I Met My Online Boyfriend—He Was the Horror Instance Boss - Chapter 3

Only after I had left the boss far behind did I take out my phone and message Xie Jue.

No ordinary person would ever believe what had happened.

I made up an excuse and told him we couldn’t meet today after all.

Considerate as always, Xie Jue said it was fine.

The viewers were astonished that I had escaped with my life.

But they soon found a way to explain it.

[Makes sense. What boss makes a move in the first round?]

[Girl’s odds of clearing this are about the same as my odds of passing CET-4.]

[I never signed up for it.]

[She looks exactly like that cannon-fodder type who gets dragged into a game, screams about hidden cameras and escape rooms, then can’t keep her hands to herself, breaks a rule, and dies first.]

I was deeply offended.

Because that was exactly what I’d thought before the comments appeared.

Following their directions, I reached the restaurant where the first round would take place.

Two men and two women stood inside.

A tall man with a buzz cut folded his arms. When he saw me enter, surprise crossed his face.

“Why is there another newcomer wandering around?”

The other man turned. He froze when he saw me.

“Lu Qinghe? What are you doing here?”

The girl beside Gu Heng looked from me to him, then gave a sudden look of understanding.

She walked over to me.

“You’re Gu Heng’s childhood friend?

“I’m Jiang Fu, his partner.”

Her gaze lowered to the black prosthetic that was my left hand. An apologetic look came over her face.

“I’m sorry. Gu Heng actually found an item that could heal you some time ago.

“But I was badly wounded in an instance.

“It was an emergency, so he used the item on me.”

[So the newcomer’s Gu Heng’s childhood friend. Nice—she’s got a Demon King watching her back. Time to cling to that thigh.]

[Gu Heng and Jiang Fu are the only team that’s ever beaten this boss. They got that high-level healing item from him too.]

[They probably challenged him again to try their luck and see if they could get another one.]

All this time, I hadn’t understood how the two of us had become like this.

Now I finally knew.

He had fallen in love with someone else while trying to save me.

Gu Heng had never expected to see me here.

“Don’t move around on your own. Do what Jiang Fu and I tell you, understand?

“With your hand like that, don’t make more trouble for us.”

There was no question that I was Gu Heng’s savior.

I didn’t understand. If he had fallen in love with someone else, why couldn’t he have simply told me?

Why did he have to make me feel as if everything were my fault?

If he could treat his own savior with such cold ingratitude,

how could I gamble on his conscience in a game of life and death?

He wasn’t the only expert player here.

I looked toward the only woman in the room who hadn’t spoken.

The live comments said she was even stronger than Gu Heng.

Gu Heng noticed where I was looking. His face darkened.

“Lu Qinghe, what is that supposed to mean? You’d rather trust a stranger than me?”

Why should I trust him? Had he made himself particularly trustworthy?

I answered with my actions. Walking to the woman, I introduced myself.

“I’m Lu Qinghe. May I team up with you?”

She glanced at me and said coolly, “If you drag me down, I won’t save you.”

Meaning she would let me join.

I nodded. “I’ll do my best not to hold you back.”

Her only response was a curt, “Qin Zheng.”

Done.

At that moment, a bell rang. Instance NPCs dressed as servers filed into the restaurant.

The first round was about to begin.

Gu Heng sneered. “Lu Qinghe, why are you throwing a tantrum at me?

“Who else is going to get you through this if I don’t?

“She’s only using you as disposable bait. You’re a clueless newcomer. Who in here is going to treat you like a human being?”

One of the NPCs walked several paces past me, then stopped abruptly and backed up.

As if deliberately slapping Gu Heng in the face, every last one of them bowed in perfect unison.

“Greetings, Newcomer.”

The live comments:

[…Newcomers rank that high?!]

[Hi, Uncle Long.]

[Hi, Xiaoyu.]

[Xiaoyu?! What are you doing here?]

[Taking the stairs.]