Average.
On the day the young girl explained the situation, Qin Nanfeng packed his things quickly and arrived that afternoon, as if he had anticipated it all along.
At the same time, Lin Xinyuan noticed her family had begun stockpiling long-lasting food and daily necessities, though her mother continued going to work as usual.
The town seemed calm, no different from any other day…
Only the shortage of items on supermarket shelves hinted at the hidden undercurrents moving quietly beneath the surface…
“Let me help you.”
Inside the villa’s carport, Lin Xinyuan reached out, wanting to take the suitcase Qin Nanfeng was lifting out of the trunk.
Qin Nanfeng grabbed her small hand and shook his head. “No need. With your small frame, I’d better do it myself.”
As he spoke, he gave her a particularly annoying once-over, looking quite skeptical of her strength.
Hearing this, Lin Xinyuan was displeased again.
What did he mean, “small frame”? Fine… she was short, but she was a normal person. It wasn’t like she couldn’t even pull a suitcase!
Lin Xinyuan felt the “Smelly Blondie” was either looking down on her or, to put it another way, worrying about her?
She felt a flicker of joy in her heart, but despite the joy, she was also stubborn.
In the past, she had been a boy. Even though she was now completely a girl and knew her physical fitness was laughably poor, her pride in certain areas wasn’t any less than that of an average guy…
Besides, seeing how small the suitcase was, she felt she should be able to move it!
With this thought, Lin Xinyuan gained a bit more confidence. Looking eager to try, she stared at Qin Nanfeng with sparkling eyes: “Brother Feng!”
Seeing the girl actively showing such a rare, cute expression, Qin Nanfeng thought for a moment and decided to let her try. He felt the girl wouldn’t last long anyway.
“Alright then, Xiaoyuan, you’d better get a good grip. This box isn’t light.”
“Okay, don’t worry, Brother Feng!”
Lin Xinyuan assumed Qin Nanfeng was just exaggerating to scare her and didn’t take it to heart.
But it wasn’t until she actually lifted the suitcase that she realized something was wrong…
It… it did have some weight to it, but it shouldn’t be a big problem, right?
Thus, the girl pretended nothing was wrong and hurriedly pulled the suitcase ahead of him. Qin Nanfeng followed behind, pulling a suitcase much larger than hers, waiting for the show to begin.
In the yard, Tang Yayun was teasing Xiao Huang, causing the dog to bark in indignant frustration, but this only made her more excited as she took out her phone and snapped a flurry of photos.
Tang Chengmin, nearby, wasn’t quiet either. He sat leisurely on an old-fashioned wooden bench, holding his phone horizontally, his mouth never stopping as he exchanged “cordial greetings” with his teammates.
They didn’t snap out of it until they noticed the pair walking over. They wanted to go up and help, but were quickly rebuffed by the two, so they didn’t push it.
However, Xiao Huang started barking at Qin Nanfeng again. Seeing this, Lin Xinyuan felt both embarrassed and angry.
She had clearly lectured the little guy before, but judging by the situation these past few days, she didn’t know if he hadn’t understood her or was simply ignoring her!
Xiao Huang was usually very well-behaved; he seemed to understand everything she said and followed her instructions perfectly. Yet he always hit a wall when it came to Qin Nanfeng… it was as if he had a personal grudge against the Smelly Blondie…
Lin Xinyuan couldn’t understand it and eventually stopped lecturing him. After all, she had said it more than once or twice, and she figured this pair of man and dog might just be naturally incompatible…
Anyway, as long as she was there, Xiao Huang was quite restrained. Other than being a bit noisy, he wouldn’t bite anyone.
Mm… her Xiao Huang still had standards…
Finally reaching the stairs, Lin Xinyuan looked at the steps—which weren’t actually very long—but felt a sense of dread in her heart.
But since she had already made the claim, she was too embarrassed to back out now…
So, Lin Xinyuan gritted her teeth. Under Qin Nanfeng’s teasing gaze, she painfully lifted the suitcase and began to climb.
God… what on earth did this guy put in here…
Why is it so heavy!
Lin Xinyuan was panting, her arms trembling. She felt like her hand was about to break off.
After a short while, she glanced back and discovered to her misery that she had only moved a few steps, even though it felt like forever!
Seeing Lin Xinyuan put down the suitcase, her breathing shallow and her face flushed, Qin Nanfeng found it a bit funny. He feigned confusion and asked, “What, tired already? Give it to me then. Don’t force yourself.”
As he spoke, he reached out as if to take it.
“…”
Hearing this, Lin Xinyuan turned back, wanting to say she was fine, but as soon as she saw the gentleness on Qin Nanfeng’s face, the words died on her lips.
At this moment, her pride seemed to deflate a little. After thinking for a while, she finally decided to let go of her stubbornness.
It was too unreasonable…
She couldn’t be like this…
Lin Xinyuan turned her face away in self-defeat and responded muffledly, “Mm… here!”
Once the young man took the suitcase, she stole a cautious glance at him. Seeing him carrying a suitcase in each hand with such ease, she felt strangely even more upset.
She knew very well what her body’s condition was; it was just her useless pride acting up, driving her to act tough so foolishly…
But the Smelly Blondie hadn’t rejected her outright or laughed at her excessively; he had let her try first.
Smelly Blondie… do you know that doing this is really a foul… it really makes me like you even more…
But I feel so useless. I can’t do anything, I feel like I can’t help you with anything… even for a small thing like this, I have to give it my absolute all…
Lin Xinyuan lowered her small head, her eyes losing their focus.
Sometimes she really felt Qin Nanfeng was too outstanding. He was tall, handsome, had a good character, and his family was wealthy.
In contrast, besides a bit of useless gaming talent and being decent-looking, she seemed to have nothing to show for herself… her personality was also both mean and cowardly…
Sometimes she really wished Qin Nanfeng were more ordinary… at least he wouldn’t need to be so handsome, and it would be better if his family were as average as hers.
That way, there would be no chance of other girls taking an interest in him, right?
The girl couldn’t stop herself from feeling inferior again. Even though Qin Nanfeng had told her to believe in herself and she was trying hard… seeing how excellent he was, she inevitably started to negate herself, giving rise to a sense of crisis…
At this moment, Qin Nanfeng could more or less sense the girl’s emotions, though he wasn’t surprised. Last time, he felt she hadn’t really taken it in. This time, he didn’t plan to offer more empty “chicken soup for the soul.”
Qin Nanfeng simply followed her quietly, keeping his eyes on her slender figure.
Even the words of the person closest to you aren’t as good as figuring it out for yourself…
The two didn’t walk fast, slowly making their way to the second floor and arriving at the room where Qin Nanfeng had stayed last time. Entering the room, Lin Xinyuan absent-mindedly began helping Qin Nanfeng tidy up. After all, it had been nearly a week since he last stayed in this room; it needed a cleaning.
As she cleaned and organized, she wondered what was going on in her head…
The girl’s movements were quite brisk, but because of her earlier stubbornness, her arms were sore, making her actions look visibly strained.
But she didn’t want to just give up. She pushed herself with great difficulty until the young man stopped her.
Qin Nanfeng caught her hand as she reached for the suitcase to help him unpack, shaking his head gently. “Xiaoyuan, you’re tired. Go sit on the stool… I’ll handle my own things, okay?”
His voice was very gentle. As he spoke, he lightly stroked her fluffy hair and pinched her dainty nose.
Lin Xinyuan lowered her eyes with a blush. After a moment of hesitation, she nodded. Led by Qin Nanfeng, she sat down on the stool she had wiped clean, which was now mostly dry.
She watched the tall figure packing his things, lost in a daze.
Even the way the Smelly Blondie packs is so pleasing to the eye…
The girl’s face was flushed and her eyes were full of stars, but they soon dimmed again.
Unlike her… who can’t do anything right…
But… she wanted to change…
So how should she change? At the very least, when would she be able to help the Smelly Blondie?
What exactly was it…
Lin Xinyuan thought for a long time and felt she was catching onto something.
「I’m happy that you can trust me… but promise me, you have to believe in yourself too…」
The scene from back then surfaced in her mind, and her expression became dazed.
Believe in myself…
Yes… she had been the one being stupid and narrow-minded…
After an unknown amount of time, a quiet, peaceful smile finally appeared on the corners of Lin Xinyuan’s mouth.
So what was she so conflicted about?
As long as Brother Feng liked her the way she was, then believing in herself and accepting herself was the best response she could give him!
As a girl who was different from others, she shared the same hobbies as Qin Nanfeng—like playing games!
She could also understand him better than most girls, rather than being unreasonable or lacking empathy like many others!
She might not have any outstanding talents, but being able to support Brother Feng’s plans at every moment seemed like a pretty good trait, right?
As long as she tried her best to improve herself on that foundation, she would at least have a clear conscience…
The more Lin Xinyuan thought about it, the brighter her eyes became. Her gloomy expression faded, gradually turning radiant—
Slowly snapping out of it, she realized the guy had already finished packing and was just sitting on the bed, staring at her quietly with a smile in his eyes.
At least this time, she was no longer shy. She opened her almond eyes and looked straight into the young man’s gentle yet subtly predatory gaze without flinching.
With a bright and cute expression, she stood up and pounced toward him.
“Brother Feng!”
The girl’s voice was soft and sweet, accompanied by that familiar fresh orange fragrance as she rushed toward him!
Qin Nanfeng was stunned and instinctively caught her.
The soft, lovely girl pressed tightly into the young man’s embrace, rubbing against him like a shy kitten acting spoiled with its owner…
Very cute…
Wasnt the dog supposed to be female? The last few chapters keep referring it as he.
Hi, I noticed the original text swapped ‘she’ for ‘he’ lately. It’s likely a minor continuity error on the author’s part, but I’ll keep an eye on it to see if it sticks!