“Hello?
Brother Yang, it’s Xiao Ling.
Something urgent came up at home.
I need to take half a month off.
I’ve sent over the supporting documents, so make sure you approve them for me.”
This nap had finally returned Xiao Ling’s brain to working order.
He’d just remembered that he needed to take a long leave to properly teach Denia about this world’s knowledge, and along the way, get her supplied with the necessities for living here.
Otherwise, given his course load at school, it would probably be pretty hard to find extra time later on to help this girl integrate into this world.
The person he’d just spoken to was his academic advisor, nicknamed Brother Yang by everyone.
There was no special reason for it — just that the man was polite and kind, always on brotherly terms with his students.
Though nearing forty, he was still a very energetic big kid at heart.
After getting the go-ahead, Xiao Ling thanked him repeatedly and hung up, finally letting out a long breath at last.
To be honest, he didn’t really like lying, since it lowered his credibility.
But if he said something like, “Ah, my 2D waifu turned into a real person and I need to take care of her,” he’d probably be shipped off to a mental hospital in no time.
Thankfully, the result was good.
At least he’d have free time for the next stretch of days.
He could take it slow and gradually introduce Denia to the knowledge of modern society.
Xiao Ling tidied up his appearance a bit and walked out of his room.
The moment he reached the living room, he spotted her sprawled out on the sofa, fast asleep, with the documentary channel still playing beside her — the history program had already reached the early modern era by now.
Educational programs really were great for falling asleep, much like how a high school teacher’s lecture could make you drowsy.
Sometimes they even worked better than white noise.
It was no surprise Denia had dozed right off.
The original plan was temporarily shelved, but Xiao Ling wasn’t in a hurry.
Everything could wait until she woke up.
Xiao Ling quietly sat down at the other end of the sofa, then pulled out his phone and started scrolling through Bilibili.
Before long, Denia’s relaxed brows furrowed slightly, and then she slowly stirred awake.
The moment she sat up from the sofa, she felt a stiffness in her neck, along with a dull ache, making her little face completely crumple.
“Did I wake you?” Noticing her poor expression upon waking, Xiao Ling asked with some concern.
“My neck…
uncomfortable.
All stiff.” She twisted left and right, trying to relieve the rigidity.
“How about I massage it for you?”
“Sure.”
And with that, Denia very obediently turned around, exposing her swan-like, pale, and slender neck right before Xiao Ling’s eyes.
Xiao Ling: ?
(Gathering Wives isn’t played like this!!!.jpg)
Xiao Ling could swear to the heavens — he really asked reflexively, just because anime tropes have been running through his head.
But he never expected her to agree so readily!
Wait, miss, standing before you is a healthy, young, completely unrelated-to-you shut-in otaku.
Do you have any idea how devastating this is to a big boy who’s never touched a member of the opposite sex besides his own mother?!
Shouldn’t you put on a sour face, reject me, say “hentai, shine!” and slap me across the face?!
What kind of development is this?!
“Hurry up…
my neck is really sore right now…” Her voice was wilted.
It sounded like she was genuinely troubled.
“Oh, right.”
Snapping back from his tangled thoughts, Xiao Ling set about solving her problem.
His massage technique wasn’t particularly skilled.
The few times he’d massaged anyone else were when he’d helped his mother.
During that period, she’d always work late into the night, and he’d rub her shoulders and back, thinking it would help her sleep more comfortably in the evening.
Xiao Ling’s massage took effect quickly.
Denia immediately felt that her shoulders weren’t as sore as they’d been at first.
She even felt like she could fall asleep again.
“Don’t you fall back asleep, sleepyhead.
We agreed — we’re heading out later.” Seeing her languid state, Xiao Ling reminded her aloud.
“Can we not go out…”
“Then what about your clothes?
You probably won’t be able to return to the Academy for a while, and I don’t have any clothes at home that fit you.”
“The Academy, huh…”
A reminiscing look surfaced in her eyes — a place she wanted to return to, but could never go back to again.
At the same time, she was now more or less certain that this somewhat ordinary boy before her was indeed the Rover himself.
Though she had no idea why she’d been inexplicably transported to this world, as long as he was here, there was no need to worry about a thing.
It was just that…
Denia suddenly let out a sigh for no apparent reason.
“Thinking about Sigrika?” Xiao Ling read her inner thoughts as if he had mind-reading powers.
“Yeah.
That dummy Siggy…
if she found out her bestie suddenly left without saying goodbye, she’d definitely be really sad.” Her voice was lazy.
But it was fine — she’d already sent all the things she wanted to say to her by email…
“There’ll always be a chance to meet again.
Maybe you’ll even meet again in this world, who knows?” Xiao Ling smiled gently.
“True.
We’ll meet again someday.” That little touch of melancholy in Denia’s heart melted away under Xiao Ling’s reassurance.
“But, we’ve been chatting for so long.
It’s about time you told me your name, don’t you think?”
Denia suddenly lifted her small face, and those eyes, dreamy like the stars, met Xiao Ling’s deep black gaze.
“Although I know you’re that all-powerful Rover, whether it’s ‘Rover’ or whatever name you told me before, they both sound like codenames.” Her voice was soft.
“You should have a name that belongs to you in this world, right?
Tell me, okay?”
“You’re only just now remembering to ask?” Xiao Ling laughed.
“I’m only just now remembering to ask.”
“My name is Xiao Ling.
If you think Xiao Ling sounds too distant, you can call me by my childhood nickname, Xiao Yu.” Xiao Ling told her his name.
“I’ll just call you Ling.” Denia picked a form of address that was relatively close, yet not too intimate.
“Whatever suits your heart is fine.” He had no objections.
“Then Ling, can we not go out today?” She attempted to moe her way out of it.
“I refuse.” Xiao Ling flicked her on the head with his index finger.
Denia went “aowuu” and immediately pulled away from him, covering her forehead with a wronged expression.
“That hurt…” She was teary-eyed, truly looking pitiable enough to make anyone’s heart ache.
“Of course I know you really don’t want to go out, but a girl can’t just not bathe, right?” Xiao Ling teased in return.
“Or are you planning to…”
Xiao Ling looked her figure up and down.
Though petite and dainty, she could still be described as having curves in all the right places.
“Then let’s go out!” There was no way Denia didn’t know what this guy was thinking.
She immediately shielded herself and pulled back a little further.
“Alright, then it’s settled.” Xiao Ling snapped his fingers.
“Perfect chance to take you out and show you this world.”
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