Chapter 17: Punishment
Three days after the National Day holiday, Yan Xuan arrived punctually for the first class at eight sharp, as usual.
The moment he stepped into the classroom, his close dorm mate Li Pengyu immediately approached him and asked, “Old Yan, have you seen the top trending news?”
Yan Xuan replied in surprise, “The sun rising from the west—since when do you care about the news?”
“The richest man in Province X, one of the top ten billionaires in the country, Yu Jiangxiong, has found his biological daughter!”
Li Pengyu looked up at the sky and sighed, “I envy him. When will my real parents come to find me?”
Yan Xuan opened his arms, “Come here, Daddy’s got you.”
“Get lost!”
“The teacher’s here, good son, go back and sit down.”
Dismissed, Yan Xuan sent Li Pengyu away but felt a creeping unease in his heart.
Just three days ago, he had finished revising the entry for Mi Xiaoyue, and now there was news that Yu Jiangxiong had found his biological daughter. Could this be a coincidence?
He pulled out his phone and opened the trending list. Many netizens shared Li Pengyu’s wishful thinking, fantasizing about their own billionaire biological parents coming to find them.
Soon, one comment was pinned to the top—“Summary of the Yu family’s little princess.”
Yan Xuan clicked it open and the first line boldly stated: “Yu Miaozhi, formerly known as Mi Xiaoyue…”
Turtle, it really was Mi Xiaoyue!
Yan Xuan gasped. Three days ago, out of a moment of kindness, he had used his only chance to modify the entry to help Mi Xiaoyue find her biological parents, never expecting her father’s background to be so formidable!
The comments compiled detailed information: Mi Xiaoyue’s school, hometown, and accounts across various platforms were all thoroughly uncovered by netizens, complete with several photographs.
In today’s fast-paced online world, even Yu Jiangxiong’s wealth couldn’t stop netizens from indulging in the spectacle, and by the third day, the matter was fully exposed.
Yan Xuan scrolled further and found that Mi Xiaoyue’s side job as a gaming booster had also been unearthed. Past clients had posted chat records with her.
“Flying Top Laner: Original account used by the Yu family’s little princess, anyone interested?”
Underneath, there were bids and inquiries about Mi Xiaoyue’s WeChat account.
Yan Xuan followed the trail, searching for her accounts on all platforms, only to find they had all been deactivated overnight—undoubtedly Yu Jiangxiong’s doing—to protect his daughter from all sorts of unsolicited messages.
Suddenly, another comment shot to the top.
“She’s harder to beat than AK: The Yu family’s little princess still has her League of Legends account, ranked top 50 in the Peak Rift. You can check on the official platform.”
Yan Xuan followed the tip and opened the game’s companion app. In less than three days, her followers had skyrocketed to one hundred thousand. On her profile, she had only posted one discussion about Kayn’s item build, but the comment count had already exceeded three hundred thousand.
First comment: “I canceled my ticket to the Louvre because my Mona Lisa has appeared.”
Second comment: “My monthly living expenses are 1500 yuan, but I’m willing to give you 1314. The remaining 180 is my height and six-pack abs.”
Third comment: “Blame me for not closing the fairy tale book before bed, letting the beautiful Cinderella slip out!”
Fourth comment: “Hey hey, miss, want to be my gaming partner for life?”
...
The witty netizens made Yan Xuan chuckle.
Without a billionaire father, settling for a billionaire father-in-law wasn’t a bad alternative. Everyone had started to fantasize about how to become a son-in-law of the Yu family.
Yan Xuan was just enjoying the fun when an unsettling realization struck him, his expression turning grave.
Mi Xiaoyue’s quality was rated as Purple Epic. Could it be because she was Yu Jiangxiong’s daughter?
In most gacha games, the strength hierarchy was generally Orange > Purple > Blue > White. Though not absolute, it was widely accepted.
The Cyber Girlfriend app affected reality—his real life—so the quality ranking of these cyber girlfriends likely corresponded to the magnitude of their impact on his future life, or their “strength” in reality.
Take Fang Lian, for instance. No matter how pretty she was, she was just an ordinary girl from a small county town, with negligible influence on his life.
Mi Xiaoyue, on the other hand, was unique. Yu Jiangxiong had only this one daughter. If he could become the Yu family’s son-in-law, there might be a chance to inherit Yu Jiangxiong’s vast fortune, or even become the future head of his conglomerate.
Piecing it together, Yan Xuan drew a sharp breath.
If the only daughter of the richest man in the province was just Purple Epic, then what kind of person would an Orange Legendary cyber girlfriend be?
He dared not imagine.
Instead of excitement, a faint dread crept over him.
Yu Jiangxiong alone was enough to overwhelm him. How could he dare to provoke those at even higher levels?
“It seems I can’t keep drawing. I should pause contact with Xiaoyue for now. Without thorough preparation, I can’t let Yu Jiangxiong notice me.”
Yan Xuan resolved internally, but as if reading his thoughts, the app suddenly flashed two notifications.
[Warning: Cyber girlfriends not contacted for over a week will be automatically erased (including in real life).]
[Mi Xiaoyue’s affection has reached 70, granting one extra draw opportunity, valid for 100 days. If not used by then, the system will automatically draw.]
Damn it!
A chill ran down Yan Xuan’s spine.
The app was like a hunter setting a meticulously laid trap, guiding him step by step into a bottomless pit!
“Yan Xuan, your little rich girl is here!”
Suddenly, the class period had slipped by. Li Pengyu patted Yan Xuan’s shoulder and pointed toward the classroom door where Fang Lian stood.
Her pale yellow dress outlined the girl’s delicate and graceful figure. A pure white hairpin tied her hair into a high ponytail, neat and refreshing, paired with simple high-top canvas shoes. She looked like she had stepped straight out of a manga.
Ninety-nine percent of the boys in the classroom turned their eyes toward her; the rest were restrained by their girlfriends’ steely glares.
As Yan Xuan approached the door, Fang Lian immediately stepped forward and affectionately wrapped her arm around his, pressing close.
“Godfather, do you have any more classes later?”
Yan Xuan nodded, “One more. Why?”
“I’m free. Can I sit in with you?”
“You’re in a different major. Will you understand anything?”
“Whether I understand or not doesn’t matter. We haven’t seen each other since National Day. I just want to spend more time with my godfather...”
Fang Lian clung tightly to Yan Xuan’s arm, gently swaying, her sweet voice sending a shiver down his spine.
Yan Xuan nodded in agreement, secretly thinking: If all these cyber girlfriends were like Fang Lian—White Normal quality—just earning some money and pleasing the eye, how much better that would be. Why did it have to be so scary?
The two settled into another classroom with about ten minutes to spare before class began. Fang Lian suddenly brought up the morning’s trending news.
“Godfather, did you see the news? Yu Jiangxiong finding his biological daughter—it sounds like a fairy tale.”
Yan Xuan teasingly said, “What, you’re tired of your godfather and want to find a billionaire real dad?”
“Godfather... I would never!”
Fang Lian crossed her arms around Yan Xuan’s neck. “My heart only belongs to you, really!”
“Meaning your past was a lie?”
“Godfather...”
Fang Lian shyly buried her head in Yan Xuan’s chest.
When they chatted online before, every punctuation mark was designed to make Yan Xuan’s heart race.
He patted her head, signaling her to behave and sit properly.
Fang Lian looked up, “Godfather, if you mind me tricking you before, I’m willing to accept punishment.”
Curious, Yan Xuan asked, “What kind of punishment?”
Taking advantage of the empty room, she slipped an unknown object into his hand. Then, leaning close to his ear, her cheeks flushed as she whispered softly,
“Godfather, use this...”