Uncle Pei.
The memories surged up.
Pei Jianguo—the middle-aged man who always appeared gentle and refined. After his wife passed away, he had raised his son alone.
The Pei family was a true wealthy family, with vast business holdings.
Yet he carried very little of the arrogance commonly associated with the rich.
He treated Lin Xiuyun sincerely well and genuinely wanted to accept Wen Chu into the family.
But the original owner had been terrified.
Terrified that once her mother remarried and had a new family, she would no longer be wanted.
So she did everything she could to stop it.
Crying.
Throwing tantrums.
Giving Uncle Pei the cold shoulder.
“ChuChu?”
When Wen Chu remained silent, Lin Xiuyun’s voice became even more careful.
“If you don’t want to go out to eat, we can cook at home.”
Listening to the cautious pleading in her mother’s voice, Wen Chu felt complicated emotions welling up inside her.
“That’s okay…”
She wasn’t the original owner.
She could understand Lin Xiuyun’s desire for companionship.
And she could see that Uncle Pei was genuinely a good person.
Lin Xiuyun froze.
She clearly hadn’t expected Wen Chu to agree so easily this time.
A trace of emotion entered her voice.
“Good, good, good. Then I’ll go tell Uncle Pei right away.”
After hanging up, the screen lit up again.
It was a WeChat message from Lin Xiuyun.
【Remember to accept the money. Buy something warm and don’t freeze.】
【Mom’s fine. Focus on your studies.】
Before transmigrating…
She hadn’t really had the chance to receive messages like these anymore.
During the summer when she was sixteen, an unexpected car accident had taken both her parents away.
Her parents lay in the cold morgue.
Meanwhile, she stood in the pale white hospital corridor, surrounded by relatives—some familiar, some unfamiliar.
“ChuChu, why don’t you come live with your uncle? The conditions aren’t great, but…”
“Your aunt’s health isn’t very good, but feeding one extra person isn’t a problem…”
“You could stay with us too. We just have a lot of kids, and I’m worried it’ll affect your studies…”
One after another, they spoke.
Some sounded greedy.
Some sounded calculating.
Their gazes repeatedly drifted toward her.
Or more accurately—
Toward the inheritance and compensation money her parents had left behind.
The air felt sticky and suffocating.
The smell of disinfectant mixed with cheap perfume, cigarette smoke, and the unspoken calculations of the adult world.
She opened her mouth.
She wanted to say:
I’m not going anywhere.
I can take care of myself.
But sixteen-year-olds needed legal guardians.
The overwhelming fear and loneliness drowned her completely.
Her throat felt blocked.
She couldn’t produce a single sound.
All she could do was clutch her backpack straps tightly, her nails digging into her palms as she tried to make herself smaller and smaller.
As if she could disappear.
Maybe that was when it started.
The fear of crowds.
The fear of being watched.
The fear of any situation that required her to speak or interact.
She shut herself inside her room.
Drew the curtains closed.
Only the glow of a screen and the sound of a keyboard could provide a fragile sense of security.
Her phone vibrated again.
A banking notification appeared, pulling her back from her memories.
The transfer had been completed.
She looked at the extra three thousand yuan in her account.
Then at the two WeChat messages.
Her eyes suddenly felt hot.
This mother…
Slowly overlapped with the mother from her own memories.
The one who used to secretly put fruit into her school bag.
The one who always nagged her to dress warmly in winter.
Different face.
Same warmth.
She sniffled and quickly typed a reply.
【ChuChu Hiding: Thank you, Mom.】
During all this, a message from Xi Liye finally arrived.
【L.YE: Just finished a set of experiments.】
【L.YE: The wind is strong. Stay warm.】
【L.YE: Pay attention in class.】
【L.YE: No plans for now.】
The replies were still brief.
But he answered every point she had brought up.
Immediately, Wen Chu became energized again.
Remembering her “sharp question” plan, her fingers quickly flew across the screen.
【ChuChu Hiding: Why did you take so long to reply?!】
【ChuChu Hiding: I waited forever! (Sad Kitty.jpg)】
【ChuChu Hiding: Is your experiment more important than me?】
A perfect combo attack.
Displaying unreasonable behavior and possessiveness to the fullest.
Any normal guy would feel suffocated and annoyed, right?
Her screen lit up almost immediately.
Xi Liye’s reply arrived.
Not text.
A voice message only a few seconds long.
For some reason, Wen Chu’s heartbeat skipped.
Like a thief, she quickly put on her earphones before carefully playing the message.
Xi Liye’s low, slightly hoarse voice came through.
The background was quiet.
Perhaps he was in a hallway or had already left the teaching building.
His speech was calm and unhurried.
“Looking at my phone wasn’t convenient during the experiment.”
He explained first.
Then, remembering how easily his girlfriend got upset and how difficult she was to coax, he added:
“Next time, I’ll let you know in advance.”
Then came the final word.
“Good girl.”
That single word felt like a feather lightly brushing against her ear.
Wen Chu rubbed her slightly reddened ear.
She wanted to continue complaining.
But he had already lowered himself so much.
Wouldn’t it be too much if she kept causing trouble?
Trying to act composed, she typed back:
【ChuChu Hiding: Hmph. That’s more like it. I’ll forgive you this time!】
【ChuChu Hiding: But don’t let it happen again! (Arms-Crossed Kitty.jpg)】
After sending it, she felt slightly guilty.
Because if Xi Liye messaged her first, she couldn’t guarantee she’d reply instantly either.
His response arrived immediately.
This time it was text.
【L.YE: Okay.】
【L.YE: Want to have dinner together tonight?】
Wen Chu blinked at the message.
The Affection Bombing Plan and her Spoiled Girlfriend Persona immediately sounded alarms inside her head.
Would a spoiled girlfriend reject her boyfriend’s dinner invitation?
Of course not.
She would only become picky, demanding, and use the opportunity to ask for more.
【ChuChu Hiding: Sure! Sure!】
【ChuChu Hiding: But I want to go to that new rooftop garden restaurant! There aren’t many people there, and the night view is super beautiful!】
【ChuChu Hiding: Can we go there? I’ve never been before~ (Rolling Kitty GIF)】
The restaurant, Sky Garden, had recently exploded in popularity across social media.
The average spending per person was absurdly high.
And according to rumors, walk-ins weren’t accepted.
Reservations needed to be made at least a week in advance.
Choosing this place was perfect.
Expensive—making her seem materialistic and inconsiderate.
Hard to reserve—giving her a reason to complain if he failed.
And if Xi Liye really managed to get a reservation…
Well.
At least she’d get an expensive dinner out of it.
Just as she was lost in her thoughts, her screen lit up.
Xi Liye’s reply was simple.
【L.YE: That place?】
【L.YE: Let me check.】
Two minutes later—
【L.YE: Fully booked. The waiting list is already into next month.】
【L.YE: How about somewhere else?】
As expected!
Wen Chu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
She immediately replied in a disappointed and spoiled tone.
【ChuChu Hiding: Ah… how disappointing…】
【ChuChu Hiding: But I really wanted that place. How come you can’t even reserve a restaurant?】
Her words carried obvious dissatisfaction.
Surely he would be annoyed now, right?
This time, Xi Liye took several minutes to respond.
His answer was concise.
【L.YE: It’s fine now.】
【L.YE: Seven o’clock. I’ll pick you up.】
【ChuChu Hiding: Didn’t you just say you couldn’t get a reservation?】
She was genuinely confused.
【L.YE: I happen to know the owner.】
【L.YE: He reserved a table for us.】
His tone remained calm.
In truth, Wen Chu’s complaint hadn’t angered him at all.
After all, she wasn’t wrong.
If he couldn’t even satisfy something his girlfriend wanted, then that really would be rather useless.
Wen Chu: “…”
Six hundred and sixty-six.
Not even pretending anymore.
As expected of the male lead.
For everyone else, securing a reservation required fighting over a spot a month in advance.
For him, it only took a single message.
A single sentence.
Once again, Wen Chu felt that she had been thoroughly manipulated by capitalism.