I Am the Only Fertile Woman in the Game-Chapter 207: Radiance

More than ten minutes went by.

Qiao Suisui stood under the streetlight, feeding mosquitoes, until she started to worry. She was about to walk over and take a look when a figure finally emerged from the dark alley.

"What took you so long? Is everything alright?" Qiao Suisui asked.

Qiao Jiming approached with his head down; the lighting was too dim to see the expression on his face. He hummed in affirmation, then reached out to grab Qiao Suisui’s wrist and led her back the way they came.

She sensed that Qiao Jiming’s mood was a bit off and tried to strike up a conversation. She asked if there was anything happening at home recently, whether the pressure was too much, and so on. Qiao Jiming patiently denied everything, telling her not to worry. They walked quietly through the alley bathed in moonlight, resembling a couple taking an after-dinner stroll, silent but not feeling awkward.

Qiao Jiming’s gaze drifted along the shadows on the path ahead, somewhat absent-minded. The overlapping shadows of the two of them moved in sync, one tall and one short, much like a pair of lovers in love. He was a few steps behind her when he quietly took out his phone and captured the moment. His heart rate sped up because of this simple action.

Qiao Suisui looked back and asked with a smile, "What are you doing?"

Qiao Jiming smiled back at her, "Nothing much, just thought the shadows under the moonlight looked pretty." He put his phone back into his pocket, caught up with her in two or three steps, and walked shoulder to shoulder with her back to their starting point.

In the days that followed, Qiao Suisui’s life returned to its regular and peaceful routine. However, she noticed something odd—the frequency of Gu Mengze’s appearances in her classroom seemed to be increasing. He always sat at the back of the classroom with earphones on, seemingly listening to music, yet he would occasionally glance at her. Since he didn’t seem interested in making conversation, Qiao Suisui didn’t think much of it.

She spent over three thousand yuan to rent an entire two-bedroom apartment, which was a very new building. The agent told her that the landlord was overseas, and if she found it suitable, she could rent it long-term. The apartment was situated midway between her school and Zhenge Company, making it convenient for her to commute to both places. Furthermore, the rent of just over three thousand yuan was a steal for the area, which was a white-collar haven, where a one-bedroom apartment could cost over four thousand yuan. At first, she feared she was being scammed, but after multiple confirmations, she was assured that the agent was legitimate.

The surrounding area of the community was fully equipped with amenities, the building was new, and most importantly, the landlord had excellent taste in decoration—simple yet sophisticated. The furniture looked as if it was brand new; Qiao Suisui felt as if her luck had been incredibly good recently.

Lin Xixi helped her move in, and since she spent more time going to school and lived closer, she chose to stay in the secondary bedroom. Lin Xixi insisted on paying half the rent, which Qiao Suisui refused. After much coaxing and persistence, Qiao Suisui relented and symbolically accepted a thousand yuan.

Qiao Suisui’s days were spent attending classes, interning, and writing in her spare time—busy but fulfilling. Yet beneath this veneer of fulfillment lay thoughts she never revealed to anyone.

She would still frequently think of their other world.

As she moved through the crowd, she would subconsciously look up to see if any Flying Ships were passing overhead;

While sitting under the shade of a tree at school, gazing at a couple playfully enjoying themselves on a nearby lawn, her mind would involuntarily conjure up images of their countenances;

At the end of a busy day, lying in bed trying to sleep, she would instinctively sniff the pillow and blanket for their scent, and sometimes she felt a sense of loss for the absent cool body temperature and the silver hair that wrapped around her fingers;

When tasting something delicious, she habitually thought of calling out their names, but as she turned around, she found herself alone...

She thought she had been sufficiently clear-headed to separate reality from fantasy, but those experiences played out in her mind like scenes from a movie.

That night, Qiao Suisui couldn’t sleep, sitting at her desk illuminated only by the computer screen in a daze. After much hesitation, she clicked on her long-unopened email account, finding a reply from INF Company lying there. Opening it, she saw a link to enter the game’s internal testing.

That string of letters in the link was like Pandora’s box, constantly calling out to her.

The mouse hesitated over the link, then the next second, Qiao Suisui snapped her laptop shut.

Ye Xi’s words continuously echoed in Qiao Suisui’s ears, and the thought that they would fall in love with every player who entered the game world made her scoff at herself.

"What’s the point... Starting over wouldn’t be the world I once visited..."

She fled to her bed as if running away, covered her head with the blanket, and spent the whole night with her eyes open until dawn.

...

Several days later, when it was time to get off work, Qiao Suisui walked out from the Zhenge Company building as usual and saw a very familiar car parked at the entrance.

Guan Weizhi rolled down the passenger side window, looked down, and greeted her, "Get in."

"Teacher Guan, what brings you here?"

"Don’t you remember?"

Qiao Suisui looked perplexed for a moment, then immediately remembered that a few days ago, Guan Weizhi had told her he would take her to a startup boot camp.

"Ah, it’s today." Qiao Suisui blinked, looking down at her white T-shirt, jeans, and canvas shoes.

"Get in first, I can’t park here."

Guan Weizhi knew what she was worried about. Seeing the anxious look on her face as she got in the car, he glanced at her and said, "Check the back seat."

Qiao Suisui looked back and saw four or five luxury brand shopping bags on the rear seat, and her mind went blank for a moment.

"Teacher Guan, these are..."

Guan Weizhi personally picked these out at the mall, but afraid she’d feel burdened, he lied, "They’re rented, just to get by for tonight."

Qiao Suisui let out a big sigh of relief, "Thank you, Teacher Guan, you always think of everything."

But then she started to worry about the event that awaited them. According to Guan Weizhi, the guests at the startup boot camp would all be CEOs or partners from various startup companies previously invested in by Zhonghe Fund, and some students from prestigious universities had been invited as prospects for a session sharing entrepreneurial experience. Wouldn’t that mean she’d encounter a CEO every five steps and an Ivy League figure every ten steps?

"Teacher Guan, I’m a bit nervous..." Qiao Suisui clutched the seatbelt, looking at him with eager eyes, "How should I behave later to not embarrass you?"

Guan Weizhi smiled gently, eyes fixed forward, freeing a hand to pat her head.

"However you behave, you won’t embarrass me."

He was wearing a casual suit today, exuding a relaxed and refined elegance, making him seem less distant than usual. Guan Weizhi was not someone who loved to preach, especially about changing someone’s perspective, as it was too demanding. But he felt a different kind of duty towards the youngster beside him, as if he had an obligation to water and fertilize in a timely manner.

Therefore, he encouraged her, "What do you think is the purpose of me bringing you here today?"

Qiao Suisui pondered for a moment, then said, "To learn from the big shots."

"That’s half right."

Guan Weizhi looked at her and smiled, "I will introduce you to the investment manager of Zhonghe Fund’s dark horse projects. The dark horse projects are programs Zhonghe only started running in the past six months. They not only invest in companies across various sectors but now also invest in people. A company can go from a startup to a unicorn, and so can talent. This is also why some students are participating today."

Qiao Suisui was taken aback and blurted out without thinking, "But how can I compare to them..."

Guan Weizhi’s expression remained unchanged, his hands still on the steering wheel, gazing forward. At this moment, he exuded an effortless sense of confidence.

"Remember, the excellence of others does not affect your own excellence. They are fire, you are gold. You can’t stop others from shining, just as nobody can take away your brilliance."