"Online, they say fighting is a form of affection, and I've seen many people do just that," Xing Yuan quickly deflected the blame.
She was clearly doing it because she found her sister easy to bully, yet she framed it as if she were an innocent party.
Qing Yue wasn't sure whether to be angry. She seemed to recall hearing before that some boys would bully girls they liked to get their attention.
And although this NPC had developed her own consciousness, she wasn't human. It seemed normal for her to learn from humans in this regard.
No! What was she thinking about?
Forget it, being liked by a piece of data should prove her charm, right?
Qing Yue convinced herself, and when she looked at Xing Yuan again, her gaze softened considerably.
Perhaps, she didn't mean it intentionally.
Qing Yue automatically overlooked some details, and Xing Yuan immediately noticed the change in her eyes. Suppressing her excitement, she feigned disappointment and said,
"Sister, I'm sorry! I didn't know you didn't like me doing this. Tell me what you like, and I'll do it."
Who could refuse the pleading eyes of a puppy admitting its mistake?
Qing Yue's heart softened, and on impulse, she placed her hand on the obedient little puppy's head and said gently, "It's okay, it's not just your fault, I'm responsible too."
"Can we work on it together, okay?"
"Okay!" Xing Yuan happily hugged Qing Yue and kissed her, her eyes shining brightly.
Qing Yue's pretty face flushed, her fingertips burning. Then, she was forcibly ejected from the game.
[Warning: Player's current heart rate detected to be far above normal values, not conforming to healthy gaming guidelines. Game has been forcibly exited.]
Qing Yue patted her flushed face, looking a bit helpless. Why was she so nervous?
Even though this NPC fit her aesthetic and was pleasing to look at, she was just a piece of data, not even a person. How could she fall in love with her?
No, no! She couldn't have such perverse thoughts.
Xing Yuan watched Qing Yue disappear, her expression turning sullen. She gritted her back teeth and turned to find trouble with the system.
Why did it have to malfunction at such a crucial moment and force her offline, preventing her from reacting?
The system, suffering misfortune without cause, seemed to have fluctuating emotions, as if it had been greatly wronged, despite being just a piece of data.
They were the ones who went too far, and it couldn't even intervene to punish them?
Qing Yue didn't contact the company proactively. Instead, after calming down, she entered the game again.
Xing Yuan sat alone by the pond, looking inexplicably pitiful.
Qing Yue's heart instantly ached. She gently hugged Xing Yuan from behind and whispered, "I'm back."
Xing Yuan had received a report from the system she had just reprimanded the moment Qing Yue logged in. Her expression was now melancholic, and she looked pitifully at Qing Yue, "I thought Sister was abandoning me."
She tilted her head back 45 degrees, and a tear slowly rolled down her eye.
Since the previous method didn't work, she had to resort to Plan B.
Qing Yue had always been someone who responded to kindness rather than force. Her emotions took over at that moment. She gently wiped away Xing Yuan's tears and softly comforted her, "I won't abandon you."
Xing Yuan's fragile demeanor made Qing Yue forget her true nature for a moment. She thought that perhaps the game's settings weren't absolute. Maybe, the moment this NPC awakened, the original settings were no longer relevant to her.
Xing Yuan, who always pushed her luck, turned around and hugged Qing Yue tightly, mumbling, "Then Sister, swear that you won't abandon me."
Even if I am just a piece of data, you can't leave me.
"Okay~ I swear. There, there! The ground is cold, get up quickly," Qing Yue soothed her.
"Then, Sister, will you accompany me on missions to increase our affection points?" Xing Yuan asked with anticipation.
Once the intimacy level between the two characters reached eighty, further increases could only be achieved through couple missions.
Qing Yue had no work, and with two hours remaining in her game time for the day, it was more than enough. She agreed.
Xing Yuan opened the map, pointed to a location, and said excitedly, "We need to go to Lover's Lake instance first and row a boat. This is a couple's instance designed to cultivate默契值 (mo qi zhi - tacit understanding). We have to paddle at the same time for the boat to move forward. Isn't it interesting?"
Qing Yue found it a rather boring game, but she couldn't bear to refuse, so she silently nodded.
Couple instances were designed to increase intimacy and naturally wouldn't restrict conversation. As long as they coordinated their rhythm or used a chant, this level would be easy to pass.
Finally, they gained [Affection Points +2].
The second game was blindfolded guessing. Several couples participated together.
Xing Yuan didn't rely on touch to find people, but on smell.
Long ago, she had left a mark on her sister, so this kind of game was naturally not difficult for her.
When it was Qing Yue's turn to guess, she relied on intuition.
Among so many hands, she clearly sensed that only one was familiar and warm.
She didn't understand how this feeling came about, but she trusted it implicitly.
[Affection Points +5]
The third game was a quick Q&A. The two stood on a cliff and answered questions simultaneously. Only when both answered correctly would a ladder appear, and they could only descend the mountain after answering all the questions.
They revealed their preferences to each other, exchanged determined glances, and chose to start.
This was the most uncertain round, as they didn't yet understand each other well enough.
The first question was: "Where do you most want to go right now?"
"Down the mountain." They both said in unison, their thought processes highly unified.
"What do you most want to do?"
"Go down the mountain."
They high-fived and cheered. The system seemed to pause for a long time, discovering its logical loophole. After a two-second stutter, it resumed normal operation.
"What's your favorite food?"
They paused. They seemed to like many things, and it was difficult to unify their preferences.
...
After several failures, they finally managed to descend the mountain.
[Affection Points +5]
"This game is quite difficult," Qing Yue complained.
"It's also quite fun! At least we understand each other better through this game," Xing Yuan disagreed. She hadn't played such an interesting game before.
"Okay~ I'll play with you again next time. It's getting late, I'm going offline now," Qing Yue said goodbye gently.
A sudden wave of reluctance surged through Xing Yuan. She moved closer to Qing Yue, gently kissed her cheek, then took a step back, smiled sweetly, and nodded, "Okay, Sister~ See you tomorrow."