Chapter 17: I Missed You, So I Woke Up on My Own

Another message immediately popped up:

Fish: 【I’m sending you money. Be good and order some hot takeout when you get back to the dorm. Don’t survive on snacks. You don’t need to worry about not having enough money.】

Fish: 【After all, your boyfriend earns several million every second. I can afford to support you.】

Tang Shu stared at the screen and sighed inwardly.

Dear heavens.

Is this really the gap between people?

He casually earned millions in a single second.

Meanwhile, she worked diligently drawing commissions, taking orders, and serializing comics.

After exhausting herself for an entire month, she only made a few thousand yuan.

Even if her comics became wildly popular and commissions flooded in nonstop—

She might not even earn several million after struggling for ten years.

She silently wailed in her heart.

God.

Could you please add one more rich person to this world? Me!

Though she was lamenting internally, her outward response remained sweet and obedient.

Tang Shu sent a sugary voice message.

“Okay~ Thank you, Brother~”

“Brother is the best. I like Brother the most~”

Her sweet, gentle voice traveled through layers of rain and distance.

Through the speaker, it reached Shi Zhiyu’s ears overseas.

The young man had originally been leaning against his bedhead, still carrying traces of sleepiness in his eyes.

But now, the corners of his lips slowly curled upward.

A smile spread across his face.

He had actually been sleeping just moments ago.

Ever since he started dating, his sleep had become incredibly light.

A constant, inexplicable unease lingered in his heart.

He was always afraid his little girl would quietly run away.

The time difference between countries separated their days and nights.

When it was daytime for her, it was deep night for him.

He worried that while he slept, her messages would go unanswered.

He worried she would wait too long and feel disappointed.

Even more, he feared that this relationship stretched across oceans and mountains would slowly fade because of distance and time zones.

So every night, he woke up several times.

The first thing he did was grab his phone and check WeChat to see whether she had sent any new messages.

His mother had told him to properly nurture his relationship with Tang Shu.

He had seriously read countless dating guides.

According to those guides, the early stages of a relationship were the most fragile.

Girls were especially prone to insecurity.

They feared being ignored, neglected, or left without replies.

Once responses became slower, feelings would quietly cool.

He couldn’t allow that to happen.

Fortunately—

Only two months remained.

Soon he would finish his studies and return home.

He would no longer have to miss her through a screen, separated by oceans and mountains.

In fact, he had already planned everything.

The moment he turned twenty-two next February—

He would drag Tang Shu straight to register their marriage.

Then she would officially belong to him.

After that, he would be the legitimate husband.

Everyone else would be concubines.

Once that thought settled in his mind, Shi Zhiyu immediately started a voice call.

On the rain-soaked road, Tang Shu looked at the suddenly appearing call notification.

She stopped walking instinctively, puzzled.

Shouldn’t he be asleep?

Why is he calling me all of a sudden?

She stared at the screen for several seconds.

Then she tapped the answer button.

“Hello, Brother?”

“Did my messages wake you up?”

From the other end came the young man’s cool, slightly husky voice.

It carried the hazy quality of someone who had just woken up.

Low.

Deep.

Dangerously alluring.

“No.”

“I missed you, so I woke up on my own.”

Tang Shu’s raised foot froze mid-step.

Damn it.

This really should be illegal.

That voice was completely unfair.

Lazy.

Deep.

Gentle.

Filled with his unique coolness.

Mixed with the softness of just waking up.

It slipped directly into her ears and made her heart itch.

She swallowed hard and suppressed the fluttering in her chest.

“So Brother misses me that much?”

“Then from now on, I’ll obediently report in every day and keep you company every day, so Brother won’t have to lie awake all lonely, okay?”

“Actually, I miss you a lot too.”

“The moment I hear your voice, even rainy days become incredibly gentle.”

…

The late-April breeze rustled the plane tree leaves lining the campus roads.

The May Day holiday was approaching.

Shi Manman hooked her arm around Tang Shu’s and leaned her head against her shoulder.

“Shu Shu, are you really going back to Yun City for the holiday?”

Tang Shu nodded while casually scrolling through her phone.

“Mm.”

“I’m going back.”

“I didn’t go home during Qingming Festival, and my parents have been nagging me for ages.”

“I absolutely have to spend some time with them during May Day.”

Shi Manman looked dejected.

“I actually really wanted to go to Yun City with you.”

“But I can’t.”

“My parents already made plans with Shen Wenbin’s family.”

“We’re all going to an island resort together for the holiday.”

The thought of spending five entire days with that cold, sharp-tongued man made her clutch her forehead.

“Just thinking about being face-to-face with Shen Wenbin for five straight days gives me a headache.”

“He’s definitely going to mock me every single day.”

Tang Shu looked at her suffering expression and couldn’t help teasing.

“I don’t think that’s a headache.”

“I think you’re secretly thrilled.”

“Shu Shu!”

Shi Manman immediately straightened up and pinched her arm.

Pretending to be angry, she protested,

“You’ve changed!”

“You never used to tease me before.”

“Since when did you learn how to make fun of me?”

Tang Shu smiled.

“It’s true, though.”

“You haven’t dated anyone in a long time.”

“Wasn’t it because you had a fight with Shen Wenbin a while ago and simply stopped dating altogether?”

The moment dating was mentioned, Shi Manman instantly lost interest.

She waved her hand dismissively.

“Not at all.”

“I just don’t want to date anymore.”

“Dating is completely meaningless.”

“Every guy I meet is some careless jerk.”

“They waste my time and my emotions.”

Tang Shu laughed.

“Senior Shen isn’t a jerk.”

Shi Manman immediately snorted.

Full of resentment, she declared,

“Hmph. He’s the biggest jerk of all!”

Tang Shu smiled helplessly and didn’t argue further.

How was Shen Wenbin a jerk?

As one of Jiang University’s most famous students—

He was handsome.

Outstanding academically.

And constantly surrounded by girls trying to get his attention.

Yet there had never been a single scandal involving him.

Tang Shu had personally witnessed girls deliberately creating opportunities to approach him.

Trying to strike up conversations.

Trying to manufacture “chance encounters.”

Shen Wenbin remained cold and distant the entire time.

He didn’t even spare them an extra glance.

His self-discipline was practically perfect.

And then—

What about Shi Zhiyu?

Was he the same way?

Clean.

Reserved.

Self-controlled.

The moment that thought surfaced, Tang Shu froze.

Wait.

Why did I instinctively think of Shi Zhiyu again?

She pressed her lips together.

Without realizing it, nearly a month had passed.

Every day she actively shared parts of her life with him.

Every day she chatted with him.

Day after day.

Not only had Shi Zhiyu gradually grown accustomed to her presence—

She herself had become accustomed to receiving his messages every day.

Whenever something happened, she immediately wanted to share it with him.

Oh no.

This is bad.

She was only doing this to complete a mission.

Flirting with him.

Making him fall for her.

Then walking away gracefully at the end.

Now there was only one month left until the mission ended.

Tang Shu took a deep breath and sounded an alarm in her heart.

One final month.

She had to break the habit of sharing everything with him.

Gradually reduce their conversations.

Deliberately become distant.

She would become the heartless woman who walked away without hesitation.

She absolutely could not fall for him.

After all—

They weren’t people from the same world.

He was a crown prince standing high above everyone else.

And she?

She was merely an ordinary person.

For the final half month, she would become perfunctory and distant.

If necessary, she would even say cruel things to him.

And in the end—

She would completely cut off this carefully maintained ambiguity between them.

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