When Zhu Yao got close to her, Yu Nan could smell the lemon shower gel on her body, and her ear tips instantly turned red.
Lang Xi: ...mmp, I can't bear to look. I shouldn't be in the villa; I should be at the bottom of the villa.
Zhu Yao is in a great mood now. Creation is interconnected, and Lang Xi's words just now solved a problem that had been bothering her for a long time—why her novels lacked a sense of immersion.
She always emphasized logic. Even when writing about the protagonist finding a cat, she would explain in detail why cats exist in this world, when the cat was introduced to the protagonist's hometown, and how the protagonist was able to find a cat. She focused too much on logic and worldview, to the point that she neglected what she really wanted to present to the readers.
You could have simply written "The protagonist found an adorable stray cat" and added a few more sentences about the same experience, such as "The cat's fur is white and very soft, and it tickles when it rubs against the protagonist's ankles."
Having solved this problem, she was in a great mood. She helped Yu Nan straighten her hair and even fixed Yu Nan's crooked collar.
If it weren't for Yu Nan standing in the middle, she would have liked to pull Lang Xi, who was sighing and complaining, up.
"Um... thank you," Yu Nan said, flattered. She didn't even dare to lie down casually, afraid of messing up her collar... which was still the collar of her pajamas.
"You're welcome," Zhu Yao replied with a super sweet smile.
Seeing Yu Nan grinning foolishly at Zhu Yao, looking like a lovesick fool, Lang Xi felt a tightness in her chest. She turned her head away, wanting to escape as quickly as possible.
"Yawn," Lang Xi got up and stretched, covering her mouth with her hand as she yawned. "I should go back to sleep now. See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow, goodnight." Zhu Yao smiled generously, while Yu Nan didn't even lift his eyelids, still staring at Zhu Yao with a silly grin.
"I can't bear to look, I can't bear to look," Lang Xi shook her head and went back to her guest room.
To help Yu Nan fully understand what Lang Xi meant by "experience," the two went to the game room to play games, this time with Zhu Yao explaining as she played.
“You understand things so quickly,” Yu Nan said, resting her chin on her hand. “You understood after Lang Xi had only said a few words. I used to never understand her implied meanings, which led to her saying I was no good every day.”
"Perhaps Miss Lang is speaking rather subtly and needs some time to process it."
"She's such a riddle-teller! Can't she just say what she means directly?" Yu Nan was somewhat annoyed that Zhu Yao was speaking up for Lang Xi.
"Okay, let's continue playing the game."
"Wait a minute!" Yu Nan covered Zhu Yao's hand that was gripping the controller. "Can I ask you a personal question?"
"Huh? What's the problem?"
Yu Nan was a little shy and scratched her face with her finger. "Well... when you came back from your trip a few days ago, you seemed a bit off, quite quiet. Is something wrong?"
Zhu Yao was speechless. Ever since she met her high school classmate at Mount Kongtong, it had brought back memories of her high school days.
Those unforgettable memories taught her only one thing: to stay away from everyone.
As a result, she has been rather quiet these past few days, speaking to everyone in a very proper and reserved manner. In addition, with Lang Xi's arrival attracting Yu Nan's attention, Zhu Yao has hardly spoken at all.
It's normal for Yu Nan to sense her low mood.
"It's okay if you can't say," Yu Nan cautiously probed. "I just saw you seemed quite happy..."
"I was a little down a few days ago, but I'm really happy now," Zhu Yao said, pinching Yu Nan's soft cheek.
Are you worried about your sister?
"No—no!" Yu Nan deliberately drew out the word "no," wanting Zhu Yao to feel her determination. Zhu Yao felt her face burning; she probably blushed.
Oh no, why is Zhu Yao suddenly calling herself "older sister"?!
Yu Nan turned her head away, not wanting Zhu Yao to see her unnatural expression, but her bright red ear tips betrayed her thoughts. Zhu Yao watched Yu Nan's behavior thoughtfully.
There's definitely something fishy going on!
Zhu Yao wanted to continue pinching Yu Nan's face and observe Yu Nan's eyes, but Yu Nan, who was waving her limbs wildly, dodged her.
Yu Nan is like... a blustering, frizzy cat.
Zhu Yao decided to let the shy Yu Miao off the hook. "When I was in high school, I was the punching bag for my classmates. When I went to Kongtong Mountain, I ran into two of my high school classmates. They were the ones who led the way in isolating and bullying me."
"School bullying?!" Yu Nan slammed her fist on the table. "Damn it, I felt like those two weren't speaking human language, they were yelling like monkeys, like bastards. Saying they were like monkeys is an insult to the Chinese zodiac."
Yu Nan was indignant and got more and more worked up as she talked, not noticing Zhu Yao's complicated expression.
Zhu Yao pinched Yu Nan's cheek: "You were eavesdropping after all."
Yu Nan immediately shut up, pretending not to have said anything, trying to deceive herself.
"Sweetie, tell your sister how much you heard?"
Zhu Yao knelt on the sofa, her body turned to the side. Under the light, the shadow of half of her body enveloped Yu Nan. Although her smile was becoming more and more radiant, it made Yu Nan feel both scared and guilty.
"Ah... I think I heard them say you're a top student!" Yu Nan involuntarily leaned back, like a trembling little fisherman cat burrowing into the sofa when it encountered danger.
Zhu Yao clearly didn't believe her and leaned forward even more, exuding maximum pressure.
"But top students are indeed easily bullied. In our high school, there were also some scumbags who bullied the honest top students... They bullied you because they were jealous of your academic performance!"
“It really wasn’t because of grades…” Zhu Yao sat back down, no longer delving into Yu Nan’s flawed explanation.
With a strong survival instinct, Yu Nan realized she could change the subject by mentioning "academic superstar," so she continued, "Which school do you go to, sister? They call you an academic superstar!"
Zhu Yao gave a wry smile. "I graduated from Beiling University."
"I'll blanch it!"
Yu Nan almost jumped up from the sofa, staring at Zhu Yao with a blank and admiring expression, almost kneeling down before her.
Northridge University and Tikwa University are tied as the top universities in China, while other schools can only compete for third place.
Tikwa University emphasizes engineering and science, while Northridge University emphasizes humanities. Zhu Yao, as an English major at Northridge University, is simply a genius among geniuses.
"Um... I heard your school requires students to run 3,000 meters every day?"
"That's the neighboring Dihua..."
Yu Nan's gaze turned into fervent worship.
Zhu Yao inwardly groaned; every time someone found out she was from Peking University, she had to go through this.
"Sister, may I ask...?"
"Stop!" Zhu Yao sighed, "I'm just an unemployed person who can't even afford to pay rent."
"Mmm," Yu Nan continued to stare at Zhu Yao with fervent admiration.
Those from Peking University must have their own reasons for not going to work; perhaps they have lofty ambitions like the great literary figures of a century ago.
Yu Nan automatically rationalized all of Zhu Yao's actions in her mind.
Bei Ling is highly intelligent, so he picks up games quickly. He understands what Lang Xi says immediately and can guess the plot after playing just the beginning of a game. He is fluent in multiple foreign languages and can read poetry in English, French, German, and Spanish…
"Let's continue playing the game," Zhu Yao said, feeling uncomfortable under her intense gaze, so she simply shifted her attention to the game.
"Mmm," Yu Nan said, still staring at Zhu Yao.
"The experience this strategy game provides to players is based on simulation; look at its system... how is it designed like this..."
"Mmm," Yu Nan said, still staring at Zhu Yao.
My academically gifted older sister is always right.
Zhu Yao: "..."
Author's Note:
I usually use my saved drafts to publish automatically, but I don't see comments for several days, sob sob.
In short, a huge thank you to Jelly Angel, 1.1.23, and all the other readers who were willing to read! I'll probably resume daily updates after my exams!
Chapter 41 Yu Nan is really not straight
When Lang Xi woke up in the morning, she saw Yu Nan with starry eyes, and Zhu Yao, who looked like she wanted to die, being stared at by Yu Nan with starry eyes.
What happened while she was sleeping?
Yu Nan's eyes were completely fixed on Zhu Yao, and she completely ignored Lang Xi, who was actually alive.
Zhu Yao repeatedly looked to Lang Xi for help, but Lang Xi turned around and walked behind the door, leaning against the door frame, looking at the two people in the center of the room with a gossipy expression.
Zhu Yao retorted to Yu Nan, "Lang Xi is downstairs."
"Mmm," Yu Nan seemed to have transformed into a fervent fan of Zhu Yao, responding to everything she heard with "Mmm."
Lang Xi leaned against the door frame and observed for a while longer, almost bursting out laughing. It was rare to see Yu Nan so convinced of others.
Although seeing the obedient "stubborn child" Yu Nan in front of her made Lang Xi feel a little disappointed, she was very pleased to see Zhu Yao's helpless attitude towards Yu Nan.
As the saying goes, "to rejoice in the misfortunes of others is to be happy for their misfortunes," and Lang Xi's source of happiness is that simple.
"Alright," Lang Xi patted Yu Nan on the shoulder, "Can't you see Miss Zhu is getting annoyed to death by you?"
Lang Xi's intervention annoyed Yu Nan, but she stopped focusing on Zhu Yao. "Zhu Yao explained a lot of games to me. After listening to her explanations, I fully understand how to control the player experience."
Zhu Yao, who had been performing stand-up comedy for almost a whole day: ...
Lang Xi decided to test Yu Nan, "If you were to make an RPG pixel game, what would be the most important thing?"
"Worldview and plot!"
"Heh, you don't understand anything."
"Zhu Yao didn't get to this point!"
Lang Xi sighed, "Ancestor, go and copy your game over here, and the demo too."
"Fine," Yu Nan reluctantly moved her body up, slowly made her way to the door, and pressed the elevator button.
I don't want to take another step.
Taking advantage of Yu Nan's absence, Lang Xi moved next to Zhu Yao and asked, "What's going on between you two?"
While asking the questions, he cautiously glanced at the door, afraid that Yu Nan might suddenly return.
"I..." Zhu Yao hesitated, unable to finish her sentence.
If I were to explain, I would inevitably have to mention my alma mater…
Zhu Yao vowed that she never wanted anyone to know that she came from Beiling University again.
However… Zhu Yao still told Lang Dao'er.
Lang Xi laughed so hard she almost fell over. "So it's true that women's worship of academic qualifications is ingrained in their DNA."
"She too?"