My Online Friend Can't Be This Cute

He comforted himself inwardly and handed his ID card to the young woman at the front desk, asking her to check him in.

The receptionist worked efficiently and had a great attitude. He just did not know why she kept looking him over with such a strange expression.

Mo Xiangwen subconsciously touched his hair and face. He thought his hair might have been sticking up, but apparently, it was not.

"Is something wrong?" he decided to ask directly.

"Ah, no, nothing is wrong." The receptionist had decent professional manners. She bowed slightly in apology. "I'm very sorry for making you uncomfortable."

"No, it's not that serious. So, is my check-in complete?"

"Yes, room 513. Please take the elevator on the left upstairs." The receptionist handed him a room card with both hands, then pointed in the direction the girl had gone earlier. "This is your room card. The deposit will be returned to your account within twenty-four hours after check-out."

"Thank you."

He took the room card and rounded the corner, only to find that the girl was still waiting by the elevator.

It was as though she had been waiting for him all along. The moment he reached the elevator, it arrived.

When he entered, he took a look and saw that they were headed to the same floor. At least that saved him from having to swipe his room card again.

The two stood in the cramped elevator. He had only just instinctively glanced at her a couple of times when she noticed before he could look away.

Her gaze met his in midair, and the faint smile on her face remained unchanged.

Just as he was hesitating over whether to say something to explain himself, she unexpectedly spoke first.

"When are you planning to visit Sword Gate Pass?"

"Me?" Mo Xiangwen looked around, making sure that there were only the two of them.

"Mm, of course. Who else is here besides you and me?" The girl seemed both amused and helpless. "You don't need to be this guarded, do you?"

Yes, I do. Of course I do.

The prettier a girl is, the better she is at deceiving people.

My brother Ji was just too young. He refused to listen to advice, and that was why he got played like a fool by a woman.

With someone at your level, miss, I'm worried you'll start discussing a three-hundred-thousand-yuan deal with me any second now.

Mo Xiangwen ranted wildly in his heart. After hesitating for a moment, he answered, "Tomorrow morning, I guess. I don't really like crowds, so I might go a little earlier."

"Mm..." The girl nodded, drawing out her tone slightly. "I see."

With a ding, they arrived at the fifth floor, and the elevator doors slowly opened.

The two had only just stepped out one after the other when the girl suddenly pulled her suitcase and quickened her pace by two steps. Just as he was wondering what she was doing, she turned to look at him.

Something seemed to shimmer in her violet eyes. The corners of her lips curved upward, and her faint smile became much more apparent. "So, do you want to go together tomorrow? It'd be nice to have someone looking out for each other."

"No, thanks. I'm more used to being by myself."

Though he could not find the answer in the girl's smile, a question like that barely needed any thought. His automatic defense system immediately kicked in.

"Oh, I see." The girl seemed to have expected it. She merely smiled. "Then, goodbye."

As they spoke, they happened to reach the room she had booked. She entered her room and gently closed the door.

He was not sure whether, in that brief instant, he had seen a disappointed expression on her face. Yet for some reason, he felt as though she was a little disappointed.

Disappointed or not, they were not familiar with each other anyway.

Mo Xiangwen forcibly ignored the uncomfortable tangle in his heart, found his room, and lightly swiped the room card.

With a chime, the door unlocked.

The room was quite nice overall. To the left of the entrance was a bathroom with separate wet and dry areas, while the floor was laid with well-maintained wooden flooring.

Opening the window, he could see the distant mountain scenery, but he was not in the mood to appreciate it now.

He set his backpack on the sofa beside him, let out a soft sigh, and relaxed as he collapsed onto the soft bed.

Whatever she was thinking, there was nothing wrong with being cautious when traveling alone.

What was wrong with being a guy? Guys needed to know how to protect themselves too.

He made a joke in his heart to comfort himself, half-closed his eyes, and took a short nap.

When he woke again, judging by the sky outside the window, it was already evening.

He picked up his phone and ordered delivery. Then, he found himself thinking of that girl again and silently sighed.

A woman's heart was as deep as the sea.

Kid, her level is too high. You can't beat her at this game.

The more he thought about it, the more he amused himself.

Just as his thoughts were running wild, the delivery rider called.

"Mm, okay. I'll come down and get it." After hanging up, he grabbed the things he needed and headed downstairs.

Unexpectedly, the first person he saw downstairs was not the delivery rider, but the silver-haired girl.

She sat on a sofa on the first floor, playing on her phone. Every so often, she looked around as though her attention was not on her phone at all, wearing an utterly bored expression.

Mo Xiangwen did not think much of it, because the delivery rider was waiting for him at the entrance with his food.

After confirming the details with the rider, he was just about to take the delivery when a familiar voice sounded beside him.

"Oh, you ordered delivery?"

Turning his head, he saw the girl's familiar smiling face right before him. Her smile was faint, like he could almost smell the subtle fragrance of jasmine.

"Mm. Since this area is near a tourist attraction, most places are pretty expensive."

For some reason, he found her smile strangely oppressive. Even the hand reaching for the delivery stopped in midair.

"And I'm not from around here, so I don't know which places are good. I figured I might as well order delivery."

Honest. Pure, unfiltered honesty.

It was not personal information anyway. There was no harm in saying it, he thought with inexplicable guilt.

"I see. That actually makes a lot of sense. Maybe I'll do that next time too."

The girl nodded as though she understood him. After waving to him, she walked out.

"Uh, bro, your girlfriend?"

"Uh, I don't think so?" Even Mo Xiangwen was a little unsure. If she was not, then why was she angry?

Though the girl had not made it obvious and could even be said to have left no trace of it, he had clearly felt that she was angry.

"Oh. Well, bro, here. Take your delivery."

Why? Had they met before?

Impossible. If he had ever met a beautiful girl of her caliber, how could he have forgotten?

Even if he did not remember her face, he should at least remember that long silver-white hair of hers, right?

He was not some forgetful light novel or anime protagonist. How could he fail to remember something like that?

"Bro, your delivery." The rider urged him again, sounding impatient.

Mo Xiangwen jolted and snapped out of his thoughts.

"Sorry, man. You can have this delivery."

He rubbed his temples and sighed. Delivery in tourist areas was ridiculously expensive, costing dozens of yuan.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"The delivery. I don't want it anymore. I need to go chase someone down, so don't let it go to waste."

The rider froze, then gave him a thumbs-up. "Nice. Hope it works out for you, bro."

Works out, my ass.

They were not even friends. Why was he blowing the charge horn?

Mo Xiangwen sighed and took off running in the direction the girl had gone.

Fortunately, she did not walk very fast. In the time they had spent talking, she had not even found a suitable restaurant yet.

Mo Xiangwen jogged a few steps and caught up to her.

When the girl saw him catch up, surprise appeared on her calm face. Then the corners of her lips lifted slightly, and she returned to that familiar faint smile.

"I'm sorry."

Just like him catching up to her, the girl's apology caught him completely off guard.

"Why?" he asked instinctively.

The girl merely smiled at him and tilted her head slightly. Her waterfall-like silver-white hair immediately spilled loose and draped over one side.

She said nothing, as though she was certain that he knew what she was apologizing for.

Mo Xiangwen understood too. A strange sense of familiarity rose in his heart, and he asked with a bitter smile, "Have we met before?"

"No, we haven't," the girl said softly, shaking her head.

"Then why?"

"Mm... sorry." The girl's delicate brows furrowed slightly as she apologized again. "Because it feels like something is still missing. I just feel like I want to keep hiding it for a little longer."

Mo Xiangwen scratched his head in confusion, then let out a heavy sigh. "That makes it hard for me to trust you."

The girl copied his sigh. "I know I'm being troublesome too, so I'm really sorry."

That was it. It was exactly the same feeling she had given him on the train.

Her rational thoughts and emotional sensibilities blended perfectly, forming an inseparable whole while each retained its own distinctive presence.

She knew that saying nothing right now while expecting him to trust her was unreasonable.

But she still did it. She would not force him, yet she would apologize to him.

What a contradictory person.

Even if he had not caught up to her, she probably would not have blamed him. Instead, she would secretly reflect on herself.

For some reason, Mo Xiangwen felt strangely certain of that. Thinking of that scene even made him find it a little funny.

"Miss, may I ask what your name is?"

For an instant, the girl's eyes widened, but she quickly returned to normal.

"I thought it would take you a little longer to realize you should ask my name."

There was a trace of teasing in her voice. "We've already run into each other more than three times. What happened to never a fourth time? Am I really that scary?"

"Twice. Once at the scenic area, and once at the high-speed rail station. Then we kept running into each other until now." Mo Xiangwen seriously held up two fingers. "So strictly speaking, it still counts as never a third time."

"You'd ask on the third time?"

"By the third time, I'd probably be calling the police."

The girl could not hold it in. Her shoulders trembled as she let out a soft laugh, but she quickly concealed it behind a smile.

"Yan Nuoya. Yan as in appearance, Nuo as in a promise worth a thousand gold, and Ya as in elegant enough for refined and popular tastes alike. You can call me Nuoya."

When a stranger gave their name, there was a good chance it was fake. Of course he knew that.

As Mo Xiangwen hesitated, he noticed her looking at him with a smiling gaze, with a faint hint of expectation in her violet eyes.

If he really gave her a fake name, she would be very sad, wouldn't she?

No, what did it have to do with him whether she was sad or not?

Still, he had an inexplicable certainty that she was not lying. He also felt that she would be able to tell whether the name he gave was fake.

"Mo Xiangwen. Xiang as in direction, Wen as in literary. Call me whatever you like."

He sighed softly in his heart and gave up resisting.

Mo Xiangwen had already lost count of how many times he had sighed today, and almost every one of them had something to do with the girl before him.

"Okay, then I'll call you Xiangwen." Nuoya blinked, seeming very happy to hear his answer.

"Mm."

It was not as though girls had never called him by name before, but for some reason, it felt a little embarrassing today.

Even more embarrassing, Nuoya seemed able to see his reaction. She covered her mouth with one hand and let out a soft laugh to tease him.