Chapter Seventy-One: Wireless Login

Because of a single remark from Chen Hao, the atmosphere in the room instantly became awkward. The three women were momentarily stunned, especially Fan Yirou. In truth, Fan Yirou had no idea what had transpired when Chen Hao and his companions resigned that day, nor did she know about the conflict between them and Dong Xin. Had Dong Xin not brought it up today, she would have remained entirely unaware of the incident. As for the nickname “tomboy,” Fan Yirou was even more clueless.

So, when Chen Hao blurted out the nickname, Fan Yirou was the most bewildered. Recovering from her confusion, she quickly spoke up, “Chen Hao, what nonsense are you spouting? Tomboy? That’s terribly rude!”

In fact, Chen Hao himself regretted uttering those words as soon as they left his lips. The nickname had actually been coined by Bill Andre during a conversation with him; Chen Hao didn’t even know that... that woman’s real name yet! It was simply an instinctive, impulsive response.

The mood in the room soured because of his thoughtless comment. Although he felt remorse for his indiscretion, Chen Hao was more perplexed as to why this woman had ended up in his room. Judging by the scene, the three women seemed to be enjoying a lively conversation before his return. What was going on?

No, more importantly, how did this woman end up in Krestal? And in the same hotel as him? Was she sent by the company?

“Ahem!” Chen Hao coughed twice, pulling the attention of the three women back to him.

Dong Xin, who had always projected composure in front of Gu Mengyan and the others, was also stunned by Chen Hao’s sudden nickname. Yet, she quickly adjusted her demeanor; her subtly clenched fists suggested she was making an effort to restrain her anger.

She took a deep breath and looked at Chen Hao. “Mr. Chen Hao, hello again. I didn’t expect you to have such good fortune, traveling in the company of two stunning beauties!”

Dong Xin’s seemingly casual pleasantry was laced with barbs, her way of retaliating for Chen Hao’s earlier insult.

Chen Hao could only shake his head and laugh wryly; he had been at fault first. Regardless of any past grievances, those were bygone now. Since she was a guest invited by Gu Mengyan and the others, she deserved courtesy. To open with such a damaging term toward a woman was inappropriate no matter who she was.

So, Chen Hao immediately apologized. “Miss, I’m very sorry. I was out of line just now, and I owe you an apology. Please don’t take it to heart. By the way, forgive my boldness, but though we’ve met before, I still don’t know your name.”

“Hmph!” She snorted heavily, her tone filled with displeasure. Gu Mengyan found this odd. From their brief conversation earlier, she felt Dong Xin wasn’t the type to cling to grudges. Moreover, Chen Hao had apologized, so her attitude seemed unwarranted.

Still, Gu Mengyan couldn’t shake the feeling that Chen Hao had somehow offended Dong Xin in another way, making her unhappy.

Since she wasn’t very familiar with Dong Xin, Gu Mengyan stepped in to smooth things over. “Ahem! This is Miss Dong Xin, an internal employee from our former company. Her assignment to our technical department was only temporary, not a permanent post.

Originally, the supervisor position was designated for someone else, but due to unforeseen circumstances, that person asked Dong Xin, who was on vacation, to fill in for a while.

Now that things have been settled, Miss Dong Xin has resumed her holiday. She’s traveling alone and found it rather dull, so when she saw us checking in, she decided to drop by and say hello. It’s quite the coincidence that the three of us are all here—fate, indeed!”

Gu Mengyan deftly redirected the conversation, explaining the situation to Chen Hao lest he further muddle things with awkward questions.

After hearing Gu Mengyan’s explanation, Chen Hao understood the context. But Dong Xin claimed to have arrived at the hotel before them? That was odd. He remembered clearly that when he booked the room, he called the staff a few days before resigning with Gu Mengyan. At that time, the hotel staff told him the top-floor rooms were all vacant, and he could choose freely. He picked the room with a rooftop pool. So, the room opposite his was empty then.

Could it be that Dong Xin booked the room after him, and arrived before the three of them set out? He had indeed delayed coming to Krestal after resigning, since Gu Mengyan’s flight was scheduled for today. Dong Xin moved quickly—an abrupt appointment as technical department supervisor, a perfunctory stint, then a swift departure, and finally arriving at Krestal.

But she claimed to be here for tourism? Who comes to Krestal for vacation? There’s nothing to see here!

Perhaps sensing Chen Hao’s confusion, Gu Mengyan hesitated. She knew from Dong Xin that her trip wasn’t just for leisure, but also partly for work. However, Dong Xin had said these were internal company matters; she only shared them because she felt comfortable with Gu Mengyan.

As for Chen Hao... Gu Mengyan wasn’t so sure. Their previous encounter had nearly ended in a fight, and just now, Chen Hao had called Dong Xin “tomboy,” a nickname Gu Mengyan was certain originated with Bill Andre.

Under these circumstances, if she spoke out of turn, Dong Xin might take offense. Despite only just meeting her, Gu Mengyan actually liked Dong Xin. At least, Dong Xin’s straightforward, candid attitude appealed to her.

Gu Mengyan herself was a blunt and easygoing person, naturally drawn to such forthright types—a sort of boyish bravado. In short, a tomboy’s qualities, though Dong Xin’s appearance betrayed none of it; she looked every bit the goddess many men dreamed of.

Having another companion on this trip wouldn’t be a bad thing. Besides, while Chen Hao usually indulged her and Fan Yirou, he was quite chauvinistic when making certain decisions. Once he made up his mind, no one could sway him—except for his father, Chen Ding’an.

Gu Mengyan had another motive for choosing Krestal: she wanted to visit the great forest—where she had been as a child.

It wasn’t necessarily to search for her parents or clues from the past. Though her parents disappeared and their bodies were never found, even if they had survived, so many years had passed without a trace, it was almost certain they were gone.

So, Gu Mengyan only wanted to revisit the forest to chase memories of her time with her parents, as a form of remembrance. Yet if she were to explain this, Chen Hao would likely not believe her and would strongly oppose the idea.

If Dong Xin accompanied them and made the request to visit the forest in her name, Chen Hao wouldn’t object as much. Dong Xin was a new acquaintance, and Chen Hao rarely turned down new friends. So Gu Mengyan didn’t want to strain the relationship between the three; otherwise, her plan would fall apart.

The fact that Gu Mengyan didn’t reveal this surprised Dong Xin. Based on her information, Gu Mengyan was almost an open book with Chen Hao; they had grown up together and were very close. She didn’t expect Gu Mengyan to exercise such discretion, refraining from sharing Dong Xin’s work with Chen Hao.

In the end, Dong Xin volunteered, “Yes, actually I’m here not only for tourism but also for some work. I need to visit Krestal’s great forest for inspiration, which is related to game development. I won’t go into details, but I’m sure you understand.”

On hearing this, Chen Hao immediately understood and asked, “Speaking of games, since you’re an insider and responsible for game development, do you happen to know when the game will officially launch?”

Dong Xin smiled, her earlier anger gone. “I’m not sure of the exact launch date, but it should be within the next two months.”

Chen Hao nodded. Dong Xin’s answer matched his own estimate. As a member of the technical department, he could roughly gauge the progress by the workload. At first, they had a mountain of tasks, mainly archiving and resetting player data.

Later, the workload decreased, focusing on fixing residual bugs. Recently, since last week’s overtime, even that was gone. Clearly, the game’s development was nearing completion. Dong Xin hadn’t withheld anything, so Chen Hao dropped his prejudice and caution toward her.

Suddenly, another question occurred to him. “Uh... one more thing, purely out of curiosity—after this update, how will players log in? Will it still require connecting the brain terminal to a computer, or is there another method?”

Dong Xin was taken aback. “Another method? What do you mean?”

“Uh...” Chen Hao scratched his head. “Nothing really, just wondering if there’ll be a wireless login option?”

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