Shen Xiunian raised an eyebrow. Standing in place, he first skimmed through all the messages to confirm Jiang Tang hadn’t encountered any urgent matters, then started reading from the first message, one by one.
With each message, he could imagine the tone Jiang Tang would use when saying it.
When she spoke, her eyes must have been sparkling as she looked at him, her voice sweet and soft, with a rising inflection at the end.
Shen Xiunian’s lips unconsciously curved into a smile.
He opened every picture and examined them carefully.
The drawing was excellent—its structure, perspective, and colors were all outstanding.
Her hands were also beautiful, fair and delicate, with a slender, pale wrist peeking out.
Shen Xiunian couldn’t help but wonder: Was it these very hands that created such a wonderful drawing?
Her hands looked lovely in the photo with the water cup.
Her hands looked lovely in the photo with the plush doll.
Her hands in the photo with the cuticle oil were even more flawless.
How could Jiang Tang’s hands be so beautiful?
He reached the last photo, a bare-faced selfie of Jiang Tang in her pajamas.
The pajamas were a light pink long-sleeved set, quite ordinary, but they looked completely different on Jiang Tang.
She must have just taken a shower, her cheeks flushed and her skin glowing like the finest pearl. Her beautiful fox-like eyes were bright and lively, and her lips were a tender red, more enticing than the most vibrant rose.
Unbelievably beautiful.
After reading all the messages, Shen Xiunian couldn’t hide the smile on his lips.
He clicked into Jiang Tang’s social media feed and saw the post she had shared. He gave it a like.
It felt great.
It felt great that Jiang Tang had sent him so many messages.
It felt great that Jiang Tang was willing to share everything with him.
Jiang Tang’s drawing pen, her water cup, the hair tie she used to tie her hair, the pajamas she slept in—all these things closely tied to her daily life were now connected to him.
It felt incredibly great.
Most of Shen Xiunian’s labmates, both senior and junior, were doctoral students, with a few master’s students among them.
They were all older than Shen Xiunian. Some of them should technically be his juniors, but because Shen Xiunian was younger, he addressed them all as senior.
They, in turn, called him “Nian Shen.”
The nickname “Nian Shen” was purely a term of endearment.
Seeing Shen Xiunian standing there, chuckling at his phone, they couldn’t resist teasing him.
“Oh my, am I seeing things? Nian Shen is smiling!”
“Senior, it’s been so long since I’ve seen Nian Shen smile. Have you?”
“No, it’s been a while since Nian Shen smiled like this.”
“Wowwwww!”
They started making playful noises again.
Shen Xiunian snapped back to reality, put away his phone, and looked at them politely. “Seniors, I’ll head out first.”
The group waved him off.
After walking a few steps, Shen Xiunian took out his phone again and opened his chat with Jiang Tang.
He saved all the photos.
His senior labmates behind him chuckled good-naturedly. “So even Nian Shen acts like this when he’s in love!”
“Nian Shen, treat her well.”
Shen Xiunian replied softly, “I will.”
He sent Jiang Tang a message: “I just left the lab. What are you doing?”
Jiang Tang was playing a game.
The novel’s setting was a fictionalized version of the real world, with a background similar to reality.
Her favorite game characters and the games she enjoyed playing all existed in this world.
Jiang Tang had redownloaded a game. Her max-level account had been reset to a new one, and she was now grinding furiously.
She replied, “I’m in my dorm playing a game.”
She saw that Shen Xiunian had liked her social media post.
Shen Xiunian: “Are your roommates around?”
Jiang Tang: “No.”
Shen Xiunian: “Shall I call you?”
Jiang Tang thought for a moment and asked Tongtong: “Tongtong, Shen Xiunian didn’t reply to any of my earlier messages at all, and now he wants to call me. Is it because I sent too many messages, and he finds it hard to handle?”
“Very likely!” Tongtong exclaimed excitedly: “If he finds it hard to handle, he might go back to meeting once a month, and we can slack off!”
“Yay!” Jiang Tang agreed: “He probably hasn’t even finished reading all the messages!”
“If he calls me, he definitely wants to talk. I need to be prepared.”
Tongtong cheered her on: “Go, Tangtang!”
Jiang Tang took a deep breath and replied: “Sure.”
Shen Xiunian’s call came through quickly.
Jiang Tang put on her earphones and answered.
Shen Xiunian’s clear, crisp voice came through the earphones and into her ears: “Tangtang.”
He had heard her roommates call her that, so he decided to do the same.
Jiang Tang felt her ears tingle.
Hearing Shen Xiunian call her “Tangtang” felt so intimate, but since her roommates called her that too, Jiang Tang accepted it.
She took a moment to compose herself and called him: “Shen Xiunian, are you done with your work?”
Shen Xiunian was also wearing earphones. The corners of his lips lifted slightly. Jiang Tang’s voice was exactly as he had imagined—sweet and soft, flowing right into his ears.
He said: “I’m done. I’m heading back to my place now.”
Shen Xiunian didn’t live on campus; he had several properties near D University.
Jiang Tang let out an “oh.” She nervously waited for Shen Xiunian to start the conversation, hoping he wouldn’t be too intimidating if he got angry.
Then she heard Shen Xiunian’s calm, unhurried voice.
“Running experiments isn’t exactly tiring, but each one takes a lot of time. Even after putting in the time, there’s no guarantee of results. The process can be a bit tedious—you have to be patient.”
“Your drawings are very good—well-structured, with correct perspective and nice colors. Is that a dress you designed? It’s very creative and luxurious.”
“That water cup looks nice.”
“The doll is cute.”
…
“Your hands are beautiful. You applied cuticle oil, and your nails look shiny and moisturized.”
“The blind box is cute too.”
“This pajama looks great on you. Do you like scented candles? I’ll get you a different scent next time.”
His pace was steady, his voice clear and gentle, responding to every single thing Jiang Tang had said.
Jiang Tang was stunned. She felt a tingling sensation spread from her heart to her entire chest.
He’s so sincere.
He wasn’t annoyed at all. He answered every one of her messages with such care.
Every girl would love to be treated with this kind of sincerity.
It carried a sense of solemnity.
Jiang Tang felt her ears tingle as if they were burning.
She rubbed her ears.
Shen Xiunian finally said: “I can’t guess exactly how much you spent.”
Jiang Tang laughed and said: “Shen Xiunian, I spent 13,140!”
Shen Xiunian was slightly taken aback. That number was a good one.
He chuckled softly: “That’s good.”
His tone carried a hint of gentle indulgence.
Jiang Tang’s ears tingled again. She rubbed them and started talking about her drawings: “That’s a piece of clothing I designed, but it’s not for people—it’s for dolls.”
“Dolls?” Shen Xiunian was curious.
“Yes,” Jiang Tang said: “BJD dolls.”
Jiang Tang gave him a rundown on what BJD dolls were.
Shen Xiunian wasn’t very familiar with this topic, and since they were stopped at a red light, he searched it up right away. After reading the search results, he said, “That’s interesting.”
Jiang Tang was delighted and chatted with him about many things.
Before her book transmigration, Jiang Tang had majored in fashion design, but entering the fashion industry required a lot of money, and she had no such ambitions.
Her interest lay in making BJD doll clothes, and the outfits she made sold exceptionally well on a certain second-hand platform.
Shen Xiunian listened to Jiang Tang’s ramblings. When she talked about the things she loved, her voice grew sweeter and her tone more animated.
He thought to himself that her face must be glowing right now.
After parking the car, Shen Xiunian returned to a spacious apartment near D University.
While listening to Jiang Tang talk, he took off his clothes, changed into a sports tank top and shorts, picked up a dumbbell, and started working out.
He occasionally responded to Jiang Tang with a few words, and from time to time, soft, breathy sounds escaped him.
Jiang Tang was happily chatting away when she suddenly heard Shen Xiunian’s heavy breathing, and half her body went weak.
After a moment of silence, she asked in flustered anger, “Shen Xiunian, what are you doing?”
His panting had ignited a fire in her lower abdomen.