"Fuck that choosing a side bullshit!"

I swore while punching the Ancient Divine Dragon’s back. I felt like my heart was about to explode from sheer frustration.

……

I logged out of the game after returning to Black Cavalry Scout Camp. After I set my gaming helmet aside, I pulled the blanket over myself and tried to sleep. However, Lin Yixin entered my room a couple of minutes later and looked at me with sad, red eyes. "Please don’t let a dog like Amber Pupil get to you, Little Cheat. He’s Tang Long’s nephew, he was always going to annoy you no matter what you say…"

I pulled away my blanket and answered, "I know. I just want to sleep for a bit."

She smiled. "Sorry. Sister Eve, Stranger of Three Lifetimes, Moonkiss and everyone asked me to visit you on their behalf because they’re all worried about you. Also, Uncle Zhang Chun and the others are discussing countermeasures at Sky Ridge. Long story short, each guild will guard the passage close to their territories and ensure that the China server won’t be invaded from all sides at the same time."

I sighed. "Mn. Anyway, I need to sleep, so I’ll take you out later this afternoon, okay? I heard that a new scenic lakeshore just opened as of late. We'll head there and relieve ourselves from these annoyances for a bit…"

"Yeah, sure! I won’t disturb you any longer."

"Okay!"

Lin Yixin walked closer to give me a goodbye kiss.

However, I trapped her within my embrace and gave her a long kiss. A minute later, she finally struggled and whined cutely, "Enough. We’ll both regret this if you keep this up any longer…"

Me: "..."

In the end, Lin Yixin left with a wide smile on her face. I took a moment to calm myself before sinking into lalaland.

……

It was noon when I woke up again. Lin Yixin had already logged out of the game and was waiting for me. After we ate a simple meal, we headed out straight to Orchid Lake, the closest tourist attraction in the area. The place should be beautiful because the spring season was upon us, and I could use the distraction anyway. Maybe it was because I had shouldered too much burden as of late, but I nearly burst into tears like a bitch when Amber Pupil did his usual bullshit earlier. Heaven knows that I need this walk...

It took a half an hour ride on a bus to get to the tourist attraction, so we did just that. For this date, Lin Yixin wore a plaid shirt coupled with a black jacket and a pair of dancing shoes that gave her an innocent appearance. She also carried a small black handbag. On the bus, she clung to my arm as if she didn’t want to let go of me for even a second.

I soaked in the grassy ground and dancing butterflies outside the window for a moment. Despite the beautiful scenery though, Lin Yixin was obviously bothered by something. Still clinging to me, she said, "Let’s make a bet, Little Cheat!"

I smiled. "Oh? What bet?"

"I want you to tell me a joke. If you can make me laugh, I’ll…"

"Give me a kiss?"

"Fine, whatever you say…"

The two girls sitting at the seat in front of us immediately looked back at us. They were obviously trying to hold in their smiles.

Anyway, I cleared my throat and began,

"This is a story about the Kaifeng court of the Song Dynasty. One day, Zhan Zhao told Ma Han a heroic story about himself: ‘One night, I was scouting the Xiaoyao Pavilion for important intel when a trap caught me and inflicted serious injuries to me. I just barely made it back to Kaifeng court when my vision turned black, and…’ Ma Han asked urgently, ‘You fainted?’ Zhan Zhao replied, ‘No, it was just Lord Bao!!!!’”

[1]

I wasn’t even done with my joke yet, and Lin Yixin was already laughing so hard that tears were spilling out of her eye ducts. She pushed her face into my chest and punched me again and again.

"Alright, you lost…" I said.

Lin Yixin tightened her grip around my arm. "Oh, I don’t know. It’s a bit too public here…"

"No way! Gimme my prize now!"

Seeing that she wouldn’t comply, I kissed her on her cheek myself and said, "If you won’t kiss me, then I’ll kiss you myself."

The two girls in front of us were so entertained by our antics that they were laughing and clapping their thighs as well.

……

We arrived at the tourist attraction half an hour later, Lin Yixin and I walked out of the bus hand-in-hand. It was afternoon at this point, and the warm wind blowing from the lakeshore felt extremely comfortable.

We found a stone bench to sit down beside the lake. However, it was covered in dry leaves.

"Well, have a seat…" I pointed at the space beside me.

Lin Yixin pouted. "There are ants, and I’m wearing a skirt…"

"In that case, would you like to sit on my legs?"

I pulled her closer, and she didn’t reject my offer. Obediently and gently, she sat on my legs and filled me up with her fragrant scent and warm body right away. As I tightened my arms around her thin waist, she looked back at me and shot me a sweet smile and starstruck eyes. A woman in love was lost no matter how smart she was.

As Lin Yixin’s face moved closer and closer to my face, her long hair spilled onto my shoulder like a cascade of a waterfall. She pressed her cheeks against my nose and let out a cute giggle. "I love this feeling. If only time would stop right at this moment; the moment where our love for each other is at its peak. I think I’m starting to understand what the saying ‘if only life could always be the first time we met’ truly means…"

I smiled and kissed her cheek softly. "Mn. Life isn’t permanent, just like how love is simply one of the brightest seasons of one’s life. In the end, even love will fade away in time. Still, the memories of this moment of passion are enough to satisfy me for a lifetime."

Lin Yixin wrapped her arms around my back and giggled. "I didn’t know that you’re an expert in love! Now confess. How many innocent girls have you swindled before you met me and Sister Eve?"

I grinned at her. "Your accusation is completely baseless, girl. I’ve never even met Eve in real life until the day before Heavenblessed’s servers opened, much less dated another girl. Now that I think about it, both you and Eve are my first loves…"

Lin Yixin’s eyes immediately became filled with scorn. "Shameless man! Only you are shameless enough to call two girls your first loves!"

An idea entered my mind as I stared at the smoke-like willow leaves above the lakewater. "Why don’t we rent a boat and go boating for a bit, Yiyi? Oh, we should also rent a fishing rod so I can fish us some dinner. Then, we’ll camp here for the night and go back tomorrow…"

Lin Yixin immediately turned beet red. "What are you thinking?!"

I curled my lips. "You’re the one who’s thinking too much. You can rent tents and blankets here, and you can see that the tents are only a couple meters apart. I’m not that desperate that I would have sex with you in public."

"Lalala, I don’t understand what you are saying…" she said loudly while putting her arms on her lips.

I slapped her round butt lightly. "Your understanding is unnecessary. Now get down so I can get us our boat. By the way, do you know how to swim, Yiyi?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Good, because I don’t. Do rescue me if I fall off the boat, okay?"

"I really don’t get how you can say such things with a straight face, you bastard!"

……

I had to pay an uncle 100 RMB for the boat and another 200 RMB for a full set of fishing equipment. The expense was negligible though since Lin Yixin’s small handbag was stuffed full of cash. I could’ve brought nothing with me, and the legendary Fruit Knife Goddess still would have enough to foot for everything!

The boat wasn’t big, but it was fairly stable. I rowed the boat while Lin Yixin sang a sweet, ancient folksong in a soft voice:

Let's row the boat together,

The little boat propels the waves away.

The beautiful White Pagoda is

Reflected in the sea

Surrounded by the red wall and trees.

The little boat

Floats gently in the water,

Cool breeze blowing against our faces.

……

I couldn’t help but smile as I commented, "Not bad at all. You sound as good as the Black Duck Singing Group…"

Lin Yixin chuckled. "Too bad this is probably the only folksong I actually know how to sing. Still, I nailed the rhythm perfectly, am I right Little Cheat?"

"Eh, it was okay. Ooh, we’re a hundred meters away from the shore now. I’m gonna fish! Will you observe, or will you observe?"

"..."

After the bait was in place, I threw the fishing hook into the water and fell into silence. Occasionally, a gentle breeze would blow across the water and cause small ripples to rock the fishing float, but I wasn’t that bad an angler that I would be fooled by the natural phenomenon.

Lin Yixin was also staring at the fishing float in silence when she suddenly whispered, "Look, I think it’s moving. That’s a fish, right?"

I nodded before replying in a confident tone, "The fish is testing the bait. I’ll pull it up once the float shakes around four times. I bet you it’s at least this heavy!"

I raised two fingers.

"Two catties?" Lin Yixin chirped excitedly.

"Er, no. I mean two liang (⅛ of a catty)..." I replied.

Lin Yixin: "..."

When the float shook four times, I gathered my qi, prepped my core and abruptly gave my fishing rod a mighty pull. However, not only was there no fish on my fishing hook at all, the bait had been eaten completely by the cunning fish I was trying to catch.

Lin Yixin’s eyes turned wide. "Er, is this what you mean by testing the bait?"

I answered shamelessly, "No, this is just an exceptionally cunning fish. Just wait, we’ll get a big one next time…"

"Fine, I’ll wait…"

I dropped the fishing hook into the water a few seconds later, and this time I pulled when the float shook three times. It immediately triggered a wild thrashing from the fish on the hook, and Lin Yixin exclaimed in excitement, "Wow! Is this a big one?"

"Of course it is!"

I pulled my catch out of the water and reeled it into the boat. It was… a yellowhead catfish that was the length of my finger. It felt like it was mocking me.

Lin Yixin consoled me, "It’s not even half a liang heavy, but a catch is a catch. Do you want me to put the fish in the bucket for you, dear?"

I shook my head. "No, not this one. It’s very easy to cut yourself on this fish. I’ll do it."

I picked up the yellowhead catfish and dropped it in our small bucket with a plop. If there was one thing good about this fishing trip, it would be that it didn’t have the bullshit rules of Hangzhou or Shanghai where you had to weigh your catch and pay the owner accordingly. Here at Orchid Lake, nobody cared how many fishes you caught because it was an unmanaged lake.

……

I continued fishing while Lin Yixin took out her phone and read whatever it was she was reading. A while later, she raised her arms, stretched, and distracted me from the fishing float immediately. Damn, my little girlfriend’s breasts are so round, full and genuine...

"What are you looking at?" She glared at me.

I smiled. "Nothing? I’m just… determining how my future sex life will be…"

Lin Yixin: "..."

After Lin Yixin had completed her stretch, she pulled her skirt together and curled up into a ball like a lazy, sunbathing cat. Laying her head-on my thigh, she said, "I’m sleeping. Wake me up if you catch a big one, okay? Do your best. I don’t want to go hungry for the night…"

"Don’t you worry!"

Lin Yixin closed her eyes, and things were peaceful for a very long time. The bubbles from the lake, the chirps and her soft breathing combined together to paint a unique picture of tranquility.

I shot Lin Yixin’s sleeping face a glance and felt a surge of warmth in my heart. Perhaps true happiness was the fleeting joy earned at the end of a long struggle after all.

1. (T/N: The joke here is that Lord Bao’s skin is as black as the night)