TSA Chapter 74

After finishing the barbecue feast, it was already close to midnight. Once daylight broke, Han Xiao and the others would be leaving with their school team to return to the Imperial Star. Since they wouldn’t have much time left together, they decided not to go out gaming tonight and instead stayed back to chat.

Ran Qi packed the leftover ingredients into airtight containers, preparing them for Han Xiao and the others to take back to school.

When the group gathered at their accommodations to head back, Ran Qi and Gu Le accompanied them on the walk.

Han Xiao deliberately lagged behind, and when no one was paying attention, he took Ran Qi’s hand.

Ran Qi’s cheeks flushed slightly, but he still responded by gripping Han Xiao’s hand in return. The warmth of his palm dispelled the late-night chill, and an invisible cloud of pink, sugary sweetness seemed to hover between them.

The people walking ahead appeared to be chatting, but in reality, they couldn’t help sneaking glances back. They exchanged knowing looks and tacitly slowed their pace.

The fact that Han Xiao and Ran Qi were now together was both unexpected and completely reasonable. From every perspective, they were a perfect match, and the whole group fully supported them.

Even though everyone tried to delay the inevitable, they soon reached their destination.

Despite having mentally prepared for the separation, when the moment actually arrived, there was still a lingering reluctance.

“I’ll see you in the game tomorrow night,” Han Xiao said softly to Ran Qi.

“Mm… see you in the game…”

At that moment, Ran Qi felt grateful for the advancement of future technology. In a fully immersive game, the difference between virtual and reality wasn’t significant. They could still meet every day, unlike long-distance relationships in the 21st century, where the absence of physical proximity made the other person feel distant.

After saying their goodbyes, only Ran Qi and Gu Le remained. Finally, Gu Le, who had been holding back all night, blurted out, “Oh my god, Ranran, you and the boss are really together?! I had a feeling something was off between you two, and sure enough, something was going on! Spill it! Have you two been secretly involved for a while?”

Ran Qi’s face instantly turned bright red. “No way! We just had a mutual fondness before, and after spending time together these past few days, those feelings deepened. Then, with today’s atmosphere… Anyway, when he confessed, I realized I didn’t reject it at all. In fact, I was kind of happy… so I agreed.”

“Alright, I’ll let you off the hook this time. But…” Gu Le narrowed his eyes at Ran Qi for a while before finally looking away. He paused, then asked, “Are you planning to tell your family about this?”

Ran Qi’s family adored him to the point of being overprotective. His two older brothers, in particular, were notoriously difficult to deal with. If they found out an outsider pig had stolen their precious little cabbage, who knew how they would react?

At the mention of this, Ran Qi froze, his mind going blank. After a long pause, he muttered, “I-I’ll think about it later… It’s still early…”

“True, you guys just got together. It can wait a bit.”

The two of them booked spaceship tickets for the next afternoon. After taking a short rest, they boarded the ship and returned to school.

But, as the saying goes, you attract what you fear the most. The moment Ran Qi stepped off the spaceship, he received a video call request from his stepfather, Qu Qing.

For some reason, Ran Qi suddenly felt guilty. He hastily shoved his luggage into Gu Le’s hands before answering the call.

“Little Dad!”

“Xiao Qi, you’re back from Central City?” Qu Qing asked with concern.

“Little Dad… how did you know I went to Central City?” Ran Qi was surprised.

“You bought another set of tableware there. The transaction notification was sent to your dad,” Qu Qing said with a smile. “If you need to buy something, just buy it. Don’t hold back—your health is the most important, understand?”

Feeling the warmth in Qu Qing’s words, Ran Qi’s heart melted. “Mm…”

“Xiao Qi is all grown up now, taking good care of himself,” Qu Qing said with satisfaction. “Did you go to Central City with your school team to watch the tournament? Even though your school didn’t qualify this time, making it to the semifinals is still a great achievement.”

“Yeah…” Ran Qi replied dryly, feeling increasingly guilty. He hadn’t gone to Central City to watch his own school team’s match—he had gone to meet an online friend in person. He even bought a separate spaceship ticket just to avoid traveling with his school’s team…

Because of the screen and the noisy environment around Ran Qi, Qu Qing didn’t notice anything unusual. He continued warmly, “It’s good to go out and explore more. Don’t just stay in your room playing games all the time.”

“Got it, I understand,” Ran Qi nodded obediently.

“And also…”

“Hm? What is it?” Ran Qi looked at the screen, puzzled.

Qu Qing hesitated for a moment, then smiled and said, “Nothing, just make sure to get some rest when you’re back.”

“Okay.”

After ending the call with his youngest son, Qu Qing finally let out a sigh of relief, leaning back against Ran Shaojun’s broad and solid chest. “Xiao Qi is fine.”

“He went with his school team, what could have happened? He’s grown up now. He’s been acting very sensibly lately—you don’t need to worry so much.” Ran Shaojun lowered his head and pressed a gentle kiss to his lover’s forehead.

“But the students from Imperial Star were also there this time… I couldn’t help but worry…” Qu Qing sighed.

Ran Qi’s so-called ‘idol’ was a student at the Imperial Star Military Academy. Back then, Ran Qi had pushed himself to the brink of death for that so-called idol, something that still haunted Qu Qing to this day.

“The doctor already explained it, didn’t he? Xiao Qi was just young and rebellious at the time. He acted impulsively, which is why things went wrong. It had nothing to do with the students from Imperial Star,” Ran Shaojun said. Although he also felt protective of his son, he wasn’t going to place blame where it didn’t belong. The Imperial Star student had nothing to do with what happened.

“…Mm,” Qu Qing murmured in response. He understood the logic, but he still had lingering concerns. What worried him even more was the possibility that Ran Qi might run into that ‘idol’ at the tournament in Central City and rekindle some dangerous ideas.

When Qu Qing first found out that Ran Qi had gone to Central City, he had almost called him several times. But Ran Shaojun had stopped him every time—this competition was only a virtual battle, meaning Ran Qi wouldn’t come into contact with real mechas or combat armor. Plus, with the school’s teachers supervising, there was no danger. Hovering over him like this would only put unnecessary pressure on Ran Qi.

It was rare for their son to go out and have fun, so they should at least let him enjoy himself.

Qu Qing had barely managed to hold back his worries until the competition ended. Only today did he finally call Ran Qi, and now that he had confirmed his safety, he could finally breathe easy.

After Ran Qi and Gu Le returned to their dorm, they wasted no time jumping into their game pods. They had been offline for almost a full day and night—they needed to catch up on the leveling progress they had missed.

Since the Imperial Star Military Academy was located closer to Central City than their school, by the time Ran Qi and Gu Le logged in, Han Xiao and the others had already started grinding in the wilderness.

Ran Qi glanced at the ranking leaderboard—Han Xiao still firmly held the top position. The rest of their team remained in the top fifty, unaffected by the two-day delay. The gap between them and regular players was still massive.

Noticing that Ran Qi and Gu Le had logged in, Han Xiao immediately sent a party invite.

[System] Player [Bai Ran] and [Coke] have joined the party.

[Party] Night Owl: Wait for us at the entrance of the Ten Thousand Insect Cave. We’ll be there soon.

[Party] Bai Ran: Got it.

Even though their efficiency farming monsters in the wild was high, the experience from dungeons was still much better. The plan was to clear all their daily dungeon and challenge dungeon cooldowns first, then return to the wild to grind levels.