Chapter 7: Cousin Ai Ziyin

On a bustling snack street near Haining University, Li Chen was enjoying a steaming bowl of fresh meat dumplings when his pocket buzzed with the ring of his phone.

“Hello, Mom,” Li Chen answered the call. The caller ID showed that it was his adoptive mother, Wang Xiaoyu.

“How’s university, Little Chen? Are you adjusting well? Your dad and I were a bit busy yesterday, so we didn’t get a chance to call and check on you,” Wang Xiaoyu seemed quite pleased, as if something good had happened.

However, Li Chen felt a tightening in his chest. Although he didn’t know what his adoptive parents had been busy with, he recalled that in his previous life, it was around this time that they had become embroiled in some trouble. In Li Chen’s memory, ever since he started university, his adoptive parents had been involved in a scientific expedition in Northwestern China and had rarely returned to Haining City. Years later, not long after Li Chen had graduated and been working for a year or two, they had disappeared without a trace.

Oblivious to Li Chen’s unease, Wang Xiaoyu on the other end of the phone continued talking, “By the way, Little Chen, you remember Aunt Lan’s matter, right?”

“Mhm,” Li Chen snapped back to reality and nodded.

Wang Xiaoyu was one of five siblings, and Wang Xiaolan was the fourth. Li Chen had always called her Aunt Lan because calling her “Fourth Aunt” didn’t sound nice.

“Good, I was just reminding you in case you forgot,” Wang Xiaoyu casually said, before hanging up after a few more words.

Checking the time, Li Chen realized he had indeed forgotten. The matter concerning Aunt Lan was actually about her daughter, Ai Ziyin, who had found a job in Haining City. She was arriving from the county town by bus today, so Wang Xiaolan and Wang Xiaoyu decided that Li Chen should pick her up, as he was a young man and could help with the luggage.

By noon, Li Chen stood in the shade of a tree outside the Haining City long-distance bus terminal, observing the passersby.

“Little Chen! Little Chen!” A tall woman, dragging two large suitcases, walked towards him from a distance, waving her hand excitedly.

“Cousin,” Li Chen greeted with a smile as he stepped forward to meet her.

Today, Ai Ziyin was dressed in a white T-shirt and black skinny jeans, appearing quite slender and tall. In his previous life, among all his relatives, this cousin had been the closest to him, even closer than his adoptive parents.

“You’ve grown taller since I last saw you, half a year ago!” Ai Ziyin handed her suitcases to Li Chen and said affectionately.

Li Chen offered a light smile but didn’t respond. Seeing a relative again after five hundred years was somewhat unsettling for him, especially when treated like a child.

This novel was translated on ShanghaiFantasy, https://shanghaifantasy.com/novel/the-school-beautys-personal-immortal-doctor/. If you are not reading on this website, it was stolen and aggregated

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the two had taken a cab to Ai Ziyin’s rented residence. The building was an old-style apartment complex, and Ai Ziyin had rented a unit on the top floor, the seventh. The place had seen better days and lacked an elevator, but the rent was affordable.

Although Ai Ziyin’s family was in a somewhat better financial situation than Li Chen’s adoptive parents, they were far from affluent.

“How do you like it? My taste in homes isn’t bad, right?” Ai Ziyin flopped onto the sofa in the living room, unconsciously placing her petite feet on the coffee table. Her white ankle socks gave her a playful appearance.

Ai Ziyin was well-proportioned and had very fair skin. Her less-than-graceful posture only served to accentuate her feminine charms.

Li Chen, however, seemed to pay no mind to these details. He neatly placed the suitcases against the wall and said flatly to his cousin, “Just so we’re clear, I won’t be moving in to stay with you.”

Li Chen had blurted out this declaration because in his past life, Ai Ziyin had indeed asked him to do just that. She had rented this two-bedroom apartment because she had been afraid to live alone, and she had wanted Li Chen to keep her company.

Upon hearing Li Chen’s words, Ai Ziyin paused, her planned response caught in her throat.

“The area is safe, so there’s no need to worry. Besides, I live close by; if anything happens, I can be here in no time,” Li Chen continued before Ai Ziyin could speak.

Ai Ziyin hesitated for a moment before grabbing a cushion next to her and throwing it furiously at Li Chen, shouting, “You ungrateful brat! All these years of caring for you have been for nothing!”

As she yelled, tears began to form in Ai Ziyin’s eyes, making her seem genuinely aggrieved.

However, Li Chen simply smiled and calmly said, “Cousin, you can act in front of others, but with me? Do you really think I’d believe you?”

Ai Ziyin had always dreamed of becoming an actress and indeed had the talent for it, capable of crying on command without much preparation. Unfortunately, she had missed the admission cut-off for Huaxia Media University by five points last year. Pressured by her family, she had given up on retaking the exam and opted to work instead.

“Get out!” Ai Ziyin’s response was a furious yell, accompanied by her shoe flying toward Li Chen.

Li Chen caught the shoe, placed it neatly beside Ai Ziyin, and sat down on the sofa. He softly said, “Think about it, Cousin. What if you get a boyfriend one day? Wouldn’t I be in the way?”

This novel was translated on ShanghaiFantasy, https://shanghaifantasy.com/novel/the-school-beautys-personal-immortal-doctor/. If you are not reading on this website, it was stolen and aggregated

“Little rascal! Have you gotten yourself a girlfriend? Are you afraid that moving in would cramp your style?” Ai Ziyin’s eyes flashed with suspicion as she adjusted her neckline and asked quietly.

“I don’t have a girlfriend. It’s just inconvenient. I’m not a kid anymore, and it wouldn’t be appropriate for us, a man and a woman, to…” Li Chen responded mildly.

Of course, this was merely an excuse on Li Chen’s part. Having returned to life, he was bound to undertake actions that went beyond the norm. Living with his cousin would inevitably create complications. Staying in a dormitory, by contrast, was much more convenient. In his memory, Ma Fancong had moved to live in an internet café after military training and seldom returned to the dorm to sleep.

“You little brat, quite the thinker, aren’t you? Just a few years ago, you’d insist on sleeping in the same bed when you visited my house!” Ai Ziyin chided with a smile, her face turning slightly red. She quickly covered up the fleeting complexity in her eyes.

“Enough! Help me tidy up this place, and then you can go as far as you’d like!” Ai Ziyin stood up and casually tossed a rag from the coffee table to Li Chen.

Catching the rag, Li Chen smiled nostalgically. It had been five hundred years since he had last done any housework.

This novel was translated on ShanghaiFantasy, https://shanghaifantasy.com/novel/the-school-beautys-personal-immortal-doctor/. If you are not reading on this website, it was stolen and aggregated

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