Does this woman have no basic sense of caution at all?

Or does Yu Qingxue think she’s a good person?

If a woman sees you as a harmless good guy, that’s undoubtedly a sad thing for a man.

Without the slightest embarrassment, Yu Qingxue pulled Gao Sijin’s quilt over herself. Her smooth, silky high ponytail had come loose, and she calmly rested her head on Gao Sijin’s pillow.

Gao Sijin shot Yu Qingxue a glare, but by then, Yu Qingxue had already closed her beautiful eyes.

If only he had the guts to go with his lust, Gao Sijin would’ve had this woman screaming in no time.

But right now, the most important thing was to hurry up and write.

Before that, Gao Sijin expertly opened the group chat.

Ai: Bros, I’m back from my blind date! My date this time was seriously gorgeous—prettier than a celebrity!

Xiao Ai’s Fiancée: You went on a date with another woman behind my back…

assassin: What does your date look like? Send us a pic!

Military Princess: Seconded.

Xiyang: Seconded.

Fenghe: Seconded.

In an instant, the group chat came alive again.

Everyone wanted to know just who this girl Gao Sijin had gone on a blind date with was.

But Gao Sijin felt that secretly taking a photo without Yu Qingxue’s permission would be really rude.

Then again, hadn’t she made a close-up photo of herself her profile picture?

Using a photo of yourself as your profile picture online meant you were okay with strangers seeing what you looked like.

So Gao Sijin copied Yu Qingxue’s profile picture into the group chat.

Military Princess: Holy shit!

Sandwich Bear: Holy shit!

Blue-and-White Bowl: Holy shit!

Fenghe: Holy shit!

Xiao Ai’s Fiancée: Holy shit!

…

Gao Sijin was very pleased with his friends’ reactions. He knew there was a huge gap between him and Yu Qingxue, and that the two of them becoming lovers was practically impossible, but every man had a little vanity.

At last, this winter, Gao Sijin could pretend to be one of the people with an active social life and tease all the single folks in the group.

assassin: Bishop, run! She harvests kidneys without anesthesia!

Cute Can’t Compete with Sexy: Are you betraying your waifus from the 2D world? You scumbag!

Fenghe: Someone like Xiao Ai actually found a girlfriend? Where’s the justice in that?

Military Princess: The greatest hunters often show up looking like prey.

Eternal I Pray: Don’t bully Xiao Ai…

Xiao Ai’s Fiancée: I’m the only one who can satisfy you, Xiao Ai. My Xiao Ai, hehehe…

Xiao Ai’s Fiancée: Yuno backlit face-holding.jpg.

Ai: Go ahead and be jealous. I’m gonna write.

He loved chatting with the readers in his group, but more often than not, he’d get so caught up in it that he forgot to write.

So he had to focus on writing.

Gao Sijin opened his writing software and NetEase Cloud Music, but he still didn’t type a thing. His mouse cursor hovered over Steam.

He glanced at Yu Qingxue, sprawled across the bedroom with a rather alluring sleeping posture, and decided he’d start writing after she left.

Mostly, he just didn’t want anyone in real life to know he wrote.

“Well, well, if it isn’t the great author!”

“How much can you make a month writing novels?”

“What kind of books do you write? Historical time travel? Urban romance? Yandere reverse-harem stuff? You actually like being dominated by women? Ew, that’s disgusting…”

Those embarrassing memories lingered deep in Gao Sijin’s mind. These days, writing novels felt almost as shameful to him as secretly browsing porn sites.

Especially when he wrote a niche genre like yandere reverse-harem, which most people didn’t approve of.

So Gao Sijin hid it whenever he could. He was afraid people would look at him like he was trash. He was a working adult now; to survive in society, he had to put on a mask and learn how to play nice.

But what if Yu Qingxue liked yandere reverse-harem novels too?

Just like she’d turned out to be into the 2D world, same as him…

“No, never mind.”

Gao Sijin thought the chances were slim, so he got in touch with one of the few author friends he had and played a few rounds of Naraka: Bladepoint with them.

He tried to keep his typing as quiet as possible so he wouldn’t wake Yu Qingxue.

After about three matches, Yu Qingxue rubbed her slightly messy hair and let out a huge yawn, looking like a languid, sleepy queen.

Every move she made gave off an air that kept Gao Sijin, a mere mortal, from daring to act rashly.

“You’re awake?”

“Mm. Your bed’s so comfortable.”

Gao Sijin kept his eyes on the game character on his computer screen without turning around. It wasn’t that he was especially focused on the game—he just didn’t dare look at Yu Qingxue’s body.

After taking off her trench coat, she was left in a white lace-trimmed blouse and a pair of short shorts. The outfit left most of her skin exposed, and it was tempting enough to make any vigorous young man’s blood run hot.

To hide how inexperienced he was when it came to romance, he had to act as if he felt nothing for Yu Qingxue. That was the only way to stay clearheaded and avoid turning into a lovesick simp.

“By the way, you didn’t touch me, did you?”

“I was afraid you’d pull a honey trap on me.”

“What kind of person do you think I am?”

“A woman.”

Yu Qingxue seemed a little annoyed. Barefoot, she stood behind Gao Sijin and lightly pounded his back with her soft, pink fists.

It felt more like she was being playful.

She said in a coquettish voice:

“I’m taking a shower. Just watch me use up every last drop of water in your house.”

“Come on, it’s getting late. Why don’t you go home and shower there?”

But Yu Qingxue ignored his suggestion and headed straight for the bathroom.

On her way, she accidentally kicked her shoulder bag.

The zipper hadn’t been closed all the way, so a phone charger and an electric toothbrush fell out.

Gao Sijin happened to see them.

Well, well. She’d clearly come prepared.

A girl leaving home with those two things meant she planned to spend the night somewhere. Gao Sijin wasn’t stupid.

He looked at Yu Qingxue. Yu Qingxue looked at him. He looked at her again, and she lowered her head, her pretty face turning faintly red.

Gao Sijin had been in relationships before, but he didn’t think his testosterone-fueled charm was enough to attract an absolute beauty like Yu Qingxue.

Something was definitely fishy.

As an author, he could come up with hundreds of possible schemes in a single minute.

“Go home once you’ve finished showering.”

“You’re going to die alone like this.”

“Safety first.”

“Is that **’s advertising slogan?”

“It’s the Anti-Fraud Center’s slogan.” Gao Sijin looked at Yu Qingxue. “Once you’ve showered, hurry home. This isn’t a free hotel.”

Gao Sijin wasn’t actually afraid she was a scammer. He just had low self-esteem.

How could a mere mortal like him deserve the favor of a beauty?

And even if a beauty did throw herself into his arms one day, he’d still have to think about what came after.

Until he had enough money to cover the cost of living, Gao Sijin couldn’t drag a woman into a life of hardship with him.

He listened to the water running in the bathroom and pictured her graceful figure covered in droplets, appearing and disappearing in the steamy haze, as if veiled by a sheer layer of silk.

Someday, she’d probably become someone else’s bride. A nobody like Gao Sijin might leave some impression on her, but it was much more likely she’d forget him completely.