Chapter 84: Flirting

“Sis! You go sit over there!”

Lin Xinyu pointed toward the Stone Bench not far from the Basketball Court and said to the girl.

“Mm… Brother Yu, you play well.” Lin Xinyuan smiled and nodded, then walked in the direction Lin Xinyu had indicated.

Her soft, sweet voice wasn’t clingy at all—it was completely natural, like biting into chilled grapes on a summer day, pleasantly tart and refreshing.

Seeing her leave, Lin Xinyu’s friends immediately snapped back to attention and erupted.

“No way! Lao Yu’s got such a beautiful sister and never told me all these years?”

“Damn, didn’t you say you’re an only child?”

“Lao Yu, I’m seriously disappointed in you!”

“Huh? How can you be so selfish? Are you even my friend?”

Their teasing only made Lin Xinyu feel even more sour, but he forced himself to stay calm and quickly changed the subject.

“Ahem… enough about that! Uh… where are our opponents?”

“Here! Aren’t they over there?”

Following the direction his friends pointed, Lin Xinyu saw five people approaching from not far off.

The leader was tall too, about 1.83 meters, a bit taller than him.

“Since you’re here, let’s get started quickly. Otherwise, we won’t have much time to play.”

As he spoke, the guy sneakily glanced toward the silhouette sitting on the Stone Bench nearby…

Noticing this little move, Lin Xinyu’s mouth twitched, suddenly regretting bringing Lin Xinyuan here. Blaming his Mother for making him bring his Cousin here for ‘a change of scenery!’

So many lecherous guys staring at his sister—it made him uncomfortable!

With this thought, a fiery look seemed to ignite in Lin Xinyu’s eyes, almost chuunibyou in style: “Bring it on!”

Meanwhile, after Lin Xinyuan reached the Stone Bench and sat down, she leaned against it lazily, her gaze switching back and forth between the Basketball Court and her phone.

The weather in Zhan Nan City was damp and cold, yet the players on the court wore very little, some even in short sleeves, sweating profusely.

She sat like that for several minutes before the Stone Bench beneath her warmed up, at least no longer feeling as icy as before.

Thankfully, it was Afternoon now, and the sports ground was enclosed by walls.

Otherwise, even a slight breeze would creep under her clothes, which would be unbearable, especially given her cold constitution.

Chu.

She had dressed warmly when she came out, even wearing a woolen hat that helped trap heat around her head—the part that loses warmth fastest.

The only thing still cold were her hands…

So, just like before, she alternated placing her left and right hands under her thighs, trying to warm them up.

Luckily, it worked pretty well—she definitely felt more comfortable.

The sports ground was surrounded by walls and a 400-meter asphalt Track, which enclosed not just one Basketball Court but several.

Lin Xinyuan sat on the outer edge of the Track, only separated from Lin Xinyu’s court by the Track itself, so she could still clearly see what was happening over there.

At one point, when her Cousin made a stylish dunk, the normally introverted girl couldn’t help but clap in approval.

Lin Xinyu on the court was always watching Lin Xinyuan’s direction—not just to make sure no weirdos bothered his sister, but also to show off a little for her.

After making a big block, he instinctively glanced toward the outer area, and his sister didn’t disappoint, clapping continuously.

When she noticed him looking, Lin Xinyuan nodded at him, signaling she was watching the whole time.

Lin Xinyu almost cracked a grin and instantly felt a fresh burst of energy to keep going.

After his Cousin turned back to the game, Lin Xinyuan gradually stopped clapping.

She noticed quite a few people had started looking over—not just her Cousin’s group…

But many others playing on different courts or even a few joggers passing by kept glancing her way.

The girl had only just sat down, yet she had already drawn the attention of many.

Still, Lin Xinyuan was indifferent, even a little uncomfortable, so she lowered her eyes to her phone and reduced how often she looked toward Lin Xinyu’s side.

Fortunately, the gazes weren’t overwhelming to the point of making her feel panicked, so she could bear it.

Maybe because she raised her head less, the number of people watching her gradually decreased, which made her feel better.

“Phew…”

She didn’t really understand what this symptom was—just that when too many people paid attention to her, she’d feel uncomfortable.

Palpitations and dizziness were normal.

So since discovering this about herself, Lin Xinyuan had deliberately lowered her Existence Sense, which was probably why her presence had always been so low in class, whether in high school or university.

She knew she had a bit of Social Anxiety, but she also understood it probably wasn’t the cause of these symptoms…

Suddenly, she felt like talking to Stinky Blonde.

The thought popped up for no reason, but she quickly felt annoyed at herself for it.

Tch… what’s Stinky Blonde doing anyway?

Mm… no, that’s not it… she was just bored and wanted someone to pass the time with!

Yeah… that must be it!

Without overthinking, Lin Xinyuan casually sent a message to Stinky Blonde.

“What are you doing?”

This time she didn’t have to wait long—Qin Nanfeng replied quickly, but with a voice message: “Busy with some stuff, hang on.”

The girl waited about seven or eight minutes before her phone finally buzzed again, this time with a video call coming through from the other side.

Lin Xinyuan hadn’t expected this; she only wanted a casual chat to pass the time, but this guy didn’t play by the usual rules.

Looking around, she saw no one nearby, so she relaxed and answered the call.

“Xiaoyuan, what’s up?”

Unlike usual, Qin Nanfeng looked quite exhausted today.

Listening closely, his voice even sounded hoarse.

Lin Xinyuan had long given up trying to get him to stop calling her that—she couldn’t change it, and anyway, it was just a term of endearment!

“Can’t I call you just because I have nothing to do?” she said, but then her expression turned puzzled. “What are you busy with? You look so tired!”

Right now, Qin Nanfeng looked exactly like the last time he returned from taking leave—dark circles under his eyes, clearly from staying up late.

Qin Nanfeng smiled but didn’t answer her question.

“Adult stuff. Kids don’t need to ask too much. You wouldn’t understand. Just know I’m busy working.”

“Tch…” Lin Xinyuan pouted.

She was only asking casually, not prying, but still, his words annoyed her.

What did he mean by calling her a kid?

She was almost nineteen, thank you very much!

But seeing how tired he looked, she held back and didn’t retort.

“If you’ve still got stuff to do, maybe I should hang up?”

Lin Xinyuan didn’t want to bother him, especially since the background behind Qin Nanfeng looked like an office…

Wow, it seemed like this guy worked at his family’s company and even had his own office!

Truly a wealthy person—she was so jealous!

“No, I just finished.” Qin Nanfeng said, leaning back into his Boss Chair and letting out a comfortable sigh.

“Where are you now? It sounds noisy.”

He’d noticed the noise in the background from the start and figured she was outside.

Without hesitation, the girl pulled her phone away a little so Qin Nanfeng could see more of her surroundings, her expression playful.

“Guess!”

Qin Nanfeng cooperated, taking a good look around.

After a while, just as Lin Xinyuan was about to speak, he finally said,

“Very pretty.”

His words were so random it confused Lin Xinyuan for a moment.

“Huh? Pretty? What’s pretty?”

She looked around again, but besides trees and the walls, the only thing near her was the long Stone Bench beneath her.

Her slightly dazed look made Qin Nanfeng want to laugh, and in fact, he did chuckle out loud.

Hearing his laugh, Lin Xinyuan finally realized—

Stinky Blonde was teasing her!

At the thought, she felt like lightning had struck her out of the blue.

Looking at the smirking Stinky Blonde on the phone, her eyes darkened.

But Qin Nanfeng didn’t flinch under her gaze; he was sincere:

“You really look great today, no joke.”

“Heh…”

In the end, the girl didn’t fire back any harsh words.

Although she wasn’t keen on others describing her that way, it seemed her Mother, Aunt, and Cousin had all said the same before…

Well, Stinky Blonde was no different, right?

Forget it…

She’d be magnanimous!