"Lin Jin, why are you running?"
Lin Jin didn't dare to run too fast with eggs in his hand, and as a result, he was stopped by the girl after just going up two flights of stairs.
"Yuli, can you...spare my life this time?" Lin Jin said with an flattering look on his face. "I'm really busy right now, I've only been home for half an hour and I still have to clean my room and stuff."
"Tch, what do you mean spare your life? When have I ever wanted your life?" The girl put her hands on her hips, glaring at Lin Jin with a sulky look.
The girl's name was Shi Yuli. She was very pretty, with her beautiful black hair tied neatly into a ponytail at the back of her head. She should have recently turned nineteen, a few months older than Lin Jin, and was now also a freshman, but studying at Fuzhou University.
Unlike Lin Jin, who disliked studying and reading, Shi Yuli was a good girl who loved to learn. She seemed to have a lot of extracurricular knowledge, reading all sorts of books, from classical novels like Romance of the Three Kingdoms to modern web novels, from Spring and Autumn to historical records to cookbooks... Anyway, she seemed to find any book fascinating.
To those who were unfamiliar with Shi Yuli, she might appear to be a talented and cultured young woman. But in Lin Jin's eyes, this girl was practically a demon, alright?
"Let's go, let's go! I'll also go to your house!" Yuli cheerfully hooked her arm around Lin Jin's neck, but looked at him with surprise. "Why do you seem shorter?"
"How could that be?" Since he was already caught, Lin Jin had no thoughts of escaping and resignedly walked toward his home under the grip of Yuli's arm.
"Really, before, when I hooked my arm around your neck it was a bit uncomfortable, but now..." She furrowed her brows, looking at Lin Jin's neck, "now it's just right."
"You’re hallucinating" Lin Jin replied with a neutral expression.
"And you've gotten so much prettier, I almost didn't recognize you at first" Yuli playfully leaned half of her body against Lin Jin's soft body, giggling as she spoke. "And you're so soft, it feels so comfortable holding you. How about you be my pillow for the night?"
Lin Jin's face changed instantly, shaking his head immediately.
F*ck being your pillow.
Shi Yuli lived across the hall from Lin Jin. When Lin Jin moved here at the age of five or six, her family also moved in across from him around the same time. Therefore, the two families were quite familiar with each other, helping each other out now and then. Lin Jin and Yuli had been playmates since childhood, they attended the same kindergarten, elementary school, and middle school. It was only in high school that they went their separate ways because of academic reasons, Lin Jin to an ordinary high school, and Yuli to the best high school in the area.
Yuli was quite a handful when they were kids. She often slept with Lin Jin, hugging him tightly like an octopus and making it hard for him to sleep. It wasn't because Lin Jin was too excited to sleep next to a girl, he didn't understand any of that back then, but simply because he was held too tightly to fall asleep.
Their families had even had an arranged marriage when the two were still in kindergarten. However, after Lin Jin's dad became a gambler, Yuli's family had distanced themselves, occasionally offering some help but not much more.
When they arrived home, Yuli finally let go of Lin Jin. She peeked into his house and exclaimed in surprise, "What... What happened to your place?"
She hadn't visited Lin Jin's home for years and was unaware that Lin Jin's dad had sold off all the furniture.
"My dad gambled it all away."
Lin Jin stored the groceries in the kitchen and grabbed a broom and dustpan from the balcony to start cleaning the house. "It was pretty clean when I was around. I've been away for school for just three or four months, and my dad has turned the place into a complete mess" he casually said.
"Why would uncle do that?" Yuli frowned, gathering the trash in the living room and setting it by the front door. She also picked up the liquor bottles that had fallen on the ground one by one, placing them into a cardboard box in the corner.
Lin Jin shrugged without replying, silently sweeping the floor clean before mopping it. It took him about half an hour to get it done, and only then did he take off his shoes and walk barefoot around the house.
After spending another half an hour cleaning the dusty tables and chairs at home, Lin Jin took a long breath, sat down on the bedside of the bedroom, and looked at the ceiling helplessly.
"Lin Jin, Lin Jin." Once everything was done, Yuli approached him again, questioning with her eyes wide open. "How do you take care of your skin? I have some pimples on my face, but you don't have any. I remember you used to have quite a few."
She looked down at Lin Jin's face, closely examining his nearly flawless skin and somewhat feminine features.
He seems to be even prettier than me, despite being a guy.
But then she thought about it, Lin Jin had been co-titled the 'beautiful girl' of the class along with her back in kindergarten. That Lin Jin now appeared somewhat androgynous was actually quite acceptable.
"Facial cleanser" Lin Jin replied, lying back on the bed. "While everyone else goes out and has fun during the winter break, I come home and end up being swamped with chores."
"Why does it feel like you've gotten so much shorter?" Yuli propped herself on her elbows on the bed, looking down at Lin Jin. "And it seems like you've... become prettier."
"College, you’ll change a lot too after three years in college. It's normal."
If it were his dad asking these kinds of questions, Lin Jin wouldn't dare to bluff. But he knew Yuli well, and a few vague answers would let Yuli know that pressing further would be pointless.
"The thing is, you seem to have become more... ‘submissive’." (TL Note: This sounds the same as "skinny" in Chinese)
"I've gained 10 kg..." Lin Jin twitched at the corner of his mouth, touching his belly in self-mockery. "Look at this stomach. Easily two months' worth."
"Pfft, I mean ‘submissive’ in terms of top and bottom relationships" Yuli chuckled. Her curved eyebrows made her look very pretty, capturing people's attention.
Lin Jin was momentarily stunned by Yuli's smile, then turned his head away, saying discontentedly, "That joke is not funny, okay? Other than looking a bit like a girl when I was a kid, when have I ever been submissive?"
"This father used to be a big shot in middle school and high school, you know?" Lin Jin huffed, countering Yuli's words.
Yuli was no fool, and she had also attended middle school with Lin Jin. She couldn't help but laugh at Lin Jin's words, "I've never seen you being a big shot, I only know you skip school to play online."
"Hey" Yuli's legs swung back and forth as she curiously asked Lin Jin, "You're so pretty now, have you found a boyfriend in college?"
"Pretty?" Lin Jin raised an eyebrow, looking unconvinced. "What boyfriend? I even flirted with a girl, okay? And how I look is called 'handsome', the Korean kind!"
"That's the worst Korean slander I've heard." Yuli didn't think much about why Lin Jin had suddenly become so pretty, she glanced at the time on her phone and sat up. "I’m going home to read."
"Go ahead."
"Lin Jin, why are you running?"
Lin Jin didn't dare to run too fast with eggs in his hand, and as a result, he was stopped by the girl after just going up two flights of stairs.
"Yuli, can you...spare my life this time?" Lin Jin said with an flattering look on his face. "I'm really busy right now, I've only been home for half an hour and I still have to clean my room and stuff."
"Tch, what do you mean spare your life? When have I ever wanted your life?" The girl put her hands on her hips, glaring at Lin Jin with a sulky look.
The girl's name was Shi Yuli. She was very pretty, with her beautiful black hair tied neatly into a ponytail at the back of her head. She should have recently turned nineteen, a few months older than Lin Jin, and was now also a freshman, but studying at Fuzhou University.
Unlike Lin Jin, who disliked studying and reading, Shi Yuli was a good girl who loved to learn. She seemed to have a lot of extracurricular knowledge, reading all sorts of books, from classical novels like Romance of the Three Kingdoms to modern web novels, from Spring and Autumn to historical records to cookbooks... Anyway, she seemed to find any book fascinating.
To those who were unfamiliar with Shi Yuli, she might appear to be a talented and cultured young woman. But in Lin Jin's eyes, this girl was practically a demon, alright?
"Let's go, let's go! I'll also go to your house!" Yuli cheerfully hooked her arm around Lin Jin's neck, but looked at him with surprise. "Why do you seem shorter?"
"How could that be?" Since he was already caught, Lin Jin had no thoughts of escaping and resignedly walked toward his home under the grip of Yuli's arm.
"Really, before, when I hooked my arm around your neck it was a bit uncomfortable, but now..." She furrowed her brows, looking at Lin Jin's neck, "now it's just right."
"You’re hallucinating" Lin Jin replied with a neutral expression.
"And you've gotten so much prettier, I almost didn't recognize you at first" Yuli playfully leaned half of her body against Lin Jin's soft body, giggling as she spoke. "And you're so soft, it feels so comfortable holding you. How about you be my pillow for the night?"
Lin Jin's face changed instantly, shaking his head immediately.
F*ck being your pillow.
Shi Yuli lived across the hall from Lin Jin. When Lin Jin moved here at the age of five or six, her family also moved in across from him around the same time. Therefore, the two families were quite familiar with each other, helping each other out now and then. Lin Jin and Yuli had been playmates since childhood, they attended the same kindergarten, elementary school, and middle school. It was only in high school that they went their separate ways because of academic reasons, Lin Jin to an ordinary high school, and Yuli to the best high school in the area.
Yuli was quite a handful when they were kids. She often slept with Lin Jin, hugging him tightly like an octopus and making it hard for him to sleep. It wasn't because Lin Jin was too excited to sleep next to a girl, he didn't understand any of that back then, but simply because he was held too tightly to fall asleep.
Their families had even had an arranged marriage when the two were still in kindergarten. However, after Lin Jin's dad became a gambler, Yuli's family had distanced themselves, occasionally offering some help but not much more.
When they arrived home, Yuli finally let go of Lin Jin. She peeked into his house and exclaimed in surprise, "What... What happened to your place?"
She hadn't visited Lin Jin's home for years and was unaware that Lin Jin's dad had sold off all the furniture.
"My dad gambled it all away."
Lin Jin stored the groceries in the kitchen and grabbed a broom and dustpan from the balcony to start cleaning the house. "It was pretty clean when I was around. I've been away for school for just three or four months, and my dad has turned the place into a complete mess" he casually said.
"Why would uncle do that?" Yuli frowned, gathering the trash in the living room and setting it by the front door. She also picked up the liquor bottles that had fallen on the ground one by one, placing them into a cardboard box in the corner.
Lin Jin shrugged without replying, silently sweeping the floor clean before mopping it. It took him about half an hour to get it done, and only then did he take off his shoes and walk barefoot around the house.
After spending another half an hour cleaning the dusty tables and chairs at home, Lin Jin took a long breath, sat down on the bedside of the bedroom, and looked at the ceiling helplessly.
"Lin Jin, Lin Jin." Once everything was done, Yuli approached him again, questioning with her eyes wide open. "How do you take care of your skin? I have some pimples on my face, but you don't have any. I remember you used to have quite a few."
She looked down at Lin Jin's face, closely examining his nearly flawless skin and somewhat feminine features.
He seems to be even prettier than me, despite being a guy.
But then she thought about it, Lin Jin had been co-titled the 'beautiful girl' of the class along with her back in kindergarten. That Lin Jin now appeared somewhat androgynous was actually quite acceptable.
"Facial cleanser" Lin Jin replied, lying back on the bed. "While everyone else goes out and has fun during the winter break, I come home and end up being swamped with chores."
"Why does it feel like you've gotten so much shorter?" Yuli propped herself on her elbows on the bed, looking down at Lin Jin. "And it seems like you've... become prettier."
"College, you’ll change a lot too after three years in college. It's normal."
If it were his dad asking these kinds of questions, Lin Jin wouldn't dare to bluff. But he knew Yuli well, and a few vague answers would let Yuli know that pressing further would be pointless.
"The thing is, you seem to have become more... ‘submissive’." (TL Note: This sounds the same as "skinny" in Chinese)
"I've gained 10 kg..." Lin Jin twitched at the corner of his mouth, touching his belly in self-mockery. "Look at this stomach. Easily two months' worth."
"Pfft, I mean ‘submissive’ in terms of top and bottom relationships" Yuli chuckled. Her curved eyebrows made her look very pretty, capturing people's attention.
Lin Jin was momentarily stunned by Yuli's smile, then turned his head away, saying discontentedly, "That joke is not funny, okay? Other than looking a bit like a girl when I was a kid, when have I ever been submissive?"
"This father used to be a big shot in middle school and high school, you know?" Lin Jin huffed, countering Yuli's words.
Yuli was no fool, and she had also attended middle school with Lin Jin. She couldn't help but laugh at Lin Jin's words, "I've never seen you being a big shot, I only know you skip school to play online."
"Hey" Yuli's legs swung back and forth as she curiously asked Lin Jin, "You're so pretty now, have you found a boyfriend in college?"
"Pretty?" Lin Jin raised an eyebrow, looking unconvinced. "What boyfriend? I even flirted with a girl, okay? And how I look is called 'handsome', the Korean kind!"
"That's the worst Korean slander I've heard." Yuli didn't think much about why Lin Jin had suddenly become so pretty, she glanced at the time on her phone and sat up. "I’m going home to read."
"Go ahead."
