“Are you not bored?”
Xia Xi lay on the bed, her phone propped up by a soft plush fruit, automatically playing short videos.
However, her gaze wasn’t fixed on the phone screen but rested on the back of Luo Xinyu, who was sitting at the desk chair reading a book.
“Not bored at all. Having you here makes it fun~”
Luo Xinyu’s eyes shifted from the book as he turned around with a smile to look at Xia Xi.
Even though the current Xia Xi, using his body, differed quite a bit from the Xia Xi in his memories due to different life experiences, it didn’t matter. Luo Xinyu was deeply curious about what expression she would make after regaining her memories and seeing these records of them dating while she was a girl.
“Smooth talker. You really are a player.”
Xia Xi chided him playfully, though she felt no real disgust towards him.
“Hehe.”
When unsure how to respond, a little tap on the head and a “hehe” always worked. This little trick was actually taught to Luo Xinyu by Xia Yue, perfect for charming one’s way out of tricky situations.
Knock, knock, knock.
Right as they were chatting, a knock suddenly sounded at the door.
“Hello, is this your food delivery?”
“Yes, just leave it by the door, please. Thank you for your hard work.”
It was Luo Xinyu who answered. After all, when traveling, a male identity was safer than a female one. Situations like food deliveries were less risky if handled by a guy.
“Alright, let me confirm one more time. Are you… ‘The Timid Young Miss’?”
?
Luo Xinyu looked at Xia Xi, his expression a mix of confusion, amusement, shock… and a hint of annoyance? Well, actually, that’s impossible—eyes can’t really be like a painter’s palette. He was mostly just confused and shocked, with absolutely no anger.
“Hmm, yes, that’s right. It’s me.”
Luo Xinyu answered, barely suppressing his laughter.
Footsteps faded away outside the door. It seemed the delivery person, after confirming, had quickly left.
Once Luo Xinyu brought their “Bao Le Ma” delivery inside and securely closed the door, he finally let out an unrestrained laugh.
“What are you laughing at!”
Xia Xi was flustered.
Her face flushed bright red.
She didn’t know why either—her mind had just blanked, and she’d used that nickname. It felt like… it was something she was just meant to use.
“Pfft—hahaha~”
Luo Xinyu never expected that after Xia Xi changed into his real-world appearance, she would actually acknowledge being “The Timid Young Miss.”
Well… The Timid Young Miss is Xia Xi; it could never be me, Luo Xinyu!
“Stop laughing!”
Xia Xi was so angry her chest heaved, causing the phone resting there to tumble onto the bed.
“Alright, alright, I won’t laugh~”
Luo Xinyu wiped away non-existent tears, looking at Xia Xi with an utterly doting gaze.
His caring eyes seemed to say, “Be a good girl now. Getting angry isn’t nice. I’ll listen to you, okay?”
How infuriating!
She wasn’t a child anymore!
“Come down and eat the noodles. They’ll cool fast on a rainy day.”
Since Sakura Province in this world was part of the mainland, “Bao Le Ma” had naturally expanded its services here. Their service was very thoughtful; even the two bowls of noodles Xia Xi had ordered were wrapped in foil to prevent them from cooling during delivery.
Xia Xi gave a cold “hmph,” clearly not over being laughed at earlier.
But no matter how angry she was, she couldn’t take it out on food, right?
So, she threw off the covers, lifted her two long, pale legs that had been crossed, and slipped her feet into slippers.
Contrary to their expectations, they had thought today’s swap would be their legs, since yesterday it was their feet. Unexpectedly, today’s swap was… their hips.
Wrapped in their bathrobes, this swap was inconsequential, hardly affecting their daily lives.
“Don’t be mad. Here, let me feed you~”
As he spoke, Luo Xinyu picked up a strand of noodles with his chopsticks. Holding the bowl underneath to catch any drips, he brought it to Xia Xi’s mouth.
“This is Onikinto’s Hokkaido ramen, one of the favorite foods of a certain novel character, you know.”
“I can eat by myself!”
Xia Xi said this, but her body unconsciously leaned forward. She opened her small mouth and with a slurp, drew the noodles in.
“You keep mentioning this ‘novel character.’ Which novel are you even talking about? I, your young miss, am well-read. How come I’ve never heard of this character you mention?”
While savoring the delicious noodles, Xia Xi voiced her confusion.
So far, this senior who had dragged her out of school to go on this trip seemed to be following the exact itinerary of the character he kept mentioning.
Even the food they ate was what that character liked. She had no idea what had gotten into this senior, insisting she come along to experience it. He could have done all this alone with his magic, after all.
“Well… she’s a very simple and cute girl.”
Luo Xinyu thought for a moment before speaking slowly.
“Actually, you probably have read it. You just forgot.”
Hearing this, Xia Xi was taken aback.
Was there such a Sakura Province character in the books she’d read? She didn’t think so. She had no memory of it.
Just like before, when Luo Xinyu insisted she had skipped class with Lin Xuening—as the person involved, she had absolutely no memory of any such event.
“Could it be that this ‘cute, simple girl’ is someone you like? And you’re using a novel as a cover story to trick me?”
The more Xia Xi thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
He spoke so highly of this girl; it was obvious he had feelings for her.
How did that song go again?
Want to feel the breeze that once touched you.
Maybe Senior Luo Xinyu had that kind of mindset, wanting to experience everything that girl had experienced.
Or maybe…
Something had happened to this girl? And Senior Luo Xinyu was left with regrets, which was why he subconsciously imitated her behavior, even talking like a girl.
“Stop overthinking it! She really is just a fictional character. It’s just that the author wrote the seven-day trip between her and the male lead as incredibly sweet and beautiful, so I wanted to experience it too.”
Seeing Xia Xi’s increasingly strange expression, Luo Xinyu knew this silly girl was getting the wrong idea and hurriedly explained.
“It’s okay. I understand.”
Xia Xi said expressionlessly, taking another bite of noodles.
“So… am I her substitute?”
“No! How could you be her substitute? You’ve always been the only one I’ve liked.”
Somewhere along the line, saying “I like you” to Xia Xi had become a commonplace thing for Luo Xinyu.
It was as if he couldn’t wait for everyone to know who he liked.
Even in the real world, there were no major reservations between him and Xia Xi anymore. At least in front of An Xiaoyu and Xia Yue, he could say “I love you” to Xia Xi without batting an eye.
“Hmph~ That’s good then.”
