Chapter 17 Is He Messing With Me?

“Mom, is this how you see your son?” Shen Xingyan flashed a smile, revealing eight perfectly white teeth in a fake grin.

Seeing his smile, Shen’s mother felt a bit guilty. She zipped his backpack shut again and coughed awkwardly. “Oh, I misspoke! I didn’t mean it like that.”

“It’s just that I haven’t seen you bring homework home in ages.”

Shen Xingyan slung the backpack over his shoulder, and with a few casual exchanges, they soon arrived home.

As soon as they got out of the car, Shen’s father was already standing at the door.

Shen Xin resembled him closely, almost as if they were carved from the same mold, while Shen Xingyan’s features were similar to his father’s but mostly inherited from his mother.

Shen’s father opened the door on Shen’s mother’s side, and his serious face softened into a smile as he looked at her.

“Honey~ we’re back!” Shen’s mother hopped out of the car and immediately wrapped herself affectionately around his arm.

Watching the two of them walk off, Shen Xingyan resignedly opened his own car door and muttered to himself.

“They’ve been together for so long, how come they’re still not tired of each other?”

It wasn’t until they sat down at the dinner table that Shen’s father turned his attention to Shen Xingyan.

The smile he had for Shen’s mother disappeared, and he asked in a deep voice, “Didn’t your school start evening classes recently?”

Shen Xingyan nodded while continuing to eat without pausing.

“You’re in your second year of college now. No matter what, you need to focus. Don’t embarrass me by coming in last place again.” Shen’s father said sternly, though he didn’t stop picking food for him.

Shen’s mother, seeing his forced serious face, couldn’t help but stifle her laughter from the side.

Shen Xingyan felt a bit guilty at his father’s words but still nodded slightly.

He probably wouldn’t come in last… hopefully.

Shen Xingyan was the first to finish eating, his mind preoccupied with the side quest the system had mentioned and tomorrow’s movie plans.

Shen’s mother found it odd that he ate so quickly today, but Shen’s father was convinced it was because the food he cooked was just that good.

By the time he finished showering, the messages from Chen Rui had already piled up past 99+, most of them meaningless emoji spam.

[Shen-ge, how’s this gift for a girl? /image]

[How about this one, this one? /image]

[I’ve booked the movie tickets! 7 p.m.! We can grab dinner before and take a walk or get late-night snacks after!]

[I think this gift is also pretty good for a girl. /image]

Shen Xingyan scrolled through the messages with a face full of disdain. He knew Chen Rui was just spamming and didn’t actually want advice.

[Picked one yet?]

[Yeah, I bought all of them. /smug]

[?]

[Since I couldn’t decide, I figured I might as well get them all.]

Shen Xingyan thought back to the pile of things Chen Rui had sent pictures of. Buying all that could probably fill a sack.

[You sure know how to buy gifts. /thumbsup]

Chen Rui, completely missing the sarcasm, felt smug and even a bit embarrassed, thinking Shen Xingyan was genuinely complimenting him.

[Aww, stop it, or I’ll start getting cocky!]

Shen Xingyan, too tired to respond, swiftly changed the topic.

[Tomorrow, leave early. I need you to come somewhere with me.]

[Where to? Weren’t we just going straight to the restaurant?]

[Quit talking nonsense and just come with me. Stop asking questions.]

Shen Xingyan’s firm response immediately shut down any further questions Chen Rui had, leaving him no choice but to agree, still confused.

[Hey, after I get home, let’s game for a bit. I’m so close to reaching King rank, I’m too hyped—I need to blow off some steam.]

Shen Xingyan had no objections. He figured he needed to cool down a bit, too.

However, for some reason, their luck was awful. They played for hours and not only failed to rank up but ended up dropping ranks instead.

Both Shen Xingyan and Chen Rui went silent on the in-game voice chat.

“How about we call it a night?”

Shen Xingyan nodded seriously, “Good idea.”

After exiting the game, Shen Xingyan realized it was already past midnight. While gaming, his phone automatically went into “Do Not Disturb” mode, so when he opened QQ, he noticed a few unread messages.

At the top of the list were muted group chats, but as he scrolled down, he saw a red notification dot.

It was from that annoying black avatar.

The message had been sent two hours ago.

Shen Xingyan couldn’t quite describe his feelings. He was curious, but also a bit conflicted.

When he clicked in, all Ji Jiangye had sent were some symbols, and even a blank message.

What?

What??

What???

Is he messing with me?

Any lingering curiosity or complexity in Shen Xingyan’s heart vanished, leaving only a huge question mark.

Already frustrated from losing in the game, his mood worsened. He was so irritated that he wanted to crawl through the internet and slap Ji Jiangye a few times.

He tossed and turned in bed, typing and then deleting his messages in the chat. Meanwhile, the system’s voice, sounding sleepy, interrupted him.

[Host, aren’t you going out tomorrow? It’s almost 1 a.m.]

Shen Xingyan set his phone down, incredulous. “You’re a system, and you get sleepy?”

[…Host, what exactly do you think I am? Even machines need rest, okay (￢_￢)?]

“Oh.” Shen Xingyan apologized, though his tone carried no sincerity. “My bad then, I must’ve misunderstood.”

The system’s panel instantly turned into a little animated figure, puffing its cheeks and punching at Shen Xingyan.

Shen Xingyan, unfazed, eventually gave up and tossed his phone aside in defeat. “Forget it. I’m not replying. If anyone wants to, they can—what a weirdo!”

Meanwhile, in a dark room, Ji Jiangye, who was already wearing a bite guard, stared at his phone screen. He watched the “The other party is typing…” notification under Shen Xingyan’s name for a long time.

But when no reply came, Ji Jiangye began to feel annoyed.

His tiger teeth itched, and he gnawed on the guard a few times, the memory of Shen Xingyan’s flustered expression from earlier in the day still fresh in his mind.

Ji Jiangye opened Shen Xingyan’s Moments. Unlike himself, Shen Xingyan was very active on social media, frequently sharing bits of his life every couple of days.

His pale fingers scrolled down until he found a photo of Shen Xingyan with the basketball team.

In the picture, Shen Xingyan was beaming, arm in arm with two others, looking carefree and happy.

Ji Jiangye zoomed in, focusing on Shen Xingyan’s face.

For some reason, a wave of irritation surged within him. He tossed his phone aside, his eyes glowing menacingly in the dark.

The next morning, Shen Xingyan was rudely awakened by a phone call before he could wake up naturally.

As soon as he answered, Chen Rui’s booming voice rang out.

“Shen-ge! I’m doomed! I just realized I don’t have any new clothes to wear! What should I do?”

“All the stuff in my closet is stuff I’ve already worn!”