235: Chapter 235 Budding Emotions

Zou Luyao had never felt this way before.

Her heart felt heavy, and a surge of bitterness welled up, making her feel somewhat sad and distressed.

Throughout her life, she had liked two men.

The first was a classmate in middle school; he was sunny and cheerful, handsome, good at his studies, and could play basketball—it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he was the most dazzling person in the class.

Even back then, she was already a budding beauty, so it was only natural that she attracted his attention.

He often helped her with her studies, and the two of them grew closer and closer.

Then, their homeroom teacher keenly discovered the situation and notified her mother.

At the time, she naively thought that they would most likely just be given a warning not to see each other anymore, and she had made up her mind to take their relationship underground.

But she clearly underestimated her mother's resolve; after that, she was transferred to another school.

Even though their family conditions weren't that great, her mother still bore immense pressure and had her transferred immediately.

From then on, she became cautious and guarded, no longer easily letting her emotions get involved.

After all, to facilitate her transfer, her mother had almost lost her job, and the image of her mother working from dawn till dusk, exhausted, was still vivid in her memory.

Therefore, she felt a mix of resentment and heartache toward her mother.

The second male was someone she met online.

At that time, she had just found a sanctuary in the ACG subculture and had gradually started experimenting, releasing a few faceless cosplay videos and ASMR works, but the response was mediocre.

Just when she was disheartened and about to give up, a fan expressed encouragement to her, allowing her to reignite her confidence and continue on her path.

That fan often counseled her and was a major source of strength that helped her get through that period she didn't want to remember.

She only knew that the other person was male and older than her; beyond that, she knew nothing at all.

But she knew that she had liked him a little at the time.

However, their constant misaligned communication meant this relationship missed its most crucial budding stage, and as time passed, those feelings never fully developed.

Moreover, as time went by, it grew increasingly faint; although that person was still a very important figure in her life, the youthful fluttering of her heart was gone.

Later, after starting university and being separated from her best friend, living under her mother's watchful eye every day, she no longer had the opportunity to return to that world filled with beauty.

She hadn't contacted that person for a very, very long time.

Just a moment ago, she logged on for the first time in ages and discovered that her inbox was filled with caring and encouraging messages from him.

This warmed her heart, but it was merely that state of "more than friends, less than lovers."

And after that, there was Zhao Xiaoshuai.

Although their contact had been very brief, that kind of emotion had already sprouted in her heart once again.

Although it was still extremely faint right now and nowhere near the level of "liking," having had those two previous experiences, she clearly understood her own heart.

Therefore, seeing him staying up late at night, being served by two quite pretty women, she felt a sense of betrayal.

This feeling was inexplicable and completely illogical, but it was very intense, making her feel quite uncomfortable.

So, without thinking, she blurted out a questioning remark.

But then she suddenly realized, what relationship did she have with him? What right did she have to ask him that?

The more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt, and the more wronged she felt, the more she thought about it, gradually sinking into a whirlpool of her own emotions.

But at this moment, Zhao Xiaoshuai's lazy, indifferent response rang out.

"They're giving me a foot massage; can't you see that?"

"Have you never heard of home-visit foot reflexology or home-visit spa services?"

"Oh, you're still a university student; it's normal that you haven't heard of it."

His confident and indifferent attitude made Zou Luyao immediately snap out of her emotional whirlpool.

'Could it be that I misunderstood?'

She immediately took out her phone and started searching for what home-visit foot reflexology and home-visit spa services were.

However, the more she searched, the more she became convinced of her initial judgment. She held up her phone, huffing, "The internet says those are just covers for that sort of thing; in reality, they're all doing that!"

"What 'this' or 'that'? Why don't you try searching for, say, ASMR or the private lives of cosplayers? Take a look at what the internet says about them."

After all, she was just a small faceless content creator and hadn't experienced things like being bombarded with direct messages, so when she checked, she immediately turned red with anger.

"This... why is everyone on the internet talking such nonsense?"

"Exactly. You do this kind of work yourself, so you'd be angry, but it seems you just offended the two sisters in the same way."

Zou Luyao finally came to her senses. That's right, she had spoken impulsively right to their faces; it really was inappropriate.

"Two older sisters, I'm sorry. That's not what I meant just now."

Xu Yuyan had long since stopped caring. Having struggled in society and worked as a foot masseuse for so many years, even if she had always kept herself clean, so what?

Whenever someone knew her profession, their first impression was that she must be a 'pure malt beer,' and how many people were truly willing to understand her?

So she had long since let it go; she was immune to such comments and wasn't angry.

Guan Xiaosu was the same.

A single mother, having a child out of wedlock—all sorts of labels had accompanied her life since university.

She was long accustomed to it, and combined with her naturally indifferent personality, such words went in one ear and out the other.

Therefore, they both nodded at the apologizing Zou Luyao and continued with their work, effectively letting the matter pass.

Zhao Xiaoshuai, of course, knew the intention behind Zou Luyao's question; after all, through the system, he had long since seen through her heart.

[Affinity: 227 (Favorable)]

One has to admit that Shuaige truly possessed a huge advantage in the battlefield of the sexes, especially among the demographic of female university students.

He hadn't even fully revealed his financial power yet, and her affinity had already approached 200. And after the incident where he single-handedly helped her gain independence, it naturally broke through that mark.

Once she gradually developed a correct understanding of the world, he would then subject her to a continuous bombardment of material gifts; by then, winning her heart would be a sure thing.

With the right medicine for both material and spiritual needs, it would be hard not to woo the girl.

"Why aren't you sleeping late at night, and instead wandering around?"

"I, I'm new to an unfamiliar environment, I'm a bit nervous and can't sleep; that's normal, right?"

Although the misunderstanding was cleared up, Zou Luyao was still "worried" about Zhao Xiaoshuai being alone late at night with two quite good-looking women, so she simply sat down to chat with him.

"Aren't you afraid that late at night, seeing you wearing only a single layer of clothing, I might be overcome by lust and have ill intentions toward you?"

Zou Luyao tightened the clothes draped over her body. "I'm not afraid; I trust you."

Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Zhao Xiaoshuai immediately stood up and walked over to her. His tall figure was quite oppressive, making Zou Luyao feel inexplicably nervous.

She clutched the hem of her clothes. "W-what are you doing!"