After AFK for five years, I returned to be number one in the entire server.

While at Ningchuan University, Pei Xiao accidentally bumped into Lin Ye and Shen Yi walking together.

Although they didn't make any special inquiries, it was clear that the two were behaving intimately.

Now, Lin Ye has a different girl by his side. She is just as beautiful and has a great presence as Shen Yi, and the atmosphere between the two of them is a little strange.

Lin looked at the flickering flames and replied, "Relative."

"You all get some rest. I need to go and check around to make sure there are any mercenaries I haven't missed." Pei Xiao turned and walked into the deep night.

Four days later.

For the first two days, everyone waited for rescue on the nameless island. For the next two days, they returned on a large rescue ship dispatched by the Queen Mother of the West.

In the past few days, Lin Ye and Su Nian have had very little communication.

Aside from necessary mutual support, Su Nian rarely took the initiative to seek out Lin Ye.

Lin Ye is not a talkative person, so he naturally wouldn't react much to this situation.

Most of the time, the two of them simply stayed quietly in their own place.

On Wednesday afternoon, the rescue ship slowly entered Ningchuan Port.

The port has been taken over by Tian Shu and the police, and a long cordon has been set up outside. Further outside, there are family members, media reporters and ambulances waiting to pick up passengers.

This hijacking of a large cruise ship has dominated the headlines of all news in Xiamen, and the safety of thousands of passengers is on the minds of countless people.

Lin Ye stepped down the gangway, with Su Nian following two or three steps behind him.

The autumn sea breeze blows through the harbor, carrying a faint smell of engine oil.

Just as Lin Ye stepped onto the flat ground, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from the crowd, and a girl ran out and threw herself into his arms.

Su Nian stopped a few steps away. This girl, whom Lin Ye had seen on his phone's lock screen, was even more beautiful in person than in the photos. Even with her face covered in tears, her fragile beauty was enough to make anyone feel pity.

"I thought something had happened to you. Don't leave me alone next time..." Shen Yi hugged Lin Ye tightly, as if she wanted to meld herself into his body.

"It's alright now." Lin Ye stood still and gently patted Shen Yi's back twice.

Su Nian glanced at them one last time, but didn't say anything to disturb them. She turned and walked towards the exit passage on the outside of the crowd.

November 13th.

The temperature in Ningchuan City dropped rapidly, and pedestrians on the street put on thick coats.

The heating in a large shopping mall in the city center was on full blast, making it feel rather stuffy.

Fang Cheng, holding a cup of hot milk tea she had just bought, led Su Nian on a stroll through several clothing stores on the second floor.

She studies at another university in Ningchuan City, which is almost an hour's drive away. She is usually quite busy, and the two rarely have time to get together.

Since both of them were free this weekend, they decided to go shopping together.

Fang Cheng picked up a khaki short wool coat and held it up in front of the full-length mirror.

"Niannian, what do you think of this? Our school has a social event tomorrow, and I'm planning to dress a little more uniquely," Fang Cheng asked, turning around.

Su Nian sat on the soft leather sofa in the store where customers could rest. Although her gaze was fixed on Fang Cheng, her focus seemed to wander elsewhere.

"Niannian?" Fang Cheng called out again.

Su Nian then snapped out of her daze, refocusing her gaze on the dress, and nodded, saying, "It looks great, the color suits you very well."

Fang Cheng hung the clothes back on the hanger, walked to the sofa and sat down, carefully examining Su Nian's face.

From the moment they met, Fang Cheng sensed that Su Nian was acting very strangely today.

Having known her for so many years, Su Nian has always been a very emotionally stable person. No matter what happens, she can handle it in the shortest amount of time.

But today, Su Nian exuded an indescribable weariness.

This kind of fatigue is different from the exhaustion of staying up all night to prepare a paper; it's more like a sense of powerlessness seeping from the depths of one's heart.

When walking, his gaze tends to wander into space; he is slow to react when others speak; and even when holding a cup, his fingers unconsciously scratch the inside of the cup.

Fang Cheng was all too familiar with this state.

Fang Cheng leaned closer and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong? You've been so distracted ever since we met. Are you in love?"

Su Nian lowered her eyes, looking at the surface of the black tea swirling in her cup, and did not answer immediately.

Seeing that she did not deny it, Fang Cheng's eyes flashed, and his tone became even more certain.

"Don't try to fool me. You never had this expression when you stayed up all night preparing for final exams. Only people in love, or more precisely, only people caught in emotional entanglements, would have this anxious and distracted look on their faces."

Fang Cheng pointed a finger at Su Nian: "Tell me honestly, who is it? From your school? Or which player?"

As soon as she finished speaking, a figure flashed through her mind. Her eyes widened slightly, her outstretched finger froze in mid-air, and her tone was tentatively incredulous: "It wouldn't be... your cousin, Lin Ye, would it?"

Su Nian remained silent, a silence that, between close friends who had shared everything for years, was practically tacit agreement.

Fang Cheng gasped, leaning back slightly, and blurted out, "Real torture!"

"No, that's not right." Her mind raced through the family relationship network that Su Nian had explained before.

It seems that Su Nian's grandmother and Lin Ye's grandfather are siblings, making their blood relationship spanning three generations.

"Legally, it's not a criminal offense." Fang Cheng leaned closer, his eyes flashing with a mixture of excitement and worry. "But in the eyes of elders and outsiders, you two are legitimate cousins. Your families visit each other so frequently during holidays. Miss Su, aren't you afraid of ending up in the orthopedics ward?"

The door to the clothing store was pushed open, and the wind chimes hanging on the door frame made a crisp sound.

A tall, slender boy with handsome, well-defined features walked in.

Fang Cheng's gaze swept over, her eyes lighting up. She nudged Su Nian's arm with her elbow and exclaimed softly, "Look! It's Pei Xiao!"

Su Nian followed Fang Cheng's gaze and recognized the person who had come.

Fang Cheng was no stranger to Pei Xiao. Last month, in order to raise awareness of supernatural defenses among ordinary college students, Tian Shu sent someone to give a public lecture at Fang Cheng's university, and Pei Xiao was among those invited.

The lecture was packed, and a large portion of the girls were there specifically for Pei Xiao's face.

After the event, Pei Xiao's name was almost entirely displayed on the school's confession wall.

Although Fang Cheng wasn't that dramatic, he was still deeply impressed by this month-level player who possessed both skill and good looks.

Pei Xiao looked through the clothes rack for a while, her eyes inadvertently glancing towards the rest area.

He withdrew his hand from his clothes and walked over.

When Fang Cheng saw Pei Xiao walking over, his heart skipped a beat. He subconsciously sat up straight and tidied his hair.