Chapter 152: The Interrupted Date

Early in the morning, a wisp of golden sunlight pierced through the gap in the window, letting the entire world feel the warmth of the sun as people gradually woke up from their dreams and opened their eyes.

"Ah-ya-ya!" After a long and heavy stretch, I regained my full consciousness. Scanning the room with my eyes, I found it as lovely as ever. Thinking back to last night during midnight snack time, Phantom Moon and Ye Shuang had engaged in a drinking contest. Ye Shuang, wanting to show off, drank half a case before passing out cold. Later, other guys came over to drink, and finally, Phantom Moon challenged three of them to a drinking duel. In the end, she single-handedly defeated all three of them with an overwhelming advantage of five cases, though she ended up collapsing herself. I had no choice but to carry her on my back all the way back to the dormitory.

To be honest, it was the first time I had ever seen a girl who could hold her liquor so well. "Time to get up!" I prepared to get out of bed, buy some breakfast, and later log into the game to test out the power of my new companion. However, when I glanced at Phantom Moon's bed, I found it empty. Could she have already woken up?!

"What is this? A steamed bun?! Did I bring a steamed bun back with me?" Just as I was about to throw off the blanket covering me, my right hand brushed against a circular, soft object. Curious, I gave it a squeeze, only to find the touch wonderfully warm and smooth, bringing an indescribable sense of comfort.

"Ah!" Just as I was immersed in the wonderful sensation coming from my right hand, an extremely charming voice came from my right side. I turned my head in surprise, only to discover Phantom Moon's beautiful face less than half a centimeter away from mine.

Goodness gracious!! Can someone please tell me what is going on here! I clearly remember putting her to bed myself and tucking her in last night (though without changing her clothes, because I didn't dare). Why is she in my bed? And wearing only a thin nightgown! Could it be, could it be that the rumor about her sleepwalking is actually true?!

Wait!! A pressing issue suddenly struck my mind. With Phantom Moon sleeping right beside me, could the "steamed bun" I was just holding in my right hand be...

After swallowing hard, I decided to uncover the truth and threw the blanket aside. Instantly, a breathtaking spring scene was revealed. My right hand had been grasping one of the proud peaks on Phantom Moon's chest. I hurriedly let go.

"What, what on earth have I done!!" I was on the verge of tears.

"I'm sorry, Phantom Moon, I'm, I'm so sorry..." Overwhelming guilt made me start babbling incoherently, knowing only how to apologize repeatedly, but Phantom Moon was fast asleep and didn't seem to hear a thing.

Just at that moment—"Brother Long Ling, Sister Xue Yue, wake up!" Accompanied by a loud shout from the guard, the door to my dormitory was violently shoved open, and Xiao Guang walked in with big strides and a smiling face.

However, the moment she stepped inside and saw the scene before her, she said, "Sorry, I came at a bad time. Brother Long Ling, I'll step outside first. You guys can continue being intimate for a little longer! Call me when you're done." With that, she turned as if to leave.

"Xiao Guang, don't go! Come back, help me move Phantom Moon away!" I shouted at Xiao Guang. Heaven knows if she would go outside and start screaming, in which case the whole dormitory would find out, and I wouldn't have the face to face anyone anymore.

"Fine..." Five minutes later, I walked out of the bathroom after changing my clothes, greeted by Xiao Guang's beautiful face, which always wore a faint smile. For some reason, I had a very, very ominous prehension.

Xiao Guang walked up to me and said, "Brother Long Ling."

"What is it?"

"I'm sleeping with you tonight."

"No way!" I flatly refused. I really wanted to know what was going on inside her head, and what kind of concept male-female relationships were to her.

"Then come with me to the supermarket to buy some things."

"That I can do." With that, Xiao Guang and I headed out. However, we didn't stay in the supermarket for long before she dragged me wandering around the academy for two hours, causing a whole bunch of surrounding guys to cast strange glances at me.

Back in the dormitory, I saw that Phantom Moon had already gotten up and was already in the game. After sending Xiao Guang back to her own room, I logged into the game as well. The bustling scene of Mirror-Synthesized Dragon City came into view. Just then, I saw a pretty and graceful young girl walking toward me. "Phantom Moon!" I blurted out.

"You're back." Phantom Moon's words made my mind wander slightly. I immediately shook my head to correct my train of thought and said, "Let's go leveling together."

"Alright, but before that, can we walk around together?" Phantom Moon asked, looking a bit shy.

"Strolling around!" I blurted out in surprise.

"Yeah, if you don't want to, forget it!" Phantom Moon showed a disappointed expression.

I immediately raised my volume and said, "I do, let's go."

"Let's go." Seeming unable to wait even a second longer, Phantom Moon ran a short distance ahead of me, and I quickly followed. However, I noticed that in the game, those kinds of strange glances were also very common.

There were plenty of places to explore in Dragon City: the player-set markets, the NPC artisan streets, and the leisure streets specifically designed for battle players returning from fierce combat and countless couples. "Long Ling, let's go over there," Phantom Moon pointed to an exceptionally elegant little shop ahead, as if she had already decided to go there.

"Let's go inside. The pastries at this shop are the best in the world. And if we're lucky, we might even trigger a hidden quest or get a special reward. I've been wanting to come here for a long time," Phantom Moon said happily.

You don't get full from eating in the game, but it's a pretty good way to relax and pass the time during boring moments of weakness, and the prices aren't high. "Is that really a thing?" I only knew that the desserts at this shop were good, and sometimes eating them would grant long-lasting buffs with special flavors, but I hadn't expected it to be exaggerated enough to grant hidden quests.

Perhaps girls just have a special fondness for desserts. After finding a fairly reasonable explanation for myself, I noticed the shop wasn't very large, but it was filled with a cozy atmosphere, making it feel like returning home.

"Welcome." An NPC girl wearing a pretty apron smiled and welcomed us.

"Well..." I looked around. Fortunately, there were still vacant seats, so we wouldn't have trouble finding a place.

However, Phantom Moon ran to a separate table in the back row and sat down, waving for me to come over. Then, Phantom Moon ordered a bowl of shaved ice, but after the shaved ice was brought over, I noticed a problem—why were there two straws in it? It seemed to be prepared for couples...

After awkwardly finishing off the shaved ice, we continued with our other activities. After wandering around Dragon City for three hours, Phantom Moon suddenly pointed to the Myriad Snow Mountain to the north and said, "Let's go up there to enjoy the snow scenery."

"How are we going to get up there?"

"Using that dragon!"

"Right, of course." Among my summoned beasts, only Dragon Battle could fly. I immediately called out Dragon Battle. Phantom Moon and I sat on Dragon Battle's head while commanding it to fly toward the Myriad Snow Mountain. Given Dragon Battle's speed, it would take at most 20 minutes to get there, even flying at a very high altitude. It was rare to be alone with Phantom Moon today, and since she had asked for it herself, I had to agree. However, Dragon Battle looked extremely reluctant; it really seemed to hate the cold.

"I want to sit in the front," Phantom Moon said as she sat before me. My face flushing red, I said, "Be careful not to fall off if you sit in the front."

"Fine, I'll sit in the back," she said, moving behind me.

"Yeah, then... hold on tight to me!" After saying those words, I wondered what on earth I was just babbling about. Hearing my words, Phantom Moon wrapped both arms tightly around my waist.

My face turned burning red, but I had no intention of asking her to let go. (Only an idiot would let go.)

...

Propelled by Dragon Battle's powerful wings, unexpectedly, in less than 20 minutes, we stood atop the Myriad Snow Mountain. Blizzards swirled all around us. Dragon Battle stopped near a precipitous cliff and set us down before I immediately recalled it. Phantom Moon and I gazed ahead at the flying snow, where almost the entire world was enveloped in pure white ice and snow.

Our hands unconsciously intertwined. "Come on, sit down. Don't tire yourself out..."

The two of us sat down, though neither showed any intention of letting go of the other's hand. Phantom Moon said, "I feel so happy to have met you."

"Me too," I replied casually.

Phantom Moon continued, "What do your parents do?"

I lowered my voice and said, "I don't know. They left me when I was very young."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked," Phantom Moon said, turning her head slightly.

"It's fine. Let's talk about something else. What do your parents do?" I asked.

"My mother passed away when I was ten years old, and my father is completely obsessed with his work and doesn't care about me at all, so I don't like him," Phantom Moon said in a low voice, leaning directly against my shoulder. Then her face moved closer, coming to within less than half a foot of mine, but—

"Ding~! Brave humans, the moment of the decisive battle has finally arrived! That evil schemer has already led his army of monsters to march on Dragon City! This will be the final battle. There is no other way except to slay the schemer; otherwise, once the city falls and its people perish, Dragon City will vanish from this land forever. Human braves, fight on, for a glorious tomorrow!"