Cat 281: Make Me Laugh

Chapter 281: Make Me Laugh

[Username: Want to Be Human] – Streaming Room:

“Holy crap, once again, I’m moved to tears by the bond between pet and owner! No, this has gone beyond loyalty—this is love! They answered every question correctly! Ahhhh!”

“My god, what kind of tacit understanding is this? Other players have played similar games before, but no one has ever successfully made it to the end. The game just keeps breaking up partnerships, even turning friends against each other.”

“These two, forget turning against each other—in this round, if there were a room handy, they’d be newlyweds already.”

“I’m laughing, but did you all notice? The cat cub is utterly clueless. All he sees is the game; he’s not thinking in any other direction at all.”

“Still, as always: the cat cub flirts without knowing. I actually feel sorry for the owner—he’s dense as a post.”

The moment Qi Feng’s fingers touched the glass, the door swung open and the glass booth enclosing Yan Jiyun vanished.

Don’t let Qi Feng’s unruffled, confident demeanor fool you—he was just as nervous as anyone, afraid he’d choose the wrong person.

Hesitation would only lead to more doubt, so Qi Feng decisively lifted the veil from the person before him.

Then, he let out a relieved breath.

A beautiful pair of eyes smiled up at him. For a moment, Qi Feng felt he wasn’t in a game at all, but at his own wedding. The thought lasted but a second—he didn’t dare dwell; the rest of the game still demanded his focus.

He made a mental note of Yan Jiyun’s bridal attire—breathtakingly beautiful. Qi Feng thought he would probably never forget this moment for the rest of his life.

There was no powder on Yan Jiyun’s face, just pure, unadorned features, no longer boyish—he was every bit a young man now.

How did Qi Feng recognize Yan Jiyun? It was simple: every “bride” had exposed hands. All the others had traces of calluses—rough in men, not exactly delicate in women—but Yan Jiyun’s hands stood out. He’d used a guest pass; his fingers were slender, fair, immaculate.

Qi Feng didn’t know what Yan Jiyun looked like before he became a cat, but he knew exactly what Yan Jiyun looked like after using the guest pass.

Yan Jiyun was thrilled to be the first “bride” found by her “groom”—a sign that Qi Feng was already waiting behind his door when it opened, and that their five answers had matched perfectly.

Overjoyed, he wrapped his arms around Qi Feng’s neck. “That’s great. We got to skip a round.”

Qi Feng hadn’t expected Yan Jiyun to throw his arms around him so straightforwardly. If he thought of him as a caramel cat, the behavior made sense—it was a display of affection to the owner. Yet Qi Feng felt a pang of sadness. In Yan Jiyun’s eyes, he was just an owner. But then, he hesitated; Yan Jiyun was clearly a smart human who hugged and held him, even kissed him. Did he really not have feelings beyond companionship or being teammates?

When he thought Yan Jiyun saw him only as a companion, an owner, and a teammate, Qi Feng felt far from satisfied. He tightened his embrace just a bit more.

Yan Jiyun squirmed in Qi Feng’s arms. “You’re hugging me too tightly—I can hardly breathe.”

Qi Feng loosened his grip, but not all the way, leaving one hand resting at the small of Yan Jiyun’s back, almost reluctant to let go.

He said offhandedly, “I’m just excited is all—only we answered every question right.”

Yan Jiyun teased, “Did you ever play house with little girls when you were a kid?”

Qi Feng thought back to his childhood. “No. I had someone to pick me up and drop me off every day. I never had the chance to play those games.”

Unthinking, Yan Jiyun leaned on Qi Feng. “Your childhood sounds kind of sad. Kind of dull, too.”

Qi Feng nodded. “It was all right. From the age of three my schedule was packed every day. Never had time to play games with other kids.”

Yan Jiyun replied, “Your family was ruthless—that’s practically child abuse.”

Qi Feng suddenly asked, “What about you? Did you ever play house as a child?”

Caught off guard, Yan Jiyun’s mind blanked. He honestly couldn’t remember whether he’d ever played such games as a kid.

Did he ever play with other children? It seemed not—he had no memory of it.

He told the truth. “I don’t know, I was probably too little. I don’t really remember.”

Qi Feng fell silent for a moment, lost in thought, then patted Yan Jiyun’s shoulder. “True. It’s just the past—no need to remember.”

[Username: Have You Seen My Cat?] – Streaming Room:

“Honestly suspecting that Brother Feng went from excited to jealous of the cat’s childhood in just one second.”

“Please, just get married already! You’re even dressed for the wedding. Go straight to the honeymoon suite, I have a friend who wants to watch!”

“I was channel-surfing between both streams. Can someone tell me what their answers were in the end? I’m dying to know what kind of tacit understanding it takes to clear this mystery round.”

Yan Jiyun and Qi Feng finally left the game level. For completing the tenth stage, they received a fifteen-minute break.

[Congratulations, players Yan Jiyun and Qi Feng. As you have taken first place in four consecutive stages, you may rest for fifteen minutes in the high-class buffet lounge.]

Meanwhile, a bold countdown appeared in the top right corner for both of them.

The “play house” round truly tested teamwork; synchrony meant low risk of elimination, while a lack of it was deadly.

After emerging from the round, they weren’t immediately teleported to the next challenge. Instead, they arrived at a luxurious buffet lounge, complete with plush chairs, food and drinks, and fragrant air.

By the time they arrived, two others were already seated there—old acquaintances, Chu Mo and Wen Ye.

Yan Jiyun wasn’t surprised to see them. “You two are quick.”

Chu Mo was sprawled in a soft chair while Wen Ye slipped a straw into his juice—Chu Mo looked positively blissful.

“We just got here too,” Chu Mo said. “Did you two get to skip rounds?”

Qi Feng didn’t need to fetch Yan Jiyun a drink; he grabbed the most expensive water from the shelf, twisted off the cap, and handed it over.

Yan Jiyun drank gratefully—he was even better at accepting such care than Chu Mo.

Wen Ye decided to join Qi Feng in picking out some food to fill up.

The previous rounds had been physically taxing, and breakfast energy was all but depleted.

While they made their selections, Chu Mo and Yan Jiyun sat together to discuss the stages.

Chu Mo said, “There are still ninety untouched rounds to go. If we can keep skipping, all the better. I just worry the coming rounds will be too long—we might not clear them in a day.”

Yan Jiyun replied, “The game doesn’t require us to clear all the rounds, right? I figure there’ll be some kind of bonus skip option with lots of rewards. By the way, how did you skip?”

Chu Mo said, “We took first in three rounds straight—that let us skip. Out from the tenth round and here we are, just one minute before you.”

Yan Jiyun: “The first three are just introductions; the fifth and tenth ramp up in difficulty. What game did you get for the tenth?”

Chu Mo: “We had to mine gold. Whoever finished in the time limit won, but only half could emerge. We won first place, so you must’ve as well.”

Yan Jiyun nodded. “That’s right.” There was no need to mention the house-playing game. “I guess even at the same point in the game, the specific challenge varies.”

Chu Mo: “It’s based on player choice. We picked different categories at first, so the levels diverged after that.”

Yan Jiyun: “Makes sense, but this is only the first round. No telling how many more there will be.”

He was still a bit inexperienced.

Chu Mo, having partnered with Yan Jiyun twice before, had a measure of trust—there was little to hide.

“Judging by my experience in peak tournaments, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were two or three rounds. Down the line, we may have to face each other as rivals again,” he said with some regret. “We might be opponents once more.”

“Don’t rush to find enemies just yet,” Qi Feng said, returning from the buffet with a plate of beef and shrimp for Yan Jiyun. “It’s not certain we’ll be adversaries.”

Chu Mo tutted, not at that, but at Qi Feng’s food selection. “With this buffet, you only took these? Chocolate gives you energy; you should start with some of that.”

Qi Feng was always disciplined. He’d chosen beef and shrimp because those were all Yan Jiyun could eat.

When others discussed delicacies, Yan Jiyun kept quiet—it only pained him to look and not eat. Thankfully, Qi Feng was considerate.

“You don’t understand. We only love beef and shrimp.” Yan Jiyun looked righteously at his plate, lying through his teeth. “This is gourmet cuisine to us; everything else is junk food.”

Chu Mo glanced at Qi Feng. “Blink if you’re being held hostage. That’s some serious self-control.”

Wen Ye, usually silent, chimed in: “I think it’s pretty healthy. Maybe you should try it too?”

Chu Mo made an X over his chest. “No, thanks.”

Yan Jiyun and Qi Feng shared one plate of food. One good thing about Destiny was that players were rarely made to play on empty stomachs. Food might be scarce, but anyone who tried could find some. The game knew how to please an audience; instead of starving players to skin and bone, it fattened them up for the slaughter.

They exchanged information during their break.

Fifteen minutes flew by quickly. Before heading out, Yan Jiyun quietly reminded them to pay attention to any humanoid or talking NPCs—find out as much as possible about their backgrounds. Both understood instantly.

Chu Mo and Wen Ye, having arrived earlier, entered the next game before Yan Jiyun and Qi Feng. After they left, it was just the two of them again.

Other than the four of them, no one else had entered the high-end lounge—proof that the remaining eight pairs were proving much harder to beat. Chu Mo and Wen Ye were low-key but effective, whereas Yan Jiyun and Qi Feng were strong on top of being a natural BUG.

There wasn’t much new game intel to work with. Soon, the game teleported Yan Jiyun and Qi Feng from the lounge to the next stage, where they found the little raccoon again.

Their groupmates were resting elsewhere, having completed the last level later than they had. Yan Jiyun and Qi Feng had time to consult with the little raccoon about what was coming next.

“Congratulations to both players for clearing level ten and earning first place in four rounds. You’ve now been awarded three privileges for this round: one is to skip a stage; another is to choose the next stage; the third allows each of you to bring one special item. This round, you can skip up to ten stages; with two privileges, you can skip twenty.”

Being able to bring an item improved their survival odds yet again.

No need to guess—it would only get deadlier from here on. To make it through, they needed to win first place as often as possible.

“Please place your special items in the inventory within twenty seconds. If unused during this tournament, they may be carried over to other copies.”

Special items referred to those found in dungeons, not shop-bought items.

Yan Jiyun conservatively chose the latest item from his pocket: “Copycat.”

“Please select the number of stages to skip.”

Qi Feng and Yan Jiyun chose to skip twenty stages outright. Every round skipped was a round not risked. As for the contents of the skipped stages—those were secondary, since all they got were stage names with no detailed descriptions.

The little raccoon quickly randomized the stages. Soon, all the other players entered the field—only twenty-two teams remained. From a hundred people, only forty-four remained; just one round had knocked out fifty-six players, and there were many more stages to go.

The forty-two rested players looked much better than before—some still had tomato sauce at the corners of their mouths, evidence of energy quickly grabbed in the fifteen-minute break.

The little raccoon announced, almost gloating: “Players Yan Jiyun and Qi Feng, having taken first place in four rounds, have chosen to skip twenty stages. For your next round—today’s fifth stage—you’ll jump straight to stage thirty. Enjoy the game, everyone~”

The other players all turned to look at Qi Feng and Yan Jiyun, front and center. It seemed unfair, but after all—they’d just helped everyone pass the last round.

Yan Jiyun turned away, waiting for the game to transport them to stage thirty.

This time, they heard the crisp voice of a young man, and for once, there was an NPC, real as could be. His hair was as neat as his voice, parted and slicked meticulously. His black suit was flawlessly pressed—standing among the haggard, bedraggled players, he looked almost otherworldly.

[Welcome, players, to stage thirty: ‘Make Me Laugh.’]

All the players: “???”

“What does ‘Make Me Laugh’ mean?”