Free Web NovelChapter 154: Chapter 154: An Outing with Jiang Xia
The reason holographic games became so popular was their realism. All five senses—sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch—were just like in the real world.
Shi Lan sat on a crescent-shaped cloud. As she hugged it, her hand felt a cotton-like softness. The air carried the salty, damp smell of a sea breeze. Below the cloud, the calls of seagulls and dolphins rose and fell, punctuated by the sound of rolling waves.
It was a relaxing and comfortable environment, one that seemed to make all worries melt away.
In an environment like this, with a handsome boy straight out of a manga gazing at her with such deep sincerity, it was hard for Shi Lan to remain indifferent.
For some reason, she found herself unable to meet his golden eyes. Gazing at the distant coastline, she gave a slight nod. "I like it."
Her voice was soft, seeming to melt into the warm sea breeze, yet every word was carried clearly on the wind to Jiang Xia’s ears.
An unconscious, joyous smile spread across his face, as if he had just received the most precious gift. His eyes crinkled, and the canines peeking out from beside his pearly whites gave him a youthful charm. "That’s good."
Hearing his clear, pleasant laughter, Shi Lan felt herself becoming infected by his joy, and her own lips curved into an even brighter smile.
She pointed toward the endless coastline. "I want to go take a look over there."
She’d always been curious about what lay on the other side of the sea, or beyond the mountains. It was like a search for the ends of the earth, filled with a desire for exploration.
Now, inside a holographic game where she knew there was no danger, Shi Lan was even more excited.
Jiang Xia nodded. "Okay."
"Lanlan, you can pilot the cloud."
As he spoke, he reached past her, carefully placing his other hand behind her back to keep her from falling.
He wiped at a spot on the cloud beside Shi Lan, revealing a mechanical button. He pressed it, and a transparent, light-blue joystick materialized in front of her. "Lanlan," Jiang Xia said, "use the joystick to steer. The directions are clearly marked. If you get tired, we can switch."
Piloting the cloud was a fun activity in itself, and Jiang Xia wanted Shi Lan to experience it first.
Just as he’d expected, Shi Lan’s eyes lit up. "Okay."
Jiang Xia pulled his hand back, and the cloud wisps automatically swirled together, concealing the button once more.
Staring at the spot, Shi Lan was secretly amazed. She was suddenly beginning to understand the appeal of holographic games.
"Jiang Xia, do you think it’s easy to fall off while piloting this?"
Shi Lan had just placed her hand on the joystick when a new worry surfaced. A moment ago, she’d been holding onto the cloud with one hand, so she hadn’t been worried about falling.
A hearty, pleased chuckle escaped Jiang Xia. "Of course not, Lanlan. We’re in a slow, automatic cruise right now, but a seatbelt will appear when you take control. Besides, if you do fall, I’ll fall right along with you."
"And what would happen if we fell?"
Shi Lan blinked curiously. Jiang Xia explained, "Since this is a scenic area in the game, if you fall, a button to return to the starting point—back onto the cloud—will appear immediately. And if you accidentally fall into the sea, a protection mode will automatically activate, so there’s no drowning effect."
He added, "We can go check out the underwater world later, too."
’After all, since Jiang Xia had planned to bring Shi Lan here, he’d made sure to look up some guides in advance. This was their first private date, no matter how you looked at it. He absolutely could not leave her with a bad impression.’
Shi Lan understood. "Okay, I’m going to start now, all right?"
With that, she slowly tried to push forward. At the same moment, she saw a safety harness materialize around her.
Shi Lan breathed a sigh of relief, finally able to relax completely.
The cloud’s speed wasn’t particularly fast. At first, Shi Lan was worried she wasn’t a good pilot or that she might fall off. But after a little while, she grew bolder, selected the acceleration button, and shot forward.
"AHHH!"
Caught off guard by the inertia, Shi Lan lurched backward as if she were about to fall, letting out a startled cry.
Jiang Xia, thinking she was just playing around, yelled along with her, "AHHH!!"
Hearing him yell too, Shi Lan suddenly wasn’t so afraid anymore. In fact, she found that this feeling of high-speed "driving" was an incredible adrenaline rush. It was thrilling.
Their hair whipped about in the wind as the crescent cloud streaked across the sky like a white ribbon, leaving a trail of colorful bubbles in its wake. The scene was breathtakingly dreamlike.
At that speed, it only took Shi Lan a little over ten minutes to reach the "end" of the sea. It was a game, after all. The edge of the sea here was like a hazy, glass mirror. Curious, she reached out and touched it—her hand passed right through.
Shi Lan’s mouth fell open slightly, her eyes filled with excitement. "Should we go through and see what’s on the other side?"
"Yeah! Let’s do it!"
Jiang Xia was completely on board. Perhaps the high-speed ride had gotten the blood rushing to his head, too. His normally pale face was now flushed with a healthy red, and his shining eyes made him look even more devastatingly handsome.
A flicker of awe flashed in Shi Lan’s eyes before she quickly snapped out of it. Seeing the complete trust in his gaze, she finally cast her reservations aside and piloted the crescent cloud straight through the barrier.
Thankfully, nothing scary or magical happened. It was like the location had just reset. They were instantly back at their starting point, the joystick had vanished, and the cloud had returned to its gentle, slow drift.
Even so, the experience left Shi Lan’s heart pounding. Her eyes sparkled with delight as she looked excitedly at Jiang Xia. "That was so much fun! I loved it."
Jiang Xia grew even happier. "I’m glad you liked it, Lanlan. So, should we go check out the underwater world now?"
"Yes!"
The game scenery on Ocean Star was beautiful and serene, which made Shi Lan all the more eager to see what the world under the sea looked like.
Jiang Xia suddenly took her hand. His golden eyes seemed to shimmer with the gentle light of the evening stars. "How about we try jumping down together?"
Hearing this, Shi Lan instinctively glanced down. Her scalp tingled with vertigo. ’It seems a little high...’
’But then she remembered this was a game. No matter how realistic, it was still just a game. It couldn’t actually hurt her.’
Perhaps Shi Lan had a defiant, thrill-seeking streak. She hesitated for only a moment before nodding. "Okay. Let’s try it."
Jiang Xia seemed to know what she was worried about. He piloted the cloud down several meters until they were only about five or six meters from the sea.
He said, "This should be good."
A warmth spread through Shi Lan’s heart. She hummed in agreement, then felt Jiang Xia’s grip on her hand tighten. He spoke, "How about I count to three, and then we jump?"
"Okay."
"Okay, here I go."
"One... two... three, jump!"
As he spoke, Jiang Xia pulled Shi Lan’s hand and leaped. Perhaps afraid they would be too far apart after hitting the water, he instinctively pulled her into his arms. Over the rush of warm, damp wind, he whispered in her ear, "Lanlan, don’t be afraid. I’m right here beside you."
Shi Lan’s eyes softened. In truth, she wasn’t that scared anymore, but feeling Jiang Xia’s embrace, she still wrapped her arms around him in return and hummed a soft "mhm."
