Cen Yao kept her parents company through dinner. It wasn't until past nine in the evening that Lu Xiuying finally couldn't hold it in any longer and let out a yawn.
She had been living in constant fear lately, and her heart only truly settled back into her chest after seeing her daughter return safe and sound with her own eyes.
Seeing this, Cen Yao immediately stood up.
“Dad, Mom, you should go get some sleep.”
Lu Xiuying wanted to say more, but Cen Qihang gently patted her on the shoulder.
“Let Yao Yao rest too. She just got back, so she's even more exhausted than we are.”
Lu Xiuying finally nodded, though she still grabbed Cen Yao's hand to nag her a few more times before heading back to her room.
“If you feel unwell anywhere, make sure you don't keep it to yourself.”
“If you get hungry, come downstairs. There's still soup in the kitchen.”
“Don't stay up late tonight, okay?”
Cen Yao nodded obediently. “I know.”
Lu Xiuying was still worried, staring at her for a long while before Cen Qihang coaxed her back into their room.
Cen Yao stood in the first-floor living room. Only when she heard the door to her parents' room close did her shoulders slowly relax.
She was exhausted too.
It wasn't just physical fatigue.
Rather, the mental string that had been pulled taut all this time finally had a chance to slacken.
The orb lay on her shoulder and asked in a low voice, “Host, are we going back to sleep too?”
“Yeah.”
Cen Yao gave it a rub and turned to head upstairs.
Once back in her cozy little room, she took a shower first.
As the hot water poured down, the cold, bloody, and decaying memories of the dungeon seemed to wash away bit by bit.
After drying her hair and changing into her pajamas, she collapsed onto the bed, finally letting out a sigh of pure satisfaction.
“Nothing beats my own bed.”
The orb nodded its little body in deep agreement.
Cen Yao lay there for a while, her peripheral vision catching the phone by her bedside.
She reached out and grabbed it.
The screen lit up, revealing a familiar interface.
In the past, whenever she had free time, she couldn't help but scroll through her phone.
Short videos, Weibo, forums, chat apps.
Even if there was nothing in particular she wanted to see, she could scroll aimlessly for half the day.
But now, holding the phone, she suddenly felt no desire to play with it.
The trending topics, the gossip, the online arguments—all of it felt incredibly distant.
So distant it was like they were separated by a layer of fog.
She unlocked the screen and stared at the familiar app icons, unable to bring herself to tap any of them.
But she couldn't just fall asleep right now either.
Her mind was too cluttered.
The moment she closed her eyes, thoughts of the dungeon rushed back.
After a brief thought, Cen Yao opened her music app.
Whatever.
She would just listen to some music to fall asleep.
She smoothly tapped into her playlist.
The orb, which had been rolling around at the head of the bed, flew over in curiosity at the sound of the music app opening, eventually landing softly on top of Cen Yao's head.
It poked its head out to take a look.
After a long string of song titles, the artist's name was always the same.
Pei Tinglan.
The orb blinked.
“Host, do you like him a lot?”
“Huh?”
Cen Yao blanked out for a moment, not catching on.
The orb raised a tiny stubby arm and pointed at the phone screen.
“This Pei Tinglan guy. I see that all the songs in your playlist are sung by him.”
Hearing this simultaneously familiar yet foreign name suddenly made Cen Yao daze out.
Pei Tinglan.
Before the Horror Game descended, this name had occupied a massive portion of her life.
She had followed his stage performances.
Bought his albums.
Stayed up late watching his behind-the-scenes content.
And even passionately argued with haters in the comment sections until three in the morning.
Later, when the Horror Game descended, all order was disrupted.
The entertainment industry ground to a near-halt.
Celebrities were pulled into dungeons too, fans died, and stages, light sticks, concerts, and fandom colors—everything that once made people's blood boil—gradually faded in the face of survival.
Cen Yao hadn't seriously thought of this name in a very long time.
“Oh, him.”
Her voice softened unconsciously, carrying a trace of nostalgia.
“He was an idol I really liked before the Horror Game descended.”
“Great singer, amazing dancer, highly professional, no scandals, and super handsome.”
At this point, her tone suddenly turned playful.
“And he has an eight-pack!”
The orb: “...”
It silently looked down at its own round, spherical body.
It only had a one-pack.
Unaware of the orb's sudden silence, Cen Yao continued reminiscing.
“I used to love watching his performances.”
“Once, he held a concert, and the tickets were incredibly hard to get. I barely managed to snag a seat in the stands.”
“To go see that performance, I ate nothing but steamed buns for a month.”
After saying that, she laughed.
She was truly broke back then.
But she was also truly happy.
To save money, she even gave up milk tea.
A single steamed bun for lunch, two for dinner, and at most, a sausage to go with it.
Thinking back on it now, it was really the kind of silly passion unique to youth.
The orb, however, felt its entire round body turn sour as it listened.
“Huh?”
Its voice was muffled, carrying a hint of jealousy.
“Is he really that good? Is he really worth you sacrificing so much for him, Host!”
Cen Yao looked up at the little white puffball on her head.
“?”
Sacrificing for who?
For him?
What did it mean by “sacrificing so much”?
The orb slid down from her head and pressed itself against her forehead in sympathy.
“You've had it so hard, my dear Host.”
Cen Yao: “...”
For some reason, she felt there was something off about those words.
In the next second, the orb suddenly backed away with an air of mystery.
“My dear Host, I have a gift for you!”
Before Cen Yao could ask what it was, a broom appeared before her eyes.
It was a broom so exquisite, gorgeous, and dreamlike that it hardly looked like a broom at all.
It was entirely deep purple.
Almost the exact same color as Cen Yao's Witch's robe.
The handle was long and slender, resembling polished gemstone wood, with flowing dark gold patterns on its surface.
The tail wasn't made of ordinary straw, but rather a soft, fluffy cluster of silver-purple magic fibers that faintly shimmered with starlight.
Inlaid at the front of the broom was a small moon-white crystal, with tiny fragments of starlight slowly revolving around it.
Cen Yao sat bolt upright.
Her eyes lit up instantly.
This perfectly matched her aesthetic!
The orb proudly flew in a circle around the broom.
“My dear Host, let's not like him anymore. He isn't worth it. You deserve better.”
“As the future greatest Witch across all planes, how could you not have a broom?”
Cen Yao's gaze was glued to the broom, completely unable to look away.
The orb continued its introduction. “With this broom, whenever you want to fly to travel in the future, you won't have to worry about consuming magic power!”
“The broom comes with its own flight function. Even flying for an entire day only requires a tiny amount of magic.”
“Furthermore, it can automatically avoid obstacles, hover, conceal your presence, and adjust its speed according to the Host's magic power.”
Cen Yao's breathing slowed.
She had seen this broom in the System Mall before.
It was priced at ten million shock points.
A whole ten million!
She had drooled over it for ages back then, but ultimately forced herself to hold back.
She never expected the orb to just give it to her directly.
Well, the orb was absolutely right!
She really had sacrificed a lot for Pei Tinglan before.
Eating nothing but steamed buns for a month—wasn't that a lot?
But things were different now.
Cen Yao suddenly grabbed the orb from her head, pulled it into her arms, and began kissing it frantically.
She declared passionately, “Orb!!!”
“From now on, you are my idol!”
“You're my absolute favorite!”
“Orb, you are the best!”
After searching far and wide, who would have thought the true tycoon was right by her side?
The orb instantly turned from a white ball into a red ball.
This time, it didn't clamor to push Cen Yao away.
Instead, its entire round body snuggled against Cen Yao's neck, looking like an exquisite and adorable plush accessory.
“Host...”
Its voice was tiny.
“Do you really like me the most?”
Cen Yao hugged it tightly.
“Of course!”
“Whoever gives me a ten-million-point broom is my absolute favorite!”
The orb: “...”
Although something about that sounded a bit off...
At least the Host said she liked it the most!
Rounding it up, it won!
Cen Yao doted on the broom for a good while before carefully placing it beside her bed.
She had originally planned to fall asleep to some music, but after all this excitement, she forgot about the songs entirely and quickly drifted off to sleep with the orb in her arms.
This sleep was deep and peaceful.
Rate on N.U.
