Qiluo Yi munched on cookies, a bit of milk still at the corner of her lips, chewing absentmindedly while staring at the chat screen on her phone.
She had woken up at 5 a.m., too excited to sleep. She wanted to send Bai Shinan a good morning message, but felt it was too early, so she waited until 8.
But the moment she sent the message, she regretted it. Just like Bai Shinan had guessed, faced with no reply, she was stuck in a loop of wondering whether Bai Shinan hadn’t woken up yet, or had woken up but simply didn’t want to talk to her. Her attention was completely fixated on the chat interface.
After waiting for a while, her phone vibrated. Bai Shinan had replied. Excitement and anxiety surged together.
[Nanqiang]: Lao Luo, good morning.
[Nanqiang]: I heard my sister saying something about ‘two loops loose, three loops tight’ this morning. Do you know what that means?
Seeing that Bai Shinan’s message didn’t sound annoyed, Qiluo Yi let out a breath of relief. Then she focused on the question: ‘two loops loose, three loops tight.’
She thought for a moment and immediately understood. But… could it really be that simple?
[Qiluo Yi]: Of course I know~ It’s about how girls tie their hair. If you loop the hair tie twice, it’s too loose and falls off easily. Loop it three times, and it’s too tight and pulls painfully.
Bai Shinan’s pupils widened slightly. Lao Luo actually answered it correctly. Was that a coincidence, or confirmation? But it wasn’t over yet—Qiluo Yi sent another message.
[Qiluo Yi]: Now you believe I’m a girl, right? If you still don’t, ask anything related to girls. If I can’t answer even one, I’ll be your bro from now on.
[Qiluo Yi]: Oh, but don’t ask about makeup—I… I don’t really doll myself up.
Qiluo Yi lay on her pillow, her smooth, slender legs kicking randomly in the air, her bright eyes fixed on the chat screen, a smile forming at the corners of her lips. Heaven knows, this big dummy had finally started to catch on.
She touched her bare, makeup-free face and couldn’t help but wonder if she should start learning how to dress up. If… if Bai Shinan ever asked to meet in real life, this messy look of hers would surely scare him away.
“Brother, are you still going to ask? Maybe he just happened to know by chance…” Bai Yuejing asked nervously. Her plan to prove the other person was a guy had backfired.
“No need.” Bai Shinan shook his head. From the start, Lao Luo had always acted like a girl. It was just that her Long-Legged Loli Voice made him stubbornly believe she was using a voice changer.
But thinking about it carefully, voice changers weren’t just used by guys—girls could use them too.
[Nanqiang]: Alright, I’ll tentatively believe you’re a girl.
[Qiluo Yi]: What do you mean ‘tentatively’? I am a girl.
[Qiluo Yi]: Also, don’t you have anything else to say?
[Nanqiang]: What am I supposed to say—sorry I’ve been treating you like one of the bros all this time?
Qiluo Yi pouted, letting out a displeased hum through her delicate nose. This wasn’t how it went in light novels. Shouldn’t Bai Shinan be super emotional after discovering she was a girl? Why was he so calm?
[Qiluo Yi]: Aren’t you even curious what I look like?
The moment she sent it, Qiluo Yi regretted it. If Bai Shinan said he was curious, was she really going to send him a picture?
She touched her bangs, which hadn’t been trimmed in six months, and looked at the mirror in her room. A pale face was buried under a mess of dark hair. If she didn’t know that reflection was herself, she’d probably be scared into a heart attack.
[Nanqiang]: What’s there to be curious about? Do you have an extra eye or an extra mouth?
[Nanqiang]: The internet is a dangerous place. You should protect your privacy, especially since you’re a girl.
[Nanqiang]: Never send anyone your photo, and definitely never reveal your address, got it?
Qiluo Yi stared at the cold text in the chat, but it felt like she could see a nagging idiot fussing over her like a worried mother. That feeling of being cared for made her suddenly want to cry.
[Qiluo Yi]: Got it.
The chat with Lao Luo ended for now. Even after finding out Lao Luo was a girl, it didn’t change anything in Bai Shinan’s daily life. He had no thoughts of an online romance, so it really didn’t matter whether Lao Luo was a guy or a girl.
After exiting the chat app, Bai Shinan felt like he had forgotten something, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t recall what.
Forget it. If he couldn’t remember, it probably wasn’t important.
Mu Yuwei was sitting upright at her desk, pretending to do homework, but her mind was completely elsewhere. She kept glancing at her phone. Even though she’d set Bai Shinan as a priority contact, she was still worried she’d miss a message from him.
But no matter how many times she checked, the chat screen was filled with her one-sided messages.
[Muyu Weiqing]: Good morning, Shinan.
[Muyu Weiqing]: Have you eaten breakfast yet?
[Muyu Weiqing]: Are you still sleeping? You lazy pig, the sun’s already up.
[Muyu Weiqing]: Shinan, are you ignoring me?
It was already noon, and Bai Shinan still hadn’t replied. Even if Mu Yuwei were clueless, she now understood that it wasn’t that Bai Shinan hadn’t seen her messages—he just didn’t want to respond. Just like how he ignored her invitation yesterday.
Mu Yuwei sighed. What exactly did this guy want from her? She had already lowered her pride just to please him.
She exited the chat with Bai Shinan. There was no way she’d grovel for his attention. Her patience had limits. Until he replied, she wasn’t going to keep throwing herself at him.
That suppressed frustration lasted until evening. Mu Yuwei was on the verge of going crazy. She tried to distract herself with other things—
She worked on her language worksheet, but every word related to Bai Shinan made her think of his handsome face.
She played the piano, but her mind wandered to the memory of Bai Shinan singing, and she couldn’t help imagining a scene where he sang while she played accompaniment.
Even eating snacks reminded her of how Bai Shinan used to sneak snacks into her desk during class breaks—and how she stupidly gave them all to Liu Tiantian.
Mu Yuwei instinctively pulled out her phone. She wanted to hear Bai Shinan’s voice—even if it was cold.
Her finger hovered over the call button, hesitating. But her pride wouldn’t let her go through with it. Then again, she didn’t have to hear his voice. Just seeing something of his would be enough.
Mu Yuwei started rummaging through her room, looking for the gifts Bai Shinan had given her. From what she remembered, he had given her quite a few presents—on Valentine’s Day, Christmas, Qixi Festival, Girls’ Day…