17: The Birth of Actor Lin Du

(The Clown Artist plot has a turning point, to be explained later)

Six in the morning.

Inside Ning Family Villa, in Ning Fengya's bedroom.

Lin Du, as usual, carried the breakfast he made himself and quietly approached Ning Fengya's bedside.

Ning Fengya on the bed was breathing evenly, her beautiful eyes tightly shut. Her consciousness was still in the game and she hadn't woken up.

Ning Fengya lay quietly on the bed, the quilt casually draped over a few important areas, her two long legs and a large expanse of fair chest exposed outside the quilt.

A boundless spring scene!

After putting down breakfast, Lin Du stood by the bed, quietly admiring Ning Fengya's peerless beauty.

Ning Fengya was very beautiful.

Ning Fengya, when not throwing a tantrum, was five parts beautiful!

Ning Fengya, when silent, was seven parts beautiful!

Ning Fengya in her sleep had maxed-out beauty, ten parts beautiful!

The three words "Sleeping Beauty" couldn't be more fitting to describe Ning Fengya.

Ning Fengya lay quietly on the bed, breathtakingly beautiful, serene and elegant.

As long as she didn't show that cold, distant face, she was the most beautiful woman in the world... In his previous life, Lin Du had seen countless women, but he had never encountered a woman with such high beauty as Ning Fengya. Ning Fengya's features and temperament were simply perfect, without a single flaw.

After admiring her for a while, Lin Du leaned close to Ning Fengya's ear and whispered, "Wife, I made your favorite seafood porridge for breakfast. Remember to eat it later~"

After a player's consciousness enters the game, their bodily senses do not completely disappear.

People in the game can still hear a little if someone speaks close to their ear outside.

If a player's consciousness completely vanished after entering the game, Lin Du would have already done what he wanted to do while Ning Fengya was unconscious... After giving a couple of reminders, Lin Du turned to leave the room.

Just as he was about to leave, a fair, slender hand suddenly grabbed his arm.

"Eat breakfast with me before you go!"

Ning Fengya had woken up at some point. As she spoke, her eyes subtly swept across Lin Du's hand.

When she saw "09—01—11—12" on Lin Du's hand, a hint of doubt flashed across Ning Fengya's face.

No problem! There's actually no problem!

Could it be... her premonition yesterday was wrong?

After noticing Ning Fengya's gaze, Lin Du remained calm on the surface, but inwardly he felt a close call.

Just before exiting the game, he had deliberately opened a lifespan value savings card and deposited 506 years of the 515 years of lifespan value he had traded for.

The remaining 9-odd years of lifespan value perfectly matched the actual consumption of lifespan value from before.

Fortunately, he earned enough lifespan value overnight. Otherwise, his secret would have been discovered by Ning Fengya.

What a cunning woman!

...Lin Du pretended nothing had happened and showed his characteristic fawning smile.

"Wife, why did you wake up so early today? Aren't you staying in the game a little longer?"

Ning Fengya rubbed her head, a hint of worry between her brows. "Something happened in the game. We need to have a meeting later. I'll enter the game after the meeting!"

Lin Du grumbled unhappily upon hearing this, "Seriously, which damn scoundrel made my precious wife unhappy again!"

Saying that, Lin Du scurried to the table, filled a bowl of hot porridge, and returned to the bedside.

"Wife, don't be angry. Have a bowl of hot porridge to line your stomach first!"

Lin Du scooped up a spoonful of hot porridge, blew on it gently, and when the porridge in the spoon was neither hot nor cold, he carefully brought the spoon to Ning Fengya's mouth.

"Wife, open your mouth!"

"Ah—"

This was just a routine operation, and Ning Fengya didn't refuse. She tied up her hair with one hand, opened her small mouth, and swallowed the hot porridge from the spoon in one gulp.

Gulp—

As the hot porridge went down, warmth spread through her body, and Ning Fengya felt a few degrees more comfortable.

Looking at the loving, gentle, and handsome man in front of her, Ning Fengya actually regretted having doubted Lin Du yesterday... "Wife, turn over, I'll massage your shoulders for a while."

After Ning Fengya had eaten her fill, Lin Du once again acted as a massage tool.

His hands gently kneaded Ning Fengya's smooth shoulders. Ning Fengya's shoulder lines were slender and soft, exuding a touch of feminine elegance and nobility.

Lin Du massaged diligently, and Ning Fengya enjoyed it comfortably.

After five or six minutes of massage, Ning Fengya's breathing gradually evened out, and she actually fell asleep amidst the comfortable massage... universe ol was very magical; players could substitute sleep while playing in it.

Someone who spent years immersed in universe ol only needed about an hour of sleep each day.

Of course, although the game could substitute sleep, it wasn't true sleep after all.

The mental and spiritual relaxation brought by sleep could not be replaced.

Lin Du covered Ning Fengya with the quilt, then quietly left the room... In the hallway, Lin Du heard a noisy sound from afar.

At the corner of the hallway, a yellow-haired youth with defiant eyes was showing off something on a tablet to a beautiful maid.

"Bai Jie, come here quickly, this young master will show you the weapon I forged last night!"

"This domineering and murderous-looking weapon is called the Water-Fire Bright Silver Spear. It's a B-rank weapon, and its quality is as high as 'Fine Grade'!"

"Do you know what 'Fine Grade' weapon means? Come closer, this young master will give you a good lesson!"

The yellow-haired youth skillfully put his hands on the maid... In universe ol, weapon grades could be divided into F-rank to SSS-rank, and the quality of each weapon varied.

Weapon quality was divided into three levels: normal-level, Fine Grade, and the rare Perfect Grade.

Weapon quality was determined by the number of special effects.

normal-level weapons usually had only one special effect.

Fine Grade weapons usually had two special effects.

Perfect Grade weapons would have five powerful special effects.

The more special effects a weapon had, the greater the boost it provided.

For example, the black rock ring that Lin Du had just obtained.

[Item]: black rock ring

[Level]: 10

[Quality]: C-rank (Fine Grade)

[Effect]: 1. Increases wearer's strength by 6%

2. Increases wearer's physical defense by 8%

[Description]: A secret treasure of the Black Rock Leader, grants powerful strength when worn.

The black rock ring was of Fine Grade quality, so it had two special effects.

Both of these special effects were very practical and could greatly increase the wearer's strength.

In universe ol, Fine Grade weapons were standard for top players, while Perfect Grade weapons were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, almost never seen in daily life... The yellow-haired youth was named Ning Yang, Ning Fengya's younger brother.

Ning Fengya had an older brother and a younger brother.

Her older brother was named Ning Fengnian, 30 years old this year, handsome, intelligent, and capable, known as one of the Four Young Masters of the younger generation in Divine Dragon Country.

Ning Fengya was the second child in the family, so there was no need to elaborate.

Ning Yang, as the youngest in the family, was showered with love and spoiled since childhood, becoming arrogant and lawless.

Whether in reality or in universe ol, Ning Yang was the kind of second-generation rich kid that everyone feared and avoided.

Although Ning Yang was usually unreliable, he did have one serious hobby.

Forging weapons!

Ning Yang had awakened the Sequence 103 profession, Ice Flame Hammer Fighter. This sequence ranking wasn't particularly high, but its combat power was very strong.

The magical flame "Ice Flame" provided by the Ice Flame Hammer Fighter, along with several high-level hammer techniques, had excellent effects in weapon forging.

In the field of artifact refining, Ning Yang was also somewhat famous... The Ning Family's servants were carefully selected ordinary people who had never entered universe ol.

The concepts in universe ol were like talking to a brick wall for the servants; they couldn't understand at all.

Ning Yang noticed the maid's confusion, and the expression of admiration and shock he wanted did not appear on the pretty maid's face.

There was no sense of accomplishment at all.

Ning Yang reached out and grabbed the maid's chest, then waved his hand disinterestedly, "Forget it, forget it, you wouldn't understand even if I told you. Go do your work."

Pushing the maid aside, Ning Yang took his tablet and walked towards Ning Fengya's room.

As he turned the corner, Ning Yang immediately noticed Lin Du standing at Ning Fengya's door.

His eyes lit up, and he quickly walked towards Lin Du.

"Lin Du, come here, come here, I'll show you something good!"

When Lin Du saw Ning Yang appear, he knew he couldn't avoid him, so he simply put on a smile and went to meet Ning Yang.

In his previous life, Lin Du had thrived in circles of various schemes and intrigues, and he had long mastered human relations and psychology.

Although Ning Yang was a dissolute young master of the Ning Family, his attitude towards Lin Du was surprisingly good.

Looking at the vast Ning Family, Lin Du was definitely one of Ning Yang's closest people.

This wasn't because Lin Du was Ning Yang's brother-in-law, but because Lin Du was good at coaxing and flattering, perfectly grasping Ning Yang's every little thought.

Whenever Ning Yang needed something, Lin Du could always appease him to his heart's content in the first instance... Lin Du had heard most of Ning Yang's conversation with the maid just now, and he knew that Ning Yang must have made another good weapon.

Ning Yang enthusiastically put his arm around Lin Du's shoulder and handed the tablet to Lin Du.

"Lin Du, take a look, what do you think of this long spear I forged?"

On the surface, Lin Du, like the servants, had never entered universe ol, but being constantly exposed to the Ning Family's high-ranking members and Ning Fengya, he would inevitably know some things about the game.

That's why Ning Yang came to show off to him!

Lin Du looked at the dazzling red and blue long spear on the tablet, and an expression of amazement and shock gradually appeared on his face.

"Th-this long spear is too cool!"

"The quality of this long spear must be at least Fine Grade or above, right?!"

Lin Du's eyes sparkled as if he had seen a rare treasure, his body trembling slightly, his gaze never leaving the screen for a moment.

Lin Du's expression and tone greatly satisfied Ning Yang. He felt as if he had found a kindred spirit and vigorously patted Lin Du's shoulder.

"You have good taste. The quality of this long spear has indeed reached Fine Grade, and it's priceless!"

...