Lin Cheng leaned back against the bed, pulling open the curtains. Outside the window, the sun was slowly sinking, and the bright world was gradually dimming.
He had just woken from his afternoon nap.
Lin Cheng spent a lot of his day sleeping. His naps in the afternoon often lasted two or three hours, but when he woke up, the world felt utterly lonely, with the sun nearly set. More often than not, he could only stare blankly at the sunset, waiting for his mind to clear.
But now, he could call Xu Wanyue.
They had been chatting for half an hour already, talking about all sorts of trivial things. Yet Lin Cheng sensed a slight tremble in Xu Wanyue’s voice. He couldn’t help but ask warily, “Are you secretly doing naughty stuff again?”
“No, I’m not.”
“Video call! I demand a video call!”
“No way.” Xu Wanyue refused so decisively. But after a long moment, Lin Cheng saw her send him another photo. This time, it showed her long, beautiful legs without the white silk stockings, though a leg ring now adorned her right thigh. He heard her ask, “Does this look good?”
“It looks great. I want to lick it.”
“I meant the leg ring… Pervert.”
“It looks pretty good.”
A few minutes later, Xu Wanyue suddenly turned on her camera. Her face looked normal, just faintly flushed with a touch of pink, and her eyes were as gentle as ever. “There, video’s on.”
Lin Cheng blinked in surprise, then switched on his own camera. He scratched his head. “I’ve never really video-chatted with anyone before. Feels kinda weird.”
“Yeah, it does a little.” Xu Wanyue nodded lightly. Her finger tapped the screen, switching to the rear camera. Lin Cheng’s view filled with her long, snowy legs beneath her skirt hem, now pressed slightly together. Her thighs looked soft and bouncy.
“No way, turn off the camera.” Lin Cheng suddenly declared righteously.
“Huh? Why?”
“Because now I really want to rush over to your place and crash with you.”
“Eek… No, I won’t open the door.” Xu Wanyue turned off the camera. Lin Cheng lay back on the bed, setting his phone aside as he continued chatting idly with her. He didn’t even realize it himself, but before he knew it, they had talked until nine-thirty at night.
Three and a half hours on the phone. Damn, he hadn’t found it boring at all.
In the past, he was the type who thought even one minute on the phone was too much!
No, he couldn’t let himself sink like this. If they kept talking, it would become a habit. And once he got used to it, losing it would leave him feeling empty. It’s easy to get used to the good life, but hard to go back to scrimping. Lin Cheng, watch out for women! Keep this up, and one day she’ll have you turned into her little plaything.
“I’m going to sleep. You should too,” Lin Cheng said softly into the phone.
“Mm-hmm, me too.”
But the call didn’t end. After thirty seconds, Lin Cheng asked, “Why haven’t you hung up?”
“I’m waiting for you to hang up.”
“No way, you first.”
“Don’t wanna. You hang up.”
“Oh… then let me see your collarbone one more time.”
Lin Cheng hung up. A dozen seconds later, Xu Wanyue sent a photo of her upper body. It showed her delicate, exquisite collarbone, with the neckline of her nightgown revealing a patch of soft, pale flesh—like fluffy cotton candy. He wanted to take a bite.
Along with it came her voice message.
“Goodnight.”
Insomnia hit again.
So restless.
Feeling so down.
He really wanted to hold Xu Wanyue and sleep the big sleep.
He wanted it so bad, so bad, so bad.
“Aaaah!”
Lin Cheng sat up in bed. He had been hugging the Black Cat in his arms for a while now. No, tomorrow he’d swap it out for the 2D waifu body pillow!
Lin Cheng rubbed his face and sighed helplessly.
That’s how people were. Once they had something and lost it, they became anxious and clingy. When Jiang Lingxue had just left, he had been the same—losing sleep night after night like a total wimp. It had taken a week or two to get better. These past few days, he had the fragrant, soft Xu Wanyue to hold every night. But now she was gone… and he felt so empty.
Should he call Jiang Lingxue?
The thought popped into his head, and Lin Cheng immediately slapped himself.
No way. She’d see him as some abandoned, rain-soaked little dog. She’d be especially annoyed deep down, since he’d only be calling her because he felt lonely and was thinking of Xu Wanyue… Jiang Lingxue might have been hot-tempered and unreasonable before, but she was never a fool. She’d notice.
Besides, if he got used to Jiang Lingxue again, what about Xu Wanyue? Lin Cheng suddenly felt a headache coming on. Tomorrow, he had to go to his high school reunion… He hadn’t really planned to, but the girl he’d had a crush on in high school was going too. He didn’t want anything from her—just to reminisce about high school. Seeing her might be kinda fun.
Lin Cheng pulled out his phone and started scrolling through borderline thirst-trap influencers, checking out their legs and feet. Before long, drowsiness hit, and at twelve-thirty, he got a message from someone he hadn’t talked to in days.
It was Lu Xiaoxiao.
Huh, Lu Xiaoxiao… who was that again?
Oh, right… the woman who wouldn’t even give him a hug last time.
Lin Cheng recalled their last meeting. It was the day he took her to the boxing match. Then Jiang Lingxue showed up, mocked all three of them successfully, and left… He had asked Lu Xiaoxiao for a hug and got rejected. He still remembered what she had said.
“But you’re clearly sad over another woman, and now you’re seeking a hug from yet another. Isn’t that a bit much?”
She was completely right. It made him sound like a total jerk. But who didn’t want to be someone’s favorite? Xu Wanyue would hug him, heh heh heh. Xu Wanyue, his big sis Xu Wanyue, heh heh heh.
Compared to that, the woman who wouldn’t even give a hug was just… no hugs!
But she was right. She was normal; he wasn’t.
Lin Cheng sighed again and looked at Lu Xiaoxiao’s message. “Asleep?”
“Nope. What’s up?”
“Wanna grab drinks… You in?”
“I’ll come if there’s white silk leg socks to see.”
Three minutes later, Lu Xiaoxiao sent him a photo of herself wearing white silk leg socks.
“Address. Leaving in five.”
Lin Cheng got out of bed.
Just a couple drinks. Too many and he’d pass out… Before heading out, he swore to himself: if anything happened with Lu Xiaoxiao tonight, he’d walk out tomorrow and get hit by a car.
“Heading out, Black Cat.”
Before leaving, Lin Cheng patted the head of the little black cat at home.
Half an hour later, Lin Cheng met Lu Xiaoxiao at a craft beer pub.
He had come to this craft beer pub with her once before. It had a courtyard like a little garden, with dim lighting. Lu Xiaoxiao sat in the corner, next to a cluster of purple morning glories.
She wore a white blouse, a black pleated skirt, black lace-trimmed silk leg socks, and little black leather shoes. Her long black hair cascaded down. Yeah, she looked like an eighteen- or nineteen-year-old high schooler. He’d been fooled by that JK uniform vibe when they first met.
“Where’s the white silk you promised?” Lin Cheng sat across from her, eyes wide. “You tricked me?”
“Do you really care that much about it?” Lu Xiaoxiao looked up.
Lin Cheng’s gaze involuntarily drifted to the full swell of her chest beneath the blouse. He sighed helplessly and poured beer into his glass. “Guess the lace-trimmed leg socks aren’t bad either.”
“By my count… your romance contract with Xu Wanyue is over?”
“Yeah, just got dumped.” Lin Cheng took a big swig of beer, his face full of dejection.
“You look like such a loser dog.”
“Damn it, you drag me out drinking at twelve-thirty in the morning just to mock me?”
“She’s my best friend, and you blackmailed her into dating you with evolution blood. Can’t I mock you?”
“…It was mutual. You make it sound like I forced her. Evolution blood is expensive, okay?”
“Aren’t you Si Ming? If you’re Si Ming, isn’t evolution blood just a couple drops of your blood?” Lu Xiaoxiao sneered.
“…” Lin Cheng was speechless.
…She was mocking him, but hilariously, she had actually guessed right.
Evolution blood had never been anything valuable to him.
“So why the sudden late-night drinks?” Lin Cheng glanced at Lu Xiaoxiao’s lips. They were pink and tender, almost glistening. Huh? She was wearing light makeup.
“Can’t sleep. Got a mission the day after tomorrow that requires heading out for a while. Figured since you just got dumped, you might be up too. So, drinks.”
Lin Cheng took another critical hit from her words.
“Has Xu Wanyue chatted with you… mentioned anything about me?” Lin Cheng asked tentatively.
“She told me you two broke up.”
“Anything else?” Lin Cheng asked, full of hope.
“Nope.” Lu Xiaoxiao took a deep breath.
Lin Cheng’s eager eyes in hers had stabbed her too.
“Oh, okay… What’s the mission? Why the sudden trip?”
“From the energy crystal core of the priest we captured last time, the Alliance’s specialists extracted some memories. There’s something off about a remote little village—maybe some evil ritual or a secret experiment by anti-social crazies… I’m going to check it out.”
“By yourself?”
“It’s a task from my mom.” Lu Xiaoxiao hesitated. “She… subtly suggested I could bring you along.”
“Dragging me in as free labor again.” Lin Cheng said wistfully.
“No.” Lu Xiaoxiao said seriously. “I planned to go alone.”
“You don’t get it. If she hinted at it, the mission’s dangerous. You need a bodyguard to watch your back.”
“So you really do know my mom already. What exactly are you two hiding from me?”
“Nah, I just did some free labor for her before. No pay or anything.” Lin Cheng shrugged. Yeah, that was about it—Si Ming had been the Alliance’s unpaid grunt.
“If it’s dangerous… I’ll check with Mom again and call in the squad.”
“No need. I’ll go with you.”
“You do your own thing… No need to trouble yourself.” Lu Xiaoxiao’s expression turned stubbornly resolute.
Lin Cheng reached out and lightly poked the tip of her nose. “Nope. I said last time I’d help you. So, I’ll go with you. We leave the morning after tomorrow. I’ve got something tomorrow.”
“No…”
“Shh.” Lin Cheng pressed a finger to her lips, cutting off her stubbornness. “Perfect timing. I was planning to skip town for a bit anyway…”
“Skip town?”
“Yeah. Just now, I was tossing and turning in bed, thinking maybe I’d go cling to Xu Wanyue’s thigh, bawling for her to take me back. Way too spineless. Better to get away for a few days and cool off.”
Lu Xiaoxiao’s expression grew complicated. “You really… like her.”
“Who wouldn’t like a gentle, airheaded big sis?”
Lin Cheng picked up the beer on the table and poured it into both their glasses. “So tonight, keep me company and have a few more. Comfort this freshly heartbroken little dog.”
