16 – Lin Yaojia, Aren’t You Ashamed?
The team voice chat was dead silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
998 bristled, flapping its wings as it jumped onto the bed.
Lin Yaojia’s hand, resting on the table, slowly clenched into a fist. Her skin was porcelain white, and the veins on the back of her hand stood out prominently from the force. Her chest heaved violently.
She bit her lower lip tightly.
It looked like she wanted to curse someone out.
But since it was Huo Songjin on the other end, she had no choice but to hold it in.
After a long pause, Lin Yaojia took a deep breath and said, “Bro, is there some misunderstanding here? I’m not a transvestite.”
“Are you male or female?” Huo Songjin asked.
Lin Yaojia fell silent for a second before answering without changing her expression, “Male.”
Huo Songjin continued bluntly, “Then what’s your sexual orientation…”
Lin Yaojia steeled herself. “Male.”
Better to be mistaken for gay than for a transvestite.
Huo Songjin: “”
“Here’s the thing,” Lin Yaojia pinched her thigh again, adding a hint of a sob to her voice. She had pinched her thigh so many times today that it was now bright red. “My crush loves gaming, but I’m just too terrible at it. So, I wanted to hire a coach to help me improve my skills. Even if we can’t be together in the end, well… at least we’d have something to talk about. As long as he remembers me, I’ll be content. I don’t ask for much…”
998 stared in disbelief as Lin Yaojia spun her web of lies with effortless fluency.
Throughout history, playing the emotional card has always been effective.
Huo Songjin fell silent for a moment before saying, “Well, good luck with that.”
With that, he clicked to start the game, beginning the next round.
Lin Yaojia smirked triumphantly, clicked on her in-game character, and performed a sultry dance for Huo Songjin.
Little did she know at the time—the bigger the lie now, the more bitter the payback later.
The two of them played until ten o’clock before stopping.
Lin Yaojia took a shower in her pajamas and then lay in bed reading a novel.
Perhaps she had gotten too excited from gaming, because even in her dreams, she was firing guns.
The next day.
By the time Lin Yaojia woke up, it was already ten in the morning.
The house was quiet as she went downstairs to find something to eat.
Aunt Chen poked her head out of the kitchen. “Good morning, Miss.”
“Good morning,” Lin Yaojia greeted with a smile. “Aunt Chen, is there any food left?”
“Yes, I saved some for you,” Aunt Chen replied briskly, taking the food she had stored in the refrigerator that morning and heating it up in the microwave.
Lin Jingbei had already left for work by this time.
Lin Fu and Lin Mu had probably gone out traveling again.
Lin Fu was only forty-five this year, still in the prime of his life.
Yet he had retired early, handing over the affairs of the group to Lin Jingbei, while he and his wife spent their days traveling.
Sometimes they went abroad for months, and other times they stayed in Yicheng to keep the still-naive original host company.
After finishing her meal, Lin Yaojia carried the strawberries Aunt Chen had washed for her and sat on the living room sofa to watch an idol drama.
“Gu Zhenbei! How heartless you are! You actually want to take my kidney and transplant it into your white moonlight!”
The female lead stood in the rain, crying loudly. The male lead’s expression was restrained, his lips pressed together like a finely carved blade. “Jiaojiao, don’t push your luck. You’re only losing a kidney, but she could lose her life because of this!”
“What does that have to do with me?” the female lead shrieked. “I wish she were dead!”
The male lead clutched his chest, looking devastated. “Oh, no! Jiaojiao, you couldn’t possibly be that kind of person!”
Lin Yaojia watched with great interest, occasionally discussing the plot with Aunt Chen.
The strawberries were quickly devoured by her. Just as she was about to fetch some more from the refrigerator, footsteps suddenly echoed from the staircase.
Lin Yaojia paused, only then remembering that there was still a cheap younger brother at home.
She turned her head to look.
Almost blinding her eyes.
The young man wore a dark green tight-fitting T-shirt that outlined his six-pack abs.
Below, he had on a pair of ripped jeans, torn all the way from the knees down to the calves.
His red hair was slicked back with gel, revealing a smooth forehead.
A silver chain hung around his neck, and four or five earrings adorned his earlobes.
He also wore sunglasses, studded with a circle of diamonds, perched on his tall, straight nose bridge.
Sparkling.
Perhaps feeling quite pleased with himself, Lin Ci walked with a swagger, one hand in his pocket.
Lin Yaojia: “”
Truly an eyesore.
Lin Ci had originally intended to ignore this future Oscar-winning actress newly arrived in the household, but he couldn’t ignore the overwhelming presence of her gaze.
It was a look mixed with disgust, mockery, speechlessness, and reluctant admiration.
“……”
Lin Ci slowly removed his sunglasses with one hand, his face wooden as he asked, “Lin Yaojia, what do you mean?”
Only then did Lin Yaojia notice the ring on his middle finger.
“…Nothing.” She tried her best to appear calm but couldn’t hold back, hugging her doll and giggling uncontrollably.
Lin Ci: “”
A vein throbbed on his forehead, confirming once again that this twin sister of his was born to torment him.
“What are you laughing at?”
“I just think this outfit of yours… is really… hahaha… so cool hahahahahaha…”
Lin Yaojia collapsed onto the sofa, laughing.
This made her words utterly unconvincing.
Aunt Chen poked her head out from the kitchen, watching Lin Yaojia’s gleeful expression and couldn’t help but smile along.
Since their young lady recovered her wits, her personality had become so optimistic.
“Young lady, why are you laughing so happily?”
Lin Yaojia wiped the tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes and pointed at Lin Ci, saying to Aunt Chen, “Don’t you think he looks like one of those flashy guys you see on the street? Hahahaha—”
Seeing how infectious her laughter was, Aunt Chen joined in.
Little did she know that this action dealt a heavy blow to Lin Ci’s fragile heart.
He clenched his jaw, gritted his teeth, turned around, and went back to his room.
Lin Yaojia froze, straightening up from the sofa and watching his retreating figure. When his silhouette disappeared around the corner of the staircase, she turned off the TV, her round deer-like eyes shifting thoughtfully.
A bit worried, she asked: [998, he’s not angry, is he?]
998: [Remove the “not,” thank you.]
Lin Yaojia stood up, grabbed a tissue to wipe her hands.
After hesitating for a moment, she still went upstairs.
998: [If you were afraid he’d get angry, why did you laugh so happily just now?]
Lin Yaojia said innocently: [It’s the first time in my life I’ve seen such a flashy guy, I really couldn’t help it.]
[And what do you mean, afraid he’d get angry?] Lin Yaojia argued righteously, [I’m afraid he might cry in secret.]
Lin Yaojia stood outside Lin Ci’s room and gently knocked on the door.
There was no response from inside.
Not even a simple “get lost.”
Lin Yaojia began to worry a little and knocked on the door more heavily.
Still, there was no response.
[998, do you think he might do something drastic?]
998: […]
Lin Yaojia grew more and more convinced it was possible.
After all, energetic young lads are the most devout believers in angsty youth literature. They’ve tasted the sweetness and troubles of love, experienced the loyalty of brothers who’d take a knife for them, and embarked on impromptu runaways with parents from whom they feel a generation gap.
Their mental state is extremely unstable.
Lin Yaojia didn’t even bother with politeness anymore and pushed the door open directly.
Unexpectedly, the door wasn’t locked, and she walked right in.
Lin Ci’s room was also quite large, much cleaner than she had imagined.
There was a bed, a basketball on the desk, and posters of basketball stars on the wall.
It was clearly a boy’s room, except for the lack of study materials, which seemed out of place for someone of high school age.
The sound of running water came from the bathroom. Various examples of wrist-cutting suicides flooded her mind. Lin Yaojia’s expression turned serious as she forcefully pushed the door open and rushed inside.
The next second—
“Lin Yaojia!”
The boy’s desperate voice echoed throughout the villa.
“Don’t you have any shame?!”
Lin Yaojia quickly backed out and closed the door.
She apologized frantically.
“Sorry, sorry! I didn’t mean to!
“Sorry, sorry!”
To show sincerity, she even used two languages.
“Get out!”
The boy’s heart-wrenching voice came from inside.
Lin Ci had returned to his room mainly to change clothes, hoping to avoid further mockery from the little Oscar downstairs.
After taking off his clothes, he stood in front of the sink, washing the hair gel out of his hair.
Just as he finished washing and looked up at the mirror, his eyes met those of the girl who had barged in.
Lin Ci, wearing nothing but his underwear: “”
His hands trembled slightly.
Out of anger!