I was approached by a cat-eared girl.

"I want to sleep in them."

“…”

Chen Shuo was speechless for a moment, feeling that this girl really didn't treat him like an outsider, and was constantly giving him perks.

He wanted to find a reason to stay in the living room a little longer, but then felt it wasn't appropriate. After hesitating for a moment, he turned off the living room light and said casually, "Wear it if you want. If you like it, I'll buy you a few more online later."

After saying that, he turned and went into the bedroom.

A dozen minutes later.

A slight noise came from the sofa. After a moment, Bai Xiaoqi glanced at the closed bedroom door, her azure eyes gleaming faintly in the darkness. Then, carrying something in her arms, she slipped into the bathroom.

........

........

In the bedroom, Chen Shuo, lying on the bed, was a little confused when he suddenly heard the sound of running water coming from the bathroom.

What's the situation?

You just said you didn't want to shower, so why are you going in to take a shower now?

Women's thoughts are indeed hard to fathom.

Shaking his head, Chen Shuo stopped trying to figure out her thoughts and continued to silently watch those perverts brag in the lurking book club.

Right now, the LSPs in the book club are all discussing that the female lead's character seems to be a bit off lately.

The female lead used to seem quite independent, even a bit aloof, but these past few days she seems to be developing into a cute and innocent type.

A group of people chimed in.

Seeing this discussion, Chen Shuo hesitated for a moment, then browsed through his image library, found a lewd anime image, and posted it in the group.

The discussion in the group immediately went off-topic: "How dare this author post something like this? Even a random peach I post is more astringent than this."

Then all sorts of erotic images started flying around, and no one discussed the issue of the character's image being ruined anymore.

Seeing the situation in the group, Chen Shuo finally put down his phone. Forget about ruining his persona, isn't being cute and innocent better?

Chapter Twenty-Seven: If You're Not Happy, Why Do You Write Web Novels?

The next ten days or so passed peacefully. Bai Xiaoqi mostly stayed at home, except for going out with Chen Shuo in the afternoon for a stroll and having dinner at a small restaurant.

Before he knew it, it was the weekend. Chen Shuo got up as usual and started writing. In the afternoon, he suddenly received a call from his family, asking him to come home.

After hanging up the phone, he came out of the bedroom, and while changing his shoes, he said to Bai Xiaoqi on the sofa, "I have to go home for a while, and I might be back a little late."

"Home? Isn't this your home?"

"This place is too, of course, but I'm talking about my parents' house."

Chen Shuo answered casually, then added, "Make your own dinner. Don't wait for me. I'll be eating at my parents' house tonight."

"it is good."

Seeing her nod, Chen Shuo took out the key from the drawer and was about to leave when he turned back and glanced at her legs covered in black stockings. Then he looked at the several pairs of stockings fluttering in the wind on the balcony.

Thinking about it carefully, ever since she bought those stockings, she's been wearing them constantly, even to bed.

While I don't deny that I've certainly had a visual feast, seeing the same thing every day is really getting a bit tiring.

I really miss seeing her bare legs now.

If all else fails, you could at least change the color; don't keep using black.

He wanted to say something, but after hesitating for a long time, Chen Shuo still didn't know how to start the conversation, so he just said to her, "I'm leaving."

He then closed the door and went downstairs.

With Chen Shuo gone, Bai Xiaoqi was left alone in the small living room. She stared at the closed door, then looked around. Everything was quiet, and the familiar sound of typing on the keyboard was no longer heard in the bedroom.

Feeling the silence, she suddenly felt an indescribable emotion rising within her.

This feeling seemed to have never occurred to her before, so much so that she didn't know how to describe it; she just felt a little empty inside.

After a while, she looked down at the stockings on her legs. They were indeed useful. Although the man kept staring at her when she first put them on, he had looked at her much less often in the last two days.

He only glanced back at her when he left.

This was supposed to be a good thing, but for some reason, she felt a little conflicted.

I felt somewhat relieved, yet also a little lost.

Coupled with the emptiness she felt earlier, a mix of emotions welled up inside her. Bai Xiaoqi shook her head to make the cat ears on her head disappear, then got up and ran to the balcony, leaning on the railing and looking down.

She had excellent eyesight and could see the man standing at the entrance of the residential area from afar; he was talking to another person.

Chen Shuo was indeed talking to someone, specifically a man wearing a vest, shorts, and flip-flops.

No matter how you look at it, the other person seems like an ordinary commoner.

But his identity is actually a little different; he is a police officer.

The policeman lived in the neighborhood and was a local police officer from the nearby police station. His name was Du Bin, and he was about the same age as Chen Shuo. The two used to play games at an internet cafe near the neighborhood, and they became acquainted over time.

Nearly a month ago, when Bai Xiaoqi came to seek justice, Chen Shuo gave her directions, saying that there was a policeman who specialized in upholding justice for people, and that was the one he was talking about.

At this moment, Du Bin was riding a small electric scooter. It was the weekend, and he had finally managed to get a day off. He was just about to go out and surf the internet for a while when Chen Shuo stopped him at the entrance of the residential area.

"If you lose your ID card, just take your household registration book to apply for a replacement. There's nothing else to say. The processing fee is 20 yuan. If you want it expedited, so you can get it out on the same day, it will cost 60 yuan."

"What if you don't have a household registration?"

"No household registration? Oh, you mean you don't have a household registration booklet? That's a bit troublesome. You'll need to get a replacement household registration booklet first, and then you can get a replacement ID card."

Upon hearing this, Chen Shuo waved his hand and said, "You didn't understand what I meant. What I wanted to ask is, if you don't have a household registration and can't provide proof of identity, what should you do to get an ID card?"

Du Bin was taken aback for a moment, then subconsciously said, "Isn't that being an unregistered resident?"

“Yes, that’s what it means to be an unregistered resident.” Chen Shuo nodded and continued his questioning, “So, if you’re an unregistered resident, what should you do to get an ID card?”

Du Bin looked at him, puzzled, and asked, "Why are you asking this out of the blue?"

"Well, I was writing something, and the plot involved this. I wanted to make it as realistic as possible, so I thought I'd consult you, since you're a professional."

At the end, Chen Shuo offered a small compliment, but Du Bin waved his hand in response, saying, "I'm not a professional, I'm just a police officer."

He was very clear about his own position. Before becoming a policeman, he always thought that he would definitely be dealing with all kinds of shocking cases in the future. After becoming a beat cop, he realized that imagination is imagination and reality is reality, and the gap between the two is actually so big.

Every day is spent dealing with all sorts of trivial matters, like arguments between husband and wife or conflicts with neighbors.

The child cries every day, and the adults make a scene.

Even if you happen to encounter a petty thief, it's considered a major case.

Now, the young man who once had dreams has long since become despondent. Whenever he's not working, he just hangs around in a tank top and shorts.

Du Bin scratched his hairy legs in a very unladylike manner. "You're making such a big deal out of writing this with research included. I remember your online novels are all about the return of the God of War and the Crooked-Mouthed Dragon King. Why are you being so serious? Just make something up."

"Those 'crooked-mouthed war gods' you mentioned belong to the 'feel-good' genre, but mine is different. What I wrote is not a 'feel-good' genre at all; it has to be logical."

Du Bin thought for a moment, then asked in confusion, "Aren't online novels all about having fun? Why would you write an online novel if you weren't having fun?"

Holy crap?

This soul-searching question stunned Chen Shuo for a moment. Yes, why would I write web novels if I'm unhappy with something?

It must have been really tough on my readers.

My slice-of-life posts are so unsatisfying, how did you guys manage to read them?

“I’m not talking about this with you. If you say any more, I’ll want to cut the book off and castrate it. Just get straight to the point about how unregistered residents can get registered.”

"I don't know about what you're talking about either. Our police station isn't the household registration department."

Du Bin didn't suspect that Chen Shuo had ulterior motives for asking this question, although it was a bit strange for an online novelist to not write light novels but instead pursue realism.

But as eccentric as he may be, he is still a writer. Since he is a writer, he should do some research and consulting from time to time.

That makes sense.

He frowned and pondered for a moment before speaking, "If unregistered residents want to get registered, they can only do so by providing proof of identity, such as finding their parents and providing a blood relationship test. Um, and also..."

It's incredibly troublesome. You can't even prove your identity, so how can you register your household? It's a complete paradox.

I suggest you either change the plot or just make something up; whatever you've written, the readers probably won't mind.

"Okay then, I'll think about it when I get back. Thanks for your help."

"Oh, it's nothing, there's no trouble at all."

Du Bin was about to leave on his electric scooter when he saw Chen Shuo still standing there. He patted the back of the scooter and said, "Let's go online. I recently learned the 'Old Six' strategy from a streamer. It's really good. Let's sneak up on people together."

"A ghost..."

Hearing those two words, Chen Shuo was a little tempted; playing games and tricking others was really fun.

But after thinking about it, he shook his head and said, "I'll do it another day. I need to go to my parents' place now."

"Alright, I'll go by myself then."

"Well, pay attention to safety on the road."

Watching the local police officer ride away on his electric scooter, Chen Shuo let out a slight sigh of relief. Just as he was about to leave, he couldn't help but look back one last time.

He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he always felt like someone was watching him.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Returning Home

Chen Shuo took the bus home, went upstairs and opened the door, only to see Chen Jianwen sitting on the sofa watching TV.

"Dad, where's Mom?"

"Going out to buy groceries."

"Going out to buy groceries at this hour?"

Chen Shuo checked the time; it was almost 5 p.m., and the market should have closed long ago.

Chen Jianwen ignored the question, glanced outside the door, and asked, "Did you come back alone? Where's your role-playing girlfriend?"

"Girlfriend is girlfriend, no need to add the prefix 'role-playing,' it sounds weird."