Shangguan Yu’s breath hitched for a moment. What Ao Jing had just said probably wasn’t too strange but it still somehow made him feel special. After all, while his family had worried, Ao Jing didn’t seem to have any doubts at all. Being trusted so much by him … it felt good.

While he did feel like that, he didn’t forget what his family had said though. "Well … Other than that … How about adding each other on WeChat? Then we could maybe text tomorrow already or have a short call before we meet up for our date so we can make sure that we’ll find each other?"

Ao Jing gave him a long look and then slowly raised his brows. "Your family also told you to call me, didn’t they?"

Shangguan Yu’s cheeks flushed. "That … Well, don’t take it personal! They’d say that about everyone I meet online. They’re just not that into technology I guess." He gave another laugh but unfortunately, Ao Jing had understood it exactly right. There really was no way to explain that away. It was especially obvious in contrast to how Ao Jing had reacted. He hung his head and scratched his neck. "I’m sorry. It’s not that I don’t trust you. I …"

Ao Jing leaned forward and cupped his cheeks, making him look up again. "Hey, it’s alright. To be honest, I’m very happy that you’re getting along so well with your family. They’re clearly just worried about you. What’s bad about that?

"And anyway, it’s better to be safe than sorry. I guess we’re both pretty nervous about the date as well so having a call beforehand might not be the worst idea. Actually, if we do add each other, you could send me a picture of what you’ll be wearing for the date. That way, I can’t mistake you."

Shangguan Yu laughed more freely this time, thinking about how they had originally met in the game. While he hadn’t known that Ao Jing had mistaken him for an NPC in the beginning, his husband had later confessed about it. Up until now, it was still a running gag between them. "I guess I’ll do that then."

The two of them exchanged their usernames so that they could add each other later on. Afterward, they fell silent for a moment.

Ao Jing finally cleared his throat. "So … You probably want to spend more time with your family today, right?"

Shangguan Yu observed his awkward expression and almost wanted to laugh again. "Would you be disappointed if I said yes?"

Ao Jing kept quiet for a moment and then sighed. "Disappointed that I’m not able to spend time with you myself, yes. But not disappointed in you or anything. They’re your family and they’re important to you so naturally, you want to be with them as well. And it’s not like you’re out of the world."

Shangguan Yu nodded, feeling happy that Ao Jing was able to see it that way. "Well, I don’t need to get off immediately. We can still spend some time together. After that, I can still go and spend the rest of the evening with them."

"Alright. Then what do you want to do? Go somewhere else?" It was pretty late though and with how far out their house was, they likely wouldn’t be able to make it anywhere.

"No, I think it’s alright. We can just continue to talk for a while. After that … Well, next up would be the rest of the mission, right?"

"True. I’m wondering where that one will go. That Lianqiu Min seemed to have a plan but I’m not quite sure what to make of it yet. It’s hard to imagine that he would just let go of the fact that you almost killed him."

Shangguan Yu glanced at him. "Do you have to remind me of that? It’s bad enough that I fell for that Merchant Wang’s plot."

Ao Jing only smiled though. "Well, you did. It’s not like I can change the fact. Anyway, it’s not too late to turn everything around now. We just need to be careful going forward."

Shangguan Yu sighed and then laid down on the ground, crossing his arms behind his head. "You’re right. I guess I should pay a bit more attention in the future and not just think of it as a game. That really was my own fault this time."

Ao Jing looked at him, not quite sure what to say. Well, in a sense, Shangguan Yu was right with that. If he had paused to think about it, then this really wouldn’t have happened. But in the end … "I guess it’s to be expected though. This game is pretty different from any other that is currently out on the market, right? I guess not catching on immediately is to be expected."

"You did so. After all, you pointed out immediately that they were strangely dressed and didn’t look like bandits."

Ao Jing lay down beside him, giving a cheeky grin. "That’s because I’ve been dealing with some pretty nasty customers recently. I can see from a mile away if something doesn’t add up."

Shangguan Yu turned to face him and raised his brows. "I thought you were working in IT."

"True. But I’m an intern so they let me do all the things they don’t want to."

"Life as an intern really sounds hard. I hope I’ll have it easier when I start next year."

Ao Jing smiled at that. "Even if it’s hard, I’m sure that you’ll do well. You just have that kind of personality. If things get rough, then you might complain about it but you will still try to find a way to make things work. If you can’t do it the direct way, then you’ll just find a hidden path to go. I honestly think that’s admirable."

Shangguan Yu smiled, feeling slightly embarrassed by his praise. It was … as if Ao Jing was flirting with him. Well, in fact, he might be. After all, their date wasn’t that far off anymore and their feelings were good. Maybe he really felt that it wouldn’t be a problem.

He didn’t say anything for a moment, not sure how to go about this. In the end, it was Ao Jing who spoke up again.

"Alright. It’s getting late. You should get off and spend some time with your family. I’ll wait here for you tomorrow."

Shangguan Yu nodded and then turned to look at him, finally leaning over to peck his cheek. Then, he logged off without another word.