Qinghai Guzhou grew increasingly outrageous with his words.
This was the first time Ye Shaohua realized just how shameless Qinghai Guzhou could be.
“Xianhua Nongying”?
She’d rather sell her account to the Fengxing Clan than give it to Nian Zhou.
Too lazy to engage with him any further, she closed the chat window and promptly blocked him.
The next day, a notification popped up in her university class group chat: students were to collect their internship reports.
Ye Shaohua had transmigrated into this world at the start of the second semester of her junior year—a period with no classes, only internships. Students could either take up school-arranged internships or find their own.
Due to the original host’s insecurities, she had chosen to find her own internship rather than follow the majority.
The Computer Science Department was heavily male-dominated, with only about twenty female students across all four years. On average, each class had one or two girls.
So while male students might not recognize every guy in the department, they definitely knew every girl—their year, class, and even their names.
When Ye Shaohua appeared in the department, the boys nearly tripped over their own feet.
“Holy shit, where did she come from?!”
With her bangs framing her face, Ye Shaohua’s presence sent waves of shock through the male students.
“People always say girls in Computer Science are freaks. Now I believe it,” a freshman muttered, wide-eyed.
Another sighed. “That freshman beauty from the neighboring school—what’s her name…? Right, An Xun! I saw her at the internet café yesterday. She’s got a face fit for the entertainment industry!”
“This senior here is a legend,” someone who recognized Ye Shaohua interjected. “By her sophomore year, she’d already developed her own software. You know the search engine for Tianhu Network? That’s her work.”
Instantly, the others’ expressions shifted to awe.
Tianhu Network was the country’s top search engine. This senior was impressive.
Truthfully, the original host had been talented in computer science—but only to the level of a skilled IT professional, not someone who could shake the industry.
…
Meanwhile, at A University, An Xun received a file along with a phone call.
“An, she’s just an ordinary IT researcher,” the caller said in heavily accented Mandarin. “That search engine? I could make a better one than Tianhu in minutes. I don’t know why you even had me investigate someone so… average.”
An Xun’s expression didn’t waver. “I just need more information on her. My family’s been looking into the Ye family behind my back, as if I wouldn’t notice.”
“Why?” The caller sounded curious. “What’s so special about her?”
From what he’d dug up, she seemed utterly unremarkable.
“Nothing,” An Xun replied coldly. “Just drop it, Laney. I’ll talk to you later.”
Laney was a hacker she knew, so she had no reason to doubt his findings.
Back at home, Ye Shaohua had already collected her internship report.
Ye Qingkun sat in the living room, speaking with the butler, his expression grim. But the moment he saw Ye Shaohua, his face brightened.
“Shaohua! Perfect timing. I made your favorite—Eight Treasure Duck. Come, try it.”
She knew he’d met with her mother’s family today. Despite being a real estate tycoon now, they still saw him as nothing more than a nouveau riche.
Ye Qingkun was anxious. He feared they’d try to take Shaohua away from him.
“Shaohua, is it good?” he asked hesitantly.
He’d spent years trying to compensate for her lack of a mother’s love. Now that her mother’s family—wealthier, more powerful, and more cultured than him—had appeared, he couldn’t help but feel inadequate.
He hadn’t actually expected an answer. Her psychologist had diagnosed her with depression, so he was used to one-sided conversations.
Ye Shaohua took a bite.
She’d eaten gourmet dishes across countless worlds. Ye Qingkun’s cooking wasn’t the best she’d ever had—but it was the most sincere.
“It’s delicious. Thank you, Dad.” She looked up and smiled.
That single sentence nearly brought Ye Qingkun to tears.
How long had it been since his daughter last smiled at him?
After she finished and went upstairs, Ye Qingkun immediately busied himself—now entirely distracted from thoughts of her mother’s family.
“Shaohua loves white fungus soup. I’ll make her another batch. Staring at the computer all day must strain her eyes—Butler, look up what’s good for eye health. Oh, and I heard young girls like beauty foods…”
The butler watched him bustling around the kitchen before sighing.
“Sir, with all due respect—put down the salt.”
[If the young lady eats your cooking, she might take back that smile.]
…
Upstairs, Ye Shaohua booted up her computer.
By the time she finished eating and showering, it was already 7:50 PM.
The moment she logged in, Lin Ye (a.k.a. Tianxia) immediately invited her to his team.
She’d given Changfa Jiyao her email yesterday, and the latter had been waiting since 7:30 PM. The instant the invite popped up, she joined.
Then froze.
[Team] Changfa Jiyao: Xiao Ye, you didn’t tell me we’d be in a team with him!
Changfa Jiyao stared at the player with the [#1 in Jianghu] title—Yijian Zhujiu—and trembled.
Not just him. Tianxia, Youren Yin, Mohen… every single member here was in the Top 10 rankings.
These were the elite of “Sword Heroes’ Legend”!
“Chuyang, Changfa, hello. I’m Tianxia,” Lin Ye’s voice came through the voice chat. “Can you two join voice? This dungeon requires coordination.”
“Y-Yes, Tianxia!” Changfa Jiyao quickly turned on her mic, revealing an unexpectedly sweet voice.
“Changfa’s a girl? And a cute one at that!” The others immediately perked up. “Tianxia, step aside. Changfa, I’ll carry you. Add me, and I’ll help you with quests!”
Changfa Jiyao was bombarded with friend requests from the game’s top players.
She was floored.
After a while, they realized Ye Shaohua hadn’t spoken. Since her mic was off, they couldn’t hear her. Given her in-game persona as a “male” player, Lin Ye sent a considerate message.
[Team] Tianxia: Chuyang, can you turn on your mic? You don’t have to talk—just listen to my directions. This dungeon needs teamwork.
[Team] Ye Shang Chuyang: OK.
She enabled voice chat, hearing the others’ voices but staying silent.
The Fengxing Clan members were lively—a bunch of goofballs. But once the dungeon started, they turned serious.
“Changfa, heal! Nice!”
“Perfect! Leader, move—Chuyang, finish it!”
The Vermilion Bird, the eighth-floor boss, collapsed.
“Everyone, restock. We’ll head to the ninth floor once we’re ready,” Tianxia directed.
As they chatted, two people remained silent: Ye Shaohua and Yijian Zhujiu.
Then—
Knock, knock.
The butler entered with a bowl of soup. “Young Miss, Master made this for you.”
Tianxia’s voice crackled through the headset. “Huh? Who was that? Who’s he talking to?”
Ye Shaohua removed her headphones—too quickly to hear the question.
Unaware her mic was still on, she accepted the soup with a smile. “Thank you, Uncle Ming. You should rest early.”
The voice that came through the team’s speakers was crystal-clear—cool, smooth, and laced with a lazy warmth that sent shivers down their spines.
Changfa Jiyao, a self-proclaimed voice connoisseur, had heard many beautiful voices in-game, including Xianhua Nongying’s (renowned as the most melodious).
But this voice?
It was in a league of its own.
The entire team fell silent.
When Ye Shaohua put her headphones back on, she found the chat dead. “No sound…? Did my headset break?”
