My Romance Game Updated – Chapter 50

by Little Panda

Renovation

After helping the girls on the second floor move and tidy up, Ren Chenxi went to the fourth floor to help Tang Ying and the others set up their beds, then followed Jian Dan’s group to the third floor. According to the room assignments they had agreed on earlier, Ren Chenxi got one room, Huo Keyu got one, Jian Dan got one, and Chang Ling and Song Xin would share one.

It wasn’t that Jian Dan and the other two weren’t close enough. It was just…

“One of them snores and the other talks in her sleep. Putting them in the same room to mutually harm each other¹ is just perfect.”

Inside her own room, Ren Chenxi put down a bed and realized there was nothing else to put down. The entire room was empty, with gray cement walls on all four sides and a gray cement floor under her feet. Standing in such a bleak space, she felt a strange, chilly sense of oppression. Tantan, however, seemed indifferent. After all, it had grown accustomed to such environments in the apocalypse. It was already curled up in the cat bed beside Ren Chenxi’s bed, continuing its nap.

Ren Chenxi was suddenly filled with regret. Why hadn’t she taken more things when she left the hotel? Bedside tables, desks, chairs, coffee tables—she could have taken them all. Why did she have to use them all to smash zombies? What a waste! No, this wouldn’t do. Tomorrow, when she went to the supermarket’s underground warehouse to look for supplies, she had to go check out that hotel where Mu Ning had rested. She would move as much as she could back here to make her room a little cozier and less cold and impersonal.

While Ren Chenxi was pondering how to decorate her room, Tang Ying wandered down from the fourth floor and knocked lightly on her door.

“Xi-jie~”

“What’s up? Need help with anything else?”

“No, no, no, we don’t really have anything else to move. It’s just one bed per room, and we don’t even have a place to put our clothes… Ahem, no, that’s not it. We can look for furniture tomorrow when we go out. I came to ask if you want to ‘renovate’ your room, Xi-jie~”

“Renovate? How?”

“Come, come, Xi-jie, come see my room~ If you like my style, I can do yours too~”

At Tang Ying’s enthusiastic invitation, Ren Chenxi, Jian Dan, and the others went up to the fourth floor to see this so-called “renovation.” Even Wu Tong, Zhang Tongqi, and the others from the second floor ran up to join in the fun.

Thinking about Tang Ying’s ability, Ren Chenxi had a rough idea of what to expect. Tang Ying’s renovation surely involved crystallizing all the walls in the room. But even though she was prepared, when she actually stepped into Tang Ying’s room, Ren Chenxi was still stunned by the dreamy pink that filled the space.

“Wow, wow, wow! It’s so beautiful!” Wu Tong even let out a girlish shriek. “It’s pink crystal! Isn’t pink crystal just gorgeous!” It was true. Before the apocalypse, what little fairy² with a girlish heart didn’t dream of having a room that was sparkling, pink, and tender?

Ren Chenxi turned to look at Tang Ying. “The hidden weapons you crystallized for me were all colorless and transparent.”

“Ahem… well, that’s because… I figured those crystallized items were going to be thrown out anyway, and at zombies and mutated beasts no less, so I didn’t bother making them look pretty~” Tang Ying explained, embarrassed.

“Actually, even transparent crystal is very beautiful!” Ren Chenxi retorted earnestly.

If it was so beautiful, why were you so happy to smash it all, without the slightest hint of reluctance!

“Colorless crystal is indeed pretty, but I still prefer colored ones. This pink crystal, for example, is beautiful!” Song Xin said, looking a little dazed as she stared at the surrounding pink crystal walls.

“Hey, Yingying, what colors of crystal can you make? Do different colors consume more of your ability?” Jian Dan also felt that the original dark gray walls were no match for the pink crystal, but… pretty as it was, she wasn’t as obsessed with pink as most girls. If possible, she’d prefer to use a darker-colored crystal to decorate her walls.

“As for colors, I can make most of the colors that natural crystals come in—colorless, yellow, red, purple, smoky brown, and so on… Ever since I reached the 3rd order, I can make more colors, and it doesn’t consume any extra ability~”

While Tang Ying was talking, Zhang Tongqi and the others couldn’t resist touching the walls, marveling, “Wow, the color is beautiful, and it’s even harder than the original cement walls. This kind of ‘renovation’ is amazing!”

Ren Chenxi also glanced around the room of pink crystal and smiled at Tang Ying. “Yingying’s ability is incredible. You crystallized the walls, ceiling, and floor of the entire room. How much of your ability does it take to crystallize such a large area at once?”

Tang Ying gave a stiff, dry laugh. “Uh… crystallizing all the walls, floor, and ceiling of one room probably uses up about a third of my ability…” Sis, you’re not planning to exploit me again, are you? Suddenly, Tang Ying was reminded of the terror of being forced by Ren Chenxi to crystallize items nonstop the previous night.

“Just crystallizing these six surfaces uses a third of your ability?” Ren Chenxi sounded a little critical.

“…Sis, the walls I crystallized aren’t just crystallized on the surface. I crystallized them to a depth of ten centimeters!” Sis, you really are planning to keep exploiting me, aren’t you!!!

“Is that so!” Ren Chenxi stroked her chin, lost in thought.

“Sis… Sis, why are you suddenly asking me this?” Tang Ying asked, trembling.

“Hm… it’s nothing. I just think that with such a great ability… why not open a renovation company in the base? Specialize in ‘renovating’ the walls of other rooms in the Villa Area to earn crystal cores?” Ren Chenxi suggested with a wide smile.

“…” Sis! I knew you wanted to exploit me!!!

“However, for the walls you ‘renovate’ for others, you don’t need to make them so thick. Just crystallizing them one centimeter deep for show should be enough~ In that case, how about we charge 100 1st-order crystal cores per square meter?”

“That’s such a rip-off!!!”

This time, all the girls couldn’t help but roast³ the idea in unison. Only Mu Ning, who had also come up to join the fun, nodded in agreement. “I think it’s fine. After all, these are crystal walls.”

“…” Big Sis, it’s the apocalypse. Crystal isn’t as valuable as it was before!!!

Roasting aside, Tang Ying actually began to seriously consider Ren Chenxi’s suggestion. In this apocalypse, her ability was indeed pretty useless in combat unless she was helping Ren Chenxi make “hidden weapons.” But now that they were at Nanhai Base, maybe she really could rely on her ability to earn crystal cores in a non-combat role. After all, she didn’t want to be like Li Jie and Dong Ting—people who had hands, feet, and even esper abilities, but insisted on being giant infant⁴ bloodsuckers.

But, if she were to really rely on “renovating” for others to earn crystal cores…

“Xi-jie, isn’t 100 1st-order crystal cores per square meter a bit too expensive?”

Seeing that Tang Ying had actually taken her suggestion to heart, Ren Chenxi raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile, “Then do you think the price that 3rd-order lightning-system esper charges at the base is expensive?”

“Expensive!” It wasn’t just Tang Ying; even Wu Tong, Zhang Tongqi, and the others who had bought electricity chimed in with a shout.

“So, in the apocalypse, do you think electricity is a necessity in a normal residential area?”

“Uh… not necessarily… right?” Before the apocalypse, many people might have felt they couldn’t live without electricity. But now that the apocalypse was here, weren’t plenty of survivors who couldn’t use electricity living just fine? Like the people in the Tin Shacks, or some of the people in the Teaching Building and Student Dormitories? In the apocalypse, for the vast majority of survivors, electricity really wasn’t an essential need.

“Since electricity isn’t a necessity, aren’t there still a whole bunch of suckers⁵ lining up to get ripped off by that lightning-system esper?” After saying this, Ren Chenxi turned to comfort Wu Tong and the others. “Don’t worry, I’m not talking about you.”

“…” Wu Tong, Zhang Tongqi, Sun Jia, and the others expressed with their wooden faces that they did not feel comforted at all. And yes, they were indeed suckers for paying such a high price for electricity. No, no, no, it was those guys who were the suckers!

Tang Ying, who had never bought electricity and been ripped off, didn’t share their pain. She just looked at Ren Chenxi excitedly. “Xi-jie, I get what you mean! You’re saying that my crystal ‘renovation’ and that lightning-system esper’s electricity, while neither are necessities, there will always be some suckers who are willing to pay for comfort and aesthetics, so they’d be willing to hire me to ‘renovate,’ right?”

Ren Chenxi smiled and nodded at Tang Ying, then added, “Besides, you’re probably the only esper in the base who can crystallize things. Isn’t the price up to you? Anyway, the price is set. It’s not like we’re forcing anyone to buy. If others want it, they can have it. If not, forget it~”

“And the things you crystallize are very hard, even harder than normal building materials. I think that once your ability levels up again, the base might even come looking for you to help with ‘renovations’!” Mu Ning added.

With Ren Chenxi and Mu Ning singing in harmony,⁶ Tang Ying felt like she was about to swell with pride. She could even picture it: after her “crystal renovations” became famous in the base, she would be just like Mu-xuejie or that lightning-system esper. Business would come knocking on her door while she just sat at home. At that time, she would be the most dazzling Crystal Handsome Boy⁷ in the entire base… no! The most dazzling Pretty Babe!!!

Alright, whether she was a Pretty Babe or not was something to think about much later. For now, since the girls had beds in their rooms, the next thing they needed to do was get a good night’s sleep. It was a good thing they had all gotten used to pulling all-nighters over the past two years of the apocalypse. That was why, despite getting almost no rest the entire night, they could still manage to cook, move house, and now, join in the fun.

The excitement was over, and they had admired Tang Ying’s “renovation” skills. Now, the girls had to go back to their respective rooms to rest.

After a long-awaited hot shower, Ren Chenxi returned to her empty, cold room, where Tantan was waiting. Cuddling the cat she hadn’t seen in so long, she quickly drifted off to sleep.

This time, Ren Chenxi slept especially deeply and soundly. Perhaps it was because she was in a relatively safe base, or perhaps it was because Tantan was by her side. When Ren Chenxi woke up, content, from her dreams, the sky outside had already darkened. And when she pushed open her door, the few girls who were already awake and chatting in the empty living room gave her another piece of good news:

“Xi-jie, Mu-jie came by just now. She said the base leader, Qi Sheng, has agreed to buy your Crystal Core Generator and has also agreed to pay half the deposit upfront~ Here, these are fifty 4th-order crystal cores~” Jian Dan said, handing Ren Chenxi a small velvet pouch.

This velvet pouch…

Ren Chenxi paused, but still took the familiar little pouch. How could it not be familiar? Hadn’t she sewn this very bag with her own two hands? The surface of the red velvet pouch was even embroidered with a cute Q-version⁸ figure and two little hearts. It was a Valentine’s Day gift she had given to Mu Ning, filled with chocolates. She still had this pouch? And that bag of chocolates… hadn’t Mu Ning turned around and given it to the people next to her to share?

The author has something to say:

Xixi: It’s so comfy and reassuring to sleep while hugging Tantan~

Wooden-head: It’s even more comfy and reassuring to sleep while hugging me~

Xixi: ……

Speaking of roommates, I don’t know if I’ve complained about this before, but back in college, one of my roommates would talk in her sleep, and another would grind her teeth, but!!! The absolute loudest one was the one who snored! It was so, so loud, ahhh!

Also, the bed connected to mine at the foot was next to the stairs. My roommate on that bed, she actually slept with her head towards the stairs instead of towards the guardrail!!!

Then one time, I got up to go to the bathroom at night, and as soon as I pulled open my bed curtain, I was face-to-face with long hair hanging down over the stairs…………….

Let me explain here. Although most university dorm stairs are the climbing ladder type, the stairs at my university were actual steps, and you could even store things under each step.

Footnotes

Original: hùxiāng shānghài (互相伤害), literally ‘mutually harm each other’. A modern slang term, often used humorously, to describe putting two people with conflicting or annoying habits together, with the implication that they will suffer from each other’s company.
Original: xiǎo xiānnǚ (小仙女). A popular and affectionate Chinese slang term for a young, attractive woman.
Original: tǔcáo (吐槽). Borrowed from the Japanese ‘tsukkomi’, this is a very common internet slang term for making a sharp, critical, or humorous complaint about something.
Original: jùyīng (巨婴). A popular slang term for an adult who acts like a baby—emotionally immature, dependent, and entitled.
Original: yuāndàtóu (冤大头). A slang term for a ‘sucker’ or ‘chump’—someone who is easily cheated or overcharged.
Original: yī chàng yī hè (一唱一和), literally ‘one sings, the other harmonizes’. An idiom describing two people acting in concert, where one person says something and the other immediately follows up in support.
Original: liàngzǎi (靓仔). A term from Cantonese, now widespread slang, for a handsome young man.
The ‘Q’ stands for ‘cute’. This art style, also known as ‘chibi’ in Japanese, is characterized by exaggeratedly cute, child-like proportions with large heads and small bodies.

Footnotes

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