The morning light filtered through the window, casting a soft glow on the bedside table, but it did not disturb the girl still deep in sleep.
After a long while, a knock on the door broke through her dreams, gently rousing her from slumber.
“Xiaoyuan? Time to get up and eat!”
It was her grandmother’s voice—loud but warm, filled with kindness rather than annoyance.
Just waking, Lin Xinyuan clutched her blanket, rubbing her still-drowsy eyes with blurred vision.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of her lips—not only because her cold was nearly gone but also because she seemed to have had a pleasant dream…
“Okay… Grandma, I’m up…”
“All right, then, hurry and brush your teeth. Come down for breakfast!”
The footsteps outside gradually faded away as Lin Xinyuan slowly collected herself and glanced out the window.
From afar, lush greenery spread out, and a faint mist lingered in the distance.
It did not obscure the view but instead made the world feel even more desolate and vast…
Today seemed like a good day…
Lin Xinyuan felt lighthearted.
The conversation from the night before still echoed deeply in her heart, lingering without fading away.
Thinking about it now, it was a phrase she had not forgotten…
She got out of bed and went to the bathroom attached to her room to freshen up.
Returning to her room, she prepared to change her clothes.
Her pajamas slipped off slowly, revealing a graceful figure—skin whiter and more delicate than most girls, carrying a faint hint of fragility.
Her slender neck and waist seemed so delicate that one might break them with a pinch, giving her a fragile kind of beauty.
Lin Xinyuan examined her body and noticed that her chest seemed slightly larger again.
No wonder she felt heavier than before…
Endless…
Fortunately, her figure was slim; the base size wasn’t too big, so it was still acceptable.
She took a final look at her alabaster body but felt no stirrings of desire—it seemed she had long grown accustomed to it…
She started dressing.
After this period of adjustment, Lin Xinyuan was quite familiar with putting on underwear now, no longer fumbling awkwardly.
She efficiently put on a casual outfit: ordinary women’s jeans, a warm sweater underneath, and a beige hoodie over it.
Sitting down at the table, she glanced at her reflection in the makeup mirror—a delicate, fair face.
Her hand itched, and she couldn’t resist squeezing her skin a little; it was as smooth as tofu, almost impossible to put down.
But once her hand left, a faint red mark blossomed on her skin.
This body was truly too fragile, even the skin was like this…
Lin Xinyuan sighed, feeling a pang of melancholy deep inside.
But after so long, she had accepted the facts; now, it was only a moment of reflection.
Staring into the mirror, she gently tilted her head side to side, her jet-black hair swaying softly past her shoulders.
She thought for a moment and then took out a pale blue plaid hair tie from the drawer.
It was a gift from her mother, prepared long ago but never used—mainly because her hair wasn’t long enough before.
Now, that was no longer a problem…
Lin Xinyuan tied her hair up for the first time like a girl, feeling awkward with the unfamiliar motion.
Luckily, making a ponytail wasn’t too difficult, and her hair was smooth enough.
Though she pinched her scalp a little painfully at first, she managed to finish.
It was a bit crooked but acceptable…
She thought to herself, looking around in the mirror.
She was fairly satisfied.
With her decent face, the ponytail gave her a bit more of a girl-next-door vibe compared to when her hair was down.
Glancing at the makeup box on the table, Lin Xinyuan quickly looked away.
That, too, was bought by her mother—but clearly, she couldn’t accept it now…
After tidying herself up, Lin Xinyuan finally left her room and headed downstairs to have breakfast with her grandmother and grandfather.
Her mother wasn’t home today; she had left yesterday for Maxian County, supposedly to go through divorce procedures with Lin’s father.
Lin Xinyuan didn’t know the details.
After that night, she had completely given up on her father.
Though it still hurt a little, she was able to face it calmly…
Downstairs, at her grandmother’s invitation, she sat opposite them, and the three ate breakfast together.
Without her mother, the atmosphere between the three generations was rather cold.
Almost the entire time, it was her grandmother who occasionally started conversations to lighten the mood.
But perhaps because Lin Xinyuan was in a good mood today, the grandmother’s efforts surprisingly worked.
The girl spoke more than in previous days, a notable improvement from her usual silence.
The two elders noticed and were quietly pleased.
Especially her grandfather, who could feel that his granddaughter was a little closer to him—not much, but enough to make him happy…
Breakfast ended amidst bits of scattered chat.
With nothing else to do, Lin Xinyuan didn’t feel comfortable staying cooped up in her room all day in broad daylight.
To be honest, that sounded quite rude…
But she didn’t know what to talk about with the two elders.
Her somewhat introverted heart made it impossible to truly connect with them just yet.
For now, she could only sit on the sofa, occasionally checking her phone for messages or pretending to watch Anti-Japanese War Drama with her grandparents.
She’d glance at the TV every now and then.
Though uninterested in the dramas, she thought that compared to the ever-romantic, love-filled modern series, Anti-Japanese War Dramas at least had some value—almost like martial arts shows.
Just then, her phone vibrated, pulling Lin Xinyuan’s attention away.
She frowned and opened the message, only to see it was once again from Qin Nanfeng—the annoying blond-haired guy.
Her expression immediately fell.
She felt that every time this guy contacted her, it was out of sheer boredom, deliberately trying to torment her!
And trying to use her body’s physiological reactions to embarrass her…
Not a chance!
Though the girl thought this firmly, she hesitated for a moment and finally opened the message to see what nonsense he was up to.
As expected…
“In?”
Such a familiar greeting…
Lin Xinyuan’s mouth twitched; she suddenly didn’t want to reply anymore…
But the blond seemed to anticipate this.
Before she could close the screen, another message popped up.
“Want to play a game with me, Xiaoyuan? Duo mode, something a bit intense…”
What was that?
Why did Lin Xinyuan feel this sounded more and more wrong?
This guy… he’s definitely a pervert, right?
For some reason, she suddenly remembered how this guy had once hugged her blanket—her cheeks warming uncontrollably…
Xinyuan: “???”
Qin Nanfeng: “I know you’re bored. How about downloading this game and playing with me for a while?”
Q: “image.JPG”
Q: “What does the question mark mean?”
A loaded question?
Lin Xinyuan strongly suspected this guy was deliberately teasing her, trying to embarrass her!
Definitely…
She knew there was never any good reason for this guy to contact her…
Xinyuan: “Nothing…”
She forced down her emotions and feigned indifference, hoping that by ignoring his teasing, he’d lose interest.
There was no other way—if she snapped back, it would probably only make things worse…
Taking a deep breath, she opened the screenshot Qin Nanfeng sent.
It was a download page for a game.
Lin Xinyuan recognized it—it was the famous Chicken Dinner game that had taken the internet by storm two years ago!
Though she had heard of it, she had never bought it…
Besides not playing many games normally, she didn’t want to spend money on them.
Well, except for that blue software starting with ‘W’—she always bought that whenever she had a computer…
But that didn’t really count as a game, right?
The screenshot clearly showed the so-called official mobile port of Chicken Dinner, developed by Xunteng—those who knew, knew…
It was free, though, so trying it out wouldn’t be a problem.
He probably sent it considering she didn’t have her computer at hand…
Thoughtful, huh?
At that thought, a faint smile appeared on Lin Xinyuan’s lips, then quickly vanished as confusion clouded her mind.
She lightly shook her head, silently scolding herself for being foolish.
She wasn’t unaware of this guy’s nature; how could she come up with such a ridiculous excuse on his behalf?
Yet, for some reason, Lin Xinyuan felt a strange sourness in her chest…
She froze for a moment but didn’t think much of it, blaming it on her irritation with Qin Nanfeng…
That was definitely it…
Only that made sense…
Just as the girl was still troubled, little did she know two others had already turned their gaze away from the TV and were watching her closely.
Her every move, every slight frown or smile, was captured by their eyes…
Something wasn’t right.