Murong Shi had two phone numbers; one was for work, and the other was for private use. She gave the latter to Xu Chuanchuan. Unless Murong Mingkun or Linda sold her out, there was no way Xu Chuanchuan could find out this was her number.
Since when did it begin? Murong Shi pondered.
After Murong Shi started paying attention to a certain someone's Weibo account, Xu Chuanchuan had started suspecting her identity. She never expected that Xu Chuanchuan, someone who typically had a dull and quiet personality, would have such a sensitive and delicate mind.
Although Murong Shi found that she could relieve her boredom by teasing Xu Chuanchuan, she didn't want the other party constantly probing into her identity. Hence, she gave Linda's address to Xu Chuanchuan.
Knock, knock, knock—
Accompanied by the sound of knocking, Murong Mingshu's voice came through the door, "Little Shi, are you still awake?"
Shifting her attention away from her phone, Murong Shi raised her voice slightly and replied, "Mom, it's still early."
"I'm not here to urge you to sleep. I heard a cat meowing just now. Since when did you get a cat?"
Without the slightest hint of embarrassment on her face, Murong Shi said, "Mom, you misheard. I'm not raising a cat. It was the sound from a video."
"Is that so? That gave me a scare. Anyways, I'll go watch TV with your Aunt Lian."
The next moment, sounds of footsteps came through the door, and these footsteps gradually faded into nothing.
Murong Shi didn't know whether to laugh or cry in this situation.
Murong Mingshu was allergic to all things furry, so their family had never raised a pet before.
While Murong Shi was lying on the bed, she had suddenly received a call from a number belonging to the same city. She had initially thought it was a call from a scammer or advertiser, but when she saw that the last four digits were "4224," she couldn't help but feel as if she had seen this number before.
After putting some thought into the matter, Murong Shi quickly remembered that she had asked Linda to look into this number just some time ago.
It was fortunate she had a good memory. Had she rashly accepted the call, she would've given herself away.
Murong Shi never expected Xu Chuanchuan to call her. Forced by the situation, she ended up mimicking the meowing of a cat. However, her mimicry was so indistinguishable from the real thing that even she was amazed by herself.
This was probably the most psychotic thing Murong Shi had done in her 26 years of life. Ever since she had started reading a certain someone's novels, she noticed that her behavior was getting increasingly out of her control. This was especially true when she was alone by herself late at night.
If Xu Chuanchuan still refused to give up… Murong Shi decided that she would have to take more ruthless actions.
…
A carton of cultured milk was not enough to calm Xu Chuanchuan's current mood, so she went and grabbed another carton.
After waiting for her computer to boot up and her QQ messenger to log in automatically, Xu Chuanchuan had already finished her second carton of cultured milk.
While facing the screen and letting out a long burp, Xu Chuanchuan recalled the criticism Murong Shi gave her during the day, and she couldn't help but feel even more depressed. She then clicked on a certain someone's avatar.
I Love Malatang: "Are you looking down on my intelligence? You're clearly lying to me. [Aggrieved]"
The first half of the message was something Murong Shi said to her today, and Xu Chuanchuan felt that it was the perfect sentence to use as retaliation against Passerby Shi right now.
Passerby Shi: "Is speaking while pinching your throat not a form of lying as well?"
She managed to discern even that?
Blushing, Xu Chuanchuan replied: "I was just nervous."
Passerby Shi: "You're not committing a crime, so what's there to be nervous about?"
Xu Chuanchuan: …
Was probing into someone's identity not considered a crime?
Of course, Xu Chuanchuan would never reveal this to the other party.
Xu Chuanchuan noticed that whenever she conversed with Passerby Shi, the other party could always effortlessly silence her. Even if she had reason on her side, the other party could make it sound as if she was the guilty party. This made her feel as if she was going up against Murong Shi. This was also why she kept on suspecting Passerby Shi's identity.
After pondering over the matter, Xu Chuanchuan decided to go out on a limb.
I Love Malatang: "I just think that your manner of speaking resembles a certain someone I know in real life."
Passerby Shi: "So?"
I Love Malatang: "Nevermind…"
In all honesty, Xu Chuanchuan was rather afraid that Passerby Shi would be Murong Shi. If that was the case, she might really have to consider contacting her publisher and changing her pen name. Though, doing so would cost her a considerable price.
Passerby Shi: "Dear author, we are currently speaking through the internet. Personally, I think it is better for people on the internet to keep a little privacy and mystery between each other. What do you think?"
These words might seem courteous, but Xu Chuanchuan could sense a hint of annoyance and anger coming from them, and she felt that she had gone a little too far.
I Love Malatang: "I think…you are right. I'm sorry."
Passerby Shi: "Of course, I don't exactly mind if you wish to remove this barrier between us. I just so happen to be single right now."
I Love Malatang: "*Cough* I don't seem to understand what you mean?"
Passerby Shi: "What I mean is, if you really want to learn of my private matters, become my girlfriend. I won't hold anything back from my girlfriend."
!!!
Xu Chuanchuan was so surprised that she sent her mouse flying and her keyboard flipping. However, she quickly calmed herself down and reorganized her messy desk.
I Love Malatang: "Tycoon, I was wrong! Please ignore all of what I just said! I promise I won't ever harass you in the future! I wish you a pleasant read! Hope you find a new girlfriend soon!"
Immediately after sending this message, Xu Chuanchuan closed the conversation window and logged out of her QQ messenger, afraid that she would see an even more frightening message the next second. She then lay down on her desk and patted her chest to suppress her shock.
Now that the other party had spoken such words, was there still any need for doubt? After this episode, Xu Chuanchuan was absolutely and positively certain that Passerby Shi was positively and absolutely not Murong Shi!!!
This interlude had thoroughly killed any mood Xu Chuanchuan had for writing, so she turned off her computer. She then dragged out a heavy cardboard box from under her bed.
The box held the physical books she had yet to give away. After grabbing one copy of each novel, she packed them up neatly into a smaller cardboard box.
There were still some leftover shipping labels, so she grabbed one and started filling in the details. However, when arriving at the sender's name, she hesitated.
What should she write for the sender's name?
She definitely couldn't write her pen name.
Now that Xu Chuanchuan knew Passerby Shi wasn't Murong Shi, though, she didn't have anything to be afraid of, so she ended up writing her real name.
Xu Chuanchuan hadn't practiced her caligraphy much when she was young, so her handwriting was nothing to write home about. Fortunately, it was delicate and neat.
When Xu Chuanchuan arrived at the recipient's name, she wrote the words "Passerby Shi" as slowly and beautifully as possible to preserve some favorability. However, as she couldn't remember the other party's address and phone number, she had no choice but to revisit the message that a certain someone had sent to her using her phone.
Although Xu Chuanchuan felt a little nervous when she opened the conversation window, it was fortunate that Passerby Shi did not send her any more messages. Hurriedly she found the message containing the address and took a screenshot of it.
Since Xu Chuanchuan decided not to write anything today, she found herself feeling a little empty. After taking an early shower, she laid on her bed, flipped through her conversation log with Passerby Shi, and started reflecting on her actions.
Xu Chuanchuan realized that she had acted excessively during this period, and she couldn't help but feel apologetic toward both Passerby Shi and Murong Shi. I'll just treat those six books as a sign of apology for Passerby Shi.
As for Murong Shi's side… Don't tell me I have to treat her to another meal?
I doubt she'll accept my offer again.
When Xu Chuanchuan recalled the scene in the malatang restaurant that day, she couldn't help but feel embarrassed. Forget it, forget it. I should just focus on doing my job properly.
The courier arrived to receive her package on the same night, and Xu Chuanchuan still vividly remembered what the courier had said to her when he saw the recipient's address. With a stunned look on his face, he said, "You're using a delivery service for such a nearby location?"
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Xu Chuanchuan asked, "Where is this community located?"
"It's over at Mingde Lake. It's only around five kilometers away from here."
Surprised, Xu Chuanchuan exclaimed, "It's so close by?"
"It is close." After weighing the package in his hand, the courier said, "This thing's quite heavy as well. You'd be better off delivering it yourself."
However, while the courier's suggestion sounded reasonable, Xu Chuanchuan didn't wish to come across an awkward situation where she bumped into Passerby Shi. She felt that what Passerby Shi said was right and that it would be better to keep some mystery in their relationship.
Smiling awkwardly, Xu Chuanchuan said, "I don't have the time."
With money to earn, the courier didn't try to dissuade Xu Chuanchuan anymore. After weighing the package, he gave her a receipt, collected the delivery fee, and left.
…
Because the delivery destination in the same city, Xu Chuanchuan's package arrived around noon the next day. When the courier called, Murong Shi was in a meeting with the Business Department's manager. Interrupting the manager, she said, "Sorry, but let me take this call."
After the meeting ended, Murong Shi whispered to Linda, "The delivery has arrived. I told him to leave it at your community's guard post. Help me bring it to the company tomorrow."
Linda didn't put too much thought into the matter as she answered, "Alright."
On the third day, Murong Shi finally received Xu Chuanchuan's books.
After placing the cardboard box on Murong Shi's desk, Linda looked at the shipping label and said, "What an interesting seller. They're actually called Xu XX."
Murong Shi: "..."
"Huh? Passerby Shi? Is this your pen name on Taobao?"[1]
"Mhm." Murong Shi gave a perfunctory response and dragged the delivery box to herself. She then said, "Thanks."
Looking at the box curiously, Linda asked, "You've begun shopping online? What did you buy?"
Instead of providing an answer, Murong Shi only gave Linda a silent stare.
"..." Linda sensibly shut up and left the room.
Afterward, Murong Shi unhurriedly dissected the package.
There were six books inside the box, and she had read all six of them before. Randomly picking a book and flipping through it, she found that its quality was quite good. The cover art was refreshing, the character arts printed on the title page were cute, and the texture of the paper was excellent.
With such excellent quality, it was no wonder why so many people were fighting for Xu Chuanchuan's physical books. It was without a doubt a good present.
Afterward, Murong Shi tore off the shipping label from the delivery box and flushed it down the toilet, destroying the evidence. She then stuffed the box holding the six books into an empty paper bag previously used to store tea leaves.
…
Nighttime.
Passerby Shi: "I got the books. Thank you."
I Love Malatang: "Welcome~"
This was the last conversation they had with each other. Afterward, Xu Chuanchuan no longer took the initiative to chat with Passerby Shi. Passerby Shi also tacitly stopped looking for her.
Initially, Xu Chuanchuan didn't find this situation to be strange since this wasn't the first time this capricious tycoon had disappeared for long periods. This time, though, Passerby Shi did not appear even after one whole month had gone by.
Did she delete her app again?
Xu Chuanchuan kept on thinking that her repeated probing attempts had touched upon Passerby Shi's bottom line. Although she had already apologized for her actions, she still couldn't help but feel uneasy.
Typically, one month was more than enough for a person to forget about a stranger. However, Xu Chuanchuan couldn't forget about Passerby Shi because the girls in her reader group would occasionally bring up Passerby Shi's name.
Whenever Xu Chuanchuan saw Passerby Shi's name appearing, she would always feel incredibly awkward.
As Xu Chuanchuan tended to overthink things, she ended up making herself more and more uneasy. Eventually, she resorted to asking Ange for help.
Xu Chuanchuan: "I'm thinking of apologizing to her again, but she never comes on her QQ. I also can't bring myself to meet her IRL. I'm afraid she'll think I have impure motives."
Ange: "I don't understand. There are plenty of readers abandoning you every day, yet you think nothing of them. So, why are you getting all hung up over Passerby Shi's departure all of a sudden?"
Xu Chuanchuan: "I'm not hung up over it. I just feel guilty."
Ange: "Guilty of what?"
Xu Chuanchuan: "I can't say for certain. Hey, do you think it's because I rejected her?"
Ange: "What?"
Xu Chuanchuan: "Here's my conversation log with her. Help me analyze it. [Image]"
Ange: "Holy shit! She actually asked you to be her girlfriend! Outrageous! You are mine!"
Xu Chuanchuan: "Stop it!! (ー_ー)"
TL Notes:
[1]Taobao: The Amazon of China.