Lingxin

In the distance, the iconic towering fountain of the city center came into view, and the name of the quest NPC appeared.

Switching servers, more than half of the players around Bai Xiaodu vanished in an instant.

On an oak bench adorned with hollow iron patterns, a female player sat leaning back, leisurely resting and relaxing.

Her short hair was deep blue, and her skin was pale. Her tall, slender figure was perfectly complemented by a short, white, fluffy sweater and black, tight-fitting, hip-hugging shorts. Her long, perfectly proportioned legs were crossed, swaying slightly from time to time. She wore a Smiley rank insignia and was Level 3. Her top was clearly a very ordinary, basic piece, yet she somehow made it look incredibly full and bursting at the seams.

Hearing Bai Xiaodu approach, she raised her eyes and cast a lazy glance in his direction. Her eyes were a captivating color, resembling premium red wine under perfect lighting, with a hint of playfulness. It was as if that expensive liquid was being poured out, swirling intoxicatingly in a crystal glass. She then let out a comfortable, soft hum and shifted her body slightly, gesturing for him to sit down next to her.

She exuded a lazy, gentle aura. She looked very much like the kind of mature, caring older sister who, after getting warmed up, would lean close to your ear and whisper, “Thanks for your hard work.”

Bai Xiaodu calmly obliged. He carefully tucked his tail away to keep it from getting pinched by the bench, only for a beautiful hand to gently snatch it away. She kneaded it like a hand warmer, eventually just resting it on her long legs and squeezing it like a stress toy. The haptic feedback in this game was truly incredible; Bai Xiaodu felt a cool, ticklish sensation running down his tail.

“No matter how I look at you, fox demihumans like you, Xiaobai, are just so adorable. Your tail is so fluffy and soft... Do you often sleep hugging your own tail at night, Xiaobai? Hmm?”

Her voice was warm and gentle, very pleasant to hear. She sounded close in age to Xin Hai'an, but her tone lacked any of the distance and detachment found in Xin Hai'an's words.

Hiss. Since they had only known each other for three days, Bai Xiaodu wasn't entirely sure of her level of play yet. So, he decisively lowered his head, pretending to brush back his hair while using the motion to quickly rub his face. Then, he looked up, perfectly mimicking the flustered confusion of an introverted youth suddenly approached by a beautiful older woman. With a flushed face, he looked at her, then shyly lowered his gaze, trying his best to look elsewhere while letting her play with his tail.

“Um... yes, Sister Lingxin. I hug it often in the autumn and winter, but in the summer, it's too hot...”

The best hunters always appear as prey. The best gaming companions always make the client want to play with something other than the game. Bai Xiaodu understood this perfectly.

The first few interactions between people were nothing more than letting the other party label you in their mind, then deepening that impression. Bai Xiaodu intended to test the waters bit by bit, building a persona in her mind that perfectly matched her fantasy of the opposite sex. He did this with great expertise and a complete lack of responsibility.

As for whether the person behind the screen in real life was a genuine beauty or just a greasy middle-aged man pretending to be young for fun, that had nothing to do with Bai Xiaodu. He was, after all, only here for their money. Of course, Bai Xiaodu didn't want his clients to have any psychological burdens. His profile explicitly stated that his in-game model was based on his real face, and if they didn't believe him, he offered a half-face live stream for a thousand credits.

“Is that so?” Lingxin nodded slightly. “But the in-game season is currently late autumn. When it comes to staying warm, I really envy your fluffy tail.”

“Unlike a pure-blood human like me, whose skin temperature changes with the seasons. Right now, I feel quite cold, and I don't have any nice winter outfits in my inventory. Sigh.”

Her tone suddenly softened, and her slender fingers lightly brushed against Bai Xiaodu's wrist. Her teasing was subtle and never overly aggressive, but it left a tickling sensation in Bai Xiaodu's ears. Leaning down, a faint fragrance wafted over his face every time she spoke.

“Here, do you want to touch and check my temperature? Or maybe help me warm up?”

The devil's whisper had arrived. Bai Xiaodu stammered, sounding highly unnatural.

“I... I don't know. I still have some items in my inventory. Should I give you one to wear? I think someone as beautiful as you would look great in anything.”

He tentatively reached his hand out, looking somewhat hesitant and fearful, as if a strong sense of responsibility was forcing him to act politely. Touching someone's face after only meeting a few times was highly inappropriate. His hand didn't make contact. But Lingxin leaned her face into his palm instead.

In that instant, a few tufts of silver-white fur at the tip of Bai Xiaodu's tail puffed up noticeably. But soon, they smoothed back down.

Lingxin took all of this in, yet she remained perfectly calm and relaxed. Bai Xiaodu quickly brought his other hand up to touch his own face, rubbing the tip of his nose in feigned embarrassment.

Lingxin's face was indeed a bit cool. Touching it felt like touching the wind made physical, incredibly smooth. She acted as if she didn't notice his embarrassment at all, simply rubbing her face against his hand with the intimate familiarity of someone petting a well-trained puppy. That smooth sensation brushed against Bai Xiaodu's hand over and over.

Only when Bai Xiaodu's face was entirely flushed red, looking as though his mind had gone completely blank, did she finally chuckle. It was worth noting that her smile was exceptionally beautiful. She then gracefully and naturally returned to her previous sitting posture.

On the bench, Lingxin acted as if nothing had happened, leisurely and carefully smoothing out the fur on his tail with her slender fingers. Bai Xiaodu sat there with a bright red face, fidgeting restlessly, looking as though steam was about to rise from his head.

—The steam was real. Bai Xiaodu was currently turning his head away where she couldn't see, slowly breathing it out from the corner of his mouth.

What a joke. If he was that easily played, how could he continue working as a gaming companion? Still, her techniques were indeed masterful. If he were an ordinary, emotionally inexperienced kid his age, he probably would have willingly put a dog collar around his own neck after those two moves.

At this point, he had established her preliminary profile. She was strong, highly skilled in emotional manipulation, liked demihumans (or was just obsessed with looks), and was a mature, older-sister type with a penchant for teasing.

This kind of client was actually quite difficult to handle because he had to keep up the act constantly without ever slipping up. Otherwise, she would get extremely angry.

Wait, what type...? Just as this thought crossed his mind, a panel popped up with a whoosh. The system reacted incredibly fast, like a comment section bot triggered by a keyword.

Almost exactly like when he met Xin Hai'an, a highly exquisite half-body portrait appeared on the blank panel. Her Affection rating currently stood at 27 points.

Bai Xiaodu stared blankly at the portrait for a moment, then glanced up at Lingxin beside him. Noticing his gaze, she tilted her head slightly and smiled back.

Oh, wow. Impressive. Her real-life appearance was actually even more beautiful than her in-game model, which itself had been customized based on her real face.

“So she's the same type of Stand as me, huh?” Interesting.

Bai Xiaodu's mind immediately became active. He had originally planned to treat this order as just a regular business transaction, but the rewards for increasing Affection were simply too tempting. It looked like he had no choice but to play along for real and get to know Lingxin on a deeper level. Ah, this system is really ruining me.

Bai Xiaodu quickly combed through his memories. Whether acting as a gaming companion or a coach, he always had a habit of profiling his clients, paying special attention to their hobbies and interests. By following the clues on their game accounts or social media accounts, he could always dig up some traces and quietly commit them to memory.

As for Lingxin... Her game account was pristine, having been registered only recently, and she didn't have much on her social media accounts—not even a single video. However, her browsing history and favorites list told a different story.

She seemed very interested in history, particularly Empire history, and her account even held some rather expensive digital collectibles. Yes, the predecessor of the United Federation, which historical texts customarily referred to as the First Stellar Empire of Humanity.

Just now, Lingxin had also referred to herself as a pure-blood human. In reality, that term was no longer used; the most ancient human lineages were collectively called the Australopithecus human species. But the fact that she knew this term suggested she was quite proud of this identity. And there was his breakthrough.