Chapter 70: Charging for Love

"Sorry, I went straight to sleep last night and just saw your message."

The next morning, while Shen Siyuan was eating breakfast, he received a message from Jiang Tao.

"It's fine, rest is most important."

Shen Siyuan replied casually; since he had decided to try dating Ruan Hongzhuang, he had already given up pursuing Jiang Tao.

Just as he was about to put his phone away, WeChat popped up another message.

"Boyfriend, good morning."

The breakfast in Shen Siyuan’s mouth nearly sprayed out.

"Who greets like this?" Shen Siyuan.

"Then how else?" Ruan Hongzhuang.

"Just say good morning." Shen Siyuan.

"Good morning." Good morning.

"That’s enough."

They had talked late into the night last night; though they hadn’t met in person, their relationship seemed to have grown noticeably closer.

"You haven’t said good morning to me yet."

Shen Siyuan: ...

"Good morning." Shen Siyuan could only send her that one message.

Her rigid, straightforward way of dating was, honestly, a little funny—but also oddly endearing.

"I posted something on my Moments."

"Oh."

"Oh? 😐"

"Do you want me to like it?" Shen Siyuan asked tentatively.

"I rarely post on Moments," Ruan Hongzhuang said.

Shen Siyuan immediately opened her Moments and found only one lonely post—just posted this morning.

A casually taken photo of the rising sun, accompanied by text.

"A gentle breeze brushes the face; the morning sun illuminates the sky."

A simple phrase, yet one could sense the joy within the words.

Only then would you feel the warmth of the wind and the brightness of the sun.

So Shen Siyuan liked it and left a comment: "Time is still young; the sunlight still warm."

The moment he posted his comment, Ruan Hongzhuang’s post gained another comment and a like.

Only mutual friends could see each other’s likes and comments.

The only mutual friend Shen Siyuan and Ruan Hongzhuang shared was Jiang Tao.

Her comment was direct.

"Wow, boss, you seem to be in a great mood today?"

Immediately after, another comment appeared—clearly Jiang Tao had seen Shen Siyuan’s reply.

"Something’s off... really off..."

"Let me formally introduce you: my boyfriend, Shen Siyuan." Shen Siyuan saw Ruan Hongzhuang’s reply.

"What’s going on? Am I still asleep? I need to wash my face."

"Hurry up and come to work—don’t be late again."

"Sis, is this really the time to talk about this? I just slept one night and you already have a boyfriend?"

The two of them had started chatting casually beneath the post.

Since Shen Siyuan had only two mutual friends, he could only see the conversation between the two of them.

But Ruan Hongzhuang and Jiang Tao had far too many mutual friends—including Jiang Wenxin.

In an instant, Ruan Hongzhuang’s WeChat exploded.

Whether it was because this was her first romance and she was giddy, eager to announce to the world she had a boyfriend, or simply because of her personality—unwilling to hide her emotions—no one knew.

"Ruan Ruan’s personality is just like this," Su Apo gave Shen Siyuan the answer.

When Shen Siyuan came downstairs that morning, he saw Su Apo waiting for him below—clearly, she already knew about him and Ruan Hongzhuang.

Shen Siyuan felt awkward meeting her for the first time; just the night before, he had firmly insisted they weren’t compatible, yet now they were dating.

Su Apo, a woman who understood people deeply, did not mock him for it.

Instead, she happily thanked him.

"Whether the future brings regret or heartache, Ruan Ruan needs a relationship. Of course, what I most hope for is that you two will grow old together, sharing a lifetime."

Su Apo’s viewpoint was surprisingly similar to Ruan Hongzhuang’s.

Finding a partner is hardest for women like her and men like him; Ruan Hongzhuang was already twenty-eight, long past the age for marriage.

On one hand, her personality made it rare for any man to truly move her.

On the other hand, she was simply too outstanding—few men could match her.

"What’s going on? What’s going on?"

Jiang Tao rushed into the company without even eating breakfast, her hair messy.

She stared wide-eyed at Ruan Hongzhuang, sitting behind her desk, sipping coffee, calm and composed.

"What’s going on? As you see—I think he’s nice, he thinks I’m okay, so why not try dating?" Ruan Hongzhuang took a sip of coffee, speaking casually.

Yet the slight upturn of her lips betrayed her calm exterior.

"This is too fast! I just slept one night and my big boyfriend is gone? Didn’t you say you wouldn’t compete with me?"

Jiang Tao recalled the message from last night.

"Only what’s yours counts as competing. If it wasn’t yours to begin with, how can it be competing?" Ruan Hongzhuang said.

"That’s true," Jiang Tao said instinctively.

But then she snapped back to awareness.

"Bullshit, this is way too fast!"

"If I hadn’t moved fast, he would’ve pursued you."

"What do you mean?"

"Literally—he said he had strong feelings for you and wanted to try dating you..."

Jiang Tao looked utterly bewildered—Sis, can you really say those things right to my face?

"I asked him how he felt about me."

"He said I was great, but thought we might not be compatible—he probably felt I’m too dominant." Clearly, Ruan Hongzhuang understood the meaning behind Shen Siyuan’s words.

"If that’s the case, how did you two end up together?"

"We’re not together—we’re just trying to date."

Jiang Tao was dissatisfied. "He clearly liked me—why did he turn around and like you?"

"He didn’t like you—he just thought you were nice. He thought I was great too, but felt you suited him better," Ruan Hongzhuang corrected her.

She disliked that phrase—what did "like you" even mean?

"Fine, forget that—so how did you two start dating?"

"I said I wouldn’t try dating unless we knew if we were compatible. He thought that made sense, so we decided to try."

Jiang Tao didn’t know what to say.

She just stared at Ruan Hongzhuang.

Ruan Hongzhuang felt uneasy under her gaze, as if she owed her something, so she asked gently, "Have you eaten breakfast?"

Jiang Tao shook her head—she had rushed in too quickly to eat.

Ruan Hongzhuang pulled open a drawer and pulled out a loaf of bread, handing it over.

Jiang Tao reached out to take it, sighing. "You’re always decisive in your work—I never expected you’d be just as decisive in love."

She wasn’t angry or heartbroken about losing a boyfriend—she was even happy for Ruan Hongzhuang.

After all, she and Shen Siyuan had only just met; they were still strangers. She just didn’t know how to explain this to Jiang Wenxin.

"But I still don’t get it—what exactly about him attracted you so much that you moved so fast?"

Jiang Tao asked curiously as she tore open the bread bag.

"Wait, something’s wrong?"

"What?"

"This bread is expired."

"Oh~"

"And wasn’t this the one I gave you last time?"

"Was it? Maybe—I’ve had it in the drawer for a while."

Jiang Tao suddenly felt something was off about their conversation—it felt like they weren’t really talking about bread at all.