Rejected by the Campus Belle, I Find My True Love

After a while, Lin Xi put down her pen and stretched. "Dad, I’m done drawing. Do you want to take a look?"

"What are you drawing?" Lin Zhenhai asked curiously.

"It’s a manga I’m drawing myself, adapted from a novel I wrote." As she spoke, Lin Xi handed the manga to Lin Zhenhai.

His eyes immediately fell on one of the characters.

Hmm, very familiar.

"Is this... Xue Yang?" he asked, pointing to the male protagonist.

Lin Xi’s eyes curved into a smile. "You figured it out, Dad."

"I’ve only gotten older, not blind. How could I not recognize something so obvious?"

She giggled. Lin Zhenhai attentively read through the entire manga, and he understood her underlying message. How could he not understand his own daughter? She claimed she was showing him a manga, but in reality, she was using it to tell him that she liked Xue Yang, loved him, and wanted to be with him.

"It’s getting late. Go take a shower and get to bed." After saying that, Lin Zhenhai returned the manga to Lin Xi, got up, and went back to his room.

"Goodnight, Dad."

Lin Xi packed her things and took her pajamas into the bathroom. By the time she came out of the shower, an hour had passed. Sitting on the edge of her bed, she was just about to dry her hair when a video call from Xue Yang came through. She immediately put down the hairdryer and answered.

Xue Yang’s handsome face appeared on her phone. It looked like he had already showered and was lying in bed, dressed in his usual loungewear. Compared to him, Lin Xi looked much more "disheveled."

And that "disheveled" look struck a chord deep within Xue Yang’s heart.

It made him want to pull her into his arms right away, but he knew that was impossible. Suppressing the urge, he spoke.

"Just finished your shower?"

Lin Xi pointed to the hairdryer beside her. "Yeah, I was about to dry my hair when you called."

"Looks like I called at a bad time. You should dry your hair first so you don’t catch a cold. I’ll call you back in a bit."

With that, Xue Yang prepared to hang up, but Lin Xi suddenly blurted out, "Xue Yang, I miss you so much."

Instantly, he couldn’t bring himself to end the call.

"Xiao Xi, I miss you too."

"When are you coming to get me?"

Xue Yang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "We only just separated today."

"But it feels like we’ve been apart for so long."

If Xue Yang hadn’t mentioned it, Lin Xi truly would have thought they had been separated for ages. It turned out the old saying was no lie: a day of separation feels like three autumns.

"I forgot to tell you something today," Xue Yang said. "My family is having a housewarming for our new place on August 15th. My parents want to invite you and your father."

"Oh, right! I almost forgot about that. Good thing you reminded me."

"I’ll call Uncle Lin tomorrow, then."

"Okay." Lin Xi pursed her lips. "What if my dad says he won’t go?"

"It’s fine if he can’t make it. Don’t overthink it. My parents won’t blame you."

"But I want to go."

That was Xue Yang’s new house, and one day it would be hers, too. She didn’t want to miss a moment as important as a housewarming. She had already missed out on so much with Xue Yang; from now on, she didn’t want to miss a single thing.

Seeing his Xiao Naimao looking so unhappy, Xue Yang took a deep breath. "Looks like I’ll need to work harder, buy an even bigger house, and we can have another housewarming."

"Haha, what kind of comfort is that?"

Although the method was cheesy, Lin Xi’s mood had indeed improved significantly.

"As long as it works. Now, if you don’t dry your hair, I’m going to get angry," Xue Yang said, putting on a stern face.

"Alright, I’ll do it now. But don’t hang up. I want to see you."

"Okay."

Getting his reply, Lin Xi set her phone on a stand, picked up the hairdryer, and started drying her hair.

Xue Yang wasn’t idle either. He sat down at his computer and started tackling work.

The first King’s Game competition had ended, and the results were quite good. The championship team was incredibly strong, and they were already forming a professional team dedicated to competing. Others had also begun investing, hoping to participate in the next King’s Game competition. Some eager players had even left messages on the official website asking when the next competition would be, what the participation requirements were, and what the prizes entailed.

Cui Hao had already gone to Yanbei for this matter and was swamped. Yu Kexin and the rest of the development team were also so busy they were run off their feet. Many major decisions were awaiting his return. He knew he had to get back as soon as possible.

"Xue Yang~ I’m done drying my hair."

Just as he finished his chat with Cui Hao, Lin Xi’s soft voice reached him.

Xue Yang’s gaze shifted back to his phone. After the hairdryer’s diligent work, her once-damp hair was now soft and fluffy. The change gave her a new air—serene and beautiful.

It made him want to hide her away so no one else could witness her beauty.𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Are you sleepy? If you are, you should go to bed," Xue Yang said.

He shifted to lie on his side. "Not at all. Let’s talk a little longer."

"Okay."

Lin Xi copied him, also turning onto her side. It looked as if they were lying face-to-face, chatting.

"Xue Yang, what would be an appropriate housewarming gift for me to get you?"

"What silly talk is that? What do you mean, ’get me’? That’s going to be your home too."

"Ahem, well, we... we’re not at that step yet, are we? A gift is still proper."

"Hmm, so someone’s taking this chance to complain about me. Fine. Tomorrow, when I call Uncle Lin, I’ll just ask him when he plans to marry his daughter off to me, since someone clearly can’t wait."

Teased like this, Lin Xi blushed crimson. "Xue Yang, you’re the worst! If you keep it up, I’m ignoring you."

"You don’t want to marry me? Ah, that’s heartbreaking," he said, feigning a look of despair.

Seeing him look so hurt, Lin Xi panicked. "I do! I want to marry—" She stopped abruptly, realizing she had been tricked.

"Xue Yang, you did that on purpose!"

Having successfully baited her, Xue Yang roared with laughter.

Lin Xi’s face couldn’t get any redder. "If you laugh one more time, I’m really ignoring you!"

"Okay, okay, I’ll stop laughing. Please don’t ignore me. That would truly break my heart."

Lin Xi realized that Xue Yang was much bolder and more passionate on the phone than he was in person. Back at his house, he would never have teased her like this. Little did she know how agonizing it was for him to be able to see her but not touch her. Of course, he wouldn’t intentionally make things harder on himself.

But now was different. He loved seeing her flustered.

...