### Chapter 263: Watch Me Smack Him!
Having decided to do something big, Xu Xiaoya sprang into action.
Before long, a post from Yueli Wanwan, exposing some juicy tidbits, popped up on the forum, instantly igniting a heated discussion.
In short, the Little Princess Yuliya hadn’t been seen for many days, and during her last appearance, she mentioned having clues and wanting to go on an adventure.
Normally, that’s not much to fuss about—after all, she’s a princess; she can go wherever she pleases.
But with the version update coming up, Little Moon “reasonably speculated” that the new map might be related to the Little Princess!
Once she said that, netizens began analyzing previous movements of the Little Princess, and the more they analyzed, the more everything seemed to add up.
Everyone knew that this little princess was an extremely important NPC, so it was perfectly normal for her to open up a new map.
They were already curious and itching to explore this new map, and now they simply had to go.
For Xu Xiaoya, the more players, the better; work gets done faster, and the risks are lower.
Compared to NPCs and soldiers, players were the real workhorses, earning peanuts, with no worries about workplace injuries. Where else could you find such chosen ones to do the labor?
She skimmed through the forum posts about the new version.
The analyses were mostly on point. There was only one Golden City, and players from other servers would have to listen to her!
Alright, everybody, go harvest resources… oh wait, I mean, go collect the goodies!
Just as she was soaking in the players’ cheers and fantasizing about a bright future, her phone suddenly rang.
She checked it.
Oh, it was Mom!
Right when she was about to swipe to answer, her hand froze.
Oh no!
“Little Moon! Little Moon! Help!”
“Hmm? What’s up?”
“Look! This! What should we do?!”
Xu Xiaoyue glanced at the caller ID and realized it was their mother calling.
At first, she didn’t think it was a big deal. But soon her expression stiffened as she sensed something was off.
Mom was right, but Big Brother was the one with the problem!
“Don’t panic, hand it over. I’ll answer,” Xu Xiaoya said, shoving the phone toward her sister and sinking into the couch beside her.
Little Moon took the phone, hit the answer and speaker buttons.
Suddenly, the speaker erupted with a loud voice that could shatter eardrums.
“Xu Xiaofeng! What is going on?!”
“Hello? Mom?”
“Hmm?” Mom lowered her voice. “Is that you, Little Moon?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
“Where’s Little Wind? What’s going on with him?”
“He, uh…”
Xu Xiaoyue glanced at the small figure next to her.
“He’s having a bit of a situation, so it’s not convenient to take calls right now.”
“Not convenient? So it’s nothing serious, right?”
Mom’s voice shot up, “What’s that brat up to now?! I just got a call from the school saying they haven’t seen him in almost two months! Little Moon, you need to keep an eye on him; he can’t be off doing who-knows-what!”
“Wait! Mom! He—
“He what?”
“This… isn’t easy to explain.”
“Not easy to explain?” Mom’s voice reached a new pitch, “I get it! The teacher said the same! Is he on one of those games or whatever?! I know playing games is normal, but he shouldn’t be playing day and night! Where’s that kid? Get him on the line—now!”
“That’s really not possible. Mom, you should talk to me first.”
“Talk to you? The teacher already told me you switched to that game major. You’re an adult; you can make your own decisions, and we’re not interfering. The country is promoting it; it’s likely a new trend.”
“But that kid can’t handle switching majors! If he can’t, he needs to study properly!”
“Who says I can’t?!”
Xu Xiaoya muttered under her breath.
Not only can she, but she’s also the top of the class, way ahead of others who will be chasing her their whole lives!
“Who just said something?!”
Xu Xiaoya quickly covered her mouth.
“Uh… it was the cat. Just the cat.”
“Meow~”
Mom ignored everything else.
“Little Moon, I know you’re doing great. The teacher praises you all the time. I won’t fuss over you, but that brat needs to explain himself today!”
“Uh, Mom, hang on a second.”
“Sure, I’ll wait.”
Xu Xiaoyue put the phone down without hanging up and pulled Xu Xiaoya into the room.
“What’s going on? How did the teacher call Mom directly? There are probably a lot of students skipping class these days. As long as you report online, the school usually turns a blind eye.”
Xu Xiaoya stared at the ground, poking her finger, “I, uh… kinda forgot to report…”
“How many days has it been since you reported?”
“Uh… it’s been more than ten days, I think…”
Ever since they entered the Desert Realm in the game, it had been nonstop busy and tiring, leaving no energy for such trivialities, so she just forgot.
“Shouldn’t the teacher have called you first?”
“I… probably blocked their number. They call me, and I can’t even answer, so I just blocked them pretty early on.”
“…”
Well, isn’t that just asking for it?
Not a peep in ten days, and not seen in two months? This isn’t just losing contact; it’s practically a missing person case!
The fact that the teacher called the parents instead of going straight to the police shows they were being reasonable.
Xu Xiaoyue shook her head helplessly, “Why didn’t the school just ask me first?”
“Maybe you’re too high up… they didn’t want to disturb you?”
“Now you’re analyzing my situation for me!”
Xu Xiaoya clung to Xu Xiaoyue’s waist, shaking back and forth against her, “Little Moon~, what do we do~?”
“Think, think. Come on, you’re the smart one, right?”
Just as they were racking their brains for a suitable excuse, the phone rang again.
This time it was Xu Xiaoyue’s phone.
She picked it up and saw it was Dad.
“Hello? Dad?”
“Yep, it’s me.”
“Oh, Mom! What’s up?”
“What’s up? Right,” Mom’s tone suddenly turned completely calm, “Little Moon, we’re not concerned about what that little brat is doing, or how you’re covering for him. Your dad and I have already bought tickets; we’re arriving in Magic City this afternoon. Let’s see how that kid is going to hide.”
“Wait?” Xu Xiaoyue was stunned—seriously, Mom’s decisiveness was impressive. “Hold on, Mom, there’s no need for that!”
“Why not? We haven’t seen you in almost a year! We miss our children! Is it forbidden for family to meet?”
“…”
Holy moly! I was just about to suggest that my whereabouts are under a strict confidentiality agreement!
Xu Xiaoya was so startled she covered her mouth, hoping she wouldn’t let out a sound.
Mom doesn’t mess around!
“In any case, we’ll be there tomorrow afternoon. You all figure out whatever it is you’re up to. And that kid—if I find he’s slacking off, see if I don’t smack him!”
“Ugh, Mom, chill! The kid must have a reason for it. We…”
“Shut it!”
“Beep beep beep…”
The call ended.
