Li Yin leaned casually against the counter, her posture completely relaxed and unremarkable.
But in Yi Fan's eyes, it was an entirely different scene.
——
Under the apocalyptic twilight cast by the golden light, the so-called Ghost King girl stood atop the ruins. Its form resembled an ancient temple, its massive shoulders almost blotting out the sun. There was a faint disdain and a hint of provocation in its eyes.
The hero, bearing the burdens of the era, ascended the endless staircase step by step.
The Ghost King's aura grew stronger, a storm from the abyss laced with the scent of decay and wilting violets. Every creature that passed near it felt an icy chill to their bones, a cold born of pure despair.
The final challenge, the last chance.
The hero's expression was solemn as he extended his hand.
This battle was for everyone—and for his dignity.
Success was the only option. Failure was not.
Bang!
Their hands clasped together, shaking the very fabric of time and scattering dust into the air. Every living being who heard it felt their courage waver.
The hero spoke with resolve: "Let's begin."
"Ready! Three, two, one."
Smack!
Yi Fan's hand was mercilessly slammed onto the table. Everything happened so quickly he didn't even have time to react.
Li Yin blinked her innocent eyes at him.
Yi Fan said softly, "I wasn't ready yet."
"Oh, okay. Let's try again. This time, you go first and use your strength."
"…"
Yi Fan silently extended his hand again, gripping Li Yin's.
He exerted force…
Then more force…
And even more force…
Li Yin remained utterly unfazed, tilting her head as she asked, "Maybe try using both hands?"
"…"
Yi Fan let out a dry laugh, withdrew his hand, and placed it behind his back. With a wise, sage-like demeanor, he said, "Not bad. You passed my test. Your strength may be slightly less than mine, but it's still impressive."
Li Yin blinked, silently jotting down in her mind: Boss has a huge ego. Definitely a Leo.
Because he had used too much strength earlier, Yi Fan's hand was trembling slightly. Not wanting to dwell on the topic, he changed the subject. "Xiao Yinzi, let me tell you about the changes in the world over the past twenty years."
Li Yin nodded enthusiastically. "Okay!"
Yi Fan cleared his throat and took out his phone with his left hand. "See? Phones now look like this. Big screens. Some can even fold into three."
"Three folds?"
"The more folds, the fancier. But those are too expensive for me. Let's just look at this one." Still keeping his right hand behind his back, Yi Fan swiped the screen with his left. "Look, phones these days unlock using facial recognition."
At this, Yi Fan paused.
Facial recognition? Could it also recognize ghost faces?
Sitting beside Li Yin, Yi Fan opened the settings. "Li Yin, record a backup facial profile. Let's see if it works."
"Okay!" Li Yin was curious and followed the instructions on the screen.
"Rotate the screen?" Li Yin exclaimed in surprise. "It can sense me rotating it? That's amazing."
"Yes, technology has advanced a lot."
Before long, the face recognition setup was complete. Under Yi Fan's guidance, Li Yin swiped her finger and successfully unlocked the phone.
"Smart," Yi Fan praised, giving her a thumbs up. He then began introducing its features. "Phones nowadays can make calls, play games, watch videos, and take pictures."
When he mentioned taking pictures, Yi Fan glanced at Li Yin. "Xiao Yinzi, let's take a selfie."
"Sure!"
Li Yin made a peace sign, and Yi Fan smiled.
The front camera clicked, capturing a fresh and vibrant photo.
Though the composition was unremarkable, and they both looked a little awkward, Yi Fan couldn't stop admiring it.
He opened a photo editing app and imported the picture. "See? Editing photos is so easy now. You can enhance them with one tap or apply all kinds of filters."
"This is so fun!" Li Yin laughed gleefully, leaning closer to Yi Fan as they selected filters. "This one's cute—it has little fish!"
"Exactly." Yi Fan kept switching filters, his heart warmed by Li Yin's soft laughter beside him. Even his voice grew gentler.
After much deliberation, Yi Fan chose a simple, understated filter.
He hesitated briefly, wanting to set it as his phone's wallpaper but feeling it might be too forward. Instead, he marked the photo as a favorite and saved it in a personal folder.
"There's more fun stuff," Yi Fan said, an idea forming. He opened TikTok. "Let's record a video."
"Okay, okay!" Li Yin was eager to join in.
The video had just started recording when suddenly—
Li Yin saw a spider crawl across her face on the phone screen.
"!!!"
In an instant—
A howling wind swept through the room. Yi Fan was knocked to the floor, almost dropping his phone. Even the heavy counter shifted half a meter, screeching as it dragged across the floor.
Everything on the counter, from the lucky cat to other trinkets, was blown into the air but remained suspended, wrapped in the gusts of wind.
Yi Fan scrambled to explain, "Li Yin, don't be scared! It's just a phone effect!"
The wind paused.
Li Yin sat there frozen, her hand on her cheek, clearly shaken.
Yi Fan, nursing his bruised backside, got up and bowed deeply. "I'm so sorry for scaring you. I didn't mean to."
"…"
It was silent.
Li Yin didn't respond.
Yi Fan had never seen her like this before and suddenly felt a wave of panic.
Knowing she wasn't familiar with modern technology, he realized his prank had gone too far.
Pressing his lips together, Yi Fan stood there, his head low, unsure how to make amends but determined to show sincerity.
After a long silence, Li Yin blinked and quietly said, "Ye Shi."
"Huh?"
Yi Fan was taken aback.
Then he realized, "A friend of yours?"
"Not a friend." Li Yin's face was blank. "She once threw a spider at my face."
"…"
"…"
"…"
Hearing this, Yi Fan wanted to slap himself.
Damn it. She already had a traumatic experience, and I went and triggered it. Too much!
Yi Fan's frustration flared—at himself and at that girl.
"Why would she do that to you?"
"I don't remember," Li Yin replied, shaking her head. "Just flashes of that scene and… a deep sadness."
"I'm sorry, boss." Li Yin seemed to snap out of her daze and stood up. The gusts of wind restored everything to its original place.
She pouted, looking aggrieved, and clasped her hands behind her back. "I lost control of my emotions and made such a mess. I'm sorry. It won't happen again."
"…"
"…"
Looking at her like this, Yi Fan felt a surge of both anger and heartache. The two emotions collided, leaving him speechless.
He wanted to hug her.
Just a simple hug, one between friends…
Taking a deep breath, Yi Fan said, "Xiao Yinzi!"
"Hmm?" Li Yin didn't dare lift her head.
"I need to remind you—this kind of situation doesn't require you to apologize! Also—"
Yi Fan declared righteously, "As your boyfriend, I now want to give you a big hug. Do you have any objections?"