Chereads / Liu Hao Turns over a new leaf / Chapter 107 - Those who are close to vermilion become red; those who are close to ink become black." "近朱者赤,近墨者黑" (jìn zhū zhě chì, jìn mò zhě hēi).

Chapter 107 - Those who are close to vermilion become red; those who are close to ink become black." "近朱者赤,近墨者黑" (jìn zhū zhě chì, jìn mò zhě hēi).

"Instance record?"

Liu Hao didn't really want to deal with instance records. Running regular instances was too dull for him. However, Chen Yehui was his subordinate, and a boss should help his underlings when they are in trouble, especially when the boss can do so.

"Which instance?" Liu Hao asked.

"Ice Frost Forest and Burial Ground," Chen Yehui replied.

Liu Hao had some impression of these two instances. Ice Frost Forest was filled with short and ugly goblins whose attacks were limited to swinging clubs and throwing snowballs, making it easy to handle.

He remembered that Ye Qiu had used a fast-clearing strategy for this instance. While it was difficult for ordinary players, it was straightforward for professional players.

"Breaking the record for Ice Frost Forest is simple. To ensure that the record won't be broken again, I'll arrange for three professional players to assist you. He Ming, Shen Jian, and Wang Ze should be more than enough to handle Ice Frost Forest," Liu Hao said. "As for Burial Ground..."

Seeing Liu Hao hesitate, Chen Yehui cautiously asked, "Brother Hao, is the Burial Ground difficult?"

"Breaking the record for Burial Ground isn't difficult, but I'm worried that if we break it, Lord Grim might break it back. If the record set by three professional players is broken, it would be quite embarrassing for Excellent Era," Liu Hao said.

"What? Is Lord Grim really that strong? Can he break a record set by three professional players?"

"Under normal circumstances, he definitely wouldn't be able to, but if Lord Grim discovers a new strategy for Burial Ground, who knows?" Liu Hao said calmly. "By the way, your guess is correct. Lord Grim is actually Ye Qiu."

"What?" Chen Yehui's mouth dropped open in shock, nearly wide enough to fit an apple. He had thought that Ye Qiu would disappear after his retirement, but recently, Ye Qiu has been making waves in online games such as Lord Grim, and he even had a silver weapon.

"Does this mean Ye Qiu is planning a comeback? Using Lord Grim, the unspecialised character?" Chen Yehui guessed the truth straight away.

Liu Hao nodded. "Of course, Ye Qiu will come back. After what Excellent Era did to him, a man of his calibre would naturally desire revenge."

Chen Yehui felt a little apprehensive. Even though Liu Hao hadn't given a direct order, Chen Yehui couldn't help but start thinking about how to eliminate Lord Grim.

Liu Hao noticed the sinister look in Chen Yehui's eyes and immediately understood what he was thinking. He warned, "I don't mind you trying to stop Ye Qiu, but I advise you not to do it now. Given Ye Qiu's skill, even if you lead over thirty elite players to ambush him, you wouldn't win. Instead, you'd be picked off one by one, suffering heavy losses."

Liu Hao paused, then continued, "Your current task is to lead Jia Dynasty to grow strong, becoming one of the top three guilds, perhaps even the best of the three. As for the rest, you don't need to worry about it; I'll take care of it."

"Understood, Brother Hao!" Chen Yehui trusted Liu Hao completely.

Liu Hao then ordered Shen Jian, He Ming, and Wang Ze to stop training and go downstairs to help the Jia Dynasty guild.

It was training time, and their unauthorised departure without consulting the team captain made Sun Xiang slightly unhappy. However, since he had lost to Liu Hao, Sun Xiang felt embarrassed to cause trouble for him and could only look the other way.

But Su Mucheng wouldn't let Liu Hao mess around. Her professional attitude didn't allow him to interfere with the team's training.

"Liu Hao? What did you send them to do?"

"They're just going on a little trip downstairs to help the guild. They'll be back in about half an hour," Liu Hao explained.

"What kind of help?" Su Mucheng pressed for details.

"Oh, Lord Grim has been too rampant in the Tenth Server, taking all the instance records. So I sent the three of them to break a record and spread Jia Dynasty's fame in the Tenth Server. Of course, out of respect for Ye Qiu, I sent three professional players," Liu Hao said with a smile.

Su Mucheng frowned instinctively. "Breaking instance records? Just for such a childish reason?"

"Childish? I don't think so," Liu Hao said, his eyes studying Su Mucheng's beautiful face, staring into her eyes. "Would Chief Su do something so childish?"

"Me? Of course not!" Su Mucheng responded firmly.

Liu Hao chuckled. "If Ye Qiu asked you for help, would you still refuse?"

"This..." Su Mucheng hesitated. She had initially planned to secretly visit Happy Internet Cafe the next night to check on Ye Qiu. But if Ye Qiu really invited her to run an instance, she probably wouldn't refuse.

"See? You'd also do something childish," Liu Hao laughed. "So we're all childish people. Let's not mock or criticise each other. If you want to help Ye Qiu, I won't stop you."

Su Mucheng snorted, turned her head away, and stopped talking to Liu Hao.

After a while, Wang Ze, Shen Jian, and He Ming returned to the training room. Liu Hao glanced at the time—about half an hour. The efficiency was pretty good, a testament to the focused training he had put them through recently.

...

At Happy Internet Cafe, Ye Qiu looked at the newly refreshed Ice Frost Forest instance record and frowned. The record was alarmingly high, almost impossible to achieve by ordinary players.

Ye Qiu opened the Jia Dynasty guild's team list: Gunner, Demon Swordsman, Elementalist, Striker, Battle Mage...

"The Gunner is Wang Ze, the Demon Swordsman is Liu Hao, the Elementalist should be He Ming, and the Striker is Shen Jian..." Ye Qiu muttered. "Is Liu Hao so bored that he's neglecting training to bring Excellent Era's players to play online games?"

Ye Qiu didn't know that Liu Hao hadn't actually participated. He just assumed, due to their long-standing rivalry, that Liu Hao would involve himself in any action targeting him.

Ye Qiu sighed helplessly.

Tang Rou couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"

"Oh, the Ice Frost Forest instance record was broken," Ye Qiu said calmly. "Excellent Era sent four professional players and set a very high record."

"Can't we break it?" Tang Rou asked.

Ye Qiu shook his head. "We could break it, but it wouldn't be worth it. To break this record, we'd need the best equipment, the highest levels, and at least three professional players. Even then, we might only improve the time by a second or two."

Tang Rou was silent for a moment, then said, "Let's try it anyway."

Ye Qiu couldn't help but laugh. Setting aside the highest character levels and best equipment, they couldn't even gather the essential three professional players.

Counting himself and Su Mucheng, they only had two. It was impossible to break the record.

"Let's forget about Ice Frost Forest. We'll focus on Burial Ground instead," Ye Qiu said. "But to prevent the record from being broken again, which would affect my business, I need to study a new strategy."

...

The next night.

Su Mucheng wore a knitted hat, a pink scarf, and sunglasses, wrapping herself up tightly as she tiptoed downstairs.

Liu Hao, watching from behind, quickly figured out that Su Mucheng was planning to visit Ye Qiu at Happy Internet Cafe.

However, her disguise was too poor. Her iconic orange hair made it evident to anyone that she was Su Mucheng. And who wears sunglasses at night? Isn't she afraid of getting hit by a car?

"Ahem!" Liu Hao coughed loudly, startling the sneaky Su Mucheng.

Su Mucheng quickly turned around and saw Liu Hao leaning against the wall, looking at her with an amused expression.

"Where are you going?" Liu Hao asked, already knowing the answer.

"Ah, you caught me," Su Mucheng said, removing her sunglasses and sticking out her pink tongue playfully.

"You're going to Happy Internet Cafe, aren't you?" Liu Hao directly exposed her plan.

"Huh? No, I'm not," Su Mucheng shook her head, instinctively avoiding Liu Hao's scrutinising gaze.

Liu Hao grinned. "Has anyone ever told you that you're not good at lying? When people lie, or secretly like someone, they tend to avoid eye contact."

"Pah! I don't secretly like you!" Su Mucheng retorted, blushing. "Look, I can stare into your eyes right now."

"So you admit you lied?" Liu Hao laughed. "And by the way, it's a myth that people who secretly like someone avoid eye contact. In reality, they often can't stop looking at the person, hoping their crush will notice them."

"Liu Hao!" Su Mucheng realised she was being teased, having fallen into Liu Hao's verbal trap.

"What?" Liu Hao spread his hands. "I wasn't trying to do anything. You were the one who lied to me. Kids who lie get spanked by adults, you know."

"Then you must have gotten spanked a lot as a kid," Su Mucheng fired back, seizing the opportunity to counterattack.

This took Liu Hao by surprise. He thought Su Mucheng was improving, remembering how he used to tease her easily. Now, she could even take the initiative.

"Sorry, I've always been an honest person, so I've never been spanked," Liu Hao replied without skipping a beat.

.

Su Mucheng scoffed. "That statement proves you're not honest!"

"Alright, let's stop the banter. You're going to Happy Internet Cafe, right? Coincidentally, I was planning to go there too. Let's go together."

"What are you going to Happy Internet Cafe for?" Su Mucheng asked.

"Chen Guo," Liu Hao replied.

"Chen Guo?" Su Mucheng was taken aback. Chen Guo seemed to be Liu Hao's girlfriend's name or maybe one of her faithful fans.

Su Mucheng realised belatedly what Liu Hao meant earlier and blushed as she scolded him, "You scoundrel!"

Liu Hao rolled his eyes at Su Mucheng. "I'm just going to see my girlfriend. What were you thinking?"

"I'm not talking to you anymore!" Su Mucheng didn't want to argue with Liu Hao any further and hurried away.

Liu Hao quickly followed her.

...

The wind on the street was bleak and bone-chilling; the nights in City H were still quite cold.

Su Mucheng, bundled up in a hat, mask, sunglasses, and scarf, had herself wrapped up tightly. But when she accidentally saw Liu Hao behind her, who wasn't disguised at all, she panicked for a moment and said, "Liu Hao, why aren't you wearing a mask? If you show your face, people will find out we're going to an internet cafe!"

Liu Hao, however, appeared unconcerned and said, "Don't worry. It's so dark at night that I won't be recognised that easily. On the contrary, you're dressed so strangely, like a creepy child kidnapper. That's what's really drawing attention."

"You're the creepy one! You're the kidnapper!" Su Mucheng retorted.

As she spoke, she took out a black mask from her pocket and stuffed it into Liu Hao's hand. "Put it on, don't drag me into getting exposed with you."

Liu Hao chuckled but still put on the mask. It had a sweet, citrusy scent that was quite pleasant.

...

At the Happy Internet Cafe.

Ye Qiu was sitting at the front desk playing Glory, while Tang Rou was seated next to him.

Su Mucheng tiptoed into the internet cafe, with Liu Hao following closely behind.

Tang Rou noticed the guests. She didn't recognise the girl with the covered face, but she could immediately identify the man wearing the mask behind her.

"Liu Hao?" Tang Rou asked, puzzled. It was already so late; what was Liu Hao doing at Happy?

"Hey, how are you two doing?" Liu Hao waved and greeted them.

Ye Qiu heard the familiar voice and looked up. When he saw that it was Su Mucheng, he was pleasantly surprised.

"What brings you here?" Ye Qiu asked.

"Came to see you. We haven't seen each other for a week. Did you miss me?" Su Mucheng took off her sunglasses and mask.

"Stop teasing," Ye Qiu said, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"How's it going?"

"How's what going?"

"Your job as a network manager?"

"It's not bad, 2,300 yuan a month, with room and board included. The boss lady is quite nice," Ye Qiu replied casually.

"And this is... Xiao Tang, right?" Su Mucheng looked at Tang Rou.

Tang Rou was startled but nodded. "Hello, my name is Tang Rou."

"Su Mucheng," Su Mucheng said, shaking hands with Tang Rou. "I've heard Ye Qiu talk about you. You've got quick reflexes and a natural talent for Glory."

"Thank you," Tang Rou said, feeling that the name Su Mucheng sounded a bit familiar.

As the three of them chatted harmoniously, Liu Hao knew that none of them particularly liked him, so he didn't stay long and quickly headed upstairs. Liu Hao had a spare key to Chen Guo's room.

"What's Liu Hao doing here?" Ye Qiu asked, still puzzled. Actually, he was more curious about why Su Mucheng had come with Liu Hao.

"Chen Guo," Su Mucheng replied, her face reddening.

Ye Qiu was slow to catch on and didn't understand at first. However, there was a special kind of understanding among the girls, and Tang Rou's face was already blushing.

Ye Qiu was relatively clueless about relationships. Seeing the two girls blushing, he finally realised what Su Mucheng meant earlier.

"Mucheng, you're getting mischievous," Ye Qiu sighed.

"Those around you influence you!" Su Mucheng spread her hands.

"What you mean is 'Those who are close to vermilion become red; those who are close to ink become black.'" Ye Qiu corrected.

Su Mucheng shook her head. "No, I mean 'He who touches pigs turns red.' But the pig I'm referring to is a wild boar, and Liu Hao is a big, dumb boar!"

Sensing the strong resentment Su Mucheng harboured against Liu Hao, Ye Qiu's mouth twitched. He wondered what Liu Hao had done to Su Mucheng to make her, someone who was usually so gentle and never cursed, turn out like this.

"How's Sun Xiang doing?" Ye Qiu asked about something that concerned him.

"Sun Xiang, huh? He's also a fool," Su Mucheng sighed.

Ye Qiu's mouth twitched again. What had Liu Hao done to Su Mucheng to make her so blunt in her insults?

"But although Sun Xiang is a bit dumb, he's still quite strong," Su Mucheng said sincerely.

"Unfortunately, compared to Liu Hao, he's way too green," Ye Qiu said. "He got outmanoeuvred by Liu Hao in his last match."

"How do you know?" Su Mucheng asked in surprise.

Ye Qiu couldn't help but laugh. If he couldn't see through that, then his ten years of playing Glory would have been in vain.

(End of the chapter)

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