Zhu Tong’s heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously called Shao Ming immediately. It wasn’t until the interface jumped that he snapped back to his senses and quickly pressed [end call].
‘If I call him now… what should I say?’
Yeah, he should just ask Luo Suo now.
He opened WeChat again and saw a reply to the message that had not been replied before.
<Shao>: Sorry, I was taking the exam before.
Zhu Tong: …
Why does this reply seem so blunt?
He felt really nervous now. He withdrew directly and went into Luo Suo’s WeChat.
<Zhu>: Still awake?
<Luo Suo is Not Long-Winded>: (shocked) You actually contacted me?
Zhu Tong: …
After adding each other as WeChat friends, this was the first time they actually chatted there.
Zhu Tong was thinking about being polite at first, but he already got a reply.
<Luo Suo is Not Long-Winded>: Did Ming-ge ask you to find me? Are you two together now?
Zhu Tong tried to calm his mind, but then, the moment he saw Luo Suo typed “together”, his heart skipped a beat. He quickly realized that Luo Suo meant Shao Ming was physically by his side, not that they’re dating.
Wait, there’s something wrong, then.
Shao Ming was with him?
How could Shao Ming be with him at this moment?
<Zhu>: I’m still in A City and haven’t gone back.
<Luo Suo is Not Long-Winded>: I know, didn’t Ming-ge go to A City to find you?
<Zhu>: Shao Ming came to A City?
<Luo Suo is Not Long-Winded>: Don’t you know? Didn’t Ming-ge tell you? He went to A City to participate in a math competition.
Zhu Tong was slightly startled and typed quickly: [When did he come to A City?]
<Luo Suo is Not Long-Winded>: Just two days ago, he went with several other high school students in the city.
<Zhu>: ???
<Luo Suo is Not Long-Winded>: ???
Zhu Tong: “…”
He was silent for a moment before calmly replied: [Thank you. Now I know.]
Zhu Tong sat on the bed in the hospital for a while, and said in his head with a blank face, ‘Did you know that White Moonlight is coming to A City?’
The system responded quickly, ‘Of course.’
“!”
Zhu Tong said in shock, ‘If you know that, why didn’t you tell me?’
The system nonchalantly replied, ‘The system detected the White Moonlight’s presence in A City. But since that did not have any impact on the host’s mission progress, the system judged that it’s not important, and therefore, there was no need for a notification.’
Zhu Tong: “…”
Is this thing just a quest-issuing NPC or what?
How did the system decide that there was no need to notify him? Did this thing even know how to handle things flexibly?
Zhu Tong said, ‘What do you mean by saying that his coming to A City has no effect on my mission progress?’
System: ‘It means that the fluctuation of the progress bar this time is not caused by the host’s actions.’
Zhu Tong: ‘It wasn’t my action, then why was my progress bar moving so wildly last time?’
System: ‘The cause is unknown.’
Zhu Tong: “…”
This thing called the system isn’t fake, he’s afraid.
He sighed heavily.
So how did the favorability level plummet so drastically before?
If it wasn’t for him, then it should be an outside force that swayed Shao Ming during his visit to A City.
Did someone sow discord?
But what is there to provoke between him and Shao Ming? Shao Ming is not so mindless as to be easily swayed like that.
Moreover, the favorability level has risen again too, indicating that the provocation has not succeeded.
Zhu Tong looked at the favorability bar – it had soared to 70%. He was so confused.
Luo Suo said that Shao Ming is now in A City.
Why didn’t Shao Ming tell him when he came to A City?
He has been here for several days, and they were chatting before. But Shao Ming has not mentioned a word to him.
‘Shao Ming… he doesn’t want to see me?’
Even if they were just ordinary friends, shouldn’t they still at least greet each other when they both came to the same place? How can he and Shao Ming be better than ordinary friends?
How did the favorability level increase?
Zhu Tong felt overwhelmed, his head spinning with thoughts. He hadn’t even felt this taxed when working on competition problems.
In any case, the matter of not answering the call still needs to be explained.
But how can he explain that? He can’t say it’s because of his fainting.
A few days ago, he was happily saying that his body was in great shape, but then, he fainted and was sent to the hospital in a blink of an eye. How worried would Shao Ming be if he knew?
So, he won’t say.
Zhu Tong can only reluctantly type: [Sorry, my phone broke yesterday, and it was just repaired today.]
Before he could send that, he deleted it.
Such a far-fetched excuse, not even he could believe that.
If his phone was broken, why can’t he buy another one immediately?
Should he say that he and his father had a fight and that’s why he forgot to charge his phone all night, so it ran out of batteries?
Nah, he couldn’t use that excuse either.
Or maybe… he should preemptively ask Shao Ming why didn’t he tell him that he came to A City?
But since Shao Ming didn’t tell him, it meant he didn’t want him to know. What was the point of rushing to figure it out?
Zhu Tong suddenly felt a pang in his heart.
He likes Shao Ming… But what about Shao Ming’s feelings towards him?
Shao Ming doesn’t necessarily return his feelings.
Is he going to tell Shao Ming?
He used to swear to Shao Ming that he was different from those who liked Shao Ming – unlike them, he really doesn’t romantically like Shao Ming.
But… that’s changed. What should he do now?
It turned out that he was no different from those people.
Will Shao Ming hate him?
Zhu Tong suddenly remembered what Shao Ming had said to him: “Only long-distance couples need to report to each other what they were doing one second ago.”
So even if he doesn’t explain… it should be okay, right?
They are not a couple.
Zhu Tong tentatively replied: [Sorry, I may not be able to go back until two days from now.]
When he sent that, he felt so guilty.
He’s so untrustworthy.
But even if he went back now, wasn’t Shao Ming not in Gongshui?
Zhu Tong concealed his faint disappointment and held his phone, waiting for a reply.
Shao Ming responded quickly.
<Shao>: Okay.
Zhu Tong: “…”
Just one word?
So cold.
Immediately after, Shao Ming sent a second reply.
<Shao>: Are you retaliating because I didn’t reply to your messages during the exam? You haven’t responded to me for a whole day and night.
Zhu Tong immediately felt a hint of familiarity.
It was the same old feeling.
He couldn’t tell any decent lie, he could only reply vaguely: [I was busy with something else, so I forgot.]
<Shao>: Okay. I’ll forgive you, only if you kiss me.
Zhu Tong: !!
His heart skipped a beat. He almost dropped his phone.
Shao Ming doesn’t have to be so authentic in his words.
Seeing that Shao Ming doesn’t seem to be angry, he breathed a sigh of relief and quickly replied: [It’s getting late. Go rest early, I will go back as soon as possible.]
Inside his heart, he added, ‘You also go back as soon as possible, okay?’
In the hotel, Shao Ming looked at his chat records with Zhu Tong. He lightly gritted his back teeth.
[I was busy with something else, so I forgot.]
This young master is really good, even lying is so perfunctory.
He exited the chat interface and made a call.
That night, various wealthy families in A City received a new invitation letter after the prestigious professor’s birthday banquet.
This invitation letter made all the bosses nervous, because the signature of the invitation letter is – “Liu Jianbai”.
Is the man who started a bloodbath in A City a few years ago coming back for the kill?
The next day, in a luxurious manor outside the urban area of A City, the banquet had not yet started, but the guests had arrived early.
The banquet was held outdoors in a vast courtyard in front of the mansion. Ahead lay an expansive ecological garden filled with various rare flowers and trees. Behind them stood the grand entrance gate, offering a panoramic view of the surrounding landscape with distant mountains, creating a breathtaking scene.
Next to a swimming pool in the square, Jiang Wan was wearing a long burgundy dress today. She met Cheng Chen by the pool and came over to greet him.
Cheng Chen was very irked about her almost marrying Tongtong, and refused to agree with her invitation for a toast.
Jiang Wan bluntly said, “Cheng-zong, you don’t have to be so disrespectful, right? I don’t really want to attack him.”
Cheng Chen said, “I remember that I warned you.”
Jiang Wan said helplessly, “Who told you only telling me that? It made me so curious that I can only check it myself.”
Cheng Chen gave her a sarcastic smile. “Ah then, is Jiang-zong satisfied with what she finds?”
Jiang Wan glanced at the private estate worth tens of millions where she was currently located and nodded. “It’s not bad,” she said.
“…”
Cheng Chen couldn’t help but chuckle angrily at her. “So, you went to all this trouble with the marriage alliance just to find out what forces are behind Zhu Tong?”
“Since you, Cheng-zong, personally warned me, wouldn’t it be worth a try?” Jiang Wan said. “Besides, Cheng-zong, you should thank me. That stepson of the Zhu family approached me. If he’s after me, he’ll be after others too. By proposing the marriage alliance, I exposed Zhu Shoushan’s selfishness and helped Zhu Shao to break free sooner. I helped you avoid future troubles. Isn’t that a good thing?”
Cheng Chen said in a deep voice, “Aren’t you afraid that what you dug up will cause your calculations to be backfired?”
“Seeking wealth and success involves taking risks,” Jiang Wan said with a serious tone. “Otherwise, do you think I could have stood firm in the Jiang family for so many years?”
Proposing a marriage alliance with Zhu Tong, whether it succeeds or fails, has its benefits. If successful, it would strengthen the influence of both families through the marriage alliance. If it fails, she could uncover Zhu Tong’s background and use it as an opportunity to contact the forces behind him.
Indeed, as warned by Cheng Chen, her calculations may backfire, but at the same time, there are greater opportunities, aren’t there?
Jiang Wan did not regret her decision.
Cheng Chen looked at her blankly.
Although he didn’t like Jiang Wan’s way of doing things, he had to admit that Jiang Wan did help them.
Zhu Tong was born and raised in the Zhu family. He has always lived a passive life, refusing to accept help from others, feeling that he could die at any moment, and there was no need to involve others.
To make him make up his mind to leave Zhu’s house, he really needs powerful medicine.
Cheng Chen smiled again and said, “So, did you know that Tongtong fainted at the Zhu family’s villa last night?”
Jiang Wan: “…”
This was indeed something she didn’t expect.
Although she knew that Zhu Tong was weak, she did not expect him to be that weak.
If something were to happen to Zhu Tong, she might not have the opportunity to step into this mansion today.
Cheng Chen would kill her.
Jiang Wan’s expression froze for a moment, then she continued, “This was my negligence, but I can make up for it. I brought someone here today.”
Cheng Chen asked, “Who?”
Jiang Wan: “Probably… Zhu Tong’s… little lover?”
“…”
Zhu Tong saw that familiar face near the rockery.
At first glance, he almost thought it was a figment of his imagination.
Near the rockery, Shao Ming was dressed in a black suit, standing tall and straight. He bowed his head, talking to someone with a polite smile on his face.
He seemed to have put extra effort into grooming today… Although he always took great care of his appearance, he looked particularly handsome today.
Zhu Tong forgot how to speak for a while.
He’s not hallucinating, is he?
Why is Shao Ming here?
‘Shao Ming didn’t seem to see me.’
As he was thinking about that, Shao Ming suddenly nodded to the person in front of him and turned around to walk behind the rockery.
Zhu Tong subconsciously followed.
There was nothing behind the rockery.
So… he really was hallucinating?
Zhu Tong was a little lost in thought.
As he turned to walk back, passing the juncture of two artificial hills, a hand suddenly reached out from behind, wrapping around his waist, pulling him back and spinning him around to collide with the hard surface of the rockery, with the person pressing against him.
A sudden sense of oppression enveloped him, and Zhubo abruptly looked up, meeting a familiar youth wearing an unfamiliar expression.
Shao Ming’s gaze bore straight into him, devoid of its usual playful banter. When he spoke, there was a hint of grit in his voice: “Looking for me?”
