Anyway, it will be a long time before the next time with Wen Yan.
Thinking of Wen Yan, Qiu Zheng, who had just closed her suitcase, looked at her phone again.
In the short time she hadn’t checked it, there were already two more new messages.
Wen Yan: If Wen Lin comes to see you next time and you don’t like it, you can just refuse her.
Wen Yan: You don’t need to worry about my feelings.
What “face” do you even have? I haven’t even replied to you.
Wait…
Was his phone stolen?
Or his account was hacked?
So confusing.
Seeing that she couldn’t avoid replying anymore, Qiu Zheng finally started typing: “Is this really you?”
A new message came immediately.
Wen Yan: Mm, it’s me.
Alright, that tone—it really was him.
Qiu Zheng casually scrolled through his messages, then picked a few of the more important ones to reply to.
Qiu Zheng: I’ve been busy lately. Let’s postpone the check-up.
Wen Yan: Okay.
Qiu Zheng thought that was the end of it, but his messages kept coming.
Wen Yan: What are you busy with?
Wen Yan: If you need help with anything, you can tell me.
I need you to be quiet, Qiu Zheng thought.
She was about to reply, “Thanks, but I don’t need help,”
She had already typed it out, but then saw another message from him.
Wen Yan: You know, you’re my 100% match. Your emotions will affect me.
He probably realized he had been messaging too frequently, so he added this as a sort of explanation—or maybe, like before, he was warning her not to get any unrealistic ideas.
Qiu Zheng stared at the words “match” for a long time.
Was the influence of compatibility really that strong?
Even someone as self-controlled as Wen Yan could be affected.
Then why didn’t she feel much? Was it because she had transmigrated?
She thought about it for a while but couldn’t come to any conclusion. In the end, she lost interest in replying altogether, deleted the message she had typed, and exited the chat.
Wen Yan, meanwhile, had been staring at the words “the other party is typing.”
It had been flashing for quite a while, as if she were writing something long. He stared without blinking.
And then… nothing.
The words disappeared. Qiu Zheng stopped replying again.
Wen Yan unconsciously clenched his teeth. She had clearly typed something—why didn’t she send it? Which part of his message had made her angry?
He reread everything he had sent, his gaze stopping at the last line.
In truth, he hadn’t meant anything by it. He had just felt embarrassed, thinking she might find him annoying, so he wrote that sentence.
He tried to recall it—but the time limit had already passed.
He wanted to explain, but didn’t know where to begin. After all… it wasn’t wrong, was it? He really was…
At some point, his brows had already furrowed.
That’s enough, he thought. If he kept going, it would really look like he was chasing after her.
Qiu Zheng had booked a ticket to Fragrant City.
The reason for choosing that place was because Qingqiu was there. She had excitedly shared in their group chat that a web drama she had participated in as a screenwriter had cast Bai Ruxuan.
She wasn’t excited because she liked Bai Ruxuan, but because Qiu Zheng and Kang Ya often mentioned her in the group.
Hearing this, the two of them were practically bursting with envy.
Kang Ya: If my goddess would act in my novel, I’d even be willing to earn just a million!
Nan Xing: You really don’t want to lose out at all.
Kang Ya: Loss is blessing—better leave that blessing to someone else.
Kang Ya: Wuwuwu, Qingqiu, I’m so jealous of you.
Qingqiu: Xuanxuan is just making a cameo, and I heard the contract was signed a long time ago. Otherwise, now that she’s more famous, our production definitely couldn’t afford her.
Nan Xing: Still super enviable.
Because of this, Kang Ya decided to go to Fragrant City and strongly encouraged Qiu Zheng to come along. It was a well-known tourist destination anyway, and they could meet up in real life, so after some thought, Qiu Zheng agreed.
In the group chat, Qingqiu added one more thing.
Qingqiu: Her CP in the show is pretty good-looking too, and surprisingly it’s a beta—rare to see a beta who’s more beautiful than alphas.
Qingqiu: His name is Mu Yifan. Do either of you like him?
Neither Qiu Zheng nor Kang Ya recognized the name.
But since Qiu Zheng was bored during the trip, she searched up his photos and took a look.
After all, whether a drama becomes popular depends a lot on the chemistry of the CP.
Mu Yifan in the photos was indeed very handsome. If you had to say he was exceptionally good-looking—compared to an alpha like Wen Yan, he fell a bit short—but there was something…
Comfortable.
Qiu Zheng couldn’t quite describe it. He just had a very pleasant look—delicate features, clear and gentle eyes.
She wondered if his pairing with Xuanxuan could surpass the “Little Rose” from her previous drama.
This was Qiu Zheng’s first long trip since arriving in this world.
She took a sleeper train—her most common mode of travel before transmigrating.
At first, she watched the scenery outside with great interest. Later, she realized… the same mountains, the same fields, the same buildings—even the thunderous snoring in the carriage after lights-out at night was exactly the same.
She took out the earplugs she had prepared long ago. She didn’t sleep well on the train—worried about missing her stop, worried about safety—always half-awake.
In the morning, she woke up earlier than most passengers, yawning as she tidied up a bit at the public sink.
Next time, she’d just take a plane.
She was, after all, considered well-off now—no need to pinch pennies on this anymore.
Fortunately, she had chosen the train carefully. Not long after waking up, she arrived at her destination.
Following the bustling crowd out of the station, she could clearly feel the difference the moment she stepped outside—the air here was much fresher than in Hai City, and the sky looked especially blue.
She first took a taxi to a car rental shop she had already found online.
There were many small tourist towns around Fragrant City. While there were direct buses between them, Qiu Zheng got motion sickness—especially on buses—so renting a car was her top priority.
The rental shop owner was very friendly, chatting casually while showing her the cars.
“Miss, are you traveling alone?”
“No, I have friends joining me tomorrow.”
“Then this one—this one’s bigger,” the owner recommended.
It had a more spacious back seat. Qiu Zheng didn’t refuse. She wouldn’t really need it, but she also didn’t want to say she was alone.
“You picked the perfect time to come to Fragrant City—autumn is beautiful here!”
“Oh, do you need a guide? I know a few good ones—they can even drive for you.”
Qiu Zheng smiled and declined. After paying the deposit and driving off, she headed to a guesthouse she had booked in advance.
There was still plenty of time, so she wasn’t in a rush to go out on the first day—she decided to rest first.
She updated her friends in the group chat, and Kang Ya immediately replied.
Kang Ya: Why are you so fast? Your execution is insane.
Qiu Zheng couldn’t exactly say she came to get away from things.
Nan Xing: I had nothing better to do anyway.
Qingqiu: If you told me earlier, I would’ve picked you up!
Nan Xing: It’s fine, I came to travel anyway. I’ll explore the city for a few days first.
Qingqiu’s filming location was in Yunwan. Bai Ruxuan’s role was just a cameo, and her scenes were concentrated—apparently they could be finished in two days. She hadn’t even joined the set yet.
So Qiu Zheng wasn’t in a hurry to go there.
She stayed in the city for a few days, waking up naturally each morning, then driving around. As a tourist city, every corner was beautifully designed.
But what stood out the most…
It was the food.
During the day, she visited popular spots; at night, she went to food streets, wanting to eat from one end to the other.
After a few days like this, when she looked in the mirror, she wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination—but her face seemed a bit rounder.
Qiu Zheng took out her “future city rating notebook.” For Fragrant City, she had originally given food a full score of 100—now she reduced it to 60.
If she kept eating like this, she’d turn into a ball.
Her phone buzzed with a new message—from Wen Yan, who had been silent for days.
“I’ll have some time off in a few days.”
“Is there anywhere you’d like to go?”
Qiu Zheng jolted, almost thinking he somehow knew she had gone out and said that on purpose.
Then another message came.
“Grandpa asked me to take you out for a trip. Said we haven’t had a honeymoon.”
Qiu Zheng let out a breath. So it was because of his grandfather.
What was there to do with him? Not going. A honeymoon, really?
At that moment, the man in the elevator was staring intently at his phone. In truth, the “time off” was fake—he rarely took leave and had accumulated plenty. Whether he took it or not was entirely up to him.
Mentioning his grandfather was also just an excuse.
Wen Yan had only one thought now: maybe if they met—just once—then all this unease and restlessness would disappear.
He couldn’t keep suppressing it like this.
As usual, there was no reply.
She was always slow to respond, he told himself—but in his mind, it felt like a string was about to snap.
The elevator doors opened. Wen Yan lifted his eyes slightly. Several people stood outside, led by Wen Huayu, the son of his second uncle.
Seeing Wen Yan, everyone instinctively stepped back.
“Professor Wen.”
No one dared to step into the elevator anymore. Only Wen Huayu entered.
Wen Yan had always been in charge of research and development, rarely involved in company management.
But everyone knew Old Master Wen favored this grandson the most. Combined with his own achievements and reputation, whether company employees or younger members of the Wen family, all regarded him with deep respect—and a hint of fear.