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Chapter 085 Temptation Rampage

At seven in the morning.

Ling Mo was still a bit dazed.

He felt that the way he woke up today was a bit strange.

And a bit embarrassing.

It seemed he had unconsciously rolled over next to Xia Xinyan during his sleep… and hugged her.

He wasn’t sure how long he had held her, but when he did wake up, Xia Xinyan was slowly trying to wriggle out of his embrace, seemingly to avoid waking him up.

But she still managed to stir him from his slumber.

Of course, he didn’t feel angry at all; he was just quite embarrassed… and a little regretful.

He had been holding her while sleeping, yet regrettably, he hadn’t really experienced what it felt like to hold her while sleeping.

It must have been very comfortable.

…But then why did his face feel a bit sore?

Could it be that he bumped into something while sleeping?

Wait, was he really that bad of a sleeper?

He had always thought he was pretty calm when he slept.

Gently touching his still-tingling right cheek, Ling Mo felt confused.

“Ah Mo,” his grandfather’s voice pulled him back to reality, “come help me move some things.”

“Oh, okay.” Ling Mo nodded, glanced back at the kitchen, and then followed his grandfather to the front door.

Xia Xinyan was helping grandma make breakfast.

This was her own initiative; even before grandma said anything, she began to help with washing and prepping the vegetables.

Being a guest, especially as the girlfriend of her own grandson, grandma naturally didn’t want her to do such chores. But Xia Xinyan was very insistent, so grandma had no choice but to let her do it.

But looking at the smile on the old lady’s face, she seemed quite pleased.

Like… she was evaluating a daughter-in-law.

To Ling Mo, it felt pretty strange.

Although he could cook too, he hadn’t helped out in the kitchen at home much, mainly because he got used to not doing so. Now, seeing how diligent Xia Xinyan was, he couldn’t help but reflect on himself.

Fortunately, his grandfather called him out.

Although National Day is a long holiday, for farmers, it’s the busiest time of the year for autumn harvest. Now that Ling Mo was back, it was just the right time for him to lend a hand.

While they were busy working, his grandfather fell silent for a moment as he looked at the car parked outside and finally spoke, “How long have you two been together?”

Ling Mo paused slightly, then replied, “For a while now.”

This kind of thing was indeed hard to discuss with family… he couldn’t just say Xia Xinyan was the one chasing after him, right?

So he could only answer vaguely.

His grandfather seemed to be pondering something, continuing to ask, “Do you know about her family situation?”

Ling Mo nodded, “Yes.”

Of course he knew.

It would be weird if he didn’t know.

Besides, the fields Xia’s family was involved in were familiar to the younger generation, while the older folks probably didn’t know much. But just from that car, it was clear—any family that could buy their kid a car during college was either wealthy or noble.

So Ling Mo understood what his grandfather was getting at: “I know, Grandpa, there’s a bit of a gap between us, but it seems Xia Xinyan’s family hasn’t rejected us being together, so that’s what matters.”

“…You’ve grown up,” Grandpa sighed, “You understand these things, so I won’t bother you. Just don’t get tricked.”

Ling Mo smiled and shook his head, “I won’t.”

Xinyan… wouldn’t deceive him.

He believed in that.

Breakfast didn’t take long to prepare, and there were several dishes that Xia Xinyan made herself, all of them tasty, which earned her several compliments from Grandma and Grandpa.

Xia Xinyan smiled and accepted each compliment; it felt like there was no barrier between them at all, making Ling Mo feel like it wasn’t even the first time she had come to his house.

Instead, it felt like she had been living there for quite a while.

Watching them, Ling Mo couldn’t help but chuckle.

This feeling was quite nice.

After finishing the meal, the two elders went about their business. With no chores left for them to help with, Ling Mo and Xia Xinyan found themselves free.

And then they chose to snuggle at home, playing on the computer.

Going out? In the countryside, there really wasn’t much to do. That little grove might count as a spot, but even a scenic spot couldn’t be visited multiple times in such a short span, right?

Xia Xinyan didn’t mind; she had come to visit her former family after all. But Ling Mo felt a bit awkward about bringing his girlfriend back to his hometown without any fun places to take her, feeling quite helpless.

So he planned to find a few movies for them to watch together.

However, he couldn’t find any movies; instead, he suddenly noticed one thing—

The video edits of the dungeon recordings from “Realm of Divine Presence” seemed to have taken over all major video-sharing sites.

Their popularity and heat practically obliterated every other type of video.

It was… quite absurd.

But upon closer thought, it made sense; some edited recordings from the dungeons could easily be viewed as movies—perhaps even more real than films. After all, every character was not playing another role but was being themselves; as long as the dungeon’s plot was somewhat stimulating, it could turn a lousy film to dust.

Moreover, and importantly, this was still a game, meaning anyone could join as a character, become their own lead. As long as one performed charm enough, they could easily attract fans.

For instance, the chubby guy… he had edited and uploaded all his past recordings, and now every video had broken 500k views. His fan count had also reached 300k, slowly giving off the aura of a prominent video creator.

Ling Mo took a look at their last horror dungeon video.

Then he discovered this guy had cut out all his embarrassing moments, including that one time he breached the moral line and the last scene where he hilariously misfired…

The video ended after his earth-shattering lightning strike.

Not to mention… the flair was pretty high; if one didn’t know about the chubby guy’s performance, just watching this video might really make Ling Mo mistake him for a big shot.

“He’s gotten famous now, huh…” Ling Mo remarked with a hint of emotion after finishing the video.

Xia Xinyan sat cross-legged on the bed, sizing him up for a moment before suddenly asking, “Do you want to be famous?”

Ling Mo paused, then shook his head, “No… didn’t you say it’s better to stay low-key?”

“If you want to be famous, that’s fine too.” Xia Xinyan smiled lightly.

Did she not know what this guy was thinking? It was practically written all over his face.

Which man doesn’t want to be famous? Who wouldn’t want to be the center of attention wherever they go?

But he just couldn’t right now.

“Believe me, Mo Mo.” Xia Xinyan’s smile gradually carried an indescribable meaning, “Soon, you will be famous… not just you, but everyone who makes it onto the leaderboard will become the brightest existence in the world.”

“They will lead an era.”

Ling Mo was momentarily stunned.

He… didn’t quite grasp what Xia Xinyan meant.

But he could sense that, in that moment, Xia Xinyan seemed to radiate absolute confidence, infused with an endless charm beneath that confidence.

It was that charm that gradually captivated him, gradually intoxicating him until…

Bang——!

In a whirlwind of confusion, Ling Mo, before he even realized what was happening, was suddenly thrown onto the bed.

He was quite dazed from the fall.

Xia Xinyan was just as confused.

Her action this time was almost instinctive, and she had just flung Ling Mo away.

The reason was simple.

—Wasn’t this guy just about to lean in to kiss her?!

Had he gotten addicted?!

【No… this system thinks the host has just charmed the original self…】

‘Huh? I didn’t use any charm!’

【But the host’s charm ability went out of control just now.】

‘?’