Chapter 15: The First Visit

Hao Ren turned around, and Zhao Yanzi's angry little face entered his sight again.

"I'm just taking a tour. Why are you so mad?" He asked lightly.

Zhao Yanzi didn't answer him; she probably didn't know what to say.

"I'll leave if I'm not welcomed here," Hao Ren continued.

"No!" Zhao Yanzi semi-rolled her eyes and said, "You can stay here."

Seeing her expression, Hao Ren knew that she was asking him to stay to avoid scolding from her parents.

"What can I do then?" He asked.

"Whatever you want." Zhao Yanzi sat in front of the computer and reactivated the screen with her mouse.

The desktop was a picture of her in a bikini at the beach. Her delicate skin glowed radiantly under the sun amongst the blue waves. She had a bright smile, and her little tongue stuck out wittily in the picture which showed her even and white teeth. Who would have known she was a little devil in reality?

She quickly switched the screen as she must have noticed that Hao Ren was looking at the picture. However, Hao Ren couldn't see her expression from where he was.

Zhao Yanzi started to play the most popular game lately "Plants Vs. Zombies." She focused on continuing her last level as she had decided to ignore Hao Ren. (This is an older book as you can tell from the game.)

Hao Ren walked to the desk out of boredom and took out a book randomly from the shelf. Zhao Yanzi carried on with her game without paying attention to him.

Hao Ren sat down in a chair near the balcony. He read the novel in the afternoon sunshine.

Zhao Yanzi couldn't help but glimpse at him while she played the game.

"He doesn't look like a bad guy even though he's not that cute..." She thought to herself as she looked at Hao Ren, who was reading quietly in the sun.

"But to marry him..." Zhao Yanzi felt internally conflicted.

She pouted as she carried on with her game.

Time flew by as she fought through many levels. She was deeply focused on the game and completely forgot about Hao Ren.

There were more and more zombies on her screen and the pea-shooters Zhao Yanzi planted weren't enough to defeat them. She could do nothing but watch the zombies break through the door.

She failed the level five times and finally got frustrated by it. She threw the mouse on the desk as if she was mad at her computer.

"Stupid." A voice came from behind her.

She turned around, not knowing when Hao Ren got behind her.

Her face immediately blushed. She blamed herself for being too focused and forgot about Hao Ren's existence. However, it wasn't completely her fault as this was her own bedroom and she had always been alone in here. Her complete attention was in the game, and it made her forget about the silent "guest" in her room.

"None of your business!" She finally burst out after two seconds of silence.

"Plant two rolls of Sunflowers in the back; leave an empty roll for Ice Pea-shooters in the front; plant another roll of Pea-shooters in front of that; then plant a roll of potatoes. Same in the water except planting the lotus leaves first," Hao Ren said.

"Pttf, that would never work!" Zhao Yanzi wasn't convinced.

Having ignored her, Hao Ren returned to the balcony to read.

Zhao Yanzi pondered on her chair before she started the level again.

She successfully passed the level using Hao Ren's strategy.

"Did it work?" Hao Ren asked as he quietly read his book.

"No!" Zhao Yanzi said in a fit of pique.

Hao Ren stood up, pretending to go over and check. Zhao Yanzi quickly exited the game in panic.

However, that desktop photo was completely shown to Hao Ren.

"Don't...Don't look at it!" Zhao Yanzi stood up hastily to block his view.

This photo showed her body in a swimsuit. How can it be seen by other people!

"I've already seen the live version. What's so special about the picture?" Hao Ren said with disdain.

Zhao Yanzi gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. She hit Hao Ren on his chest.

Thanks to the loss of her Internal Core, it wasn't a strong hit. Instead of causing pain on Hao Ren's chest, it was somehow done in a pettishly charming manner.

Zhao Yanzi was a bit satisfied with Hao Ren's reaction because he was covering his chest and pretending to be hurt. "Humph, I shall teach you another lesson if you say something like that again!" She said.

She then sat down and continued with her "Plants Vs. Zombies" game.

Hao Ren was bored of reading, so he dragged a chair beside her and watched her play.

Zhao Yanzi was, in fact, bored of playing alone, so she was glad he came to watch her. Not to mention she certainly needed some help with some levels.

"Plant a Chomper here..."

"Here, collect the sun!"

"Here comes the last wave. Get the Cherry Bombs ready."

Hao Ren kept on instructing on the side.

"So annoying! I know!" Zhao Yanzi blamed him as she did what he said. Her hand was moving quickly with the mouse.

The two of them were too focused on the screen to realize Zhao Hongyu had quietly pushed open the door a bit, took a look at them as she stood by the door, and left in delight.

Time flew until they reached the last level; it was dinnertime.

Bang bang bang...there was a knock on the door.

Zhao Yanzi paused the game as Hao Ren came to his senses as well.

"Ok, enough gaming. Time for dinner," Zhao Hongyu said in a gentle tone.

Zhao Yanzi turned her head to the door and then looked back to her side. She suddenly realized Hao Ren's head and her head got so close without them even noticing.

She quickly tilted her body forward by 45 degrees to get away from Hao Ren. At the same time, Hao Ren also noticed that they were too close. He coughed twice in embarrassment and sat straight.

Zhao Yanzi turned off the computer and hastily walked out of the room as she pretended to be calm.

"I do not like that guy at all...how come I was having so much fun playing games with him..." She walked down the stairs in self-accusation.

Hao Ren was also wondering why he was so into playing games with the little girl.

They saw the table packed with delicious dishes when they got to the little dining room downstairs.

"It's late, and I should get going," Hao Ren said.

"Have dinner here," Zhao Guang said in a calm tone. It sounded more like a command than an invitation.

"Would they keep me for the night too after the dinner?" Hao Ren thought to himself.

But he quickly abandoned the unrealistic idea and sat down in embarrassment.

It was a usual family dinner where Zhao Hongyu and Zhao Guang talked about the trivial things in life. Hao Ren was randomly listening in when they talked about things he didn't understand.

Certainly, the couple didn't keep Hao Ren for the night after dinner. He was sensible and said goodbye.

"Go see him off, Zi," Zhao Hongyu told her daughter.

Zhao Yanzi stood up reluctantly. She looked at Hao Ren and followed him to the door.

Hao Ren turned back from the crosswalk outside of their house and saw Zhao Yanzi's pouting little lips; it could probably hang a necklace. "It's ok. You can go back now," he said.

"Oh..." she turned around to leave.

"Zi!" Zhao Hongyu's voice sounded.

Reluctantly, Zhao Yanzi turned back again as she looked at Hao Ren sadly.

Hao Ren walked towards the bus stop 500 meters away without a word, and Zhao Yanzi kept her 30-centimeter distance from him. Her way of "seeing him off" was following him without being in his sight.

It could be seen that she was made to do this by her parents from her reluctant look.

The two of them didn't say a word on the way. Zhao Yanzi kicked at little pebbles along the path from time to time as if she was expressing her madness on them.

The ruffle sleeves of her white t-shirt and her red floral-patterned short skirt were fluttering in the wind.

If it weren't for her pouting lips, her outfit and her cute look were very attractive. As Zhou Liren's catchphrase goes: a little sweet, a little cute, a little mature, and a little sexy...

The 500-meter distance wasn't too long, but it wasn't too short either. Soon Zhao Yanzi walked Hao Ren to the bus stop.

"Alright, off you go now," Hao Ren turned and said to her.

"Yeah..." Zhao Yanzi nodded with her head down.

She suddenly looked up with a complex expression. Then she turned and walked back.

Hao Ren realized that he didn't even have her number as he watched her leave. Even though she was just a mid-schooler, she should have a cellphone given how wealthy her family was.

He stood at the stop as he watched Zhao Yanzi walk away without looking back. Hao Ren thought to himself, "She sure wouldn't want to marry an 'uncle' like me..."