Stubborn Natasha

"There aren't many people I admire, but you're one of them," Lin Xiyue said. "Let me tell you a little secret: I'm actually a pretty decent hacker. If you ever need help, hit me up. My WeChat ID is LXY****312." The two of them were still speaking in Mandarin. Natasha was genuinely angry now, reminding them expressionlessly, "Please speak Russian!" Chen Ge noted down Lin Xiyue's WeChat ID and said gently, "All right. Natasha, have you eaten yet?" Natasha kept her face icy. Her features were naturally aloof, and when she was angry, she looked even colder. In the past, Chen Ge had always thought the idiom "cold as frost" was an exaggeration, but now he no longer thought so. Natasha's expression and demeanor were the perfect embodiment of cold frost and eyes like freezing stars. "How could you show Lin your body? You promised to marry me once I graduate!" "Yeah, I did promise you that, but I never said I wouldn't date in the meantime." Natasha's eyes went wide with shock. She stared at Chen Ge in utter disbelief. What kind of scoundrel logic was that? "You... I hate you! I'm never talking to you again!" Tossing out that toothless threat, Natasha hung up the video call in a huff and glared fiercely at Lin Xiyue. Lin Xiyue was utterly speechless. Spending the past few years abroad hadn't made Chen Ge see the light—it had made him completely cut loose! Back in the day, he had been a total clam. Even though they were from the same village and had been elementary school classmates, all the words she had exchanged with him throughout their childhood didn't add up to a hundred sentences. Now, not only had he become sunny, cheerful, wild, and unrestrained, but how on earth had he turned into a playboy? "Girl, take my advice," Lin Xiyue urged. "A man like Chen Ge isn't right for you. Look at that scumbag face of his—he's clearly an arsonist of women's hearts!" Natasha blinked, confused. "An arsonist of women's hearts? What does that mean?" "Well... it means the kind of bad guy who flirts with women everywhere and makes their hearts flutter, but never takes responsibility for any of them." After hearing Lin Xiyue's explanation, Natasha's face darkened. Her older brother often shared daily life in Syria with her, mentioning countless times how skilled Chen Ge was with artillery, how sharp and wise he was, and how deeply loyal and righteous he was. If not for Chen Ge, he would have died long ago. That had filled her with immense gratitude toward Chen Ge and fostered a spark of adoration. Today, during their video call, after seeing his handsome face and physique, she had taken the initiative to ask him out, only to be turned down. That had shifted her mindset once again. She was very confident in her own looks, yet Chen Ge had held fast to his principles and refused to lead her on or hold her back. That alone proved how upright his character was. So when Chen Ge had rattled off those scumbag lines just now, she assumed he had done it on purpose to anger her, hoping she would give up on him, focus on her studies, graduate, get a job, marry an ordinary man, and live a peaceful, stable life. She would not allow anyone to slander such an honorable, upright man. "What right do you have to speak ill of him? Hammer Brother isn't that kind of person! You have to apologize to him!" "..." The corner of Lin Xiyue's mouth twitched violently. She had to admire Chen Ge's charm—he had bewitched Natasha into a complete fool. She had known Natasha for two years and hung out with her often. She knew Natasha's personality inside out: gentle, kind, pure, and so sensible it made your heart ache for her. Her flaw was that she was stubborn as a mule, obstinate to a fault. Once she set her mind on something, not even a tank could drag her back. She was the same with people. If this stubborn girl decided you were a good person, then to her you were the best person in the world, and she would pour her heart and soul out for you. For example, the two of them had met simply because Natasha had run a high fever, collapsed outside Lin Xiyue's door, and Lin Xiyue had carried her downstairs and rushed her to the hospital. From then on, Natasha had decided Lin Xiyue was a good person, treating her as her best friend and confiding everything in her. Chen Ge was the savior of Natasha's older brother, so it was only natural for Natasha to develop feelings for him. Besides, Chen Ge possessed an upright character, his looks fit Western aesthetic tastes to a tee, and his physique was absurdly good. His personality was also the kind women adored: irreverent yet revealing a grounded sincerity, serious yet tinged with a roguish edge, high-spirited, wild, and unruly, as though nothing in the world could bind him. A man like that was an outright incubus—a killer of both men and women alike. Lin Xiyue assumed a grave expression and said solemnly, "I apologize. I offer him my sincere apologies." Once Natasha's anger passed, guilt crept in. Taking Lin Xiyue's hand, she said softly, "Lin, I'm sorry. I know you mean well. I shouldn't have lost my temper with you just now. Please forgive me for being so willful." Lin Xiyue pinched Natasha's cheek and chuckled. "Do you think I'm that petty? Your big sister isn't mad. Don't overthink it. Tell me the truth: do you really like Sledgehammer?" Natasha pursed her lips and pondered for a few seconds before answering with a conflicted tone, "Half of it is that I like him, and the other half is that I want Hammer Brother to return to a normal life. His contract expires in six months, and he wants to start a PMC. My brother will definitely follow Hammer Brother to keep working as a mercenary. I'm afraid..." *** In a hotel room in Donetsk, Chen Ge opened WeChat and sent Lin Xiyue a friend request. LXY****312—the initials of her name plus her birthday. Her WeChat display name was "The Moon Doesn't Sleep, Neither Do I". His birthday was February 12, 2001, making Lin Xiyue exactly one month younger than him. "A pretty decent hacker? Hmm... just in case, I'd better delete a few things so that female hooligan doesn't get any dirt on me." Chen Ge muttered under his breath and decisively deleted some compromising files. *Ding-dong.* Lin Xiyue accepted his friend request and immediately fired over an arrogant message. *The Moon Doesn't Sleep, Neither Do I: Old Chen, it takes my computer ten seconds to boot up. You have ten seconds to preserve your innocence.* Chen Ge's fiery temper flared instantly. *Acting this cocky, are we?* He untied the bath towel wrapped around his waist, got out of bed, snapped two photos of his firm rear end, and typed back: *Come on then, let me see what you've got!* A few seconds later, the photos he had just taken were sent right back to him by Lin Xiyue, followed closely by a barrage of meme stickers: a wide-eyed baby, GG Bond's jaw hitting the floor, Hong Shixian saying "You're so shameless"... Chen Ge was dumbfounded, staring blankly at the screen in his hand. *Holy crap! She's actually this good?* *The Moon Doesn't Sleep, Neither Do I: Holy crap, Chen Ge, you're truly shameless. You literally just took those! But having said that, damn, it really is perky! Perkier than Captain America's!* *The Moon Doesn't Sleep, Neither Do I: [rubbing hands in excitement.jpg]* *The Moon Doesn't Sleep, Neither Do I: [you're so bad, I love it.jpg]* *The Moon Doesn't Sleep, Neither Do I: 2,000—please collect payment!* *The Moon Doesn't Sleep, Neither Do I: Big sis doesn't look for free; here's a tip. Take a few more. A thousand a shot, paid on delivery!* Chen Ge laughed in exasperation. He set Lin Xiyue's contact remark to "Black Fatty" and replied: *Who do you think you're looking down on? Do you think I'm hurting for your chump change?* *Black Fatty: Ten thousand a shot!* *Chen Ge: Get lost!* *Black Fatty: You actually fucking nicknamed me Black Fatty?! I'm giving you one chance: change it to "Great Beauty Xiyue", or else your contacts on TG, VK, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Telegram, QQ, Douyin, TikTok—every single social media app you have—will receive this photo.* Having delivered her threat, Lin Xiyue sent over a photo—a candid shot that sent Chen Ge's blood pressure through the roof. He remembered this photo. Last month, during an ambush against IS terrorists in the Syrian desert, he had slipped away to take a dump in a dry riverbed. Someone had secretly snapped a photo of him, and it was crystal clear. Big Bear could be ruled out. Lightbulb? Manhole Cover? Night Cat? Manhole Cover! He remembered now. Last night, before heading out on his solo mission, Manhole Cover had seemed to mention having a photo of him taking a dump. *Damn it, Manhole Cover, you're a dead man. I said it, and even God couldn't save you now, you bastard.* Wait, Lin Xiyue actually hacked into Manhole Cover's phone? Did she find Manhole Cover from his contacts and hack into his phone that fast? How much time had even passed?! Chen Ge's scalp tingled, goosebumps breaking out all over his body. He silently thanked his lucky stars that he had deleted the things that could have caused his social death just moments ago!