Why did the system take my request to take photos with a cosplayer seriously?

"Ah."

"You like this girl?"

Ding Heng remained silent for two seconds before looking at Melina on the screen.

"That's it."

"Hey!"

Zhao Yanxi blinked.

This was the first time she had heard Ding Heng say "like" so clearly, even if the object of his affection was just a virtual game character.

Over time, Zhao Yanxi discovered that although Ding Heng was tactful and humorous, he was actually a bit "reserved" and never easily revealed his obsessions and preferences.

The fact that he can admit it so frankly shows that he genuinely likes the character from the bottom of his heart.

Zhao Yanxi started asking all sorts of questions: "Who is she? Is she an NPC? Why is one of her eyes closed? What's the scar on her face? What did she trade with you?"

While controlling his character to run around the grassy area of ​​"Nimgford" and clear out the unsuspecting monsters, Ding Heng patiently answered Zhao Yanxi's questions.

"She is the player's guide."

"Closed eyes? It could be part of the setting, or it could be part of a story."

"Scar? I don't know, the game didn't mention it in detail."

"A trade? She helps me level up, and I'll help her get to the Golden Tree..."

Then, Zhao Yanxi suddenly asked a question.

"So, when you finish the game, in the ending, Melina and you... well, the Faded One, are together shamelessly and happily ever after, right?"

Ding Heng was rolling around to avoid attacks from the monsters when he heard the question and his movements suddenly froze. He was instantly slashed, losing half of his health.

"No."

He controlled his character to walk to a safe area and stop: "In the normal ending, Melina... is dead."

"Huh? Dead?"

Zhao Yanxi was stunned: "Why? Isn't she very important?"

Ding Heng couldn't explain it clearly in a short time, so he simply gave a vague reply: "In order to meet the conditions for passing the level, she had to die. It's just a plot requirement."

His tone was very calm, but Zhao Yanxi still keenly caught the extremely subtle sense of sadness in his words.

This made Zhao Yanxi even more certain that Ding Heng liked the character and would even experience subtle emotional fluctuations because of the virtual character's "death".

She didn't press for more details. Instead, she quietly took out her phone, opened a video website, and typed "Melina" into the search bar. A bunch of game clips, character analyses, and fan-made videos popped up.

She clicked on a few videos with high view counts and watched them quietly.

In the video, the girl with short brown-pink hair either whispers gently or burns with resolute determination; her figure is beautiful yet fragile amidst the magnificent and tragic symphony.

A dozen minutes later, she exited the video app and opened an orange shopping app, typing in the following:

[Customized Elden Ring of France Melina Cosplay Costume]

After placing the order, Zhao Yanxi put away her phone and continued watching Ding Heng play games.

Today she finally understood that the old approach of directly provoking and seeking excitement to deal with Ding Heng was no longer working.

Although Ding Heng is usually sharp-tongued and "mischievous," he has taken advantage of her and Wenjing quite a bit.

Aside from that one kiss where he was forced to be a "tool," he never actually crossed any lines.

Even today, they were able to bring the car to a stop.

Perhaps... we should pay a little more attention?

It was already six o'clock in the afternoon, and Ding Heng, feeling fully recharged, suggested picking Wen Jing up from get off work.

Zhao Yanxi didn't object, and was even too lazy to change her clothes, so she went out wearing Ding Heng's hoodie without any hesitation.

The two drove to McDonald's. While Ding Heng got out of the car to buy water, Wen Jing just finished get off work.

"How was your day? Was it tough?"

"Fortunately, there weren't many customers on Tuesday."

Sitting in the back seat, Wenjing chatted with Zhao Yanxi as usual, when she suddenly noticed her best friend's oversized hooded sweatshirt and her expression froze.

"Yan hope...you didn't wear this outfit when you went out this morning, did you? And I remember you were wearing pants."

Zhao Yanxi grabbed the fabric at her chest and shook it, saying frankly, "This dress belongs to Ding Heng."

Wen Jing's pupils widened slightly, and her tone suddenly became urgent: "You... how could you be wearing Ding Heng's clothes?"

Zhao Yanxi blinked and asked, "What's wrong, Xiao Jingjing? Are you in a hurry?"

"I...I...you..."

Wenjing was so anxious that she stammered, "Wearing boys' clothes, don't you... don't you find it strange?"

"What's strange?"

Zhao Yanxi sniffed her cuffs affectedly: "They're quite comfortable, and they even have a bit of his scent on them."

Wenjing was completely dumbfounded and had no idea how to respond.

Seeing her best friend like this, Zhao Yanxi found it both funny and strangely unpleasant.

She bluntly said, "Xiaojing, we agreed beforehand that I would pursue Ding Heng. You're not thinking of backing out now, are you?"

Wenjing was taken aback by Zhao Yanxi's question and tentatively asked, "So what are you two now?"

"Don't worry! If I make any real progress with him, I promise to report to you immediately."

Zhao Yanxi's tone suddenly became serious: "So, if you and he have anything going on... you can't hide it from me!"

Wenjing was a little confused: "What do you mean?"

"It means—"

Zhao Yanxi leaned close to Wen Jing's ear and whispered something in secret.

"I can see you can't bear to part with him either, so let's compete fairly and rely on our own abilities. Otherwise, the two of you sisters might become suspicious of each other, fall out, and end up both losing out, with that jerk getting all the benefits, right?"

Wenjing's cheeks flushed and her mind went blank after hearing Zhao Yanxi's blunt and twisted logic.

But the body nodded gently, before the mind could react.

"Okay... okay."

Chapter 31: Wenjing's Dark History

Ding Heng returned to the car, handed out bottled water to the two people in the back seat, and casually asked, "What are you chatting about? You seem to be having a lot of fun."

Wenjing immediately shook her head like a startled rabbit: "N-nothing!"

Ding Heng raised an eyebrow and looked at Zhao Yanxi again.

Zhao Yanxi turned on the tap, took a sip of water, glanced at her nervous best friend beside her, and felt both amused and helpless.

"Can I just tell you about things that girls talk about?"

She spoke naturally, glossing over the topic.

On the way back, the car was much quieter than usual.

Wenjing kept her head down, her fingers unconsciously picking at the label on the mineral water bottle.

I've known Zhao Yanxi since kindergarten, for over ten years now.

They've shared the same bag of spicy snacks, drunk the same cup of milk tea, worn each other's clothes, and know almost all of each other's little secrets and embarrassing stories.

Whenever there's something good, the first person I think of is always the other person.

Wenjing never imagined that one day they would fall in love with the same boy, and even have to "fight" for him!

Zhao Yanxi said "fair competition," which sounds like a lot of sense.

But... if one day Ding Hengzhen chooses one of them, can they still be good friends without any resentment as before?

Zhao Yanxi was equally unsettled.

She gazed at the rapidly receding street scene outside the window, her eyes unfocused.

In her opinion, Ding Heng is currently more inclined towards being quiet and gentle.

That kind of natural care, teasing, and even indulgence is something she hasn't yet been able to obtain.

Therefore, I must first stabilize the situation and prevent Wenjing from taking advantage of her "innate advantage" to sneak away.

That's why the idea of ​​"shelving disputes and jointly developing" was proposed, in order to maintain a semblance of "fair competition".

Given enough time and opportunity, Zhao Yanxi was confident that she would not lose.

However... I can't help but feel guilty when facing my naive and silly best friend.

I feel like a scheming, wicked female supporting character who tries to steal the male lead from a naive and innocent girl.

Oh no, that's really bad!

The two girls each had their own thoughts on their own, and the atmosphere inside the car was subtly tense.

As Ding Heng drove, he felt that it was unusually quiet today...

Back at the hotel, Zhao Yanxi and Wen Jing got out of the car first.

Ding Heng didn't turn off the engine, but rolled down the window: "You guys go ahead, I have to go to my grandparents' house for dinner tonight."

Zhao Yanxi immediately smiled and waved enthusiastically: "Goodbye, Brother Ding Heng, take care on your journey!"

Wenjing followed up with a soft whisper, "Goodbye."

After watching the two girls enter the hotel, Ding Heng turned his car around and drove away.

Ding Heng's maternal grandparents lived in a remote suburb of Xingcheng, in an old urban area that had been gradually marginalized during the city's expansion.

My maternal grandfather was a junior cadre in a state-owned factory when he was young, and my maternal grandmother was a worker in the same factory.

After the reform and opening up, my grandfather resigned from his job and went into business. After many ups and downs, he got too old to continue, so he used his savings to open a small supermarket and has been living a peaceful life ever since.

After their mother passed away, the only remaining close descendant of the elderly couple was their grandson, Ding Heng.