Chapter 3

When Xu Chuanchuan recalled the untoward thoughts she had this morning, she couldn't help but grow nervous. After faltering for a long time, she said, "No, I...I was just going to get some water."

Murong Shi's long legs overlapped with each other as she leaned against the door frame to examine the person in front of her. The woman before her was short and thin, and she had visible dark circles under her eyes. Although the woman didn't possess excellent facial features, her lips were fortunately rosy red and her teeth pearly white. Paired with her bobbed hair, she looked relatively cute.

Murong Shi lowered her gaze and stopped at the employee badge hanging in front of the woman's chest. "Xu Chuanchuan, Assistant of the Engineering Department. What a strange name."

Xu Chuanchuan: "..."

The only thought in Xu Chuanchuan's mind right now was to slip away, and she couldn't help but reveal an unnatural expression. Particularly, when Murong Shi returned her gaze to her face and looked at her with a hint of playfulness, Xu Chuanchuan felt goosebumps rising all over her body.

Inwardly, Xu Chuanchuan wondered, I saw her slapping that man that day. Don't tell me she's thinking of 'erasing eyewitnesses'?

At this time, Murong Shi retracted her gaze and said blandly, "I'll have Linda pay you back for the Coke in a moment."

I'm not here to ask for money! I was just passing by to get water!

Forcing a smile, Xu Chuanchua said, "Let's just forget about the money. If you don't have business with me…I'll be taking my leave first."

Murong Shi nodded.

As if she was just granted amnesty, Xu Chuanchuan ran away with her empty cup.

After entering the toilet, she pulled out her phone and quickly poked the screen with her fingers. "That face-slapper I met last Saturday was my boss's daughter!"

Ange: "What?! [Startled]"

Xu Chuanchuan: "I just met her. I was so scared my heart nearly jumped out."

Ange: "Could your boss's daughter be hideous?"

Ange had evidently misunderstood her words. After pondering for a moment, Xu Chuanchuan replied: "No, she's quite beautiful."

Ange: "Sneak a photo for me. [Sinister smile]"

Xu Chuanchuan: "No way!"

Not wanting to spend too much time in the toilet, Xu Chuanchuan quickly relieved herself and went to the pantry to fill herself a cup of water. When she passed by the general manager's office again, she found that the door was open and there was someone inside the office. However, the occupant was merely the cleaning lady doing her duties.

Even after getting off work, no announcement regarding the appointment of a new vice president came. As a result, this topic gradually faded out of existence in the company.

For the next few days, Xu Chuanchuan did not see Murong Shi and her assistant appearing in the company again.

At one point, though, Xu Chuanchuan suddenly thought back to the time she saw Murong Shi's back. She then shared her new idea with her good friend: "I want to write about a model for my next book."

Ange: "Write it, then. Your current book is nearing completion. I'll help you promote it in my book."

As the two of them often advertised each other's work, Xu Chuanchuan graciously accepted Ange's offer.

…

Municipal Hospital:

Murong Shi was not wearing makeup today, and neither was she wearing those overly-exaggerated Cartier earrings. Her long hair was left dangling behind her head, giving her a casual look. Currently, she sat quietly in front of a hospital bed while holding an iPad in her hands. Her eyes were so fixated on the tablet that she didn't even realize the man sleeping on the hospital bed had just woken up.

"Little Shi."

Murong Shi remained unaffected by the man calling her. After looking at the tablet for a moment longer, she raised her head unhurriedly and looked at Sun An. "You're awake? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere? Would you like me to call the doctor?"

Despite fat covering his face, Sun An still possessed handsome facial features. At this time, though, he looked relatively weak. After processing Murong Shi's words for a moment, he shook his head and shifted his gaze toward Murong Shi's iPad, asking, "What were you so fascinated by?"

"A novel."

"What kind of novel?" Sun An asked, smiling.

Knowing that Sun An was merely trying to make conversation, Murong Shi said casually, "It's a web novel. I'll pour you a glass of water."

Although Murong Shi had been staying by his side for the past few days, Sun An felt as if this daughter of his was a little different. Apart from responding to his questions, she would never take the initiative to strike up a conversation. Her indifference made her feel as if she was dealing with a stranger.

Gazing at Murong Shi's back, Sun An pondered for a moment before asking, "Are you still mad at me? I wasn't deliberately trying to anger you that day. I'm not forcing you to get married right away, either. I just hope you two can get engaged first. After all, men would only concentrate on work once they are married. You know that Shaohua is..."

"We ran out of water. I'll go buy some for you," Murong Shi interrupted Sun An's words. Seemingly having no intentions of conversing with her father, she turned around and left the room without another word.

After exiting the ward and shutting the door, Murong Shi's expressionless face instantly collapsed. She then pulled out her phone and made a call.

When the call connected, Murong Shi said to the person on the other end of the phone, "He's awake. Bring an extra portion of food and a few bottles of water."

Hanging up the phone, Murong Shi sat on the chair by the door and quietly waited for her assistant to arrive.

The man inside the private ward was her biological father, but she did not wish to be alone with him at all. She also didn't wish to talk about Jiang Shaohua with him. What did it matter to her whether men would only focus on work after they got married? She was more than happy to see Jiang Shaohua spend his days enjoying himself outside. In any case, they would each have fun with their own lives. Talking to her father about Jiang Shaohua would only create more chances for her to slip up. If that were the case, she would be better off avoiding the topic altogether.

Having left her iPad inside the ward and not wanting to waste time, Murong Shi pulled out her phone, downloaded a reading application, logged back into her account, and resumed reading the novel she had been reading before.

Five days ago, Sun An had a diabetic attack and was hospitalized for emergency rescue. Upon receiving news of the situation, Murong Shi had hurried over to the hospital together with her assistant Linda.

After the incident settled down, Murong Shi decided to stay in the hospital and accompany her father. During this period, she spent her free time browsing her social media. She accidentally came across a post made by Murong Yan, her cousin, stating that she had recently read a shocking BL novel.

Murong Shi wasn't particularly interested in novels. However, as she was genuinely bored that day, she decided to search up the title on her phone. At the same time as Murong Shi found the novel Murong Yan recommended, she also came across a GL novel with the same title. Out of curiosity, she ended up clicking into the GL novel.

After being discharged from the hospital, Sun An did not waste time. He instructed his driver to take him to a certain hotel where he had invited someone for a meal.

Unwilling to go with her father, Murong Shi made up a random reason and said, "I'm thinking of heading home to take a bath."

Thinking that his daughter had suffered enough for the past few days, Sun An said, "Go home, then. Get a good rest for the next two days."

Afterward, Murong Shi and Linda got on the Maserati Quattroporte.

After entering the car, Linda asked worriedly, "Is it fine for President Sun to start socializing so soon after being discharged?"

Failing to get a good rest for the past few days, dark circles had already formed under Murong Shi's eyes. In a slightly exhausted voice, she answered, "Secretary Zhang will keep an eye on him."

In a soft tone, Linda asked, "Would you like to take a nap first? I'll call you once we arrive."

Murong Shi shook her head and smoothed back her hair. When her gaze landed on the iPad sandwiched in the middle armrest, she suddenly thought of something and said, "Help me top up my account."

After processing Murong Shi's words for a moment, Linda asked, "Like last time?"

"Mhm." Murong Shi picked up her iPad and unlocked it. She then looked into the jjwxc application and handed the tablet to Linda.

As if she was receiving an imperial decree from the emperor, Linda accepted the bulky tablet with both hands. She then opened up the top-up section of the application.

At this time, Murong Shi said nonchalantly, "Top-up more. Twenty is too little."

Twenty yuan was only enough for her to read a 600,000-word novel. While she didn't find this price to be expensive, she did it to be an inconvenience. She did not have a habit of buying things online, and neither did she use online banking systems or Alipay. She would only ever use cash or credit cards usually. Hence, she had to trouble her assistant to top-up her reading account.

Linda's hand paused at Murong Shi's words. Looking up, she asked, "You said you were only going to read one novel last time, so I only topped up twenty for you. You couldn't have gotten addicted, right?"

Hearing Murong Shi's words, Linda wondered to herself, Is this the so-called obsessive-compulsive disorder?

Previously, Linda had been surprised when Murong Shi had asked her to help with topping up her account to read a web novel. However, she merely thought that Murong Shi had been bored in the hospital. Linda never thought that Murong Shi would end up getting fascinated by novels. For precaution's sake, she decided to top up more money into Murong Shi's reading account.

After completing the top-up, Linda respectfully returned the tablet to its owner and said, "I topped up a hundred. Tell me in advance when you're close to running out."

"Thank you, but I won't be needing it once I finish reading this book," Murong Shi said. She then pulled out 120 yuan from her wallet and handed the bills to Linda.

In response, Linda awkwardly accepted the bills.

Switching into a more comfortable posture, Murong Shi settled the iPad on her thighs and revisited the unfinished novel.

When Murong Shi had read this Author's Note last night, it just so happened that Sun An had woken her up not long ago. Her head filled with annoyance, she ended up leaving a comment stating: "Very immature."

She also conscientiously scored the book with a "-2".

Linda started the car silently. To let Murong Shi have a more comfortable time reading, she deliberately drove slowly as well.

However, as the iPad's leather cover was too slippery, the tablet still fell flat on its back when the car accelerated. When Murong Shi stretched out a hand to support the tablet, she accidentally touched the middle of the screen, causing the system to jump to the comment section automatically. She then noticed a familiar ID.

"Passerby." That was the nickname the system generated for her automatically, and she also didn't bother changing it.

When she saw the short comment she left last night, she paid closer attention to it out of curiosity. However, she never thought that her comment would've received a bunch of replies.

Were the netizens nowadays so enthusiastic?

When Murong Shi glanced through the replies she received, her complexion changed instantly. This was because she found that most of those replies were cursing at her.

TL Notes:

[1]flowers and landmines refer to the voting and donation systems adopted by jjwxc's platform. Votes and contributions grant a novel with points, which translates to income and popularity.

Voting+Review system:

+2 points- A bouquet of flowers

+1 point - A small flower

0 points - A can of water

-1 point - A brick

-2 points - A pile of bricks

Contribution system:

Landmine - 100 points (1 yuan/0.15 USD)

Grenade - 500 points (5 yuan/0.75 USD)

Rocket - 1,000 points (10 yuan/1.5 USD)

Torpedo - 5,000 points (50 yuan/7.5 USD)

Deep-water Torpedo - 10,000 points (100 yuan/15 USD)