With My Ability To Swap, I Will Never End Up In A Love Triangle Mess - Chapter 75

“Hehe, I’ve heard everyone call you that, but you really do deserve to be called an ‘old trickster.’”

Luo Xinyu clasped her hands behind her back, leaning slightly forward, her eyes fixed intently on Xia Xi.

Being stared at by such a beautiful girl, Xia Xi couldn’t help but feel a little flustered.

Sure, he’d seen Luo Xinyu’s face countless times in the mirror—but that was when he was the one controlling her expressions. He could never mimic the natural charm she had now.

Luckily, when she said she knew him, she was referring to his identity as an author—not the “Chen Xi” who had once controlled her body.

“Pfft, I was in a bad mood after reading Dragon Reign I, so I had my family look into you without asking. Sorry about that.”

Thinking she’d scared him, Luo Xinyu quickly explained.

For an ordinary person, having their personal information dug up was terrifying—it was a complete invasion of privacy.

“Don’t worry, I haven’t told anyone about you… After all, I only have those two friends, and they’ve been busy lately, so we haven’t talked. But… sometimes, sitting alone in my room feels really lonely. I never used to feel this way before.”

As she spoke, Luo Xinyu suddenly covered her mouth and apologized again.

“Ah, sorry, I ended up rambling a bit.”

Then, she motioned for her bodyguard to hand over a small gift box—no bigger than a ring case.

“Here, this is for you. Consider it a reader’s token of appreciation for your hard work on Dragon Reign I~”

Without waiting for Xia Xi to respond, she turned her wheelchair around, as if delivering the gift was all she had come to do.

Holding the box, Xia Xi’s emotions were complicated.

Now that he had writing as a way to make money, his enthusiasm for going to Luo Xinyu’s place to learn painting had waned.

More importantly, after all the unexpected incidents with Lin Xuenning lately, he hadn’t had time to visit Luo Xinyu.

He thought it was just a casual “let’s take a break from meeting,” but he hadn’t realized how down she’d been.

From her tone, he could practically hear the loneliness of an “empty-nest elder” from those public service announcements—“Busy, everyone’s so busy.”

Returning to the table, Lin Xuenning peeked over curiously.

“What did she say to you?”

“Nothing much, just gave me a little gift. I don’t even know what it is yet.”

Xia Xi set the box on the table, planning to open it after finishing their meal.

“Wait… Where are my grilled oysters?!”

The delicious oysters had mysteriously vanished. Xia Xi’s gaze immediately locked onto the only suspect.

Lin Xuenning stiffened under his stare, but she still lifted her chin and spoke in a guilty yet defiant tone.

“I don’t know! I definitely didn’t eat them!”

Hey, maybe wipe the oyster juice from the corner of your mouth before saying that?!

Xia Xi pointed at his own lips, and Lin Xuenning instantly realized her mistake. She snatched a napkin and aggressively wiped her mouth, transferring the oily stain onto the paper.

Staring at the evidence, she knew she was caught. She turned her head away and doubled down.

“Fine! It was me! So what?! I just didn’t want them to burn and go to waste, so I kindly helped you finish them!”

Knowing exactly what she was like, Xia Xi didn’t push back verbally. Instead, he snatched the chicken leg she’d been grilling for ages and took a huge bite.

Someone else’s chicken leg always tastes better!

“You—that was my chicken leg…”

Having her long-awaited prize stolen, Lin Xuenning’s face crumpled with grievance.

If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have eaten Xia Xi’s oysters. Not only did I get silently mocked, but I also lost my delicious chicken leg!

“La la la, not listening~ Mmm, this chicken leg is so good. Why isn’t Class President Lin eating? Not hungry?”

Xia Xi dangled the chicken leg in front of her face, taunting her.

Lin Xuenning’s stubbornness flared. Without hesitation, she opened her mouth and chomped down on the juicy meat.

“Wait—I already ate from this! Let go, let GO!”

Xia Xi tugged, trying to salvage what was left, but only succeeded in losing the meatiest part.

“Are you a dog or something?”

He stared at the half-devoured chicken leg in his hand, sighing in defeat.

Lin Xuenning, meanwhile, swallowed her stolen bite and smirked triumphantly.

“You’re the one who waved it in my face~”

But internally, she was dying of embarrassment.

That was a chicken leg Xia Xi had already bitten! And I just mindlessly took a bite from the exact same spot!

Does this count as an indirect kiss? Well, only my teeth touched it, not my lips… so… it doesn’t count, right?

She glanced at Xia Xi, who was casually finishing the rest of the chicken leg without a care, and her imagination ran wild again.

Her fair cheeks flushed intermittently, like a stage actor switching masks.

Xia Xi was half-convinced she had some supernatural ability to regulate her body temperature—who blushed this much on command?

…..

After eating their fill, the two sat side by side.

Lin Xuenning had been the one to scoot closer, claiming she wanted a better look at the mystery gift.

Sure, that’s a valid reason—but why are you pressing your face so close to my head? You’re not nearsighted! You can see the box just fine from a normal distance!

Taking a deep breath, Xia Xi untied the ribbon and opened the box.

“This is…”

One of them fell silent. The other burst into laughter.

“Pfft—does that ‘Xiao Yu’ sister have some kind of grudge against you? Who gives something like this? Hahaha!”

Really, Class President Lin? Sure, it’s an unexpected gift, but is it that funny?

Xia Xi felt the world’s cruelty bearing down on him.

Inside the box lay a set of gleaming, razor-sharp blades.

Gritting his teeth, he snapped the lid shut.

Oh, wonderful. A ‘reader’s token of appreciation,’ huh? Just because I added a few tragic scenes, you had to send me literal blades?

(Not that he could judge—back when he’d read Dragon Reign, he’d also wanted to mail a certain dog-table-sharing author a box of blades.)

“Alright, alright, enough laughing. We’ve eaten, so let’s head home. I still need to catch up on sleep.”

Making up a quick excuse, Xia Xi shooed off the strangely reluctant class president and returned home, collapsing onto his soft bed in a daze.

“Should I go see Luo Xinyu? The way she talked today… she really did seem lonely.”

As for his café job, Liu Jiaying had given him a full week of paid leave due to his “illness”—though she had offered to take care of him, which he’d declined, claiming he needed rest.

So… since he had nothing else to do this afternoon, maybe he should visit Luo Xinyu.