After Xiao Chacha got home, she took off that lolita dress, along with her underwear, changed into a simple black camisole, and pulled the curtains shut.

After all, she lived alone.

After a quick wash, she went to her room, turned on her computer, sat down, and started checking messages. Most of them were from group chats. Lolita fashion groups, JK uniform enthusiast groups, that sort of thing.

At the same time, she replied to a few girls’ messages. Then she received an email. It was the one she’d asked someone to investigate for her. It contained photos of Lin An, his birthday, and parts of his life history.

An abandoned infant from Blue Sky Orphanage over a decade ago. Later, he and another little girl were adopted together.

In middle school, his grades were excellent. He’d always been first in his year. But he wasn’t considered a good student by the teachers. Back then, he was a small-time ringleader on campus. He smoked, drank, skipped class, yet his grades were so good they couldn’t bear to expel him.

There was also an early romance. Only one.

But when Xiao Chacha saw that name, she froze for about five seconds.

The girl he’d dated back then... was someone both Su Yuejin and Xiao Chacha knew.

But that person’s status was different from theirs.

At most, Xiao Chacha and Su Yuejin were second-generation rich kids with some family backing. They weren’t the ones in power, and they weren’t decision-makers. But that girl... ever since middle school, she’d already started gradually taking over the family business.

And now... her entire family was practically about to be handed over to her. Even people from her parents’ generation spoke to her as elders to a junior, yet in actual standing, they were equals.

That guy had actually managed to date her back then...?

That girl who was practically a monster.

Still, thankfully, they broke up in the third year of middle school. It hadn’t caused much of a stir. It was just puppy love getting exposed and the parents being called in. The school hadn’t even handled it. Her family had simply arranged to meet Lin An once, and after that, the two of them separated.

And the month before that just happened to be when Lin An’s adoptive parents died in a car accident.

That boy must’ve still been grieving back then...

And then the girl closest to him left too.

Did he hate her for it?

The rest of the file was mostly about how he’d been down for a while, then still got into his current high school with outstanding grades. But at this school, he’d become much more low-key. Aside from being an excellent student, there was basically nothing remarkable about him. No close friends. No enemies either. He wasn’t hostile to anyone, but he wasn’t warm to anyone either.

That was all they’d managed to dig up.

Xiao Chacha read through everything one by one, narrowing her eyes slightly, not clear even to herself what she was thinking.

Her meeting with Lin An had definitely been pure coincidence. She liked playing games, so she’d casually hired a duo queue partner. Who could’ve guessed that this one would be so good at cheering her up? So she played with him a little longer.

And then that day, she heard the name Su Yuejin again.

What did Su Yuejin mean to Xiao Chacha?

Actually, Xiao Chacha had known Su Yuejin for a long time. Their relationship used to be pretty decent. But later, after Xiao Chacha confessed that she liked her, Su Yuejin deliberately distanced herself.

In the end, she even scolded her.

So Xiao Chacha, very aware of her place, bowed out. If there was no Su Yuejin, there could always be someone else. And just when she’d finally started not caring about Su Yuejin anymore, she heard that day... that Su Yuejin had already been touched by someone else.

And that person didn’t even seem to love her.

When Xiao Chacha heard that, she couldn’t even tell what she was thinking. Maybe schadenfreude. Maybe anger...?

So she’d planned to meet Lin An next week.

If Lin An’s behavior didn’t match her expectations, then maybe... on his way home, he’d have some bad luck. Maybe run into some troublemaking thugs and get beaten half to death. Spend a few months in the hospital first.

But now she’d met Lin An ahead of time.

And his behavior hadn’t made her that angry.

He actually seemed pretty quiet and gentle.

Xiao Chacha let out a soft sigh. She didn’t even know what she was thinking. After all, Su Yuejin was never supposed to be part of her life. Every time she started thinking about her, that greedy possessiveness would eat away at her mind. It made her want to tie Su Yuejin to her side.

But of course, she knew she couldn’t do that.

It was already late. Xiao Chacha planned to sleep for a bit. She wasn’t in the mood to game anymore either. But just as she lay down on the bed, her phone suddenly rang.

It was an unfamiliar number.

Still, it looked oddly familiar, like she’d seen it somewhere before, but she couldn’t remember where.

Xiao Chacha answered.

The voice on the other end was cold and eerie, like ancient ice that would never melt. For some reason, it made people instinctively afraid.

“Xiao Chacha, you’ve been investigating someone named Lin An, right?” The voice was full of accusation.

“Who are you?”

The person gave a name.

Xiao Chacha froze, her eyes widening. Her voice turned a little stiff instead. “Yes. So what?”

“I know about that little mess between you and Su Yuejin. I also know Lin An is with Su Yuejin right now. But... Xiao Chacha, if you dare lay even a finger on him because of that, I’ll make you kneel in front of me and beg me to let you go.”

“You can take it as a joke if you want.” The voice was dark and stern. It was obviously not a joke.

“That joke isn’t funny... but I understand.” Xiao Chacha still answered softly.

Then the other side hung up.

Xiao Chacha tossed her phone aside and frowned. No matter what, for that person to call her and immediately speak in such a completely hostile way...

Just how much did she care about Lin An?

After all, in everyone’s eyes, she was supposed to be a girl who was rational, clear-headed, almost monstrously sharp.

Xiao Chacha felt like she’d fallen into a very interesting whirlpool.

She sat up from the bed, suddenly excited. Her sleepiness was gone. Instead, she sent Lin An a message.

“Wanna play?”

“Give me twenty minutes. I’m eating, then I need to wash the dishes.”

“Mhm, I’ll wait for you.”

...

On Lin An’s side, he was quietly washing dishes.

Xu Qinghuan was lying on the sofa watching TV. She was wearing a white pleated skirt, resting on her side in a very quiet pose. When Lin An came out of the kitchen, she called to him, “Come massage my legs.”

“You, seriously.”

Lin An still walked over and sat on the sofa. Xu Qinghuan eagerly placed both legs across his lap, and Lin An’s fingertips lightly touched her skin.

A few minutes later, Lin An withdrew his hands and told Xu Qinghuan he was going to play games. She let him go.

He returned to his room, turned on his computer, and entered the voice channel. Chacha’s voice came from the other side.

“Hello hello hello? You there? You finally have time now?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Lin An entered his account and launched the game. Chacha had already created the room and was waiting for him. After he joined, they entered the match, and Chacha instantly locked in Riven again.

What kind of player she was, that didn’t need saying.

The two of them chatted on and off. Before long, Chacha steered the topic toward Su Yuejin. She asked Lin An what exactly he felt toward Su Yuejin.

“She says she likes me. But anyone can see it, anyone can tell it won’t last long. So I’ll just let her do what she wants. I don’t have that much time. I’ll keep her company once in a while, and little by little she’ll understand. Once she comes to her senses, she’ll leave me on her own.”

“That’s what you really think, Lin An?”

“Yes.”

“Did Su Yuejin ever tell you about me?”

“She mentioned some things later... but I don’t know if they were true.”

“If what she told you was that I used to chase after her, then I can confirm it for you. It’s true. And not for a little while either. Three years.” Chacha’s voice carried a trace of self-mockery.

“Three years...” Lin An repeated blankly.

“I know being a hopeless simp only makes the other person uncomfortable. But I just couldn’t suppress it. I wanted to be good to her. I wanted her to say she loved me. I wanted her to be with me. But back then, Su Yuejin looked down on love. She was proud like a swan. She hated my feelings. She mocked me. And even so, I still liked her for that long.”

“And now years have passed. I’ve let it go. I’ve figured it out. Then that day I heard you say you’d slept with her. I buried myself under the blanket, and still couldn’t...” Chacha’s tone sounded a little sad.

“Still couldn’t stop myself from laughing out loud,” Chacha added.

“...”

“Let her be. She’s just a little princess. She just thinks she’s different from everyone else. She’s just a child who never grew up, still drowning in the fantasy she made for herself. Do whatever you want, Lin An. I’m not going to interfere. I just... still have some regrets when it comes to Su Yuejin.”

“I see.”

“It was three years, after all. But speaking of which, the fact that you managed to charm her means you’re not simple either. You look so gentle. You just don’t show your fangs?”

“No. I’m just not very good at relationships. So maybe she was simply being dumb.”

“Then have you dated before, An’an?”

“I have. Back in middle school.”

“And then?”

“And then we broke up because of some unavoidable circumstances.”

“Why? Now I’m curious. Can you tell me?”

“Back in my first year of middle school, by chance, I got together with a girl. Maybe we really did like each other. It wasn’t like either of us actively chased the other. We just naturally became a couple. Later, because it was an early romance... and because of her family, I guess, she broke up with me.”

“I see... then do you hate her?” Xiao Chacha coaxed gently.

“If you want me to say it, I can understand it. In the end, she and I were never from the same world. And we were both still young back then. Family was the only thing we could rely on. So I can understand why she broke up with me. Maybe even if she hadn’t said it, I would’ve brought it up myself... I didn’t want to hold back her future.”

“But deep down, I still had selfish, ugly thoughts. Back then, I was going through something really painful. I’d think... how nice it would’ve been if she’d stayed by my side then. How nice it would’ve been if she’d firmly said she liked me.”

“So if you ask whether I hate her, then probably not anymore. As for love, I’m not worthy of it.” Lin An’s voice carried a thin, chilly self-mockery. All he could do was smile a little.

His fingers tapped the keyboard. Blind Monk used Q, Smite, W, Flash, and stole the Baron.

He let out a long breath, then said, “Riven, stop inting. Play it properly. We can turn this around.”

“Oh oh oh oh! Charge!!” Chacha snapped back to herself.

She didn’t even know why she’d spaced out for those few seconds just now.

Maybe it was because when Lin An said those things, his voice sounded like he’d already let everything go.

As he talked about those memories from the past, he sounded like someone standing outside the story.

Things that once made him cry...

Now he could talk about them with a smile.