Chapter 404: A Dazzling Star
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Success.
Li Dong had two great successes.
The first success was the game The Brave Road of A Hero In An Alternate World. It was downloaded more than 100,000 times, earning a revenue of $500,000.
The second one was an undefeated victory. It was easy to win the champions.h.i.+p of the Shengjing High School Basketball League—for a group that was led by two monsters, it was a breeze to destroy the other teams.
Due to his excellent performance, many well-known universities had set their sights on Li Dong. They promised to give him a full scholars.h.i.+p that would exempt him from all tuition and miscellaneous fees. More than 18 universities had made such an offer.
In other words, the financial issues that Li Dong needed to consider when he went to university were now completely solved. The only thing he had to think about was which university to go to.
All his worries had been resolved.
At this time, Li Dong seemed to have an extra $500,000 on his hands.
Moreover, the game The Brave Road of A Hero In An Alternate World had just started to gain popularity. It had not shown its full market potential yet. It might be possible for future downloads to exceed 200,000, 500,000, or even a million in total.
Through the game that he had developed independently, Li Dong could hope to easily earn the same level of income that an ordinary salary man could only earn after a lifetime of hard work.
Then…
Things got a little tricky.
Li Dong noticed that many people in the school seemed to look at him differently.
There was wors.h.i.+p, envy, and, of course, jealousy.
Among the girls, he had become the most dazzling star in the entire Xihai No. 3 High School.
“Touki is tall and handsome, he is unrivaled in basketball, and he has a very clever mind. He made a game that’s been downloaded by more than 100,000 people…. What a perfect man.”
“Touki is the surname of the Protoss. It is said that people of that group have extraordinary abilities and superb intelligence. If we make the claim that he is a Protoss as the reason for his outstanding performance, then it would completely explain things.”
“Yes, I also think that Touki is a real Protoss. For some unknown reason, he had fallen to the bottom rung of the society which we occupy.”
“Ah, this is not good, I… I may have fallen in love with Touki. I want to be the closest person to him, his life partner!”
…
After school.
At the cl.u.s.ter of flowers and trees behind the teaching blocks.
“Touki, I… I’m Chika s.h.i.+zuyuki. I’ve been quietly paying attention to you for a long time. I’ve gathered up great courage today to stand in front of you and say what I can’t hide in my heart any longer. Touki, I like you! Please go out with me!”
A confession.
A girl who liked Li Dong confessed to him.
Besides those confession letters of which he had acc.u.mulated a hundred by now, this was the first time that someone confessed to him face-to-face.
Moreover, the girl standing in front of him was very beautiful and cute.
Soft and sleek hair that went down to her waist, a tall and slender body, smooth white skin, a pretty face with exquisite features, and the vibe of somebody extraordinary…. In the real world, she was definitely a beauty with a score of 90 points or more.
And now, such a beautiful woman actually took the initiative to confess to him.
If he was in the real world, he would not even dare to imagine that such a thing happening. Even indulging in flights of fancy would cause him to feel inferior and absurd… There was no possibility that something like this would happen to him.
“If a girl takes the initiative to confess to me, it would be excessive to expect that she’d be a beautiful woman. As long as she’s not too ugly, I would be willing to accept her.” -It is imagined that many people think this way, including Li Dong.
However, in the game, girls under 60 points were rare, and there were a lot of girls who were 70 or 80 points. Over time, as one’s standard of aesthetic appreciation increased, it was less easy to be moved by an exquisite appearance… In short, it caused one’s heart to become more stable.
However, one could do whatever one wanted the game world. One could indulge in his desires without restraint by opening a harem. There were plenty of carefree and unbridled players.
Therefore, if Li Dong gave up on his unnecessary resistance, he could go out with the girl who had confessed to him.
“Sorry, I can’t agree to your request.”
Li Dong rejected her. “Chika, you may know me very well, but I still don’t know anything about you. Put yourself in my shoes and think about it. If a stranger took the initiative to confess to you, I believe that you would not agree to go out with him either. Only when both parties know each other well can they be together.”
Seeing how her body trembled slightly and the sadness in her look, Li Dong quickly comforted her. “Don’t be sad, Chika. I admire your courage. I’m not the best man in the world; you will meet better men.”
He took some time to placate her and watched her as she left the school.
“Even so, Chika will probably spend at least the next three days in a defeated mood as a result of this rejection.
“And all of this should be blamed on my being too outstanding…. This is probably the price of excellence.”
He received dozens of love letters daily. Every day, there would be girls who dragged him behind the teaching blocks. At the beginning, one feels quite happy to be able to enjoy such days. However, as time went on, it started to feel like hara.s.sment. Slowly, one comes to a point where one cannot endure this any longer.
To deal with this matter, Li Dong made an announcement.
“Firstly, I have no plans to go out with girls right now. I will never get into a relations.h.i.+p before going to university. I want to focus all my energy on studying.
“Secondly, all love letters and confessions will be rejected, so please don’t make futile efforts.
“Three, my s.e.xual orientation is straight. I am not gay. Everyone, please don’t make wild speculations.”
After these announcements were made, situations of hara.s.sment significantly reduced, and the noise that came from people trying to get his attention or confess to him decreased too.
With that being said, the dazzling light from Li Dong could never be dispelled. He was, indeed, highly outstanding in all aspects.
…
At the end of June, when the weather gradually heats up.
The end of term exams in Xihai No. 3 High School were over.
The 45-day summer vacation had arrived.
Of course, compared to the real world, this vacation only lasted two days and a few hours. It would pa.s.s in the blink of an eye.
Li Dong intended to seize the opportunity that these precious two days represented and have a good rest, allow his mental energy to recover, and communicate with his friends in real life.
In the chat group.
“Commander, I heard that you chose the refined experience mode in the “Galaxy Era”, spending more than 18 hours per day in the game, including activities like sleeping and learning. It’s very… Are you very diligent?” Mu Wanqiu asked with great interest.
“Yes. If you want to play the game well, you must go all-in.”
“That means that you must have a very close relations.h.i.+p with the AI NPCs and have a lot of stories to tell from your interactions with them. Perhaps you’ve even had a virtual relations.h.i.+p?”
“Erm, I haven’t had a relations.h.i.+p. Wanqiu, why are you asking this?”
“I have few male friends who recently said that NPC girls in the virtual game are much better than girls in reality in all aspects, including appearance, character, and temperament. So they’ve all got an NPC girlfriend or wife and are leading very contented and happy lives.”
Mu Wanqiu asked some worry, “Commander, you haven’t been attracted to those cute NPC girls, and fallen in love with one of them?”
“Um… I admit that the NPC girls are cute in many ways, but I haven’t fallen in love yet.”
Li Dong was a little flabbergasted. He asked, “Hey, Wanqiu, why do you care so much about this?”