I Really Didn’t Want to Increase My Favorability!

Chapter 276

“Meow! Meow!”

“Stop meowing in the middle of the night, will you? What, are you worried about your mom Xiaoxiao not having enough clothes to wear? Don’t worry, tomorrow I’ll ask your mom Ji Yun to sort it out for her.”

Xu Lin chatted with the little cat as he rode his bike out of the alley. At first, it kept meowing non-stop, but a few minutes later, it settled down. Xu Lin looked down and stopped the bike, only to find that the little guy had fallen asleep.

“Seriously? You can sleep through all this bumpiness? Impressive.”

But that’s one nice thing about orange cats—they eat, sleep, and don’t cause too much trouble. Country cats like this adapt so well to any environment.

Still, even though he had given his parents a heads-up, bringing a cat home out of the blue might take them some time to adjust. Xu Lin wondered how Jiang Zimeng’s mom managed with so many pets. Didn’t she mind at all?

Maybe I should ask Jiang Zimeng for some advice… No, wait, I have more important things to ask her. Why isn’t her mom selling the villa? That sounded harsh. Let’s just get this done in 10 minutes, then head to Teacher Su’s place for another 10 minutes, and aim to be home before 11.

But as he arrived outside the residential complex, the security guards stopped him. With no other choice, he sent Jiang Zimeng a message.

When she didn’t reply, he immediately opened his phone and checked her livestream. Sure enough, she was live. After defeating a boss in the game, she paused and said she’d be right back after a bathroom break.

“Don’t bother writing down his name.”

“Got it.”

The two security guards were clearly very familiar with her—actually, everyone in the complex probably knew her. She didn’t go out much, but she was the pretty girl with tons of pets.

“Sorry to make you come out in the cold. I won’t go in. Here, this is for you.”

“What is it?”

“Snow princess cake I made. Try it, Miss Chūnibyō. I’m heading off.”

Just as Xu Lin turned to leave—knowing if he stayed to chat, his schedule would fall apart again—Jiang Zimeng stopped him.

“Wait, there’s something I forgot to give you. Didn’t you notice?”

“Notice what?”

“Does your camera still have any battery?”

“Ah… I hadn’t even thought about that!” Xu Lin had been using the camera, assuming the charger was in his bag. Turns out, she hadn’t given it to him.

“Once your second battery dies, it’s just a brick. Come with me.”

“Alright.”

“Why are you out so late? What are you doing?”

Jiang Zimeng glanced at Xu Lin and noticed his face was red from the cold, like he’d been outside for a long time.

“Delivering things. I just dropped something off for Bai Xiaoxiao across from you.”

“Oh, right. I said I’d visit her, but I never did…”

“It’s fine. She won’t mind.”

“But I promised, and it doesn’t feel right.”

“Miss Chūnibyō, you don’t act like some spoiled rich girl at all.”

“Why should I? Besides, I’m not even a rich girl.”

“I went to normal schools growing up, had a monthly allowance of just 200 yuan, cooked my own meals, and never had a housekeeper or anything.”

“Oh, yeah, you’ve mentioned that before. Your dad worked his way up bit by bit. My bad.”

“No, it’s just that I could never be a proper rich girl even if I tried. I can’t learn to be elegant, and I don’t care about fancy stuff.

I like BBQ, hotpot, games, and anime. Violin, piano, singing, painting—what do those have to do with me?”

“Haha, I feel the same.”

“Yeah, right. Didn’t you shoot that artsy commercial? You’re practically a cultured gentleman.”

“Huh? You even know about that?”

Xu Lin was surprised that his minor appearance in a commercial had gained so much attention.

“It’s on Bilibili—officially re-uploaded. Everyone’s waiting for you to star in a movie.”

“We’ll see.”

“Wait, does that mean you really will star in a movie?!”

Jiang Zimeng’s eyes lit up as she leaned closer. It was only then Xu Lin noticed that under her long winter coat, she was only wearing a thin pajama set. Through the slight gap, he caught a glimpse of a graceful curve that made the cold air around him suddenly feel much warmer.

“Miss Chūnibyō, aren’t you cold?”

“Not at all.”

“You might want to turn your webcam to the side during your livestream. You wouldn’t want it to accidentally turn on.”

At his comment, Jiang Zimeng suddenly realized what he meant. She looked down, her face instantly turning red, and pulled her zipper up a little higher.

“You’re really observant, aren’t you?”

“It wasn’t on purpose! I was just checking if Miss Chūnibyō was dressed warmly enough.”

“Oh~ My apologies, I guess my ‘scale’ isn’t impressive enough to catch your eye.”

“Haha, no, I think it’s just right.”

“Hmph. Xu Lin, be careful not to slip up. Otherwise, I’ll expose you in the group chat.”

“Go ahead, expose me.”

“I will!”

She actually pulled out her phone, startling Xu Lin. But instead of exposing him, she simply typed a message in their group chat:

Starry Mimi: “Met up with Mr. Xu in person!”

The replies flooded in:

Undying Thunder: “What’s going on?”

Eternal One: “I want to meet a cute girl too!”

Rainy Night with a Blade: “Starry Mimi might not even be a girl, you know.”

Dragon Emperor’s Mask: “Rainy Night, Starry Mimi has posted voice messages before. No way she’s a guy.”

The Long Spear Remains: “They’re probably joking. Mr. Xu hasn’t even replied.”

Starry Mimi: “I’m not lying! I’ll have him send a message to prove it.”

Dragon Emperor’s Mask: “Wait, you two met up at night?!”

Cc My Love: “Of course meetings like this happen at night, hehe~”

Xu Twelve Lord: “We didn’t meet up now; she’s just teasing you. But we’ve seen each other before since we live nearby.”

Rainy Night with a Blade: “Ugh, even if it’s not a meetup, seeing each other still counts! My heart is broken.”

Lonely Slash Ming: “Don’t cry. Starry Mimi will always be the group’s darling.”

Rainy Night with a Blade: “But I like Mr. Xu!”

79°: “Shoo, you male coomers!”

The group chat devolved into its usual banter as the two of them stepped inside the villa.

“Your mom’s not home?”

“I told you, she’s out. It’s just me at home. Staying over tonight?”

“My dear Miss Chūnibyō, let’s not cross any lines here. Am I that kind of person?”

“What did I say? I meant staying to play games with me. I can join you for some online matches.”

“For real?!”

Having a girl play games with him was exciting—tonight he might actually climb back to platinum rank! But then he remembered he still had work to do and hadn’t delivered Su Qingwan’s package yet. He quickly abandoned the thought.

“Never mind, I’ve got work.”

“I was joking anyway. I can’t really have you stay over. If someone told my mom I let a guy stay, I’d be doomed.”

“Are you sure your mom’s out? Not just reconsidering selling the villa?”

“She’ll sell it, but she left in a hurry this time—probably something urgent.”

“Alright, we’re not in a rush anyway. Just get me the charger. I should get going—you’ve already been away from your stream for ages.”

“Oh no! I forgot I was still streaming! It’s been ten minutes! The chat’s probably wondering if I fell into the toilet. I’ll go grab it for you.”

She dashed upstairs, and Xu Lin pulled out his phone to open her livestream.

Half a minute later, both the stream and real life were interrupted by a sharp scream from upstairs.

Startled, Xu Lin shot to his feet, kicked off the ground, and sprinted upstairs.

What on earth was this girl up to?!

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