
He didn't know the exact prices of these dishes, but judging by the presentation alone, the cost had to be staggering.
Xu Feiyan smiled faintly.
"Each portion is quite small," she explained. "I'm sure you'll be able to finish them."
With elegant composure, she picked up her chopsticks, lifted a piece of food, and took a small bite.
"Mmm~ Not bad."
"..."
Akira hesitated for a moment before finally picking up his own chopsticks and beginning to sample the expensive dishes.
Half an hour later, Xu Feiyan gracefully picked up a napkin and dabbed at the corner of her lips. For each dish she had merely tasted a bite or two, leaving the majority for Akira.
"I'm full. I'll leave the rest to you," she said with a smile. "Don't waste food, Akira-kun."
"?"
Akira didn't say anything—he merely returned her gaze with a look filled with quiet meaning.
Fortunately, Zui Xian Lou was famous for its pricey ingredients rather than generous portions.
And since Akira had been growing rapidly lately, there was no danger of any food being wasted.
"Since we're basically done eating," Akira said while pouring himself a glass of cola, "should we talk about business?"
"You're quite impatient, aren't you?" Xu Feiyan said lightly.
From her bag, she pulled out a black-and-gold bank card and placed it directly in front of him.
"There's five million yuan on this card. Payment for the seven Valkyrie Flower petals."
Akira raised an eyebrow.
"Five million? I thought we agreed on three."
This was the first time he had ever encountered a buyer who voluntarily increased the price.
Xu Feiyan gently tapped the bank card with her fingertip.
"The extra two million isn't free," she explained. "In exchange, I'd like to borrow one of your adventurers."
"Borrow an adventurer?"
Akira was genuinely surprised by the request.
Xu Feiyan's smile faded slightly, replaced by a more serious expression.
"I won't hide it from you," she said frankly. "I'm planning to push the Immortal Concubine Guild toward an A-Rank promotion in the near future. But our combat strength—and a few other factors—are still lacking. So I'm hoping for your help."
Akira fell silent for a moment before nodding.
"I see."
So that was her goal.
Out of the one hundred thousand beta players, there were currently only a little over twenty A-Rank guilds in existence.
It made sense that she would need every possible advantage.
As for lending out an adventurer, Akira had never intended to refuse.
Xu Feiyan had helped him quite a bit before. Repaying that favor felt only natural.
"Alright," he said. "But I'll need to ask for their consent first. The final decision will be theirs. If they're unwilling, I won't force them."
The adventurers in his guild weren't tools that could simply be deployed at will.
As a guild master, it was his responsibility to respect their autonomy.
Of course…
Mare Rhine and Kanrutia were exceptions.
Those two could be dispatched without hesitation. They'd follow his orders without the slightest complaint.
"Then I'll leave it in your hands," Xu Feiyan said with a smile.
"So which adventurer were you hoping to borrow?" Akira asked curiously.
Even as he spoke, he already had a rough guess in mind.
Within his guild, Lucia and Mare Rhine were undeniably the strongest fighters. Xu Feiyan would most likely choose one of them.
"The adventurer I want to borrow is…"
Xu Feiyan paused briefly before answering.
"Viola."
"Viola?"
Akira blinked in surprise.
He hadn't expected that.
Viola wasn't a combat unit—she was a support specialist.
But after thinking about it for a moment, the choice began to make sense.
The Immortal Concubine Guild already possessed formidable combat power.
They also had Petiko, a Legendary-rarity vampire, whose current strength was likely even greater than Mare Rhine's.
After all, Petiko's level advantage was enormous—she was nearly thirty levels higher than Mare, who had only recently reached Level 50.
"Don't worry," Xu Feiyan assured him sincerely. "I guarantee Viola won't be harmed. I only need her to provide Domain support for my adventurers."
Her reason for choosing Viola was simple.
She wanted the power of Viola's Domain.
Even though she didn't fully understand its abilities yet, the situation her guild currently faced required someone capable of countering another Domain user.
"Alright," Akira nodded. "I'll discuss it with Viola."
"Then I'll wait for your reply."
Xu Feiyan extended her hand toward him.
"Oh, right. Let me borrow your phone for a moment."
"My phone?" Akira asked, puzzled as he handed it over. "What for?"
"I'll help you apply for a new game console," she explained while logging into a website on his phone and downloading a file. "This model is different from the upcoming public-release version. It has a unique design—and it'll arrive a few days early."
"A different version?" Akira's curiosity piqued.
He had heard from Liu Xue that the game would release new consoles at launch, but he hadn't known that special editions even existed—let alone that Xu Feiyan could obtain one.
"There are only one thousand slots worldwide," she explained casually.
"Three hundred are distributed through events to players with B-Rank evaluations or higher. The rest are acquired through… certain real-world channels."
She shrugged lightly.
"I only managed to get two slots myself. And as of noon today, they're already completely sold out."
"Only players above B-Rank qualify…" Akira said thoughtfully. "How much is one slot worth?"
"Probably a few million yuan," she replied indifferently. "I'm not sure of the exact price. One of mine came from an event reward, and the other was a gift from a friend."
"A few million?!"
Akira's eyebrows shot up.
Xu Feiyan glanced at him and smiled mysteriously.
"Don't worry," she said softly. "I'm not charging you."
Her tone carried an ambiguous implication—almost as if she valued something else about him far more than money.
"?"
Akira felt momentarily at a loss.
Had he just been… sponsored by a rich woman?
"Tell me your height, weight, date of birth… everything," Xu Feiyan said while continuing to operate his phone.
"Height and weight?" Akira blinked.
Date of birth was understandable—but why did they need those measurements?
"Of course we need them. These data points are important."
"..."
Akira told her his height and weight. After that, Xu Feiyan asked several other personal details, and he answered them all honestly.
According to her, the special console apparently had additional functions.
What Akira didn't know, however, was that Xu Feiyan had already completed the application for the console slot shortly after taking his phone.
After finishing the registration, she had quietly browsed through his phone—just to see whether there were any interesting videos hidden inside.
Unfortunately, his phone was completely barren.
The most scandalous thing inside was a few anime-girl images used as wallpapers.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, a WeChat message popped up on the screen.
[Kana's Bunny: Akira! I have huge news!]
"Your WeChat—"
Xu Feiyan was about to say something when Akira stood up.
"I'm going to the restroom. I'll be right back."
With that, he left the private room.
"..."
Xu Feiyan paused for a second, then prepared to put the phone aside.
But just then—
The other side initiated a video call.
"?"
She hesitated for barely a second before accepting it.
Immediately, a pure and lovely girl's face appeared on the screen. Her bright eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Akira! I have something important to tell you!"
But the moment Liu Xue realized that the person on the other side of the call was not Akira—but instead a stunning, unfamiliar woman—she froze completely.
"…Did I send this to the wrong person?"
"That can't be right… this is Akira's WeChat…"
"Who are you?"
"I'm Akira's friend," Xu Feiyan replied calmly. "He went to the restroom."
"Akira's friend?"
Liu Xue looked visibly surprised.
She had never heard that Akira had such a beautiful female friend.
"Did you need something from him?" Xu Feiyan asked with a smile.
"It's nothing important! You two go ahead!"
Liu Xue ended the call almost immediately.
Just then, Akira returned from the restroom.
"I'm back."
Xu Feiyan informed him casually,
"A girl called you just now."
Akira raised his brows slightly.
At this hour… who would be calling him?
Liu Xue?
She was the only one who came to mind.
"She was a lively, innocent-looking girl," Xu Feiyan continued. "Very pretty eyes."
"A video call?" Akira suddenly realized the problem. His expression shifted.
That meant Liu Xue and Xu Feiyan had seen each other.
Trouble.
…Wait.
Akira froze for another second.
Why was he even nervous?
He sat down and reached for his phone.
But before he could take it back, Xu Feiyan asked curiously,
"Is she your girlfriend?"
"Of course not!"
Akira shook his head immediately.
At this stage, he and Liu Xue were still just friends.
"Really?"
Xu Feiyan's lips curved into a charming smile as she handed the phone back.
"Her avatar is interesting. Maybe she already has someone she likes. Youth is wonderful~"
Akira blinked in confusion.
"Her avatar? Isn't it just a blank background with a red dot?"
"You should try enlarging it," Xu Feiyan suggested gently.
"?"
Akira zoomed in on Liu Xue's profile picture.
Only then did he realize—
The red dot was actually a tiny heart.
And inside the heart… there seemed to be a line of text.
But the font was far too small to read.
"I've already installed the app for you," Xu Feiyan said. "In two weeks, don't forget to enter your home address."
Only then did Akira notice the new app icon on his phone.
When he opened it, he found that all his personal information had already been filled in—and there was a 16-digit activation code attached.
"Thanks," he said sincerely.
That activation code alone was worth several million yuan.
Yet Xu Feiyan had simply given it to him for free.
Truly touching.
"Think of it as a graduation gift," Xu Feiyan said casually.
Then she asked,
"By the way—have you decided which university you're going to?"
"Zhehai University," Akira answered honestly.
"Zhehai University?!"
Xu Feiyan sounded slightly surprised.
"What's wrong?" Akira asked.
She shook her head lightly. Something flickered in her amber eyes, as if she were hiding a thought—but she didn't explain.
"It's nothing."
"With this five million," Akira said while picking up the black-gold bank card, "I'm planning to rent a place near Zhehai University."
"What's the password?"
"My birthday."
"And when is that?"
"September 6th."
"Wait… aren't passwords supposed to be six digits?"
"906906."
"Oh."
Akira carefully tucked the card away, feeling a small thrill of excitement.
"Why rent an apartment?" Xu Feiyan suddenly said.
"I happen to have a villa near Zhehai University. You can live there directly."
"???"
Akira froze.
"Isn't that… a bit inappropriate?"
"What's inappropriate about it?"
"You're being too good to me," Akira admitted honestly. "I'm a little overwhelmed."
"In that case…" Xu Feiyan paused deliberately, then smiled warmly.
"Just think of it as an investment in you."
"I hope our friendship lasts for a long time."