Chapter 29: The Computer Mall

“You can’t just walk however you feel like…” Shen Anyue said as she reached over to correct Cheng Yiyi’s posture. “Sister, there’s a string of beads hanging at the back of your hat.”

“Try not to let it swing too much when you walk. It’ll feel awkward at first, but you’ll get used to it.”

“Stand with proper posture. Don’t bend and twist all over like a road with nine bends and eighteen turns.”

“What does ‘nine bends and eighteen turns’ mean?” Cheng Yiyi thought for a moment. “Is it talking about the upper reaches of the Yellow River?”

“Sister, you’ve studied yourself silly…”

Shen Anyue suddenly felt that teaching Cheng Yiyi etiquette wasn’t enough. There was a lot of common knowledge she needed to explain properly, too.

Especially those words that could come up at banquets.

Shen Anyue couldn’t understand adults. Plain spoken language was so much easier, but sometimes they just had to drag out old phrases and idioms.

And then there was the unavoidable back-and-forth of business flattery.

Cheng Yiyi would have to raise her glass and chat with other people. If she couldn’t come up with something nice to say, she’d lose face.

“That saying, when used about a girl, means: don’t act all shy and fidgety, don’t slump and slouch.”

“Walk with grace. Keep your head slightly raised, chest out.”

“But don’t look down your nose at people. Don’t lean back either…”

Cheng Yiyi’s head swam the more she listened. All she could feel was that this was even harder than studying.

“Ah… what a pain.”

“It only sounds hard. I’ll teach you slowly, sister. You’ll get it.” Shen Anyue comforted her. “And all these fussy rules only apply at formal occasions. Other times, you don’t have to be bound by them.”

Despite her complaints, Cheng Yiyi’s body was honest. She picked things up quickly, and her walk already carried a bit of a young lady’s poise.

The only problem was that sometimes she couldn’t hold back her laughter.

“Damn, walking like this feels so pretentious!”

“Sister! No cursing!”

“Oh, oh…”

And so, under Shen Anyue’s hands-on corrections, Cheng Yiyi learned the rough idea. She wouldn’t say it outright, but at least she could walk now.

Including sitting posture, and the way she talked.

“Let’s head out now.” Shen Anyue pulled Cheng Yiyi along, planning to make a trip to the computer mall.

The distance was far, so walking wouldn’t work.

The household had plenty of fancy cars, but neither of them had a driver’s license. To stay on the right side of the law, they couldn’t drive themselves.

So Steward Li took care of it.

When they reached the computer mall, Cheng Yiyi found it busier than she’d imagined.

But thinking about it, there was nothing strange about that.

After all, the computer mall didn’t just sell computers. It also handled repairs, dusting, and system reinstalls.

So many people used electronic devices. How could business be slow?

“Miss.” Li Zhiheng stood by the car, a hint of worry in his eyes. “Are you sure you don’t need me to go with you?”

He thought back to a few years ago.

Shen Anyue had been young back then. Every time she went out, she’d make someone come along. When her brothers were busy, Steward Li would be the one trailing behind the young miss.

As time passed, Steward Li had long come to treat Shen Anyue like a daughter.

Now that Shen Anyue had grown up and was no longer as timid as before, Li Zhiheng naturally couldn’t stay by her side like he used to.

Besides, a girl walking around followed by a man looked weird, right?

Even though Li Zhiheng looked young, like he was in his twenties, that only made people misunderstand more easily.

What made him feel lost inside was that the young miss no longer needed him as much.

“I understand.” Li Zhiheng nodded slightly and reminded her, “If you two run into anything you can’t handle, just call me. I’ll be standing by here.”

Going deeper into the computer mall, Cheng Yiyi found it much larger than she’d expected.

Shen Anyue led her through a maze of turns until they quickly reached the biggest storefront.

A staff member was explaining something to another customer.

From behind, that person had excellent hair, tied up in a wolf-tail style. The clothes were simple, a plain white tee. The arms were slender and fair, the skin carrying a faint pink flush that gave off a soft sheen in the sunlight.

“Huh?” Shen Anyue seemed to realize something. She called out tentatively, “Tang Xingluo?”

“Hm?” The other person seemed to trigger a passive skill, their focus yanked back in an instant.

They looked up and instinctively turned around, meeting Shen Anyue’s gaze.

A delighted grin spread across their face. Their eyes narrowed into half-moons as they smiled warmly. “Shen Anyue, what brings you to the computer mall today?”

His wolf-tail was tied neatly, the ends falling cleanly to frame his sharp neck and shoulder lines. His features were soft, fair skin against dark hair, like a piece of finely carved jade.

“Last time your computer broke, didn’t you have someone come fix it at your place?” Tang Xingluo asked curiously.

“I’m not here to fix a computer today. I’m planning to build a new desktop…”

While Shen Anyue talked, Cheng Yiyi let go of her hand and let her gaze drift across the dazzling array of electronics.

She’d never had much contact with computers. Graphics cards, RAM, motherboards, all of it was fancy and new to Cheng Yiyi.

Even if her wide-eyed, new-to-this-world look clashed with her outfit, the staff didn’t dare treat her lightly.

They hurried over to welcome her and start explaining.

Because this storefront had a strong brand name, the staff wouldn’t risk sullying the reputation. Everything they said was honest, and their quotes followed market prices.

“Didn’t you just come last week?”

“I’ve been running code. I deleted the protection protocols on my computer, so a batch of parts burned out. I’m here to restock.”

Shen Anyue had been high school classmates with this person and they got along well.

Much of what she knew about computers came from asking him.

This guy might look harmless, but behind the scenes, he was actually a hacker!

To him, gaming without a set of cheats loaded in the background was like a computer without an internet cable.

The guy did have some standards, though. He’d keep cheats running, but he wouldn’t use them. It was only when he got pushed to the edge that he’d turn into a tribulation-crossing master in the middle of a match!

Though that already sounded excessive, Tang Xingluo used to be even worse. He’d only calmed down after getting hundreds of accounts banned.

He’d originally wanted to open a whole army of alt accounts, but since that involved trading ID card info, his parents gave him a serious lesson and he pulled back a lot.

By the way, the Tang family, Tang Xingluo’s family, was one of the five great families of the capital.

The others were the Shen, Ye, Ji, and Xiao families.

Of course, the great families weren’t limited to these, but these few had an obvious gap in influence over the rest.

Unlike the others, Tang Xingluo’s family focused on games and held strong influence worldwide.

Born into a family like that, with his talent for code, the things he tinkered with naturally differed from the average person.

As a result, he constantly pushed his computers past their limits until they crashed, so he had to make frequent trips to the computer mall to buy new parts.

At this point, sharp-eyed readers might have noticed already. Tang Xingluo is a boy.

Yeah, a boy.

And he carries the curse of Turing on his back…

📚 Also on NHV Novels

Who Exactly Climbed into My Bed in the Girls’ Dormitory?

Female ProtagonistRomancetransformation

Read Now →
Not interested