However, Pei Shi was probably not feeling too pleased about “not tonight.” Facing Bai Tao’s praise for his taste, he not only didn’t feel happy but even showed a bit of genuine “wish I were dead” expression.

Well, with such a beautiful wife in front of him but unable to enjoy her, if she were in Pei Shao’s shoes, she might also wish for the end. 

Pei Shi didn’t delve further into the topic; his phone rang. Bai Tao took the opportunity to survey the villa, heading upstairs. Just as she was about to open the bedroom door on the second floor, Pei Shi stopped her.

He seemed to have finished the call, “I’ve put the latest samples of the magazines sent to you by the publishing house in your room on the third floor, not in mine.”

?

Bai Tao ran up to the third floor and found that Pei Shi was right. The third floor clearly had a feminine touch. After looking around, she confirmed that indeed she and Pei Shi did not live together, as besides her own toiletries, skincare products, and clothes, there was no trace of another person.

But… weren’t they supposed to be inseparably loving like Siamese twins? How come not only separate rooms but separate floors too?

Bai Tao glanced at Pei Shi, but before she could cautiously ask, Pei Shi cleared his throat and spoke up on his own:

“You threw a tantrum before and kicked me out of the room.” Pei Shi pursed his lips with dignity, looking calm, “So I had to move to the second floor. We didn’t use separate rooms before; our relationship was fine, no problems.”

So that’s how it was!

Poor Pei Shi, kicked out of his own room by Bai Tao!

In this world, there really are people who can be so humble for love! No home to return to, no room to stay in!

Initially, Bai Tao hadn’t thought much about it, but now looking at Pei Shi again, she felt a faint sense of desolation in his calm demeanor.

Outwardly strong, inwardly weak, Pei Shi had never suffered such humiliation. Yet now, calmly recounting this bruising of his pride, it was evident he had grown accustomed to being oppressed by her!

For a moment, Bai Tao felt both pity and amusement towards him.

Well, she thought, if only we knew then what we know now!

But soon, Bai Tao became nervous again. Pei Shi was bringing up this topic; was he about to ask if he could return to their room tonight?

No way!

Bai Tao watched Pei Shi alertly and noticed his mood was somewhat tense.

Here it comes, he must be itching to ask to sleep together again. This man, truly insatiable! Always only thinking about such things, maybe the reason she kicked him out was because he never thinks about anything else, just works hard all night long. She’s not made of iron; how could she keep up?

Bai Tao immediately declared, “No! Tonight, I want to be alone…”

Before Bai Tao could finish her declaration, Pei Shi’s voice cut in:

“Not tonight.” His voice was gritted through teeth, “I get it, you don’t have to say it again.” He glanced down at Bai Tao, condescendingly, “Forget ‘not tonight,’ it’s ‘never tonight,’ forever.”

In that moment, all Bai Tao could think was: He’s upset!

They say a man’s desire, when rejected, often turns to anger. It seemed true! Look at Pei Shi now, denying him this and that, his temper flaring up like this!

Seemingly not satisfied yet, before heading back to the office, Pei Shi solemnly issued another statement to Bai Tao:

“Don’t send me those kinds of things again. I am not that kind of person.”

…

See? He’s still holding a grudge.

*******

Once Pei Shi left and the alarm subsided, Bai Tao completely let herself go. She lay on the bed for a while, then remembered what Pei Shi had said earlier.

He mentioned a book?

The third-floor bedroom connected to an open study, and sure enough, Bai Tao found a stack of books on the desk.

Since crossing over, aside from marrying Pei Shi, another significant realization that delighted Bai Tao greatly was that she had become a successful manga artist, enjoying both fame and fortune.

Coincidentally, her breakthrough work that catapulted her to fame was her debut piece from five years in the past. Back when Bai Tao graduated, she self-published and distributed this work, which unexpectedly became a hit. This success paved the way for Bai Tao’s career as a professional manga artist.

Now on the desk was a deluxe revised edition of this time-traveling work.

Bai Tao checked and found that this book had already gone through its fourth reprint, with cumulative sales exceeding half a million copies and nearing the million mark.

In that moment, Bai Tao couldn’t help but feel a bit smug. All those publishers from before must have been blind—she truly was talented!

Previously, Bai Tao had learned from the news that in these five years, manga distribution had shifted away from traditional print media like magazines. Several major manga web platforms and apps had risen, surpassing print media in reach.

With nothing else to do, Bai Tao clicked into one of these manga serialization platforms, curious about the popular manga styles five years later.

Initially, it was just a casual browse, but clicking on a prominent ad on the website’s homepage, Bai Tao unexpectedly found herself deeply engrossed.

She randomly clicked on a manga titled “Getting Closer to You,” which told the story of a CEO with mutual emotional barriers and his slacker female assistant’s workplace romance. Along the way, there were also appearances by the female assistant’s childhood friend idol, a scheming doctor, and a tough-as-nails detective, mixing many interesting elements in an episodic format.

This work was light-hearted and humorous, with distinctive dialogue style, gorgeous yet adorable artwork, clever character dynamics, and well-developed subplot for the supporting characters. The storyline was outstanding, and Bai Tao burst into laughter at the funny interactions between the main characters.

It was really so enjoyable!!!