HYSE - 20

Shi Yin thought that after not seeing Gu Congli for several years, he seemed to have become even less friendly.

Perhaps it was because he no longer needed to spare her fragile student ego and had dropped all pretenses, revealing his cruel nature.

If you didn’t want to help, why did you even bother responding?

Shi Yin secretly rolled her eyes: “Well then, suit yourself. I’m going to freshen up.”

Gu Congli lowered his head back to the notebook and grunted in acknowledgment.

Shi Yin turned and walked into the bedroom.

Once inside the bathroom, she saw her disheveled, just-awake appearance in the mirror and felt utterly defeated.

Dark circles shadowed her eyes, and they were slightly swollen.

She had originally planned to craft an elegant and beautiful image for their reunion, but now it seemed impossible to salvage.

Sitting on the toilet, she looked at herself in the mirror, let out a groan of despair, and gave up. She peeled off her nightgown, tossed it into the laundry basket, and stepped into the shower.

Knowing Gu Congli was still waiting outside, she washed quickly. Aside from what she had worn earlier, all her summer nightgowns seemed too revealing—straps, lace, you name it. After much deliberation and failing to find anything suitable, she grabbed a white T-shirt and paired it with denim shorts.

When she emerged with her hair dried, Gu Congli was still in the same position as when she had gone in. He sat on the sofa, laptop on the coffee table, leaning forward slightly, elbows resting on his knees, reviewing the storyboard draft she had sent him the previous day.

Hearing her approach, he raised his head and glanced sideways at her.

The girl came over, her hair half-dry, a faint blush on her fair face. Her loose white cotton T-shirt covered her thighs, revealing her long, straight legs unabashedly.

Gu Congli paused, his gaze traveling from her head to her ankles, then moving sideways to her face.

“Put your pants on,” he said calmly.

“…”

Shi Yin was momentarily speechless. She grabbed the hem of her T-shirt and yanked it up before Gu Congli could react, exposing her denim shorts underneath: “Editor-in-Chief, how bad is your eyesight?”

“…”

“I don’t have X-ray vision,” Gu countered indifferently, turning his head away. “Come here.”

Shi Yin let go of her shirt and walked over.

The scent of body wash mixed with shampoo—a sweet coconut fragrance mingled with a light floral aroma—wafted around her, evoking a sense of déjà vu.

She approached and stood beside him, bending down to look at the computer screen. Her freshly showered warmth radiated against him, and her pale legs brushed lightly against his trousers, creating slight friction.

Gu Congli found this extremely annoying.

But she seemed completely oblivious.

Shi Yin tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, focusing intently on the screen, which displayed the first meeting between the two protagonists.

Amidst molten lava and flames, two young men—one in red, one in blue—stood tall and graceful, each holding a blade. In a flash, their figures moved, and the blades clashed, emitting a sharp metallic ring that echoed through the sky.

—And then the blue-clad youth’s sword bent.

Bent.

Shi Yin straightened up and clapped enthusiastically: “This is my favorite part!”

Gu Congli looked up at her, coolly asking: “Is this supposed to be some kind of cold humor BL manga?”

Shi Yin replied seriously: “It’s a classic shonen manga with dual protagonists.”

“A classic shonen manga with dual protagonists,” Gu repeated slowly, nodding. “And Hong Ming bends.”

Shi Yin’s eyes sparkled: “Because he met his destined partner, Da Xia Long Que.” She pointed at the red-clad youth on the screen. “One of the key elements of a classic shonen manga is the bond formed through battle. Think Hunter x Hunter , Naruto , One Piece —they’re all like this.”

Da Xia Long Que, as recorded in The Book of Jin : A hundred-refined steel blade shaped into a dragon sparrow, known as Da Xia Long Que. Inscribed on its back: “Among ancient weapons, Wu Chu Zhan Lu and Da Xia Long Que are renowned across divine capitals. They can pacify distant lands and subdue rebels; like the wind sweeping grass, their might commands nine regions.” It was highly revered.

Originally belonging to Duke Wen of Jin during the Spring and Autumn period, it was said to have been destroyed by the legendary sword Zhan Lu during the Jin-Chu war, its body shattered and buried in blood-soaked sands.

These two tragic blades survived, met, fought in molten magma, and one ended up bending the other.

How wonderful.

An idea struck Shi Yin: “Editor-in-Chief, maybe we should change the title to Hong Ming Long Que . Hong Ming sounds a bit dry.”

“…”

Gu Congli paused for two seconds: “Shouldn’t it be Long Que Hong Ming ?”

Shi Yin’s eyes widened: “Da Xia Long Que’s cunning and talkative personality doesn’t seem like the top dog—”

She stopped mid-sentence, realizing her mistake, and quickly corrected herself: “I think Hong Ming Long Que rolls off the tongue better.”

Gu Congli smirked: “Hmph.”

He appeared too lazy to argue further, tapping the touchpad of his laptop to continue reading. Meanwhile, Shi Yin walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, bent down to pick up her phone from last night, just as her mother called.

Shi Yin glanced at Gu Congli, who was attentively reviewing the drafts beside her, and answered: “Hello, Mom. No, no, I’ve been up for a while.”

“Blind date? It was okay... He seemed nice. Mm-hmm, yes, handsome...”

Gu Congli raised an eyebrow.

“No, he hasn’t asked me out again. Saturday?” Shi Yin had already turned around, speaking while walking toward the bedroom. She closed the door with a click, sat on the bed, feeling somewhat dazed. “He said he’d ask me out again on Saturday?”

Her mother sounded excited on the other end: “The young man seems to really like you. He thinks you two hit it off well and wants to know if you’re free for dinner this Saturday. But he said he doesn’t have your contact information, so he came to ask me. What’s going on? Don’t you two already have each other’s phone numbers?”

Shi Yin wasn’t sure whether her mother was talking about Lin Yuan, the bank clerk, or Lin Youhe, the former school tyrant-turned-sweetheart. Hesitating, she said: “I do have Lin Yuan’s number...”

As for Lin Youhe’s, she definitely didn’t.

So was Sweet Apple Candy Teacher thinking of continuing their critique of Time One’s terrible artwork under the guise of renewing their acquaintance?

Shi Yin sighed internally: “Mom, I’ve been really busy lately. I have tons of work to finish before August, so I don’t have much time.”

“You’re always busy, but he’s not? And coincidentally,” her mother sounded thrilled, “the young man said he’s also interested in your work. He wants to see your published manga and magazines. Do you still have any copies? I had a few hidden away, but your dad found them and threw them all out. I was so mad. Anyway, I’ll send you the boy’s WeChat later so you two can connect.”

Shi Yin’s head throbbed. Not wanting to listen to her mother’s endless chatter, she casually agreed and hung up. Opening WeChat, she saw the contact card her mother had sent and, after a moment’s thought, added him.

After adding him, she picked up her phone, opened the bedroom door, and walked out, looking down at her phone while saying: “Sorry, where were we just now? Is this NAME okay? Are there any parts that need revising?”

Silence greeted her. No one responded.

Shi Yin raised her head.

The sofa was empty, and the laptop was gone.

Shi Yin exclaimed softly, walking to the entrance. The slippers were neatly placed by the door.

Gu Congli had left without a sound, like a ghost, as if he had never been there.

Before Shi Yin could message him to ask what happened, the blind date’s WeChat request was approved. His Moments were set to show only the past three days, leaving Shi Yin unsure if this account belonged to Lin Yuan or Lin Youhe. Tentatively, she sent an emoji: [Mr. Lin Youhe?]

The reply came instantly: [Hmm? What is it?]

“…”

What do you mean, ‘what is it’?!

Wasn’t it you who wanted to reconnect? Why are you asking me what’s wrong?!

Shi Yin walked over to the sofa, plopped down, and crossed her legs.

The seat still retained a faint trace of warmth, pressing gently against her thighs, warm and comforting.

Her fingers hesitated before slowly typing: [Ah, nothing. I’m just not sure who you are... Your blind date situation is a bit complicated.]

Lin Youhe: [Oh, it’s me.]

Lin Youhe: [By the way, what’s your pen name?]

Shi Yin: “…”

Old me is the one you call “draws terribly, horribly, disgustingly; I don’t know if they used their toes to draw; how can someone like this even debut?”

This felt awkward to say.

While pondering how to use the rich artistry of the Chinese language to minimize the awkwardness, she opened his profile to add a note. Her fingers trembled as she typed “Sweet Apple Candy Teacher.”

After a moment, Shi Yin decided she couldn’t accept that and quietly changed it to “School Tyrant Sweetie.”

By the time she switched back, she still hadn’t figured out how to introduce herself.

Fortunately, School Tyrant Big Brother didn’t seem intent on dwelling on the matter. Several more messages popped up in quick succession.

School Tyrant Sweetie: [You probably draw shojo manga, right?]

School Tyrant Sweetie: [Girls must have a completely different perspective on this than us, right?]

School Tyrant Sweetie: [Have you read my manga?]

School Tyrant Sweetie: [Oh, and are you free this Saturday? I just finished the original manuscript for my new serialization. My editor says shojo manga needs to reference female psychology and perspectives, but damn, I don’t know any women.]

Shi Yin: “…”

Shi Yin thought, time truly was a ruthless butcher. It could turn a detached yet gentle man into a calculating, icy demon, and transform a smoking, drinking, tattooed school tyrant into a chatty muscle-bound sweetheart.

Unfortunately, she still preferred the cold moon reflected in a tranquil pond.

Even if he was a bit demonic, he was still the moon.

Slumped in the sofa, Shi Yin was contemplating how to respond to this overly chatty muscle-bound sweetheart when her WeChat buzzed again.

Lowering her gaze, she saw that School Tyrant hadn’t sent any new messages. Pausing, she backed out and realized the notification was from Gu Congli.

Editor-in-Chief Gu: [The storyboard draft is fine. You can start on the original manuscript.]

Editor-in-Chief Gu: [Finish the final chapter and double-page color illustration of ECHO and send them to me.]

Editor-in-Chief Gu: [By 10 PM on Saturday night.]

Shi Yin: “…”

Screw your tranquil pond and cold moon.

I must have been blind to ever fall for that cold moon nonsense.