Chapter 30

After Chi Shen said that, Qiao Zhenzhen fell silent. The longer she stayed quiet, the tighter he gripped the bag of crackers.
He had known for a long time that he wasn’t a normal person, he lacked ordinary logic and thought processes, otherwise he wouldn’t stand out as an oddity. Because he understood himself clearly, once Qiao Zhenzhen stopped being afraid of him he began to consciously restrain his actions.
Make himself seem a little more normal, then a little more, don’t let her be frightened of him again.
But no one had ever truly taught him how to be normal. All his current behavior was a deliberate imitation of those "normal people," and he still slipped up sometimes.
Like now: seeing Qiao Zhenzhen fall silent made him realize that normal people wouldn’t pass the time like this, and his inadvertent obsessiveness and strangeness could very well push her away again.
Realizing that, Chi Shen’s face grew paler.
Qiao Zhenzhen, still caught between feeling touched and a little choked up, was snapped back by Xiao Ba: "Host, the Affection Tycoon’s emotions seem to be acting up."
"...Don’t go giving people nicknames," Qiao Zhenzhen scolded herself. When she looked up she saw Chi Shen’s hand trembling as he clutched the snacks.
She froze for a second, then quickly took his hand: "What’s wrong? Low blood sugar?"
The warmth of her soft palm reached him. Chi Shen blinked, and the tremor in his fingers gradually diminished until it disappeared entirely.
"Do you want a candy, or should we go to the hospital right now?" Qiao Zhenzhen was still nervous.
Chi Shen stared at her; only after finding no trace of disgust or fear on her face did he slowly relax. "I'm fine."
"...You don't look fine at all." Qiao Zhenzhen said, casually opened a pack of gummies, and popped one straight into his mouth.
Sweetness spread across his tongue; he was much better than before. After a long moment he asked softly, "If I buy snacks, would you not like them?"
"Why would I not like them?" Qiao Zhenzhen looked up in puzzlement, and when she met his anxious eyes she understood instantly. "...You were acting strange because you were worried I wouldn't like it?"
Chi Shen didn't deny it.
"What on earth do you keep thinking about in that little head of yours?" Qiao Zhenzhen said, half laughing, half exasperated. "Isn't this just one of the ways you think of me? What's there not to like?"
Chi Shen paused. "I'm afraid... you'll be afraid of me."
The sentence was awkward, but Qiao Zhenzhen understood in an instant. Speechless, she suddenly cupped his face. "I won't be afraid of you. No matter what you do, I won't be afraid of you."
Chi Shen stared at her, his lips twitching, but he said nothing.
Qiao Zhenzhen met his gaze in silence, seeing her own face clearly reflected in the deep black of his pupils. Her heart beat faster, warmth rising to her cheeks. She stared at him for a long time, then couldn't help herself and quickly kissed the corner of his mouth.
Chi Shen's eyes shot wide as if his whole life had been struck; Qiao Zhenzhen froze too, she hadn't expected to do that. When she met his dazed eyes her face flushed scarlet, and she mentally shouted "Pause."
In an instant, the clock on the wall stopped, the humidifier's mist froze in the corner, and Chi Shen stood utterly motionless.
When everything paused, Qiao Zhenzhen could see the bewilderment on Chi Shen's face even more clearly. Her blush deepened and her heart pounded harder; she collapsed onto the sofa and rolled about in a meltdown.
"...Host, calm down. The time-stop skill isn't meant to be used like this." Xiao Ba said helplessly.
Qiao Zhenzhen's face was practically burning. Indignant, she retorted, "It's the first time I've kissed anyone in both my lives, can't I have a little private time to compose myself?"
Xiao Ba: "..." Fair point.
Thinking of her previous life, how, after Chi Shen died, it felt like someone had hit the end button and the next ten years were trapped on the day he died, never trying anything new, Xiao Ba felt deep sympathy and, on its own initiative, extended her calm-down time.
After nearly five minutes of composing herself, Qiao Zhenzhen was still falling apart. Xiao Ba could only remind her, "Host, affection is a scarce resource. Don't spend it all like this, okay?"
"...You're right. With that calm-down time, I could've bought Chi Shen an extra year or two." Qiao Zhenzhen immediately sobered up, feeling a twinge of pity for the affection points.
She sighed and sat back down in front of Chi Shen.
"To avoid visual glitches caused by an affection surge, host, it's best to keep the same posture as before." Xiao Ba reminded her.
Qiao Zhenzhen blushed again, but thinking that every second of the pause equaled a second of Chi Shen's life, she forced herself to calm down and reached out to cup his face once more.
"Alright."
Xiao Ba sighed. "This pause lasted 4 minutes and 47 seconds; normal time will resume in 13 seconds. Counting it as five minutes, you've consumed 420 affection points, leaving only 70."
It used the word "only," expressing anew its grief over the wasted affection. Qiao Zhenzhen felt it too and regretted her impulsiveness once more.
While the girl and the system were busy fretting, the clock on the wall ticked one second, and then a prompt sounded in her mind,,
[Affection +500, now 570]
Qiao Zhenzhen: "..."
Xiao Ba: "..."
After a brief silence, Qiao Zhenzhen stared stiffly at the face she had been holding and snatched her hands away.
Chi Shen's lashes fluttered and the back of his neck gradually turned red. "You..."
"Are you mad?" Qiao Zhenzhen cut him off.
Chi Shen paused, shook his head slightly. Qiao Zhenzhen, cheeks flushed, looked at him. "Good, you're not angry then."
Chi Shen's pupils trembled; for a long moment he forced himself not to look away.
The flushed patch on his neck was fully exposed by that movement. Qiao Zhenzhen instantly lost her nervousness; she even had the leisure to ruffle his hair, cooing at him like the wolf-grandmother soothing Little Red Hood: "Behave yourself, your sister will marry you someday."
Chi Shen's neck reddened even more.
A deeper smile lit Qiao Zhenzhen's eyes, and she once again felt that pausing time had been utterly pointless,
If she'd known he would get bashful, she would have calmed down in an instant. Why had she fussed at all?
The small apartment was quiet, the atmosphere tinged with an inexplicable pink. For the first time Chi Shen felt what it was like to be watched. After bowing his head for a long while, he suddenly flipped open his textbook. "Time to study."
Qiao Zhenzhen chuckled and sat up obediently.
They had set aside only an hour to study, yet twenty minutes had already gone by. Qiao Zhenzhen glanced at Chi Shen's study tasks for the day, thought for a moment, and texted her mother: Can I ask to come home an hour later tonight? I have too much homework.
Qin Jing replied at once: The cake at Grandpa's will take another hour in the oven, I thought I wouldn't get any. If you delay, I can have some.
Qiao Zhenzhen felt a fresh surge of jealousy toward her own mother. After reminding her again and again not to forget to bring a slice, she reluctantly took out her notebook and began to listen carefully.
At her request, Chi Shen increased the difficulty. Qiao Zhenzhen struggled to keep up; after an hour she barely understood two or three types of problems, and when she tried to work them out her answers were a mixed bag.
Qiao Zhenzhen had studied the basics for a long time and had been confident, but tonight she couldn't help feeling defeated. Seeing her mood sour, Chi Shen hesitated for a moment, then reached out and ruffled her hair.
Qiao Zhenzhen froze for a moment, looked at him in confusion. "What are you doing?"
Chi Shen looked at her long hair, ruffled by his hand: “……”
After an awkward silence, he forced out an explanation: “You do the same when I'm in a bad mood.”
Qiao Zhenzhen: “…Oh.”
It actually helped, at least after Chi Shen's explanation she was so busy blushing that she temporarily forgot the frustration of not being able to learn it.
Seeing her calm down, Chi Shen resumed with the next problem, and kept going until Qin Jing called; she changed shoes and went downstairs then.
Chi Shen walked her downstairs and, upon seeing Qin Jing, greeted her respectfully: “Hello, Auntie.”
“Teaching Zhenzhen must be tiring, thank you so much,” Qin Jing said with a smile, beckoning him over and pressing a bag into his hand. “My father asked me to give this to you. He said you should come to our place for dinner this weekend.”
Chi Shen took it somewhat awkwardly and nodded his thanks.
“Mom, what about mine?!” Qiao Zhenzhen asked at once.
“As if I'd forget you,” Qin Jing said, shooting her a sideways glance.
Zhenzhen leaned against the car window to look, and only when she saw a bag identical to Chi Shen's inside was she satisfied; she immediately began to act spoiled with Qin Jing.
Chi Shen held the bag, watching the mother and daughter laugh and play like the happiest people on earth. Suddenly he thought of the woman being helped by Qiao Jian; a shadow crossed his eyes for a moment, then cleared.
Zhenzhen happened to glimpse that darker side of him and froze, about to take a closer look, but the gloom had already dissipated.
…She must have imagined it.