After finishing the barbecue, the girl rubbed her small belly contentedly.
It had been a long time since she’d eaten so well!
Her resentment toward Qin Nanfeng had lessened quite a bit, so she no longer minded the young man’s intimate way of addressing her.
After all, what did Lin Xinyuan have to do with Lin Xinyuan?
She would never call that blond-haired guy that!
Qin Nanfeng watched the girl’s satisfied expression after the meal, even as she burped without any hesitation, and felt a strange sensation stirring within him.
“Are you full? Want me to take you back or go for a walk? It’s still early,” he said, glancing at the Silver Bracelet on his wrist as he asked the girl.
Snapping out of the post-meal bliss, Lin Xinyuan thought for a moment, then suddenly said:
“Hmm… how about going to the internet cafe?”
Lin Xinyuan really had no idea where else to go.
To him, nothing beat going online, especially now that he was hooked on Counter-Strike Fireline, the shooting game he had recently become obsessed with.
Qin Nanfeng twitched the corner of his mouth, suddenly realizing the girl really had a straightforward, boyish personality—even her hobbies were unusually niche for a girl.
But he thought it was fine.
If they weren’t this way, they wouldn’t have met, and he wouldn’t have discovered that a girl could actually be this interesting…
“Alright, let’s go,” Qin Nanfeng nodded, showing no objection to the girl’s suggestion.
“Yay! This time I’m definitely going to reach Master rank!” Lin Xinyuan said excitedly.
Despite how cheerful he sounded, he hadn’t forgotten his real goal.
Going to the internet cafe allowed him to continue executing his plan while playing games, and it was especially economical—a perfect three-in-one date spot.
The two of them went to the front desk to pay.
Seeing Qin Nanfeng foot the bill, Lin Xinyuan turned to leave the shop with him.
But just a few steps after stepping outside, the front desk clerk suddenly shouted:
“Thank you for coming! Wishing you a happy marriage and everlasting bliss!”
Hearing such an unexpected blessing, Lin Xinyuan’s face turned black, almost stumbling.
Seriously?
Could they not mention that?
Beside him, Qin Nanfeng smiled politely and turned back to reply with a simple, “Thank you.”
The girl shot a dissatisfied glance at Qin Nanfeng, who could only shrug helplessly, signaling it was just a formal reply.
At the same time, he suddenly took the girl’s small hand in his large one and pulled her outside.
“Hey…”
Lin Xinyuan furrowed his brow in frustration, wanting to protest but held back from causing a scene.
It was okay… there are gains and losses…
As long as nothing like what happened recently happened again, just holding hands—he could survive that!
Anyway, once the plan succeeded, he’d dump him hard and disappear completely!
Still, even with that in mind, he felt a bit guilty.
Even though he understood, deep down it felt ridiculous for two grown men to be holding hands on the street!
Lost in his thoughts, the two had already reached the bicycle parking area.
Lin Xinyuan stood by while Qin Nanfeng unlocked the bike and pushed it out.
Once seated on the back, he hesitated but finally tried to gently hold onto Qin Nanfeng’s strong waist.
Qin Nanfeng immediately noticed but didn’t turn to look or react, letting him hold on.
“Are you settled?” Qin Nanfeng asked in a low voice.
“Okay, let’s go!”
Listening to the soft, slightly fragrant voice, Qin Nanfeng caught the subtle scent of oranges that lingered gently—not overpowering.
“Then let’s go!”
With that, he pushed off, and the bicycle started moving slowly toward their destination.
At six in the afternoon, their first meeting ended under the afterglow of the setting sun.
An entire afternoon of gaming seemed to have brought them closer, with moments even turning slightly ambiguous…
This was exactly what Lin Xinyuan had deliberately orchestrated—this guy just loved getting physical…
What he didn’t know was that Qin Nanfeng was no different in that regard.
Though their reasons were different…
After leaving the internet cafe, Qin Nanfeng offered to take Lin Xinyuan back, and Lin Xinyuan didn’t refuse, as that would be too suspicious.
Riding Qin Nanfeng’s bike, it wasn’t long before they arrived at the main gate of Tianbei Art Academy.
Lin Xinyuan didn’t ask Qin Nanfeng to escort him inside.
No way—he wasn’t part of this school, and who knew where anything was?
Going in would only blow his cover!
Fortunately, Qin Nanfeng didn’t insist, just reminded Lin Xinyuan to stay safe, and without even asking permission, ruffled his hair before quickly pedaling away.
Watching that tall figure ride off so leisurely, Lin Xinyuan felt both annoyed and helpless.
After thinking it over, he figured he’d been taken advantage of enough today; a pat on the head wasn’t that big a deal after all…
With that thought, he considered the day truly full—goodness, how many more times were they going to meet like this…
No wonder he was the school’s infamous Sea King.
Though he didn’t believe that “Lin Xinyuan” was “Lin Xinyuan,” since “Lin Xinyuan” was his own persona, he still had to maintain the most important boundaries.
As long as the boundaries were kept, whatever little favors were taken had nothing to do with Lin Xinyuan!
Still, that kind of slightly gross thing was better avoided in the future if possible!
With a satisfied nod, Lin Xinyuan prepared to head back.
He had even asked Qin Nanfeng to drop him off at the gate closest to Tianbei University, which wasn’t far from his dorm.
Of course, to be safe, he planned to walk back slowly, though his delicate female body wasn’t made for speed anyway.
After a while, he finally reached the school.
It was only about six o’clock—not yet time for ID checks—so entering and leaving was still easy.
Without any problems, he slipped in, heading for the quieter spots, winding through until he arrived at where he’d hidden his clothes.
Finding the bag containing his clothes, the nearby teaching building was nearly deserted.
Lin Xinyuan went to a second-floor bathroom stall, removed the jade bracelet, transformed back, and changed into his original clothes.
Packing the female clothes and shoes separately into the bag, he returned to his hiding place and stowed them away, finally letting out a long breath.
Looking back at the hidden spot, Lin Xinyuan wasn’t worried about being discovered—after all, aside from the occasional pruning of the ornamental shrubs, no one would purposely come looking there.
The delicate-looking young man wiped some sweat from his forehead, took a moment to steady himself, and then headed back toward the dormitory.
When Lin Xinyuan returned, aside from the leader being absent, the others were sound asleep, presumably having stayed in all day playing games.
As for Qin Nanfeng, there was no sign of him. Lin Xinyuan assumed he’d gone to eat or was off causing some mischief elsewhere.
He didn’t mind—this was good, reducing the chances Qin Nanfeng would discover their overlapping identities.
From now on, he resolved to avoid any overlaps in timing that might reveal both personas appearing or disappearing simultaneously.
Though he believed no normal person would figure it out, he was just being overly cautious.
Still, Lin Xinyuan insisted on making everything as perfect as possible, leaving no trace that could raise suspicion; better to prepare more than less.
Perhaps the noon barbecue had been too filling—after all, even after a whole afternoon, he still felt slightly full, so he decided to order a late-night snack only if he got hungry later.
The first thing upon returning was to take a shower.
The weather was hot and sticky, and after the day’s activities, he felt uncomfortable.
As for his usual nightly run, Lin Xinyuan felt he’d done enough exercise for the day and decided to skip it.
After some fussing in the bathroom, he emerged fresh and clean, putting his clothes into a basin and turning on the tap to fill it.
While waiting for the water, he stood before the full-length mirror and, as usual, prepared to check for any changes today.
At just one glance, his eyes suddenly widened…