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Chapter 169 Ready to Face Judgment?

Xia Xinyan knew that Ling Mo wouldn’t change his mind based on just a few words from her.

She didn’t press the issue but instead rephrased, “Do you see them as NPCs or real people?”

Ling Mo paused, unsure how to respond.

He wanted to say he viewed them as NPCs because logic told him they were indeed NPCs; no matter how real they seemed, they were still NPCs.

But… if Xinyan didn’t view them as NPCs, would saying this upset her?

—Ling Mo’s thoughts weren’t about whether his words or actions might inadvertently irritate Xinyan anymore. He had moved past that initial stage; now he simply wondered if he might make her unhappy.

From his perspective, in a romantic relationship, if the other person holds certain serious ideas that he finds completely unrelatable or even ridiculous, wouldn’t that be pretty uncomfortable?

But if he were to lie… he didn’t even know how to frame that lie.

Seeing his expression, Xia Xinyan almost guessed his thoughts and sighed, “It’s fine; I just want to know what you think.”

Ling Mo pondered for a few seconds and cautiously replied, “I… see them as NPCs. After all, they’re characters created by the game and don’t exist in reality.”

“But you also mentioned that the game designs such realistic NPCs to enhance player immersion, right?” Xia Xinyan smiled, “Since it’s meant to increase immersion, if you always view them as NPCs, how can you immerse yourself?”

Ling Mo hesitated.

Xia Xinyan continued, “If we only considered them as NPCs back then, do you think we could have gotten that ring and achieved an SSS rating?”

Hearing this, Ling Mo appeared thoughtful, unsure what to think.

Xia Xinyan didn’t ask, “Why not try seeing them as real people? Always looking at everything from an ultra-rational angle would cause you to miss out on a lot of fun, wouldn’t it?”

“…Mm, I get it.” Ling Mo smiled softly, “I’ll give it a try.”

Perhaps this was the romantic essence unique to girls; it did make sense. The perspective from which one views those characters certainly alters the experience returned.

Since Xinyan liked this, he would join her in embracing the romance.

As long as she got to enjoy herself, that was good enough.

Of course, the premise was not to let her revert to treating others with self-harm like before.

…Well, it seems he needed to stock up on healing potions.

—The ones Xinyan provided were meant for her own use.

However, Xia Xinyan wasn’t just saying all this for such childish reasons to Ling Mo.

She believed that Ling Mo would soon come to share her views; she just couldn’t wait that long.

This time around, the Dungeon had given her another hint: the game’s progress was much faster than she imagined. When those truly important dungeons appeared, if Ling Mo continued viewing those characters as NPCs like in his past life, he would easily miss out on many opportunities to grow stronger, just like this time.

She planned to change how they would both improve. Dungeon runs weren’t about quantity, but quality; as long as they performed their best each time, their rate of improvement would be no less than others.

As for the spare time, it would be perfect for her to explore various things related to the game.

Like the upper echelons they were about to engage with—though she had no idea who would be the first to approach them.

And she didn’t expect them to act so quickly.

Barely had she enjoyed a couple of comfortable days when the first person contacted her, and it was an unexpected one—

Her convenient dad.

When the call came in, Xia Xinyan was still lazily lying in bed, with Ling Mo urging her to get up. Hearing the ringtone, she flipped over, facing away from Ling Mo, and answered the call.

Ling Mo was left holding her clothes, feeling a mix of resignation and amusement.

Why did he feel like Xinyan was getting lazier under his care?

He remembered back when they first cohabited, Xinyan would get up without him having to push her—sometimes even before he did.

And now she had begun sleeping in.

Although it was quite cute.

Sighing, he simply crawled onto the bed and lay beside her, just as he was about to drag her out to get dressed, he heard her voice: “Dad?”

Ling Mo froze.

At such a close distance, even though the call wasn’t on speaker, he could hear the voice from the phone—

“It’s gotten cold lately; how are you doing at school?”

It was a man’s voice, gentle in tone, clearly someone who must really like Xia Xinyan.

Is that her dad?

Xia Xinyan, with her eyes closed, casually chatted, mostly about trivial family matters, bringing her a sense of long-lost familial warmth.

This convenient dad… wasn’t bad at all.

Unconsciously curling her lips, she spoke with a hint of sincerity.

Until finally, her dad suddenly asked, “By the way, is it busy at school lately? Do you have time?”

“I’m free. What’s up?”

“Your third cousin’s birthday is coming up, and it’s been a while since the family has gotten together. I thought it’d be a good opportunity to gather everyone. We can’t just focus on making money and forget about family. You should come back… bring your little boyfriend too, let your cousins keep an eye on him. They’re all guys; they can tell if he’s a good match for you better than one girl can.”

Xia Xinyan: “…”

Ling Mo: “…”

After a brief pause, Xia Xinyan nodded, “Alright, I’ll head back then.”

“Mm, that’s settled then. I have to go; talk to you later.”

Once she hung up, Xia Xinyan was wide awake.

She instinctively turned her head to look at Ling Mo beside her but didn’t expect him to be so close. The movement almost made her kiss him.

She immediately shrank back her neck and burrowed deeper into the covers before staring at Ling Mo and asking, “What are your thoughts?”

Ling Mo still seemed a bit dazed.

He was going to meet Xinyan’s family?

So soon?

He hadn’t even prepared at all.

“Ling Mo?” Seeing him in a daze, Xia Xinyan called out again.

Ling Mo snapped back, “Huh? What?”

“…I asked if you had any thoughts. You heard what my dad said, right?”

“Um… yeah.” Ling Mo shook off his daze and asked, “Can I really go along?”

“Of course! If my dad asked, would I not take you?” Xia Xinyan narrowed her eyes slightly, “So, are you ready to face the judgment of my cousins?”

She knew she had a bunch of cousins but wasn’t sure how many.

Anyway, a lot.

Given her current position as the family pet, Ling Mo was probably in for a rough time.

Tsk.

Suddenly, she thought, this might not be a bad way out… getting her cousins to help her part ways with Ling Mo, using someone else as a scapegoat—perfect!

But she definitely couldn’t do that now; she hadn’t even helped Ling Mo pick a suitable partner yet.

Just right, time to prepare.