Chapter 42: Whose Misplacement with Whose

"You haven't played video games with me in a long time."

Seeing that the game controller was fully charged to three bars, Seoyoon unplugged the charging cable and reconnected her tablet.

"I've just had too much on my mind lately..."

Xia Xing was about to refuse, but a remarkably firm voice came through the phone.

"Now, right now, immediately. Besides, you can't sleep anyway, can you?"

In the silence that followed, Xia Xing opened Minecraft on his phone and logged into the server.

Watching that person join the server, Seoyoon inexplicably felt her mood sour.

Perhaps it was because of that unknown "guy with a great appetite," or perhaps it was Xia Xing's reluctant attitude.

In truth... Xia Xing didn't even like playing video games.

Back then, he had only learned from the internet that Seoyoon liked playing Minecraft and Overwatch, which was why he claimed he liked those two games as well.

For a brief second, Xia Xing realized for the first time that he was actually quite good at lying.

"You don't seem very much in the mood to play."

On the other end of the line came a slightly unsteady voice, sounding almost like she was on the verge of tears.

Having already made up his mind to treat Seoyoon as an ordinary friend, Xia Xing confessed honestly.

"Yeah, actually I don't like playing games at all. So I lied to you."

Since he didn't like playing games... then why did he lie to me?

Quietly taking a deep breath to steady her emotions, Seoyoon couldn't help but ponder his meaning.

So... did Xia Xing lie just to get closer to her?

Her emotions were getting tangled. Was she disappointed? Not really.

Instead, her heart felt a faint stirring of happiness upon confirming the truth that he didn't like gaming.

So he was a bit of a schemer too.

"Do you feel betrayed because of this?"

"No." Seoyoon freed a hand to scratch her head. "Well... this kind of white lie is understandable. As long as it's explained clearly, it's fine."

Hearing this unexpectedly negative answer, Xia Xing's thoughts drifted back to his collaboration with Yoo Jimin tonight.

How was he supposed to confess this to Shin Yuna? No one could accept their boyfriend generating romantic rumors with another woman, right? Could this really be resolved just by explaining?

Yet, lying would solve problems even less...

With this question lingering in his heart, Xia Xing asked very sincerely:

"If someone very, very close to you lies or keeps something from you, even if they have compelling reasons they can't speak of just yet, is that still forgivable?"

Very, very close... He could be quite blunt at times.

Feeling a sudden wave of heat, Seoyoon used her free hand to fan her flushed cheeks.

Moreover, those "compelling reasons she couldn't speak of just yet" acted like a pair of palm-leaf fans fanning against the Flaming Mountains, making her face burn even hotter.

"Hmph~ You're the one who said someone very, very close, and besides, if they chose to lie or hide it because of difficulties they temporarily couldn't voice..."

"Just find a suitable opportunity to explain it clearly, and it won't be a problem."

"For instance... just like you coming clean to me about not liking video games, I can understand that too."

"After all, everyone has their own hobbies, and the relationship between two people isn't defined by just one or two things."

Little did Seoyoon know, the white lie she was talking about was on a completely different level from the predicament Xia Xing was facing.

Someone in his family was determined to push him into the public eye, and there was simply no way for him to run or hide.

"What if someone pretends to have a fake girlfriend in front of outsiders—would that level of lie be acceptable too?"

The phone fell silent. Her mood having plummeted, soared, and plummeted once more, Seoyoon couldn't quite process it all at once.

Her mind seized on only three words: "fake girlfriend."

"Is it that guy with the great appetite?"

Sighing helplessly, Xia Xing simply confessed, "Yes... and even if I weren't acting as fake lovers with her, I couldn't escape this ordeal."

"Ordeal?" Seoyoon's eyebrows twitched slightly; she couldn't quite comprehend.

"My family background is very complicated and hard to explain all at once. Simply put, it's a chaebol family. I'm sorry I didn't figure out how to tell you sooner."

"It's fine, I understand... Though I already sensed your family background was pretty good, I didn't expect you to be wealthy to this extent."

"Someone in my family wants my complicated background exposed to the public eye," Xia Xing paused. "Even if I weren't generating scandal rumors with her, they would have exposed me through other means."

"Generating scandal rumors?" The shock pitched her voice an octave higher. Realizing her fellow members were already asleep, Seoyoon asked in a hushed tone, "That person wouldn't happen to be a celebrity, would they?"

"Mhm..."

"What you're telling me is a bit too much information to process all at once."

Rubbing her brow with a bitter smile, Seoyoon genuinely didn't know whether to feel distressed or happy.

Happy, because of the sense of security brought by Xia Xing taking the initiative to explain, and also content with his little scheme.

Distressed... well, no one could easily accept something like a fake girlfriend.

She needed some time to digest all this information herself:

"Still, since you've already explained it in advance... I'll try my best to understand."

***

Hot water washed over Yoo Jimin's skin, and she let out a long breath as she finally recovered from the biting cold wind.

Changing into her favorite pajamas, she slipped comfortably back under the covers.

Though an unknown path filled with thorns still awaited her, she had finally taken that first step to change her destiny.

The observant Ning Ning noticed the energy radiating from Yoo Jimin from the inside out: "Unnie, why are you in such a good mood today?"

"Ah? Me? Am I?"

Yoo Jimin pointed at herself, blinking innocently at the youngest member.

"It's super obvious. Sometimes you're the type who can't hide your feelings at all, Unnie."

Where had she heard that phrase tonight...

"It's not like anything particularly happy happened, but for some reason, my mood is just really good."

"If I really have to say why, maybe it's because of this?"

Waving her phone at Ning Ning, Yoo Jimin displayed a mobile transfer she had just received.

Just over 16,000 Korean won—barely translating to less than eighty Chinese yuan.

Why would something like that make Yoo Jimin this happy?

Ning Ning felt a bit worried about Yoo Jimin's mental state, considering she had been in an almost depressive state just two days prior.

Though she had explained it away as losing a game, all three younger members in the group knew that was just an excuse.

"Anyway, if you run into anything you can't handle, Unnie, you have to remember to talk to us."

"I know, I know. Go to sleep already."

Fobbing Ning Ning off, Yoo Jimin's fingers flew across her phone screen, editing a message.

"Why aren't you asleep yet?"

"I originally just wanted to make a joke."

"The Other Milk Tea: Refund my money, I was just joking too."

Looking at the contact nickname she had given Xia Xing, the corners of Yoo Jimin's lips curved upward as her fingers danced a light reply:

"Sorry, I don't know how to take a joke."