Chapter 20: Being Secret Lovers Is Kind of Exciting

Tang Shu immediately waved her hands in denial.

“No, no! I’m really not dating anyone. It was just a regular friend calling.”

Seeing her reaction, Tao Hongyi tactfully stood up.

“Would it be inconvenient for me to sit here?”

Before she could answer, he very consciously moved to an empty seat two rows away.

He deliberately gave her some privacy, wearing the expression of someone who clearly thought:

I understand everything. Don’t worry, I won’t disturb you.

Tang Shu wanted to cry.

This was social death on the spot.

Her cheeks heated up slightly.

No, Brother!

It’s really not what you’re thinking!

There wasn’t some secret romance going on.

She was simply terrified of someone catching her acting cute and flattering Shi Zhiyu through her phone.

That would be unbearably embarrassing.

Just as she was about to call Tao Hongyi back, her phone vibrated again.

Left with no choice, she pulled it out.

Pressing the answer button, she deliberately lowered the volume.

Holding it to her ear, she spoke softly.

“Hello, Gege. What’s wrong?”

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

Mixed with the coolness of the night was a trace of grievance and jealousy.

“Why didn’t you answer just now?”

Feeling guilty, Tang Shu lied.

“My hand slipped. I accidentally hit decline.”

A low snort came from the other side.

His breathing sounded slightly heavy.

“Was someone beside you?”

“Am I someone you have to hide?”

Tang Shu nearly choked.

This was supposed to be a fake relationship mission.

The way she usually acted around him—being sweet, praising him, coaxing him, showering him with affection—

all of it was an act.

If her cousin ever witnessed that version of her, she would die of embarrassment.

She quietly answered,

“…Mm.”

That single, casual response instantly made Shi Zhiyu’s chest tighten.

An uncomfortable wave of jealousy and irritation spread through him.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

His voice dropped lower, carrying a dangerous edge.

“Tang Shu.”

The way he said her name made her heart skip a beat.

Confused, she responded carefully.

“Huh? What’s wrong, Gege?”

Suppressing the dissatisfaction surging inside him, Shi Zhiyu asked slowly,

“Who am I?”

Tang Shu’s mind immediately went blank.

She almost blurted out:

“Mission target.”

Fortunately, her reason returned just in time.

She hurriedly corrected herself.

“Shi Zhiyu.”

Shi Zhiyu gritted his teeth.

“What else?”

Tang Shu frowned and thought for two seconds.

Then she honestly added,

“The Shi family’s only heir. The Crown Prince.”

“What else?”

Tang Shu racked her brain.

Tentatively, she said,

“You’re… your parents’ son?”

“A human being?”

Shi Zhiyu bit down on his molars.

Both angry and helpless.

“Anything else?”

Tang Shu was completely out of ideas.

In a soft, defeated voice, she admitted,

“I really don’t know what else there is.”

On the other end, Shi Zhiyu gripped his phone so tightly that his knuckles creaked.

At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to cross oceans and mountains and appear right beside her.

To lean close to her ear and tell her over and over again.

The most important identity he had—

was hers.

After several seconds of silence, he finally spoke.

His voice was deep and serious.

“I am your boyfriend.”

Tang Shu unconsciously let out a small sound.

“Ah…”

For a moment, she froze.

A strange ripple passed through her heart.

Then she quickly nodded.

“Right, right. Boyfriend.”

Shi Zhiyu still sounded dissatisfied.

“So remember this.”

“I am your boyfriend.”

“A perfectly legitimate boyfriend.”

“I’m not someone who has to be hidden.”

“You don’t need to avoid me.”

“You don’t need to conceal me.”

“And you definitely don’t need to be afraid of other people seeing me.”

Tang Shu subconsciously glanced around.

Thankfully, there wasn’t a single acquaintance nearby.

As far as this so-called relationship was concerned, only Shi Zhiyu’s parents knew about it.

She absolutely didn’t dare publicize it.

What if the mission ended one day?

What if she casually broke up with him and walked away?

Everyone would assume that the flawless, untouchable heir of the Shi family had dumped her.

No one would ever believe that she had been the one to leave.

At that point, she’d be the only one getting laughed at.

She had no desire to become a clown.

Tang Shu cleared her throat.

“Gege, what you just said isn’t entirely right.”

On the other end, Shi Zhiyu was so exasperated that he almost laughed.

Leaning lazily against the headboard, he rubbed his throbbing temple.

A faint darkness lingered in his eyes.

His voice was dangerous yet relaxed.

“Oh?”

“Tell me.”

“What’s wrong with it?”

Tang Shu immediately launched into a serious explanation.

“At the end of the day, we’re only dating online.”

“We’ve never met in real life.”

“Everything has happened through a screen.”

“So this relationship was never exactly public to begin with.”

“And we’re still getting to know each other.”

“What if our personalities don’t match?”

“What if we don’t make it in the end?”

“My mom and your aunt have been close friends for years.”

“If things don’t work out, wouldn’t it be awkward when the families meet?”

“So wouldn’t it be better to keep things low-key?”

She paused before adding another honest observation.

“Besides…”

“Even if I told everyone I had a boyfriend, nobody has ever seen you.”

“Nobody would believe me anyway.”

The moment those words fell, the line went silent.

Completely silent.

Two seconds later, Shi Zhiyu’s voice came down heavily.

Cold enough to freeze the air.

“Tang Shu.”

Everything Tang Shu had been about to say got stuck in her throat.

She immediately straightened her back.

Like a student responding to roll call.

“Present!”

Her voice came out much louder than intended.

Startled, she instantly covered her mouth.

Then she nervously glanced toward Tao Hongyi.

Fortunately, Tao Hongyi was focused on his laptop.

His fingers flew across the keyboard as he worked.

He hadn’t noticed anything.

Tang Shu patted her chest in relief.

Thank goodness.

She had narrowly escaped another social death.

Before she could fully relax, Shi Zhiyu spoke again.

His voice was still cold.

“Are you already planning to dump me?”

“Don’t you want to take responsibility for me?”

Tang Shu’s heart nearly stopped.

Her pupils shrank.

Inside, she was screaming.

Damn it!

How does he know everything?!

She had only been trying to explain things rationally.

But when she thought about it carefully…

Every sentence she had said sounded like she was preparing an escape route.

A wave of guilt washed over her.

Annoyed at her own honesty, she stubbornly defended herself.

“I-I don’t.”

Shi Zhiyu let out a low, humorless laugh.

Jealousy and grievance continued bubbling inside him.

“Then what exactly did all that mean?”

Cornered, Tang Shu finally decided to stand her ground.

“What I said was true!”

“We’re in a long-distance international relationship!”

“We’re literally on opposite sides of the planet!”

“It takes more than ten hours by plane just to meet once!”

“We’ve only been together for a little over a month.”

“Our relationship isn’t stable yet!”

“If I go around telling everyone I’m dating someone, they’ll all want to see you and meet you.”

“Can you really drop your studies and work anytime and fly back?”

“Instead of ending up embarrassed later, wouldn’t it be better to wait until our relationship is truly stable and we’ve actually met in person before making it public?”

After finishing, she muttered one final thought under her breath.

A genuine thought.

“Besides…”

“Being all secretive isn’t bad.”

“It kind of feels like having a secret lover.”

“It’s actually pretty exciting.”

The moment those words left her mouth—the tense atmosphere on the other end of the call instantly disappeared.