novelraw Chapter 575 - 392: This is called 18?
Chapter 575 - 392: This is called 18?
Xu Xin retrieved his watch and put Yan Haoming’s watch on his wrist.
Then, he showed a smile that matched Yan Haoming’s persona.
And began to appraise the woman who had just entered the room.
This woman... no, this girl, looks...
So young!
If he didn’t know that people coming to this world are at least 18 years old, he might think this girl was only of middle school age.
Height... not even 1.5 meters?
The face also looks very small.
This is way too young.
Could she really be a middle schooler?
Even Lou Fei’Er was a bit dumbfounded seeing Zeng Tao’s appearance.
"Little sister, are you... Zeng Tao?" Lou Fei’Er asked with some uncertainty.
"Yes, I am. You must be Lou Fei’Er; I’ve heard so much about you."
Zeng Tao raised her little face, looking up at Lou Fei’Er who was more than ten centimeters taller: "You look exactly like I imagined. Also, I’m not some little sister."
Her face, coupled with her somewhat mature tone, created a strong sense of dissonance.
"You don’t quite match the image I had in mind..." Lou Fei’Er grasped her extended hand, "How old are you?"
She even subconsciously used the tone one might use when asking a child about their age.
"I’ve told you, I’m not a little sister!" Zeng Tao’s tiny face showed a slightly angry expression, "I’m already eighteen this year, an adult!"
Hearing this age, Xu Xin and Lou Fei’Er both breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness.
Eighteen looking like this, although a bit absurd, at least her age is not too old.
As long as she’s not older than them, it’s fine.
Otherwise, this face would definitely be unsettling.
Xu Xin thought about Ji Chaoyang’s face.
Come to think of it, Ji Chaoyang was even more ridiculous.
He’s already twenty-eight, but still looks like a high school student.
Looking like a middle schooler at eighteen pales in comparison.
This is entirely manageable.
Zeng Tao heard Xu Xin’s movements and immediately turned her head to look past Lou Fei’Er.
Upon seeing him, the girl was stunned for a moment, then blinked, her eyes and mouth slightly agape.
Then, she realized something and vigorously shook her head.
When she looked at Xu Xin again, her eyes were filled with vigilance.
...and a bit of inner conflict.
"You can’t be..."
"Hello, Xiaotaozi, I am Yan Haoming." Xu Xin showed a slightly teasing smile as he looked at Zeng Tao.
He decided it was best to imitate Yan Haoming’s personality.
With a personality like Yan Haoming’s, others probably wouldn’t want to engage with him.
If he mimicked such a personality, Zeng Tao, and the not-yet-arrived Qin Fu, would likely avoid any unnecessary interaction with him.
This way, the possibility of him slipping up would be minimized.
He’s just not sure if his current state would cause annoyance.
"What...!" Zeng Tao’s eyes suddenly went wide, the pupils sharply contracted, "You... you are... Yan Haoming?!"
Lou Fei’Er shuddered slightly, expressionless.
She was clearly trying not to laugh but held back.
Indeed, the contrast was too stark.
"Yes, Xiaotaozi, didn’t expect you’re truly Xiaotaozi huh." Xu Xin stepped forward, stroking his chin while looking Zeng Tao up and down, clicking his tongue in wonder.
Though he should match the persona, Zeng Tao was indeed surprising.
She is extremely cute, the hood of her leather armor was taken off, allowing her black hair to cascade down her back.
Calling her a little beauty is not an exaggeration at all.
But... is she really 18?
Her figure is a few levels flatter than Li Wenxi...
With a short haircut, she’d look just like a little boy.
Of course, he wouldn’t say this aloud.
Saying it would fit Yan Haoming’s image better, but...
It would be way too rude.
"You... you... you!" Zeng Tao took two steps back, her face flushed with anger.
She thought about the teasing words this guy had sent her in private messages and suddenly felt an urge to bash his head!
No, she had planned to immediately beat up this annoying jerk upon meeting him!
Though his ranking was always much lower than Yan Haoming’s, she was very confident about her physical strength!
In a face-to-face confrontation, she was confident she would not lose to anyone!
In her imagination, Yan Haoming should be a man with nothing remarkable, lecherous-looking, speaking unpleasantly, and hunched over.
The kind of thug she’d beat up right on sight!
In her plan, Yan Haoming would suffer under her relentless punches due to his arrogance.
Then, this scoundrel wouтрле beg for mercy amidst her beating.
Amidst others’ pleas, she’d spare him a dog’s life.
After all, he’s still useful to District 187.
That’s how the normal process should go!
But what is this situation!
Why is this Yan Haoming...
So handsome!
And... why, upon learning that this person is Yan Haoming, the one she always wanted to beat up...
She finds herself unable to strike!
Why does she feel somewhat close to this person?
Zeng Tao’s face reddened due to this complex feeling, her little fists clenched but unable to swing.
She’s even questioning her own character.
Could I be just someone who appreciates looks?
Do my principles follow my senses?
No way!
I’m not someone who just likes pretty faces! I’m not!
"Shut up, Yan Haoming!" Lou Fei’Er immediately scolded Xu Xin, "It’s one thing to be rude to me, but teasing such a young child, are you even human? We’re here to collaborate, but if you keep acting like this, you’re not welcome here!"
"No, no!" Xu Xin raised both hands, stepping back a little, "I was just joking. I honestly didn’t expect the woman who was so fierce in the private messages to be so young."
With that, he slightly bowed to Zeng Tao: "I’m sorry, Xiaotaozi. I shouldn’t have teased a middle schooler."
Zeng Tao glared at him, words squeezed through clenched teeth, "I’ve already told you, I’m eighteen! I’m an adult! I’m in college!"
"Alright, alright, Zeng Tao, let’s ignore him. Later, we can just use him as a tool to climb the snow mountain. Let’s go talk over there."
Lou Fei’Er shot Xu Xin a glare and then pulled Zeng Tao into a nearby room.
"Bang!"
The door was slammed shut.
Xu Xin rubbed his temples.
The plan was successful.
Now, this Zeng Tao probably wouldn’t suspect his identity or engage in unnecessary conversations with him.
Now, they just needed to find an opportunity to take action and subdue her too.
However...
Her appearance...
Xu Xin felt reluctance.
This was too sinful...
Inside the room, Zeng Tao’s breathing was a bit uneven.
She was furious.
Not just because of "Yan Haoming," but also because of herself.
"Alright, alright, no need to be angry, it’s not worth it to be upset with such a person," Lou Fei’Er consoled her, "You’re all here to help, and we’re all working to make Area 187 better. Don’t start an internal conflict, just pretend he doesn’t exist."
"I... um, thank you, Lou Fei’Er, thank you for speaking up for me." Zeng Tao calmed down a bit and thanked Lou Fei’Er.
"No problem, no problem, but are you really eighteen?" Lou Fei’Er couldn’t help but ask.
She really looked so young.
"I’m really not that young..." Besides, Lou Fei’Er had just defended her, so Zeng Tao couldn’t get angry. She could only reply helplessly, "I’m already an adult. Before I came to this world, I even got my driver’s license!"
Actually, eighteen is still pretty young...
Lou Fei’Er thought to herself.
The youngest she had seen before was the nineteen-year-old Li Wenxi.
Unexpectedly, Zeng Tao set a new low for Li Wenxi in terms of age.
In terms of appearance, she set an even lower bar.
Li Wenxi was tall and looked like a vibrant college student.
Zeng Tao was probably less than 1.5 meters tall, and her face looked so young...
Nowadays, many middle school girls are over 1.7 meters tall.
If you said she was a primary school student, people might actually believe it.
"Alright, sit down." Lou Fei’Er sat on the bed, "I’ll tell you about the snow mountain. We’ll set off once Qin Fu arrives."
"Wait a minute," Zeng Tao interrupted Lou Fei’Er.
She glanced at the purple-black pillar of light outside the window, then turned back to her, eyes filled with curiosity: "When you contacted me before, you asked about... that statue, what was that about?"
...
Taking advantage of Lou Fei’Er dragging Zeng Tao into the room, Xu Xin immediately contacted Ji Chaoyang.
"How’s it going? What’s the situation over there?"
Ji Chaoyang replied quickly: "Are you done with your stuff? Can we video chat?"
Video?
It seems he really found some traces over there.
Xu Xin glanced at the closed door and replied, "Keep your voice down."
With that, he connected the video with Ji Chaoyang.
Immediately, a familiar giant pit appeared in the projection.
The difference was, where the statue once stood in the pit, it was now empty.
All that remained were shallow marks on the ground.
"The statue, it’s really all gone..." Xu Xin murmured to himself.
"Not only that."
As Ji Chaoyang spoke, his camera panned out of the giant pit.
"This is..." Xu Xin’s eyes narrowed sharply.
The snow in the forest was fully exposed to sunlight and was melting rapidly.
Currently, the snow layer was less than a meter high.
People could barely walk through the snow now.
And on the snow, twenty meters from the edge of the pit, were several traces.
It was as if some animal treaded through the snow and walked out.
The direction of these traces led outwards, but they weren’t long.
Only about forty or fifty meters, and then the traces disappeared.
Beyond that, the snow became relatively smooth again.
Of course, only relatively.
After all, when the snow melts, the surface isn’t that smooth.
At this point, the camera tilted up.
The scenery in that direction was fully revealed to Xu Xin.
"This is..." His heart tightened.
In his view, there was a patch of green.
It was a treehouse.
...the very treehouse he was in now!
Lou Fei’Er’s treehouse!
The direction of these traces was headed towards Lou Fei’Er’s treehouse!
They were coming for him!