Chapter 166
by Need_More_SleepChapter 166: Junior High Classmate
Early in the morning, Yiwen pushed open the door to Mi Xiaoliu’s room with a loud smack.
“Xiaoliu, wake up!”
Mi Xiaoliu had an interesting habit—most of the time, he didn’t lock her door at night, but occasionally, he would. So what was he doing on those locked-door nights? A boy his age… truly a mystery.
She found Mi Xiaoliu already awake, sitting seiza-style on the bed, idly stroking a panda-shaped hand warmer.
Knowing she missed Circle, Raven had deliberately given this to her as a substitute for cuddling the cat.
She’d even asked Toby to deliver it to earn some goodwill, but the idiot just tossed it at Mi Xiaoliu with a “Mom told me to give you this” before walking away without a second glance.
Yiwen was deeply disappointed she hadn’t caught Mi Xiaoliu in an embarrassing morning moment—she’d even prepped her phone camera.
A glance at the trash can revealed nothing. Empty.
Back then, Barrett had told Yiwen that when she used to wake her brother up in the morning, she’d sometimes catch him yanking his hand out of his clothes with a sudden snap of elastic.
…Speaking of which, Mi Xiaoliu’s sitting posture was so girly. Apparently, only a small percentage of boys could even manage the seiza position. A rare specimen indeed.
Seeing Yiwen enter, Mi Xiaoliu immediately slid off the bed—barefoot—and darted into the wardrobe right in front of her.
Yiwen hurriedly knocked on the wardrobe door. “Come out and eat! Don’t take what I said yesterday seriously!”
The wardrobe cracked open slightly, revealing half of Mi Xiaoliu’s face peeking out at her.
That tiny gesture made Yiwen want to devour her.
Yiwen was the type to let things go easily—after a night’s sleep, she’d mostly forgotten yesterday’s unpleasantness.
Right now, she was wearing a simple white summer dress, its thin straps resting on her delicate collarbones, the hem trimmed with matching lace.
Her slender yet softly rounded legs were bare, no socks in sight, and her feet were tucked into thick-soled sandals, her pink toes curling slightly from nerves.
Her long silver-white hair cascaded over her shoulders—a wig prepared by Raven.
Compared to the girl in the music video, she just looked a little more mature now.
“Do I look good?” Yiwen tilted sideways playfully, letting her hair sway, and blinked.
A natural flirt.
“Short.” Mi Xiaoliu stared at Yiwen’s skirt, which barely grazed her thighs.
It didn’t even reach her knees.
Heli had said that if she ever wanted to wear a skirt, the shortest it should go was the knees.
“It’s not short—I just have long legs,” Yiwen argued.
Mi Xiaoliu didn’t believe her.
She pinched the edge of Yiwen’s skirt and lifted it.
Definitely the skirt’s fault.
Yiwen retaliated with Ultimate Nyaa Punch.
Mi Xiaoliu retreated back into the wardrobe.
Yiwen “hmph!”-ed.
Such a pervert, and yet so roundabout about it.
The wig wasn’t because she wanted to return to her old life as Jingyin. It was just that when she tried to take out the trash this morning, she’d noticed people sneaking glances—some even taking photos with their phones.
This place really couldn’t be home anymore. Even after “clearing her name,” the exposed address would keep causing trouble.
The long hair was so that if she was photographed, no one would connect Yiwen to Jingyin.
With the secret room useless, the only reason to stay in this city now was to hang out with Mi Xiaoliu.
But why was Mi Xiaoliu only doing homework? Finishing all her summer assignments right after break started—what a disciplined little brat.
“The Hardships of the Old Era? Isn’t this way too advanced for elementary school?” Raven sat beside Mi Xiaoliu, staring in disbelief at the essay topic Heli had assigned.
How would modern kids know how people lived back then? The old era didn’t even have Ability Users.
It reminded her of those exam essays where you read the prompt and just had to force something onto the page.
Clearly, Mi Xiaoliu felt the same.
“In the old era, people didn’t have electric lights. At night, they had to hold candles to watch TV…?” Raven read Mi Xiaoliu’s essay word by word, barely holding back laughter.
“Xiaoliu, try closing the curtains right now and turning on the TV…”
A loud knock at the newly repaired steel gate in the yard made her frown.
The doorbell had long been broken, so visitors had no choice but to knock.
Yiwen, who had initially been curious about Mi Xiaoliu’s essay and wanted to take a look, immediately turned and went upstairs instead.
Whoever was visiting, she had no interest in seeing them.
“Probably the police reporting an arrest. Sunshine City’s officers are way more efficient than Fanzui City’s.”
Raven set Mi Xiaoliu’s notebook back down and peeked through the door, her brow furrowing slightly.
A boy she didn’t recognize—but also one of the rare few who approached without holding up a camera. Judging by his age, he was likely one of Yiwen’s former classmates.
She opened the door.
“Uh… does Jingyin still live here?” His eyes darted past Raven, his tone lacking confidence.
blond-colored hair, over 175 cm tall, faint freckles dusting his cheeks.
Afraid of being dismissed as a suspicious stranger, he quickly added, “I’m her former classmate.”
For him to show up right after her return… What a coincidence.
Some busybody must’ve filmed and posted online about someone living in Jingyin’s house again. No wonder even those ultra-rich streamers chose to rent elsewhere.
A boy visiting a female classmate alone? Hard not to suspect past romantic ties. But Raven was certain Yiwen hadn’t dated anyone in junior high.
“Xiaoliu, go check if Yi—Jingyin is awake.” Raven beckoned to Mi Xiaoliu, then told the boy, “She stayed up late gaming last night.”
This way, even if Yiwen refused to see him, they could politely claim she was still asleep.
Mi Xiaoliu looked puzzled but obeyed.
A moment later, Yiwen came downstairs—now changed out of her loungewear into conservative athletic attire: a T-shirt and full-length pants.
“There’s tea and snacks on the table.” Raven retreated to her room, leaving the young ones to talk.
Yiwen took two or three seconds to recognize the visitor. A year apart was enough to completely transform someone, especially a boy in his teens.
He’d sat behind her in junior high, often chatting during class. But after the incident, she’d changed all her contact info, cutting ties completely.
The boy had grown taller and more handsome, though he seemed less confident now. His hairstyle was much better—back in junior high, he’d shaved the sides and left a ridiculous bowl cut on top, looking like a total punk.
A year had changed Yiwen too, except for one thing.
“Still just as beautiful as ever.”
—The boy’s inner monologue.
“Hey… uh, someone in the class group said you were back, so I came to see you.” His greeting was awkward, his limbs seemingly unsure where to place themselves.
In the span of that one sentence, his hands went from fidgeting with his clothes to stuffed in pockets, then interlaced nervously.
They’d all agreed to come together, but at the last moment, everyone else bailed. Visiting a girl’s house alone was awkward enough—let alone one he hadn’t seen in a year.
He wondered if the others had conspired to ditch him on purpose. Back in junior high, plenty knew… he had a crush on Jingyin.
He’d just never dared confess. A girl this pretty surely had countless admirers—from neighboring classes to younger grades.
Rumors even said some girls had written her love letters, though who knew if that was true.
He’d thought graduation would finally give him the courage to speak his feelings… but they never even got to graduate together.
“Come in.” Yiwen’s tone was lukewarm. “Wait here, I’ll clean up first.”
She went upstairs, shoved Mi Xiaoliu who’d been loitering on the steps into a room, and began rehearsing cover stories—like temporarily switching to calling herself Jingyin in front of him…
The blond boy stared blankly at the staircase.
He’d met Toby before—Jingyin used to pick her little brother up from elementary school on her way home. The bespectacled boy on the stairs definitely wasn’t him, and Yiwen had never mentioned another brother.
Speak of the devil—Toby emerged from his room to use the bathroom, giving the visitor a puzzled look.
At least boy-to-boy interactions were less awkward.
He pulled Toby aside and cut straight to the point: “Who’s that guy with glasses earlier?”
Toby rolled his eyes and snapped, “That’s my brother-in-law.”
Then coldly shook him off and headed to the toilet.
Might as well be. Yiwen took his side, Mom took his side—hell, Mom even hinted Toby should look after him more. And now they had to bring him along for this trip. Infuriating. But with his tragic background, Toby couldn’t even vent properly.
Leaving the poor boy standing there, utterly stunned.
[Translator’s Note: See the index page for this Novel if you want to see the Amazon Link for the eBooks.]
0 Comments