Looking at her teacher's dejected expression, Niu Naitang, carrying her little backpack, sighed and shook her head to comfort her.
"Teacher Yan, don't misunderstand. That's Brother Lin's sister. You still have a chance."
Although it was embarrassing, hearing Niu Naitang say that did make Yan Ruyu feel a bit better.
She squatted down and whispered to Niu Naitang, "Tang Tang, I heard you say that Sister Ren is back at school. Do you think the teacher has a good chance?"
Niu Naitang wrinkled her little face, shaking her cute bun hairstyle, and said, "Not much chance, because my auntie is coming back soon."
Yan Ruyu was speechless, watching helplessly as Niu Naitang leaped into Lin Jichen's arms and affectionately hugged Gu Qiuxue beside him.
"Goodbye, Teacher Yan." Lin Jichen didn't think much of it, smiled, greeted Yan Ruyu, and left with Niu Naitang in his arms.
Yan Ruyu sighed, took out her phone, and sent a message to her cousin.
"Xia Xia, I got dumped. Come over to my place for dinner tonight."
The reply came immediately: "What? Cousin, you got dumped? Don't joke around, when were you ever in a relationship?"
Yan Ruyu felt a pang in her heart and had to threaten, "Are you coming or not? One word. If not, don't expect me to cover for you anymore."
"Okay, okay, I'll come. I'll head over after my stream. You can vent to me about which guy had such poor taste to reject my cousin. He's even blinder than me!"
Yan Ruyu smiled bitterly and replied, "Stop flattering me..."
"Hehe, I'll continue my stream for now. Cousin, wait for me. I'll bring you the gaming ring I bought for you. Didn't you say you wanted to play Tale of Immortal? After dinner, I'll teach you how to play, help you show off, and take you on a wild ride through the trash!"
Lin Jichen was already walking back with Niu Naitang.
Lin Jichen held Niu Naitang, with Gu Qiuxue beside him, her left hand holding his arm and her right hand holding a grilled sausage bought from a street vendor.
She occasionally fed bites to both Niu Naitang and Lin Jichen.
"School's out, Tang Tang's going home to play games~" Niu Naitang perked up as soon as school was over.
In the morning, when she was sent to school, she was listless. Her attitude towards studying was no different from a slacker.
Yet, Niu Naitang always ranked first in the entire school. You couldn't argue with that; it was just a difference in talent.
"By the way, Tang Tang, is your auntie coming back soon?" Lin Jichen remembered.
Niu Naitang had been staying with him for over a week. By the looks of it, Qin Xiaowei should be back soon.
"Yes! I miss my auntie so much~ She said she'll be back the day after tomorrow."
Niu Naitang was initially very excited, but the next second, she pouted, "But when my auntie comes back, I won't be able to stay with Sister Gu and Brother Lin anymore."
Gu Qiuxue and Lin Jichen were about to comfort her, but the little girl added, "The worst part is, Tang Tang won't be able to stay up late playing games anymore, boohoo..."
Lin Jichen rolled his eyes. So that was the real reason she was reluctant. He felt moved for nothing. This little heartless girl.
The three of them walked home, stopping at the market to buy some groceries before finally returning home.
Gu Qiuxue busied herself with cooking, Niu Naitang hurried to finish her homework in the living room so she could stay up late playing games.
Lin Jichen went to the kitchen to help Gu Qiuxue, but because he was too clumsy, he was kicked out.
Lin Jichen had no choice but to sit on the sofa and play with his phone while Niu Naitang quickly finished her homework, her pen moving like lightning, motivated by her desire to play games.
The three of them really seemed like a warm family.
When Ren Lan was around, it didn't feel quite the same. Mainly because that crazy woman was not cut out to be a good wife and mother.
When she was there, Lin Jichen was usually busy in the kitchen while she practiced boxing in the living room... then at night, she'd spar with Lin Jichen...
Thinking of this, Lin Jichen suddenly missed that crazy girl. He took out his phone and sent her a message: "Miss Frenzy, what are you doing?"
It didn't take long for her to reply: "I'm still in class, damn it, it's killing me."
Lin Jichen didn't sympathize at all and instead sent a laughing emoji.
"You're still playing the game, right?"
"Don't worry, I play for at least three hours before bed every night. Too bad we can't install gaming pods in the dorm, or I'd play all night."
"That's good." Lin Jichen felt relieved. He was really worried that Ren Lan would stop playing Tale of Immortal because of school.
Her innate talent would go to waste, and Lin Jichen had invested a lot in her, giving her secret techniques and equipment. This investment couldn't go to waste.
After a while, Lin Jichen thought she might have been caught by the teacher, but then he saw a long message from her, full of complaints.
"Many students at our school play Tale of Immortal, and a senior even created a Jiangling Normal University guild. He's always showing off. I can't stand him. If it weren't for your advice to keep a low profile, I'd teach him a lesson. A mere Foundation Establishment rookie, acting like a master, what a joke!"
Lin Jichen couldn't help but laugh out loud. He could already imagine Ren Lan's frustration at wanting to show off but having to hold back.
"Don't worry about him. Just keep a low profile and surprise everyone later."
"Surprise my ass. After hearing about those players who got revenge, I just want to stay low-key and not show off at all, sigh~"
"Haha, hang in there, Ren Lan. How's school life? Is the food okay?"
"Okay? It's the same as always, terrible. The school opened a Japanese restaurant, and many students are flocking there."
"Nuclear radiation cuisine, huh? That's great, clean and hygienic, and you'll turn into mutants after eating it." Lin Jichen joked.
"Hahaha, damn! Your mouth is so sharp." Ren Lan laughed.
But then, for some reason, she didn't reply for a long time. Lin Jichen didn't need to guess; he knew she must have been caught by the teacher for laughing too loudly.
Lin Jichen stopped replying and started playing with his phone.
To be honest, he hadn't touched this high-tech device in ten years.
Other than making calls and sending messages, he had almost forgotten how to use the other functions.
Lin Jichen opened some unfamiliar apps and mobile games, but quickly lost interest and closed them.
Suddenly, he saw the word [Gallery] and curiously clicked on it, finding a large number of photos with Guo Jie.
These were photos taken when Lin Jichen was young and naive.
Lin Jichen quickly deleted them all.
Then he thoroughly checked his phone to make sure there were no traces of Guo Jie left before he was satisfied.
When he opened the last memo, he found a note with a bunch of strange URLs.
Lin Jichen was puzzled, wondering what they were. Could they be some kind of code?
Curious, he opened one of them.
Seeing the content, Lin Jichen's nose bled. It turned out to be some inappropriate material.