Chapter 215: Watch Out for Fire, Thieves, Windproof Lighters… and Men?
Sad feelings came and went quickly.
Mainly because Xia Changyu was really good at cheering her up, so Lin Yibai felt much better after talking to him.
But once things calmed down, she still had a lot to face.
Lin Yibai lay alone in her rented apartment room, put a hand on her forehead, and said, “At least it’s not that bad. I still get to spend another month or two with the guys, right?”
She casually flipped through her thesis topics, planning to finish the paper first.
This kind of thing really isn’t what some people imagine, like doing some amazing scientific research.
With tens of millions of college students graduating in China every year, there’s just not that much room for major discoveries.
You can think of it simply as, just make a super big PowerPoint presentation and you’re done!
Some people take it seriously and try to gain real knowledge through practice. Others just browse the internet, search on academic sites, and pull together some information to finish it off.
Lin Yibai didn’t believe in faking anything.
“The two things I’ve been involved in the most are part-time work at weddings and helping with Changyu’s domestic ceramics business.”
Two choices. Which one should she pick?
Also... what kind of topic did her "love rival" choose for his thesis?
"Should I just call him? It's just because I want to know, not because I miss hearing his voice or anything. Don't get the wrong idea! Hmph!"
Ring—
“Hello~”
Lin Yibai asked, “What are you doing?”
On the other end, there was the sound of heavy breathing. Xia Changyu said, “I’m helping the company move. I’m also taking apart two old computers, I think I can fix them up. I’ll bring one to you later.”
Lin Yibai was surprised, “Why are you suddenly giving me a computer?”
Xia Changyu, calm as ever, smiled and said, “You’ve been thinking about getting a computer, haven’t you? You didn’t want my laptop, so I thought maybe you’d like this instead.”
Lin Yibai gave a little cold snort and said, “If I didn’t want your laptop, why would I want your computer?”
Xia Changyu said confidently, “You’ll want it for sure.”
Lin Yibai burst out laughing and firmly said, “No way. Absolutely not.”
Xia Changyu, still smiling, said, “You sure? If you really don’t want it, I’ll just sell it for scrap. Two old computers can get 20 yuan, enough to buy you a bottle of milk tea.”
Lin Yibai: “Wait! Don’t!”
Xia Changyu: “So, are you taking it or not?”
Lin Yibai: “Yes.”
Xia Changyu teased, “What did you say? I didn’t hear you~”
Lin Yibai looked super annoyed and said, “I said yes! Give it to me already, please!”
Wow, this guy totally knew how to deal with her.
If he forced Lin Yibai to accept a gift directly, she definitely wouldn’t take it.
But if one way doesn’t work, try another. There’s always a way to get her to accept it!
Not long after, Xia Changyu brought the computer over. He assumed girls didn’t know much about computers, so he confidently opened the D drive and said,
“Look at this, only 400GB in the D drive! It’s a totally useless little machine. Any decent computer these days has tons of drives, C, D, E, F, G, and a few terabytes of storage!”
Lin Yibai said, “And then?”
Dear love rival, please continue your little performance!
Xia Changyu went on, pointing at the CPU. “Look at the processor. It’s just a low-end i5. We’re already at i9 now! Who still uses i5?”
Lin Yibai asked again, “And what about the graphics card?”
Xia Changyu replied with full confidence, “It’s just a trashy old 3060 card. Everyone knows 3060s are used mining cards. Nobody wants them, not even dogs.”
Lin Yibai: “Oh really?”
Xia Changyu looked shocked and quickly said, “Ah—don’t get me wrong! I didn’t mean you’re a dog… That’s not what I meant! Anyway, do you have any more questions?”
Lin Yibai put on an innocent face, nodded sweetly, and said, “Yep! Just a few tiny ‘non-problems’ that are still problems.”
“Go ahead.”
“Explain this so-called ‘trash’ i5-14600K CPU to me. And fine, I believe most RTX 3060s on the market are mining cards, but I don't believe you'd give me a mining card. I bet you spent a lot back then during the peak of crypto mining, didn't you?!”
Xia Changyu, avoiding eye contact, mumbled, “It wasn’t that much… Just over ten thousand yuan maybe. Anyway, enough talk, Baiyi, what do you really want?”
Lin Yibai was surprised that he suddenly flipped the situation, and couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
“What do I want? Shouldn’t I be asking you that? Giving me such a good computer, what do you want?”
Xia Changyu immediately said, “Easy! One of my buddies is leaving town for an internship. Want to come with me tonight to see him off?”
Lin Yibai: “Dream on! I’m not going with you. Hmph!”
She almost added, ‘Don’t even think about using this chance to get closer to me.’ But when she saw how eager and hopeful Xia Changyu looked, her heart unexpectedly softened.
Ugh.
Too stubborn with her words, too soft with her heart.
It was a flaw she could never seem to change.
Lin Yibai sighed again, turned her head away, and said a bit proudly, “He must be a really important friend to you. But what am I supposed to go as? I’m not your girlfriend, so it would feel awkward at something like that.”
Xia Changyu got excited and said, “Any role is fine! Even if you just come as a friend, it’s okay.”
Lin Yibai took a deep breath, then said with a little snort, “A friend? But from the way you’re acting, I bet you’ve talked about me a lot in front of your friends, huh?”
Xia Changyu answered right away, “I talk about you every day! If I could, I’d grab a loudspeaker and shout to the world 24/7 how amazing you are.”
He paused, then added, “But… when I talk about you to others, I always say you’re my girlfriend. So, if it’s okay… please, Lin Yibai.”
Lin Yibai nodded and said, "I see now. I understand what you want. Fine, considering how sensible you're being, I’ll reluctantly pretend to be your girlfriend this one time! Also, this computer is really good, and I actually need one right now, so I’ll just borrow it for now, okay?"
Xia Changyu felt like grabbing her right there and giving her a good scolding.
He took a deep breath and gritted his teeth, said, "It’s not a loan! Not a loan! It’s yours, I gave it to you! Got it? My dearest, most precious Lin Baiyi, how many more times do I have to say it?"
Lin Yibai turned her face away again, her cheeks slightly red. She said quietly, "I-I got it, okay! Why are you shouting so loud? It’s not like I didn’t hear you."
Good. As long as she understands.
Xia Changyu was finally satisfied for once.
What he really wanted was for Lin Yibai to just accept the things he gave her happily, so he wouldn’t have to go through so much effort to finally get her to take them.
As for why he gave her such a high-end computer?
Xia Changyu clearly remembered that back at the expo, Lin Yibai showed great gaming skills.
A girl who could handle big, top-tier games like that definitely deserved a good computer. Simple as that.
On the other side, Lin Yibai started feeling a bit troubled.
But not about the computer. Instead, she was thinking, ‘If I’m going to pretend to be his girlfriend, what kind of clothes should I wear? Something proper? Elegant? Pretty? Cute?’
She opened her closet… and found she didn’t have that many choices.
After thinking for a long time, Lin Yibai decided to throw the question back to her "love rival."
She asked, “What kind of clothes do you think I should wear?”
Xia Changyu replied, “Anything’s fine.”
Lin Yibai: “!!”
Honestly, if you weren’t my “rival,” I’d have told you to go screw yourself after saying “anything.”
But fine. Since she could think from a guy’s perspective, she knew most guys were terrible at fashion or clothing choices.
So she started using process of elimination.
Lin Yibai: “A long dress?”
Xia Changyu: “Nope.”
Lin Yibai: “A short skirt?”
Xia Changyu: “Even worse.”
Lin Yibai: “Then… a revealing dress?”
Xia Changyu quickly shook his head, “No no no, definitely not.”
Lin Yibai gave him a side-eye, then offered another option. “A shirt, sweatpants, and sneakers?”
Xia Changyu’s eyes lit up and he clapped in approval. “Yes! Yes yes yes! That’s perfect!”
Lin Yibai laughed and teased him, “Wow, you’re seriously trying to protect me from fire, theft, and… your own friends?”
Xia Changyu said, “It’s called not showing off what’s precious.”
Lin Yibai: “Go die.”
Seriously, why is it that whenever she’s with him, nothing ever feels normal?
And going out to meet Xia Changyu’s friends?
Sigh… it’s so strange.
How did things end up like this?