Chapter 62 - The True Nature of a Homebody

Even though the Girl in the painting wasn’t happy about it, in the end, she only bought two sets of the simplest T-shirts, long pants, and women’s tank tops, causing the store clerks and customers to cast strange glances at Xu Huo.

“If you want somebody to buy you clothes, you can go with them,” Xu Huo said indifferently.

Just a second ago, the Girl in the painting had been pouting and reluctant, but she immediately changed her expression and warmly tried to hold his hand, only to be stopped by a cold glance halfway through.

She then quickly switched to grabbing the hem of her clothes, invoking sighs from the onlooking crowd.

Xu Huo was in a good mood.

He left the bustling street to walk down an alley, stopped after turning a corner, and suddenly lunged at a shadow approaching from the ground, grabbing the other person’s throat and lifting them into the air.

“Why are you following me?”

The man struggling in his grasp, wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, was Yuan Yao, “Brother Xu, it’s me, Yuan Yao!”

Xu Huo lifted his hat before letting go, “Why are you sneakily following me?”

After coughing for a bit, Yuan Yao said, “I just arrived early, and was wandering around nearby.

I happened to see you shopping with your sister-in-law.”

He didn’t forget to greet the Girl in the painting with, “Hello, sister-in-law.”

The Girl in the painting returned a shy smile.

Yuan Yao’s face turned a bit red, but he was suddenly pricked by a cold gaze that hurt a little, and quickly diverted his eyes, then said, “Brother Xu, you’re really something.

Last time at Hot Spring Mountain Villa, I was so close and you didn’t notice me, but this time I was hiding in the crowd and you caught me.

It’s true what they say, ‘You can’t recognize a man after three days.’ For you, I have only one word, respect!”

Yuan Yao’s ability was indeed impressive, Xu Huo hadn’t noticed he was being followed at all.

However, when the “good friends” values over the heads of people around were blank or 1 or 2, a “5” in their midst stood out, especially since it kept following him.

This turned out to be a good way to detect enemies.

Xu Huo sized up Yuan Yao.

Feeling a chill at the back of his head from Xu Huo’s gaze, Yuan Yao crossed his arms and said, “Come on, Brother Xu, let’s talk.

Don’t be like this.”

“Your ability is to hide your tracks?” Xu Huo asked, “Don’t go into too much detail, but to what extent can you hide yourself?”

“There’s nothing to it,” Yuan Yao said, considering that the Girl in the painting might be already aware or she herself might be a player, so he spoke freely, “My class is Houseman, and I’ve developed an ability called ‘Hide and Seek.’ Its basic ability is to hide; if I stay still in a place unseen by others, I won’t be discovered.”

“It works even in crowded places because the passersby serve as cover.

As long as we aren’t face to face, it’s generally hard to tell if you’re being followed.”

Lowering his voice, he added, “I’ve followed two celebrities and three government officials, and none of them noticed.”

Xu Huo glanced at him, “Aren’t you afraid of encountering other players?”

Yuan Yao raised a finger and waved it with pride, “Making good use of the internet is another essential skill for a houseman.

Before following them, I investigated the people around them.

No one took leave or went to the doctor for no reason; I could even track what takeouts they ordered every day.”

Now taking the unimpressive-looking youth seriously, Xu Huo asked, “Can you track down other players’ information?”

Yuan Yao quickly shook his head, “My skills aren’t enough for that; how could I dare to attack the official back end?

But, when I was lurking on forums, I saw someone inviting players to a gathering, saying they were going to do something big.

I don’t know if it’s for real.”

The veracity of online information is hard to discern, but Xu Huo noticed a frequently appearing account.

Aside from having commented under the post about the player gathering, it also appeared in other trade threads and had posted about buying tickets, with an address that was close to the lodge he had stayed at.

“Can you find this account’s address?”

“Not hard, but I need a computer,” said Yuan Yao.

“I’ve rented a place in Ting City; we can go there after eating.”

“You’re not from Ting City, right?” Xu Huo asked.

“I live in the next city over,” Yuan Yao said with a grin, “I figure we’ll be seeing quite a bit of each other in the future, so I just rented a place.

Why don’t you move in with me, Brother Xu?

I have plenty of rooms.”

“We’ll talk about it later,” Xu Huo turned and walked out, “Aren’t we going to eat?

Let’s go.”

“Let’s have hot pot,” Yuan Yao hurriedly followed, “I saw online that there’s a great hot pot place nearby.”

The three of them entered the hot pot restaurant and Yuan Yao ordered a big table full of dishes, even considerately asking Xu Huo and the Girl in the painting if they had any food restrictions.

Seeing the Girl in the painting almost drooling, Xu Huo took a sip of tea and asked, “Can you eat hot pot?”

The Girl in the painting had her chopsticks ready in hand and nodded like a pecking chicken, directing Yuan Yao to put more chili in her dipping sauce.

“Can’t Sister-in-law speak?” Yuan Yao asked cautiously, seeing her just smile and smile.

“She’s not your sister-in-law, just a distant relative staying with me for a while, her name is Li Chun.

She was born mute and is a bit mentally challenged,” Xu Huo added to the Girl in the painting’s backstory.

Looking sympathetic, Yuan Yao said, “My parents know a few renowned doctors.

Why not have them check out Li Chun?” seaʀᴄh thё Nôvelƒire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“No money,” Xu Huo tossed out a reply.

“What are you talking about, I can’t possibly ask Brother Xu for money!” Yuan Yao patted his chest, “My family has money, I’ll cover the medical expenses!”

Xu Huo didn’t respond, but the Girl in the painting sitting across from him had her eyes light up.

She pointed to Xu Huo’s phone and clasped her hands together, making a pleading gesture.

“You want a phone?” Yuan Yao sneakily glanced at Xu Huo, thinking that the boss could easily make money in minutes, so why couldn’t he even afford a phone.

But maybe the boss was just being frugal.

“Is it okay to buy?” he asked tentatively.

“Whatever,” Xu Huo said as he swiftly cooked a stick of vegetables.

“Alright then, we’ll pick out a phone after we finish eating,” Yuan Yao declared cheerfully.

The Girl in the painting’s eyes curved with a smile as she scrolled through images on her phone, pointing at clothes and dresses inside.

Yuan Yao was dizzy from her smiling, his gamer instincts taking over, it was a spree of buying everything in sight.

After eating, the three headed to the phone store and then to the commercial streets, strolling until it grew dark.

“It’s about time,” Xu Huo, sitting in the resting area, stood up and called out to Yuan Yao and the Girl in the painting, “Let’s go.”

The Girl in the painting was already familiar with the basic functions of the phone.

She quickly typed a sentence in the memo app and showed it to Xu Huo:

“Someone is tracking us.”

“I know,” Xu Huo nodded, helping Yuan Yao with some bags, “Let’s go to your place first.”

They left the mall and got into a taxi.

Another taxi parked by the street slowly followed behind them.

The skinny man driving made a phone call: “Sister Ning, I found someone with Ah-Xiao’s scent on them, it must be him who lured Ah-Xiao away.

I’m following them now, will update you when I arrive.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.”