Chapter 58: Pt.1

Little Yan had gotten accepted into Nanjing University with excellent results. On the day she announced the good news, Murong Shi had deliberately given her a day off.

"Our whole family is going out to celebrate. Sorry, but I can't join you for dinner tonight, "Murong Shi said to Xu Chuanchuan.

"It's fine. Go ahead. This is a happy occasion, so you should properly celebrate it," Xu Chuanchuan said with a smile.

"I'll call you tonight."

"Mhm."

Then, Murong Shi suddenly gave Xu Chuanchuan a deep kiss while the latter was unprepared, leaving a bright red lipstick mark on her lips.

Xu Chuanchuan wiped off the lipstick with a look of disgust on her face. Yet, even though she expressed dislike toward Murong Shi's actions, her heart was fluttering in joy.

This was probably the so-called honeymoon period, where one couldn't help but wish they could stick to their beloved at every minute and second. Xu Chuanchuan never thought she would one day go through such a phase as well.

As soon as Murong Shi left, Xu Chuanchuan immediately felt her mood falling. Then, she dragged her sluggish body back to the dormitory and ordered a food delivery.

The sky outside still wasn't dark by the time Xu Chuanchuan finished her dinner. Then, with nothing better to do, she turned on her computer.

It had been a long time since Xu Chuanchuan had touched her computer, and a layer of dust had already accumulated on her monitor and keyboard. While wiping off the dust with a tissue paper, Xu Chuanchuan inwardly lamented, Sure enough, dating takes up a lot of time.

After booting up her PC and logging into QQ, Xu Chuanchuan received a bombardment of chat notifications. Upon taking a closer look, she found that many of her reader group's members had tagged her in their messages. Then, Xu Chuanchuan clicked into her reader group with a tentative heart.

—Lord, your Tycoon Shi is already online. Why haven't you appeared yet?

—We poor people can never understand the world of tycoons.

—Ah~ How enviable. This makes me want to start writing novels as well. I want to experience what it feels like to be pampered by a tycoon.

…

After Xu Chuanchuan carefully read through the messages, she found that her readers were talking about the donations Passerby Shi had given to her. So, she hurriedly visited jjwxc's website and opened up the donation history for her recently completed work and latest published work. Then, what she saw dumbfounded her.

She had received a total of 34 Deep-water Torpedoes yesterday. Every one of these donations was given at around ten o'clock last night. As a result of these donations, system announcements flooded the review section located on the front pages of both novels. It was no wonder why her reader group's members were in such an uproar.

Isn't this tycoon a little too crazy?

If it were in the past, Xu Chuanchuan would've long since sought out a certain someone and thanked them for such a massive donation. However, after the last teasing incident, she was honestly afraid of interacting with Passerby Shi.

If Passerby Shi had donated to her solely for the sake of supporting her, Xu Chuanchuan would've happily accepted the donation. The problem was that Xu Chuanchuan couldn't be certain whether Passerby Shi had any ulterior motives for being so generous.

However, the more Xu Chuanchuan thought about it, the more ludicrous she found her thoughts to be. Neither of them knew each other in the real world. Passerby Shi had never seen her real appearance, either. There was also no way Passerby Shi would like her just because she liked her novels.

Passerby Shi's teasing might've been a joke, but that type of joke had already exceeded Xu Chuanchuan's bottom line. She disliked flirting with her readers.

Moreover, Xu Chuanchuan was currently together with Murong Shi now. Therefore, she felt that she should be even stricter with such matters.

Not to mention, Xu Chuanchuan could never see through Passerby Shi's thoughts. In the end, she decided to accept the donations with a calm heart, though she did not take the initiative to strike up a conversation with Passerby Shi this time. Instead, she left a "thank you" comment under every donation announcement. She also sent the other party a super-big red packet.

After closing off her browser and group chat, Xu Chuanchuan opened up her writing folder and tapped on Ange's avatar: "Ange~ Let's write together~"

Ange: "Oh? You still have writing on your mind? Don't you need to go on a date today?"

Xu Chuanchuan: "She's busy with something tonight."

Ange: "So you only come to me when she's too busy for you? You heartless thing."

Xu Chuanchuan: "..."

Ange: "Let's go. We'll meet in the Dark Room."

Xu Chuanchuan hadn't written for a long time now, so her hands felt very rusty. Even after working for an hour without rest, she only managed to type out several hundred words. In contrast, Ange had managed to type over 4,000 words in the same period.

Partway through their writing session, Xu Chuanchuan decided to take a toilet break. When she returned from the bathroom, she heard her phone ringing.

Xu Chuanchuan initially thought Murong Shi was calling her, so she joyfully ran for her phone. However, when she picked up the phone and looked at the display, she saw the word "Mom" being displayed instead.

Xu Chuanchuan couldn't help but grow nervous about receiving a call from her mother so late into the night. Finally, after calming down a little, she answered the call and greeted, "Mom?"

Going straight into the topic, Mother Xu asked, "Is Xiangxiang staying at your place?"

Puzzled, Xu Chuanchuan said, "No. Shouldn't she be at school?"

"Her school vacation started last week, and even our neighbor's daughter has already come home. I gave her a call some time ago since she hasn't come home, and she says she's going to your place to stay for a few days. I called her again just now, but she didn't pick up."

Xu Chuanchuan's heart thumped when she heard her mother's words. Then, she said, "She didn't come to me."

"What? Where is she now?"

How would I know? Xu Chuanchuan thought to herself. Then, she comforted her mother, saying, "Don't panic yet. I'll give her a call now and ask her about the situation. I'll call you back afterward."

After hanging up the call, Xu Chuanchuan promptly dialed Xu Xiangxiang's number without even thinking why her little sister had lied to their mother.

However, the busy tone rang for a long time without anyone answering the call. At this time, Xu Chuanchuan gradually grew agitated for fear of Xu Xiangxiang's safety.

After calling Xu Xiangxiang three times and failing to reach her little sister, Xu Xiangxiang started panicking. Then, after calming her mind, she recalled that she had exchanged WeChat information with Xu Xiangxiang's three roommates during Xu Xiangxiang's birthday celebration last time. Without any hesitation, she messaged all three girls asking about Xu Xiangxiang's whereabouts.

A few minutes later, Qingqing replied: "Xiangxiang was the first to leave as soon as our exams ended, so we thought she went home."

The other two might not be online, so they might not have seen her message. However, when Xu Chuanchuan saw Qingqing's reply, a chill enveloped her heart, and she suddenly had a bad premonition.

She couldn't have gotten into trouble, right?

The more Xu Chuanchuan thought about it, the more worried she became. Lacking even the patience to type, Xu Chuanchuan sent a voice message asking, "Neither myself nor my mother can reach her through the phone right now. We also don't know where she went. Did she say anything to you when she left?"

In response, Qingqing said, "I just thought of something. I think she said she was going to meet with a senior. She is very close to that senior, and that senior has even introduced her to a part-time job before. I have this senior's WeChat information. Why don't I forward it to you, and you can ask her about Xiangxiang?"

"Okay! Please send it to me! Thank you!" Xu Chuanchuan said.

"You're welcome."

As it so happened, the aforementioned senior's WeChat information was also their phone number. Xu Chuanchuan called the number without hesitation.

The busy tone rang for a long time. Fortunately, the other party eventually picked up, and Xu Chuanchuan heard an unfamiliar woman's voice asking, "Who is it?"

Xu Chuanchuan didn't waste time on small talk. Instead, getting straight to the point, she said, "Hello, I am Xu Xiangxiang's elder sister. May I know if you have been in contact with her recently? She hasn't returned home even until now, and our family doesn't know where she went."

The other party seemingly hesitated for a moment before asking, "Did she not tell you guys?"

"Tell us what?"

"She is currently renting an apartment together with me close to our school, and we're...doing a part-time job together."

Frowning, Xu Chuanchuan asked, "What part-time job? Where are you two now? Can I trouble you to get Xu Xiangxiang to answer the call?"

"Hold on a second. She's streaming right now, so she might not have heard her phone ringing. I'll go take a look."

"Streaming???" Xu Chuanchuan subconsciously raised her voice.

The person on the other party got scared by Xu Chuanchuan's voice and shuddered involuntarily. Then, she stammered, "C-C-Calm down for now. I'll call her for you."

The sound of footsteps came through the phone, followed by the sound of a knock. Then, Xu Chuanchuan could vaguely hear a conversation taking place on the other end of the phone.

After Xu Chuanchuan patiently waited for several minutes, she heard a timid voice entering her ear, "Sis?"

When Xu Chuanchuan identified the person on the other end of the phone to be her little sister, she bellowed, "Xu Xiangxiang, what the hell are you doing?!"

"Nothing… I'm just trying to earn some pocket money…" Xu Xiangxiang said in an aggrieved tone.

"Why must you lie to mom? You are even ignoring her calls! She's frantically trying to reach you!"

"I didn't do it on purpose. I had my earphones on just now because I was streaming, so I didn't hear the phone ringing."

"You dare to quibble still?" Xu Chuanchuan felt her anger erupting when she heard the word "streaming." Then, she demanded, "Where are you now?"

...

An hour later, Xu Chuanchuan arrived at the address Xu Xiangxiang sent her through WeChat.

"Sis—" Xu Xiangxiang, wearing heavy makeup, came out to greet Xu Chuanchuan in person. Then, she mumbled, "Why did you come over at such a late hour?"

"I want to strangle you right now," Xu Chuanchuan said in a bitter tone.

"..." Putting on a flattering smile, Xu Xiangxiang said, "Come in, come in. It's cold outside."

There was one other person in the apartment, and this person was none other than the senior Xu Xiangxiang was sharing an apartment with. The senior in question was dressed in an even more exaggerated manner than Xu Xiangxiang. She wore a tight-fitting, low-cut skirt that barely covered her buttocks. Xu Chuanchuan guessed that the other party had been streaming just a moment ago looking at the woman's attire and makeup.

After giving the other party a polite nod, Xu Chuanchuan turned toward Xu Xiangxiang and put on a vicious face. Then, she asked, "Which room is yours?"

Xu Xiangxiang pointed to one of the rooms.

"Let me see it."

"Okay..."