Flirting Under Favor (GL) - Chapter 9

Wang Lin’s mind was fuzzy when she got back to school and attended class, so she didn’t absorb much. She kept thinking about Mu Fan working at her family’s branch company.

What a coincidence. It’s truly too much of a coincidence.

In the afternoon, Wang Lin returned to her accommodation, tidied up, and came out of the bedroom holding her laptop.

“Miss, are you going out?” the housekeeper asked in confusion when she saw her.

“Mhm, I won’t be back tonight.” Wang Lin didn’t look back, ran downstairs holding her laptop, threw it into the car, then got in herself, started the car, and drove away.

It was exactly four o’clock. She planned to pick Mu Fan up from work, using the excuse of returning her transportation card, and then ask her to play a game.

This was a plan she had made last night. She thought that after returning the card to Mu Fan, it would be difficult to find an excuse to contact her again. Last night, when she saw the game on Mu Fan’s computer, she decided to use playing the game together to maintain their connection. If she asked Mu Fan to teach her how to play, Mu Fan definitely wouldn’t refuse.

The game was called Jian Xia Qing Yuan Online 3 (JX3). Wang Lin downloaded it at home, fumbled around to create an account, and, after much deliberation, chose the Wanhua (Thousand Flower) school. She immediately took a liking to the short female body type (Loli), selected a preset face, then made some modifications, finding the result unbelievably cute. She entered a random name, found that it wasn’t taken, successfully entered the game, and began a bumpy journey of leveling up.

The scenery in the game was beautiful. Wang Lin was initially quite enthusiastic, dying and resurrecting alone repeatedly, her gear turning “red” (damaged) again and again. She finally left the starting area, but her enthusiasm had significantly waned.

Looking at her small, short Loli character, she felt that playing alone was truly boring.

She has to play with Mu Fan.

/

She drove to the G-Company building. It was a little while before Mu Fan’s quitting time at five o’clock. Wang Lin waited in the car, staring intently at the exit. Finally, people started streaming out, in all sorts of hurried states, but Wang Lin never saw a sign of Mu Fan.

Is she working overtime?

The crowd gradually thinned. Wang Lin was wondering what was going on when she finally saw a familiar figure. Mu Fan was walking out with a man, talking and laughing. Mu Fan nodded frequently. The man looked like her superior, and they were likely discussing work matters.

Wang Lin drove the car directly over, stopping beside the two of them. She rolled down the window, leaned out her head, smiled brightly at Mu Fan, and blinked her eyes.

“Wang Lin, why are you here?” Mu Fan asked, a look of surprise on her face.

“I came to pick you up,” Wang Lin answered with a smile.

“This is…?” the man next to Mu Fan asked, astonished. He was somewhat aware of Mu Fan’s circumstances, so he was understandably surprised to see Wang Lin driving a Mercedes and saying she was here to pick her up.

“General Manager Zhao, this is my friend.”

“Oh, you two chat.” Zhao Zilei didn’t look into it further, nodded, and walked away.

“Get in, get in, it’s so cold outside,” Wang Lin urged.

Mu Fan shook her head helplessly, remembering Wang Lin’s comment that morning about driving her to work every day. This girl wouldn’t actually be serious, would she? We’ve only known each other for two days.

“Did you really just come to pick me up?” Mu Fan asked without moving.

“Yes, I did.”

Mu Fan watched her eyes darting and avoiding contact. She clearly had no idea how to lie.

“Really?” Mu Fan asked again.

Wang Lin pouted, took out Mu Fan’s transportation card, and handed it to her: “Here you go.”

Mu Fan took it: “You could have given this to me any time. Why go to all the trouble to come all this way?”

“I came because I wanted to. I had nothing to do, so I just came out for a drive,” Wang Lin said. Seeing that Mu Fan still wasn’t moving, her voice softened, “Come on, hurry up and get in,” with a slight lilt at the end.

Mu Fan couldn’t resist her spoiled tone. She walked to the passenger side, opened the car door, and got in.

“Is that man your superior?” Wang Lin asked out of the blue.

“Yes.”

“How does he treat you?”

“He’s a good person,” Mu Fan fastened her seatbelt and countered, “Why are you asking that?”

“Just asking, I’m concerned about you.” Wang Lin started the car and drove onto the road.

She had seen that man before, at the company’s annual meeting before the New Year.

On the other side, Zhang Zilei got into his own car, feeling the steering wheel. He kept feeling like he had seen the girl driving the Mercedes somewhere before, but when he looked back, the car had already driven away. Where could I have seen her? He couldn’t recall immediately. It was normal not to remember, as Wang Lin had only briefly shown her face and then slipped away that day of the annual meeting.

The car arrived at the building where Mu Fan lived. Wang Lin followed her out of the car. Mu Fan looked at her, full of expectation. Her heart softened again, and she tentatively asked, “Want to come up and sit for a bit?”

Getting the words she wanted, the delight on Wang Lin’s face couldn’t be hidden. She cheerfully said, “Yes, please.” Then she turned around, ducked into the car, and took out the laptop from the back seat.

“What’s this?” The computer was in a laptop bag, Mu Fan asked.

“A computer.”

Mu Fan was confused: “Why did you bring your computer? Do you have homework to do?”

Wang Lin vaguely answered, “Mhm.”

“Is it heavy? Do you want me to carry it for you?”

“Thank you!” Wang Lin didn’t stand on ceremony, pushing the object in her arms forward.

Mu Fan took the handle of the laptop bag. It wasn’t heavy, but it wasn’t light either.

They went upstairs. By the sixth floor, Wang Lin was still out of breath, and Mu Fan had carried her computer for her. If I had carried it myself, I would have been exhausted, she thought. Once inside the familiar apartment, Wang Lin took the computer back, holding it clumsily in her arms.

“Have you eaten?” Mu Fan asked.

Wang Lin shook her head: “No.”

“You do your homework first; I’ll go cook,” Mu Fan said, walking toward the kitchen, only to realize there weren’t many ingredients left. Looking at the two lonely eggs and a small head of baby cabbage, Mu Fan asked outside the kitchen, “Do you like noodles?”

“I’m not picky.” The person outside the kitchen replied. It would be too impolite to be picky about food when eating at someone else’s house, and besides a few specific things, she really wasn’t picky.

Wang Lin, hugging the computer, ran into the bedroom and placed it next to Mu Fan’s computer. She planned how to ask Mu Fan to play the game with her. Her concern was that if Mu Fan had work to do, she shouldn’t bother her. So, she ran to the kitchen doorway again.

The water in the pot on the stove was boiling, bubbling loudly. Even with the extractor fan on, the steam was substantial. Wang Lin subtly backed away. The trauma from her childhood still affected her.

“What’s wrong?” Mu Fan saw her coming and asked. Then, noticing her slightly fearful expression, she guessed what was happening. “Are you scared?”

“Mhm,” Wang Lin nodded pitifully.

Mu Fan smiled: “I’m a little curious about how you almost burned down the kitchen when you were a kid.”

Since Mu Fan asked about her childhood “feat,” Wang Lin didn’t hide anything and confessed honestly: “I only knew to pour oil into the pan and heat it up, then put the vegetables and seasoning in. I used a thin-bottomed stainless steel pot back then. It caught fire while it was heating. I panicked and threw water on it, and the fire got even bigger! I was so scared that I sat right on the floor and cried and cried! It terrified me!”

Although it was a dangerous event, Mu Fan found it amusing to hear the story.

Wang Lin was still peeking through the doorway.

“Go do your homework. It’ll be ready soon,” Mu Fan said, thinking that if she was scared, she shouldn’t watch, and motioned for her to go to the living room. However, Wang Lin didn’t move, still standing where she was. “Is something the matter?”

“Do you have any work to do tonight?” Wang Lin summoned her courage and asked.

“No, I finished everything.”

Mu Fan watched Wang Lin’s originally cautious face instantly light up.

“That’s great!”

Watching Wang Lin run off, Mu Fan was truly baffled. Why is Wang Lin so happy that I finished my work? She’s a little strange.

Wang Lin ran back to the bedroom, opened her computer, plugged it in, and started the game. She planned to play by herself for a while, but she became engrossed and didn’t notice Mu Fan walking up behind her until she was right there.

This girl isn’t doing homework; she’s playing a game.

“You play this game too,” Mu Fan said, half-statement, half-question.

“I saw it on your computer last night, so I got curious and downloaded it to play. I think it’s quite interesting, but I don’t really know how to play yet,” Wang Lin said in one breath, using the speech she had rehearsed many times in her mind. Then she waited expectantly for Mu Fan’s response.

Mu Fan thought, It’s rare for this little game to have a new player, and said aloud, “I’ll teach you how to play in a bit. Let’s eat the noodles first.”

“Yes!” Wang Lin’s eyes sparkled as if countless fireworks were blooming inside them. Mu Fan saw everything. It all seemed to have gone according to plan.

“Okay~” Wang Lin drew out the word, her excitement obvious.

Mu Fan watched, her gaze gentle. All of Wang Lin’s emotions were clearly displayed on her face. It’s truly easy to get along with someone like this, she had realized from their first meeting.

After saying “Okay,” Wang Lin got up from the chair and went to sit at the dining table in the living room. A steaming bowl of noodles sat before her.

Actually, during their first meeting yesterday, Mu Fan had noticed Wang Lin’s nervousness, especially after Huang Xi and Fan Beibei arrived. She had become quiet and spoke little, as if she were shy around strangers. But now, none of that was visible; she acted as if she were at home.

Perhaps Wang Lin considers me an acquaintance now?

“Which bowl is mine?” Wang Lin asked, looking at the two bowls of baby cabbage and egg noodles placed on the table.

Mu Fan said, “Either one.”

Wang Lin didn’t hesitate, picked a bowl randomly, and started slurping the noodles.

Knowing Wang Lin’s privileged background, Mu Fan had been worried that her simple noodles wouldn’t be to her taste. Watching Wang Lin eat with relish, she finally relaxed.

She really isn’t picky about food.

Wang Lin tilted the bowl and took a few gulps of the noodle soup, then carefully placed the bowl back on the table: “I’m done. Let’s play the game.”

“You ate so fast because you were eager to play the game?” Mu Fan asked.

Wang Lin nodded, and Mu Fan couldn’t help but smile.

“Did you finish all your homework? Freshmen still have a lot of classes.”

“I don’t have homework.” Since Mu Fan hadn’t finished eating, Wang Lin remained seated at the table, her hands resting neatly on the surface.

“You go play first. I’ll wash the dishes,” Mu Fan said.

Wang Lin tilted her head and said dejectedly, “I can’t beat the enemies.”