My Virtual Wife Stepped Out of My Phone to Find Me - Chapter 5

“Sorry, sorry.” Qi Ying awkwardly apologized to Xing Xiaochu. “I didn’t realize it would be so… loose on you. Let me find you another one.”

Qi Ying returned to her room and rummaged through a pile of clothes, finally settling on a relatively conservative, oversized cotton T-shirt with a large print. Normally, this kind of T-shirt would be paired with shorts, but for the petite Xing Xiaochu, it reached just above her thighs.

However, the collar was still loose, and wearing Qi Ying’s clothes felt slightly intimate.

Why is she so tiny?

Qi Ying wondered. She had seen plenty of petite girls before—those around 155 cm tall and weighing 70-80 pounds, delicate and cute like Barbie dolls. But Xing Xiaochu’s frame was even smaller, with narrow, pretty shoulders. The oversized T-shirt hid her waistline, but her exposed legs were long, straight, and dazzlingly pale.

“Just make do with this for tonight,” Qi Ying said, watching the uneasy Xing Xiaochu standing before her. She awkwardly rubbed her nose. “Tomorrow, I’ll go to the mall and buy you some new clothes. What size do you wear?”

Xing Xiaochu gave her measurements, and Qi Ying noted them down one by one. Seeing her still-dripping black hair, Qi Ying beckoned for her to sit in front of her.

Qi Ying found a hairdryer and began drying Xing Xiaochu’s long hair, cradling it in her hands.

Xing Xiaochu’s hair was jet-black and glossy, but because it was fine and soft, it didn’t seem very thick. Still, girls her age could easily regain their health with proper care. Qi Ying was already thinking about how to nurture this child in the future. First, she needed to gain some weight—otherwise, she’d fall ill easily when the weather changed. Being frail wasn’t a good thing; for women, health and strength were what mattered most.

Next was Xing Xiaochu’s education. Since she was already an adult, Qi Ying couldn’t become her legal guardian, but she could still take care of her daily life.

But a girl still needed to go to school—not just any school, but the best one.

Qi Ying started pondering which high school to enroll Xing Xiaochu in. She’d have to settle this quickly before summer break ended.

As she continued drying Xing Xiaochu’s hair, Qi Ying noticed a faint bulge at the nape of her neck.

The bulge was the same color as the surrounding skin. If the shirt hadn’t been so loose and Qi Ying hadn’t been drying her hair, she might never have noticed this oddity.

What is this?

Qi Ying wondered. A fatty lump?

But it didn’t quite look like one.

The roaring hairdryer blew against Xing Xiaochu’s hair, lifting the barely noticeable bulge. Curiosity getting the better of her, Qi Ying slowly reached out and touched it.

Xing Xiaochu instantly felt her entire body go numb. A tingling sensation surged from the top of her head, and the moment Qi Ying touched her, her limbs turned weak. She had been sitting on the carpet, but now, with her gland touched, her body went limp, nearly collapsing to the floor.

Xing Xiaochu quickly covered her neck and turned to stare at Qi Ying in alarm.

Qi Ying remained frozen in place, one hand still extended, the other holding the running hairdryer. She looked at Xing Xiaochu in confusion and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Xing Xiaochu’s eyes were filled with shock and fear. She didn’t understand what this person meant by asking her “what’s wrong?”

Qi Ying blinked, hesitating for a moment before asking, “That place… can’t be touched?”

Xing Xiaochu’s face turned crimson as she stammered, “N-no… it can’t… that’s, the gland…”

The gland?

Something she’d never heard of before.

But judging by Xing Xiaochu’s reaction, it must be an extremely private area. Though Qi Ying didn’t fully understand, she knew she should apologize first.

“I’m sorry,” Qi Ying said. “I just became an alpha, so I’m not very familiar with these things yet.”

Hearing this, Xing Xiaochu’s eyes widened in surprise. “You just differentiated into an alpha?”

Qi Ying: “Huh? Ah… yeah, seems so.”

She answered vaguely before continuing, “So if I offended you, I apologize. I won’t touch it again.”

Xing Xiaochu knew about secondary differentiation cases—mostly betas who differentiated later in life. Unlike puberty differentiation, late differentiation often came with various issues and meant missing the optimal learning period. Many late differentiators lacked proper understanding of ABO physiology.

So… Qi Ying didn’t mean it, right?

After some mental preparation and making excuses for Qi Ying in her mind, Xing Xiaochu slowly lowered the hand covering her nape. With flushed cheeks, she said, “It’s okay… it’s normal that you wouldn’t know.”

Qi Ying gave a soft “mm” in response, deciding to check the settings later to understand what this gland actually was.

What a complicated world—why did she feel like such an ignorant fool?

Too embarrassed to continue drying Xing Xiaochu’s hair, Qi Ying handed her the hairdryer and stood up. “I’ll go rest now. You should sleep early after drying your hair.”

Xing Xiaochu looked up at her and nodded slightly.

Once in her room, Qi Ying locked the door and immediately checked the detailed settings on her phone. When she finally understood what the gland was, her whole body stiffened in horror.

Good heavens! Wasn’t this basically sexual harassment?!

No wonder Xing Xiaochu had looked at her like she was some pervert. Thank goodness this omega had a gentle temperament—if she’d encountered a more volatile one, getting slapped across the face would’ve been justified.

For once, Qi Ying felt her face burn with shame, wondering if she should go apologize immediately.

But remembering the awkward atmosphere between them earlier, she decided it might be better not to make things worse…

Exiting the game, Qi Ying noticed it was already 10 PM in real life—roughly matching the in-game time. She calculated that maintaining this setting would require significant daily gaming time.

While the game was fun, spending too much time on it wasn’t ideal.

Fortunately, Qi Ying currently only had the wedding dress project to work on, so her schedule wasn’t too tight—she could afford more playtime.

After brushing her teeth and washing up, Qi Ying went to bed. Before falling asleep, she kept wondering: If time flowed the same in both worlds, would Xing Xiaochu eventually realize she wasn’t from that world?

Wait!

This thought startled Qi Ying—Xing Xiaochu was just a game character, nothing more than a programmer’s creation. How could she possibly have independent thoughts of her own?

Besides, how could a game possibly become reality? What was she even thinking?

Lost in her thoughts, Qi Ying soon fell asleep.

The next day, Qi Ying woke up early. After freshening up, she immediately logged in to check on Xing Xiaochu.

This time, Qi Ying appeared in her own bedroom.

After glancing around, she pushed the door open to leave. As soon as the door opened, blinding sunlight streamed in from the balcony, illuminating the spacious living room. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, she could see towering skyscrapers in the distance and cars speeding down the roads.

This was the kind of home Qi Ying had always dreamed of—she never imagined she’d have it in the game world.

Just as Qi Ying was marveling at the great view, she noticed a small figure moving about in the kitchen. Curious, she walked over and saw that it was indeed Xing Xiaochu.

The oversized T-shirt she wore was gathered at the back with a hair tie, making it look like a little bunny tail. The young girl, wearing an apron, was diligently cooking, her long black hair swaying gently with her movements.

The bunny tail was slender and long, accentuating Xing Xiaochu’s waist beautifully.

Qi Ying couldn’t tear her eyes away. Watching that little tail sway in front of her, her mind went blank. It took her a few seconds to realize what she was staring at, and she quickly coughed to mask her embarrassment.

“Ahem—”

Hearing the sound, Xing Xiaochu turned around and saw Qi Ying standing behind her. She smiled and said, “Sister, just wait a little longer. The fried rice is almost ready.”

Using the leftover fried rice from last night, along with diced cucumbers, corn kernels, and ham, Xing Xiaochu had whipped up a simple yet golden plate of egg fried rice. She also fried two sunny-side-up eggs and divided the rice into two portions—one for each of them.

“I wasn’t sure what you’d like to eat, so I thought we shouldn’t waste yesterday’s leftovers,” Xing Xiaochu said, standing in front of Qi Ying with sparkling eyes. “I made fried rice. See if you like it. If not, I can make dumplings or wontons—there are some in the fridge. It won’t take long.”

Qi Ying wasn’t picky. She pulled out a chair, sat down, and took a bite with her spoon. “It’s delicious. Thank you,” she commented.

Xing Xiaochu’s cheeks flushed pink with happiness.

Aside from the fried rice, Xing Xiaochu had also prepared millet porridge, which tasted decent enough.

After breakfast, Qi Ying said to Xing Xiaochu, “I have work to do today, so you’ll be alone at home. If you get bored, you can watch TV. There are books and a computer in the study. I’ll probably…” Qi Ying thought for a moment, “I’ll probably be back around seven or eight in the evening.”

Xing Xiaochu nodded. “Sister, go ahead and focus on your work. I’ll be fine by myself.”

Qi Ying smiled at her. “Alright, I’ll head out now.”

Xing Xiaochu obediently saw Qi Ying off, like a little maid, watching eagerly as Qi Ying stepped into the elevator. She lingered by the door even after the elevator closed, then reluctantly returned inside.

The apartment was spacious and bright, but with only Xing Xiaochu there, it felt empty and quiet.

Sitting on the sofa, Xing Xiaochu sighed. She wasn’t sure what to do today—she couldn’t just spend another day spacing out, could she?

But the room was so clean that it didn’t seem to need her cleaning at all…

Xing Xiaochu rubbed her cheek against the sofa pillow where Qi Ying had sat, catching a faint whiff of plum wine. When she realized it was Qi Ying’s lingering pheromones, her face instantly burned crimson. Startled, she threw the pillow aside in a fluster, utterly at a loss.