Chapter 21

“I just pinched your face, and you’re not mad?”

Zhong Ning blinked in confusion. “I was the one who disturbed you first. Why would I be mad? You were right to wake me up.”

Xie Shiqing pressed her lips together lightly, that nameless fire flaring up again, though for a different reason this time—just for a second, she didn’t even want her dignity anymore. Was money and power really that important? Thinking of how this person always looked so delighted every time she received a bank transfer, her expression grew even gloomier.

Zhong Ning wasn’t particularly good at reading people’s expressions. Unaware that the person beside her was brimming with anger, she yawned, picked up her phone, and glanced at it. “It’s only six o’clock. Should we get up or sleep a bit more?”

Before a reply came, her phone vibrated.

[An amount of fifty million has been credited to your account ending in 4399.]

Zhong Ning: !!!

Zhong Ning: “You…”

She wanted to say, “Stop sending me money”. But before she could even open her mouth, she was cut off.

Xie Shiqing lowered her gaze in displeasure, lifted the blanket, and said, “If you want to sleep, go back to your room.”

With that, she walked away without looking back.

————————

Xie Shiqing (angry and sorrowful): Is this the corruption of money? (starts reflecting on life and philosophy)

Zhong Ning (yawning from drowsiness)

Zhong Ning (nervous yet hopeful): Oh right, were you satisfied with my service last night?

Xie Shiqing: She’s asking for money again, all she thinks about is money! (walks off with a dark expression)

Zhong Ning: Oh! That must mean she was satisfied. (starts spinning around happily)

Chapter 11

Zhong Ning wasn’t sure if she felt disappointed or what. She sat on the bed for a while, then, defeated by fatigue, she put on her sleepwear and returned to her room.

She was truely tired. Just walking those few steps made her yawn four or five times. After the intense sex last night, she had bustled about helping Xie Shiqing clean up, changing the sheets and covers; she was up until the second half of the night. It had barely been four hours since then.

Zhong Ning groggily collapsed onto her bed, pulled up the covers, turned over, and fell asleep.

Xie Shiqing came out of the shower. The room was quiet, no breathing, no sound, completely empty. Exactly how she used to, yet somehow it felt stifling.

She tossed the towel aside, changed clothes with a grim expression, skipped breakfast, and headed to the office.

The corners of Xie Shiqing’s mouth curled up slightly. Let’s see, which traitor should she deal with today?

……

Zhong Ning didn’t wake up until nearly noon. After a good sleep, she felt refreshed, full of energy, as if having endless strength.

She had planned to ask Xie Shiqing to have lunch together, but after searching around and finding no one. She asked the servants and learned that Xie Shiqing had left early in the morning.

Do bosses always have to go to work so early? How exhausting.

Zhong Ning ate lunch alone and sat in the living room for a while, feeling a bit idle.

She wanted to build some rapport with Xie Shiqing but couldn’t just go straight to her office—that would be interrupting her work.

She unlocked her phone, found Xie Shiqing in her contacts, and sent a message.

[I’m up now, have you had lunch?]

After sending the message, Zhong Ning spent over ten minutes scrolling through short videos, but received no reply.

She leaned back on the sofa, a profound sense of emptiness surrounding her. In her previous life, she would most likely live streaming at this time.

Zhong Ning’s streak of extraordinary luck had been proven through gacha games—undeniably real and formidable.

She had never hit a guaranteed pity draw, nor had any off-banner results. On average, she would pull a rare item within forty to fifty pulls, even regularly getting back-to-back and double golds.

Since she began gaming, she had never once drawn a ten-pull with only one rare.

When she got into college, her family supported her, and she started livestreaming gacha pulls for others. With her solid gaming skills, she didn’t just pull cards—she played many other quality games and did live commentaries. Her route wasn’t comedic; she stood out through sincerity. By the time she graduated, she already had over a million followers.

Before transmigrating, she had even saved up for a full-payment on a house.

Who would have thought fate would take such a turn?

Just thinking about gaming made Zhong Ning’s itch to tingle.

She genuinely loved playing games—loved it dearly. Livestreaming games had been both a career and a passion. The thought of returning to it excited her.

When it came to earning money, she could never outmatch Xie Shiqing. But that didn’t mean she had to laze around and rely on handouts, right?

She had hands and feet; it wasn’t like she couldn’t support herself. Why should she live off someone else?

Her upbringing and sense of pride wouldn’t let her feel at ease with that.

The room assigned to her wasn’t a specially renovated master suite, but it had everything—very spacious, with a walk-in closet and a small study included.

The study was perfectly suited to be converted into a streaming room.

Once she had the idea, she sprang into action.

Zhong Ning first asked Xie Shiqing whether it was okay for her to livestream games at home. Then she went to the butler and said she needed a computer.

Within an hour, a team had arrived to install everything. The computer was the latest model, top of the line, and came with an ergonomic chair.

For professional work, you need professional equipment.

Zhong Ning looked up the brands and prices, and noted down the expenses in her memo.

She didn’t intend to touch the money Xie Shiqing had transferred to her. On the day she arrived, she’d been like a headless chicken, desperate just to get through the situation and preserve her life, so she had agreed to the deal Xie Shiqing proposed without hesitation.

It was supposed to be a temporary tactic. Now that they were officially engaged, providing pheromones was her duty. If she actually spent that money, what would that make her—wasn’t that just turning their relationship into a financial transaction?

If it were a normal gift, she would have gladly accepted it, but this kind of money… she decided not to touch it. It just felt off.

After informing the servants, Zhong Ning headed out to open a new bank account. She planned to transfer all the money from Xie Shiqing into that separate account.

Fengcheng’s summer weather was scorching, like being inside an oven. But the city lived up to its name—winds from north, south, east, and west swept through its streets and alleys, rustling the elm trees and lifting Zhong Ning’s hair, carrying away the heat and leaving a refreshing coolness.

A message notification disrupted the playing music on her earplugs.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep