My Virtual Wife Stepped Out of My Phone to Find Me - Chapter 23

“I forgot to bring my underwear. Can you help me, sis?”

Qi Ying froze for a moment as she saw the slightly ajar bathroom door, behind which Xing Xiaochu was peeking out. Collecting herself, she asked, “Where are your clothes?”

Xing Xiaochu, still hidden behind the door, replied, “In the wardrobe in my room.”

Without another word, Qi Ying headed straight to Xing Xiaochu’s room. She didn’t let her eyes wander, immediately opening the wardrobe to search for the clothes Xing Xiaochu needed. Over time, Xing Xiaochu’s wardrobe had noticeably expanded—filled with outfits Qi Ying had made for her and ready-to-wear pieces bought from stores.

But summer clothes were thin and light, making the wardrobe look almost empty despite the items hanging inside.

Qi Ying thought to herself, I should prepare some autumn outfits for the kid.

When searching for underwear, Qi Ying didn’t dare look too closely. She grabbed a white pair along with pajamas—this time choosing a long-sleeved set with full-length pants, thinking it would be less likely to reveal too much.

Standing outside the bathroom, Qi Ying handed the clothes through the narrow gap in the door.

“Thank you.”

Xing Xiaochu’s damp hand reached out from behind the door to take the clothes. Qi Ying caught a glimpse of her arm, pale and slender from soaking in the bath, the skin as smooth as fine jade. The sight flashed before her eyes before disappearing again.

Only the intense, cool fragrance of osmanthus lingered in the air.

Qi Ying’s heart pounded uncontrollably. The heat she had just suppressed flared up again, threatening to consume her entirely. She immediately rushed back to the kitchen, pouring herself a large glass of ice water to cool down.

Soon, Xing Xiaochu emerged from the bathroom.

This time, the scent of osmanthus around her seemed much fainter.

Qi Ying looked at her—Xing Xiaochu’s hair was still wet, her beautiful dark eyes cautious and hesitant as they met Qi Ying’s, like a young deer just coming of age. She was dressed in the full-coverage pajamas, revealing nothing more than her delicate ankles and toes.

Qi Ying inwardly sighed in relief.

Xing Xiaochu glanced at Qi Ying, softly calling her “sis,” then nervously pinched the hem of her clothes and asked, “Do we… have any suppressant patches at home?”

Qi Ying was puzzled. “What’s that?”

The tips of Xing Xiaochu’s ears turned bright red as she struggled to explain to Qi Ying—an alpha with no basic ABO knowledge. After a moment’s hesitation, she said, “They’re patches you stick on the back of your neck to prevent pheromones from spreading.”

Qi Ying didn’t quite understand, but she remembered the house was stocked with all kinds of supplies. Telling Xing Xiaochu to wait, she rummaged through the cabinet under the TV and quickly found a first-aid kit.

“Is this it?” Qi Ying pulled out something resembling a band-aid, reading the label—ABO Universal Suppressant Patch—before turning to Xing Xiaochu.

Xing Xiaochu walked over, bent down to look, and nodded. “Yes, that’s it.”

It was Qi Ying’s first time seeing such a thing. She examined it curiously. “How do you use this? Just stick it on?”

Xing Xiaochu nodded again.

Qi Ying said, “Let me help you.”

Xing Xiaochu’s pupils trembled slightly as she looked at Qi Ying in bewilderment. After all, an alpha offering to help an Omega apply a suppressant patch was no different from offering to help her put on underwear. Yet, seeing Qi Ying’s completely unperturbed expression, Xiaochu couldn’t tell if the other woman genuinely didn’t understand or was just pretending.

“I-I can do it myself,” Xiaochu stammered, her cheeks flushing red as she snatched the suppressant patch from Qi Ying’s hand and hurried into her room.

Qi Ying crouched by the TV cabinet, confused, wondering if she’d said something wrong.

Fortunately, Xiaochu was quick—she emerged from her room within twenty or thirty seconds. Noticing Xiaochu lingering by the open door, seemingly reluctant to come out, Qi Ying said, “It’s getting late. Dry your hair and get some sleep. I’ll find time in the next couple of days to handle your school enrollment paperwork.”

“Thank you, sis.” Xiaochu glanced once more at Small Milk Cat, already asleep in its bed, then reluctantly added, “Then… I’ll go to bed now.”

“Alright.” Qi Ying reminded her, “Make sure your hair is dry before sleeping, or you’ll get a headache.”

Xiaochu nodded and closed the door.

Only after the door shut did Qi Ying pull out her phone to look up what suppressant patches actually were. When she finally understood, her eye twitched.

No wonder Xiaochu had looked at her like that.

She’d practically been acting like a pervert again.

If Xiaochu hadn’t been so good-natured, Qi Ying would probably have been reported for sexual harassment multiple times by now.

With a headache brewing, Qi Ying decided to call it an early night.

After exiting the game in her bedroom, Qi Ying received a text message. She opened it to find a message from Shi Yu: Are you asleep?

Unsure how to respond, Qi Ying pretended not to have seen it, burrowed under the covers, and fell asleep with a clear conscience. She didn’t reply until the next day, by which time Shi Yu seemed to have sensed something—responding half a day later with just a single “Mhm” before the conversation died.

Qi Ying figured there was no chance between them anymore.

After two busy days, Qi Ying finally carved out an afternoon to handle Xiaochu’s school enrollment. The staff at No. 3 High were efficient, completing all procedures within two hours—all that remained was payment.

After settling the fees, Qi Ying collected Xiaochu’s uniform, textbooks, student ID, and other materials, lugging the bundles home.

Walking back under the scorching sun, sweat beaded on Qi Ying’s forehead. Though the distance from home to school was only fifteen minutes on foot, the summer heat made it unbearable. She considered stopping by the mall later to check if they had any cars for sale—or at least a scooter.

Ding—

Just as the thought crossed her mind, her phone chimed with a notification. Opening it, Qi Ying saw an alert from the game.

Dear Designer, congratulations on successfully completing Xing Xiaochu’s enrollment procedures! We believe that through your interactions so far, you’ve gained a preliminary understanding of Xing Xiaochu and have successfully unlocked the ‘Study’ function. In the coming days, you’ll arrange various training courses for Xing Xiaochu to improve her academic performance while preparing for her future development. Xing Xiaochu’s career path is in your hands—click ‘Study’ in the upper right corner to start scheduling her classes!

Qi Ying raised an eyebrow.

Now it finally felt like a proper raising simulator game.

Qi Ying opened the study section to review Xing Xiaochu’s progress across all subjects. Various charts and numerical values revealed the girl’s severe academic imbalance—humanities subjects showed nearly perfect scores while sciences barely scraped passing marks.

Particularly in physics and chemistry, there were even several instances of scores between forty to fifty points.

Scrolling further, Qi Ying found completely blank charts for artistic disciplines.

By this point, Qi Ying had already formed a plan.

She decided to cultivate Xing Xiaochu’s artistic talents. After all, with the girl’s striking beauty, achieving fame shouldn’t be difficult—though it would require meticulous planning. Qi Ying felt the weight of responsibility on her shoulders.