Chapter 196 – My Lady Heroine in the Holographic Online Game – You’re Not Good Enough (10)
This farce only ended when Mother Bai returned from outside, saw them all in the courtyard, and called Qi Hongyi inside.
Out of respect for Mother Bai, Bai Luo merely let out a cold snort at Qi Hongyi and didn’t do anything else.
Qi Hongyi didn’t mind. Bai Tang was the Bai family’s treasure—anyone would be upset if someone tried to take away the person they cherished the most.
“Hongyi, Tang Tang, did you enjoy your time at the hot spring inn?” Mother Bai was a gentle person, and her tone was just as soft and warm.
“No,” Bai Tang shook his head.
The moment Bai Luo heard that, he entered battle mode. “Did someone bully you?”
As he spoke, his eyes flicked to the side, clearly implying Qi Hongyi.
“There was a staff member at the hot spring inn who stole something from Tang Tang,” Qi Hongyi explained.
“Stole something? Is Tang Tang alright? You didn’t get hurt, did you?” Mother Bai anxiously pulled Bai Tang over to check him.
Money and possessions were external things—if something got stolen, so be it. What mattered most was that he was safe and sound.
“Later, Yiyi and I caught her and handed her over to the police,” Bai Tang said, waving his tiny fists like the villain was right in front of him, as if he could land a couple of punches himself.
Mother Bai sighed in relief. “As long as you’re okay. Next time, you really have to be careful. Don’t confront thieves directly. If you provoke them, you never know what kind of danger might happen…” She went on and on, and Bai Tang nodded earnestly at everything she said.
Qi Hongyi stayed for a while but soon got up to leave. Mother Bai wanted to keep him for dinner, but tonight was a family gathering for the Qi household, and he couldn’t miss it, so he had to go.
“See you in the game tonight,” Qi Hongyi said, stealing a kiss while Bai Tang wasn’t paying attention.
Bai Luo’s eyes went wide with rage. He looked like he wanted to fight Qi Hongyi all over again.
“See you tonight~” Bai Tang was in a great mood and, while Qi Hongyi hadn’t left yet, stole a kiss back.
Grinning from ear to ear, Qi Hongyi whispered a few more secrets to Bai Tang before finally leaving.
If Mother Bai hadn’t been holding him back tightly, Bai Luo would’ve gone up and kicked him.
Ahhh! My precious Tang Tang got snatched away by a pig… a pig, I tell you…
Qi Hongyi went home in high spirits, and the whole family was full of warmth and laughter.
Only Grandma Qi sighed repeatedly.
“Oh, my granddaughter-in-law, my dear Tang Tang… when will I finally get to see you? This old lady is all alone at home—no one cares about me, no one loves me, and no one even eats my desserts…”
The first part of Grandma Qi’s complaint was fine—it was just about Qi Hongyi. But when she mentioned the desserts, the expressions of the Qi family around the dinner table turned pained.
You couldn’t exactly call her cooking “disastrous,” but it was ridiculously sweet—so sweet it was bitter. After two bites, you felt like throwing up.
Don’t be fooled by Grandma Qi’s age—she was the most fashionable one of them all. That’s also why she’d had one hobby after another, even at her age.
Ever since Qi Hongyi asked her for advice on how to pursue someone, she felt there was hope. Bai Tang clearly liked her grandson—it was just that Qi Hongyi hadn’t reciprocated at the time. Now that he did, wasn’t the day of gaining a granddaughter-in-law just around the corner?
“Grandma, I promise—I’ll marry Tang Tang next year,” Qi Hongyi solemnly assured the drama-queen Grandma Qi.
“You all heard that, right? He said it himself—I didn’t force him. Don’t go saying later that I’m arranging marriages behind anyone’s back. The brat is willing, everyone heard it,” Grandma Qi suddenly dropped the act and turned cheeky.
“Yes, yes, I said it,” Qi Hongyi said helplessly as he served her more food.
To be honest, Qi Hongyi was actually quite grateful to his grandmother now for arranging the engagement with the Bai family back then. If not for that, he wouldn’t have discovered how amazing Tangtang was.
After both families finished dinner, Bai Tang dashed back to his room with loud, hurried footsteps, eager to dive into the gaming pod.
“Host, going to sleep right after eating isn’t good for your health. I recommend waiting at least thirty minutes after a meal before lying down,” Xiao A advised.
Qiu’er originally wanted to refute Xiao A—how dare this contract system boss Tang Tang around—but seeing that A made a valid point, it stayed quiet.
“Alright then,” Bai Tang turned off the power to the gaming pod and went for a post-dinner walk with Mother Bai, only returning nearly an hour later.
…
Jiang Yiran had already logged into the game early. After thinking things through all afternoon, she had a plan.
Qi Hongyi didn’t know that [Yiran Youyou] was actually her. Honestly speaking, it was entirely possible that he didn’t remember her at all. In a way, that might be a good thing—she still had a chance.
Qi Hongyi was the first man she had truly liked, and he was definitely a high-quality catch. She wasn’t ready to give up just yet—not without putting up a fight.
So she logged into the game early, waiting for Qi Hongyi to come online.
After finally seeing the avatar in her friends list light up, Jiang Yiran immediately sent a messenger pigeon to invite him to do a quest together.
Qi Hongyi had been staring at his friends list, watching as the dusty gray avatar of Yi Zhi Haitang remained dim. He waited patiently. When he received Jiang Yiran’s message, he simply replied with a “Busy” and then ignored her completely.
Jiang Yiran was furious, but she knew that right now they were just ordinary teammates. She had no right to demand whether he did quests or not.
If the mountain won’t come to me, I’ll go to the mountain.
Seeing his location on the list, Jiang Yiran found a coachman and teleported there.
“Qingge…” Jiang Yiran spotted Qi Hongyi from afar, standing beneath a peach blossom tree.
“Like jade stands the man on the road, unmatched in grace among gentlemen.”
Qi Hongyi really did have striking looks—sword-like eyebrows, sharp features—very popular among girls, and even other men couldn’t help but glance a few more times.
Jiang Yiran felt her heart pounding so hard that she couldn’t even form a full sentence.
“What are you doing here?” Qi Hongyi frowned.
This spot was a hidden scenic area he had discovered himself, rarely visited by others. He had specifically come here to wait for Bai Tang.
Now that a woman had shown up—what would Tang Tang think if he logged in and saw their date had been intruded on?
“I… I heard the view here was beautiful, so I came to take a look. I didn’t expect you to be here too.” Jiang Yiran glanced at him cautiously. Seeing no reaction, she continued, “Are you waiting for someone?”
“Yeah. Take your time. I’ll be leaving now.” Qi Hongyi turned to go.
Jiang Yiran pulled out a classic move—the kind that used to make her popular with many male players before she crossed over into this world.
She said softly, “Qingge… Did I do something wrong? Please don’t be mad. I’m sorry.”
Qi Hongyi turned back. He looked at Jiang Yiran, who used to carry herself with a spirited and heroic air, now trying out these exaggeratedly delicate gestures. He suddenly felt exhausted for no reason.
He had originally joined the game just to find bugs and test quests. He casually grouped up with a few online players—he hadn’t expected to misjudge someone like this.
“You didn’t do anything wrong. There’s no need to apologize. From now on, you go your way, I’ll go mine. Whether something comes up or not, don’t come looking for me.”
For him to even speak this calmly with someone he didn’t actually know in real life was already quite generous.
He still remembered how much Tang Tang disliked Yiran Youyou. It was best to keep his distance. He was still trying to win Tang Tang’s heart, after all.
“Qingge, we’ve always been the perfect team… Did I really mess up so badly? Was it just because I misfired an arrow during that last quest? I can go apologize to Yi Zhi Haitang…” Jiang Yiran was desperate now—so desperate that she was even willing to say she’d apologize to Bai Tang, whom she disliked the most.
“Let the past be the past. Take care of yourself.”
Qi Hongyi genuinely felt exhausted—Why couldn’t this girl just understand plain words?
Jiang Yiran couldn’t accept this outcome. She hadn’t even done anything yet, and he was already cutting ties? Judging by his tone, he wasn’t even planning to team up for quests anymore.
“Qingge…” Jiang Yiran stepped forward and grabbed the sleeve of Qi Hongyi’s robe.
“Let go!” Qi Hongyi’s face darkened. He was about to say something when a soft, milky voice came from behind.
“What are you two doing?”
Both of them turned around to see who it was. Jiang Yiran froze in shock, while Qi Hongyi lit up with joy.
He immediately shook Jiang Yiran off and scrambled to explain to Bai Tang.
“Tang Tang, it’s not what you think! I was trying to shake her off. I swear I’m innocent—really!”
Qi Hongyi saw Bai Tang’s blank expression and was nearly ready to raise his hand to the sky and swear an oath.
Suddenly, Bai Tang smiled—a bright, dazzling smile that nearly blinded Qi Hongyi.
“I saw it all. She was the one clinging to you.”
Qi Hongyi breathed a sigh of relief and took Bai Tang’s hand.
“I was going to take you to see the peach blossoms, but someone else is already here. Let’s go see the waterfall instead…”
“Yi Zhi Haitang… I’m sorry. About what happened in the cave last time—I didn’t mean it.” Jiang Yiran bit her lip and forced out the words.
“Oh.”
Bai Tang, of course, had already seen how insincere Jiang Yiran’s expression was. Even if he hadn’t, Qiu’er and Xiao A would’ve told him.
He raised his hand, still holding Qi Hongyi’s, and showed it off to Jiang Yiran.
“Maybe you didn’t know—this is my man.”
That one sentence from Bai Tang carried absolute presence and power.
Qi Hongyi, overwhelmed with joy, suddenly scooped Bai Tang up and spun him around.
Nothing made him happier than Bai Tang openly acknowledging their relationship.
“Tang Tang, I love you.” Qi Hongyi said, pressing his forehead gently against Bai Tang’s.
Bai Tang had been confessed to before, but every time still made his heart feel warm and sweet.
A man who, even after losing his memory, would still fall in love with you in every world, still remember the things you love—that was proof enough of the depth of his feelings.
“Me too,” Bai Tang whispered softly.
In public, Bai Tang still couldn’t bring himself to say “I love you,” even though the only “audience” present was just one person.
The two walked away hand in hand, not even sparing Jiang Yiran a single glance. Jiang Yiran was seething—Bai Tang really was her nemesis. Every time he showed up, things would fall apart for her.
Qi Hongyi took Bai Tang to see the waterfall, and while he was at it, dragged him over to the matchmaker NPC to register their marriage.
Since he couldn’t marry Tang Tang in real life just yet, doing it in-game was the next best thing.
No matter how realistic a holographic game felt, it was still a game. And games had rules.
For example, in the “wedding night” scenario, all the newlyweds could do was lie under the covers and chat—nothing beyond that. Not even a step further.
Qi Hongyi was full of regret. Why didn’t I add a couple intimacy system when I was designing this game?
After drinking their ceremonial wedding wine, there was… nothing else.
Bai Tang, having lived through several lifetimes, understood what a wedding night usually entailed. But he wasn’t familiar with the game’s content restrictions. Seeing that Qi Hongyi made no move, he couldn’t help but overthink it a little.
Of course, it wasn’t that he doubted Qi Hongyi’s love. It was just… Could it be like Second Brother said—he’s… not functional?
Noticing Bai Tang’s conflicted expression, Qi Hongyi gently asked what was wrong. Bai Tang could only sigh and try to comfort him:
“It’s okay. If you’re not… able, then you’re not. I won’t mind. I can treat you after we log out.”
Bai Tang had full confidence in his healing ability. Unless someone was fully dead and stiff, he could still pull them back from the gates of the underworld.
Qi Hongyi’s face instantly darkened.
“Stop listening to your second brother’s nonsense. Whether I’m able or not—you can try and see for yourself. Even if you beg for mercy, I won’t let you off…”
Author’s Note:
Poor male lead—getting suspected by his wife of being not functional, hahahahaha…