Chapter 36: Clumsy and Confuse
The next morning, Lin Xiaoxiao was preparing breakfast, but her mind was clearly elsewhere, her eyes not even on the pan.
Zhou Ting emerged from his room after washing up and saw the scene: the “boy” in an apron, spatula in hand, motionless, while the frying eggs gave off a faint burnt smell…
He quickly stepped behind her, grabbing the spatula to flip the eggs.
“What’s got you so distracted?” he asked in a low voice.
Snapping out of it, Lin Xiaoxiao shook her head. “N-nothing. Don’t do that—Zhou Yang might see.”
Zhou Ting leaned down, nibbling her earlobe with confidence. “Relax, he won’t get up unless you drag him out. But…”
He turned her to face him, noticing the faint dark circles under her eyes, and teased, “Those bags under your eyes—stealing cows last night?”
She blinked, then looked away awkwardly. “No, just didn’t sleep well.”
He chuckled, a thought striking him. “Guess you can’t sleep without me. When you’re in my room, you’re out like a pig. Without me, insomnia kicks in.”
Her face flushed at his words, though she caught his meaning a beat later. Glaring, she snapped, “That’s not true! You’re talking nonsense…”
She didn’t even believe herself. Who wouldn’t pass out after being “tossed around” half the night? Sometimes she’d even fainted from exhaustion…
Seeing her flustered, Zhou Ting stopped teasing and got serious. “Got classes this morning?”
She shook her head.
“Then take a nap at home,” he said. “You’ll just sleep through school looking like that.”
Unable to argue, she nodded obediently.
But as she turned to take the eggs off the pan, his strong hand yanked her back.
Before she could react, her lips were sealed by his, his tongue prying past her defenses in a bold invasion.
She’d lost count of how many times he’d kissed her like this, knowing resistance was futile.
This time, she didn’t even put up a token struggle, letting him have his way, which surprised even Zhou Ting.
Unbeknownst to her, once resistance became a habit, it grew harder to resist at all.
After a while, clinging to a shred of rationality, she turned off the stove’s flame. But he grabbed her waist, lifting her onto the counter…
At breakfast, Zhou Yang stared in shock at the blackened lumps on the table. “What is this, Lin Xiaoxiao? You sure it’s edible?”
Feeling guilty, she glanced at Zhou Ting’s smug, punchable face and glared before saying to Zhou Yang, “Uh… a mistake, just a mistake.”
Zhou Yang sweat-dropped. A mistake this bad? He didn’t buy it.
But it was a small thing, so he let it go. Besides the charred eggs, the rest of breakfast was normal.
That morning, Lin Xiaoxiao napped as suggested. When she woke, her dark circles were gone.
Looking in the mirror, she studied her reflection—her first real look at herself as a woman.
She wasn’t vain enough to praise herself, but this face… even she felt something looking at it.
Zhou Ting’s drunken words from yesterday echoed—about her scent. She sniffed herself, puzzled. No fragrance, right?
Shaking her head, she muttered, “What am I thinking? I’ve got better things to do.”
She visited her grandma at the hospital, then attended classes. Life seemed unchanged, yet somehow different.
In the afternoon, basking in the summer’s glow, she was about to head home when the system’s voice chimed in.
[Host, when are you going to take the initiative?]
She laughed it off. “Why the rush? The task has plenty of time.”
[I must warn you: if your target gets involved with another woman, your攻略难度 (seduction difficulty) will skyrocket.]
Her heart trembled, thinking of the perfume. She pouted. “Him finding another woman isn’t something I can control.”
[You’re just slacking, aren’t you? Fine, I’ll give you some motivation.]
A task pinged in her mind.
[Ding, Daily Task: As a bad woman, staking your claim is key. Leave a lipstick mark on your target’s clothes without him noticing within 12 hours.]
[Reward: Constitution +1.]
[Penalty: Your hair turns green.]
Lin Xiaoxiao was speechless. Green hair? The thought made her shudder—she’d rather die!
But the task itself was daunting. Leaving a lip print? So embarrassing.
If Zhou Ting caught her, she’d die of shame!
She grumbled at the system, feeling slightly better after venting.
Then a problem hit her: to leave a lip print, she needed lipstick.
Her brow furrowed, her heart conflicted.
Lipstick…
Even in this era, some men wore it without issue, but for Lin Xiaoxiao, who’d never touched makeup, it was a hurdle.
Even entering a cosmetics store to buy lipstick felt like a challenge.
She scrapped the idea. But then she thought of a workaround…
Soon, she bought two fruit-flavored lipsticks from a street stall—9.9 yuan, bag included.
The quality was dubious, but it didn’t matter as long as it left a mark.
That evening, with Zhou Yang and Zhou Ting out, she decided to practice.
Standing before the mirror, her face flushed as she clumsily applied the lipstick, looking utterly awkward.