DSMC Chapter 47.2

They were chatting happily when a couple entered the room. Instantly, Tang Shi’s fleeting ease vanished, his whole body tensed.

It was a man and a woman — clearly a couple.

Even though this instance didn’t have a fixed story route, Tang Shi’s personal narrative was starting to unfold.

These two must be the “Chen Xiaoyu” and “Liang Yu” mentioned earlier, likely key NPCs tied to crucial props.

Chen Xiaoyu wore a white dress, the classic “campus belle¹If you read any school-setting Chinese novel, you know this is “school/campus flower” aka the prettiest girl in the school. The male counterpart is “school/campus grass”, though I would translate that as “campus adonis” or something like that” look, the girl of every schoolboy’s dream. She carried a small white purse, which didn’t look like it contained anything useful. Yan Jiyun guessed the jar of paper stars must’ve been her gift.

Liang Yu, on the other hand, had almost nothing on him except a button-style smartphone. As soon as he entered, he walked straight toward Tang Shi, who was surrounded by girls.

He was strikingly handsome, the kind of man who drew the eye the moment he appeared, but there was a careless, rich-kid air about him. “You guys brought a cat here?” he said.

While the girls cooed over Oreo, the beautiful Chen Xiaoyu stood a little apart, as if avoiding the black cat.

She said softly, “Don’t you think having a cat in a hotel is… unsanitary?”

The cheerful room went silent for a moment.

She wasn’t wrong, but she had spoiled the fun.

Yan Jiyun tensed. Remembering the two Team C players who had been eliminated because of NPCs, he was worried that Tang Shi would hurt him for this girl.

If he got eliminated here, their team could lose this round. And he only had two high-level props so far. This wasn’t the place to die.

He could feel it immediately. This girl didn’t just dislike cats, she hated them. He prayed, ‘Please, Tang Shi, don’t sacrifice me for her sake.’

Yan Jiyun deliberately ducked behind Tang Shi, peeking out just enough to keep Chen Xiaoyu in sight.

His wary look made him seem both cute and pitiful.

The permed-hair girl quickly said, “We don’t have to talk about it. It’s not the cat’s fault. It probably wandered in by accident. And it’s raining outside, right? If we put it out, it’ll have nowhere to hide.”

Another girl chimed in, “Yeah, just let it stay for a bit. It’s sleeping with Tang Shi, not with you.” Her tone was pointedly aimed at Chen Xiaoyu, but she wasn’t wrong either.

Yan Jiyun thought, ‘Nice, my act of pitiful innocence was working’. 

Though oddly enough, it wasn’t actually raining outside. Apparently, the NPCs’ perception of the world differed from what he saw.

Chen Xiaoyu’s brows pinched slightly. She said softly, “I just thought it didn’t make much sense, that’s all. I don’t mind the cat.”

But as she spoke, she looked up at Tang Shi, her gaze tender and fragile.

Yan Jiyun couldn’t help but think — this campus belle really had the white-lotus act down perfectly. If Tang Shi got swayed by a few pitiful looks, Yan Jiyun would lose all respect for him.

Then Liang Yu leaned in toward the cat. “Hey, this one has green eyes. I heard there’s a rare foreign breed that’s all black with no stray hairs. Tang Shi, maybe you just lucked into a valuable purebred.”

The suffocating tension suddenly eased. Tang Shi scooped the cat up, saying, “Doesn’t matter if he’s a purebred or not. I’m keeping Oreo.”

For once, Chen Xiaoyu looked awkward. Tang Shi, who used to hang on her every word, didn’t seem to be responding to her cues anymore.

From Chen Xiaoyu’s expression, Yan Jiyun could tell — she genuinely disliked cats. So he burrowed deeper into Tang Shi’s arms, trying to look as small and helpless as possible.

But Liang Yu’s comment ruined the effect: “The cat is kinda big. Give him some time and he’ll get even bigger. It looks a bit timid, though.”

‘What a jerk,’ Yan Jiyun thought.

He looked Liang Yu up and down. The guy hadn’t shown any affection toward Chen Xiaoyu since he arrived. Odd. Maybe he was avoiding public displays because he knew Tang Shi well.

Could this be… a love triangle?

Unfortunately, Yan Jiyun had zero dating experience. So he couldn’t exactly serve as Tang Shi’s “wise confidant” and guide him out of his romantic mess.

Still, since he’d thrown away that jar of stars, maybe that meant he was ready to move on.

Yan Jiyun’s pitiful demeanor, though unintentional, had put Chen Xiaoyu on the defensive. Tang Shi’s rose-tinted view of her was starting to fade.

When someone doesn’t share your interests, maybe you stop liking them as much.

He exhaled quietly. “We’ll see after I’ve raised him for a bit. Maybe his real owner will show up.”

The permed-hair girl smiled. “Maybe! He seems really smart for a cat.”

Looking at them — bright, lively, full of youthful energy — Yan Jiyun guessed they were probably college students on a trip.

One of the guys said, “Cards ready? Shall we start the game?”

Everyone began finding seats. Liang Yu naturally squeezed onto the same bed as Tang Shi and the cat, while Chen Xiaoyu, still sulking, sat primly on the room’s only chair.

They were playing Werewolf.

The nameless NPCs didn’t matter much. Yan Jiyun stayed curled beside Tang Shi, quietly observing the “love triangle.”

Halfway through the game, the two girls beside him and Liang Yu were eliminated, so the three of them started chatting.

“Hey, Liang Yu,” one girl said, “Xiaoyu told me you used to live here in Qingyun Town?”

Tang Shi turned his head toward him. Liang Yu smiled. “Yeah, I stayed here for a while when I was in elementary school.”

Yan Jiyun noted that Liang Yu had a name, so he must be an important NPC. But what exactly made him special?

Tang Shi, still tender from heartbreak, didn’t seem particularly curious, but Yan Jiyun was watching Liang Yu closely.

He hopped out of Tang Shi’s arms, padded over to Liang Yu, and sniffed around him, pretending to be a curious cat, but actually checking for any usable prop.

Tang Shi’s high-level prop had already been secured; now his role was simply to help Yan Jiyun blend into the group.

Tang Shi hadn’t cared much about Liang Yu. But Oreo’s behavior caught his attention.

“Are you carrying food?” he asked.

Liang Yu sniffed his own shirt. “Had steamed fish for lunch. Maybe that’s what the cat smells.”

Yan Jiyun had stumbled into a discovery by accident — the NPCs would automatically fill in logical explanations for his behavior. That was quite useful to him.

But as soon as they said that, he suddenly started to feel hungry.

He hadn’t eaten for over three hours, and now he really was a bit hungry.

The girl with the curly hair said, “Maybe it came in looking for food because it’s hungry. What do we do? We don’t have anything to feed it.”

Tang Shi had already dropped out of the game. “I’ll go downstairs to the restaurant and see if there’s any fish. I’ll cook one for it.”

Yan Jiyun stamped him with approval in his mind: qualified cat owner.

Still, he guessed Tang Shi just didn’t want to stay in the same room as his crush and his love rival, and used that as an excuse to get away.

So, Yan Jiyun was left in the care of Tang Shi’s classmates.

When Chen Xiaoyu saw that Liang Yu was about to follow Tang Shi out, she asked, “Liang Yu, where are you going?”

Liang Yu said, “Back to my room to get something.”

The moment Yan Jiyun heard that, he immediately followed him.

Between Chen Xiaoyu and Liang Yu, he was betting on the latter. NPCs didn’t necessarily drop high-level props, and if Chen Xiaoyu only had a common one, it would be a waste of time. Plus, she wasn’t fond of cats, so better to give up on her.

Liang Yu looked down at the black cat following him in confusion but didn’t send it away.

He lived in room 404, directly opposite Tang Shi.

Yan Jiyun followed him inside and started sniffing around everywhere, until he stopped in front of Liang Yu’s suitcase, waiting for him to open it.

Liang Yu said, “You’re not planning to use my suitcase as a litter box, are you?”

Yan Jiyun: You sure know a lot, huh.

When Liang Yu didn’t move, Yan Jiyun began rummaging for useful things himself. It was a single room. There was no other luggage, no women’s belongings. He wasn’t sharing with Chen Xiaoyu?

Weren’t they supposed to be a couple?

Today Liang Yu was wearing a dark polo shirt, looking more put-together than the other male students. Yan Jiyun didn’t have time to think about how they’d all ended up here. If they’d formed a small sub-instance, then Liang Yu was likely an important character.

When the cat finally stopped eyeing his suitcase, Liang Yu started searching the room for something he’d lost.

He lifted the pillows, turned over the blanket, looked under the bed, opened the suitcase again. When Yan Jiyun tried to get close, he pushed the cat away.

It seemed he couldn’t find what he was looking for anywhere. In the end, he called room service.

“Hello, excuse me— did the cleaning staff happen to find a black bracelet while tidying up?”

“Yes, it’s very important to me.”

A black bracelet! So that’s what he was looking for!

Yan Jiyun decided to help him search. Maybe it was a valuable prop.

He jumped up onto the bed and burrowed under the blanket Liang Yu had just lifted. Liang Yu thought the black cat wanted to play hide and seek under the covers and leaned over the bed to try pulling it out. But Yan Jiyun was good at wriggling — whenever Liang Yu grabbed left, he slipped right, creating a bulge under the blanket that Liang Yu actually found kind of fun.

Then he suddenly realized playing hide-and-seek under the covers with a cat was a bit childish. “Oreo, I’m looking for something. Get down.”

Yan Jiyun was having a great time tunneling under the blanket. Liang Yu didn’t force him out, though he still couldn’t find the bracelet. Just then, someone knocked on the half-open door. The black head popped out from the white bedding.

It was Chen Xiaoyu. She was holding a black bracelet in her hand.

Her face looked a little pale as she swung the bracelet slightly and asked, “Liang Yu, is this what you’re looking for?”

Yan Jiyun’s eyes lit up. That was the prop he’d been searching for!

Before Liang Yu could even answer, Yan Jiyun had already leapt up and tapped the bracelet with his paw!

[Team F Player No. 29 has collected the High-Level Prop “Black Bracelet.”]

Team C’s three members: …

How the hell was Player No. 29 still managing to find props when the number of NPCs had doubled? Was he even human²T/L: the answer is “no”!

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  If you read any school-setting Chinese novel, you know this is “school/campus flower” aka the prettiest girl in the school. The male counterpart is “school/campus grass”, though I would translate that as “campus adonis” or something like that
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  T/L: the answer is “no”