Chapter 207

“Why don’t I download it too? I’ve really been bored these past two days,” Xie Shiqing said. “I’ll go get my phone from the room.”

She walked back to her room in slippers, slap slap, then came back the same way and sat back down in her previous spot. “Do I download it from the app store?”

“No, no, that’s the channel version. You have to download it from the official website.”

Zhong Ning put down her phone, took Xie Shiqing’s, and helped her download it from the official site.

“Here you go.”

The internet speed was fast, and the game was downloaded quickly. Xie Shiqing, unfamiliar with the process, registered an account and logged into the game.

She had never played a game in her life—this was her very first time.

It wasn’t that she wanted to play; she just wanted to have a common topic with Zhong Ning.

As the game opened with an introductory cutscene, Xie Shiqing asked casually, “Is this the only game you usually play?”

Zhong Ning replied, “Not really. I actually play quite a few.”

She showed her a page dedicated to her games. Xie Shiqing glanced at it and, with her excellent memory, remembered all the titles. Smiling, she said, “Then I can try a few more. Not sure yet if I’ll like this one.”

“Sure, it’s a fun way to kill time.”

After a moment of silence, Xie Shiqing said, “I never used to have time to kill. There was always an endless amount of work to do.”

She didn’t want to seem like someone who constantly complained about the hardships of the past, so she quickly smiled and said, “But things are much better now. I go out every week for a walk, to relax.”

She lifted her phone and shook it a little. “Games seem nice too. It’s my first time trying one—I hope it’s not too hard. I’m a complete beginner.”

“If I run into something I don’t understand, can I ask Ning-jiejie?”

Zhong Ning let out a sigh, something complicated flashing through her eyes for a moment. “Go ahead and ask.”

There were only a few days left to ask anyway.

“Ning-jiejie is so kind.” Xie Shiqing smiled sweetly, like a peach blossom gently unfolding.

Since she was using the game as an excuse, she had to make it convincing. She had to look like she was genuinely trying, not treat Zhong Ning as someone who could be easily fooled.

She had fooled her once—she didn’t dare try a second time.

Xie Shiqing forced herself to settle down and read the game’s story.

After reading it, she felt she really wasn’t the target audience for this type of game. The art style was very cute—maybe too cute.

Her eyes, which she had deliberately widened, gradually returned to their original shape. Zhong Ning noticed this subtle change, and something stirred in her heart—an indescribable feeling of slight sorrow, slight tenderness, and a bit of amusement.

Even though she knew that Xie Shiqing was probably playing the game just to please her, she still found her struggling expression pitiful and endearing.

…It had to be the effect of those little lamb curls.

Zhong Ning said, “Why don’t you try something else? This one doesn’t seem to suit you.”

She switched to a MOBA game and logged in. “This one works on both PC and mobile.”

Xie Shiqing glanced at it and said, “I know this one. It’s backed by Senye Corporation. Back then, they partnered with artists under the Xie Corporation for promotion.”

It was one of the few game names she actually recognized.

Zhong Ning started a beginner bot match and handed the phone to Xie Shiqing. “Want to give it a try? Pick a hero.”

Xie Shiqing hesitated before choosing a name that seemed a little familiar.

“That’s a mage, goes mid lane. Put your left thumb here, this is the joystick, it controls the character’s movement. The right side is for the skills.”

“Just follow the arrows.”

Xie Shiqing lowered her head, appearing to focus on controlling the hero on screen, but in truth, all her attention was on Zhong Ning, who had leaned in close beside her for the sake of explaining.

Their shoulders were pressed together.

She glanced sideways with the corner of her eye—Zhong Ning’s face was only about twenty centimeters away. The little mole on the bridge of her nose had become just a faint dot, and her soft lips were like a pale pink line drawn with care.

What her eyesight lacked in clarity, imagination made up for.

Memory filled in all the details, turning the blurry outline into a vivid image in her mind.

Xie Shiqing even softened her breathing, her thoughts already completely removed from what she was doing.

“If you go any further, you’ll end up under their turret.”

Zhong Ning’s reminder pulled her back. She quickly looked down again and refocused on the phone.

Peak Duel was a phenomenon-level MOBA game. The graphics and skill designs were quite intricate. Compared to Stellar Core, Xie Shiqing found this one much easier to get into.

Or maybe it was simply because Zhong Ning was playing with her, which made her unknowingly develop a fondness for the game.

There wasn’t anything else to do anyway.

Zhong Ning kept her company all afternoon, playing beginner bot matches together.

Unexpected, but not surprising—Xie Shiqing’s gaming skills were actually pretty good. She was smart and memorized the character abilities very quickly, getting the hang of things in no time, though her movements still had the clumsiness of a beginner.

She would often say aloud what skill she was going to use or how she intended to dodge, but her hands couldn’t keep up.

Still, for someone playing for the first time, she was doing great.

That evening, the two of them ordered delivery and ate together. After dinner, Xie Shiqing returned to her room.

Spending a whole afternoon together was enough—she couldn’t cling to Zhong Ning too much. Haste makes waste.

They stayed in Lancheng for four days. By then, Xie Shiqing’s heat period had passed, and her Pheromone Imbalance Disorder had completely healed. Only some physical injuries hadn’t fully recovered yet.

The heat period was irregular, and the duration varied, but it was much better than before.

When they left, they didn’t make a show of it by taking a private jet. They simply bought first-class tickets on a direct flight.

After landing, staff from Shancheng were already there to meet them and drove them straight to the hotel they had booked in advance.

“Tomorrow, let’s visit the family of the sponsored patient at the hospital first, okay?”

Zhong Ning had no objections and readily said, “Sure, we’ll follow your arrangements.”

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