Lu Xiaoxiao had fallen asleep in Lin Cheng’s arms.
Lin Cheng lay on the bed, idly scrolling through his phone out of boredom.
It felt so strange—these past few days had been like punching a clock at a nine-to-five job. He pulled out his phone and checked; Xu Wanyue still hadn’t messaged him. Their chat history was frozen four days back.
Sure enough, was it that she’d never contact him unless he reached out first?
Fine, if she wasn’t going to message, then they could go a lifetime without talking!
Lin Cheng casually tapped into Xu Wanyue’s Moments, but the next second, he froze.
Her feed had suddenly filled with a bunch of new photos: over-the-knee white silk stockings that morning, black lace calf socks that evening, mid-calf white silk socks yesterday, over-the-knee black stockings with high heels the day before, and even a photo of her in a slinky strapless gown in front of the mirror. The gown’s high slit revealed so much—even from a slight side angle, he could see the pale skin right up to her thigh root, and it looked like she was going commando under the hem.
How could she post something like that!
Lin Cheng found their chat and fired off a cat-paw fist sticker. “How can you post photos like that on your Moments?!”
Xu Wanyue replied with a confused cat sticker. “Why can’t I?”
“Only I get to see them! No one else!”
“Hey, you’re being awfully nosy.”
“I’m mad!!!”
“You’re so petty.”
“Yeah, I’m petty, and I’m really mad right now. I’m deleting you.”
“Oh, go ahead.”
Lin Cheng’s finger hovered over the delete button for a good long while. Then something clicked in his head. In the next instant, he grabbed Lu Xiaoxiao’s phone, patted her cheek, and she groggily opened her eyes and unlocked it for him. Using her phone, he checked Xu Wanyue’s Moments—but none of those photos showed up.
Lin Cheng blinked in surprise. He messaged Litchi from his own phone, asking if she’d seen anything on Xu Wanyue’s feed, but Litchi only saw blank space. She even asked what he’d been up to at Lu Xiaoxiao’s place these past few days. Lin Cheng didn’t reply and set it aside.
He opened his chat with Xu Wanyue again, pulled up her Moments to confirm he wasn’t seeing things. Sure enough, only he could see those photos. But moments later… he noticed they vanished one by one with every [Refresh]. Xu Wanyue was slowly deleting them.
“I was wrong.”
Lin Cheng typed it out in a hurry.
“Aren’t you deleting me?” Xu Wanyue shot back just as fast.
“I… I was just joking.”
“Now I’m deleting you.”
“No, don’t! I was wrong!”
Lin Cheng hit the voice call button, but she hung up right away. He called again, and this time it rang for five or six seconds before connecting. He heard Xu Wanyue’s voice. “Why are you calling?”
Her voice was hoarse. She was trying hard to hide it, but Lin Cheng caught the faint quiver of tears.
“Just wanted to hear your voice… Why aren’t you asleep yet?”
“About to. Good night.”
“Wait, don’t hang up… I was wrong, okay? I’ve been a little busy these past few days, that’s all…”
“I’m not mad that you didn’t message me. You don’t need to explain.”
“I… I was just kidding earlier. How could I ever delete you?”
“Oh. Not funny.”
“I was wrong.”
“Not forgiving you this time.”
“I’ll bring you flowers next time we meet.”
A long pause, then Xu Wanyue softly said, “I want white-blue gradient roses.”
“Got it!”
“I’ve really been busy these past couple days—no time to even check my phone,” Lin Cheng said gently. Xu Wanyue murmured, “Busy with what?”
“Giving Xiaoxiao special training. I promised to help her hit S-Rank last time.”
“No wonder you weren’t home…” Xu Wanyue muttered under her breath.
Lin Cheng paused. “You came by my place looking for me?”
“Wanted to see Black Cat. You weren’t home.”
“Then why didn’t you message me?”
“Didn’t want to bother you if you were busy. If you weren’t… you’d message after seeing the photos.” Xu Wanyue’s voice was small.
“In a few days, I’ll be free. I’ll come find you—we can go shopping at the mall?”
“Why the mall?”
“So I can buy you pretty dresses and bags.”
“Do you have the money?”
“…I’ll figure something out.”
“Forget it. Let’s hit the night market instead. My treat.”
“Sure, sure!”
Lin Cheng chatted softly with Xu Wanyue, barely registering what they were even talking about—just aimless, meandering conversation. When he glanced at the call timer by chance, two hours had flown by.
Only then did he notice the sleepiness creeping into her voice. “Alright, alright—it’s super late. Go to sleep.”
“Mm. Good night.”
“Good night.”
Lin Cheng hung up and was about to burrow back under the covers when he turned his head and froze. In the darkness, Lu Xiaoxiao’s eyes were fixed on him, unblinking.
“When did you wake up?” Lin Cheng jumped.
He remembered she’d fallen back asleep after he’d woken her to unlock her phone.
“Right when you started calling Xu Wanyue.”
“So you eavesdropped for two whole hours?”
“Your voice was too loud. Couldn’t sleep.” Lu Xiaoxiao said flatly.
“Oh. Then go back to sleep.” Lin Cheng slipped under the covers, but Lu Xiaoxiao stayed sitting up, lost in thought. He looked up at her. “Why aren’t you sleeping?”
“Don’t want to.”
“Then… wanna do something?”
“Don’t want to.”
“Then just sleep. Close your eyes and you’ll be out in no time.” Lin Cheng’s voice carried a guilty edge. Lu Xiaoxiao slowly lowered her head. In the dark, he could barely make out her eyes, which seemed to shimmer faintly.
She stared at him. “I want to train.”
“Why?”
“Kill you in ten moves or less.”
“…” Lin Cheng was speechless. Black-red blood threads coiled around them once more, shifting the scene to a rainy lakeside. Lu Xiaoxiao selected the White Silk Cat Girl—cat ears sprouting from her head, a pair of silver cat tails swishing behind her. She gritted her teeth and smashed a fist toward Lin Cheng’s cheek.
The 872nd revival.
“You were distracted,” Lu Xiaoxiao said, stepping on Lin Cheng’s corpse as she gazed down at him.
Lin Cheng respawned from the void moments later. He had to admit it. “A little… But reaching this level means a standard 500-energy S-Rank wouldn’t stand a chance against you now.”
“Keep going.”
“Nah, next isn’t just hand-to-hand. Tomorrow I’ll teach you something new.”
“I want to learn now.”
“Bedtime.”
“Can’t sleep.”
“Why not?”
“Thinking about… you two… on the phone. Can’t sleep.”
“I was just talking to her on the phone. But I’m right here sleeping with you.”
“The way you talk to me… isn’t the same as how you talk to her.”
Lu Xiaoxiao could keenly sense the softness and laziness in Lin Cheng’s tone during his call with Xu Wanyue—emotions that only flickered occasionally when he was with her.
“Everyone talks to their friends differently, come on. She and I are totally innocent.”
“Don’t want to hear it. Continue. Train.”
Lin Cheng snapped his fingers, pulling them out of the illusion. He gently wrapped an arm around Lu Xiaoxiao’s waist, his voice much softer. “Come on, be good and go to sleep.”
He leaned in and planted a light kiss on her forehead.
Lu Xiaoxiao turned slowly to face him. “I take back what I said before. You really are a jerk.”
“If you say so.”
Lin Cheng didn’t argue with Lu Xiaoxiao while she was feeling wronged—it was pointless.
She turned her back to him, no longer facing him in their embrace. Lin Cheng felt helpless and reached out to gently hug her waist. After a while, he sensed her shoulders trembling faintly.
“Hey… it was just a phone call. That bad?”
“Sleep your sleep. Mind your own business.”
Lin Cheng’s head started to throb.
“No training tomorrow. Wanna go to the aquarium?”
“No.”
“Don’t be mad…”
“I’m not mad.” Lu Xiaoxiao’s tone was earnest. “Just… feeling a bit hurt. I don’t blame you at all.”
“Then can you stop crying?”
“It hurts, so I want to cry. Don’t worry about me—just sleep.”
“How can I sleep with you crying like this?”
“I’m not making a sound.”
“Please stop crying?”
That plea flipped a switch. Tears poured from Lu Xiaoxiao’s eyes.
“Why do I even like you?” she murmured to herself, her voice choked with sobs. Lin Cheng sighed helplessly, sat up, scooped her into his arms, and tapped her nose. “No crying.”
Lu Xiaoxiao wiped her tears. “Gonna cry.”
Lin Cheng realized he was truly powerless. He held her close, patting her back gently. “There, there—what’s there to feel wronged about? I’m a jerk. Not worth getting upset over a jerk.”
Her sobs came in fits and starts, gradually soaking his shoulder. Finally, she quieted, wriggled free from his arms, and said, “Time to sleep.”
“Feeling better?”
“Cried it out. Much better. Thanks.”
Lin Cheng didn’t know what to say, hesitating before asking, “Want me to hold you while you sleep?”
Her back was to him. After a long moment, she reached back, slowly lifting the hem of her skirt a bit. She glanced over her shoulder, lips moving to whisper two words.
Lin Cheng’s eyes went wide.
…How was he not keeping up with Lu Xiaoxiao’s train of thought anymore?
…Must be Xu Wanyue dumbing him down.
“Go to sleep,” Lu Xiaoxiao mumbled drowsily.
“Come on, you think I can sleep like this?”
“Don’t care… I’m sleeping…” Her voice faded to a whisper. Lin Cheng waited a while, about to drift off himself, when Lu Xiaoxiao muttered softly, “Sleeping. No moving.”
“…How am I supposed to sleep then?”
“That’s your problem.”
“You’re not even asleep, are you?”
“I… definitely will.”
“Nope, no sleeping for you now.”
Lin Cheng swatted her butt in exasperation.
