Chapter 79: A Quiet Day (Part 2)

All orders settled.

At noon, Lin Xinyuan made herself lunch.

Since her mother had gone to work and wouldn’t be eating at home for lunch, Lin Xinyuan was alone, so she only cooked two dishes.

A simple Corn Ribs Soup with Radish, and a stir-fried plate of Green Vegetables.

Her appetite was much smaller than when she was a boy; she had barely finished the bowl of Soup Noodles from the morning…

Even by noon, her stomach hadn’t fully digested the breakfast, so she only ate a small bowl of rice for lunch.

The afternoon was again uneventful.

She didn’t want to go out, so she started writing her novel.

This fantasy Novel she was working on was her transformation piece, and its results were unprecedentedly good.

The story progress published on the Platform had just passed about one-third, yet it had already surpassed nearly forty percent of the total views from her last Urban Romance Novel.

Lin Xinyuan was very happy; after all, this was related to her own little source of income.

The gloomy mood she’d felt earlier seemed to have dissipated somewhat.

Though she didn’t understand why her head suddenly hurt that morning, and why some strange images appeared in her mind…

Lying on the Living Room sofa, the girl’s fingers flew swiftly, with words continuously appearing on the screen.

There was no Computer at home, and carrying her own Computer back was inconvenient, so she could only use her phone for now.

Just as she furrowed her brows, thinking over a piece of dialogue for the plot, a Suspended Window popped up at the top of the screen with a notification sound.

「Are you there?」

It was a message from that irritating Huang Mao.

Speaking of which, they hadn’t contacted each other for several days.

Lin Xinyuan felt a strange flutter in her heart—somehow a little happy—and wondered if maybe her head was hurting from too much today…

「What’s up, Young Master Qin?」

「Hmm, as long as you’re there, is it convenient?」

Lin Xinyuan was completely baffled.

Why was Huang Mao asking that? Could it be… a bit of good news?

「Convenient, I guess…」

「Good, then let’s video chat.」

Before she could react, Qin Nanfeng had already initiated a video call, catching her off guard.

Helpless, Lin Xinyuan could only accept.

The first thing she saw was that handsome, devilishly good-looking face, and she curled her lips: “Why the video call? Can’t you just chat with the green bubble?”

Hearing this, Qin Nanfeng raised an eyebrow: “Why? Don’t you have time?”

“I have time… so what’s up?”

“Nothing, just wanted to check if Lin Xinyuan is still alive.”

This made Lin Xinyuan’s forehead twitch: “I’m very much alive, and I don’t go by that name anymore…”

“Oh?”

“Then what do you call me now? Lin Xinyuan?” Qin Nanfeng asked casually.

“Yes…” Lin Xinyuan didn’t expect him to guess it right away, and she tried to act calm on the surface. “How did you know?”

“That name is basically what I gave you, isn’t it? But actually, I guessed. Didn’t expect to get it right.”

Qin Nanfeng chuckled, his eyes squinting as he subtly sized her up.

The girl wore pink ice silk pajamas, her hair just brushing her ears, making her look quite pretty.

A little cute…

Now she looked more like a girl, not like the tomboy she used to be…

After chatting for a bit, Lin Xinyuan realized Qin Nanfeng didn’t really have any urgent matter—he was just bored and wanted to talk.

Regarding Qin Nanfeng, she felt a mix of gratitude and helplessness, along with some inexplicable emotions.

It was as if only when she was with this guy could she speak her mind without reservation…

“Xiaoyuan, I’m on vacation. Can I come visit you?” Qin Nanfeng suddenly asked, his tone mischievous as if joking.

“Stop calling me that, okay?” Lin Xinyuan was a little displeased.

Her mother and Aunt Yi also called her that now, but somehow it sounded different coming from Huang Mao.

“Isn’t that what you said the first time we met?” she reminded him, but he ignored her completely.

“What’s wrong… Aren’t you called Lin Xinyuan now?”

The girl made a disgusted face.

Compared to her mother, she felt more relaxed in front of Qin Nanfeng. “Yes… but it sounds disgusting when you say it…”

Qin Nanfeng froze for a moment, then laughed and raised an eyebrow: “Don’t worry about the nickname. Just tell me if you’d like me to come.”

Lin Xinyuan took his words as a joke: “Whatever, I can’t stop you from coming…”

“No way… Why are you dodging the question again?”

It was near evening when Lin’s mother came back.

The girl had prepared the meal early, waiting for her.

Once she arrived, they ate together.

Lin’s mother had found a sales job at a Bakery, instead of the Chain Supermarket Branch her former boss recommended.

The main reason was that the job was close enough to home, making it convenient to come and go every day and take care of Lin Xinyuan.

She heard the salary was decent, and if sales were good, with commissions, the income would be pretty good.

With her mother’s work experience, handling a small sales position should be easy enough.

Lin Xinyuan noticed all this, and the resentment that had been deep inside seemed to fade a little.

Of course… just a little…

“You cook better than Mom,” Lin’s mother said with a smile after tasting the Green Vegetables.

Even after working more than ten hours, compared to her previous job, this was much lighter.

The dishes were leftovers from noon.

Since Lin Xinyuan had eaten little and barely touched the food, reheating was enough—no need to make anything fresh.

Besides, it was cold outside, so no worries about spoilage.

“Mm.”

Lin Xinyuan only replied softly.

Her mother was used to this and didn’t say much.

The two ate quietly, the atmosphere strange—there was little warmth between them, but it was better than before.

Actually, both wanted to say something to each other but realized they didn’t know each other’s preferences, and there was nothing to talk about.

With this mood, they finished their meal.

Lin Xinyuan volunteered to wash the dishes, and her mother didn’t refuse, going straight to shower and rest.

Sitting on her bed for a moment, Lin Xinyuan waited until her mother came out of the bathroom.

Then she took clean pajamas from the wardrobe, exactly the same as what she was wearing today—her mother had bought her several sets.

“Clatter—”

Inside the bathroom, accompanied by the sound of the water heater, the steaming hot shower ran over the girl’s fair skin, coloring patches of red.

“Ugh…”

A soft sigh escaped her lips, echoing in the space.

Eyes closed, she savored the warmth at this moment.

The clear water washed over her, but it couldn’t calm her restless heart.

For some reason… Lin Xinyuan kept feeling a throbbing at her temples, as if something was about to happen.

That feeling made her inexplicably anxious…

Just after finishing her shower, she suddenly heard what seemed to be very faint voices.

Following the sound, she found it came from her mother’s room.

Their home had a three-bedroom, one-living-room layout.

Her mother’s room was right next to hers, while her father’s, who hadn’t returned yet, was on the other side.

From the tone, it sounded like her mother was on the phone.

The local Min dialect was naturally sharp-sounding, and she could tell her mother’s mood was bad, even somewhat irritable…

Lin Xinyuan’s heart skipped a beat, and the uneasy feeling grew stronger.

She tiptoed silently to the closed door and pressed her ear to listen.

But as if sensing her presence, her mother’s voice suddenly lowered.

Lin Xinyuan listened for a while but still couldn’t catch the exact words.

Eventually, there was no more sound—it seemed the call ended.

Helpless, she gave up.

Returning to her room, Lin Xinyuan collapsed onto her bed, her mind racing.

Although she hadn’t heard what her mother said clearly, judging from the tone, she was probably arguing with the person on the other end…

The girl’s fingers clutched the blanket tightly, her foot twitching restlessly, as if she guessed something…

Her heart was a tangled mess…