Shui Ge's avatar was lit up, and he was still online.
He quickly replied, and this was almost the most words he had ever used in a reply.
Shui Ge: [Welcome back.]
Zhan Ruoqing was stunned for a moment. She had expected him to reply with just an "mm" as usual.
Bing Meng Shang Lei: [Thank you for helping me kill those people from Hai Feng Pavilion.]
Shui Ge: [They deserved to die.]
Bing Meng Shang Lei: [I heard you took leave?]
Shui Ge: [Mm.]
Although his words were still as few as before, Zhan Ruoqing could feel that something had changed between them.
She felt a bit more dependent on Shui Ge.
From then on, she began to open up to Shui Ge, pouring out all her troubles to him. Shui Ge was a good listener. He would listen carefully to everything she said and never offered unsolicited advice.
Sometimes, when Zhan Ruoqing asked for his opinion, he would honestly say that he didn't know what to do.
This struck a chord with Zhan Ruoqing because she also didn't know what to do. She didn't want to obey her parents, nor did she want to sever ties with them. If Shui Ge had made the decision for her, she might have become angry.
Later, the online game released a new expansion pack, updating the marriage and home systems.
Everyone in the guild egged Shui Ge on to propose to the guild leader. Zhan Ruoqing was both expectant and afraid that Shui Ge would refuse, so she preemptively declared,
"If you want to marry me, you'll need a mansion in 'Purple Qi Comes from the East,' plus a set of the most exquisite equipment in the entire server, crafted by your own hands. Note that it must be self-crafted, not traded from the market. That's the dowry worthy of marrying me!"
Zhan Ruoqing originally thought that her words had blocked all possibilities, but she never expected that Shui Ge would actually do it.
He bought all the blueprints and ore on the server and, using various enhancement stones, crafted the equipment with the best stats.
He sent the set of equipment to her with the note, [Dowry].
When she received that gift, Zhan Ruoqing was so touched that she almost cried on the spot.
She accepted Shui Ge's proposal, and they had a grand wedding in the game. After that, they roamed the martial world together and decorated their home. They bought furniture, planted flowers and trees, and raised pets... Little by little, they built their home in the game.
Soon, it was time for the final exams.
Her parents did not scold her as she expected when her exam scores had plummeted. Instead, they told her not to put too much pressure on herself, that happiness was more important than anything.
Zhan Ruoqing was deeply discouraged, which made her even more rebellious. So, she decided to go all out and skipped the exams altogether.
After the exams, her homeroom teacher called her parents directly, furiously complaining about how she had neglected her studies for half a semester. Although her parents' attitude was impeccable, their underlying message was clear: "Stay out of my child's business."
This left Zhan Ruoqing deeply disappointed. She suddenly felt that her home was suffocating, and she longed to escape.
She logged into the game and, seeing that Shui Ge was online, sent him a message directly.
Bing Meng Shang Lei: [Shui Ge, I want to see you.]
Shui Ge: [?]
"Let's elope!" Before she could send these words, Zhan Ruoqing paused. She thought for a moment, then deleted the rest and slightly modified the message to make it sound more tactful.
Bing Meng Shang Lei: [Let's create a new home together, not in the game, but in reality.]
Shui Ge was silent for a long time. He seemed to be seriously considering the matter, and finally, he replied, [Okay.]
This moved Zhan Ruoqing to the verge of tears. She seemed to see another path for her life.
Afterward, the two agreed on a time to meet.
Zhan Ruoqing was not entirely unprepared for this 'elopement.' She realized that if she brought her bank cards, they would surely be frozen by her family. Therefore, she learned from historical dramas and brought a lot of jewelry and ornaments. Her original plan was to sell some of these valuable items if she ran out of money later to tide her over in emergencies.
"I made thorough preparations. I even thought that no matter what kind of person Shui Ge was, what job he had, or what his family background was, I wouldn't care. I had decided on him. But I never expected that he actually..." Zhan Ruoqing wore an expression of a thousand unexpressed words and couldn't continue.
"Is it possible he's particularly ugly, and you had a 'meet-cute disaster'?" Ye Zhi asked curiously.
"Not exactly. I had considered that he might be ugly, but I could accept it no matter what he looked like. But..." Zhan Ruoqing gritted her teeth and said in exasperation, "But he can't be a primary school student!"
Ye Zhi's lips twitched. She first thought about Taoxun's recent decisions, then began to consider Taoxun's future development. Taoxun's branch company is in
He had seen too many relatives become detestable for money, so he was also tired and wanted to escape. During that time in the game, we both became each other's reliance. At that time, he probably really wanted to be a family with me, but perhaps I was the older sister, and he was the younger brother..."