NOVEL NEXT Chapter 156: Chapter 156: Do you like it or not?
Qin Xiaoxu had recently decided not to live at home anymore, as her parents were always nagging, and she had no choice but to move to an apartment closer to the company.
Being a homebody, she went to the supermarket and bought a bunch of snacks, planning to rest well at home.
Days with snacks and games to play were, for her, simply too blissful.
However, she was too tired yesterday, so she decided to get some catch-up sleep today.
After just over an hour of sleep, she heard a familiar ringtone—her phone was ringing. She was still groggy, reached for her phone, and upon seeing the messages that came in, her expression immediately soured.
This person is like a persistent ghost, disturbing her even when she's trying to rest.
Qin Xiaoxu had already seen the callout on the screen.
"You there? You there?"
Five consecutive messages, all "You there?"
Just seeing the words "You there?" made Qin Xiaoxu feel irritable, thinking that only people with low EQ would send such a message. If she were there, she would have replied on her own.
If there's something to say, just say it. Why does one always need to ask if she's there?!
Qin Xiaoxu was a bit agitated, seeing that the name above was Lin Jie. She quickly typed a response of "Here" on the screen.
The moment he saw her response, he immediately sent three more words: "Get online now."
Qin Xiaoxu saw these three words and replied indifferently.
"I'm jobless now, not in the mood for this!"
Qin Xiaoxu said flatly, still troubled by her inability to find a job.
But at that moment, Lin Jie was stupefied by her message; he didn't understand, after all, he was still in college, a time without much worry.
And the greatest concern in college was about finding a job afterward, but he never considered the possibility of unemployment.
So, he couldn't understand Qin Xiaona, and he really wanted to play games now; Qin Xiaoxu was the perfect gaming partner for him, so he immediately sent another message.
Qin Xiaoxu glanced at the message and was immediately three degrees hotter with anger. This guy was truly too exasperating for her, suggesting that if she was jobless, she should just hurry up and find a job—as if it wasn't a big deal hearing such words. Find your adventure at M-V-L
Qin Xiaoxu felt like she was so angry she could spit blood. Was it so easy to find a job just by hurrying to look for one?
Could she just find the right one by looking? Was it that simple?
Greatly annoyed, Qin Xiaoxu's fingers rapidly typed a long string of text on the screen. Lin Jie was stunned when he saw the barrage of words.
He was somewhat taken aback, not having prepared a good response, but upon seeing another message from Qin Xiaoxu with an acid tone, he replied.
"Go play with all those girls you like!"
Hearing this, Lin Jie, a straightforward guy, thought there was a turn of events, allowing him to skip the previous message and respond directly to this one. He immediately typed a reply.
"Where on my phone are there other girls? Besides, other girls are too noobish in games; I think it's better if you just play with me!"
Lin Jie didn't realize anything inappropriate in what he said, and Qin Xiaoxu was somewhat taken aback by his message, but what surprised her even more was that Lin Jie's phone indeed didn't have any other girls.
Qin Xiaoxu continued chatting with Lin Jie for a bit, but she was quickly shocked by his insensitivity.
He didn't know how to comfort her when she was so upset, only knowing to urge her to join him in gaming.
Qin Xiaoxu was getting annoyed; she stopped replying to Lin Jie's messages and opened up her phone to order some takeaway.
She normally didn't cook when at home, and when outside, takeaway was her only option. Meanwhile, Lin Jie was utterly confused. He looked at his phone, having sent numerous messages, but Qin Xiaoxu hadn't replied to a single one.
What was up with her today? Was it just because she lost her job? Was that why she was ignoring him?
Hearing Lin Jie's words, his buddy Zhao Xin couldn't help but give Lin Jie a look of astonishment.
"Dude, you really don't get it! The girl lost her job; you could at least comfort her a bit, and instead, you complain about her not paying attention to you."
Zhao Xin walked up to Lin Jie, took a look at the chat history on his phone, and was immediately shocked.
"What the hell are you talking with her about? Can't you think of anything besides games?"
Zhao Xin showed a helpless smile, and upon hearing this, Lin Jie naturally responded, "I'm still studying, and I'm not the one looking for a job. Besides, if she lost her job, she can just find a new one—it's not a big deal. She's going to drop ranks in the game if she doesn't play soon."
Hearing this, Zhao Xin was pretty much speechless, only shaking his head and saying, "You really are a hopeless case of a 'steel straight man'!"
Lin Jie, feeling slightly dissatisfied, furrowed his brows and replied, "Don't talk about me like that; I don't think I am."
He understood emotions between men and women; it's just that his mind was more focused on games, which is why he didn't pay much attention. But he was still interested in women.
Seeing Lin Jie's troubled expression, Zhao Xin asked, "What do you feel towards that girl in the game, Qin Xiaoxu? Do you have feelings for her, like, actually like her?"
Upon hearing that, Lin Jie pondered for quite some time, unsure about this 'liking' feeling Zhao Xin was referring to, and could only say, "She's really good at gaming, we have synergy when we play together, and she has a nice personality, someone I can chat with."
Zhao Xin nodded, thinking since Lin Jie said they got along, it must mean he liked her quite a bit.
So, he said, "Then you must have feelings for her, feelings like, you know, being thrilled by her, paying a lot of attention to everything about her, really enjoying being with her."
Zhao Xin earnestly tried to describe the feeling because he feared that Lin Jie, this hopeless straight man, might not even grasp that kind of emotion.
Lin Jie thought for a long while without saying anything, leading Zhao Xin to continue, "So, when playing with other girls versus playing with Qin Xiaoxu, who do you think is better?"
At this, Lin Jie frowned and said, "Of course Qin Xiaoxu is better. The other girls I played with were so terrible; I'd lose every game with them, and I couldn't even scold them. If I did, they'd get mad at me. I was really..."
He had gone completely off-topic again.
Zhao Xin was a bit exasperated, only able to say, "Is that really all you care about? Or do you think Qin Xiaoxu is interested in you, that she might really have feelings for you, or that you feel differently about her compared to others?"
Zhao Xin was trying hard to steer the conversation back on track. Lin Jie knitted his brows upon hearing this, then smiled and said, "How could that be? My feelings towards Qin Xiaoxu are different from those towards other girls, but that doesn't mean she likes me or that I like her."