Why did the system take my request to take photos with a cosplayer seriously?

Wenjing paused for a moment, then smiled.

"Ok!"

She nodded vigorously, smiling like a child who had stolen candy.

More than an hour later, the car stopped downstairs at Wenjing's apartment building.

At noon in late August, the sun was scorching, and the cicadas were chirping in a heart-wrenching manner.

The gray-white exterior walls of the old residential buildings were scorching hot from the sun, and even the wind felt hot.

Wenjing did not get off the bus immediately.

She sat in the passenger seat, her fingers rubbing against the seatbelt buckle for a while, before turning to face Ding Heng.

Ding Heng looked at the girl's small face so close to his own and raised an eyebrow slightly.

"what?"

"Aren't you going to rub it anymore?"

Wenjing muttered softly, "After I go back, I won't be able to get it massaged for a whole week."

Ding Heng was both amused and exasperated, and reached out to cup Wen Jing's cheeks.

He didn't mischievously knead it as he usually did; he just gently pinched it.

Soft and warm.

"Go."

He let go of her hand: "It's only been a week. I just couldn't resist. I drove over to see you in a little while."

Wenjing nodded obediently, opened the car door, and went around to the trunk to take out her luggage.

The sunlight was so bright that she squinted. She dragged her suitcase a few steps, then turned back.

Ding Heng sat in the car, looking at her through the windshield.

Wenjing waved to him.

Ding Heng nodded.

She turned and walked into the apartment building.

The iron gate slammed shut behind me, shutting out the midday sun.

The hallway was dark and had a musty smell from years of dampness.

Wenjing dragged her suitcase up the stairs, one step at a time.

The voice-activated light didn't turn on. Wenjing stomped her foot, but it still didn't light up, which made her inexplicably irritated.

Ding Heng is right. It's only been a week apart, and Xingcheng and Zhuzhou are close by, less than two hours by car.

But she still felt empty inside, as if a small piece of her heart had been ripped out.

The next seven days seem to be longer than the entire summer vacation...

Fourth floor.

Wenjing stopped and took out her keys from her bag.

Through the thin door panel, she could hear the noise coming from inside the house.

"This is mine! I got it first!"

It was his seven-year-old brother, Wentao, whose voice was as loud as a small trumpet.

"You're talking nonsense! I clearly put it on the coffee table!"

Wen Shu's voice was even louder: "You snatched it without even asking?"

"Mom—! My sister's swearing again!"

"Wenshu, how old are you? Why are you still arguing with your younger brother?"

Mother Luo Guihua's voice broke in, carrying her usual weariness and impatience: "What's wrong with giving in to your younger brother? He's young and doesn't understand, and neither do you."

Why should I always have to give in?!

Wen Shu's voice trembled with tears: "He's so young! He's almost eight years old! When I was eight, why didn't you let me have my way with someone else too!"

"Can you be compared to your brother...?"

"Why should it be different!"

……

The argument continued, and Wenjing stood outside the door, her thoughts returning to reality.

She took a deep breath and inserted the key into the lock.

"Click".

The door opened.

In the living room, Wentao was clutching a bag of potato chips, his face still beaming with unconcealed smugness.

Wen Shu stood by the sofa, her eyes red-rimmed.

Luo Guihua peeked out from the kitchen, saw her second daughter, and paused for a moment.

"I'm home?"

"Ah."

Wenjing dragged her suitcase in and softly called out, "Mom."

"Second sister, did you bring me anything?"

Her younger brother came over excitedly asking for a gift, but Wenjing ignored him and silently dragged her suitcase into her room.

The room is still the same.

Two single beds were placed side by side, and Wen Shu's textbooks and miscellaneous items were piled on the desk. The curtains were half-drawn, and the light coming in was dull and gray.

She opened her suitcase and began taking things out one by one.

Luo Guihua pushed open the door and came in, holding a cup of cold tea.

"Have some water."

Luo Guihua placed the cup on the desk and then helped Wenjing tidy up her bed.

"How much money did you make this summer?"

She asked the question casually, as if they were having a friendly chat.

Wenjing's hands didn't stop folding clothes: "Three thousand five."

"Oh."

Luo Guihua nodded and did some mental calculations: "If the family can scrape together another two thousand or so, the tuition should be enough, right?"

Wenjing paused for a moment.

She looked up at her mother.

Luo Guihua avoided her daughter's gaze and bent down to straighten the wrinkles on the bed sheet.

"You might get less living expenses for the first two months of school."

She tried to keep her tone calm: "Five hundred...is that enough?"

Wenjing didn't say anything.

"The main problem is that your younger brother and sister are starting school soon, and there's a ton of money to be paid for tutoring, school uniforms, and books."

Luo Guihua sighed in distress: "The factory hasn't paid your and your father's bonuses yet because they're short of funds. We'll make up for it when they're paid out."

The sound of cicadas outside the window drifted in through the glass, muffled and indistinct.

Wenjing lowered her head and continued folding clothes.

"fine."

She said, "I'll figure it out myself."

Luo Guihua breathed a sigh of relief at her daughter's "sensible" attitude. Just as she was about to leave, her gaze suddenly fell on the brand-new computer bag next to her.

"This computer...did you buy it?"

Wenjing's movements froze for a moment.

"Borrowed from a friend."

"friend?"

Luo Guihua asked suspiciously, "What friend?"

Wenjing lowered her eyes and pushed her laptop bag further into the bed.

"A friend I met with Yan hope."

Her voice trailed off: "You don't know me."

Luo Guihua's expression softened upon hearing Zhao Yanxi's name.

"Oh."

She glanced at the laptop bag again: "Can this laptop be used for gaming?"

Wenjing didn't know why she asked that, and nodded hesitantly: "I think... it's possible."

"That's perfect."

Luo Guihua's tone became lighter: "Your brother has been going to his classmate's house a lot lately, saying he's going to play some games, and he stays there all day. It's so hot, and he keeps running around like that. Other parents may not say anything, but they're probably annoyed."

Why don't you let him play with this computer for a few days? Anyway, school starts soon, it's just a matter of a few days."

Wenjing was stunned.

She looked up at her mother and opened her mouth.

No.

No.