Adventure World Online (AWO)

"Phat Asawatin."

16 read out the name of the young man, who was not on his list of suspects in the slightest.

"Asawatin? Isn't that a political family?"

17 remarked with a puzzled look.

"That's right. My father is the Minister of Finance. With a reputation like that, how could I possibly be a criminal? Let me go already!"

The young man yanked his arm free with an air of entitlement. 17 let him go without resistance, now convinced that this was not someone who would harbor any ill intentions toward their young lady. But there was still one thing that bothered him—why had this man been following her car?

"I apologize for the rough treatment. In that case, why were you following her car?"

16 returned the wallet and ID to him while asking with visible concern.

"Hmph. I just wanted to know where she lives—who she really is, that's all!"

The young man replied bluntly.

"Then, there's no need to follow her anymore, then. I'll tell you who she is. Her name is Chayarin Rattanaruangrit—only daughter of Phichaya Rattanaruangrit, owner of the Infinity Group conglomerate. I apologize again, but I think it's best if you don't try to follow her anymore. The home security system is extremely tight. I wouldn't want you getting into this kind of situation again. Safe travels."

With that, 16 turned and got back into the van, driving off immediately—leaving the young man standing there, stunned and overwhelmed by the true identity of the girl he had just fallen head over heels for.

At Phetchklao Home

Id's car pulled up to the front gate. Id and Peach both stepped out to see Chang off as she made her way up the front steps. It seemed the two siblings had something bottled up they could not wait to say to her tonight. They both called out to her in unison. Chang turned around, confused, while the siblings looked at each other—each clearly determined to speak first, regardless of what the other had to say. Sensing Chang's questioning eyes, they both blurted out their lines at the exact same moment.

"Peach wants to come visit your house again sometime!"

"Will you be my girlfriend!"

The girl whipped her head toward her brother so fast she almost sprained her neck. She had not expected that move from him—proposing to her idol right there on the spot. And now, who would Chang answer first? And would she say yes or no? Peach grit her teeth in fury at her brother, while Id stood frozen, his heart thudding anxiously in anticipation. Chang seemed stunned by the twin declarations. She looked at Peach, then at Id, and gave a meaningful smile.

"Hmm. Sure!"

Chang chuckled softly and walked inside, leaving the siblings bewildered in her wake.

"Hooray. I'm so happy. Lord Chang said I could come over again!"

Peach jumped up in delight, nearly floating off the ground. Her brother, however, remained frozen where he stood—baffled. He had no idea who Chang had actually answered—or if she had answered both. Id's head swirled with doubt. She said, "Sure." But sure to what, exactly? Was it Peach's request to come visit again—or had she just agreed to be his girlfriend? He felt like banging his head against the car door. If only he had been firmer and not let his sister tag along to see Chang off, he would know for sure by now whether that "Sure" had been meant for whom.

But it was already late, so he had no choice but to keep the question buried in his mind. That night, he could not sleep. The thought nagged at him endlessly: was her answer meant for him, or for Peach? The more he thought about it, the more obsessed he became. If her answer had been meant for him, then that meant she agreed to be his girlfriend. His cheeks burned at the thought, and he let out a heavy sigh. This was getting out of hand. No matter how long he lay awake thinking, he would not get an answer tonight. Better to force himself to sleep and just call her in the morning to settle it once and for all.

Are you awake yet? Are you awake yet? Are you awa...

Click!

The young man had barely fallen asleep for an hour when his alarm clock blared through the silence. The sound pierced his ears, forcing him to leap up and shut it off. He glared at the device in annoyance—not because it had woken him up so soon, but because he recognized whose voice it was.

"Peach. Did you mess with my alarm clock again!"

Even though he was still groggy, there was no going back to sleep now. He got up, showered, got dressed, and grabbed the alarm clock before storming out of the house.

Chang's Bedroom. The ringtone of her phone roused Chang from her sleep. She fumbled blindly across the bedside table, grabbed the phone, and answered without even opening her eyes.

"Hello."

Her sleepy voice made the caller on the other end chuckle a little before replying.

"Chang, I'm on my way to see you."

"Huh, who is this? And why are you coming over so early in the morning?"

She sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes on the soft bed, then let out a long yawn.

"It's Id. I couldn't sleep last night because I couldn't stop thinking about your answer. So today, I want to hear it again—from you."

"Oh, you. The answer… the question… last night… wait, what!"

Chang was now wide awake, flustered, and caught completely off guard. She had not expected Id to be that dense and force her to say it again. But then again, he had not been the only one asking a question last night. It was not unreasonable for him to be confused about whose question she was answering. It was not something he could just assume. Still, having to say it again, face to face, felt hard.

"Is something wrong? I'm already at the entrance to your neighborhood,"

Id said when the line went quiet.

"You're already at the entrance. Why didn't you wait to tell me when you were in front of the house, you idiot!"

Chang shrieked. She had not even brushed her teeth or taken a shower yet. Her hair was a mess, and she was still in her cartoon-print pajamas. If he saw her like this, he would be rolling on the floor, laughing.

"Huh, oh, should I do that next time, then,"

Id replied, clearly confused. Maybe Chang liked surprises?

"Are you nuts? I was being sarcastic. I'm hanging up. If you're already here, just come in. I'll have Moddang greet you."

She shouted before abruptly ending the call. Then she jumped out of bed, opened the door, and yelled Moddang's name at the top of her lungs. Once she had given instructions, she went back to her room.

Not long after the call, Id arrived at the Phetchklao Home. He was warmly welcomed. Moddang brought him to the sitting room, served tea and snacks, and then went upstairs to inform Chang that he had arrived. As Id took a sip of tea, Chang came down from the second floor with a sullen expression. She sat across from him and stared at him with clear irritation.

"Isn't this a little too early?"

Chang said, nearly making Id choke on his tea. His face flushed red at her remark.

"Uh… sorry. I guess I got a little impatient."

"Whatever. Have you eaten yet? Wanna have breakfast with me?"

She asked as she stood up. Id quickly followed her into the dining room, where Aunt Im was just finishing setting the table.

When she saw Chang enter, Aunt Im was about to greet her, but upon noticing the young man following close behind, she merely smiled and muttered to herself, "Looks like I'll have to set one more place." Just then, Phichaya entered in his work attire. Seeing his daughter awake and ready to join him for breakfast made him so overjoyed he nearly ran over to hug her. But the moment he caught sight of Id, he immediately switched to a stern, composed demeanor.

"Well, I didn't expect to have a guest this early in the morning."

With that, he strode to the head of the table and opened up the newspaper. Chang sat down and motioned for Id to sit as well.

"Mm-hmm."

Her short, dismissive answer left both men speechless. The three of them ate in silence until Phichaya left for work. Id was dying to get to the point, but it seemed Chang knew exactly what he was thinking. So, she spoke up first and invited him to take a walk in the garden.

"Um, Chang?"

"Oh! Look. There's a bird's nest in that tree."

Chang quickly cut him off mid-sentence and pointed to a large tree, pretending to be fascinated by it.

"Do you think there are baby birds in there?"

"I'm not sure. But I wanted to..."

"Wanna climb up and check it out?"

Chang turned to him with sparkling eyes.

"I don't think that's a good idea. That tree's ridiculously tall—if we fall, we're bound to break something. Besides, I really want to..."

"Then let's go check over there instead. I'm sure Mom's roses must be blooming by now."Chang quickly cut him off and started walking away again. Id sighed and followed helplessly. He had mustered all the courage he had just to ask her again, face to face. But it seemed Chang was doing everything she could to avoid giving him a chance.

Eventually, Id gave up. He realized she probably was not ready for that next step in the relationship just yet. He watched her with a smile as she stepped into the rose garden, happily pointing out which varieties bloomed in what colors. She leaned in to smell one of the budding roses, her expression serene. After a while, she glanced back at him, noticing he had gone quiet.

"Don't you… have anything you want to ask anymore?"

She asked cautiously.

"No, I don't want to pester you while you're happy,"

he replied with a small shake of his head and a gentle smile. Chang looked slightly guilty. She stepped toward the man who stood only a few steps away.

"Sorry for making you feel awkward. It's just, I'm not ready to hear anything serious yet. Let's wait until after the battle between the Pirate King's heir is over. Then I promise—I'll listen to whatever you want to say, and I'll answer."

"Wow, who knows when that will happen? So basically, you're asking me to wait forever, huh,"

Id's eyes widened at Chang's idea of making him wait for an event with no set date.

"And if that's what it takes, would you wait?"

Chang raised an eyebrow, curious. How long could someone wait for something they did not even know if—or when—it would ever come?

"I've made my decision. I'm not changing my mind."

His reply made her cheeks flush with color. Embarrassed, she changed the subject again and insisted he head home, since he had not slept all night. She playfully pushed him toward the garage and ushered him into the driver's seat.

"What's that? You keep an alarm clock in your car?"

she asked, spotting a digital alarm clock on the passenger seat.

"Oh, that. I'm planning to re-record the wake-up voice. Peach snuck in and recorded her voice on it. Scared the life out of me this morning."

Id explained, and Chang's interest was instantly piqued. She asked to hear the recording, and when he played it, she burst into laughter, completely amused.

"You're crazy to change it. Didn't you say it nearly scared you awake? Hahaha."

Chang could not stop laughing at the ridiculous wake-up voice.

"No way. I don't want Peach haunting me even in my sleep. If you like it so much, you can keep it. I'll just buy a new one."

Id puffed his cheeks in mock annoyance, which only made Chang laugh harder—so much that tears welled up in her eyes. Feeling a little guilty, she offered to record a new voice message for him. Id's eyes lit up, and he nodded eagerly.

"Then I want it to be your voice, Chang. Otherwise, I'm still mad."

Chang chuckled again, even as she nodded in agreement. She took the alarm clock from the car and disappeared into the house for a while. When she returned, she handed it back to him.

"Here. But you're not allowed to listen to it now. Wait until you get home."

"Okay. Thank you. I'll head off now—see you in the game tomorrow."

"Mm-hmm. See you in the game."

Id smiled and waved as he drove away. Chang stood there watching until his car disappeared past the gate, then turned and went back inside. She walked with a smile on her face, humming softly under her breath—causing quite a stir in the house. The usually reserved, quiet young lady was smiling and humming a tune. That was something no one had ever seen before. Aunt Im was so stunned she immediately called Mr. Phichaya. The moment he heard the news, he nearly bolted from his meeting to rush home.

.....

Chang Long reappeared in the game. Her pets and spirit companions were automatically sealed as she was forced offline. Standing nearby was a young elf who had just logged in as well—he smiled at her. She smiled back just as the system began delivering their quest details once again.

Unbeknownst to them, their player affinity score—which they had never known of its existence—had increased by 100 points, reaching 72%, which now qualified them to enter into a romantic partnership.

As they looked at each other in surprise, the system delivered an even more shocking announcement:

"Visual Guild, Satan Guild, and Basic Guild have each submitted a war declaration for control of Dark City. Battle commencement in 10..."

Chang Long let out a sigh of relief. She assumed the countdown meant the war would begin in ten days. But when the voice abruptly cut off mid-sentence, with no closing message, she frowned, curious. That was not how the system usually operated. Just as she turned to ask Siegfried about it, the system's countdown resumed:

"9."

"What's wrong, Chang Long?"

The young elf asked when he saw the stunned expression on her face. He had a hunch she had received the same system alert he had.

"A city war... in another—"

"8."

"Eight. Eight minutes!"

Chang Long cried out. How on earth was she supposed to make it back to the city in just eight minutes? Just then, Killer and Murder logged back into the game. Seeing Chang Long in a state of panic, they looked confused.

"We might not make it back in time for the start of the battle, but that doesn't mean we can't take part at all. I doubt I'll make it back in time for the main fight, so I'll stay and support you here instead."

Siegfried offered in reassurance.

"Wait—Dark City's at war!"

Killer exclaimed excitedly.

"This is gonna be fun!"

Murder grinned and bolted off from the abandoned tomb without waiting for their City Lord in the slightest. Killer snickered and ran after him.

"Those two idiots!"

Chang Long felt like they had completely stolen her thunder and immediately dashed after them. Siegfried chuckled under his breath before following suit.