Chapter 229 – Clearing Skies After the Rain

Meng Wenzhi’s surgery took place a week after Fang Zheng visited him in the hospital. During that time, Birdy had been by his side the entire time. Fang Zheng knew Birdy was also stressed, so he tried his best not to call him. Because every call would inevitably lead to talking about Old Man Meng, but pre-op preparations were always the same—nothing new to discuss, just adding unnecessary pressure.

Finally, the day of the surgery arrived. Though he couldn’t go to the hospital to wait, Fang Zheng stayed at home praying for everything to go smoothly. Perhaps the heavens sensed his sincerity, because in the afternoon, Birdy called to say the surgery was a complete success. However, since Old Man Meng hadn’t woken up from anesthesia yet—and even after waking, he would still need to stay in the hospital for post-op observation and initial wound healing—Birdy wouldn’t be able to return just yet.

Fang Zheng understood, of course. Not only did he understand, he even advised Birdy to stay with Old Man Meng for a while after he was discharged. Since they couldn’t make up for the lost time in the past, they should make the most of the days ahead. Besides, the ice between them had already begun to thaw—now was the perfect time to strike while it was hot.

Birdy didn’t agree outright, but he didn’t refuse either. He just told Fang Zheng to take care of himself.

Fang Zheng took this to heart. He ran through the streets around his apartment twice a day, morning and night, exercising far more intensely than before. After a week, he had officially stepped into the realm of ‘slightly chubby,’ completely shedding the days when a single glance in a crowd would make his face unforgettable. Fang Zheng examined himself in the mirror from every angle before finally mustering the confidence to call Birdy—

“Hello?” Birdy’s voice came through quietly—whether he was in the ward or the hallway, it was hard to tell.

“How’s your dad?” Fang Zheng asked the most important question first.

“He’s doing well. Yesterday, he even started lecturing me on ideological and political education.” Though his words were complaining, Birdy’s tone was light.

“Oh…” Fang Zheng unconsciously dragged out the syllable before finally revealing his true intention. “I want to visit the hospital tomorrow.”

A response came quickly from the other end—but it wasn’t from Birdy. Instead, it was the patient himself, distant but firm: “No!”

Fang Zheng was startled. “Are you on speakerphone?!”

Birdy: “No.”

Then how the hell did your dad know what I said?! Fang Zheng wanted to scream this, but he had a feeling Birdy would just calmly reply, No reason, he just knew. So he decided to abandon his investigation into this mysterious surveillance family and return to the core issue. “Why won’t your dad let me come?”

“You’ll have to ask him yourself,” Birdy said before pausing. “Okay, now it’s on speaker. You two can talk directly.”

“Hey-hey, hello, Uncle Meng.” Fang Zheng was all sweetness and obedience.

“Stop grinning like an idiot!” Meng Wenzhi’s voice boomed despite the distance, full of energy.

Fang Zheng cleared his throat and tried to sound serious. “Um, Uncle, how’s your recovery going?”

“If no unexpected incidents happen,” Meng Wenzhi emphasized those two words, “I can be discharged next week.”

Fang Zheng immediately understood. “I’m the ‘unexpected incident,’ huh? =_=”

Meng Wenzhi snorted, clearly confirming this.

Fang Zheng was indignant. Add to that the week of hellish weight loss, and his indignation was now mixed with a flood of bitter tears. “But you already agreed to us being together…”

Before he could finish, Meng Wenzhi cut him off. “I did not!”

Fang Zheng’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You totally did!”

Meng Wenzhi dug in. “No!”

If Fang Zheng had been merely annoyed before, now he was downright furious. “You did you did you did—if you didn’t, how could I have kissed you?!”

Beep beep beep—

The call ended. =_=

Only then did Fang Zheng snap back to reality. Arguing with his beloved’s freshly recovered dad over the phone… probably wasn’t the most polite thing to do. TAT

Before Fang Zheng could finish his self-reflection, Birdy called back. Fang Zheng quickly apologized, “Sorry, sorry! I shouldn’t have talked back. I got too emotional and lost control. Is your dad super mad…?”

“Not really,” Birdy said, sounding surprised himself but answering honestly. “He just kept calmly insisting to us that he had no idea what you were talking about with the whole kissing thing.”

“…’Us’?”

“Yeah, Mom and my sister are here too.”

“Got it. =_=” Fang Zheng wiped his sweat. “Are you still in the ward?”

Birdy chuckled. “No way. If I stayed any longer, the aggro would shift to me.”

Birdy’s tone lifted Fang Zheng’s spirits a little. “So your dad’s just going back on his word now that he’s better, huh?”

Birdy sighed. “Before, he was low on HP and MP. Now he’s back at full.”

Fang Zheng: “He’s just being shameless.”

Birdy: “And he’s shameless with pride.”

Fang Zheng: “…”

Birdy: “What’s wrong?”

Fang Zheng: “Oh, nothing.” He just felt like this no-boundaries attitude seemed familiar. Where had he seen it before…?

As the call ended, Fang Zheng quickly dismissed the unimportant thought. Though Meng Wenzhi had gone back on his word, Fang Zheng could tell he was no longer an impenetrable fortress. Breaking through was only a matter of time. So he would visit the hospital—after all, sincerity could only be exchanged with sincerity.

Thinking this, Fang Zheng regretted his earlier bluntness on speakerphone. When he actually went to the hospital, would Birdy’s dad come at him with a cleaver? >_<

At the same time, in the hospital ward, Meng Wenzhi was urging his daughter, “Check the tracking for that cleaver I had you buy online. Where is it now…?”

Learning that Old Man Meng was back at full HP and MP finally put Fang Zheng in the mood to game. Though he had logged in occasionally over the past few days, he hadn’t really participated in any activities, nor had he been on YY. So the moment he logged in, he was immediately swarmed by eager teammates—well, if you could call two female soldiers a “swarm.”

“Commander?” Your Sister sounded incredulous.

“Commander.” Sister Blood Bull’s tone was calm but warm.

Fang Zheng relaxed. “I am back~¹Originally in English“

Your Sister: “Commander, we’re all friends here. Do you have to show off your English?”

Fang Zheng: “Is my pronunciation not standard?”

Sister Blood Bull: “Very standard Northeastern accent.”

Fang Zheng: “…Where are the other teammates? Your commander is in dire need of them. TAT”

Your Sister: “Mad Lad went to his family’s company. Fighter Jet and Your Uncle went to the boss’s company. Crossplayer started his internship. 438 has classes. As for the Deputy Commander… you know better than us.”

“Everything settled?” Sister Blood Bull suddenly asked.

Since Meng Chudong had been summoned to the hospital, he hadn’t logged in or left any messages for the team. Everyone only knew from Fang Zheng that “the Deputy had some family matters.” Fang Zheng hadn’t elaborated, and no one had pressed further.

“Yeah, don’t worry.” Fang Zheng let out a long exhale, as if blowing away all the gloom of the past days. “Everything went smoothly.”

By around 7 p.m., the Ghost Server Legion members had logged in one after another, all expressing enthusiastic welcomes for the Commander and eagerly anticipating the Deputy’s return.

“So nothing major happened in-game this whole time?” Fang Zheng was a little disappointed after hearing everyone’s chatter. “Gossip would’ve been fine too.”

“Nothing at all,” Mad Lad said, equally dejected. “If the world insists on peace, what can we do?”

“Actually…” 438 spoke up hesitantly, “There was some gossip…”

Fang Zheng perked up instantly. “Quick, spill!”

438: “Commander, I saw on the forums that your power-leveling studio got a complaint… >_<"

Fang Zheng: “…”

Sister Blood Bull: “438.”

438: “Yeah? (⊙o⊙)?”

Sister Blood Bull: “From now on, if you come across any bad news related to the Commander, don’t call it gossip. It falls under the category of ‘bad news.'”

Fang Zheng: “Thanks for the lesson, Sister Blood Bull…”

Sister Blood Bull: “Just doing my part.”

But why did it feel like a curse? TAT

As if on cue, just as they were discussing the studio complaint, Fang Zheng heard the sound of the front door unlocking—his business partners and employees were back from dinner.

Fang Zheng quickly took off his headphones and went to the living room.

His roommates were surprised to see him come out. Fifth Brother, at the front, immediately defended himself: “You said not to bring you anything, so we really didn’t pack any leftovers.”

“Not that,” Fang Zheng said, exasperated. Was his life really so food-centric? “I heard the studio got a complaint?”

“Oh, that.” Fifth Brother shrugged. “It’s that Foxy Pear girl from before. Ever since she took her account back from us, she’s been getting slaughtered by Thousand Mountains nonstop—killed on sight, apparently. She’s about to drop back to level 69, so the girl threw a fit. She came to us yesterday demanding a full refund.”

“The money isn’t the issue,” Diamond chimed in. “But if we set this precedent, others might follow. This time it’s our fault, but next time it could be a scam. After all, there’s no clear standard for measuring aggro. More importantly, refunding would mean admitting fault, which would hurt our reputation.”

Fifth Brother sighed. “So we’re still debating what to do.”

“Why didn’t you tell me yesterday?!” Fang Zheng was frantic.

Diamond shot him a look but didn’t respond.

Fang Zheng suddenly understood. It wasn’t that his partners didn’t want to tell him—it was that everyone knew he and Meng Chudong had been dealing with personal issues lately. Though Fang Zheng wasn’t on the front lines like Birdy, he had been worrying every day. They didn’t want to burden him with studio problems on top of that.

People often said friends shouldn’t go into business together because money could easily ruin relationships. But maybe, when acquaintances started a business together, they could become brothers along the way.

Since the root of all evil was Thousand Mountains, Fang Zheng decided to go straight to the source. After much persuasion, he got the account back from the girl, promising that if she still got killed nonstop after tonight, they’d refund her in full.

[System] Foxy Pear has died.

Damn it, he hadn’t even gotten a good look at the sky in Holy Light Sanctuary!!!

And just camping a little girl like this… Thousand Mountains, are you a stalker?!

With the account dead, Fang Zheng could only use a megaphone to plead his innocence—

[Megaphone] Foxy Pear: I’m not Foxy Pear~~~~~~~~~~

The psychotic healer who had been jumping around his corpse suddenly froze.

[Local] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: Ghost Server healer?

Wow, he was that recognizable in the public eye? (⊙o⊙)

To save his client money, Fang Zheng decided to revel in his heart and not waste megaphones.

[Local] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: Hey, say something!

[Dead people can’t talk!!!]

Fang Zheng projected his thoughts with all his might, continuing to save his client money.

Miraculously, Thousand Mountains seemed to get it. He cast Resurrection, reluctantly dragging Fang Zheng back up.

[Local] Foxy Pear: You’re way too harsh. She’s just a weak girl~~~

[Local] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: She had you power-level her. That’s fate.

[Local] Foxy Pear: Is it really that serious? It’s not like we have some irreconcilable grudge.

[Local] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: Before you stood me up, no.

[Local] Foxy Pear: Okay, my bad~~~

[Local] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: I don’t sense any sincerity.

[Local] Foxy Pear: Fine, I was wrong.

[Local] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: It’s not about the punctuation!!!

[Local] Foxy Pear: Then what do you want? Look, I’m here now. No time like the present—let’s PK!

[Local] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: I refuse.

[Local] Foxy Pear: Huh?

[Local] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: I’ve hung up my hammer.

[Local] Foxy Pear: What the hell is that…

[Local] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: Retired football players ‘hang up their boots.’ I, Thousand Mountains, will never PK again—I’ve ‘hung up my hammer.’

[Local] Foxy Pear: You could switch to a healing staff.

[Local] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: Screw off. =_=

[Local] Foxy Pear: Alright, alright. I saw your vow on the forums. Yeah, that was pretty brutal. How about this—I’ll get someone else to PK you. He’s not from Ghost Server, so your vow stays intact.

[Local] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: If he’s not from your squad and we’ve got no beef, why PK?

[Local] Foxy Pear: No beef? He’s the guy who power-leveled that day, the one who distracted your entire Holy Light Sanctuary. Not part of Ghost Server, but part of our power-leveling studio.

[Local] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: What’s the difference?

[Local] Foxy Pear: Huge difference. He’s just a regular employee. That was his first time playing Huaxia Online—didn’t even know north from south, let alone what Ghost Server Legion was.

[Local] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: So you’re saying I got wrecked by a total noob?

[Local] Foxy Pear: Uh…

[Local] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: Damn it, get him online! I don’t believe it!

[Local] Foxy Pear: Then it’s settled—win or lose, after this PK, the grudge is over. No more harassing the girl.

[Local] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: Not just no harassment—I’ll even get her into Dutch Chamber of Commerce!

[Local] Foxy Pear: Deal.

Fang Zheng could tell—Thousand Mountains was just frustrated at being stood up repeatedly and wanted to vent. Naturally, Foxy Pear was the easiest target for his anger. But if he got a satisfying PK out of it, he wasn’t the type to keep causing trouble.

Zheng Xi hadn’t logged into Huaxia Online since handing over Foxy Pear’s account. Now that he was back, he felt a strange nostalgia. He had to admit—though Huaxia’s graphics couldn’t compare to newer games that pushed hardware limits, years of operation and refinement had made it rich and balanced in gameplay. The entire game carried a certain atmosphere, one that was comfortable and addictive.

[Local] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: Get on YY. I need to verify you.

Zheng Xi wanted to curse, but under his boss’s watchful eye, he obediently joined the channel Thousand Mountains provided.

“Say something.” Someone eager to PK wasn’t in the mood for small talk.

Zheng Xi appreciated the directness. “Psycho.”

“Good.” Thousand Mountains focused solely on the voice, confirming it didn’t belong to any Ghost Server member he knew. Satisfied, he moved on.

Fang Zheng patted Zheng Xi’s shoulder in approval of his word choice.

Once verified, the PK began immediately.

Zheng Xi’s skill level hadn’t improved or declined since their last fight. The key difference was that god-tier strategist Birdy-kun wasn’t here to guide him, so he didn’t last long before Thousand Mountains killed him.

“What’s going on? Hands shaky? Again!”

“I didn’t—”

[System] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains used Resurrection.

[System] Foxy Pear has died.

“Why did you die even faster this time? Again!”

“I’m not—”

[System] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains used Resurrection.

[System] Foxy Pear has died.

“Take this seriously! Again!”

“Are you—”

[System] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains used Resurrection.

[System] Foxy Pear has died.

“How did you…”

“Are you fucking insane?! Do you just get off on killing people?!!!”

Zheng Xi was losing it. He knew what Thousand Mountains had been about to ask—How did you drop to level 69? But who the hell was he supposed to ask?!

Thousand Mountains wasn’t faring much better. Last time, Zheng Xi had been sharp; this time, he was a pushover. “You have to be holding back!”

Zheng Xi: “Hold back my ass! If anything, I’d hold back your—mmph…!”

The unsavory word “blood” was muffled by Boss Fang’s hand as he leaned into the mic to wrap things up. “Like I said, last time was a fluke—this is his real skill level. Anyway, you got your PK, so remember your promise! Goodnight!”

After frantically logging off, Fang Zheng finally released Zheng Xi. The latter looked utterly defeated, clearly still traumatized by Thousand Mountains. “Brother Fang, why is everyone in this game a psycho?”

Fang Zheng, who had just picked up his cup to get water, set it back down and beckoned Zheng Xi over.

Zheng Xi: “Huh?”

Fang Zheng: “Let’s talk about this ‘everyone’…”

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  Originally in English