After Falling in Love with a 2D Character as a Socially Anxious Person - Chapter 4

As An Jing was Yan Qili’s only connection to this world, Yan Qili naturally intended to keep him right under his nose.

An Jing didn’t dare argue with Yan Qili. He only dared to speak up for himself in a small, timid voice:

“Even if we don’t live together, I won’t run away.”

Yan Qili’s expression remained indifferent: “I don’t trust you.”

Even a friend of many years could betray him, let alone An Jing, whom he had just met. He would not make the low-level mistake of being too trusting again.

An Jing: “…”

He regretted setting Yan Qili’s personality to be so cautious, but there was no medicine for regret in this world. Yan Qili was dead set on living with him.

An Jing’s courage was only enough to speak up once. Under the threat of the sword “Unbroken,” he could only take Yan Qili in as a temporary resident.

Looking at it from another angle, even without a divine weapon like “Unbroken,” Yan Qili could handle him with one hand. It was just living together; it wasn’t like he would lose a limb. Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid.

After weighing the pros and cons, An Jing comforted himself in his heart while leading Yan Qili to the only empty room.

However, self-comfort doesn’t work that quickly. An Jing’s feet felt like they were filled with lead, and each step was incredibly slow. He prayed in his heart that Yan Qili would change his mind at the last minute.

Unfortunately, Yan Qili followed behind him in silence, showing not the slightest intention of changing the plan. As his hopes faded, An Jing’s shoulders slumped bit by bit.

The gloom radiating from An Jing was almost tangible. Yan Qili saw that he was intentionally stalling, but though his gaze flickered, he didn’t call him out.

Finally, An Jing, moving like a snail, gathered his thoughts and turned the doorknob to open the empty room. He looked at Yan Qili:

“Is it okay if you stay here for now?”

This room had its own bathroom. The space was slightly smaller than the master bedroom upstairs, but it had a wardrobe and a desk. Once cleaned and furnished with a bed, it would be livable.

Thinking that Yan Qili was, after all, a member of the imperial family, An Jing bit his lip and changed his mind: “Or you can stay upstairs, and I’ll stay down here.”

One upstairs and one downstairs, with no mutual disturbance—this was his final line. He really couldn’t give another inch.

Yan Qili scanned the room: “This place is fine.”

He had stayed in the middle of nowhere during military campaigns; he wasn’t picky about such things.

“That’s fine then.” An Jing felt relieved that he wouldn’t have to move things between floors.

“There are still many things to buy.” An Jing used talking to ease the awkwardness of sharing a room with Yan Qili, regardless of whether the other man understood: “A bed, a mattress, a four-piece bedding set, toothpaste, a toothbrush…”

And clothes. An Jing added silently as his gaze swept over Yan Qili’s armor.

Online shopping wouldn’t arrive in time. Yan Qili was a newcomer who knew very little about this world, so it wasn’t realistic to let him go buy these things alone. This “Living Yama” probably couldn’t even tell toothpaste apart from facial cleanser.

As much as An Jing hated going out due to his social anxiety, he had to go along this time.

By the time they finished sorting things out, it was nearly noon. Lacking the heart to cook, An Jing ordered takeout for two. While waiting for the delivery, he went upstairs to see if there were any clothes in the house that Yan Qili could wear.

If Yan Qili went out in his armor, people would definitely stare. Just imagining the scene made An Jing’s scalp tingle.

There was a significant difference in their sizes. An Jing searched through the entire walk-in closet, but even his loosest clothes wouldn’t fit Yan Qili.

“Only these are left.” An Jing brought down a few pieces of clothing. “These are the largest ones. Do you want to try them?”

After his novel Saints Do Not Die became a massive hit, a light luxury clothing brand had reached out to create a character collaboration line. These were the sample clothes sent by the brand.

The brand was very eager to collaborate. They had sent samples of different fabrics and sizes during the design phase, asking An Jing to pick his favorite. These were the largest size. When he found these forgotten clothes, An Jing felt glad he had wisely kept them. Otherwise, the “Dread God” would have to go naked.

An Jing handed the clothes to Yan Qili and watched him walk toward the room. He couldn’t help but wonder: Does Yan Qili know how to put them on? Should I teach him?

Just as An Jing was hesitating, Yan Qili, who had reached the door, seemed to sense something and turned back. He met An Jing’s direct, staring gaze.

Yan Qili: “…” Still looking.

The “Living Yama,” who hadn’t intended to shut the door, now closed it behind him. He even figured it out on his own and locked the door from the inside with a sharp click.

Staring at the closed door, An Jing snapped out of it and blinked. Huh?

Recalling the look Yan Qili gave him before closing the door, An Jing, who was always a bit slow, almost jumped off the sofa.

Wait, the Living Yama wouldn’t misunderstand and think I wanted to peek at him changing, right? No… surely not?!

Even though his behavior just now might have been a bit misleading, he really wasn’t a pervert who peeked at people changing! A huge “black pot” of blame had suddenly landed on his head, and An Jing couldn’t sit still. For the sake of his innocence, he felt it was very necessary to clarify.

Before An Jing could prepare his explanation, Yan Qili had already changed and opened the door.

He wore a casual sports set. The clothes weren’t a perfect fit; the pants were a bit short for Yan Qili, leaving his ankles exposed. But he was tall with long legs and a great build, so the outfit looked surprisingly good on him—even better than the model photos. Most importantly, even with his long hair and sports gear, he didn’t look out of place.

It proved the saying—handsome men and beautiful women look stylish even in a burlap sack.

Anyone else would have been swooning the moment Yan Qili stepped out, but An Jing only had his innocence on his mind. He did a quick scan to confirm the clothes mostly fit, then hurriedly explained:

“I was staring at you just now because I was afraid you wouldn’t know how to put them on.”

Absolutely! I have no designs on your body.

In real life, An Jing was not good at socializing. He left an impression of being cold and aloof outdoors, and he didn’t become eloquent at home. His sincere explanation sounded dry and stiff. Rather than a clarification, it felt more like he was trying to hide something. It wasn’t convincing at all.

An Jing waited nervously for Yan Qili’s response, wanting to know if he believed him.

Yan Qili looked at An Jing but didn’t speak. Instead, he bent over and placed something on the coffee table, pushing it toward him.

An Jing looked down. As Yan Qili’s well-defined hand moved away, the cloud-patterned jade pendant was revealed. A question mark slowly appeared over his head as he looked at Yan Qili. What does this mean?

Yan Qili’s tone was calm: “We both know the origin of this jade pendant. I will leave it with you as collateral.”

Having traveled out of the book, he had nothing of value besides his armor and the sword “Unbroken,” except for this jade pendant.

An Jing was stunned for a moment before realizing that Yan Qili didn’t want to be a free-loader, so he was using the pendant as a deposit.

“No, no need.” An Jing pushed the pendant back exactly as it was, waving his hands frantically: “You don’t need to give me anything.”

Not to mention that he already felt guilty toward Yan Qili, but this was the only memento left by Yan Qili’s mother; he couldn’t possibly take it. Moreover, in his story settings, this pendant was the love token between Yan Qili and the main lead “Shou”—later, when they shared their feelings, Yan Qili would give this deeply meaningful pendant to the Shou.

Even though the Shou was gone now and there was no “love token” to speak of, the pendant was still incredibly precious to Yan Qili. It was also very valuable in its own right. How could such a precious item be so carelessly used as collateral? If it got chipped, bumped, or lost while in his hands, his life would be over.

An Jing didn’t dare take it, but Yan Qili was firm. It was clear that if words didn’t work, “Unbroken” would do the talking.

An Jing: “…” His neck started to ache again.

In the end, An Jing was forced to accept this “hot potato.” Later, I’ll lock this pendant in the safe along with my property deed! Lock it tight!

An Jing couldn’t bring himself to sit at the same table as Yan Qili for a meal. They had two takeout sets, and the two of them occupied the coffee table and the dining table respectively, with a clear boundary between them.

Drip—

The water-drop notification sound rang. An Jing swallowed his food, bit his chopsticks, and swiped the screen to open WeChat.

At the top of his WeChat was a message from a friend named “Baili”:

Baili: 【Nian Nian, the book signing this Saturday is in Nancheng. Are you really not attending?!】

Baili: 【Distorted screaming.jpg】

Baili was an author on the same website as An Jing. The two of them, signed at the same time, met in an author group and went through their “unknown” period together. They shared similar interests, and Baili was one of An Jing’s few close friends, even though they had never met in real life.

An Jing typed slowly: 【Not going orz】

Baili: 【Why! Why! The organizer just told me they invited you many times but you wouldn’t budge. If you held a signing, your fans would absolutely pack the venue, okay? No need to worry about a small crowd. We’ve known each other for so many years; this is our closest chance to meet!】

An Jing imagined the scene Baili described and was successfully terrified by the thought of a dense crowd of fans: 【Too many people, I have social anxiety QAQ】

Having known him for years, Baili obviously knew about An Jing’s social anxiety and settled for the next best thing: 【Then how about we meet privately? Yan Nian, I suggest you agree quickly; other people have to wait in line to buy a book just to see me.】

Baili knew An Jing never appeared in public, and his real goal wasn’t to persuade An Jing to accept the organizer’s invitation. He just wanted the two of them to have a meal together and meet.

An Jing sent a guilty-looking cat emoji.

An Jing: 【Sorry, I’m also afraid of you QAQ】

Baili: 【…】

Baili: 【One punch from me and you’ll become a fool.jpg】

After declining Baili’s request to meet, An Jing noticed his university group chat—which he had muted—was also talking about the event this Saturday. Someone had even posted the official promotional poster. The most active ID was the familiar “Sheng Li.”

Sheng Li: 【Anyone want to go together? Teacher Baili and Teacher Yan Nian are good friends. If I can see Teacher Baili, I’ll consider it a successful “remote” fan-following. Just dreaming, what if Teacher Yan Nian sneaks to the scene?】

Class Monitor: 【I’m going! I must get Teacher Baili’s signature this time!】

Sheng Li: 【I want Teacher Baili to help me pass a message to Teacher Yan Nian.】

Someone asked Sheng Li what he wanted to say.

Sheng Li: 【Tell him about my heart full of respect and admiration!!】

An Jing: … The hand holding his phone shook uncontrollably. He lifted his sleeve and saw goosebumps all over his arm. He wished he were blind.

Unable to look at the group messages anymore, An Jing opened the official promotional poster. On the poster, Baili’s Weibo profile picture and bio took up the largest space. Just as An Jing was about to look away, he saw a name in the corner that surprised him—

“Wu Yu Zi”???

An Jing used two fingers to zoom in on the poster. After confirming he hadn’t mistaken the name, his spirit instantly lifted. It was Teacher Wu Yu Zi!!

Wu Yu Zi, who started by drawing fan-art, had most of her works stored in fans’ cloud drives. Because cloud drive distribution was limited, she wasn’t very famous. Her “yellow” reputation was a bit hard to speak of.

The reason An Jing knew this so clearly was because… he was also a fan of Wu Yu Zi!

He didn’t expect Wu Yu Zi to be active in public. An Jing was surprised and delighted. A signature from Teacher Wu Yu Zi, his socially anxious heart was deeply moved!