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"How do you flirt with women?" Qin Guanglin picked up his phone and asked his best friend, who had twice the relationship experience he did.
"Girl, give your lord a smile." His best friend, noted in his phone as Xiao Yu, replied instantly.
"Not like that... let me rephrase: How do you flirt with a woman you like?" Qin Guanglin replied and casually checked Baidu, where he found a bunch of irrelevant information.
"Are you asking how to pursue a woman you like?" Xiao Yu, not understanding what Qin Guanglin was thinking, asked back. Flirt?
"I mean making a woman blush, feel shy, and her heart race." Qin Guanglin wasn't interested in knowing how to pursue; he'd already successfully done that or, rather, had been pursued.
"…Buddy, that's not called flirting, that's called teasing," Xiao Yu suddenly felt sorry for Qin Guanglin, single for so long—he probably hadn't even held a girl's hand. Couldn't distinguish between flirting and pursuing? He needed to help him.
Qin Guanglin stared at the message deep in thought. Tease? Teasing women? That seemed right. "So, tell me, how do you tease?"
"That's quite an art, it starts with some playful banter in casual conversation. I'll demonstrate. What's your zodiac animal?" Xiao Yu decided to impart the tips he'd learned online.
"Me? You know I'm a Dog," Qin Guanglin said, feeling inexplicable.
"No, you belong to me. See, it's that simple, learn it and use it," Xiao Yu proudly passed on his secret.
Qin Guanglin fell into contemplation again. It seemed interesting...
Forest: What's your zodiac animal again?
Lost and waiting to return: What's your zodiac animal?
Forest: I'm a Dog. How about you?
Lost and waiting to return: Wrong. You belong to me.
Utter defeat.
Qin Guanglin was a little unsettled. How could this be right? Isn't that just sweet talk? Too cheesy, this won't do.
"Got countered; this doesn't work. Defeat's hard to swallow. Is there anything more potent?" He continued asking his best friend for advice.
Xiao Yu frowned at his phone. Got countered? Didn't she take the bait? This was beyond his knowledge... better give him the full script.
"You just started; failure is normal. I'll send you a link, take a look, and think about it more."
Qin Guanglin opened the link his best friend sent and looked at it for a while. It was full of cheesy sweet talk, which wouldn't do. He returned to the chat: "Is there something more ultimate?"
"Can't use the basics well, yet you want to unleash the ultimate move? Lin, recognize reality, start with the small things."
Ultimate move? Xiao Yu shook his head and sighed. Wanting to run before learning to walk, how could he possibly find a girlfriend...
"Never mind if it works or not, just teach me one to see if it's feasible." Qin Guanglin was a bit anxious, had to regain some ground, couldn't always be bullied.
Xiao Yu felt he needed to help his friend see reality. There's no ultimate move… then he suddenly remembered a TV show he'd watched recently. An ultimate move, difficult, not easy to execute. Right, teach him this to bring him back to reality.
"Then I'll teach you a secret move: Ever heard of wall-slam? It's definitely an ultimate move, but first you need a girlfriend… and to have a girlfriend, you must first learn the basics."
Qin Guanglin ignored the latter part of his friend's words. He already had a girlfriend; what he needed was a countermeasure, so he wouldn't be bullied!
Opened Baidu, searched wall-slam, so that's how it was... the difficulty was indeed high, but thinking about the effect, it was indeed an ultimate move.
Hmm, keep it as a last resort. If that girl went too far, with her jokes about kissing and getting pregnant, he'd use the ultimate move on her!
His phone buzzed again.
Lost and waiting to return: Let's start over; I promise to cooperate with you.
Forest: Not happening.
Lost and waiting to return: I swear, I'll cooperate for sure.
Forest: I refuse.
Lost and waiting to return: All right, when did you wake up?
Forest: Just woke up not long ago.
Lost and waiting to return: Then you'll have a hard time sleeping again tonight; I should have woken you up when I left.
Qin Guanglin looked at this conversation and it felt a bit off, but he couldn't point out anything wrong. He put down the phone and thought for a while, then picked it up again, opened the chat.
Forest: I have a question.
Lost and waiting to return: Hmm?
Forest: Why?
Lost and waiting to return: There aren't that many 'whys.'
Forest: You know what I'm asking, I want to know.
The phone stayed silent for a long time, and Qin Guanglin casually put it aside, no longer waiting. He didn't believe in love at first sight. Without a bit of understanding, liking someone at first glance seemed like lust.
Love at first sight always seemed like lust, otherwise who ever heard of love at first sight with someone unattractive?
From knowing He Fang to being together, it was all guided by He Fang, leading to adding friends, guiding to meet, guiding to like her, then guiding to confession.
There must be a reason; could it be she was lusting after him?
His emotional intelligence might be slightly low, but his IQ was not low at all.
"Dinner time." Qin's Mom knocked on the door.
Qin Guanglin replied and left his room. Most of the dishes were leftovers from lunch, heated up, except for a newly fried vegetable dish, a favorite for both him and Qin's Mom.
"Your little girlfriend doesn't know where she learned to cook; I think her skills are enough to open a restaurant," Qin's Mom suddenly praised He Fang's cooking skills again.
"Just talent, couldn't have been from hard practice, right?" Qin Guanglin casually replied, having to admit that the dish she cooked at noon was indeed tastier than Qin's Mom's.
"That knife skill can't be just talent, definitely been cooking for her family since childhood." Qin's Mom believed more in hard work. "What do you think of her?"
Qin Guanglin swallowed two big mouthfuls of rice with chopsticks, then looked up, chewing, while thinking.
"I think… I need to find a job." He said after swallowing all the rice, "Freelance jobs are too unstable, best to join a studio."
"Aren't you doing well now? Free and able to support yourself." Qin's Mom put down her bowl and chopsticks, already finished eating.
"It's not just about me now," Qin Guanglin sped up his eating.
Qin's Mom understood his thoughts and looked at him in surprise. Did this boy suddenly grow up?
Yes, maturity often comes in an instant, the difference between a child and an adult is that sense of responsibility. When they realize responsibility and take it on willingly, they become an adult.
Almost time to start a family… Qin's Mom was half reluctant, half melancholy, and ninety-nine percent gratified.
After dinner, Qin Guanglin returned to his room, casually picked up the phone by the bedside, showing an unread chat, and clicked to view.
Lost and waiting to return: Because you've always stood half a step behind me.
Qin Guanglin thought for a moment, feeling unclear, but it didn't matter, he'd know sooner or later.
Now confirmed he liked her, and she liked him, and they were already dating, that's enough.
Fingers gently tapped on the keyboard, a line appeared in the chat window, sent.
Forest: What's your zodiac animal?
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