Chapter 201 – My Lady Heroine in the Holographic Online Game – Enemies Meet, Eyes Blaze with Hatred (15)
Bai Luo glanced at Bai Tang, who clearly had no idea what riddle they were talking about, and sighed. Even if he wasn’t convinced, it didn’t matter—facts spoke for themselves: Qi Hongyi’s capabilities were indeed above his. His older brother was busy with the company, and he himself had his own matters to deal with.
He truly couldn’t be with Bai Tang every moment of the day. Only Qi Hongyi could manage that. Even if Qi Hongyi wasn’t around, Bai Tang would be absolutely safe staying at the Qi household. Jiang Yiran’s reach couldn’t extend that far.
Facts aside, Bai Luo still couldn’t accept it so easily. Even if he agreed to let Bai Tang stay at the Qi house, he still had to give Qi Hongyi a hard time—just to make sure he didn’t think Bai Tang, having been kicked out of the house, now had no one backing him and could be bullied at will.
Just then, Bai Luo’s stomach let out a loud rumble. He looked innocently at the other two.
“I’m so hungry. I left the house without eating breakfast. Even if Tang Tang won’t live with his second brother, he should at least have a meal with me,” Bai Luo said.
“Okay~” Bai Tang replied cheerfully, letting Bai Luo take his hand as they prepared to head out.
Qi Hongyi narrowed his eyes slightly and gave a perfectly polite smile as he looked at their joined hands. “If Second Brother doesn’t mind, why not come eat at my place? Lunch has just been prepared.”
Bai Luo flashed a toothy grin. “Well, I’d be rude to refuse.”
Saying that, he made to pull Bai Tang toward the Qi house.
But Qi Hongyi wouldn’t let him have his way so easily. Taking a step forward, he used the excuse of straightening Bai Tang’s hair and clothes to subtly separate the two.
“This way, Grandma won’t worry when we get back,” Qi Hongyi said, taking Bai Tang’s hand in his own.
Bai Tang nodded. “Okay~”
Bai Luo opened his mouth to say something, but Qi Hongyi beat him to it. “Second Brother, you haven’t visited in a while. Tangtang and I will lead the way—he’s hungry too.”
As he spoke, he took the lead with Bai Tang in tow, leaving Bai Luo standing behind with a large suitcase.
You bastard, Qi Hongyi. You’re deliberately sabotaging our brotherly bond.
But when Bai Luo realized it was nearly noon and Bai Tang was genuinely hungry, he resigned himself to his fate, lifted the suitcase, and followed after Qi Hongyi.
At the Qi household, Bai Luo was warmly welcomed by Grandma Qi and Mother Qi.
“Xiao Luo, you haven’t visited in a long time,” Grandma Qi said with a kind smile. “You must be here to see Tang Tang, right? He’s doing very well living here, so don’t worry.”
Grandma Qi was worried Bai Luo had come to take Bai Tang away. After all, he was Tang Tang’s second brother—if he wanted to take his younger brother home, they wouldn’t really have a valid reason to refuse.
Bai Luo politely greeted both Grandma Qi and Mother Qi. After a bit of small talk, it was time for the meal.
At the table, as soon as Bai Luo saw the spread of vegetarian dishes, he immediately found something to criticize Qi Hongyi about.
No meat for Tang Tang? That’s practically child abuse!
“There’s not even Tang Tang’s favorite salt-baked prawns. What a shame,” Bai Luo said with feigned regret.
In truth, salt-baked prawns had been the original host’s favorite dish, not Bai Tang’s. As a little squirrel spirit, Bai Tang still preferred nuts.
“Second Brother, I’ve changed my taste lately. I like vegetarian food now. Nuts are delicious, nutritious, and healthy,” Bai Tang quickly explained, not wanting Qi Hongyi to take the blame.
Bai Luo froze for a moment. Seriously? Raise a younger brother and he turns on you. He’d been stressing out all for Bai Tang’s sake—was it all for nothing?
By the end of the meal, not only had Bai Luo failed to find a single excuse to criticize Qi Hongyi, he’d had to sit there and watch his own younger brother and Qi Hongyi practically flirt in front of him. Suddenly, even the dishes cooked by Mother Qi didn’t taste so good anymore—he could barely swallow a bite.
After the meal, Bai Luo made a suggestion. “Tang Tang’s about to start his internship. Why not come help out at the company with Big Brother?”
Now that Jiang Yiran was at Bai Corporation, it was obvious she was trying to take Bai Tang’s place—and Bai Luo had no intention of letting that woman succeed.
Qi Hongyi frowned slightly. “No need to trouble Big Brother. Tang Tang will come to Qi Corp and be my assistant. It’s more convenient for commuting too.”
Qi Hongyi could already guess Bai Luo’s intentions. But knowing the stance of the Bai family elders, he feared that if Bai Tang joined Bai Corporation, he’d still end up working under Jiang Yiran. Rather than let Bai Tang be bullied, it was better to have him intern at Qi Corp—after all, it was just a formality for a school requirement. Keeping Tangtang close by was clearly the better choice.
“Tang Tang, what do you think?” Bai Luo still wanted to hear his brother’s opinion.
“I’ll go to Qi Corp,” Bai Tang replied after glancing at Qi Hongyi and meeting his pampering gaze.
“I don’t want to see that woman.”
Bai Luo froze for a moment. He’d just realized the same thing Qi Hongyi had thought of earlier.
Until now, he had only been focused on not letting Jiang Yiran steal what rightfully belonged to Bai Tang. But he had forgotten that Jiang Yiran had already taken over the department at Bai Corporation that was originally meant for Bai Tang.
If Bai Tang joined now, wouldn’t he end up as that woman’s subordinate?!
“In that case, I’ll leave Tang Tang in your care,” Bai Luo said to Qi Hongyi, conceding. A man under the eaves has no choice but to bow his head.
“Don’t worry, Second Brother,” Qi Hongyi replied with a smile.
Qi Corp was now fully managed by Qi Hongyi’s father, which left Qi Hongyi free and unburdened—able to focus entirely on building his relationship with Bai Tang.
So, when Bai Tang asked when his internship would start, Qi Hongyi didn’t take him to the company. Instead, he pulled him into a game.
“My job is to find bugs in the game. So, Tang Tang, come bug-hunting with me.”
And just like that, under the guise of debugging, Qi Hongyi took Bai Tang all over the game world to sightsee and enjoy the virtual life.
They gathered herbs in the primal forest, watched the sunrise from mountaintops, built a boat and sailed the ocean, watched seagulls fly—they lived an utterly carefree in-game life.
The full-immersion VR game offered a completely realistic experience. Bai Tang got to try things he’d never had a chance to do in real life—and he went all out with the dangerous stuff.
Since it was only a game, Qi Hongyi used his authority to reduce Bai Tang’s pain sensitivity by 50% during these stunts. Even if something went wrong, he wouldn’t feel much pain.
With Qi Hongyi watching over him—and two game systems trailing behind—Bai Tang went wild in the game: climbing trees, rolling in bushes, running up hills—there was nothing he wouldn’t try.
Qi Hongyi was practically scared out of his mind, never daring to take his eyes off him.
Meanwhile, things weren’t going well for Jiang Yiran at Bai Corporation.
Although she had the support of the Bai family elders, they had long since stepped away from company operations. The one truly in charge now was the eldest Bai brother—and how could he possibly treat a woman kindly who had taken his brother’s position and driven him out?
Jiang Yiran had parachuted into the company straight out of college and was instantly promoted to a managerial position. With no experience or competence to speak of, her subordinates didn’t respect her. They often set her up with petty tricks or talked back to her, making her lose her composure and argue like a street shrew in front of everyone.
The veteran employees took the opportunity to report her behavior, citing her damage to the company’s public image. Out of respect for the Bai elders, she hadn’t been fully removed, but she now held nothing more than an empty title—her position was purely cosmetic, with no real power.
With nothing better to do, Jiang Yiran remembered the game Heroes of the Martial World, which she hadn’t logged into in a long time. She entered the game pod and logged in.
The world of Jianghu was ever-changing, and since she had been offline for quite a while, Jiang Yiran had already been squeezed out of the top ten on the leaderboard.
She checked the weapon rankings—most of the top ten were familiar names. Hong Qingge was still ranked number one, but surprisingly, Yi Zhi Haitang was now ranked fifth. That made Jiang Yiran feel very uncomfortable.
Lately, all three Bai brothers had moved out one after another. Even Mothrt Bai no longer gave her a friendly face when they met. Bai Grandpa and Grandma, watching the once-lively home now grow quiet and empty, would sigh from time to time.
The house used to be so full of life. But now that the younger generation had all left, it felt cold and desolate.
Jiang Yiran knew very well—no matter how much the Bai elders favored her now, if it ever came down to choosing between her and their three grandsons, she wouldn’t stand a chance.
As she stood on the bustling street, two familiar figures approached.
“Yiran Youyou?” one called out.
“Qingshan Bugai, Xiao Feidao—long time no see,” Jiang Yiran greeted them with a friendly smile.
Xiao Feidao looked disgusted. “Spare me. You’re the last person I want to see.”
Qingshan Bugai and Xiao Feidao already knew all about what Jiang Yiran had done in real life, and both were ashamed of her actions.
“You two—”
“Jiang—oh wait, no. We wouldn’t dare to address the esteemed Miss Bai,” Xiao Feidao cut her off sarcastically. “You’ve been in the Bai family for a while now. Shouldn’t you have changed your surname by now?”
He adored Bai Tang and had zero patience for Jiang Yiran, so he didn’t bother being polite.
“Watch your mouth!” Jiang Yiran snapped.
“What, you’re fine doing it but can’t stand being called out? Too bad. No matter what you do, Qingge still doesn’t like you. He’s already married Little Healer in-game, and they’re even planning a real honeymoon soon.”
“Why waste words on someone like her? Just brings down your class,” Qingshan Bugai finally spoke, ending the back-and-forth coldly.
Xiao Feidao gave her a scornful glance. “You’re right. Let’s go find Little Healer and run some quests.”
After they left, Jiang Yiran opened Hong Qingge’s profile page. Sure enough, under the partner tab, it said: Yi Zhi Haitang.
She was fuming.
What’s so great about Bai Tang anyway?
A pampered young master who waited to be fed and dressed, an idle good-for-nothing with no ambition. If he hadn’t been born into the right family, someone like him would’ve been eliminated by society a long time ago.
Bai Tang and Qi Hongyi were enjoying their freedom in the game world. After much effort, Qi Hongyi finally managed to coax Bai Tang back to a lively town, safely away from the dangers of the wilderness.
“I want a candied hawthorn~” Bai Tang said, pointing at a nearby vendor selling sugar-coated hawthorn skewers.
“Alright, I’ll go buy it. You wait here and don’t run off,” Qi Hongyi said, patting Bai Tang’s head and giving him a reminder.
“Mhm, Yi Yi is the best.” Bai Tang, tired from running around, sat down at a wonton stall to wait while Qi Hongyi went to buy the snack.
As the saying goes: When enemies meet, their eyes blaze with hatred.
Jiang Yiran spotted Bai Tang sitting leisurely on a bench. Once Qi Hongyi walked far enough away, she drew her bow and aimed it at him.
Although dying in the game only meant respawning in the starter village, the pain felt 75% real—still very much something to fear.
But the little squirrel’s ears were exceptionally sharp. As the arrow flew through the air, Bai Tang’s ears twitched. He rolled off the square table just in time, and the arrow embedded itself in the stall’s wooden pillar.
“Ah! There’s a bandit!”
“Where?! Where?!”
Jiang Yiran’s sudden attack in the middle of the bustling market caused panic among the NPCs.
Seeing that her first shot missed, Jiang Yiran loosed a second arrow, then a third…
Relying on his agile movements, Bai Tang dodged every one. In the chaos of the crowd, he even managed to locate the direction the arrows were coming from.
He pulled the arrow stuck in the pillar beside him and hurled it back toward Jiang Yiran’s location.
Author’s Note:
Since you’re all on holiday now, it’s time for me to start some story recs!
Ahem—click into my profile and check out the fluffy quick-transmigration romance next door: “Quick Transmigration: I Came to Repay the Favor” featuring a soft, cute kitty-fox shou & a demon lord gong in distress!
As for the next world, I’ve been watching a lot of horror game streams lately. I’m thinking of writing a horror-themed arc—but I’m a little worried I won’t do it well, or that you won’t like it. What do you all think?