SWTHTC - 24

Chapter 24: “Cover Your Waist”

Friday was the best day of the week to catch Yan Lin.

He was a man of strict routines and exceptional self-discipline. Though he was a hardcore online gamer, he only allowed himself two hours of gaming at the internet café after school on Fridays.

Boys usually played games in groups, and their group had been three players short for a while.

Mi Lan spotted the opportunity and filled the empty spot.

Her sudden appearance made the other two boys stare in disbelief.

But Mi Lan had thick skin and beamed brightly, pretending to be surprised as she said, “Wow, what a coincidence! You guys come to the internet café to play games too?”

Yan Lin: ?

As Yan Lin’s rowdy friends, Ge Ao and Zhang Zouning were perfectly aware of their roles—they were professional spectators, and they loved stirring up trouble. Even though they knew Yan Lin couldn’t stand Mi Lan, they still teased him, saying, “Your wife is here. Watch your step.”

At that moment, Yan Lin wanted nothing more than to glue their mouths shut.

From that point on, Mi Lan joined Yan Lin and his friends every Friday to play games.

Truth be told, Mi Lan didn’t know how to play games. She had to learn everything from scratch—how to shoot guns or swing swords, and all the other messy mechanics.

But no amount of learning could change the fact that she was terrible at gaming.

In her first match with them, she got killed by the opposing team within a minute. Ge Ao, being a good guy, initially tried to rush over and heal her, but before he could reach her, she was already dead. Mi Lan felt disheartened, but later in that same game, Yan Lin went on a rampage. With furrowed brows, he took down three opponents in quick succession, forcing the enemy team to beg for mercy over the voice chat.

Mi Lan wasn’t sure if he was avenging her, and she didn’t bother to confirm it. Instead, she basked in her own little bubble of happiness.

This initial gaming experience hooked her—not because of the game itself, but because of Yan Lin’s vengeance. She loved watching him fight fiercely on her behalf, so she subconsciously kept feeding the enemy team. This, of course, pissed off the boys. At first, they patiently tried to carry her, but when her performance remained abysmal and she kept throwing the game, they gave up on her. Yan Lin ignored her completely, leaving her to mess around on her own while he and his brothers focused on ranked matches.

Mi Lan felt defeated.

But honestly, it wasn’t so bad. Her original goal wasn’t to enjoy the game—it was simply to sit next to Yan Lin. As long as she could quietly stay by his side for two hours, she was content.

Besides, just watching Yan Lin play was thrilling. His fingers moved with incredible agility, dancing across the keyboard. Even as an amateur, Mi Lan could tell his gameplay was dazzling. When he played, he naturally became the core of the team. Ge Ao and Zhang Zouning followed his lead without question. He spoke sparingly, issuing concise commands in a cold, cool voice, and no one ever dared to defy him. They followed his orders to the letter.

It was… incredibly charming.

Mi Lan’s eyes sparkled like stars.

This Friday, they gathered again to play games. After a while, probably bored, they turned their attention to Mi Lan and started chatting.

Zhang Zouning was also a liberal arts student, in the same class as Mi Lan. Back in high school, they weren’t particularly close, but they grew closer after Mi Lan started relentlessly pursuing Yan Lin.

He found Mi Lan quite interesting. Despite being a pretty girl, she seemed to have no sense of pride. No matter how many times Yan Lin rejected her, she remained resilient, as if she had decided he was the one for her.

Yan Lin was a well-known figure in school—a top student in the science track. Though not as legendary as Hou Zihao, he was still incredibly impressive. Everyone knew about Mi Lan’s pursuit of him. While people didn’t say much to her face, behind her back, they laughed at her, and the gossip was often cruel.

Zhang Zouning was curious about what she was thinking.

After some contemplation, he leaned closer to Mi Lan and lowered his voice to ask, “Hey, Mi Lan, are you still chasing Yan Lin?”

Mi Lan had been enthusiastically watching Yan Lin unleash his ultimate ability. Without looking away, she replied, “Of course. Why else would I be here?”

“You’ve got some perseverance,” Zhang Zouning remarked sarcastically. “If you put this kind of effort into studying, Peking University and Tsinghua University would be fighting over you.”

Though it was meant as sarcasm, Mi Lan took it as praise. She stopped watching Yan Lin play and sat up straight, leaning toward Zhang Zouning to inquire, “Did Yan Lin say that? Does he talk about me often?”

Zhang Zouning thought to himself: With Mi Lan’s relentless pursuit shattering Yan Lin’s worldview, how could he not mention her?

But he didn’t dare say that out loud. Instead, he simply nodded.

Mi Lan was satisfied and pressed further, asking what else Yan Lin had said. When Zhang Zouning couldn’t recall anything, he quickly changed the subject to avoid more questions. “What exactly do you like about him? That guy has no charm, is self-centered, and acts like he’s better than everyone else. What’s so great about him?”

“Shut up,” Mi Lan snapped at Zhang Zouning’s criticism of Yan Lin, kicking him under the table. “I like that he acts like he’s better than everyone else.”

After a pause, she rolled her eyes and added, “Unlike you, who gets all excited whenever a girl talks to you.”

Zhang Zouning protested, “Hey, stop making things up! When did I ever get excited?”

Mi Lan snorted. “What about Luo Siyu, the transfer student? Didn’t she talk to you today? Didn’t you happily lend her your notes?”

Zhang Zouning faltered for a moment before defending himself. “That’s just mutual help between classmates! What was I supposed to do, refuse?”

Mi Lan snorted again. “If it were Yan Lin, he definitely wouldn’t have lent her anything.”

Zhang Zouning: …

He realized there was no reasoning with Mi Lan. Her rose-tinted glasses for Yan Lin were impenetrable.

So he changed the topic and asked, “From what you’re saying, do you have some kind of issue with Luo Siyu?”

Mi Lan shrugged. “No.”

Zhang Zouning raised an eyebrow. “Then why…”

…She sounded like she didn’t think highly of Luo Siyu.

Mi Lan’s eyes darted around for a moment before she responded, “She hasn’t done anything to me, so we don’t have any issues. But my gut tells me she’s trouble. You’d better stay away from her.”

Zhang Zouning: ?

What the… Was this the mythical sixth sense of girls?

While Zhang Zouning pondered this, a group of tattooed men swaggered past them. One of them stared directly at Mi Lan.

Mi Lan was naturally beautiful, and her fashion choices always stood out. For instance, today she had tied her school uniform shirt into a knot, exposing a small section of her slender, pale waist. The bald guy couldn’t take his eyes off her.

Mi Lan, oblivious to the attention, didn’t seem to mind. Even when the bald guy whistled at her, she continued chatting loudly with Zhang Zouning, casually revealing her waist.

Just as she was mid-sentence, she suddenly heard Yan Lin call her name: “Mi Lan.”

The moment Mi Lan heard Yan Lin speak to her, she forgot all about Zhang Zouning and immediately turned to look at him.

The game was still ongoing, and he was in the middle of an intense battle. But at some point, he had taken off his headphones and was now speaking to her while continuing to play. “Put your clothes back down.”

Mi Lan didn’t understand. “Huh?”

Yan Lin’s expression remained blank. “Cover your waist.”

Mi Lan perked up at this.

She felt a surge of excitement at receiving his attention. After years of chasing Yan Lin, she had come to realize something: Yan Lin would never show kindness to anyone. For him to even acknowledge her was a significant improvement.

So Mi Lan shook her head defiantly. “No.”

As soon as she said that, Yan Lin’s eyebrows began to furrow.

His focus remained on the game, where a series of dazzling effects lit up the screen as he fought fiercely.

Even in the heat of battle, he spared the energy to scold her, his tone icy and dismissive. “If you don’t cover up, get out.”

Cold and harsh.

Mi Lan scoffed. “Pfft, this is a public place. I’ll stay wherever I want. You can’t kick me out. I’m not covering up.”

Annoy him to death.

She assumed Yan Lin was too busy with the battle to deal with her. To her surprise, he finished off the opposing team just then, and the word “WIN” flashed triumphantly across the screen.

Without even glancing at the victory screen, Yan Lin turned to look at her, his expression intimidating.

Mi Lan’s heart quailed, but she pretended not to care. Then she heard him say, “Fine. If you won’t leave, I will.”

With that, he actually picked up his bag and started walking away!

Mi Lan caved. She quickly untied the knot in her shirt to cover her waist and shouted angrily, “Yan Lin, you’re such a jerk! You’re the biggest jerk ever! I’ll do what you say, okay?!?!”

They had spent two hours at the internet café. By the time they left, it was past seven, and the sky was dark.

Ge Ao and Zhang Zouning, unwilling to risk angering Yan Lin, feigned having other plans and disappeared the moment they stepped out of the café.

Mi Lan was thrilled.

She loved spending time alone with Yan Lin. Whenever she was with him, she had endless things to say, chattering nonstop. He rarely responded, but that didn’t matter. She could conjure sweetness out of thin air.

As they walked together, Mi Lan, whose home was nearby, tugged at Yan Lin’s sleeve and said, “Hey, Yan Lin, walk me home.”

Yan Lin glanced at her and flatly refused. “No.”

Mi Lan pouted and whined, “Do you have no conscience? I came to the internet café late at night because of you. Now it’s dark outside. Are you really going to let a girl walk home alone?”

“It’s not like I asked you to come,” Yan Lin replied calmly to her accusations. “I’m perfectly fine with it.”

With that, he didn’t wait for her to say another word and walked ahead.

Mi Lan stood rooted in place, glaring at his retreating back. She silently counted to ten, thinking that if Yan Lin turned back before she reached ten, it meant he had a tiny bit of affection for her.

She reached ten.

Yan Lin was almost out of sight.

Mi Lan felt a pang of disappointment. The joy she had felt earlier when he told her to cover her waist dissipated. Angry for a moment, she eventually ran after his retreating figure, panting heavily when she finally caught up.

She sidled up to him, smiling brightly like a flower, and asked, “How about I walk you home instead?”

Yan Lin sighed, utterly exasperated. “No need. Go home by yourself.”

But Mi Lan didn’t listen. She had long understood that following him was the way to go. Like a little shadow, she trailed behind him.

Yan Lin was helpless, visibly annoyed. He stopped walking, hands in his pockets, and looked down at her. “What will it take for you to stop following me?”

Mi Lan grinned mischievously, thought for a moment, and said, “Walk me home.”

Yan Lin stared at her for a while. In their silent standoff, he eventually relented and turned toward Mi Lan’s house.

Mi Lan’s heart soared. She secretly made a “V” sign and skipped after him.

Meanwhile, a question quietly surfaced in her mind:

Why had he never let her know where he lived?

________________________________________

Author’s Note:

Little Yan: Among the five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, earth—none of them rival her in vexing me.