Playing Boyfriend

Jiang Xiaotian had always remembered to return the call after finishing his tasks, but in the end, he still forgot.

He pursed his lips and answered the call, "Hello, Lulu..."

On the other end of the line, Qin Lulu was brimming with deep grievance: "Hey! You finally answered! Mr. Big! Busy! Guy!"

Jiang Xiaotian smiled sheepishly. He really had forgotten and was willing to accept criticism.

Qin Lulu was utterly bored out of her mind. She was an extreme homebody; whenever she went outside, countless people would pursue her because, strictly speaking in terms of appearance, she was at the absolute top tier. However, since she never stepped out, she basically had no friends.

Having finally managed to find someone like Jiang Xiaotian who was easy to talk to, the latter turned out to be endlessly busy—if he replied to even one out of ten messages, it was already something to be thankful for.

Yet Qin Lulu wasn't the type of girl to throw tantrums for no reason. After complaining for a bit, she got straight to the point, since she still needed to ask Jiang Xiaotian for a favor.

"Brother Xiaotian, do you have any plans for the Chinese New Year? Are you spending it with Sister Ling'er?" Qin Lulu asked probingly, her tone seemingly carrying a hint of anticipation.

"Me? No particular plans. Ling'er is going back home for the New Year, so I'll be by myself," Jiang Xiaotian replied honestly, as there was nothing really to hide.

To his surprise, Qin Lulu instantly raised her voice, immensely excited: "Really?!"

"Really. What's wrong? Do you need something?" Jiang Xiaotian was startled by her reaction, failing to understand what she was so happy about.

Qin Lulu fell silent for a long moment, organizing her words before speaking again: "Then would you like to come back home with me for the New Year? Would you mind pretending to be my boyfriend? My grandparents are getting older, and they're just waiting for me to bring a boyfriend back home. If I go back alone, they'll surely be unhappy again, which will make my parents unhappy, and then I'll be unhappy!"

Her convoluted explanation almost made Jiang Xiaotian dizzy, but he caught the phrase "pretend to be my boyfriend" loud and clear, and flatly refused: "No way. How could you lie to your family about something like this? Besides, aren't you still young? There's no need to rush into these things."

Indeed, when this was brought up, Qin Lulu sighed. Jiang Xiaotian truly lived up to being her kindred spirit.

The Qin family was considered a fairly substantial clan, though their roots were primarily in the north. In such large families, marrying early was completely normal; some were even betrothed since childhood without ever having the privilege of experiencing romance. By comparison, Qin Lulu was actually considered quite fortunate.

However, her grandparents were advanced in years, and elderly people at that stage always felt they might not live to see another New Year. Therefore, they desperately wanted their unmarried descendants to settle down, demanding at the very least that they bring a boyfriend home for the holidays.

As for a homebody like Qin Lulu, where was she supposed to find a boyfriend? Even if she could, she wouldn't be willing. Looking around, Jiang Xiaotian seemed to be the most suitable candidate.

After a combination of soft persuasion, nagging, and veiled threats, Jiang Xiaotian finally relented. He truly couldn't handle a woman acting spoiled, and besides, staying alone during the New Year would indeed be boring.

Usually, he would take advantage of the holiday season to make some extra money, since overtime pay was exceptionally high—sometimes tripling or quadrupling the regular wage. But while he wouldn't call himself wealthy now, he at least wasn't short on cash. Moreover, there would be a mountain of things to handle after the New Year, so he naturally needed to rest during the holiday. Since Ling'er was heading back, accompanying Qin Lulu wouldn't hurt.

Seeing that he agreed, Qin Lulu started singing with joy and even suggested ordering takeout to celebrate.

"So, how are you going to thank me then?" Jiang Xiaotian could sense her jubilation right through the screen, so he asked in advance.

Qin Lulu thought about it: "Um... I'll treat you to the movies! There are lots of films I want to see during the New Year lineup, and I'll cover all your food and lodging expenses too~"

To Jiang Xiaotian, these incentives held virtually no temptation, but it was genuinely the most generous offering Qin Lulu could possibly muster.

Her salary wasn't much. Although she earned a five-figure monthly income, in the world of martial artists, it was pitifully small. Furthermore, she was simple-minded and free of mercenary calculation—one of the reasons Jiang Xiaotian genuinely liked her.

Qin Lulu was ecstatic, hanging up the phone and hopping around her house continuously.

The best part was that Sister Ling'er wouldn't be around!

As for Jiang Xiaotian, he purely regarded her as a younger sister, considering her tender age and mischievous nature.

We'll deal with it when the time comes; there was still some time before the New Year.

Traveling back without stopping, Jiang Xiaotian arrived at the entrance of his residential complex and immediately spotted a familiar figure.

"Sister Ling'er!" he called out hurriedly.

Ling'er was currently holding bags upon bags filled entirely with snacks. Hearing his voice, she instantly spun around, causing her grip to loosen and the bags to tumble to the ground.

"You're back? These are heavy to death, help me carry them!" Ling'er smiled, though her expression quickly turned grave.

The moment Jiang Xiaotian approached, she grabbed his hand.

"What happened? Did you really run into a Divine Might expert?" she asked with deep concern.

Although Jiang Xiaotian recovered swiftly, Ling'er could tell from the meager amount of dragon saliva remaining within his body that he had undoubtedly endured a bitter struggle.

"Yeah! But it's fine! That Divine Might expert is already dead, though I didn't kill him myself, hehe!" Jiang Xiaotian scratched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed.

Seeing his foolish and silly demeanor, Ling'er felt a pang of heartache.

Jiang Xiaotian wasn't a dragon; his physique wasn't that robust, and his tolerance for pain wasn't high. Consuming such a vast amount of dragon saliva all at once meant he must have suffered a great deal.

She wanted to say more, but Jiang Xiaotian cut her in: "Alright! Minor issue! I didn't even get hurt! Look!"

Jiang Xiaotian didn't want Ling'er to worry, so he didn't tell the truth, completely unaware that his condition was transparent to her at a single glance.

Not exposing his bluff, the girl smiled gently as she walked side by side with the youth. Each carrying a bag, she quietly listened as the boy recounted the thrilling ordeal.

Jiang Xiaotian deliberately glossed over the parts where he was injured, but Ling'er knew very well that fighting a Divine Might expert with his current level of strength was no easy feat, let alone dodging the opponent's attacks.

"By the way, did that bracelet you mentioned really sell for such a high price? You're quite the bad boy, hahaha." Hearing the part where Jiang Xiaotian fleeced Yang Feng, Ling'er couldn't help laughing.

Prompted by this, Jiang Xiaotian quickly retrieved the jewelry box from his bag.

"I thought it was very pretty and matched your temperament, so I ended up buying it back after all! Take a look!" he said while opening the compact case, revealing a luxurious bracelet resting inside.

Girls had virtually no resistance to glittering gold, and Ling'er was no exception; her gaze was instantly captured.

Besides, this was an ultra-rare antique; it might even turn out to be a genuine treasure.

Ling'er immediately reached out to sense it with her spiritual perception, then chuckled: "It's just an ordinary bracelet with nothing remarkable about it. Ordinary people usually buy these to collect or donate to museums."

A pure antique.

Jiang Xiaotian wore an awkward expression, but Ling'er snatched it away and fastened it around her wrist instead: "I love it anyway, tee-hee!"