Each of them held a controller, guiding their characters through the game on the computer.

Somehow, even this indie game, It Takes Two, existed in this world. Shen Guang had bought it before, but he couldn’t play it.

As for why, he didn’t want to say.

Lin Qingqian sat beside him, pressing the buttons so hard the controller clicked loudly.

She’d never played a computer game like this before. Shen Guang’s old self had rarely let her have any fun with games. Even when she got to use a computer, it was only to look up information and things like that.

“Don’t go that way! Come with me!”

“Why should I? Why can’t you come with me?”

“You’re still arguing after I told you? That way’s a dead end. Come over here and undo this.”

“Can’t you handle it by yourself? You’re so useless.” Lin Qingqian raised an eyebrow, then guided her character to the spot Shen Guang had mentioned.

Shen Guang forced himself to keep his anger in check.

Stay calm. I have to stay calm! If she runs off, we can’t keep playing!

Shen Guang didn’t want to control both players himself and feel even more like a lonely loser.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! I can pin you to the ground with this!” Lin Qingqian had gotten a new item and was like a little kid who’d just been handed a new toy.

She kept using it to pin Shen Guang to the ground, having the time of her life.

Shen Guang turned to her with an exasperated look—and saw Lin Qingqian smile for the first time.

It was a smile that seemed to come from the heart, as if she were completely absorbed in the joy of the game.

Something stirred inside Shen Guang. He lost focus for a moment,

Lin Qingqian noticed Shen Guang staring at her. She reined in her smile, put on her usual cool expression, and furrowed her brows.

“What is it? Is there something on my face?” She set down her controller and even reached up to touch her face.

“Nothing. I just think you look pretty when you smile.” Shen Guang said it with such a straight face that Lin Qingqian abruptly stood up.

She turned away so Shen Guang couldn’t see her expression.

“I... I-is the game over?” Did she get mad just because he’d told the truth?

Shen Guang’s head was starting to hurt. Lin Qingqian headed straight out of the room, leaving him with one last remark.

“It’s almost lunchtime. I’ll make something to eat. We can come back and play after.”

“You scared me. I thought I’d have to play single-player.” Shen Guang switched to his desktop and, while Lin Qingqian was gone, logged into that website again. This time, a QR code unexpectedly appeared on the screen.

A few words appeared beneath it.

【The app is even more convenient!】

Shen Guang hadn’t expected the chat software to have become an app! Back when he’d played this game, he’d spent all day glued to his computer to use it. And now they were telling him there was an app!

Clearly, this era was keeping up with the times.

If he could use his phone, there was no need to use the computer. After all, he couldn’t always get to the computer, while his phone was much more convenient for this.

He scanned the QR code, downloaded the app, then tossed his phone onto the bed.

The smell of food was already drifting from the kitchen. He snuck in and saw a girl with her hair tied in a ponytail and an apron on, expertly stir-frying.

She really was the perfect wife-and-mother type. If only she’d be a little gentler with her expression!

“Since you’ve got nothing to do, help me wash the dishes. You haven’t used them in ages, so they could use a good wash.”

“Have you always lived alone?” Shen Guang chatted with Lin Qingqian while they each went about their own tasks.

They even seemed to be working in sync.

“I have to watch every penny. My family isn’t like the Shen Family.”

“Even so, you’re the housekeeper’s daughter. Did Shen Guang never help you?” Lin Qingqian paused in the middle of what she was doing, but only for a moment. There seemed to be a hint of helplessness in her eyes, a sense of powerlessness radiating from her.

“Help me? I’d be grateful if he didn’t make things harder for me. Besides, I don’t need his help. I’ve never missed out on a scholarship at school, not once. And when it comes to grades, I always make sure I’m at the top. I don’t want anyone looking down on me—not even Shen Guang!”

Lin Qingqian’s voice was a little low, but her stubbornness came through clearly.

Shen Guang could understand how she felt, more or less, but he didn’t know anything about her past. He didn’t dare offer Lin Qingqian advice too easily. As he saw it, everyone had their own ideas, and his role in the game was to guide these girls down the right path.

“Someone sees how hard you work. At least I think you’re better than everyone else.” Shen Guang lowered his head and quietly washed the dishes. Lin Qingqian scooped the food out of the pan, then looked at the man beside her.

He had to admit, Shen Guang’s words really did touch her.

She knew that what she needed most was recognition from someone else.

But at school and everywhere else, people acted as if it were only natural—that it was simply what she was supposed to do.

Even top students have their troubles...

Lin Qingqian smiled helplessly, then carried the food toward the living room. As she passed Shen Guang, she lowered her voice and murmured,

“I’ll become even better than I am now.”

Shen Guang didn’t reply, and Lin Qingqian didn’t wait for him to. The two of them had the kind of unspoken understanding you’d expect from people who’d known each other for decades.

........

There was no denying it: Lin Qingqian’s cooking made up for one of Shen Guang’s biggest shortcomings—his inability to cook.

Even when Shen Guang finished his usual takeout, it never tasted like much. But he could eat two or three bowls of rice with Lin Qingqian’s cooking!

“It’d be a real waste if you didn’t become a chef.” Shen Guang said as he gnawed on a rib.

Lin Qingqian gave him a disgusted look, pulled one out, and tossed it in front of Shen Guang. She furrowed her brows as she spoke.

“Can you swallow your food before you talk? That’s basic manners!”

“Come on, if eating at home is this much trouble, what’s the point of calling it home?”

“You’re the young master of the Shen Family. You’ll have to attend certain events in the future. If people see you eating like that, they’ll talk.”

Shen Guang wiped his mouth with a tissue, then let out a satisfied sigh. He rested his hands beside his knees and looked earnestly at the girl in front of him.

“Lin, there’s something you need to understand: people with real ability don’t worry about what others say!”

“Don’t tell me you think you have real ability. Has the heat fried your brain?” Lin Qingqian folded her arms. Even her mocking expression was kind of cute.

“At least lately, a few girls who used to have a pretty bad relationship with Shen Guang have been willing to talk to me. And you’re one of them, too~~”

Shen Guang looked unbearably smug, but what he said was true. Lin Qingqian couldn’t even argue, so she clenched a fist and shook it at him.

“I’m not willing to talk to you. I’m being forced to!”

“Then which of us is better, me or Shen Guang?”

“You’re only a little better than that man. By one hair. Not a single one more.”

“Keep acting tsundere and you’ll end up a losing heroine, Lin. A man as great as me is someone you should hold on to!”

Shen Guang patted his chest, looking thoroughly confident.

Lin Qingqian rolled her eyes and refused to discuss the subject any further.