The Beauty Is Seducing Me Again Chapter 10
byChapter 10: 010 “Good night, Miss Shen.”
“Do I really have no talent for games?”
Chen Xiaonuan muttered, starting to doubt herself, her brows furrowed tightly. “That can’t be right. I’ve reached level 8635 in Candy Crush. Hmph, nobody can beat me in that.”
“How could I possibly have no talent for games?”
Shen Qing’an heard Chen Xiaonuan’s rambling and remained silent for a few seconds.
She looked at the dejected Chen Xiaonuan and said, “We’ve played five rounds. You should be familiar with the basic game operations now.”
“Ah.” Chen Xiaonuan looked up, saying without much confidence, “Maybe, possibly, I should be familiar.”
“Try one more time.”
Shen Qing’an’s tone was calm, carrying an undeniable magic. “This time, focus a little more.”
“…Alright.” Chen Xiaonuan took a deep breath, gripped the controller again, and cheered herself on. “This will be the last round!”
The final race began.
Chen Xiaonuan was completely focused, her eyes glued to the screen.
Strangely, she felt the controls were much smoother this time. Although she couldn’t match Shen Qing’an’s speed, at least she wasn’t crashing frequently. Moreover, Chen Xiaonuan noticed carefully that Shen Qing’an’s car speed seemed slower than before.
At the final corner, Shen Qing’an made a small mistake, allowing Chen Xiaonuan to seize the opportunity and close the distance between them.
The finish line was right in front of them.
Chen Xiaonuan’s heart instantly leaped into her throat. She frantically pressed the acceleration button, and the two cars were neck and neck.
Crossing the line!
The result popped up on the screen. Chen Xiaonuan’s character won the championship with an extremely slight advantage, securing victory in this round.
“Ah! I won, I won, I won!” Chen Xiaonuan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly jumped up, waving her arms happily. “Hahahahaha… Miss Shen, look quickly, did you see? I won! I really won!”
Chen Xiaonuan spun around in place with joy, her cheeks flushed with excitement. She stomped her feet in delight. “This is great! I finally won a round.”
Shen Qing’an lowered her gaze, watching Chen Xiaonuan gesticulate wildly, her smile incredibly bright and particularly vivid and lively under the glow of the game screen.
It was just winning one game. Was there any need to be this happy? Anyone who didn’t know better would think she had won the lottery.
So silly.
The corner of Shen Qing’an’s mouth curved slightly upward.
It was a fleeting smile, one that Shen Qing’an herself didn’t even notice.
“Mhm.” Shen Qing’an put down the controller, her voice still flat. “Not bad.”
Chen Xiaonuan was still immersed in the joy of victory, her confidence instantly soaring. She held the controller and said, “Again, again! I feel like I’ve found the trick to the game!”
Shen Qing’an didn’t object.
In the next few rounds, a strange shift occurred in the situation. Chen Xiaonuan actually won repeatedly. Although the advantage was always small—sometimes half a car length ahead, sometimes a difference of only zero point zero few seconds.
“I won again.”
“Hahahahahaha!”
“This item is quite useful. Pick it up, pick it up.”
“Oh no, you almost overtook me again.”
After winning too many times, Chen Xiaonuan gradually transitioned from initial ecstasy to simple happiness. But as she played, she suddenly felt a lack of excitement.
“Miss Shen.” Chen Xiaonuan put down the controller, saying a little sheepishly, “It seems… winning all the time isn’t that interesting. Is this game actually not that difficult, or is my talent for comprehension too high? Was it just good luck that I managed to narrowly beat you every time?”
Shen Qing’an glanced at her but didn’t answer the question. After all, she had thrown the equivalent of an ocean of water.
She put down her controller. “If you don’t want to play, then let’s end the game. It’s getting late.”
“Okay.” Chen Xiaonuan readily agreed, satisfied, and pulled out her phone to check the time.
When her eyes saw the numbers displayed on the screen, they instantly widened, and she let out a gasp of surprise. “Miss Shen! It’s already one in the morning! Did time pass that quickly?”
Chen Xiaonuan was too busy being surprised to notice that when her old, cracked-screen smartphone was exposed to the light, Shen Qing’an’s gaze suddenly paused, and her brow furrowed involuntarily.
The phone was too old. Not only was the model ancient, but the casing was severely worn, especially the clear cracks covering the entire screen, which looked alarming and completely out of place in the luxurious gaming room.
Shen Qing’an recalled that her mother had given Chen Xiaonuan a sum of money, more than enough for Chen Xiaonuan to buy the latest model phone.
“Didn’t Mother give you a salary? Why haven’t you replaced it with a new phone?” Shen Qing’an’s voice rang out, tinged with a hint of confusion.
“Huh? This?” Chen Xiaonuan was busy stuffing the phone back into her pocket. She paused upon hearing the question, then waved her hand dismissively, a look of matter-of-factness on her face.
“It still works. It’s not broken, so why should I replace it with a new one?”
Chen Xiaonuan patted her pocket, her tone relaxed, even carrying a little pride. “I saved all the money Auntie gave me. When school starts, my tuition and living expenses will be covered, and I’ll even have some money left over to buy new stationery and snacks for the younger siblings at the orphanage.”
Chen Xiaonuan said very seriously, “Money must be spent sparingly.”
She spoke naturally and openly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. There was no hint of grievance or complaint, only a sense of cherishing existing resources and satisfaction with her future plans.
Shen Qing’an watched Chen Xiaonuan silently. She only saw the pure smile in the clear eyes of the girl before her.
A complex, unfamiliar emotion, like a thin vine, quietly wrapped around Shen Qing’an’s heart. For a moment, Shen Qing’an couldn’t describe the feeling—perhaps it was a sourness, perhaps surprise, or maybe a hint of undeniable emotion.
She suddenly didn’t know how to respond.
Shen Qing’an paused, shifted her gaze, and made her tone sound as natural and steady as possible.
She changed the subject. “Let’s exchange contact information, WeChat. It will be easier to contact you later if needed.”
“Oh, okay.” Chen Xiaonuan quickly pulled out her weathered phone again.
The phone was slow to respond. Chen Xiaonuan habitually waited for its sluggish reaction, then tapped the green icon.
Shen Qing’an also took out her phone, the latest top-of-the-line model with a screen as pristine as new. She brought up her QR code.
“You scan me.”
Chen Xiaonuan carefully held up her phone and aimed. The phone was extremely slow, and Chen Xiaonuan had to focus several times before succeeding.
After a ‘ding’ sound, her phone screen started spinning to load, agonizingly slow.
Shen Qing’an maintained the posture of holding out her phone, watching Chen Xiaonuan patiently operate the dilapidated device, silently waiting for a full minute.
Shen Qing’an: “…”
She had never had to wait so long just to add a friend.
Finally, the successful addition prompt popped up.
Chen Xiaonuan breathed a sigh of relief, showing a smile of accomplishment. “Done, Miss Shen. I’ve sent you a friend request. Please accept it quickly.”
Shen Qing’an retrieved her phone, looking at the new account request on the screen. The profile picture was a small sunflower, and the nickname was Little Nuan.
Her fingertip unconsciously rubbed the cold screen.
She looked up and saw Chen Xiaonuan carefully putting away her phone as if it were a treasure. She finally couldn’t resist asking one more question.
“Do you not find it inconvenient using this phone normally?”
Shen Qing’an found it hard to imagine how one could handle daily tasks with a slow-reacting, cracked-screen device.
Chen Xiaonuan, hearing this, looked at her strangely, as if she found the question redundant.
She nodded with certainty. “It’s convenient! I can make calls, send WeChat messages, and look up information. Sometimes it’s a bit slow, but I just wait a bit.”
Her happiness and satisfaction were simple and pure, without any impurities.
Faced with Chen Xiaonuan’s sunny smile, Shen Qing’an looked away, unwilling to continue the topic. Her voice returned to its usual coldness.
“It’s late. Go back to your room and sleep.”
Shen Qing’an said, “Good night.”
With that, she turned and walked toward the master bedroom on the second floor.
“Good night, Miss Shen,” Chen Xiaonuan obediently replied behind her.
Shen Qing’an reached her door, placed her hand on the doorknob, and was about to push it open when she heard Chen Xiaonuan’s voice from behind her.
“Miss Shen.”
Shen Qing’an paused and turned her head.
Chen Xiaonuan was standing at the guest room door, leaning against the frame, half her body poking out. She wore a wide smile, her eyes curved into crescents.
She said to Shen Qing’an very seriously, “Miss Shen, thank you. You are truly a very good person. Thank you for spending time with me tonight. I was very happy.”
Her tone was sincere, full of pure gratitude and joy, like a pebble dropped into a calm lake, spreading ripples across Shen Qing’an’s heart.
After speaking, Chen Xiaonuan didn’t wait for Shen Qing’an’s response. She immediately retreated into the room and gently closed the door.
The hallway instantly returned to quiet, with only the soft glow of the wall lamp remaining.
Shen Qing’an stood alone in place, maintaining her posture, stunned for a few seconds.
Chen Xiaonuan’s smile kept flashing in her mind, and the phrase, ‘Thank you for spending time with me tonight, I was very happy,’ echoed like a broken record.
A very good person?
This term seemed to have never been used to describe Shen Qing’an. Cold, strict, unfeeling, Work Robot… those were her labels.
Everything tonight—a simple bowl of vegetable and egg noodles, the noisy game sound effects, the girl’s incessant chatter, the old phone, and finally, that sudden, unexpected thank you—it all felt like a series of bizarre yet exceptionally warm images, leaving a distinct splash of color in Shen Qing’an’s habitually cold and orderly world.
Shen Qing’an stood there for a long time before slowly withdrawing her gaze, pushing open the bedroom door, and walking inside.
In the guest room separated by a wall, Chen Xiaonuan dove into the soft, large bed, rolling around twice with the blanket. Her silly smile hadn’t faded.
“Miss Shen is truly a beautiful person with a kind heart.”
She really liked Miss Shen.
Chen Xiaonuan’s heart was full of the wonderful experiences of the evening. Lying in bed, thinking about it, she soon fell into a deep sleep.