Chapter 7.1

When Wen Tang received the reply, she was in her loungewear with her hair up in a loose bun, sitting barefoot on the carpet and making notes on her script.

During her leisure time, she enjoyed studying scripts to deepen her understanding of the characters.

After the big meal and shower, her mood had calmed down. Years of experience in acting had made her adept at managing her emotions.

However, her indulgence today meant she would have to endure hunger for the next few days. Being a celebrity was no easy feat.

Putting aside her frustrations, Wen Tang was still bothered by the encounter with the man in the elevator. The fact that they had met in such an embarrassing way and that he was her neighbor made her feel extremely awkward.

She hoped she wouldn’t run into him again.

Lost in her script, she heard her phone beep.

After finishing the last two lines of her script notes, Wen Tang picked up her phone to check.

Finally, the “little cool guy” had replied to her message.

Looking at the time, she saw that he had responded nearly five hours after her initial message. It had been almost ten o’clock.

What a relief!

But when she saw the content of the reply, she nearly had a heart attack.

It was just one lonely word.

A simple “Oh.”

What?!

She had written so many words, and he replied with just “Oh”? Was that it? Was it over with just that one word?

So minimalistic?!

……

Oh.

……

What does that mean? Does he find her conversation boring? Is there nothing else to talk about?

This couldn’t be true!

There were so many topics to discuss. Why did he respond with just an “Oh”?!

She addressed him as “Senior Brother,” shouldn’t he ask her who she was? Didn’t he have any curiosity about why she added him? She mentioned that she was also a fan of Jiang Qianya—couldn’t that spark a conversation about their shared interest?

Why the single “Oh”?

This “little cool guy” was not just pretending to be aloof; he was genuinely cool!

Originally, Wen Tang had planned to create a fictional identity for herself as a small-time actress under the Juxing agency. She would claim that she had mistakenly added him on WeChat while intending to add someone else.

Of course, the “mistake” was just an excuse. Regardless of whether the addition was a mistake or not, they were now friends. What happened next was entirely up to her.

She had prepared a whole script for this, but now… this “little cool guy” was unlike anyone else, not playing by the usual rules.

Wen Tang pondered the meaning of the single “Oh” and decided to reply:

[ Candy: Senior Brother! Finally got your reply, I’ve been waiting for so long!]

[ Candy: Did you collect all 50 likes? Have you got Jiang Qianya’s poster? Ah, I’m so envious! I also want Jiang Qianya’s poster!]

Always maintaining her persona, she used a sweet and charming tone. Men tend to appreciate a little cuteness!

She hoped to trigger some sense of guilt in him and then ask innocently.

Now, surely he couldn’t brush her off, right?!

She sent the messages and continued to wait for a reply.

The response was slow. After about ten minutes, when Wen Tang thought he might be ignoring her again and considered sending another message, she finally received a reply.

This time, it was just four words.

[Y: Not successful.]

Wen Tang didn’t understand the message at first, but after reading it a couple of times, she realized it meant he hadn’t collected the 50 likes.

So, the 50 likes weren’t gathered?

Fifty likes should be easy to gather given her large number of friends. Even if it were 500 likes, she could easily collect them.

How few friends does Gong Yue have?

It was hard to imagine someone being so solitary.

Although she could roughly guess the reason, if there weren’t many topics to discuss, playing dumb would be appropriate.

[ Candy: Ah, what a pity!]

[ Candy: Why not?]

……

Seeing the near-instant replies, Zhou Jingyu was somewhat surprised. His grandfather said she was well-mannered? If so, she didn’t seem to fit that description at all.

She was overly lively and too familiar.

Zhou Jingyu didn’t want to have too much contact with his blind date. Ideally, they would stay in each other’s friend lists and not interact further. Yet, he didn’t expect her to be so forward once they started chatting.

He felt he had to respond since she had questions.

So he politely replied again.

[Y: I have very few WeChat friends.]

He hoped that would be the end of it.

Zhou Jingyu pulled back the blanket, preparing to go to bed.

However, as soon as he lay down, another message came in. He didn’t need to guess; it was undoubtedly his talkative blind date.

He wanted to ignore it but hesitated. Eventually, he picked up the phone from the bedside table.

[ Candy: I understand.]

[ Candy: But Senior Brother, don’t you really want Jiang Qianya’s poster?]

He didn’t want it.

Before today, he hadn’t even known who Jiang Qianya was.

Now he regretted that he had lied and had to use more lies to cover it up.

If he had known, he wouldn’t have casually accepted the label of a Jiang Qianya fan. The matchmaker seemed to be fixated on Jiang Qianya and kept bringing her up.

Just as Zhou Jingyu was about to reply, another message popped up from Wen Tang.

She really did talk too much.

Her messages were endless, one after another.

[ Candy: Ah, Senior Brother, why can’t I find the post you made this afternoon?]

[ Candy: Did you delete it??]

Surprised, Zhou Jingyu realized she had gone to check his WeChat Moments. He eventually admitted the truth.

[Y: I accidentally deleted it…]

Her reply came almost immediately, sounding pitiful.

[ Candy: Did Senior Brother still have that like collection post?]

[ Candy: I also want to collect 50 likes and get Jiang Qianya’s poster, boo hoo!!!]

……

Looking at the chat that was now filled with messages, Zhou Jingyu felt as if he was stuck to a sticky candy.

It must be an illusion.

Zhou Jingyu quietly opened his chat with Lu Yi. Previously, Lu Yi had sent him the ads, which he had copied and forwarded. Thus, he still had the ad content in their chat.

He forwarded it to her.

[ Candy: Thank you, Senior Brother!!!!!!!!]

A moment later.

[ Candy: Senior Brother, go like my post in WeChat Moments!]

Zhou Jingyu had no choice but to help with the like.

[Y: Done.]

[ Candy: Thank you, Senior Brother, boo hoo, you’re the best!]

Seeing that she was still so enthusiastic, Zhou Jingyu had to remind her.

[Y: …It’s bedtime now.]

On Wen Tang’s side, she was getting more and more into the conversation, enjoying chatting with someone who didn’t like to chat!

The more she chatted, the more she enjoyed it. It was simply irresistible!

But it seemed like he didn’t want to continue.

But that was okay.

There’s always tomorrow.

[ Candy: Oh oh oh.]

[ Candy: Let’s chat again tomorrow~]

[ Candy: Good night, Senior Brother!]

Zhou Jingyu didn’t reply again.

He thought this would be the end.

However, he was too naive.

About a minute after he lay down, his phone buzzed again. He didn’t need to guess who it was.

As soon as Wen Tang saw the new message, she knew it was from him.

[ Candy: By the way, Senior Brother, the cat in your Moments—is it your own? It’s so cute and beautiful, I love it so much!!!]

[ Candy: If there’s a chance in the future, could I pet it?]

Wen Tang sent the final message, and as expected, received no response.

It seemed the “little cool guy” was genuinely avoiding her!

Throughout their conversation, Wen Tang felt his aloofness and indifference.

He always responded with just a few words after she said several things and never took the initiative to start a topic.

This clearly indicated his lack of interest in chatting with her.

He hadn’t shown any curiosity about who she was since they added each other as friends a week ago. He never asked for her name, where she was from, or why she added him. Clearly, she meant nothing to him.

Yet, he was very polite, always replying to her messages, no matter how brief. This allowed Wen Tang to keep asking questions and getting answers, creating a sense of security for her.

What began as a mere test had turned into a deep interest for her. He intrigued her, and she was determined to win him over and make him submit to her.

She wondered how he would act when he liked someone. Would he be talkative? Would he be clingy?

She was suddenly looking forward to her days at the filming set starting tomorrow!

**