I Am Giving You the Cold Shoulder

It was November in Beijing, and it seemed as though the heavens were trying to make up for all the snow they had missed last year. Even before the twelfth lunar month began, the heavy, goose-feather snow had not stopped falling.

Basement level one of Science Building No. 1.

Deep Space Technology's office was originally a backup server room, so no heating had been installed.

Right now, the Deep Space Technology office was completely empty.

"Even a dog wouldn't stay in this dump."

Chen Zhi sniffled, exhaling a puff of white breath.

Not wanting to freeze those highly-valued geniuses from Tsinghua and Peking University, Chen Zhi had waved his hand and directly ordered everyone to work from home.

Besides, the most crucial work was already finished, and the remaining maintenance could be done from anywhere.

They had finally made it through the busiest period.

With the groundbreaking release of Moss, Deep Space Technology had firmly established its foothold in the industry.

Now, the only major task left was fundraising, and the workload was nowhere near what it used to be.

Chen Zhi was more than happy to enjoy the downtime.

However, he soon realized that free time in his career often meant an eruption of romantic debts.

He really had not acted like a decent human being lately while working on Moss.

Aside from occasionally returning to his dorm to sleep, he basically lived at the company. He had not contacted Lin Wanwan for several days, and whenever Li Zhiyi sent him messages, he would take ages to reply with just a few words.

"Even a scumbag needs to have professional ethics."

Chen Zhi reflected on his own behavior.

Since he was free today, it was time to do some maintenance on his fish pond.

He took out his phone and tapped on Li Zhiyi's profile picture first.

The reason he went to Li Zhiyi first was that the girl was so understanding it made his heart ache. She never made a fuss; as long as you gave her a little attention, she would be thrilled.

In contrast, Lin Wanwan was much clingier and would require more time to coax.

Therefore, he decided to pacify Li Zhiyi first.

Chen Zhi typed:

Have you been studying like a good girl lately?

She replied instantly.

I study obediently every day.

Chen Zhi could even picture the girl sitting in the Renmin University library or a study room, her eyes suddenly lighting up when she saw the message.

She had probably kept her phone right beside her hand, or had been staring at the screen, just waiting for this one message that she had no idea when would arrive.

Thinking of this, Chen Zhi felt a little guilty, but he quickly suppressed the feeling.

Then what else do you do besides studying?

There was a pause of a few seconds on the other end.

Wait for you to look for me.

This girl looked so well-behaved and obedient, yet she was surprisingly good at flirting.

Chen Zhi could not help but let the corners of his mouth rise.

And besides those two things?

Miss you.

Chen Zhi felt that if he did not give her some sort of promise now, he would truly be struck by lightning.

I will go see you tomorrow.

Really?

Really. I will take you out for some good food and check if you have lost weight.

Okay! I will wait obediently for you to come!

One down.

This was the great thing about Li Zhiyi; as long as you gave her a tiny bit of sweetness, she would be perfectly content and even turn around to worry if you were too tired.

Chen Zhi put down his phone, took a sip of hot water, and adjusted his breathing.

Next up was the real tough battle.

He opened Lin Wanwan's chat window.

The last message was from four days ago. Lin Wanwan had sent him a photo of herself in a recording studio, asking if she looked pretty.

At the time, he was busy debugging parameters with Dai Damai, so he just replied with a Pretty.

And then... there was no then.

This was very dangerous.

Knowing Lin Wanwan's clingy personality, not sending a message for four days meant she was definitely charging up her ultimate move.

Chen Zhi took a deep breath and used his opening move:

You there?

With You there? as an opener, he had the world in his hands.

After sending it, he placed the phone on the desk and stared at the screen.

One minute.

Two minutes.

Five minutes passed.

There was no response at all.

"I am doomed." Chen Zhi felt that something was very wrong.

If Lin Wanwan had replied with Get lost or Where the hell did you die off to, it would mean the problem was not too big and he could just coax her a bit.

But absolute silence meant things were much more serious than he thought.

Not giving up, Chen Zhi sent another message:

Babe?

Still nothing.

Ten minutes later, Chen Zhi could not sit still anymore.

Could something have happened to the girl? Or was she recording a show and did not have her phone on her?

No, it was way past wrapping time.

Chen Zhi directly dialed a voice call.

Beep... beep... beep...

It rang for a short while.

Soon, it connected.

But there was no sound from the other end.

"Hello? Wanwan?"

Chen Zhi called out tentatively.

The other side remained silent.

"Hello? Is the signal bad? Can you hear me?"

Chen Zhi raised his voice.

Still no talking.

But he clearly heard a soft sound of breathing coming from the other end.

She was definitely there.

"Wanwan, say something. Did something happen? If you do not speak, I am going to find other girls to chat on the phone with."

"Don't you dare!"

The person on the other end instantly exploded.

Lin Wanwan's crisp voice came through, carrying obvious anger and grievance.

"Finally willing to make a sound?" Chen Zhi leaned back in his chair, unable to hold back a laugh. "I thought your phone was broken."

"I am giving you the silent treatment," Lin Wanwan said angrily.

Chen Zhi froze for a moment, almost failing to suppress a laugh.

Picking up the phone instantly and then not speaking—this was her idea of the silent treatment?

"Why are you giving me the silent treatment?" Chen Zhi asked, holding back his laughter.

"Because I am mad."

"Why are you mad?"

"Who am I to you?" Lin Wanwan asked emotionlessly.

"You are my girlfriend, do you even need to ask?" Chen Zhi's desire to survive was maxed out.

"Then why haven't you called me for so many days?"

"I missed you so much I almost got depression, and I sang until my voice went hoarse, but you didn't even utter a single peep."

Lin Wanwan's tone finally fluctuated, taking on a hint of a wronged, tearful voice. "Chen Zhi, do you have some other vixen on the outside?"

"I am innocent!"

Chen Zhi cried out in injustice. "I have been squatting in a cellar these past few days, I haven't even seen a female mosquito. I was just too busy. Moss just went online, there are all sorts of bugs to fix and data to monitor. I've been spinning like a top from all the work."

"Excuses."

Lin Wanwan huffed. "No matter how busy you are, you don't even have time to send a WeChat message? I think you just forgot about me."

"How could I forget!"

Chen Zhi's brain spun rapidly. "I am just working hard for our future. Think about it, if I make more money now, later on when you don't want to sing anymore and don't want to be in the entertainment industry, I will buy you an island. We can sunbathe on the island every day. Wouldn't that be great?"

The other end of the phone fell into silence again.

Chen Zhi said hello a couple of times. "Why aren't you speaking again?"

"I haven't forgiven you yet."

Lin Wanwan muttered. "I am still giving you the silent treatment."

Chen Zhi: "..."

"Alright, alright, then how long are you going to give me the silent treatment?" Chen Zhi asked helplessly.

"Depends on my mood."

"And how is your mood right now?"

"Not great. I still really want to bite someone."

Chen Zhi smiled, his voice softening. "Don't be mad. I will come find you tomorrow morning, okay? I will take you out for good food and go shopping with you. You can bite me wherever you want."

"Really?"

"Truer than real gold."

"Then I want to go eat at a buffet."

"We'll eat."

"And we have to go buy that limited edition bag."

"We'll buy it."

"And you have to carry me on your back."

"I will."

The other end of the line fell silent for a few seconds before a haughty "Hmph" came through.

"What does 'hmph' mean?" Chen Zhi asked.

"Okay." The voice on the other end finally softened, carrying an unconcealable joy.

Lin Wanwan's voice regained its usual vitality. "Tomorrow morning at eight o'clock. If you dare to be even a minute late, I'll block you for real and ignore you for the rest of my life!"

"As you command, Lady Wanwan."

Hanging up the phone, Chen Zhi felt like he had finally come back to life.

Well, at least he had managed to coax this little princess.

He would accompany Lin Wanwan tomorrow morning, and go find Li Zhiyi in the afternoon or evening.

Perfect time management.

Chen Zhi glanced at the time on his phone: nine-thirty in the evening.

It was simply too cold in the basement. Since he had finished handling his business, he might as well head back to the dorm to enjoy the heater and brag with his bros.

He packed up his things, turned off the computer, wrapped his heavy military overcoat tightly around himself, and pushed open the doors of Deep Space Technology.

A gust of freezing wind mixed with snowflakes blew right into his face.

Chen Zhi shrank his neck into his collar, ready to head back to the dorm.

Just as he walked out of the main doors of Science Building No. 1...

...two blinding headlight beams instantly hit his face, dazzling him so much he couldn't open his eyes.

"Who is it? Have you no public decency!"

Chen Zhi raised a hand to block his eyes, shouting and cursing.

The lights went out.

Chen Zhi adjusted to the light, finally making out the car parked at the entrance.

A black Rolls-Royce Phantom, the little golden hood ornament sparkling in the snowy night.

The car window slowly rolled down.

An exquisitely beautiful yet frosty face was revealed.

Pei Ningxue was wearing a black turtleneck sweater with a black overcoat draped over it, her long hair casually pinned up behind her head.

"Mr. Chen, are you done with your work?"

Pei Ningxue tapped her fingers lightly against the steering wheel. "Who were you on the phone with just now? You were smiling so happily."

Chen Zhi's heart skipped a beat.

Crap.

He had calculated everything, yet he still missed the one right in front of him.

"Cough, I was... building rapport with an investor," Chen Zhi lied without changing his expression. "It's all for the future of our company, you know."

"Is that so?"

Pei Ningxue looked at him with a half-smile. "Then how come I heard something about 'you can bite wherever you want to bite'? Do investors have such heavy tastes nowadays?"

Chen Zhi: "..."

Shouldn't the soundproofing in this basement be upgraded?

Pei Ningxue pushed open the car door, walked up to Chen Zhi, and reached out to adjust his collar, her movements gentle.

"Lin Wanwan is tomorrow morning, and Li Zhiyi is tomorrow afternoon."

Pei Ningxue leaned in close to Chen Zhi's ear, her warm breath blowing against his neck.

"Then tonight..."

"...isn't it my turn?"

Chen Zhi looked at the stunningly beautiful woman before him in the snowy night and gulped.

"President Pei, isn't it a bit too cold tonight?"

Pei Ningxue curled her lips into a smile.

"It's fine."

"We'll go to my newly bought house."

"I have heating."