Chapter 402: Chapter 336 I Won’t Be Fooled!_2

The Pastry Factory Foam had always been an unpopular area in the Dreamworld, generally frequented only by a few tribe members with the same hobby. So, when Qinna arrived tonight, she immediately noticed a new face she hadn’t seen before.

She glanced over, then focused on her own task. She wanted to make a Black Forest cake tonight. She’d made it for Hanna before, but unfortunately, Hanna hadn’t been able to meet her demands at the time, so Qinna ended up smearing the Black Forest cake mixture all over Hanna’s face.

Smack!

Qinna paused for a moment as the newcomer sent the cream whipping bowl flying.

Ignore him, just ignore him…

Smack! Thud! Clang! Smack!

Unable to bear it any longer when he knocked over the cream bowl again, Qinna walked over and asked, “Do you even know how–”

Her reprimand stopped abruptly.

Before Qinna’s eyes was a clumsy Elf boy who had fallen to the ground. He was quite handsome, small and exquisite but not frail, his skin soft and milky as though squeezing it would produce milk, his fair skin blushing apple red. His thin lips were slightly pursed, and his large eyes hid golden irises that made it impossible to look away.

The pointed tips of the Elf ears trembled slightly, his face wore a shy and silly smile, his chef’s uniform was a dark red ombre, and his legs were clad in black over-the-knee socks, revealing just a small amount of snow-white thigh, creating a stark black and white contrast.

Cream smeared all over him made a mess, even on the tip of his nose, but it didn’t look dirty at all. Instead, it was like the cream decoration on a Black Forest cake, akin to an artful dessert.

“Sorry, I’m not very good at making cakes…” he said, staring at the floor, his face so red it looked as if it might bleed, “I’ve disturbed you…”

“It’s alright.”

Qinna’s voice was the tenderest it had ever been as she helped the boy to his feet, suppressing the urge to embrace him and asked with slight urgency, “What kind of cake do you want to make?”

“A red velvet cake,” the boy said, “My sister likes it, and I want to learn how to make it in the Dreamworld, then make it for her in reality.”

“Then let me teach you how to make it,” Qinna said without hesitation, grabbing his hands and drawing him close into her arms, “First, I’ll teach you how to whip cream. By the way, what’s your name?”

“I’m Ash…”

Qinna felt a stirring inside, but seeing the boy’s earnest expression, she couldn’t help but reach out, wipe the cream off his nose, and eat it herself.

…

…

Upon entering the Initial Dream, Hanna was also somewhat dazed for a moment.

It had been over a decade since her last Dream Entry, back when she was still a minor and only allowed to stay in the designated children-only Paradise. If the family’s Rebirth Dream was an ocean, then the most she had done was pick up shells on the beach.

Banjee’s words were not just a warning to the staff but also a reminder to her, the boss: don’t assume you can handle an adult’s college car just because you’ve ridden in a kindergarten car.

Although Purple Moth was sulking with the Housekeeper, she wasn’t an unruly little girl who refused to listen to advice–her Rebellion was only directed at her mother–so she decided to stay in her personal dreamworld and play, behaving herself for the next few days.

After all, dating was the staff’s Task, and Hanna neither needed nor was qualified to compete for the second position on the leaderboard. For someone like her, born and raised in the Gospel, her future was already weaved by the Gospel, which would never acknowledge any unknown ‘possibility’ within her.

But… what should I play?

In the Dreamworld, thinking was a superfluous effort. As Hanna came back to her senses, the Dreamworld had transformed into the child’s Paradise she was most familiar with.

As a child, this was her most anticipated place because her mother couldn’t enter, and she could play to her heart’s content, eat as much cake as she wanted, scribble all she liked, and swear without a care, never having to mind Qinna’s demeanor.

Hanna found herself back in her six or seven-year-old form, wearing her fluffy purple Princess dress.

She herself didn’t have too much passion for purple, but it was Qinna’s least favorite color. Whatever Qinna disliked, she loved.

Before breaking away from Senheiser, the only place she could wear purple clothes was in the Dreamworld.

This is her dream, where she couldn’t hide her deepest desires. Hanna felt lucky that no one knew what happened in her dreams; otherwise, if those people found out how childish she really was, she wouldn’t know how to maintain her dignity.

Since no one else was there…

Hanna’s eyes sparkled as she lay down on the ground and rolled into the children’s paradise just like a rolling pin, then dove into the sandpit to play with sand, rode the merry-go-round, swung on the swings, and went down the slides…

So boring.

Although she was nostalgic about her childhood, actually playing for a bit made Hanna feel it was rather dull. After all, she had passed the age of endless curiosity and had become a bored adult; playing with sand now felt tremendously uninspiring.

What was more, playing alone was just too lonely.

As a child, she could play by herself because she had teddy bear friends, little fox friends, kitty friends, but as an adult, she only had teddy, fox, and kitty dolls.

If only she could find a friend…

Just as Hanna entertained this thought, she heard a zipping sound from the slide nearby–someone had entered her dream!

“Beautiful princess, may I play with you?”

She turned around and saw a tender youth not much older than her current self, with raven-black hair a little bit longer than a typical short cut, with strands ending near the shoulders. His thin lips were pressed into a faint smile, and his eyes were a deep blue, full of laughter. He was dressed in a white suit with gold thread, a shimmering golden cape draped over his left shoulder, and impeccable white sports boots, looking every bit like a prince out of a fairy tale.

He naturally took Hanna’s small hand, “Princess, what is your name?”

Hanna’s reason screamed: Family dreams are very dangerous… hurry and make him leave… or you’ll get deeply stuck… hurry and make him leave… you don’t need to complete any tasks… hurry and make him leave!

“Little Hanna,” she said, looking down and blushing, “And what about you?”

Reason was in utter disarray.

“Just call me Ash,” the youth said with a smile, “We’re going to be good friends.”

Hanna felt a stir in her heart but was soon pulled by the youth to play on the seesaw, her whole being radiating a childlike exuberance.

…

…

Ash left the game once again after running into another gameplay mechanic error.

Another team wipe.

Kicked out of the group once again.

Ash exited the game, sitting thoughtfully in the game pod for a moment before summoning the Gospel Book, “Gospel, is there a sort of, you know, real-time reminder for what the next game mechanic is, so even a… um… disabled player like me can get through the raid smoothly?”

“I’m not trying to be lazy, but memorizing mechanics is just repetitive physical labor. If I can save time, I will, since my time is precious, you know?”

The Gospel Book responded, “Oh, philandering Your Highness, there’s no need for explanations. For just 10 points, Gospel will immediately install the latest Epic raid wheelchair for you.”

Hmm?

Ash questioned, “Why has my title gained some adjectives?”

The Gospel Book replied, “Flirtatious Your Highness, it’s the random nickname mechanism, please don’t mind it. If Your Highness is truly concerned, for 50 points–”

“No, I don’t mind.”

Ash understood all too well; it was like a fortune-teller in a temple warning of an ‘omen of blood in your aura,’ merely a trick to provoke impulsive spending… No wonder the customer service was so agreeable, they were just waiting here for this moment–well, I’m not falling for it!