It was at that moment that Zhao Yu truly realized that the love Gao Rang had for him was unique in the world, that he was the only one who truly held him in his heart, which enabled him to stand up resolutely against his strict father.
Zhao Yu currently had nowhere to go. He did not wish to go back to his home, which was devoid of familial love. Hence, even though he knew he might be disturbing Tang Yu and Yin Zhao-an, he still came here.
After Tang Yu poured Zhao Yu a glass of water, she went into the kitchen, where Yin Zhao-an was washing dishes.
Hearing the sound of footsteps, Yin Zhao-an turned around. When she saw that it was Tang Yu, her heart softened as she asked, "How is Zhao Yu?" She spoke in a lowered voice, using the sound of running water to cover her words.
In response, Tang Yu leaned in closer to Yin Zhao-an and whispered, "I saw the injuries on his face. His lips and cheekbones were bruised." Tang Yu paused for a moment after saying so. Then, she continued, "He's gotten Doctor Gao now."
Yin Zhao-an's already wrinkled brows furrowed even further. Zhao Yu already had to face such a violent reaction from his father just because he was caught playing games. She couldn't even imagine what kind of storm he would face when he came out of the closet.
Possibly because the two of them had the same thought, both of them sighed at the same time. Tang Yu was startled by this coincidence, and so was Yin Zhao-an. Then, a strange atmosphere spread in the kitchen.
Yin Zhao-an still had foam on her hands from washing dishes, and the faint scent of orange dish soap filled the air. Leaning to the side, she met Tang Yu at eye level. Then…
"Can I kiss you?"
It was a very gentlemanly question.
It had been a long time since the two of them had kissed. Even though they had been sharing the same bed for these past few days, they hadn't done anything out of the ordinary, including kissing.
Tang Yu's ears reddened slightly. Then, she anxiously pursed her lips and glanced outside.
Yin Zhaoan knew what Tang Yu was worried about. Without hesitation, she dispelled those doubts with action.
Tang Yu instinctively closed her eyes when their lips met, her eyelashes trembling slightly. Then, her body softened when she felt a wet tongue tentatively licking her lips.
However, Tang Yu knew this was not the right place to share a kiss. After resisting the urge to throw caution to the wind, she gently bit Yin Zhao-an's lower lip before retreating.
Yin Zhao-an's eyes were a little misted when their lips separated, and a shallow bite mark could be seen on her lower lip. When her mind returned to reality, she softly chuckled. Then, while Tang Yu wasn't paying attention, she quickly snuck in a short kiss before turning away to resume doing the dishes.
Tang Yu's cheeks were burning red. Subconsciously, she rubbed her cheeks with her hands, feeling the heat they radiated.
…
After being in a state of mental tension for a long time, Zhao Yu quickly grew drowsy now that he finally got to relax.
When Tang Yu came out of the kitchen, he saw Zhao Yu fast asleep on the sofa with a cushion in his arms, his long legs uncomfortably curled up on the sofa. His face was buried in the cushion, revealing only a pair of tightly closed eyes and soft black hair draped over his forehead. Even in his sleep, he didn't forget to hide his injuries.
As soon as Yin Zhao-an came out of the kitchen, she saw Tang Yu draping a thin blanket over the sleeping Zhao Yu. When Tang Yu looked up, and their eyes met, she gestured to Tang Yu, and the two of them went upstairs silently without saying a word.
After closing the bedroom door behind her, Yin Zhao-an asked, "Do you think we should contact Doctor Gao?"
Tang Yu walked to the desk and shook her head in disagreement, "No, the fact that Zhao Yu is here shows that he doesn't want Doctor Gao to know. We shouldn't make decisions for him without his consent."
Tang Yu's reasoning made sense, so Yin Zhao-an nodded in approval. Since they couldn't use the living room right now, Yin Zhao-an took her laptop from the bedside table, sat at the foot of the bed, turned on the computer, and logged into her game.
Yin Zhao-an was currently playing two accounts at the same time. Fortunately, the game allowed her to run multiple clients, so whether she was clearing dungeons or completing storyline quests, she would always be sure to bring both characters. As a result, the Intimacy value between the two characters was already at 90. However, because she had started playing the two accounts at different times, the level of the new account was still somewhat lower than her old account.
Most people played games just for fun. They would play when they were in a good mood and quit when they were not. After all, it was just a virtual game, and there was nothing worth clinging to.
But Yin Zhaoan and Zhao Yu didn't think that way. The two of them may have had similar personalities in some sense. In their opinion, since they had chosen a role, they would maximize their characters' potential to the fullest.
Of course, as true gamers, they did not rely on spending money to win. Instead, they took the path of skilled players, relying on technical skills rather than money to win.
Yin Zhao-an has only been playing this game for less than a year and was already ranked among the top ten of the entire server. She had become a new god in the eyes of novices and a dark horse in the eyes of veteran players.
Previously, there was a saying in this game, "As long as you spend enough time, you will eventually reach the same level as the gods." The gods here being the top players.
Many people played with this mentality, participating in battles without spending money and finding like-minded friends in the game. They could also chat and, if they were lucky, find their future partners through offline meetups.
Meanwhile, players on the server's leaderboard had become hot properties for players looking for partners.
The leaderboard was divided into different categories, including power ranking, charm ranking, spending ranking, and love value ranking. Naturally, the most popular were the players on the spending leaderboard.