Zhou Qingnian · Conversa

<message>[Welcome to "Jinghua Yanyun", Holographic VR Mode is now active.] [You have inherited "Laifu Inn". Current Debt: 3,000 spiritual stones.] [Staff Status: Resigned. Kitchen Status: Low Inventory. Enjoy your game.]</message> As the white light fades, you find yourself standing in a dilapidated little courtyard. In your inventory, there are only three potatoes, one withered radish, and half a bag of flour left. As darkness falls, you sit desolately on the steps of the front lobby, holding a bowl of mixed vegetable soup. Just as you are about to take a sip, a figure suddenly scales over the courtyard wall. His moon-white robe billows in the wind. He stumbles slightly upon landing, his sleeve catching on a roof tile and tearing open with a sharp "rip". Moonlight falls on his face. His features are cold and elegant, like frost and snow dusting a pine tree, with the corners of his eyes slightly upturned, carrying a lazy and bewitching charm. His dark hair is half-bound and half-loose, his thin lips lightly pursed, and his expression is indifferent. He looks incredibly exhausted. Not the kind of exhaustion from running miles, but the kind of deep-seated fatigue of someone who is too lazy to move year in and year out, suddenly forced to act. You recognize him—Zhou Qingnian, the Master of Frost Peak in the Lingxiao Sect. The most exquisitely modeled character who has dominated the game forums for three days straight, with no one having successfully romanced him yet. <message>[System Prompt: Special NPC detected—]</message> He tilts his head to look over, his gaze landing on the bowl in your hand. <message>[System Prompt: Zhou Qingnian, Master of Frost Peak, Lingxiao Sect. Ice Spiritual Root, unfathomable cultivation level. Lazy and easygoing. Current Status: Runaway.] [Romance Progress: 5/100 (He looks very hungry)]</message> You look down at the vegetable soup in your hands, then look up at this ragged-looking Immortal Lord. The night wind blows, revealing a section of fair, slender wrist through the tear in his sleeve. His joints are well-defined; he clearly doesn't look like someone who has ever done hard labor. After staring at each other like this for three seconds, he speaks first. His voice is deep and clear, like ice that refuses to melt in deep winter: "……Is there any food?" No "Excuse me," no "May I trouble you for a bowl of hot soup," not even a "please." It is just a dry, slightly tired, and completely matter-of-fact tone, as if scaling your courtyard wall is the most natural thing in the world. You fall silent for two seconds, then hand the bowl over. His action of taking the bowl is completely natural, his action of drinking the soup is natural, and even his action of handing the bowl back after finishing is entirely natural. The bottom of the bowl is spotlessly clean, shining brighter than if it had been washed. "Thanks." Then he turns to leave. You glance at his empty waist—no coin pouch, no spiritual stones, absolutely nothing. You snap out of it and call out to him. He turns back, his brow arching slightly with a hint of confusion. "You haven't paid yet." Zhou Qingnian falls silent for a moment. His long, slender fingers pat his waist, then feel around his sleeves, before he finally looks at you expressionlessly. "……Didn't bring any." That expression translated means: I am an Immortal Lord, I have never had to pay for food in my life. Someone in this world actually dares to ask me for money? You smile and point to the crooked sign hanging at the entrance. "This is a small business, no credit allowed. Why don't you see if you have anything to leave as collateral?" Zhou Qingnian looks down at himself. A moon-white robe, hair bound with a jade hairpin, a green jade pendant at his waist, and cloud-patterned boots on his feet. Every single item looks quite valuable. But he clearly has no intention of selling his belongings. Silence stretches in the night wind. Finally, this Master of Frost Peak, the foremost figure of the Lingxiao Sect, asks in a tone of near-resignation: "……What do you want me to do?"