Shi Yin shrugged slightly, rubbing her nose: “Chief Editor Gu, are you playing the role of a domineering CEO today?”

Gu Congli: “….”

Shi Yin continued to praise him: “You’re so domineering.”

“….”

Gu Congli withdrew his hand, looking as if he didn’t want to bother with her anymore, and walked straight into the house.

Shi Yin followed obediently like a little shadow.

Gu Congli had visited her home many times before, but he usually stayed in the living room on the sofa or in the kitchen. She rarely saw him use the bathroom.

This time, he went straight to the study door and raised an eyebrow in inquiry.

Shi Yin walked over, opened the study door, and respectfully invited him in.

Gu Congli entered the study and looked around. The room wasn’t very large, but all four walls were densely packed with manga books, reference materials, biographies, and more. Tall bookshelves almost reached the ceiling.

On the left side were two desks—workstations for her assistants. On the right was a small sofa just long enough for one person, placed against the wall for temporary rest. Directly facing the door was a large desk piled high with books, along with some snacks and instant coffee packets.

The trash bin by her feet was filled with empty chocolate snack bags and yogurt wrappers.

The authentic workspace of a reclusive mangaka, no doubt.

Shi Yin rubbed her nose: “I was planning to look for the document records he sent me earlier, but those records can’t prove anything, right? What if he says I modified them?”

Gu Congli walked over to the desk, picked up a half-eaten bag of chips, and tossed it into the trash: “Turn on the computer first. The last modified time of the received document will be recorded.”

Shi Yin: “Huh?”

“Don’t you know?”

“I do.” Shi Yin stubbornly replied.

Gu Congli slightly raised an eyebrow, said nothing, and watched as she turned on the computer.

By this point, Shi Yin had calmed down somewhat. She calmly opened her chat app and scrolled through her contact list.

She couldn’t find him.

Trembling Raccoon had deleted her.

Shi Yin: “….”

With an aggrieved expression, she looked up at him: “He deleted me…”

Gu Congli leaned against the desk with one hand, standing behind her and looking at her computer screen: “Check the message manager—it has a section for deleted contacts.”

Shi Yin clicked it and found him there.

She sighed: “I never noticed this feature before. I thought once a contact was deleted, they were gone forever.”

Gu Congli said indifferently: “The folder where you received the document also records the last modified time. Moreover, someone who starts off with such intentions isn’t likely to have much integrity.”

Shi Yin nodded: “I thought drawing three chapters was enough to irritate him, but I didn’t expect him to be so shameless.”

As her words trailed off, Gu Congli chuckled softly.

Shi Yin turned her head: “What’s so funny?”

He straightened up, took two steps back, and leaned against the windowsill: “How many days did you pull all-nighters for those three chapters?”

“…Not that many.”

Gu Congli didn’t speak further, pulling out his phone to play with it.

Shi Yin turned back and began taking screenshots of the last modified times of all the chat records and documents Trembling Raccoon had sent her, saving them into a single folder.

For a while, the study was silent, neither of them speaking.

Shi Yin had never encountered something like this before and felt hesitant. After thinking for a moment, she turned her head: “Should I compile these screenshots into a long Weibo post? Isn’t it better to respond sooner rather than later?”

Gu Congli didn’t even raise his eyes: “Do whatever you want. You can wait a bit longer too.”

Shi Yin blinked: “If I stay silent, won’t it seem like I’m guilty or hiding something?”

Gu Congli raised his eyes: “Didn’t I say? Someone with such intentions won’t have much integrity. No rush.”

His calm demeanor reassured her.

His composure and tranquility made it hard to imagine any problem he couldn’t solve.

Shi Yin quietly said, “Oh,” saved all the screenshots into a folder, and then slumped onto the desk, lost in thought.

Reflecting on everything from the start, she realized she had been naive and trusting, believing everything he said without suspicion.

But she truly hadn’t expected that taking on a collaboration would lead to such bizarre events.

She had never encountered such malice before.

Shi Yin rested her cheek on the desk, her face squished flat, her voice muffled: “Editor-in-Chief, he’s not incapable. Why would he do this? If he just wrote well, good work wouldn’t go unnoticed. And I’m not famous—what does he see in me?”

Gu Congli played with his phone: “Maybe he sees that you’re not famous.”

“…” Shi Yin’s expression was blank. “Editor-in-Chief, I’m technically your only author now.”

“When will Teacher Shi Yi give me the original artwork for Chapter 4 of Hongming Longque ?”

The cold indifference in his tone when he called her “Teacher Shi Yi” sent a shiver down Shi Yin’s spine. She muttered softly: “Didn’t you promise not to rush me about my drafts…”

The study was quiet, and though her voice was soft, Gu Congli still heard her.

He was silent for a moment, put down his phone, and glanced at the time: “Go wash up.”

Only then did Shi Yin realize she hadn’t brushed her hair or washed her face since getting up, having rushed to find documents and records.

She quickly straightened up and scrambled out of the study to take a shower.

After drying her hair and changing clothes, she came out to find Gu Congli already sitting on the sofa. Hearing her footsteps, he turned his head: “Want to go for dim sum?”

Shi Yin stood at the bedroom door with a towel, finally realizing what felt off.

“Editor-in-Chief, you’re talking a lot today.”

Gu Congli: “….”

“…No, that’s not what I meant!” She hurriedly explained. “I mean, you usually don’t talk much, but you’ve said a lot today.”

For the first time outside of work-related matters.

Shi Yin thought.

Though, perhaps this situation could be considered work-related too. If she didn’t handle it, the serialization of Hongming Longque might suffer.

Gu Congli’s lips tightened slightly. He stared at her for a moment, then abruptly averted his gaze: “Someone told me that when pursuing a girl, you should talk more.”

“…”

Shi Yin blushed.

Standing at the bedroom door, she suddenly felt flustered.

The frozen fire beneath the glacier suddenly ignited, melting the ice above and leaving her completely unprepared.

Shi Yin secretly covered her face and turned back into the bedroom: “Then I’ll go change…”

With a bang, the bedroom door closed. Leaning against it, Shi Yin steadied her breathing, then flopped onto the bed and pulled out her phone from under the pillow.

[Shi Yin: Zhuo Zhuo!! Gu Congli might actually be madly in love with me!!]

After hearing this so many times, Fang Shu finally began to waver.

[Fang Shu: ….]

[Fang Shu: Shi Yin, liars gain twenty pounds.]

Shi Yin quickly corrected herself: [Alright, maybe he’s not madly in love with me, but he said he’s pursuing me.]

[Shi Yin: Absolutely true.]

[Shi Yin: No exaggeration whatsoever.]

[Shi Yin: He even said he’s been pursuing me all along.]

Fang Shu thought for a moment: [Is he being pressured by his family to get married? Maybe he doesn’t have any suitable women around him. Isn’t he thirty?]

Shi Yin corrected her earnestly: [Twenty-nine, Western age.]

[Shi Yin: Besides, do you really believe that Gu Congli, who seems like a peacock constantly displaying its feathers unconsciously to attract females, doesn’t have anyone interested in him?]

[Fang Shu: ….]

Aside from his looks, Fang Shu genuinely couldn’t see what was attractive about Gu Congli.

He seemed unapproachable, cold, and indifferent—someone who didn’t need love.

It was truly a case of “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

[Fang Shu: So, are you going to accept him?]

[Shi Yin: Huh?]

[Fang Shu: Didn’t you say he’s pursuing you? Are you going to accept him? Don’t think too much—just tell me your honest feelings. Do you want to or not?]

Shi Yin fell silent.

Yes.

Of course, yes.

Before meeting him again, she thought she had moved on.

But after encountering him again, she realized she hadn’t.

No matter how determined she was, she couldn’t resist Gu Congli.

Shi Yin even felt that once again—

Once again, the shattered bottom line in her heart would probably be completely obliterated by him.

Shi Yin changed into a sweater and long skirt and went out with Gu Congli for dim sum.

It was just shy of eleven o’clock—the warmest part of the day. The light was faint, but it wasn’t cold without a jacket.

However, it was a weekday.

The two sat in the tea restaurant. Shi Yin hadn’t had a drop of water since waking up and was starving. She wolfed down a plate of cheung fun before feeling better and slowing down to eat normally.

Sitting by the window, Shi Yin tied her long hair with a hair tie and nibbled on a piece of pork rib: “Editor-in-Chief, aren’t you working today?”

Gu Congli added another piece of food to her plate: “Taking care of my author is also work.”

Shi Yin nearly choked.

She poked at the pork rib on her plate: “Editor-in-Chief, I’m only twenty-three…”

Gu Congli tilted his head slightly: “Hmm?”

Shi Yin blushed: “I don’t want to get married…”

“…”

Gu Congli paused, then said calmly: “Then we won’t get married.”

No marriage, no children, nothing else required either.

Nothing else mattered—as long as she was Shi Yin, that was enough.

Shi Yin stammered: “But you’re thirty… Your family…”

“…”

“Twenty-nine,” Gu Congli insisted. “My family doesn’t concern me, and besides, my grandmother likes you very much.”

Shi Yin remembered the trendy elderly woman from the gym.

She lowered her head, mechanically tapping her chopsticks on the plate, poking holes into the steamed pork ribs.

Gu Congli watched her intently. His light brown eyes appeared even paler in the sunlight as he patiently asked softly: “Do you want to try? I can do housework and cook.”

He paused, leaned forward slightly, and offered what he believed was his most appealing condition, whispering temptingly, “I can even help you draw.”