Chapter 48: Sigh! Niu An & Capitalism

After bothering Zefi for a while and still not getting a reply, Lin Zhiyan leisurely followed the navigation while planning her route to the restaurant. The afternoon sun was so intense it made most people greasy with sweat, yet she didn’t sweat at all. In fact, she rather enjoyed the fierce sunlight.

It wasn’t that she was particularly heat-resistant, but after her experience in the greenhouse earlier, she felt she’d definitely gained at least two points in heat resistance.

Lin Zhiyan regretted that she couldn’t view her own status panel. Otherwise, she would have liked to see whether, besides her heat resistance increasing, her charm-resistance stat had improved as well.

The afternoon was still long, so she felt completely justified wasting time. She couldn’t help thinking that this was exactly what her ideal college life looked like. No endless classes to worry about, and no need to run around as a merchant of love, spreading cringe-worthy romantic quotes everywhere.

Time slipped away little by little.

Before she knew it, the sunset had ignited half the sky in shades of crimson and violet.

After sitting down in the restaurant, Lin Zhiyan plugged her terminal in to charge while reporting her whereabouts to Le Mans.

[yzy: Picture]
[yzy: Arrived.]

[lemon: You waited until this late to eat? Is bread really that filling?]

[yzy: The secret to choosing bread is finding the heaviest and driest one.]

[lemon: Stop teaching me these poverty survival tips!]
[lemon: Puppy covering ears.jpg]

[yzy: Too late. From now on, every time you eat bread you’ll remember this.]

[lemon: Who besides you would eat those cheap, tasteless bricks of bread?!]

[yzy: Jean Valjean.]

[lemon: Ah… then I must be Marie…]

Lin Zhiyan chuckled. Le Mans really didn’t seem to like bread. The restaurant he’d recommended already had several desserts and pastries on the table.

She took a bite of cake and replied.

[yzy: I hope I can make something of myself for our future, not lose my head for it.]

[lemon: Hmph. There aren’t even any guillotines around anymore.]

After sending that message, Le Mans suddenly fell silent.

Lin Zhiyan decided to focus on eating. Just then, however, her terminal vibrated. A message arrived with the lingering weight of unfinished thoughts, dragging a long trail behind it like someone soaked through by rain.

[lemon: …Sigh.]
[lemon: When are they deciding the date for the field trip?]
[lemon: I miss you. I want to chop down trees with you and lie in the sun together.]
[lemon: Instead of always waiting for your messages.]

Only after finishing another bite of cake did Lin Zhiyan reply. Partly deflecting, partly teasing.

[yzy: Do you actually have a tail or something?]
[yzy: Pspspsps.]

[lemon: …You’re so annoying!]

Smiling, she ended the conversation.

By the time she looked up again, she was nearly finished with her meal, and her stomach was uncomfortably full.

She took a deep breath and ordered a glass of lemonade to leave herself some breathing room.

The trip home required several transfers. By then, the fiery colors of the sunset had faded into darkness, like dying embers.

It had been a long time since she’d eaten this much meat. Her impoverished stomach was reluctant to process it all, so she got off one stop early and decided to walk the rest of the way to aid digestion.

The floating streetlamp network had already switched on. Their fuzzy glow resembled countless dandelions, making the somewhat shabby streets look even older.

As she walked, Lin Zhiyan suddenly felt dazed.

For a moment, she thought she was dreaming, endlessly retracing the route between school and home. Stuffing textbook knowledge into her brain while remaining alert to every sound around her, always gripping the self-defense device hidden in her pocket.

How strange.

Those days weren’t actually that far in the past, yet she could barely remember what she had been thinking back then.

All that remained were detached, objective memories—as though they belonged to a third-person narrator.

Now that she lived in the Central District, what had really changed? Aside from encountering fewer monsters to grind.

Or perhaps this stretch of road was simply cursed. Why else would it always appear in the wrong place at the wrong time, determined to become a labyrinth that trapped and killed people?

Lin Zhiyan didn’t dwell on it.

Fortunately, being overly full gave lustful thoughts an overwhelming victory over philosophical contemplation.

She called Li Siheng.

Le Mans and Li Siheng were in different years and different majors. At this hour, he probably wasn’t with Le Mans and didn’t have class.

The call connected almost immediately.

Li Siheng’s voice carried a slight nasal tone. Usually smooth and magnetic like the vibration of a violin string, it was now filled with excitement and panic.

“W-Wait! Let me fix myself first! Don’t hang up! I missed you!”

Before Lin Zhiyan could react, she heard a flurry of noise. Nearly a minute passed before he returned.

By then, the nasal quality had lessened, and his voice sounded lazier.

“I was sleeping just now,” Li Siheng explained softly. “There’s not much going on here. The classes are all familiar already. You’ve been busy. I was bored, so I slept.”

He carefully explained everything he had been doing. Beneath his smiling tone, his slightly hurried breathing hinted at emotions being forcefully restrained.

“I know.” Lin Zhiyan smiled as she walked beneath the darkening sky streaked with red. “I don’t mind the nasal voice. It’s cute.”

Li Siheng choked on his words.

Several seconds later, he finally said:

“Then don’t overthink me. Just be yourself.”

His breathing was light, as though he were speaking directly beside her ear.

“I only know how to be a puppet. If you tell me to be myself, I…”

Lin Zhiyan nearly stumbled.

That really wasn’t necessary.

Yet Li Siheng sounded delighted.

“I can’t see you right now. But hearing your voice feels like you’re already standing in front of me. I’m so happy.”

“Were you always this intense in high school?” Lin Zhiyan joked. “The number of confessions you’re making is about to crush me.”

“Does it bother you?” His voice became uneasy before turning into a laugh. “I can’t stop myself.”

The way he spoke was soft and intimate.

“You must find me annoying right now. Sorry. I know that too… but every time I remember we’re dating, I just…”

His breathing quickened.

“I want to say these things over and over for the rest of my life. Again and again and again…”

Rumble—

A sky train thundered overhead.

The roaring tracks drowned out his voice. Her ears buzzed from the noise, and his words became fragmented, as though separated by water.

“…want you… to know… can’t help it… okay?… maybe… know… using… but… I… love… really…”

Like Zefi, Li Siheng spoke with the refined cadence of aristocratic speech.

Unable to hear him clearly, Lin Zhiyan felt as though he were chanting some ancient curse directly into her ear.

Within the chaotic, incomprehensible song, there were far too many words about love.

Heavy words.

Words that felt like snakes slithering from wet grass and winding around her ankles.

Looking up, she caught the final traces of sunset. The blood-red glow was slowly being swallowed by darkness.

The train disappeared into the distance.

Part of Lin Zhiyan’s soul seemed to drift away with it.

Help.

This man is way too heavy.

Later, Lin Zhiyan couldn’t even remember how she ended the call.

She only remembered that his overwhelmingly intense affection had compressed her from Lin Zhiyan into LinZhiyan.zip. She remained flattened all the way home and didn’t fully decompress until she climbed into bed.

At one point she opened her chat with Zefi.

Not to see whether he’d replied.

But to consider whether she should dump Li Siheng.

When doing things, one should be decisive. The worst mistake was dragging things out.

Lin Zhiyan understood that principle well. In the past, she always cut things off cleanly when necessary, even if it meant sacrificing some benefits.

She used to think she was simply decisive.

Now she realized the benefits just hadn’t been large enough.

Tossing and turning in bed, she eventually convinced herself that she could still handle things.

Then, completely by accident, she received a certain photo from Li Siheng that contained significantly less clothing than usual.

Then, completely by accident, she closed the chat window.

And finally, completely by accident, she fell asleep.

Sigh.

Capital really was harmful.

Thinking this, Lin Zhiyan slept soundly.

The next day, morning classes finally ended.

As a reward to herself, Lin Zhiyan visited an expensive restaurant.

She piled her plate high with exquisite dishes, settled into a corner booth, activated the privacy screen, and began taking photos like a madwoman.

Afterward, she posted a nine-picture collage on Weibo, attached eighteen military-academy-related hashtags, and captioned it:

“Sigh. Terrible mood today. Just eating a little.”

Once that was done, she took another picture, adjusted the filters, and sent it to Zefi.

[yzy: Good afternoon~ Finished working, so this hardworking cow is treating herself. Don’t be too jealous 😁]

[yzy: You never reply… so busy. Is life really that hard? 😭]

[yzy: Is there something you’re hiding from me? I originally wanted to listen. I wanted to talk with you too ❤️]

Three messages later, she quickly received Zefi’s reply:

Red exclamation mark.

Blocked.

Just like that.

The man’s life motto seemed to be:

Too cool to chat.

Lin Zhiyan grumbled internally.

Switching away from social media, she sent a direct message instead.

This time she stopped being annoying and conveyed only one thing:

If you don’t reply, I’m running the script again. If the script doesn’t work, I’ll go find your mother and your aunt.

After delivering her threat, she returned to eating obediently.

When she was almost done, Zefi finally replied.

[Zefi: If you can find them, go ahead.]
[Zefi: Send any more nonsense and I’ll blacklist this communication ID too.]

Wrinkling her nose, Lin Zhiyan typed back:

“Blocking me the moment I hit a nerve? Aren’t we getting a little intimate?”

Less than a second after she sent it, a notification appeared:

Communication prohibited.

Lin Zhiyan: “…”

Seriously.

Where did this man get so many trigger points?

In despair, she reopened social media, restarted the script, and honestly sent another message.

[yzy: Can’t I stop already? Young people these days have such bad tempers, young lady!]

[Zefi: …Are you ever going to stop?]

The moment she received the message, her terminal began vibrating wildly.

Lin Zhiyan hurriedly accepted the call.

A hologram of Zefi appeared.

He looked as though he’d just left a meeting, seated inside an office luxurious enough to be called extravagant.

He sat on a sofa with his coat draped over the armrest, wearing a vest and dress shirt. Leaning forward, his gray-white eyes fixed on her.

“What exactly do you want?”

Zefi glanced impatiently at his watch.

As he moved, silver-white hair slipped over his shoulder, and the silver pocket-watch chain across his chest swayed lightly.

Looking back at her, he continued:

“Are you trying to get money? Demand some condition? Or did the fact that I let you off last time for Li Siheng’s and Le Mans’s sake make you think you can come to me whenever you have a problem?”

His smile remained warm and charming, but his tone was mocking.

“Lin Zhiyan, I’d advise you not to get any foolish ideas.”

Lin Zhiyan looked genuinely wronged.

Leaning against her seat, she said:

“I haven’t even said anything yet, and you’re already judging me by the standards of a Celestial Dragon. I hardly know what to say.”

She sighed dramatically.

“Did it ever occur to you that maybe I was just in a good mood and wanted to share?”

Zefi glanced at her surroundings and the plates on her table.

The smile on his lips didn’t change at all.

“Oh. Not interested. And I don’t find it entertaining.”

Lin Zhiyan sighed.

“That hurts. It took a lot for me to finally eat a good meal.”

“Don’t you have Li Siheng’s card?” Zefi frowned, genuinely unable to understand. “Didn’t he set up a regular allowance for you too? Or do you simply enjoy mistreating yourself so people will sympathize with you? Sorry, I don’t possess that particular emotion.”

Lin Zhiyan poured herself a glass of water and raised it as though making a toast.

“Let’s not talk about that. Cheers.”

Zefi raised an eyebrow and moved to end the call.

Lin Zhiyan immediately raised both hands in surrender. The familiar “hail—” nearly escaped her mouth, but she quickly changed course.

“Then are you interested in Kui Furen?”

Zefi froze.

He lifted his eyes to look at her, then narrowed them.

“…Where did you hear that name?”

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