onds."You have the ability to go and complain about it," came Zhao Yanzǐ's voice, full of委屈 (grief/worry).Hǎo Rén smiled and took a few small steps deliberately, creating the illusion of going downsta...Chapter 15 First Visit

Hao Ren walked around the room and turned back to see Zhao Yanzi's fiery little face.

"I was just looking around. Why are you so angry" Hao Ren asked her indifferently.

Zhao Yanzi didn't respond, perhaps because she couldn't think of a proper reply.

"If you don’t want me here, I’ll leave," Hao Ren said.

<

”No!” Zhao Yanzi’s eyes rolled half a turn. "Stay in the room."

Hao Ren understood from her expression that she was worried about being punished by her parents and therefore wanted him to stay.

"What should I do then" Hao Ren asked.

"Do whatever you want," Zhao Yanzi said, then left Hao Ren alone, sitting in front of the computer and moving the mouse to activate the screen.

The background picture on her computer was a photo of Zhao Yanzi wearing a swimsuit on the beach. In the blue waves, her delicate skin shone brightly under the sunlight. She looked very happy in the photo, with neat teeth exposed as she grinned and sticking out her playful tongue. It was hard to imagine this girl was a mischievous troublemaker in real life.

She quickly switched to another interface when she realized Hao Ren had seen the picture. Her expression now became unreadable for Hao Ren.

The new interface Zhao Yanzi chose was the popular single-player game "Plants vs Zombies". She focused intently on her gameplay, pretending not to care about Hao Ren.

Hao Ren found himself extremely bored and walked over to a desk where he randomly picked up a book from a shelf. Zhao Yanzi played her game without bothering him.

Hao Ren sat down in a chair on the balcony, basking in the afternoon sun while quietly reading his novel.

While playing the game, Zhao Yanzi couldn’t help but glance at Hao Ren from time to time.

Although he wasn't very handsome, he didn’t look like a villain… Zhao Yanzi secretly thought as she watched him peacefully reading under the sun’s rays.

But to marry him… Sudden confusion arose in her heart.

Sighing, she turned back to her game.

Hours passed without them noticing. Zhao Yanzi was completely immersed in the game and forgot about Hao Ren in the room.

In the computer screen, more and more zombies were appearing while Zhao Yanzi’s planted Peashooters weren’t enough to stop them; she could only watch helplessly as they "broke into" her defense.

For five consecutive times, she couldn't break through. She finally became impatient and angrily threw the mouse onto the table, pouting at her computer.

"Stupid," a voice sounded behind her.

She turned around to find Hao Ren standing right behind her.

The blood rushed into her face like a red pig's head. She had been too engrossed in the game and forgot about Hao Ren’s presence. But this could not entirely be blamed on her since this was her private room, where she usually stayed alone, so how would she think of having a quiet "guest" inside

"Mind your own business!" She finally blurted out after suppressing her anger for two seconds.

"Plant two rows of sunflowers behind, reserve one row in front to plant frost peas, then green pea shooters in the next row. Leave a vacant row before planting giant mouths and potatoes at the very front. Do the same with the water sections, just put the lily pads first," Hao Ren explained.

"Pfft, there's no way I can break through like that!" Zhao Yanzi不服氣地說道。

Hao Ren ignored her and returned to the balcony to continue reading his book.

Seated on the computer chair, Zhao Yanzi thought it over and restarted this level of the game. Following Hao Ren’s planting method, she actually succeeded in breaking through.

"Did you break through" Hao Ren, who appeared to be quietly reading a book, suddenly asked.

"No!" Zhao Yanzi said petulantly.

Hao Ren stood up as if he wanted to come over and take a look. Fidgety and anxious, Zhao Yanzi quickly exited the game.

As a result, that photo set as her desktop background was fully exposed in Hao Ren's sight.

"Don't you dare look!" She hurriedly stood up to block Hao Ren’s view.

The photo showed her wearing a swimsuit and revealing all of her curves. How could she allow others to see it

"I've seen the real thing; what's so strange about seeing the picture" Hao Ren said, turning his face with an expression of disdain.

Zhao Yanzi gritted her teeth, clenched her fists, and punched Hao Ren’s chest.

Fortunately, she had lost her internal elixir, thus her strength was not great. Her punch didn’t hurt him much but rather conveyed a hint of petulance.

Seeing Hao Ren rubbing his chest and pretending to be in pain, Zhao Yanzi finally felt somewhat satisfied. "Hmph, dare me to speak again You’ll taste my might once more."

She sat down and opened the game "Plants vs. Zombies", continuing to progress through levels.

Hao Ren found reading boring, so he pulled up a chair and sat next to her, watching her play.

Zhao Yanzi was actually finding it boring too; she felt happier with someone watching her. Besides, there were some levels she couldn't get past on her own.

"Plant the Mouth Flower here..."

"Quickly gather sunlight over here!"

"The last wave of zombies is coming, prepare for Cherry Bomb."

Hao Ren kept giving guidance from beside her.

"Stop nagging! I know!" Zhao Yanzi scolded Hao Ren while following his instructions and frantically controlling the mouse.

The two were completely focused on the game screen, unaware that Zhao Hongyu had quietly opened the door to peek at them before leaving with a satisfied heart.

Time flew by quickly; they didn't realize they'd reached the last level of the game until it was time for dinner.

Rap-rap-rap... knocking sounds came from outside the door.

Zhao Yanzi paused the game, and Hao Ren snapped out of his gaming trance.

"Alright, stop playing. It's time to eat," Zhao Hongyu's gentle voice called from outside.

Zhao Yanzi turned to look at the door and then noticed how close they were. She hastily tilted her body 45 degrees to distance herself from Hao Ren. At this moment, Hao Ren also realized he was too close and cleared his throat to ease the awkwardness before sitting up straight.

Zhao Yanzi turned off the computer screen and walked briskly out of the room, trying to appear calm.

How could she be having so much fun playing a game with someone she disliked... Zhao Yanzi blamed herself as she went down the stairs.

Hao Ren also felt strange; he couldn't understand why he was so engrossed in playing with this little girl...

The two of them reached the small dining room downstairs, where a sumptuous dinner had already been laid out on the table.

"It's about time for me to go back," Hao Ren said.

"Have dinner first before leaving," Zhao Guang said in a calm tone. The steady intonation didn't sound like an invitation but rather a command.

Afraid that they might want me to stay for the night after dinner... Hao Ren suddenly had this thought.

But he quickly dismissed it as unrealistic and sat down somewhat awkwardly.

The meal proceeded quietly. Zhao Hongyu and Zhao Guang mainly chatted about trivial matters of daily life, occasionally touching on topics that Hao Ren couldn't understand; in such cases, Hao Ren listened either intentionally or unintentionally.

After dinner was over, Zhao Guang did not keep Hao Ren around as expected, and Hao Ren tactfully indicated his intention to leave.

"Azi (Azure), go see Hao Ren off," Zhao Hongyu instructed her daughter.

Zhao Yanzi reluctantly stood up, looked at Hao Ren for a moment, then followed him towards the door.

When they reached the road outside his house, Hao Ren turned back to look at the pouting Zhao Yanzi. "You don't need to see me off. You can go back."

"Oh..." Zhao Yanzi was about to return when her mother's voice called out from behind.

She had no choice but to turn around again, looking rather aggrieved as she followed Hao Ren.

Hao Ren didn’t say anything more and walked towards the bus stop half a kilometer away. Zhao Yanzi kept a distance of 30 centimeters behind him, out of his line of sight yet following closely, which could be considered "seeing him off."

Seeing her reluctance, it seemed as though everything was being forced upon her by her parents.

The whole way there, neither of them said a word. Zhao Yanzi would occasionally kick small pebbles at the roadside to vent her frustration.

A white shirt with neat ruffled sleeves and a red polka-dot skirt... The cool breeze blew gently, causing her skirt to flutter slightly.

Without looking at her pouting mouth, she looked quite alluring in this outfit that suited her petite figure. Just like Zhou Liren often said: "She's sweet, cute, feminine and charming..."

The 500-meter distance wasn't particularly long or short; soon enough, Zhao Yanzi saw Hao Ren off to the bus stop.

"Alright, you can go back now," Hao Ren turned around and said to Zhao Yanzi behind him.

She nodded with her head down. "Mm..."

Suddenly she looked up at Hao Ren, a complex expression in her eyes, then quickly turned away and walked back home.er, then dragged Hao Ren's arm in and sat down, sighing with relief.At this moment, she realized that she had been holding Hao Ren's hand all along. Her face turned red quickly as she hurriedly let go...