Slacking off in the Game of Survival

Chapter 54 Above the Wasteland(14)

After the blind date that day, this was still their first meeting.

——Although it always feels a bit strange to do this kind of thing as a player and NPC.

The air was silent for a moment. Qian Yue carried her snake-skin pouch and walked up to Qi Feng as if nothing had happened.

Qian Yue, “I want to sell things.”

Qi Feng glanced at the bag she was holding, which looked like a bag for collecting junk, and didn’t say anything.

At the same time, a translucent panel appeared in front of Qian Yue.

In addition to Qian Yue’s player backpack, the things inside her snake-skin pouch were also displayed in the form of a window.

A small line of text was written above: “Player’s Self-Storage Compartment (Non-bound)”

Compared to the neatly organized system inventory, the items in the self-storage compartment’s window were in disarray, just like the contents of her snake-skin pouch.

Most of what was inside were fragments of items scavenged from ruins. Although they looked like a lot, they probably weren’t worth much.

Should I haggle or not…

As Qian Yue was placing items into the trading box, she thought about this and couldn’t help but sneak a glance at Qi Feng.

Unexpectedly, she got caught again.

“…”

The man was typically reserved, with deep and focused eyes.

Accidentally meeting her gaze could easily give the impression of intense concentration.

Qian Yue was caught off guard and felt a slight blush, once again marveling at the whims of the creator.

Normally, when most girls are caught peeking and are embarrassed, they would look away shyly, but Qian Yue was an exception.

Since she was caught, she looked back at him quite openly and asked in a casual tone, “By the way, I didn’t have a chance to ask that day, were you also dragged out by your family?”

The word “also” was quite insightful.

Qi Feng’s expression slightly stiffened, seemingly unwilling to discuss this matter in the game.

But Qian Yue stared at him unwaveringly, leaving Qi Feng with no choice but to lightly reply with a somewhat perfunctory “Mm.”

In fact, he wasn’t just “dragged” out; he was deceived.

At that time, “Ten-Day Plan” was in the midst of development and adjustments based on the results of the third round of beta testing.

Qi Feng, being a hands-on boss who liked to take care of everything himself, was at his busiest, having no time to think about personal matters— of course, he never wasted time on such matters in general, to the extent that he was in his mid-twenties without even holding hands with anyone.

When he was summoned by his elders, he thought it was just as mentioned on the phone, a simple family dinner. He didn’t realize until he sat down that it was a blind date banquet.

The woman was an “acquaintance.”

In that instant they met, both of them saw a mutual emotion in each other’s eyes: fear.

Yes, fear. ; )

…

“Okay,” Qian Yue sighed and continued putting things into the trading box.

There were too many miscellaneous items in her bag, and because it wasn’t a system backpack, she couldn’t select all the same items at once. She had to pick them out one by one and stack them, which was extremely tedious.

Seeing her busy lowering her head, Qi Feng subconsciously relaxed.

But then, unexpectedly, the next second, Qian Yue said something shocking—

“So, what do you think about this matter?”

Cough cough cough!

Qi Feng was startled, almost choking, and quickly turned his head away, coughing.

Qian Yue: “?”

She looked at him strangely as she raised her head, her expression calm, as if she didn’t think she had said anything extraordinary.
“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine…” This is weird.

Gradually recovering, Qi Feng’s heart thumped. He lowered his head, covered his mouth with a fist, suppressing the indescribable feeling inside, and asked, “… Why did you suddenly ask this?”

Qian Yue shrugged, “My mom asked. You should’ve clarified it sooner so I can report back to her.”

She naively thought he would refuse, hence her frankness.

Although Qian Yue had already discussed this with her mother, whether it worked out or not, her mother wouldn’t arrange any more blind dates for her in the future. So, she wasn’t in a hurry at the moment.

But since they bumped into this topic, Qian Yue felt it was better to clarify things sooner. Of course, what was more important was…

She wanted to use this topic to negotiate the pricing with Qi Feng.

After all, discussing money can hurt emotions, and not discussing emotions can hurt finances.

Qi Feng: “…”

The man remained silent for a moment. Seeing that Qian Yue was still looking at him straightforwardly, he had to turn his face away and cough lightly.

He covered his lips with his fist and spoke in a very soft voice, “… Let’s discuss this question after we’re out.”

Qian Yue: ?

The three words “didn’t feel anything” were as simple as tapping one’s upper lip with the lower lip. Did they really need to wait until they were out to discuss it?

She clicked her tongue in annoyance and said, “Be straightforward. Are you a man or not? Why are your ears red?”

Qi Feng, the “not a man”: …

With Qian Yue’s teasing, Qi Feng’s ears grew even redder, as if they were about to bleed.

He murmured something quietly.

Qian Yue didn’t catch it.

“What did you say?”

As the last item was also put into the trade box, Qian Yue took a step toward him. Unexpectedly, Qi Feng instinctively stepped back, accidentally bumping into the broken wall behind him and making a not-so-subtle sound.

Qian Yue: “… Do I look scary?”

Qi Feng: …

He silently pulled up the hood of his tactical jacket, covering his entire head, ensuring that his face wouldn’t be easily seen. Then, in a low voice, he said, “I’m working.”

Qian Yue raised an eyebrow, “So?”

Qi Feng: … “The whole process is recorded.”

Qian Yue paused.

Qi Feng glanced at his operating interface and noticed that Qian Yue hadn’t added any new items for a while. He quickly steered the conversation back to a normal track, “Is this all? If you’re sure, go ahead and click ‘Trade’.”

Qi Feng was never one to talk much. Although his expression remained as calm as ever, Qian Yue could clearly sense from his words that he was getting anxious.

Was it because of her question, or because of the recording?

Qian Yue didn’t think Qi Feng had any thoughts about her.

From the very beginning when she met Qi Feng, she could feel that he was someone extremely restrained and formal, taking everything very seriously.

In contrast, Qian Yue had never been under anyone’s strict guidance since she was young; she lived life as she pleased, used to being free-spirited. Comparing the two, they were complete opposites.

So, was it because of the recording?

Although neither of them actually had any intention of going on a blind date, being grilled by various elders at the blind date banquet was inevitable. Therefore, even though Qian Yue didn’t know much about Qi Feng’s situation, she had heard some rumors.

The Qi family was a military aristocratic family. Although they weren’t within the Main Planet’s sphere of influence, they were no less influential than any other family. Literally everyone in the family was part of the establishment, and even the current head of the Galactic Council was a member of the Qi family.

But Qi Feng was evidently an exception.

Since young, he had always stood out from his siblings in the entire large family. His interests were too diverse to keep track of, yet his learning ability was exceptionally strong, making things much easier for him compared to others.

Although there weren’t any explicit feelings of jealousy or exclusion within the family, it was indeed true that gradually, his peers couldn’t keep up with his pace.

If Qi Feng knew something, others were just beginning to learn about it; if Qi Feng wanted to learn something, they hadn’t even heard of it yet. So, Qi Feng had to spend a lot of time figuring things out on his own, eventually developing this earnest and meticulous demeanor.

Later on, he left the family’s sphere of influence and came all the way to the main planet to establish a gaming company. So far, “Ten-Day Plan” was their first game open to the public, and its importance was self-evident. Therefore, although it wasn’t common for the big boss to personally participate in testing as an NPC, it could still be understood.

But since it was a beta test, it was necessary to actively uncover shortcomings and identify as many issues as possible for timely improvement.

Just like in the previous instance, he immediately accessed the backstage program and submitted error feedback. The reason the game was in beta testing was that sometimes experiencing things firsthand was completely different from reading the cold, numerical data in the backend.

During Qi Feng’s time in the game, he also recorded the whole process. Even if he didn’t encounter any bugs along the way, he would hand over the video to professionals in the team after work was done, for analysis and discussion on areas that could be further improved.

In this way, it was as if he was exposing every move he made in the game to his colleagues.

Qian Yue suddenly understood the connections.

She thought to herself, no wonder he got so angry after embarrassing himself a couple of times in front of her. Some people, even if they seemed calm on the surface, might have died internally many times in private— just like now.

Although the man’s face still wore that indifferent expression, as if nothing had happened, the blush on his cheeks and the blood-red tips of his ears betrayed his true feelings. As if noticing Qian Yue’s gaze, he pursed his lips and lowered the brim of his hat even further.

He urged, “Please complete the trade as soon as possible.”

Was he starting to panic?

Looking at the person in front of her, who covered himself entirely with the hood, only revealing a pointed chin, Qian Yue suddenly felt a mischievous urge.

She asked, “You’re rushing me to complete the trade… because you don’t want people to know about us? But everything that should have happened has already happened.”

Qi Feng: ???

However, before Qi Feng could figure out what was off about that sentence, Qian Yue suddenly took a step forward. Qi Feng had been on guard against her all along and subconsciously tried to step back—but he had already bumped into the wall earlier, leaving him nowhere to retreat.

With a light “smack,” Qi Feng’s entire back was pressed against the wall, and he stiffened up like a wooden board. At the same time, Qian Yue moved forward, and just by chance, she blocked him in front of her. Taking advantage of his dazed moment, she reached out and pinched the bit of chin exposed beneath the man’s hood.

Qi Feng: !!!

The moment their skin touched, it felt as if a tiny electric current surged through his entire body. It was as if a string in his mind snapped with a resonating “twang,” leaving Qi Feng utterly stunned.

Meanwhile, Qian Yue narrowed her eyes, looking just like a mischievous rascal teasing a proper lady. She leaned in closer to Qi Feng, her tone dripping with playfulness, “Hmm, if you don’t want people to know about our relationship, that works too.”

“Raise the acquisition price, or perhaps lower the prices of the items slightly. Be a good boy, and I promise not to do anything.”

Now, not only his ears, but Qi Feng’s whole face turned red.

——From anger.