It took about half an hour to drive from Yaoguang Publishing to the KTV. After receiving Gu Congli’s WeChat message, Shi Yin waited in the private karaoke room.

The large private room had three microphones—two for the sofas and one standing mic at the front stage. At that moment, Nishi no Na was on stage, belting out the theme song of Sailor Moon .

Midway through the song, she pulled Shi Yin up to join her.

Shi Yin wasn’t the type of person who excelled at socializing. While she could handle familiar faces, being surrounded by people she’d just met today made her a bit reserved, despite having interacted with some online before. Meeting them in person still felt awkward.

She sang softly into the microphone, her voice barely audible. A man nearby shouted, “Nana, your voice is too loud! I can’t hear Teacher Shi Yi!”

“Teacher Shi Yi, sing louder!”

Shi Yin smiled faintly, shaking her head. She set the microphone aside, and someone else quickly picked it up.

As she turned her head, she noticed Lin Youhe sitting in the corner, engrossed in the limited-edition copy of Below Zero he had queued up to buy earlier. He seemed completely unfazed by the chaos around him, much like Chairman Mao reading in a bustling marketplace.

Shi Yin was about to approach him when she suddenly remembered Gu Congli’s voice message:

“Don’t talk to other men.”

She couldn’t help but chuckle.

Sometimes, this man was strangely adorable.

But surely, she couldn’t spend her entire life speaking only to him as the opposite sex?

Shi Yin walked over just as the current song ended. Nishi no Na hopped down from the stage and skipped over to Lin Youhe. “Little Candy! You’re studying so hard while we’re all out playing? What are you up to?”

Glancing down at the manga in his hands, she flipped through a couple of pages and exclaimed, “Ohhh, so you really like Qian An.”

The room fell silent during the brief pause between songs, and everyone turned their attention to them.

Lin Youhe’s expression darkened, his brows furrowing menacingly. “Who said I really liked him?”

His demeanor was intimidating, but Nishi no Na didn’t seem fazed. Smiling mischievously, she pulled out her phone. “If you like him so much, I’ll call him and see if he’s free. Maybe he’ll come if he’s bored.”

Lin Youhe froze.

Still grinning, Nishi no Na teased him, waving her phone. “Should I? Should I? Want me to make the call?”

“…”

Lin Youhe turned his head away. “Do whatever you want…”

Nishi no Na had started drawing manga early on. She had studied in Japan, working as an assistant for a while before returning to China to create her own works. She had also weathered the darkest periods of the domestic manga industry. If you counted the years, she had entered the industry slightly earlier than Qian An.

Among the group today, there were two others from roughly the same era as her. Nishi no Na dialed the number, and someone lowered the music volume. After a long wait, she finally spoke into the phone, “Hello?”

The two seemed quite familiar, though Nishi no Na’s personality made her appear close to almost anyone. The others couldn’t hear the voice on the other end, but after a few exchanges, she put the call on speakerphone.

A cold, detached male voice came through, uttering just two words, tinged with slight impatience: “Not going.”

Shi Yin froze, her scalp tingling.

That voice was far too familiar.

Even with just two words lasting less than a second, it was more than enough.

This was the same voice that, not even half an hour ago, had told her to wait for him.

This was the same voice that, just hours earlier, had spoken to her about kissing her.

Eyes wide with disbelief, Shi Yin stood rooted to the spot, nearly holding her breath. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

No one noticed her; everyone’s attention was drawn to the phone call. Nishi no Na continued teasing, “Are you sure you won’t come? There are two cute juniors here who are huge fans of yours. They attended one of your anniversary events earlier today but didn’t get to meet you—they’re heartbroken.”

There was silence on the other end.

A few seconds later, his voice came through again, calm and measured: “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

After hanging up, Nishi no Na marveled, “I didn’t even tell him where we are.”

“Why don’t you send him the location now? Maybe he meant ten minutes until he leaves,” a man lounging on the sofa suggested casually. “But honestly, it’s been ages since I last saw Qian An. When was the last time? Back when I was still at Yaoguang, right?”

Nishi no Na rolled her eyes. “Aside from the editorial department, has this guy ever appeared anywhere else? To be honest, I just called him for fun—I never expected him to actually show up. Scared me half to death.”

Shi Yin stood there in a daze, listening to their conversation, utterly speechless.

For the next ten minutes, she drifted through the room like a ghost, sitting in a corner of the sofa, lost in thought.

Who had they just called again?

Wasn’t it Qian An? The mangaka behind the unconventional series, whose single-volume sales reached millions, whose representative work rivaled Death Note in popularity, and who commanded countless fans as a creative genius?

But that voice…

That voice…

Could there really be two people in the world with identical voices?

It was possible that the phone call distorted his voice slightly, especially with the speaker mode adding a touch of artificiality.

Shi Yin remembered what she had said to Liang Qiushi a few weeks ago:

“I just think his work is interesting.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever like him.”

“This is an unforgivable grudge.”

Shi Yin: “….”

Suddenly, Shi Yin buried her face in her hands, letting out a low, anguished groan. Her despondent muttering was drowned out by the background noise. In a trance-like state, she stood up, grabbed her phone, left the private room, and headed toward the restroom.

The KTV was lavishly decorated. The restrooms were labeled “Men” on the left and “Women” on the right. Outside, two rows of sinks were arranged together, forming a long marble countertop with large mirrors embedded above.

After exiting the restroom, Shi Yin approached the sink, lathered soap, rinsed it off, and then raised her gaze to look at herself in the mirror.

The foundation from C-brand, known for its “beauty that blooms at night,” truly lived up to its reputation. Despite being out all day, her complexion glowed naturally without any signs of fading or caking.

Shi Yin leaned her hands on the cold marble edge of the sink, staring at her reflection in the mirror. Blinking slowly, she whispered to herself, “Shi Yin, stay calm. This isn’t logical.”

“Besides, Teacher Qian An was still drawing manga six months ago. It’s impossible for him to be both an editor-in-chief and—”

Her train of thought halted abruptly.

Qian An had suddenly stopped updating One Second Below Zero , putting the series on hiatus six months ago.

Shi Yin had met Gu Congli again—and learned he had become her new editor and the chief editor of Crimson Moon —around April or May.

Six months had passed since then.

Before she could process her emotions, another figure appeared in the mirror. Lin Youhe stood beside her, arms crossed, watching her through the reflection. “Did you say something just now?”

Shi Yin’s heart skipped a beat. She hastily turned around, feigning innocence. “Huh? I didn’t say anything.”

Lin Youhe nodded and walked over to the sink next to her, turning on the faucet.

The sound of running water filled the air. Shi Yin took two steps back, grabbed a couple of paper towels, dried her hands, and prepared to leave.

The water stopped. Lin Youhe joined her, also grabbing two sheets of paper towel. Suddenly, he asked, “Have you thought about what I mentioned to you last time?”

Shi Yin’s mind was still preoccupied with the tangled mess of Gu Congli and Qian An—or perhaps they were one and the same. Distracted, she murmured vaguely, “Hmm?”

Lin Youhe tossed the used paper towel into the trash bin and repeated his question. “So, what’s your decision?”

“Huh?” Shi Yin looked up blankly. “What?”

“Us dating.”

“…”

After five seconds of processing, Shi Yin snapped out of her daze and stared at him in horror. “What are you talking about?”

“The idea of us dating,” Lin Youhe calmly reiterated. “I already explained the pros and cons to you during the newcomer awards ceremony. We’re in the same industry, so there’s no issue of lacking common ground. Plus, we can help each other professionally. I can fix your atrocious drawing style that looks like a mess morning and night, and you can analyze women’s psychology in romance for me—”

Shi Yin raised both hands, interrupting him. “Teacher Apple Candy—” she said weakly, “I thought you were joking back then.”

Lin Youhe’s face remained expressionless, naturally intimidating even without trying, as if he were a loan shark collecting debts. “Do I look like someone with a sense of humor?”

“…”

Actually, I think you do.

The two stood by the corridor near the sinks, staring deeply into each other’s eyes for nearly ten seconds.

Shi Yin let out a long sigh and patiently replied, “Teacher Apple Candy, you’re a good person.”

Lin Youhe silently gazed at her after receiving the dreaded “good person card.”

She paused, then added, “Actually, I already have a boyfriend…”

Silence.

Shi Yin looked at him uncertainly, unsure if she should say more.

Lin Youhe nodded slightly, his figure shifting as he turned and walked away. “I see.”

Shi Yin stood there for a moment.

This wasn’t the first time she’d rejected someone. During school, there had been plenty of confessions.

But Lin Youhe was now her friend, and Shi Yin wasn’t sure if things would get awkward between them. What had seemed like a joke before was now being discussed so seriously, and she knew they’d need to tread carefully in the future.

She felt a tinge of regret, sighed softly, and took a couple of steps toward the restroom to discard the damp paper towel she’d been clutching. As she turned to leave, something made her glance back instinctively.

At the other end of the corridor, leaning against the wall, Gu Congli stood far away, watching her silently—he didn’t know how long he’d been there.

Distracted by Lin Youhe, Shi Yin had temporarily forgotten about the whole Qian An situation. Seeing Gu Congli now, her eyes lit up, and she hurried over in small steps. Looking up at him, she smiled faintly. “You’re here.”

Gu Congli stared at her quietly, his half-lidded eyes shadowed with gloom, violence simmering beneath the surface.

“What did you talk to him about?” he asked softly after a long pause.

Shi Yin looked at him, instinctively taking a step back.

Suddenly, she felt as though something might be about to collapse starting today.

Her unconscious retreat and the faint resistance in her dark eyes felt like the final weight pressing down on fragile nerves, shattering the last remnants of reason and restraint.

Gu Congli chuckled lightly. “Are you afraid of me?”

She was incredibly perceptive, like a small animal sensing danger—her body reacting before her mind fully registered it.

Shi Yin pursed her lips, took a step forward, closing the distance between them, and reached out to grasp his sleeve.

Her clear, innocent almond-shaped eyes gazed up at him, tinged with a hint of fear and caution. Her voice was soft, almost pleading. “What’s wrong with you?”

Gu Congli raised his hand, brushing aside a strand of hair by her ear, his fingertips grazing her skin twice. “I’m angry. You didn’t listen to what I told you earlier.”

His body still carried the chill of the outdoors. The cold tip of his finger touched her warm earlobe, causing her to tremble involuntarily.

“You said…” He gently tucked the strand of hair behind her ear, his fingers resting against her neck. Leaning closer, his voice was low and gentle, his tone unreadable. “What should we do with disobedient little girls?”