Volume 2: Winter’s End
Regardless of the bizarre remarks in the live broadcast room, the poker-faced Ye Qian’s heart was already exceptionally satisfied. He picked up the little dumpling again, no longer in a hurry to hit the road, but instead went to the second floor guest room, preparing to rest well for the night.
Shu Xun obediently sat in Ye Qian’s palm, with a slight sense of novelty, looking at the familiar room from a completely new perspective. Unconsciously, he rubbed his slightly cool little feet.
Ye Qian took three steps to ascend to the second floor, and skillfully found the guest room, but did not rest immediately. Instead, he fetched a roll of soft new towels and gently wiped Shu Xun’s slightly damp little feet. Despite being such a tall man, his movements were unusually gentle—so gentle that the petite Shu Xun didn’t feel any discomfort. Shu Xun suddenly felt a bit dazed, as if he had returned home, back to two months ago when he was still being cared for attentively.
Shu Xun, who was lost in thought, suddenly felt a cool sensation below. Looking down, he was somewhat bewildered because his pants had been effortlessly removed. At this moment, he was only wearing thin underwear, and his pants were in Ye Qian’s hands.
Moved for only three seconds, Shu Xun immediately got annoyed again. In an instant, he jumped up and headed straight for his pants.
Ye Qian easily pinched the back of Shu Xun’s collar with two fingers. Shu Xun was once again left hanging in mid-air, this time in a half-naked state.
The live chat instantly exploded with various comments, filled with emojis of eyes emitting hearts and drooling expressions.
“God Ye is mighty, stripping off pants at the first meeting!”
“Ye Qian is too impatient. This isn’t even enough to pick your teeth; you should at least raise it for twenty years.”
“Where is your integrity? Where!”
“Room manager! Room manager! Why are you censoring? Even without censorship, it’s too small to see, okay?”
Room manager: “Makes sense!”
“Haha, I wonder how little dumpling feels seeing the last two comments!”
Shu Xun obviously couldn’t see the barrage; otherwise, his reaction might be more than just annoyance. Currently, he was swaying in mid-air, panting heavily. “You’re too hasty! I’m not easy to mess with!” Saying this, he brandished his sharp little claws threateningly and shook them.
Ye Qian expressionlessly waved the mini pants in front of Shu Xun. “It’s wet.”
Shu Xun, looking at the pants below his knees that had gotten wet, silently lowered his chubby paws. However, he still wore an unhappy expression as he tilted his little head. “Men’s pants shouldn’t be casually taken off, you know?”
Ye Qian: “Men? Heh~”
Shu Xun: (╰_╯)#
Laughter and various exclamations filled the live chat.
“Ye Qian smiled!”
“What did I see? God Ye smiled! Although it’s quite eerie!”
“Little dumpling got teased, hahaha. But why is it that I can’t help but want to laugh too, hahaha…”
“Xun Xun is super fierce~”
“My God Ye is so thoughtful, just a bit rough in execution. Poor little dumpling unexpectedly exposed.”
Seeing Shu Xun about to get annoyed again, Ye Qian finally had a rare moment of tacit understanding. He grabbed a clean towel and wrapped it around Shu Xun a couple of times. As a result, Shu Xun went from a half-naked state to a silkworm-baby state. Shu Xun wriggled on the pillow and finally confirmed that this gaming god indeed lacked experience in taking care of people.
Ye Qian hung Shu Xun’s little pants on the handle of the teacup at the head of the bed to dry, then effortlessly took off his own shirt and casually lay on the bed. As he lay down, he even lowered his head to glance at the little dumpling twisting and turning on the pillow. He reached out to adjust Shu Xun’s position, preventing himself from accidentally pressing on him.
The live chat was once again filled with drooling emojis.
“Ye Qian has a great figure!”
“Screenshots, screenshots, keep them for later screen-licking!”
“Ye Qian is about to rest, and the little dumpling is nestling at Ye ‘Qian’s neck. Is it just my imagination? So heartwarming~”
“Sharing a bed!!! And they’re even under the same blanket. God Ye truly lives up to his name!”
As Ye Qian and Shu Xun slowly drifted off to sleep, the screen in the live chat gradually darkened. This was the self-judgment capability of the live-streaming software. When the host engaged in private matters or entered a sleeping state, the live stream automatically went black to protect the host’s privacy.
Even in the black screen state, a large number of viewers in Ye Qian’s livestream room still hadn’t left. Of course, some viewers took this opportunity to prepare for rest, and the chat was filled with a series of reluctant goodbye emojis.
In the current dire “Winter’s End”, Ye Qian and Shu Xun have already fallen into a rare and comfortable sleep. Outside the window, there is a howling snowstorm, but inside the room, it is unusually quiet and warm. Shu Xun has already kicked off the towel in his dreams, nestling in the nape of Ye Qian’s neck, and his little feet unabashedly absorb warmth from the neck. Ye Qian seems oblivious, with the blanket covering his neck, leaving only two heads, big and small, exposed. After several days of traveling, the two sleep unusually sweetly.
On the seventh in-game day, after a night of sound sleep, with the familiar dim light, Ye Qian opened his eyes. Without moving, he felt a subtle sensation at the nape of his neck. Ye Qian, with a stoic face, remained motionless for a while before hearing the sound of smacking and then a long yawn.
Shu Xun, with soft and disheveled hair, sat up, feeling the strong and regular pulse under his palm. Only then did he fully wake up, realizing that since yesterday, he inexplicably gained a strange teammate who seemed to be a gaming deity.
“Good morning,” Shu Xun waved his chubby paw, trying to break the strangely quiet atmosphere.
“Morning,” Ye Qian continued to maintain his stoic expression, and his response revealed no emotion.
The atmosphere remained eerily quiet.
Shu Xun scratched his head, still unable to figure out his teammate’s thoughts. However, his spiritual intuition as a spirit beast told him that this person was very powerful!
In the livestream chat, there were greetings of “Good morning,” and the audience, slowly becoming familiar with each other, gathered together, preparing to welcome a new day. Just as they settled in, they witnessed the scene of the little chubby creature in underwear sitting on a pillow, waving its paw to greet the aloof Ye Qian. Laughter erupted once again.
“Poor Shu Shu hasn’t learned how to get along with Ye Qian yet.”
“We deeply understand the coldness of God Ye!”
“Little buddy, condolences. Learn to entertain yourself quickly, or you’ll die of boredom!”
“Discussing the possibility of awkward chatting with God Ye.”
Ye Qian seemed to be completely oblivious to any awkward atmosphere. He calmly dressed, and when Shu Xun was about to jump onto the bedside table to get his pants, Ye Qian considerately took the already dried little pants down. By the time both had finished their preparations, the morning was already well underway.
Shu Xun leaned against the window, observing the weather outside. Despite it being a new day, the weather hadn’t improved much. The sky remained gloomy, devoid of any deep blue color. The sun’s outline was obscured by clouds, only managing to filter through the thin light, casting the entire world into a strange dimness. After observing for a while, it seemed that even the mood became oppressive.
Ye Qian systematically searched the room and found several sets of winter down jackets. However, these supplies were local and lacked any special attributes. Given Ye Qian’s nearly two meters of height, he couldn’t wear them. Shu Xun sat on the windowsill, swinging his two short legs, watching as Ye Qian gathered the available supplies. Then, he found some needles and scissors and was astonished as Ye Qian skillfully started cutting the clothes.
The morning passed in a blink, and Ye Qian had successfully crafted a well-fitting down pants and jacket. Shu Xun sat on the windowsill, no longer swinging his two short legs, realizing somewhat why Ye Qian was called a game god.
In a world with scarce game system resources, a player’s greatest reliance for survival still rested on the native resources of the game world. However, in a post-apocalyptic world, how many usable resources could be left? In such an extremely resource-scarce situation, the efficiency of resource utilization would determine a player’s chances of survival.
Shu Xun realized that finding items in the game system backpack was pure luck, while Ye Qian’s ability to modify his own clothes pocket probably involved using local resources within the game world. Now, Ye Qian’s formidable crafting skills made Shu Xun feel inferior. Watching Ye Qian reorganize the newly tailored winter clothing, Shu Xun silently rubbed his bare little feet, suddenly sensing the disparity.
Observing Ye Qian descending the stairs in his homemade winter clothes, Shu Xun tilted his head and stared at the sewing kit for a while. Then, with a quick hop, he jumped down from the windowsill and ran to the sewing kit. Standing on tiptoes, he gazed at the various colored threads inside, finally reaching out toward the needle and thread.
So when Ye Qian finished preparing lunch and returned to the guest room with the meal in hand, he saw his little dumpling teammate struggling to sew a small piece of fabric, almost as tall as himself. The most speechless part was that every time Shu Xun pulled the thread, the little dumpling would grab the needle and run far away. After the thread was stretched, it would then dash back, looking busy and industrious.
Ye Qian stood silently at the room’s doorway for a long time, unable to discern what Shu Xun was sewing. It seemed to be a small pouch, but the shape seemed a bit off.
Carrying the lunch, Ye Qian entered the room and placed the tray beside the busy little dumpling. Shu Xun indeed stopped his work, and in the silent space, the gurgling sound of stomachs could be heard. Shu Xun touched his small belly. Ye Qian pushed a small porcelain bowl towards Shu Xun and picked up another bowl to eat.
Shu Xun leaned over the bowl, observing the milky-white substance inside, resembling porridge, and smelled the familiar aroma of yesterday’s biscuits. On top, there were red strawberry chunks, and a small can of fruit cocktail that was tentatively placed there when biscuits were given yesterday. What surprised Shu Xun the most was that the bowl of porridge was emitting steam.
Taking a spoon, Shu Xun took a bite. The taste was not much different from the biscuits, with a bit less sweetness and a hint of the refreshing sweetness of the fruits. The texture was excellent, without the dry and hard feeling of biscuits. The warmth of the food seemed to raise his body temperature, putting him in a warm and cozy state.
After finishing the meal, Shu Xun sat contentedly next to the porcelain bowl, reaching out to pat his slightly bulging belly, displaying a satisfied expression. As he squinted his eyes, letting out a satisfied burp, a sudden interruption occurred. A toothpick, adorned with fruit chunks, was presented before Shu Xun. When he looked up, he saw Ye Qian picking out the fruits from the canned fruit and skewering them one by one onto the toothpick.
