Back then, he had a brand-new phone, a brand-new bank card, and had just moved into a brand-new dorm. Maybe it was because everything around him was so unfamiliar that he didn’t even think to question it.
Chi Zhan opened the game panel. The account had been registered for 2,098 days—roughly six years. That would’ve been when he was eighteen.
The game automatically registered an account using the phone number at login. Chi Zhan had assumed he was creating a new account, but in reality, he’d logged into an existing one.
With a complicated mix of emotions, he browsed through his friend list. Aside from a few recent additions, there was one unfamiliar name.
The profile picture was a cluster of chibi cats and dogs. The username was “Song Guang.”
Chi Zhan felt like a bewildered little hamster, digging around the game panel for more clues.
The friend info showed they’d been added for 2,098 days.
Their in-game relationship was listed as…
Lovers?!
What… who the hell was this?!
There were no chat backups, and the conversation window was completely blank.
Chi Zhan considered sending a message, but the profile was grayed out. Beside it was a status: “Offline for 107 days.”
“……”
Another dead end.
The next day, Chi Zhan went to the hospital for his routine check-up. Cen Chi seemed unusually busy today. When Chi Zhan arrived, another patient was still being seen. The young nurse apologized and asked him to wait a bit.
The break room’s air conditioning was a bit too warm, so Chi Zhan got up to get some fresh air outside.
As he passed through the lobby, a boy was arguing with the front desk.
“I’ve been coming here for days. Why won’t Cen Chi agree to see me?”
The boy wore a hoodie, his hair slightly curled, with a small, delicate face that made him look quite young. His tone was full of grievance.
“I just want to have a meal with him. Every time it’s some excuse—do you think I can’t tell he’s brushing me off?”
“I’m sorry, Doctor Cen really is very busy right now. If you’d like, you can make an appointment.” The receptionist sounded practiced, handling the situation with gentle patience. “Actually, Doctor Cen cares about you quite a lot. He specifically mentioned you like cream cookies. Why don’t I take you to the lounge to wait a bit, okay?”
Standing not far away, Chi Zhan watched the scene unfold, and for a moment, he had the strangest sense of déjà vu.
This kind of smooth, practiced… wingman routine. He used to do the same thing.
A thought, absurd yet impossible to shake, suddenly surfaced in his mind.
The boy turned around and caught sight of Chi Zhan, his eyes flashing with surprise. He asked the front desk, “Who’s that?”
“A patient here for a consultation. Hey, you can’t—”
The boy jogged over, eyes filled with wary suspicion. He asked Chi Zhan, “Are you a player too?”
“……”
His suspicion was confirmed.
Cen Chi wasn’t what he’d assumed—a fellow NPC. Everything had stemmed from his preconceived notion that anyone near a romance target must be an NPC like himself. But Cen Chi was clearly different.
So he was a capture target, too.
Chi Zhan’s feelings were mixed, but he quickly smiled and said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Do you need help with something?”
The boy studied Chi Zhan warily, circling him once.
“What’s your relationship with Doctor Cen?”
“I’m his patient. I have an appointment. If you’re in a hurry, you can go ahead and see him first.”
NPCs weren’t allowed to reveal their identities, couldn’t say things like “I’m an NPC,” and weren’t permitted to react to “supernatural language” from players. They could only play dumb. But Chi Zhan’s demeanor had already made his identity obvious.
The hostility in the boy’s gaze vanished, replaced by something more intrigued. He scrutinized Chi Zhan, then suddenly smiled.
“What’s your name? Wanna be friends?”
Now Chi Zhan couldn’t quite get a read on him. He simply shook his head and replied curtly, “Chi.”
“Let’s chat for a bit. We’re both waiting, and it’s so boring otherwise.” The boy’s tone suddenly turned cheerful for no clear reason. He winked at Chi Zhan. “I’m Xie Ran.”
That surname—“Xie”—instantly brought back unpleasant memories for Chi Zhan**. Even the injury on his lower back, which had almost healed, began to throb faintly again.
He didn’t want to give his name, especially not to a player. Just as he was about to steer the conversation away, Cen Chi’s voice came from the side, warm and slightly amused.
“Am I interrupting something?”
Xie Ran glanced at Cen Chi, then at Chi Zhan.
Though both men had that polished, genteel air, it was obvious they weren’t the same type at all.
Cen Chi always smiled and spoke gently, but at times he exuded a sharp edge. Maybe it was just Xie Ran’s imagination, but he always got the impression that Cen Chi’s every word carried a subtext: I’m not interested in you. I’m just humoring you.
He remembered your preferences, accepted your invitations, but it all felt mechanical. No one ever managed to get a second date.
Xie Ran was the type who didn’t believe in that kind of rejection.
He’d taken Cen Chi out once—at a famously romantic couples’ restaurant. He refused to believe Cen Chi hadn’t known what that implied.
Cen Chi had been nearly flawless that day. He’d booked the best table on the terrace, with a perfect view of the distant skyline. The food was exactly to Xie Ran’s taste—not a single hated Sichuan pepper, and all the desserts carefully avoided chocolate.
During their chat, Cen Chi had responded to everything he said… yet his gaze kept drifting toward another part of the terrace.
Like something else out there was more interesting than the lunch date right in front of him.
When Xie Ran turned to look, there was nothing there but potted plants and vines.
Was Cen Chi really more intrigued by foliage than by him?
Unsurprisingly, after that date, Cen Chi never agreed to see him again. All the rejections came with perfectly airtight excuses.
Which was why the players had nicknamed him the “One-Day Boyfriend”—yours for a day, and only a day.
As for this Mr. Chi Zhan, despite the aloof demeanor, he gave off no aggression. And his looks? Easily matched Cen Chi’s…
Could he be a newly added romance target?
**Note: The surname “Xie” is the same character as “Thanks”, from the bad encounter that the MC had with the “Thanks” clan.
