Chapter 52
Chapter 52
"Jiang Li, I'm gonna die!"
"Hang on a few more seconds—my big swing's almost ready."
"Hurry up! I can't take it—can't take it—can't take it!"
"On my way!"
"Nice! Tail's finally off!"
Kakayan exhaled in relief, then darted to a corner the moment the towering beast fled and gulped down a scarlet potion.
"If we don't chase it now, the quest fails."
Jiang Li nudged the person beside him.
He and Kakayan were co-op hunting a gargantuan monster in the game they'd started that afternoon. Kakayan, who'd spent the last minute drawing aggro, had watched her health bar bottom out—then Jiang Li's fully-charged strike had landed. The two of them had finally severed the creature's last body part.
"But my stamina bar's still red," Kakayan grumbled. "You go ahead, Jiang Li."
"We're on the same screen. If you stand still, I can't move either."
Jiang Li explained.
"Fine."
They scooped up the tail drop and resumed the chase.
"Never thought I'd see the day I'd be hunting monsters side-by-side with a Hero."
Kakayan mused aloud while they sprinted.
"So how does it feel?" Jiang Li's lips twitched. "Pretty reliable, huh?"
"Nope."
Kakayan shrank her shoulders. "You just hide behind me—doesn't feel like Hero material at all."
"That's how the roles work, though." Jiang Li shook his head. "You say I'm hiding, but tell me—can I move while I'm charging?"
"No."
"And after I charged, did I or didn't I knock off that tail?"
"You did."
"So my contribution's huge, right?"
He stared right into Kakayan's eyes, utterly serious.
"But... I matter too!" After a moment's hesitation, Kakayan raised her voice. "Without me tanking in front, you'd be monster chow already."
She'd done plenty, yet Jiang Li's attitude toward her was lukewarm at best. All she wanted—after every successful pull—was a word or two of praise. Just one sentence would do. That single acknowledgement would make her feel valued, instead of hearing Hurry up or asking Did that last hit look cool?
"Mm... yeah."
Jiang Li had to admit she had a point.
"You're right—we can't do this without you."
After all, this was a two-player game. Without Kakayan soaking damage, he couldn't safely charge attacks. It was like the videos they edited together: Kakayan alone might be out scavenging scraps, and Jiang Li, back after three years off the internet, had no clue how to revive their channel. But together, life suddenly had direction—an upward curve, Jiang Li sensed, even if faintly.
Objectively, Kakayan's role was crucial.
"You're important."
Jiang Li nodded.
Focused on the game, he blurted it without thinking. But the sudden silence afterward made him replay the words in his head.
Why did that sound so... intimate?
The moment he said it, the silly woman went quiet. What did that mean? Made it seem like he'd bared his soul or something. Weren't they just talking about the game? Even in real life he'd never speak so plainly—timing was everything. If he ever said it, it'd be the day their channel took off, both of them popping champagne.
So when he told Kakayan she was important, he meant strictly in-game. Definitely not some roundabout confession.
"Why'd you go quiet?"
Jiang Li's peripheral vision caught the pretty curve of Kakayan's face. Sensing his gaze, she turned away, leaving him with only the sight of her cute pink ponytail.
What's that reaction—was she actually shy?
...
She'd started the topic, yet after he answered she clammed up. How sneaky. It left Jiang Li feeling awkward too.
"When I said 'important,' I didn't mean it like that." Jiang Li scratched his cheek, keeping his tone casual. "You know what I mean—our relationship."
It was a partnership. A teammate thing.
At that, Kakayan's shoulders—still turned away—gave a tiny shake.
...No clue what was going on with her.
Just as Jiang Li was starting to panic, soft laughter floated over.
"...Heh-heh-heh."
Kakayan spun back, wearing a smug little grin.
"Of course I know," she said, chin lifted, clearly in a good mood. "You think I'm stupid?"
Jiang Li exhaled. He didn't want one careless line to make things awkward. Looked like she understood.
"We're in an improper cohabitation relationship, right?" Kakayan declared with perfect confidence.
She'd checked on Baidu: cohabitation meant two people in love living together and doing... embarrassing things. She and Jiang Li did live together, but they weren't in love and they definitely weren't doing anything blush-worthy. Therefore their cohabitation was improper.
"...Excuse me?"
Jiang Li scratched his head so hard it tingled. Every time he tried to follow Kakayan's logic, this happened—worst episode yet. Felt like zombies gnawing on his brain.
This woman was slandering his good name!
Jiang Li never claimed to be a paragon, but he wouldn't take advantage of anyone. Even if Kakayan was a top-tier beauty, even if she had no ID card and calling the cops wouldn't help, even if her CPU had terrible modern compatibility and was easy to handle—he stuck to his rule: never mess with the clueless.
He was a twenty-something guy, not a pot of instant noodles tossed into boiling water.
Spending every day with a stunning yet ridiculously air-headed woman and somehow keeping the relationship strictly platonic—only a saint could pull that off. The difficulty felt like trying to solo a raid boss meant for two.
Yet in this woman's mouth it had turned into "cohabiting in sin."
"What exactly is going on in your head?" Jiang Li asked, brows knit tight.
"Ah!" Kakayan's small mouth popped open in surprise. She jabbed a finger at the monitor. "Found the monster!"
"Now's not the time—"
"Jiang Li, its tail looks like it's grown back!"
"What?!"
In seconds they'd slipped back into full-on monster-hunting mode. Only after an hour of nonstop grinding did they finally shut the game down.
"That was perfect synergy today." Kakayan stretched, utterly satisfied. "Any yogurt left in the fridge?"
"One bottle."
The moment the words left Jiang Li's mouth, Kakayan darted to the refrigerator. He watched her fluid, practiced movements.
"Your foot's better?"
"Hmm... seems like it." She bounced on the spot a couple of times.
"Then starting tomorrow, we're heading out to work." Jiang Li did the math: they still owed one more video this month. This woman had been loafing around for days, living off nothing but rice.