Pursuing Her Best Friend after Confession Failed-Chapter 71 - 70 Xia Zhijin’s First Time (First Update, Request for First Subscription)
Xia Zhijin shyly lowered her head. What Li Yuan said made sense; if she wanted to learn about computers, they needed to sit together. Still, a sliver of fear lingered in her heart.
Seeing her hesitation, Li Yuan fanned the flames. "Zhijin, I’m the boss, and you’re the employee. This is all for the sake of work. Understand?"
"Yes!"
Only then did Xia Zhijin stand up. She timidly approached the stool next to Li Yuan and sat down, deliberately angling her body away as if she were sitting on pins and needles.
Li Yuan could even feel her body trembling. Clearly, being so close to him made her extremely nervous and afraid.
A helpless expression crossed Li Yuan’s face. "Xia Zhijin, am I really that scary?"
"Ah? No, it’s not that, you’re not scary," Xia Zhijin stammered, her face blushing as she scooted a little closer to him.
Without a word, Li Yuan shifted his own body, pressing right up against her.
Xia Zhijin’s body went rigid as if shocked by electricity. Her breathing became shallow, and Li Yuan felt like he could hear her heart pounding in her chest.
Li Yuan reached his right hand around her back and grasped her small, incredibly soft hand.
Xia Zhijin’s mind went blank. She never expected Li Yuan to be so audacious. She tried to pull her hand away, but his grip was firm.
She turned her head, her clear, beautiful eyes misting over as they fixed him with a questioning gaze.
Li Yuan felt a pang of guilt but put on a serious expression. "Zhijin, pay attention. I’m teaching you how to use the computer."
"Oh," Xia Zhijin murmured, the blush on her cheeks deepening.
Li Yuan chuckled inwardly. Sincerity gets you nowhere, but a little cunning wins the day. To win over a girl like Xia Zhijin, I have to find every possible excuse for physical contact. Over time, the warmth and strength of my body will break through her defensive shell and find its way into her soft heart...
"Zhijin, this is the computer’s mouse, and it’s also its controller. By moving the mouse, you can move this cursor around the desktop..."
"This is the computer’s power button. You can use it to turn the computer on and off manually, or you can choose to shut it down from here..."
"This is the Sogou Pinyin input method, which you can use to type..."
"This is a Word document, where you can write speeches, reports, and so on..."
Holding Xia Zhijin’s soft little hand, Li Yuan slowly taught her the basics: how to identify computer components, how to turn it on and off, how to open a Word document, type text, create tables, and more.
As expected of a top student who had gotten into a prestigious 985 university on her own merit, Xia Zhijin was a fast learner. Her comprehensive learning ability was even higher than his, as he had only gotten in by slipping through the cracks. She absorbed everything he taught her after being shown only once.
Li Yuan was practically hugging Xia Zhijin by this point. After more than an hour of his "hands-on" instruction, her body gradually began to relax in his arms.
"Zhijin, do you understand everything I’ve taught you?"
"Yes, I think I’ve got most of it!"
Xia Zhijin’s cheeks were still bright red. She felt as if she were curled up in Li Yuan’s warm, strong embrace. The close proximity made her face burn as if she had a fever. To make matters worse, they were in a KFC, and every so often, other customers would walk past, their curious glances making her even more flustered.
Li Yuan inhaled her fresh, clean scent and chuckled. "Zhijin, you don’t have a QQ account yet, do you?"
"No, I don’t."
"Shall I help you create one now?"
"Yes, thank you!"
Li Yuan opened QQ and followed the steps to create an account for her.
"What screen name would you like to use?"
Xia Zhijin asked innocently, "What’s a screen name?"
Li Yuan smiled and explained, "It’s a name you choose for yourself, like a pen name that authors used in the old days. The scholars and poets would all pick elegant names for themselves."
"Like ’Hermit of the Green Lotus’ or ’Hermit of Yi’an’... For example, my screen name is ’Life Like Summer Flowers’..."
"’Life Like Summer Flowers’... as splendid as the flowers of summer, as serene as the leaves of autumn. That’s a beautiful name," Xia Zhijin murmured shyly to herself.
Li Yuan laughed heartily. "Zhijin, we really are on the same wavelength. That’s the exact line that inspired me to choose that name."
"So, what kind of screen name are you thinking of?"
"I... let me think."
Suddenly, Xia Zhijin’s eyes lit up. She turned to the keyboard and typed in a name.
Li Yuan leaned in closer to see, his lips almost brushing her cheek. He breathed in her pure, sweet fragrance, feeling his heart tremble. He noticed that her soft little hand had started to grow moist with a fine sheen of sweat.
On the laptop screen were the words: A Leaf Knows Summer.
"Zhijin, ’A Leaf Knows Summer’... does that name have a special meaning?"
Xia Zhijin glanced at Li Yuan shyly but didn’t answer. Her clear eyes, however, seemed to hold a wealth of unspoken emotion.
From her gaze, Li Yuan thought he understood. His surname, Li, could be associated with trees, so the ’leaf’ in her chosen name could represent him. Her own name was Xia Zhijin, and the ’jin’ in it referred to the hibiscus flower.
Recalling the profound meaning in her eyes, a smile touched Li Yuan’s lips. He murmured softly, "A Leaf Knows Summer. That’s a great name. Let’s use that one."
Xia Zhijin nodded shyly.
Next, Li Yuan continued his hands-on lesson, teaching Xia Zhijin how to use QQ, QQ Mail, Qzone, the photo album, and more.
"Zhijin, add my QQ. My number is 149943..."
Xia Zhijin was very smart; after being shown just once, she had mastered all of QQ’s basic functions.
Suddenly, Li Yuan’s phone vibrated. He opened it to see a new friend request on QQ.
"A Leaf Knows Summer requests to add you as a friend..."
Li Yuan clicked accept and typed his first message, "Hello there, Zhijin!"
Xia Zhijin found it all very intriguing. Her cheeks were flushed a vibrant red as she typed her reply, "Nice to meet you."
Li Yuan continued, "You look beautiful when you smile. You should smile more often."
Xia Zhijin replied with one word, "Okay."
"From now on, you can message me on QQ or just call me directly."
"Okay, got it."
"You should take the initiative to contact me, alright?"
"Okay, I will."
...
Even though they were sitting right next to each other, they chatted through QQ, which was a uniquely novel experience.
After a little while, Xia Zhijin asked shyly, "Li Yuan, is there anything else I need to learn?"
Li Yuan wanted to invent a few more excuses, but he couldn’t think of any on the spot. "Not for now," he replied. "I’ll teach you more when something comes to mind."
Xia Zhijin’s hand twitched. "Then... can you... let go of my hand?"
Only then did Li Yuan realize he had been holding her hand the entire time during his "hands-on" lesson.
Looking at the girl curled up against him, he reluctantly released her.
If only she were a little slower at learning. Then I’d have a legitimate reason to keep teaching her hand-to-hand... Still, you can’t rush these things. Now that there’s this boss-and-secretary relationship, will I really lack opportunities in the future?
Escaping Li Yuan’s clutches, Xia Zhijin let out a sigh of relief. The stiffness left her body, and she seemed to come alive again.
She looked at Li Yuan shyly. "Li Yuan, can... can we go back to the university now?"
Li Yuan glanced at the time. It was already past four in the afternoon. It feels like we haven’t even done anything. How did time pass so quickly? I guess when you’re with someone you like, you want to make every second last forever...
"It’s only a little after four. It’s still early. We’ll head back later."
"Oh. Then... what are we going to do?" Xia Zhijin glanced at Li Yuan, her heart filled with unease, and she shyly lowered her head again.
Li Yuan reached out his wandering hand and gently tapped her on the head. "What, is being with me that agonizing for you?"
She answered blankly, "No... it’s not."
Li Yuan chuckled, thoroughly enjoying the feeling of teasing this precious girl. "Well then, that settles it. Come on, walk around the mall with me."
"Okay," Xia Zhijin meekly agreed, trailing behind him.
Longyu Building was a massive, comprehensive shopping mall. As they strolled around, Li Yuan walked in front while Xia Zhijin hung back a step, not daring to get too close, afraid he might launch another sudden attack.
As Li Yuan walked, he began to recognize many familiar places: a coffee shop, a hot pot restaurant, snack stalls, an escape room, a ball pit...
The same scenery with a different person at a different time could evoke a completely different experience.
In his past life, Li Yuan had often wandered through this same mall with Bai Weixi. Back then, as a newcomer to the great metropolis of Modu, he was engulfed by its dazzling lights and bustling crowds, a realization that made him feel small and insignificant. The prosperity and high cost of living in Modu made it impossible for him to keep up his "rich second-generation" facade. He had to bleed his parents dry while he lived frugally and secretly took on part-time jobs, all to maintain his laughable pride. He had even come close to selling a kidney for an iPhone.
When that fragile bubble of lies finally burst, the consequences were devastating. Looking back, that was probably when Bai Weixi’s attitude toward him began to unconsciously change.
Sometimes, when I think back on it, my past self was just pathetic and pitiable, tragic and laughable...
As these old memories flooded his mind, a sharp pain lanced through Li Yuan’s heart. His brows knitted together, and his desire to continue wandering the mall vanished.
He looked at Xia Zhijin, who was still trailing shyly behind him, and was suddenly struck by how shameless he was. I had resolved to be a scumbag, a playboy, to embrace the world and give every beautiful girl a home... So why am I meddling with such a simple, precious girl? I have no idea what her life was like in my past life—whether it was good or bad, happy or tragic... But is it really right for me to so forcefully invade her peaceful existence?
"Zhijin," he asked abruptly, "do you... do you hate me?"
