novellhall Chapter 127 What Kind of Development Does Jealousy Lead to?
Chapter 127 What Kind of Development Does Jealousy Lead to?
Chapter 128 What Kind of Development Does Jealousy Lead to?
The most important time is the Lunar New Year. Once that moment is over, all that's left is to follow the customs and take things one step at a time.
Considering Xia Li's presence, Song Che decided it was best not to visit relatives—he was just a child, and no one would say whether he went or not. If asked, he could simply say he was studying at home preparing for the college entrance exam.
After spending a few days in his hometown and going through the necessary formalities, Song Che prepared to return to the city with Xia Li.
Back in his hometown, there were many elderly and middle-aged people, and he would run into several of them whenever he went out, which meant that Song Che could only take Xia Li out for a walk in the evening.
He tried going out for a walk in the morning, but the elderly in his hometown got up early, before the roosters crowed, and would grumble for a long time as soon as they saw Xia Li—there were fewer people at night, and at night it was mostly children running around in the village while the elderly were asleep.
After wandering around his hometown a few times, Song Che couldn't find anything interesting. He remembered how happy he was when he was a child, hitting things randomly in the grass with a stick. Now, he just couldn't find that feeling anymore.
I used to play with my childhood friend when we were little, but now we've only seen each other a few times because of my studies. Song Buming didn't even come back for the Chinese New Year this year.
That's about all the things Song Che's family has to think about.
Since my friend hasn't come back, I'll go back to the city.
There are two other friends in the city, one of whom is Jiang Shuo. He keeps saying he wants to hang out with him, but he's been rejected too many times and seems to be depressed.
There's also Zhang Hanyu. That girl is obsessed with video games, almost to the point of being abnormal. I wonder if she was still playing games during the Chinese New Year.
Doesn't she consider taking the college entrance exam?
Song Che could only sigh.
When I go back this time, I'll spend a few days having fun with them.
In a few days, the start of the new semester will be just around the corner.
High school seniors are all like this; they have very little free time.
My parents are also busy. This time they're not planning to go out. After visiting relatives, they'll look for a storefront and start a small business.
The festive atmosphere in the city is weaker than in my hometown. It's hard to pinpoint exactly why, but it feels less like the festive atmosphere and more like a quieter place. Most people on the street are hurrying by, buying things to visit relatives. The buildings and streets look red, but most people don't go out; they stay at home and enjoy themselves.
The hotel, on the other hand, has a strong festive atmosphere. City people often hold a banquet after the New Year, and the hotel is always packed with guests.
Song Che parked the car downstairs. His parents didn't come over, so he had some free time and didn't care about anything else, focusing on his own things at home.
Tao Xiang is now clinging to Zhang Shushu; she has accepted her new identity as Xia Li's younger sister.
Song Che is her brother-in-law.
Zhang Shushu and her mother were no different.
Zhang Shushu liked children, and Taoxiang was very cute. She pretended to be a good girl, which made Zhang Shushu very happy.
Song Che directly gave Tao Xiang to his mother, and Bruce was temporarily given to his father to take care of for a few days. In this way, since only Xia Li was at home, his parents would not be left alone.
It's a win-win situation.
When I went upstairs, the house was still the same as when I left.
The ground is clean, and the house is warmer than my old home.
The weather isn't so cold now; you won't get cold even without wearing a cotton-padded coat.
In a few weeks, we'll be able to wear spring clothes.
Song Che sat on the sofa and sent a message to Jiang Shuo and Zhang Hanyu.
Turning my head, I saw Xia Li fiddling with the computer.
Looks like he's looking for a movie to watch again.
After a while, she took a card out of her pocket.
That's Tao Yao's ID card.
Tao Yao, who is only seventeen years old this year, has two holes bitten into the face of her ID card. When asked about it last time, she said that she no longer had a human form and was so angry that she bit two holes into her ID card.
What an idiot!
Song Che wanted to bite two holes in her.
Fortunately, Xia Li now knows illusion magic, which will make things simpler when it comes to using her ID card.
Xia Li placed her ID card on the table, and the computer opened a webpage.
"Song Che, shouldn't Tao Yao's ID card be changed?"
Song Che turned his ID card over; the expiration date was until August of this year, and it would expire in a few months.
"It needs to be changed. We'll change it for Taoxiang when she gets back." Song Che leaned over to look at the computer. "What are you doing—"
"Let me check if Tao Yao is a criminal or a deadbeat."
"You know what, she actually looks like a bad guy," Song Che laughed. "Do you even know what she looks like?"
"I know." Xia Li looked up. "I was chatting with Tao Xiang yesterday, and she said that to take over someone else's identity, you have to become like your sister. Illusion magic can do that, so I had Tao Yao change her appearance a bit, and I tried to learn it."
"Hey, show me." Song Che glanced at his phone; there was still no reply in the group chat. "I've never even seen what Tao Yao looks like. Her ID looks like she's a criminal suspect—"
What does Tao Yao look like?
Song Che had actually been curious.
The photo on her ID card—with two bite holes, her whole face looked like it was blurred out.
Xia Li nodded, sat on the sofa, and closed her eyes.
Song Che waited.
A few seconds later, Xia Li opened her eyes.
Song Che was stunned for a moment.
Her face was still the same, yet different. Her once cool chin had become rounder—and gentler; her cheeks were slightly fuller, like she was holding two candies. Her eyes had changed too; the pupils had changed from blue to brown, the shape was rounder, and the black pupils seemed larger, giving her a slightly dazed look. Her nose bridge wasn't as high, becoming a small, round nose. Her lips hadn't changed, but her lower lip was slightly pouting, making her look like a cute young girl.
Her silver hair had turned black. She sat there, wearing a sweater with the neckline exposed. Her face was another face—round and delicate, looking like a middle school student.
But her eyes still belonged to Xia Li.
Those eyes, cold and direct, stared at Song Che.
Song Che looked at her.
"What's wrong?" Xia Li asked.
Song Che opened his mouth.
"you----"
Xia Li looked down at herself, then looked up at him.
"Doesn't look like it?"
"They should look quite alike." Song Che glanced at the ID card. He could only see the eyes, but everything else was visible. Compared to Xia Li transforming into Tao Yao, they were about 80% similar.
The remaining two points don't seem right—because the body shape doesn't match. Xia Li only changed her face, and it looks good—Tao Yao should be flat-chested.
"That's fine then."
She reached out and touched her face. It felt different from usual; it was fleshier, softer, and a little chubby.
She pinched it again.
"Round."
Song Che watched her pinch her own cheek.
That unfamiliar face, paired with Xia Li's expression, was indescribably strange. It was like a child pretending to be an adult, and an adult pretending to be a child. The cold eyes and round face—two completely different things mixed together—were no less striking than a collaborator infiltrating a regular army.
Stealing feelings and tracking.
He suddenly laughed.
"What are you laughing at?" Xia Li asked.
"It's nothing," Song Che said. "It's just that—it's a little strange. Tao Yao, that idiot, is always so fierce, while you look so dull."
Xia Li thought for a moment.
"Should I change back?"
"No need," Song Che said. "Let's leave it at that. Let me take a look, and you can familiarize yourself with it while you're at it."
Xia Li nodded, put her hand down, thought for a moment, and then asked.
"Song Che".
"Um?"
"Does this look good?"
"
Song Che was stunned for a moment.
"What?"
"Like this," Xia Li pointed to her face, "Does it look good?"
Song Che looked at her.
Her skin was very fair, and her soft black hair hung down. She was pretty, the kind of pretty that looks like a middle school student—tender, soft, and makes you want to pinch her cheeks.
The main thing is that she's young, but if she's too young, it doesn't feel right. Song Che feels that Tao Yao is like his sister, the kind of stubborn and proud sister.
Fortunately, this is not Xia Li.
Or rather, this is Xia Li, yet not Xia Li.
"It looks good," he said.
Xia Li nodded.
"That's fine then."
She leaned back on the sofa and looked at the ceiling.
Song Che leaned back as well.
After a while, Xia Li spoke again.
Have you met Tao Yao before?
Song Che thought for a moment.
"I don't remember."
"What do you think—" Xia Li paused, "that I've become like this, is it good or bad?"
Song Che was stunned for a moment.
"What constitutes good or bad?"
"Well—" Xia Li thought for a moment, "Do you prefer it this way, or the way it was before?"
Song Che looked at her.
She was still looking at the ceiling, but her fingers were pinching the hem of her sweater on her leg, pinching it repeatedly, then hiding her fingers underneath and pressing on her leg.
He suddenly understood what she was asking.
"Xia Li."
She didn't move, her fingers were still fidgeting.
"Xia Li, look at me."
She turned to look at him.
Those eyes were still so clear and so direct.
"The original was better."
Xia Li blinked.
"Was the original better?"
"The original was better."
Xia Li paused for a moment and didn't say anything more, but she stopped fiddling with her sweater.
"But it's fine this way," Song Che said. "It's like a different person, except Tao Yao isn't as pretty as you."
"What if I'm not as pretty as Tao Yao?"
Song Che was stunned for a moment.
"What?"
"Someone else, prettier than me—" Xia Li said, "would you like that?"
—Strictly speaking, that's true, but it's not quite true either.
Liking Xia Li is one thing, liking someone else who's prettier is another, it's just a matter of personal feelings, but the difference lies in whether you can control yourself.
Song Che seemed thoughtful. "Xia Li, are you jealous?"
Xia Li was stunned for a moment.
"Jealous?"
"It's just—" Song Che thought for a moment, "I don't want me to like someone else."
Song Che felt that this was probably the case; Xia Li was no longer the idiot she used to be, so it was normal for her to be jealous.
Being jealous means that Xia Li is more sensitive to emotions.
Xia Li nodded, then shook her head.
What does it mean to be jealous?
"It's just that you feel uncomfortable when you see me talking to other people."
Xia Li thought for a moment.
"no."
Not even a little?
"No," Xia Li said. "You can talk to other people."
She paused, then added, "But only if it's a man."
Song Che blinked.
"so?"
"So I wasn't jealous," Xia Li said. "Jealousy is reserved for women."
Isn't that still being jealous?
He smiled.
"Okay—" he said, "You're not jealous."
Xia Li nodded.
"That's fine then."
She leaned back on the sofa and continued staring at the ceiling.
She was preparing to change back. This wasn't who she was, and she didn't like it. If it weren't for the serious issue of her identity that prevented her from even going to the observatory, she would still want to use her own appearance and her own identity.
She got up and went to the bathroom. She checked herself in the mirror for a while, then changed back to her original appearance. She got used to this look after a few times.
In the living room, Song Che sat on the sofa, holding a book in his hand.
"Five Years of College Entrance Examination and Three Years of Simulation" is a book on mathematics.
Every high school student knows this thing; every high school student has been tormented by it.
After the New Year, time becomes tight.
He's different from others; he needs to manage his time well and strive to do well on exams so that things will be easier in the future.
Xia Li didn't disturb him. She knew that Song Che was preparing for the college entrance examination, and that he was starting to study again after decades of neglect, competing with hundreds of thousands of people.
She continued playing games diligently to earn some extra money.
She walked over and sat down next to him.
The sofa sank a little, and Song Che glanced in her direction before continuing to read.
"It's back to normal?" he asked.
"Um."
Xia Li leaned back into the sofa and looked at the computer on the coffee table.
The query interface was still open on the screen; Tao Yao had only entered half of her ID number. She reached out and closed the window, then opened the game.
As the game loaded, she turned and glanced at Song Che.
He kept his head down, turning a page of the book.
Xia Li turned back and stared at the screen.
The game started, and people were running around. She controlled her character to walk forward, took a few steps, and then stopped.
I was still thinking about what had just happened.
She asked Song Che, "Do you prefer it this way or the way it was before?"
He said the old one was better.
She asked, "Would you like someone else?"
He paused for a moment, then asked her if she was jealous.
jealous.
She'd heard that word before. On TV, on her phone, in all sorts of random push notifications. Things like "What to do when your boyfriend is jealous," "Signs your boyfriend is jealous," and "Ten signs a girl is jealous."
She clicked on it and looked at it, but didn't quite understand it.
What does it mean to feel uncomfortable? What does it mean to feel sour? What does it mean to want to get angry but hold it in?
She was not feeling unwell.
Song Che said Tao Yao had a round face; she just wanted to know if he liked round faces. Song Che said Tao Yao was pretty; she just wanted to know if he thought other people were pretty.
What's wrong with this?
Xia Li guided her character forward, walked up to an NPC, and accepted the quest.
The task is to defeat ten monsters.
She started running into the wild.
As she ran, she suddenly remembered what she had just said.
"You can talk to other people. But only if they are men."
Song Che said that wasn't jealousy, but she said at the time that it didn't count if it was a man.
Thinking about it now—
Why doesn't it count if you're a man?
If Song Che talks to a man, what will she do?
She thought about it, but couldn't figure it out.
I feel like men wouldn't work either.
But she remembered playing with Jiang Shuo and Zhang Hanyu before—and Jiang Xiaoxiao too.
I didn't feel anything at the time.
Looking back now, it seems I wasn't completely unaffected.
That way of thinking doesn't seem right.
Xia Li fell into deep thought.
She felt she was being a bit too nosy; if men couldn't talk to Song Che, then only Bruce could play with him.
She thought about it and realized it was true.
This world is all women and men. Jiang Shuo is Song Che's friend, as is Zhang Hanyu. They like to play with Song Che. Jiang Xiaoxiao also likes to play with Song Che. There are even aunts and uncles who are good friends with Song Che.
Jealousy means—sabotaging the relationships of those who are close to Song Che, leaving yourself all alone?
Xia Li shook her head; this idea was indeed not a good one.
If she ruins Song Che's relationships with others—then what's the difference between her and a villain?
Xia Li was thankful that she was smart enough to figure it out, otherwise she might have made a big mistake later.
She thought about the question for a while, and then went to the magic mirror to ask it as usual.
Then I accidentally clicked on an article about raising a yandere.
she wondered.
What do you mean by breaking someone's limbs so you can take care of them for the rest of their life?