Chapter 199 – My Lady Heroine in the Holographic Online Game – Your Ears Popped Out (13)
Bai Tang followed Qi Hongyi home and was warmly welcomed by the Qi family. Especially Grandma Qi, who kept calling Bai Tang “my dear” with affection. Compared to the attitude of Grandpa Bai and Grandma Bai, it was like night and day.
When Grandma Qi saw Bai Tang, there was no longer any space left for Qi Hongyi by Bai Tang’s side.
She pushed her own grandson aside and took Bai Tang’s hand. “Tang Tang, come keep grandma company while I make some cakes. You never come to see your old grandma, and now no one’s left to eat grandma’s cakes.”
Grandma Qi’s kind words comforted Bai Tang, whose heart had been hurt by Grandpa Bai. He linked his arm with Granny Qi’s. “Grandma Qi, I really miss your cakes.”
Bai Tang’s sweet talk made Grandma Qi smile continuously.
“Come, grandma just learned how to make a new kind of glutinous rice cake. Come try it with me.”
Grandma Qi pulled Bai Tang into her private dessert kitchen. The Qi family breathed a sigh of relief—now that Bai Tang was here, they wouldn’t have to eat overly sweet pastries anymore.
They had already tasted Bai Tang’s cooking, which was far less sweet than Grandma Qi’s. Maybe it was just their impression, but they thought Bai Tang’s skills were even better than those bought outside, even better than the desserts from the most expensive restaurant in the northern part of the city.
“Hongyi, how are things going with Tang Tang?”
This was Mrs. Qi speaking. When she heard her son was going to break off the engagement with Bai Tang, she feared no one would ever catch Qi Hongyi’s eye again.
She had known Bai Tang since childhood and knew him inside out—it was no better match than her son and Bai Tang.
“Tang Tang will be living with us from now on. I’ll do my best to get him to agree to marry me soon.”
Mrs. Qi was curious. “But didn’t you say you didn’t like him before?”
Qi Hongyi thought of all the moments with Bai Tang and his expression softened. “Wasn’t I just confused before?”
“You know what to do, just remember not to let people down again,” Mrs. Qi said.
…
That evening, there was one more person at the dinner table.
Bai Tang sat up straight and proper next to Qi Hongyi, looking just like a model student paying serious attention in class.
The Qi family couldn’t help but smile at Bai Tang’s upright posture.
Mrs. Qi said, “Tang Tang, relax a little. From now on, this is your home. Make yourself comfortable.”
“Yes, yes, we all warmly welcome Tang Tang,” the younger family members chimed in. As long as Bai Tang was here, their taste buds could be freed — Bai Tang was amazing.
Qi Hongyi served Bai Tang some food, “Tang Tang, eat.”
This happy and harmonious family atmosphere gave Bai Tang a new kind of experience. Although Bai family members also often ate together, and both Bai eldest brother and second brother treated him well, in terms of numbers, the Qi household was livelier.
With Qi Hongyi’s protection and Grandma Qi’s pampering, Bai Tang quickly blended into the Qi family. No one dared to go against their future sister-in-law/cousin-in-law/sister-in-law, especially since Bai Tang’s desserts were far better than Grandma Qi’s. There was never enough dessert left after meals.
“Is Tang Tang’s room ready?” Grandma Qi asked Mrs. Qi.
Mrs. Qi smiled, “It’s been ready for a while.” She glanced at the suddenly nervous Qi Hongyi. “It’s the second room on the third floor.”
The third floor was Qi Hongyi’s territory — bedroom, study, gym, all basically his own. There were a few guest rooms, but they were rarely used.
Bai Tang’s room was arranged right next to Qi Hongyi’s, carefully planned by Mrs. Qi.
This good kid — the Bai family might be crazy, but they weren’t. This was perfect, time to settle Bai Tang down quickly. Son, you got this!
Qi Hongyi caught the hint in his mother’s eyes. He quietly wiped the sweat from his palm, and when he met Bai Tang’s soft, trusting gaze, his heart felt as sweet as honey.
Qi Hongyi had dreamed long ago about life together with Bai Tang, so he had already prepared all the essentials that would suit Bai Tang — clothes, shoes, favorite things, even a gaming pod.
Bai Tang followed Qi Hongyi to his room and felt warm inside when he saw everything ready and waiting.
“Yi Yi, thank you~”
“You’re welcome. If you really want to thank me, why not play some games with me?”
Qi Hongyi wanted Bai Tang to have something to do to relax his mind, and gaming was a good choice.
Bai Tang nodded, transferred his game data to the new gaming pod, and after connecting, lay back inside.
Wherever you logged off last time, that’s where you log back in.
Last time, Bai Tang and Qi Hongyi logged off in the new room, so naturally they logged in there again.
As soon as Bai Luo saw Bai Tang come online, he immediately tracked his coordinates and came over.
“D*mn it! Qi Hongyi, that bast*rd, actually kidnapped my Tang Tang while I wasn’t paying attention! I’m going to fight you to the death!” Bai Luo shouted in outrage and threw a punch at Qi Hongyi.
Qi Hongyi, of course, couldn’t just stand there and take it. He blocked Bai Luo’s moves but didn’t fight back.
Bai Tang knew Bai Second Brother couldn’t beat Qi Hongyi, and Qi Hongyi wouldn’t go all out against Bai Luo, so he sat leisurely on the chair, cracking sunflower seeds.
After Bai Luo got tired of fighting, the two finally sat down. By then, the table was covered with sunflower seed shells.
“Tang Tang, Second Brother is fighting for you, and you’re just watching the show…” Bai Luo said with a helpless look.
“Isn’t Second Brother just sparring with Yi Yi?” Bai Tang asked.
Sparring was just a light touch without keeping score— a perfect excuse for Bai Luo who couldn’t beat Qi Hongyi.
After all, his skills were no match.
Bai Luo took a big gulp of water and started complaining about things at home.
“I don’t even know what spell Grandpa and Grandma are under—insisting on recognizing that Jiang Yiran as their goddaughter. It would be one thing to just find her parents a well-paying job, but they even shoved her into the company for an internship. And to spare her from hardship, they said she’d be Big Brother’s secretary. Oh my god, with how clueless she is, what can she even do? Secretary? Are they trying to make our company go bankrupt or what?”
The Bai family was not involved in game development but did have departments related to gaming—for example, the gaming pods were produced by the Bai family.
The two Bai brothers had no good feelings toward the woman who had driven their younger brother away. If it weren’t for concern over Grandma Bai’s health, their dislike would likely be written all over their faces.
Unfortunately, the Bai brothers had received elite education since childhood. Although Bai Luo appeared carefree and indifferent, he was not a failure. They were capable of keeping their emotions in check, so Jiang Yiran mistakenly believed the Bai family genuinely liked her.
Grandpa Bai and Grandma Bai could tell that the two Bai brothers didn’t like Jiang Yiran either, but at least they didn’t openly make things difficult for her like Bai Tang did. They said nothing, and over time, they came to accept Jiang Yiran’s presence.
Speaking of Jiang Yiran, Bai Tang felt a bit gloomy. Listening to Bai Luo’s constant nagging, he only replied with a tired “Oh.”
“Tang Tang, don’t worry. Big Brother and I are on your side. Just watch how we’ll kick her out and bring you home,” Bai Luo said, pounding his chest.
Though this wasn’t very honorable, Qi Hongyi finally had a chance to bring Bai Tang into the Qi family. With the duck already caught, there was no way he’d let it fly away.
After thinking for a moment, Bai Luo added, “That girl is pretty scheming. She even stole things from Tang Tang back at the hot spring inn. Even if Grandpa Bai and Grandma Bai were told, they didn’t care. You all have to be careful—don’t let her drive you out of your own home.”
Qi Hongyi, Bai Tang, and Bai Luo took on several more missions together and didn’t log off until eleven at night.
“Baby, don’t worry. With your big brother’s ability, Jiang Yiran won’t be able to fool you,” Qi Hongyi said, holding the worried Bai Tang.
“Mm~” Bai Tang sighed. In so many worlds, he had met all kinds of heroines—kind ones like Ling Xue1, righteous ones like Kelly2, and scheming ones like Le Mengqi3—but none as shameless as Jiang Yiran.
Why did the heroines he met later all have to be so… bizarre?
Bai Tang really didn’t know what words to use to describe Jiang Yiran.
He shook his head, deciding not to think about it anymore. In the original story, Bai Luo was eventually attracted to Jiang Yiran, but Big Brother Bai was different—he was the only one who didn’t like the heroine and was determined to help his younger brother get revenge.
After finishing his work in the study, Qi Hongyi passed by Bai Tang’s room on his way back and, worried, pushed the door open to check.
Sure enough, the main light was off, but Bai Tang was asleep leaning over the desk. The warm glow of the night lamp illuminated the boy’s handsome sleeping face, like a little angel in slumber.
Qi Hongyi gently lifted Bai Tang and placed him in bed. As he tucked him in and was about to leave, Bai Tang suddenly grabbed Qi Hongyi’s hand.
“Yi Yi…”
It was the boy’s murmured words in his sleep.
Bai Tang held on tightly, and Qi Hongyi lay down beside him accordingly.
Qi Hongyi stroked the boy’s soft hair, but as he did, he suddenly felt something unusual. What were those two bumps on top of his head?
In the glow of the night lamp, Qi Hongyi saw two small, pointed ears suddenly appear on Bai Tang’s head.
Startled, he reached out and gently pinched the fuzzy ears. They were soft and warm.
“Tang Tang, Tang Tang, your ears are sticking out.”
Strangely, although Qi Hongyi was surprised at first, he didn’t think Bai Tang was some kind of monster. Instead, he felt playful and wanted to tease him.
Bai Tang mumbled a couple of times, then opened his drowsy eyes. “What are you talking about~”
His still-sleepy voice was very alluring. Qi Hongyi grabbed Bai Tang’s hand and touched the ears on his head, “What is this…”
Once Bai Tang touched his exposed squirrel ears, all his sleepiness vanished instantly.
He sat up and ran to the mirror, staring at himself. “I… I…”
“How did my ears come out?”
Qiu’er appeared immediately when Bai Tang called out, explaining, “Ah, I forgot to tell you, this is a reward for you. You can partially transform back to your original form. Just now, the male lead kept touching your head, and your ears are too sensitive, so they popped out.”
The boy in the mirror wore a miserable expression. There were no monsters in this world—how was he supposed to explain this to Qi Hongyi?
Oh no, he’d gone too far teasing.
Qi Hongyi hugged Bai Tang from behind. “Tang Tang, don’t cry. Having ears like that is pretty cute.”
“I… I… don’t you think I’m a monster?” Bai Tang asked timidly, feeling uneasy.
“No way.” Qi Hongyi kissed the tip of the ear. “Little squirrel ears are very cute.”
“I, I’m a squirrel spirit…”
“Even if you’re a squirrel spirit, you’re my little squirrel spirit. I know your secret now. Tang Tang, you’re not allowed to leave me…”
Author’s note:
Tang Tang’s ears popped out! The male lead caught your weakness—you can’t run away now!
Note:
- Heroine World 1 Campus Arc: A Glamorous Romance ↩︎
- Heroine World 4 The Enchanted Forest ↩︎
- Heroine World 8 Love in a Fallen City: You Are My Eternal, Unfading Starlight ↩︎