Chapter 196 A Bet (Part 1)

Purity Essence gulped. He was always nervous around Gongzi You. He felt nothing when they first met, but at this moment, his heart was gripped by anxiety and fear. To him, Ye Ci was the devil. Her appearance would spell disaster for his existence. Whenever she appeared, the tranquility of his life would be destroyed.

When Gongzi You was not online for a few days, Purity Essence tried his best to persuade himself that as long as she was not here, he could still return to his normal life.

But… she appeared.

It was just like that day when they first met. She appeared out of nowhere, catching him off guard.

Deep down, he knew that it was impossible for Gongzi You to stay offline forever. However, he still hoped for the impossible: As long as Gongzi You did not come online, he would be able to live in peace.

The presence of Gongzi You shattered that hope. He stared at her, with different emotions flashing through his mind. But in the end, the only thing he could do was to let out a sigh. The person standing in front of him was a reality that he had to face.

“I’ve only gotten a few. My luck is not that great it seems. I can’t seem to catch any of the Rainbow Seashells.” having nothing else in his mind, the only thing he could do was to give an answer to Ye Ci’s question.

Ye Ci raised an eyebrow, and the ghost of a smile formed on her lips. She was impressed by Purity Essence’s response. At least he did not flee upon laying eyes on me. She jumped onto the rock, and sat beside Purity Essence, who was alarmed.

“What? It’s not as if I’m going to eat you alive.” Ye Ci began fishing with her own fishing rod. After all, she was also equipped with the Fishing skill. It was all thanks to her two gluttonous pets, Ol’ Three and Ol’ Four.

As Ye Ci began fishing casually, Purity Essence was able to calm down. He did not sense any weird intention from Ye Ci, and resumed fishing as well, while subconsciously keeping a distance from her.

The two fished in total silence, as if they were in a fishing competition.

“That’s strange… I’m supposed to be the female among the both of us, right?” said Ye Ci with a slight sarcasm as she stared at her floater.

“What did you say?” Purity Essence who had grown accustomed to the silence was baffled by Ye Ci’s words.

“From the way we are right now, it seems as if I’m the pervert that wants to molest you, while you are a pure and innocent little girl, shivering in fear, hoping for mercy. Look at you, you are so tensed and so anxious when you are only sitting next to me. I even have the impression that I morphed into a guy now!” without giving much consideration to Purity Essence’s feelings, Ye Ci spat out the words.

As expected, Ye Ci’s words placed Purity Essence in an uncomfortable position. He stole a glance at Gongzi You, and found a face full courage and confidence, very different from his own expression. He was embarrassed by his behaviour.

Purity Essence chuckled, attempting to clear the awkwardness in the air, “No, it’s not that. I’m not scared or anything. I’m just…”

At this point, his frustration rose, and he continued angrily: “I don’t know who the hell is spreading rumors in the forums and blowing things out of proportion! I’m not afraid of you or anything. It’s just… It’s just that I don’t want my friends to have misunderstandings about the relationship between us.”

Ye Ci was dumbstruck. Her face darkened as she stared at Purity Essence, “I think you’re very bad at expressing yourself.”

“What?” perhaps because of his insomnia, or perhaps because he was slow, Purity Essence did not understand Gongzi You’s words.

“You spoke as if I’m the mistress who shamelessly clings on you and ruined your marriage.” Ye Ci’s words were full of sarcasm, “I, Gongzi You, am a nobody. But I will never do things like that. It is not in my nature.”

Noticing his mistake, Purity Essence immediately apologized to Ye Ci, and frantically tried to explain, but it just got worse and worse with each attempt in rectifying his mistake. Ye Ci was thoroughly pissed. She thundered, interrupting his excuses, “A true friend will never have a misunderstanding over something so trivial. Even if something happened, a true friend will still place their trust in you.”

Ye Ci’s words were like cold water splashing on Purity Essence’s face. He was stunned into silence.

In reality, he knew the meaning behind Gongzi You’s words. He was the one who refused to accept the truth. The truth, that his many years of friendship would be ruined by something so trivial. He could not bring himself to believe such a cold, cruel reality.

Silence loomed over the two, and their fishing competition resumed. Opposed to Ye Ci’s calm demeanor, Purity Essence was restless. It was as if his heart was being cut into pieces by countless knives. He refused to bring himself to accept Gongzi You’s words. In his mind, she was judging his friendship with a narrow minded point of view.

In the end, he could not hold himself back.

“I’ve been playing with my friends since we were 18! Our friendship is firm! We treat each other with sincerity. I trust them! I know they trust me!!” being distraught, Purity Essence was slightly incoherent. That, however, did not affect Ye Ci’s ability to understand his words.

Ye Ci cast an indifferent glance at Purity Essence. She then shifted her gaze to the surface of the water and said coldly, “I know what happened between you and your friends. I don’t care what happened, but I seem to be caught up in it as well. I did some research in the forums. I don’t know how many years you have been friends, or how firm you think your friendship is, but with my many years of gaming experience, I can tell you that nobody will treat you well for no reason. If you think there is someone who would do that, it simply meant that you’re still of use to that person.”

“Gongzi You! I know you’re someone who places benefits above all. I know you’re someone who is cold and distant and selfish! I know that! But please don’t judge my friendship with your values! It’s unfair!” Purity Essence anger soared. He clenched his fists. It was apparent that he was doing his best to hold back his anger.

Ye Ci was unfazed. She stared at him calmly, and spoke with sarcasm in her tone, “Yo, are you looking for a fight? If that’s the case, you might want to look for the right person. If you try to take me on, you’ll definitely lose.” She smirked in an impish way, “Why don’t you spar against your friends? You can prove the beauty of your friendship. Isn’t it nice?”

“Don’t force my hand.” Purity Essence was shaking with rage. He glared at Ye Ci with bloodshot eyes. It was apparently that he would take it out on Ye Ci with the slightest sign of provocation, “I never hit a woman, but it doesn’t mean that I won’t.”

Ye Ci snorted at the warning. She paid no more attention to Purity Essence who had lost his rationality. She focused on fishing. After all, it was a chore to feed her gluttonous pets back home.

“A true friendship is one that does not involve benefits. Once benefits are involved, your relationship will change. It will become the most despicable thing you’ll ever see. Such is the way of this world. If you care about a person or a friend, do not involve him or her in your circle of benefits, nor should you enter his. That is, if you want your friendship to last.” Ye Ci stared at the reddish-golden reflection of the sun in the water, as she murmured.

When the words left Ye Ci’s mouth, something in her heart stirred. It was a pain that would not subside. Was Purity Essence the only one she was talking about? Wasn’t she talking about herself as well? Her relationship with Dong Yin and Yi Cang crumbled in the face of benefits as well.

Purity Essence did not react to Ye Ci’s words with anger. He remained silent, staring at the ocean. He then spoke after a long pause, “I always treated my friends well. Benefits or not, I just like to treat my friends well.”

“But… You ran into me. I turned into the biggest source of benefit that you could give. Under the pressure of such a huge benefit, the balance was broken.” A fish was snagged by Ye Ci’s hook. In a smooth motion, she reeled in the fish, and cast her line out, “You know, even if I, Gongzi You did not exist, there will still be Gongzi One, Gongzi Two and even Gongzi Three. Your fragile relationship is bound to be broken.”

“I don’t believe it.” Purity Essence was a loyal and stubborn person. He was one who would cling stubbornly to his own ideals, “You and I are different. You will not understand what I’ve been through. I refuse to believe what you said.”

Ye Ci shrugged. She was not interested in keeping up the argument. A glint appeared in her eyes, “Since we’re both unable to convince one another, how about a bet?”

“So what will we be betting?” Purity Essence who was angered had lost all sense of rationality. He accepted Ye Ci’s proposal without much of a thought.

Ye Ci was very satisfied with the result.. As the saying goes, “impulse is the devil.” Ye Ci was once again able to witness the truth of the proverb.

“Why don’t you upload a photo of us fishing to the forums and see how your friends would react?” Ye Ci smiled. At that moment, she was as cunning as a fox. The sincerity and the innocence in her eyes, however, was able to deceive everyone, including Purity Essence, who had long lost his rationality. “If your friends trust you, as you said, I will apologize to them and to you in the World Channel, and help you with clearing the Castle Ruins.”

“No, I don’t need your help with the dungeon. All I need is your apology.” Purity Essence was, after all, a persistent person. He refused Ye Ci’s offer of clearing the Castle Ruins for his guild. The only thing that mattered was his friendship.

Ye Ci nodded, “Alright, as you wish.” she was not surprised by the response.

“Then so be it. I’ll post the picture right now.” Purity Essence was ready to take a screenshot and post it to the forums.

Ye Ci spoke up camly, “Why the rush? Are you so sure that I’ll lose?”

“Of course.”

Ye Ci shook her head and sighed, “I don’t think so. Well, it doesn’t matter what we think anyways. Since this is a bet, and I’ve already placed my stakes, what about yours?”

Purity Essence was momentarily stunned. He had never considered the fact that he might lose, and had never thought about anything that could be staked into the bet. Besides, he did not have anything in his possession that might be of interest to Gongzi You, “What do you want?”

“Me?” Ye Ci’s smile widened, “Do you mean you’re okay with anything I say?”

“Yes. As long as it is within my power.” Purity Essence was very persistent, “You won’t win anyways.”

“Alright… If that’s the case, I’ll just think of something.” Ye Ci was beaming with happiness. She was waiting for him to get hooked. How could Ye Ci not be happy? At this point, her heartbeat was speeding up..

After feigning a thoughtful expression, Ye Ci spoke up, “You have nothing that I want. How about this then.. If you lose, you’ll have to join ‘Upwards Ho!’.”

Purity Essence was momentarily stunned. He would be able to analyze the situation and notice Gongzi You’s plot, if he would think calmly. However, the Purity Essence at this moment was incapable of such rational thoughts.

“What? You’re backing out?” Ye Ci raised her eyebrows, “It seems that you don’t have much confidence in this matter.” Ye Ci’s lips twitched, her disdain was very apparent.

Hiya minna-san! Ohaiyo! A very good morning to you people! Monday is the first day of the week! Here! Start your week with a chapter of this awesome novel translated by an awesomtacular translator! Enjoy!!!

Thank you Silent Radioactivity for your fan art submission! Minna-san, please put your hands together for Silent!

And I've overheard a very interesting conversation yesterday. Here's how it went:

A: My son studying in America said that it's hard for him to catch up with things over there.

B: Of course! They're speaking a different language! We've been learning British English in Malaysia and they're speaking American English!

I just.... I kenot...

Anyways... DON'T FORGET THAT WE ALWAYS HAVE A TEASER NEXT PAGE! First to comment type: FIRST BLOOD!

Desu Vult!