Fan Zhicheng quickly backed away, asking in disbelief.
“How come you walk so quietly?”
“My younger sister at home always stays up late playing on the computer, so naturally I have to check on her, right? If I made too much noise, I wouldn’t catch her.”
Lin Yizhou snapped back to reality as well, looking at the short-haired girl behind him, and said helplessly.
“So over time, you learned to walk without making a sound?”
“Yes.”
Su Ziling nodded calmly with a smile. That smile was warm, yet it also gave off an indescribable sense of distance.
“Prisoner Fan! It’s your turn to guard the goal!”
“Coming, coming!”
Hearing Guo Hao’s voice, Fan Zhicheng wheeled himself back onto the field.
With him gone, only Lin Yizhou and Su Ziling remained on the grass.
After a moment of silence, Lin Yizhou spoke up.
“Thanks for last night.”
“You’re welcome.”
With no one else paying attention to them, Su Ziling returned to her usual calm, expressionless demeanor.
“Are you feeling any better?”
“Thanks to you, much better.” Lin Yizhou shrugged, looked at the group of college students messing around not far away, and sighed. “Youth really is full of energy.”
“Aren’t you the same age as them?”
“Physiological age and psychological age can’t be lumped together.”
“Can I interpret that as you trying to show that you’re different, more outstanding than others?”
“…” Lin Yizhou’s mouth twitched after being hit by Su Ziling’s barrage of words. “I wonder if anyone else would be surprised to see this sharp-tongued side of you.”
“But I still have to thank you,” Su Ziling said, sitting down on the steps half a meter away from Lin Yizhou, and calmly continued, “Even though we’re on different sides, you kept my secret.”
“I’m not about to bite the hand that feeds me. I couldn’t do something ungrateful.”
Su Ziling was also watching the college students kicking the ball around and having fun on the grass. She seemed to think of something and asked Lin Yizhou.
“Speaking of which, setting aside my existence, why don’t you find a girlfriend or something to take care of you? With your schedule, you might just drop dead one day and no one would even know.”
“Because there’s no need…” Lin Yizhou sighed. “Even if I had a girlfriend, what could she do? Watch an ad to revive me after I die, or something?”
“Pfft!!”
Su Ziling, who rarely smiled, couldn’t hold it together at that analogy.
“That’s true. After you die, who cares about the flood. By the way…” As she spoke, she took the lunch box out of her bag again. “This is for you.”
“…You really don’t have to worry about me that much.”
Lin Yizhou sighed.
“Don’t you dislike monsters or whatever? And I’m a red-blooded man, aren’t you afraid?”
“If there was really any danger, you would have made a move by now, right?” Su Ziling said calmly. “Even if you don’t say it, I can tell you’re not really interested in my type.”
“Otakus like you probably prefer someone who shares your interests, someone you can connect with emotionally, someone who can stay up late playing games with you… like my little sister.”
By the end, Su Ziling couldn’t help but mutter under her breath.
“So I still can’t figure out how the two of us ended up together in the future.”
“Hmm?”
Because Su Ziling’s voice was very soft, Lin Yizhou didn’t catch what she said.
“Nothing.”
Su Ziling shook her head and stuffed the lunch box into Lin Yizhou’s hand.
“I have a part-time job at noon. I’m off.”
“…Thanks.”
At that moment, all Lin Yizhou could offer was a weak thank you.
“You’re welcome.”
—
In the afternoon, Lin Yizhou also had no classes.
So he wasn’t in a hurry to eat the bento Su Ziling had given him; he planned to take it home and heat it up first.
But when he opened the door, he keenly sensed something.
It felt like someone had already entered his house…
Who was it?
Lin Yizhou frowned slightly. His hand rested at his waist, ready to react if anything went wrong.
Because the curtains were drawn, the room was very dark. Lin Yizhou pretended to act casual as he entered, but his eyes scanned every corner.
Searching for the hidden intruder.
Not in the living room…
Not in the kitchen…
Not in the bathroom…
Could it be…
Lin Yizhou’s eyes landed on his bedroom door.
So, the person must be hiding somewhere in there.
With that thought, Lin Yizhou held his breath, gently grasped the doorknob, and turned it.
A crisp “click” broke the silence of the room. At the same time, the entire bedroom light turned on.
“Wow!” Su Lili suddenly threw off the covers, letting out an adorable cry of surprise. Then, seeing Lin Yizhou’s transformed appearance, she said, “Lili’s prank is a huge success! Ahahaha… cough cough!!”
The little brat’s arrogant laughter didn’t last long before she choked on her own spit.
And seeing that the intruder was Su Lili, Lin Yizhou’s tense nerves instantly relaxed. Looking at Su Lili, half-wrapped in the blanket, he was at a loss for whether to laugh or cry.
“How did you get in?”
The door didn’t have a keypad lock, and the window was locked too. Su Lili shouldn’t have been able to get in.
“Well…” Su Lili grinned mysteriously. “Dad, why do you think it took me so long to buy medicine?”
Then, as if asking and answering herself, she said.
“Of course, to secretly make a spare key!”
As she spoke, she couldn’t resist showing off by jingling the key in her hand.
Seeing the little brat’s smug look, Lin Yizhou didn’t know what expression to make.
Was it helplessness? Joy? Or anger?
He really couldn’t figure it out, so he just asked Su Lili.
“So, what are you doing here at noon?”
“Well…” Su Lili’s eyes darted around, then she said, “Mom was worried that Dad hasn’t recovered yet, so she told me to come and make sure you eat on time, and also take your temperature or something.”
As she spoke, Su Lili took out an electronic thermometer and beeped it against Lin Yizhou’s forehead.
“99.3 degrees.”
“Hmm…” Su Lili tilted her head, looking like she sort of understood. “Is that still a low fever?”
Lin Yizhou didn’t act as evasive as he had with Su Ziling. He honestly said to Su Lili, “Kind of.”
“Do you need to take medicine?”
“For a low fever, no need. Just rest more.”
After hearing Su Lili’s reason for coming, Lin Yizhou couldn’t help but sigh inwardly and said to her.
“I’ll send Su Ziling a message, let her know you’re safe, so she won’t worry.”
“Ah! No need…”
But by the time Su Lili spoke, it was too late. Lin Yizhou had already sent the message.
Soon, Su Ziling’s reply came.
“No?” She seemed just as bewildered. “I didn’t ask Lili to look after you. Or rather, how could you think I’d be okay with letting Lili stay in a room alone with a lolicon like you?”
Lin Yizhou: “…”
Su Lili: “…”
Lin Yizhou: stare
Su Lili: “…Hee hee (ゝω·)~”