Shuyu blinked, poked her head out from under the covers, sat up, and stared at her phone for a long time.
While reading a novel just now, Shuyu had been wriggling wildly under the blanket. Her jet-black hair was rubbed into a mess, making her look like a fluffy little puppy.
Shuyu tapped her phone. "Egg, is my phone broken? How could I receive a message like this?"
Iron Egg: [Your phone isn't broken. Golden Corn is asking to meet you!]
Receiving this confirmation, Shuyu's eyes lit up, then dimmed, then lit up again, and dimmed once more.
Just like a broken lightbulb, flickering on and off.
Iron Egg: [Do you want to go meet Golden Corn?]
Her flickering eyes finally steadied. Resting her chin on her hands, she told the truth, "I want to meet Golden Corn, but I'm also a little scared."
This was her favorite author, after all.
Moreover, she and Golden Corn always had a great time chatting, and she was quite curious about what kind of person Golden Corn was.
Iron Egg: [Then you should go meet Golden Corn.]
Iron Egg: [Baby, you need to be a little braver. Brave people get to...]
Shuyu slowly chimed in, "...get hit by the world first!"
Iron Egg: [...]
Shuyu tossed and turned, unable to sleep well. She thought about it for a long time but still didn't have an answer.
By noon the next day, Shuyu finally couldn't hold back anymore and opened her chat window with Si Yiheng.
LittleFishSwimming: Kitten peeking.jpg
Si Yiheng was at the company, having just finished some morning tasks and preparing to order lunch.
ATM: What's wrong?
LittleFishSwimming: I have a friend. Yes, I'm someone with friends too.
ATM: Mm, so, what's troubling this friend of yours?
LittleFishSwimming: My friend's internet friend invited her to meet up, but my friend is a bit timid. Do you think they should meet?
The corners of Si Yiheng's lips curled up slightly.
ATM: By the time you asked this question, or rather, while you were agonizing over it, you already had your answer.
ATM: If you want to meet them, then go.
Shuyu really did want to meet Golden Corn.
LittleFishSwimming: But my friend is a little scared.
ATM: Scared of what?
When Si Yiheng asked this, Shuyu felt as if she had been transported back to that hot afternoon. The cicadas were buzzing loudly, the crowd around her was noisy, but she was the only one feeling freezing cold all over.
The person who praised her online for being so talented and claimed to be her good friend had taken those printed pictures and shown them to everyone in their wealthy social circle.
Only then did Shuyu realize that these people had exposed her online identity.
She stood in the middle of everyone, being judged and criticized by them all, and was told by her younger brother that drawing such pictures brought shame to the family.
"You didn't think I actually liked your drawings, did you?"
"You're so stupid. No wonder nobody likes you."
"The whole family is humiliated because of you."
So many people, so many voices.
It felt as if even if she buried herself in the dirt, she would still be found and attacked with the very drawings she had meticulously created stroke by stroke.
Recalling that scene, Shuyu's palms grew cold.
Even her hands began to tremble as she typed.
LittleFishSwimming: If you were to meet an internet friend, but that friend turned out to be someone you knew in disguise, pretending to like you just to ask you out. And then they called a bunch of people to surround you, mocking and laughing at you like a clown, would you still meet other internet friends?
ATM: Yes.
ATM: If you ever meet someone like that again, you can tear their mouths off. There's no need to punish yourself for other people's mistakes.
LittleFishSwimming: I understand!
ATM: Also, I'm not a dead person.
Shuyu blinked. Did he mean what she thought he meant?
Did Si Yiheng mean that he was willing to have her back and help her?
In her original world, she had parents, an older sister, and a younger brother, but not a single one of them would show up to protect her when she was bullied.
Especially in that circle where power and influence clashed, her family was merely a bottom-tier, old-money household.
Because she was a late talker and often spaced out when she was little, she became the lowest existence in that circle.
She would be bullied and mocked.
Her parents always taught her not to fight back and not to cause trouble for the family. They always found her annoying and useless.
To them, she was nothing but a useless burden, good for nothing except a marriage alliance.
Shuyu had never experienced the feeling of having someone standing behind her.
ATM: Remember to message me that you're safe.
ATM: Transferred 1,000,000.
ATM: Have fun with your friend.
LittleFishSwimming: Uh-huh.
After Si Yiheng replied to Shuyu's message, his phone rang again.
On the other end was a cheerful female voice, "Brother, I'm in City A! My mom said if you don't take me in, I have to roll back home."
Si Yiheng remained expressionless. Ye Ning had always been loud and boisterous, and he had no desire to take in a firecracker.
Ye Ning: "Brother, you'll take me in, right? I'm your own cousin."
Si Yiheng: "No."
Ye Ning: "I'm begging you. If you don't agree, I'll come to your company right now and kowtow to you."
Si Yiheng: "..."
Si Yiheng: "I really want to throw you to the dogs."
Ye Ning covered her ears, "I'm not going to feed the dogs! I don't want to feed the dogs!"
When Ye Ning was little, she was so noisy that Si Yiheng threw her out to feed the beagles. After spending a few days on the mountain feeding the beagles, Ye Ning had almost suffered a mental breakdown.
As soon as she closed her eyes, all she could hear was the deafening barking of the beagles right by her ears.
In her most desperate moments, Ye Ning wanted to grab a beagle and jump off a building.
The worst part was that Si Yiheng didn't just keep one such beagle; he kept a whole pack of them.
Whoever offended Si Yiheng would be sent off to feed the beagles.
Ye Ning: "Brother, please take me in. I came this time specifically to meet up with my internet friend. She'll be sad if she can't see me."
Annoyed by the noise, Si Yiheng finally agreed to Ye Ning, "Fine."
Relying on her thick skin, Ye Ning successfully moved into Si Yiheng's house.
*
Shuyu was going to meet her internet friend today.
Iron Egg started its little dress-up game again, dragging Shuyu to change clothes bright and early in the morning.
Iron Egg: [Baby Yu, wear this beige slip dress. It makes you look super young and soft, like you'd be very kissable.]
Shuyu was helpless. "Egg, Golden Corn is a girl. She won't kiss me."
Iron Egg: [Just wear it, wear it! Even if she won't kiss you, you should still wear it.]
Finally, after multiple rounds of dress-up by Iron Egg, Shuyu changed into a pink dress with a halter-neck design. Two thin straps intertwined at the back of her neck, tied into an exquisite bow, and the rose patterns on the straps wound down along her slender neck.
The cherry-blossom pink made Shuyu's skin look even fairer, highlighting her distinct collarbones and the elegant lines of her shoulders and neck.
Iron Egg also taught Shuyu how to braid a very loose plait. The finished braid rested on her left shoulder, fluffy and soft, with the ends curling slightly and resting against her chest.
Iron Egg: [Baby, you are stunningly beautiful!]
Shuyu: "Let's go, Iron Egg, we're going to be late."
Shuyu still wore a mask when she went out, but even so, she turned many heads as she walked down the street.
Iron Egg: [Baby Yu, they are looking at you, and it's with eyes full of admiration.]
Shuyu felt a moment of nervousness, but upon hearing Iron Egg's next words, her anxious heart felt as if it had been bathed in the bright, warm sunlight outside.
Her stiff body began to feel a comforting warmth.
Iron Egg was helping her overcome her social anxiety, little by little.
It kept telling her that she was no longer in her original world, and that the way others looked at her was friendly.
Shuyu whispered, "Thank you, Iron Egg."
Iron Egg felt a little dizzy with happiness, [You're welcome, baby.]
Shuyu arrived first at the coffee shop where she had agreed to meet Golden Corn. She waited nervously for what might happen next.
The longer she waited, the more nervous she became, her body trembling almost uncontrollably.
Her phone buzzed.
Shuyu picked it up.
ATM: Have you met your online friend yet?
LittleFishSwimming: Not yet.
LittleFishSwimming: Si Yiheng, I'm scared.
