My Virtual Wife From my Phone Has Come to See Me - Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Qi Ying Thought, “There’s Probably No Chance for the Two of Us.”

“I forgot to bring my underwear. Sister, can you help me?”

Qi Ying stared blankly at the sliver of space where the bathroom door was slightly ajar. Snapping back to reality, she asked, “Where are your clothes?”

Hiding behind the door, Xing Xiaochu replied, “In the cabinet in my room.”

Without a word, Qi Ying went straight to Xing Xiaochu’s room. Once inside, she didn’t let her eyes wander; she opened the wardrobe and began searching for the clothes Xiaochu needed. Over the past few days, Xiaochu’s wardrobe had grown significantly—it held garments Qi Ying had made for her as well as ready-to-wear pieces bought from the mall.

However, summer clothes are thin and light, so even with the new additions, the closet still looked somewhat empty.

I should prepare some autumn outfits for the kid, Qi Ying thought.

She didn’t dare look too closely while rummaging for the underwear. She grabbed a white pair along with a set of pajamas. This time, she intentionally chose a long-sleeved top and long pants, figuring they would be less likely to result in any accidental exposure.

Back at the bathroom door, Qi Ying passed the clothes through the gap.

“Thank you.”

Xing Xiaochu reached out a wet hand from behind the door to take the clothes. Qi Ying caught a glimpse of her arm—pale from the bath, slender and long, with skin like white jade. It flashed before her eyes for a second before vanishing.

All that remained was the intense, cool scent of osmanthus.

Qi Ying’s heart thudded incessantly. She felt the heat she had just suppressed flare up again, as if it were about to consume her. She immediately bolted back to the kitchen and poured herself a large glass of ice water to cool down.

Soon, Xing Xiaochu emerged from the bathroom.

This time, the scent of osmanthus on her seemed much fainter.

Qi Ying looked over and saw Xiaochu with wet hair, her beautiful dark eyes looking toward her with caution and care, like a young fawn. She was now dressed in her modest pajamas, covering everything from her neck down to her ankles, leaving only her toes visible.

Qi Ying let out a silent sigh of relief.

Xing Xiaochu looked at Qi Ying, called out “Sister” in a small voice, and then, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt, asked: “Does the house… have any ‘suppressant patches’?”

Qi Ying was puzzled. “What are those?”

The tips of Xing Xiaochu’s ears turned red. She struggled to think of how to explain it to an Alpha like Qi Ying, who seemed to lack any basic AO (Alpha/Omega) common sense. After a moment of hesitation, she said, “It’s something you stick on the back of your neck to prevent pheromones from spreading.”

Qi Ying didn’t quite understand, but she remembered the house was supposed to be fully stocked. She told Xiaochu to wait and began rummaging through the TV cabinet, quickly pulling out a first-aid kit.

“Is it this?” Qi Ying pulled out something that looked like a large adhesive bandage. Seeing that it was labeled ‘AO Universal Suppressant Patch’, she turned to ask Xiaochu.

Xiaochu walked over, leaned down to look, and seeing it was indeed the universal patch, she nodded. “Yes, that’s it.”

It was the first time Qi Ying had seen such a thing. She examined it curiously. “How do you use it? Do you just stick it on?”

Xiaochu nodded again.

Qi Ying said, “Let me help you.”

Xiaochu’s pupils wavered slightly. She looked at Qi Ying, feeling a bit lost. In this world, an Alpha offering to apply a suppressant patch for an Omega was essentially the same as offering to help her get dressed in her underwear. But seeing Qi Ying’s genuine, blank expression, Xiaochu couldn’t tell if the woman truly didn’t know or was just pretending.

“I—I can do it myself.” With her cheeks burning, Xiaochu snatched the patch from Qi Ying’s hand and dashed back into her room.

Qi Ying crouched by the TV cabinet, feeling bewildered, wondering if she had said something wrong.

Fortunately, Xiaochu was quick. Barely thirty seconds passed before she opened her door again, though for some reason, she seemed reluctant to step out. Qi Ying said, “It’s late. Dry your hair and go to sleep. I’ll find some time in the next day or two to go to the school and finish your paperwork.”

“Thank you, Sister.” Xiaochu glanced at the kitten already asleep in its bed and said reluctantly, “Then… I’ll go to sleep now.”

“Okay,” Qi Ying reminded her. “Dry your hair properly before sleeping, or you’ll get a headache.”

Xiaochu nodded and closed her door.

Only after the door was shut did Qi Ying pick up her phone to research what a “suppressant patch” actually was. When she finally understood the context, her eyes twitched.

No wonder Xiaochu looked at me like that.

She had unknowingly behaved like a pervert again. If Xiaochu weren’t so good-tempered, Qi Ying figured she would have been reported for sexual harassment several times by now.

Feeling a bit of a headache coming on, Qi Ying decided to turn in early.

After logging out of the game in her bedroom, Qi Ying’s phone received a message. She opened it to find it was from Shi Yu.

Shi Yu: [Are you asleep?]

Not knowing how to respond, Qi Ying pretended she hadn’t seen it and tucked herself into bed, falling asleep with a clear conscience. She didn’t reply until the next day, but by then, Shi Yu seemed to have sensed the distance. It took her half a day to reply with a simple “Mm,” and the conversation died there.

Qi Ying thought, There’s probably no chance for the two of us.

…

After two busy days, Qi Ying finally managed to squeeze out an afternoon to handle Xing Xiaochu’s school registration. The teachers at No. 3 Middle School were efficient; two hours later, they informed Qi Ying that the procedures were complete and all that remained was the tuition payment.

After paying the fees, Qi Ying successfully collected Xiaochu’s school uniforms, textbooks, and student ID. She headed back carrying several large bags.

Walking down the street, Qi Ying was drenched in sweat. Although the school was only a fifteen-minute walk from home, the summer heat was brutal. She began to wonder if she should check the mall for a car; if a car was too expensive, a small scooter would do.

Ding—

Just as she was thinking, her phone let out a notification. Qi Ying opened it to see a system message from the game.

[Dear Designer, congratulations on successfully completing Xing Xiaochu’s school enrollment! We believe that after this period of interaction, you have gained a preliminary understanding of her and have successfully unlocked the ‘Learning’ function. Moving forward, you will arrange for Xing Xiaochu to attend various training classes to improve her grades and prepare for her future development. Her career path is up to you! Click ‘Learning’ in the upper right corner to start scheduling Xiaochu’s curriculum!]

Qi Ying raised an eyebrow.

Finally, it’s starting to feel like a proper life-simulation game.

Qi Ying tapped into the ‘Learning’ tab. Inside were charts showing the progress of all of Xiaochu’s previous subjects. Looking at the data, she realized the girl’s academic strengths were quite lopsided. Her grades in liberal arts were nearly perfect, while her science scores barely scraped past the passing mark.

Specifically, in subjects like physics and chemistry, she had even scored in the 40s or 50s a few times.

Qi Ying scrolled further and saw the charts for the arts category—they were completely blank.

At this point, Qi Ying already had an idea.

She planned to steer Xing Xiaochu toward the arts. After all, with the girl being so beautiful, it wouldn’t be hard for her to become famous. It just required careful planning. Qi Ying felt the weight of her responsibility.