Chapter 162
by Need_More_SleepChapter 162: “o-0?”
“Xiaoliu, open the door!” Yiwen banged on Mi Xiaoliu’s door.
“Xiaoliu isn’t here,” came the voice from inside.
“Open up, I brought baozi!” Yiwen deployed temptation tactics. “Little Liu, be good, open the door~”
The door cracked open slightly, revealing a cat on Mi Xiaoliu’s head peeking out to inspect Yiwen’s empty hands.
“Xiaoliu isn’t home.” Mi Xiaoliu began retreating to shut the door again.
Yiwen promptly kidnapped Circle (Quanquan) from atop Mi Xiaoliu’s head, successfully thwarting the door closure.
This kitten was skin and bones when we found it—how’d it get so heavy in two months? And Mi Xiaoliu carries it daily despite his (her) terrible stamina!
Pushing inside, Yiwen scanned the living room for traces of another woman—or women’s clothing.
Spotlessly empty. No leads.
“What’s wrong? Weren’t we going to see Beibei together?”
Has she upset Mi Xiaoliu? Unlikely—she’d only ignored her briefly. Someone as even-tempered as Mi Xiaoliu wouldn’t get mad over that… right?
Mi Xiaoliu remained silent, walking to the table to cover something with both hands.
Yiwen might’ve missed it entirely if not for this blatant “Nothing to see here!” maneuver.
“Let me see.” Yiwen pulled Mi Xiaoliu aside, revealing the hidden object.
Frankly, Yiwen didn’t recognize it at first. After staring blankly, she identified it as a handmade gift box.
Constructed from a shoebox—four rectangles and two squares crudely cut out and taped into a palm-sized cuboid, then garishly colored with markers Heli bought.
Even the decorative ribbon was drawn on, and poorly at that.
The craftsmanship was clumsy—the rectangles resembled trapezoids, making the final product hilariously lopsided.
“Making a gift box?” Yiwen blinked.
For Lu Mingxue perhaps?
Yiwen grew wary.
He (She) didn’t give me anything for my birthday.
“Yiwen’s birthday present,” Mi Xiaoliu admitted truthfully.
Among Barrett’s tirades, she’d only grasped the criticism about not gifting Yiwen.
Yiwen froze, then chuckled helplessly. “I told you not to bother. My birthday just passed—next one’s ages away.”
Mi Xiaoliu shook her head. “Get scolded if I don’t give you.”
“Who scolded you?” Yiwen’s brow furrowed.
“Barrett.”
Yiwen could imagine Barrett’s exact words. This time, she was genuinely angry.
“So… what’s inside?” Yiwen leaned in curiously. “Don’t say stinky socks again, or even you will face my wrath.”
“Not telling.” Mi Xiaoliu turned away, deliberately placing a necklace worth maybe three mira inside—mimicking Raven’s past gift.
Yiwen nearly laughed aloud.
He’s—no, he’s too adorable.
Wait, no, I’m cuter.
Once Mi Xiaoliu finished packing, Yiwen extended her hand: “All wrapped? Time to hand it over then.”
Mi Xiaoliu hugged the hideous gift box and took a step back. “Only for birthdays.”
“But this counts for next year’s gift! Doesn’t that still mean you didn’t give me anything last time?” Yiwen blinked at her.
Mi Xiaoliu lowered her head.
“Then you owe me two gifts next birthday,” Yiwen declared shamelessly. “And you’d better remember the date—get it wrong, and I’ll be very angry.”
“By then, you’ll just receive two identical necklaces,” Sasha grumbled internally.
……
Barrett, who had been watching TV at home with her brother Gatling, suddenly received a call from Yiwen—and her tone was not friendly.
“He snitched on me?” Barrett immediately guessed what happened, her disdain for Mi Xiaoliu deepening.
Such a petty crybaby. Can’t even handle a little criticism without running to Yiwen. Pathetic.
“Listen, sis, I’m not trying to—okay, fine, he’s young. But in a relationship, if the guy just hides behind the girl, what’s the point? What good is he?” Barrett stepped onto the balcony to keep her brother from overhearing.
“I really don’t get what you see in him. Name one attractive thing about him. His kindness? Ugh. I’m just looking out for you. At least find someone who can beat you in a fight.”
(In their police unit, almost no one could.)
“Enough.”
That single word carried the energy of a full 😅 emoji.
Barrett knew Yiwen was properly pissed now.
She rolled her eyes. Yiwen had clearly become a full love-struck idiot. Never discuss your friend’s relationship—they’ll just bite your head off.
“You’ve never even tried to understand him properly, yet you slap labels on him from the sidelines. And hey—weren’t you the one always dragging me into romance talks? So why aren’t you dating anyone?”
“Haven’t found the right person!” Barrett relaxed slightly—Yiwen wasn’t cutting her off completely.
She did value Yiwen’s friendship. Hence the brutal honesty about Mi Xiaoliu.
“No, it’s because you think no one’s good enough. ‘That otaku’s so cringe,’ ‘That player’s disgusting,’ ‘What a closet pervert,’ ‘Ugly as sin.’ You’ve trash-talked every guy in our class—hell, the entire grade. Why only focus on flaws? Ever checked your own reputation? Hear what the guys say about you?”
“What?” Barrett’s face twitched.
Since when did she become the lecture target? Who hasn’t judged people? And… okay, fine, now I’m curious what the guys say.
Since when did Yiwen get so preachy? She’d never brought this up before.
“Fix that nasty attitude.” Yiwen paused. “I’m just looking out for you.”
She hung up before Barrett could retort.
That said, Barrett had nailed one thing—Mi Xiaoliu was too passive for a guy. Well… he’s only 13. Can’t expect much. Not every middle-schooler’s as unhinged as that brat who dropped a construction site on people.
Hence the summer trip—to broaden his horizons.
Putting Barrett in her place didn’t feel satisfying. They were friends, not enemies. But some things needed harsh truths.
……
At the hospital, Yiwen and Mi Xiaoliu finally visited Beibei.
Her vision restored, she now occupied a three-bed ward, blankly staring at the cityscape outside—likely her last view for the rest of her life.
The Black Element ward exclusively housed criminals who’d used ability-enhancing drugs.
Most of their conversations revolved around what drugs they’d taken and whether they were from the Tian Xing Dao group. Whether they actually remembered or not didn’t matter—the police loved hearing them talk about it.
When the other two patients saw visitors for Beibei, they cast envious glances her way.
Only Beibei herself stared blankly at the two strangers, seemingly unable to recognize them.
Without the blindfold, Beibei’s full face was visible—nothing particularly striking.
The world doesn’t grant everyone good looks, nor does it reserve handsome faces only for important people while relegating extras to plainness.
But she wasn’t ugly either. Her pale complexion, untouched by sunlight for so long, was almost the same shade as Mi Xiaoliu’s. Combined with her quiet demeanor as a bonus, she was still the type boys might sneak glances at.
After a brief look at the two unfamiliar boys, Beibei went back to playing her computer game. On the Minecraft server, while Lu Mingxue was away, she was busy replacing every block of Lu Mingxue’s house with TNT—revenge for Lu Mingxue demolishing her own build.
“Do you recognize me?” Yiwen greeted her with a smile.
Beibei blinked in confusion. “Yiwen?”
She’d always assumed Yiwen was a pretty-boy type, given how Yiwen deliberately pitched her voice lower to sound like a young male protagonist.
“Mmm.” Yiwen leaned in and whispered in her natural voice: “Actually, I’m a girl.”
Beibei: “??”
Extreme shock.
“This is Mi Xiaoliu.” Yiwen looped an arm around Mi Xiaoliu’s neck.
Beibei: “o-0?”
Maximum shock.
My princess… Big sister?
Beibei felt her dreams shatter. Where was her cool, aloof white-haired beauty? How could a boy be called Princess?!
Oh, right—the princess was cross-dressing as a guy. She understood now. The legendary thick-framed glasses that magically made you plain.
Beibei leaned in, trying to see Mi Xiaoliu’s full face behind the glasses.
Kinda cute? Not sure, I need a better look.
Yiwen was baffled. She’d expected Beibei to short-circuit upon learning she was actually a girl—she’d been looking forward to that reaction all day—but instead, Beibei couldn’t stop staring at Mi Xiaoliu?
Don’t tell me she got hooked just hearing Mi Xiaoliu’s voice? No way, not with those glasses and that haircut making him so unnoticeable.
Yiwen subtly shifted to block Beibei’s intense gaze.
Beibei’s eyes lit up, darting excitedly between the two of them.
This is getting spicy.
[Translator’s Note: See the index page for this Novel if you want to see the Amazon Link for the eBooks.]
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