Cyber Chat

Currently, he was technically unemployed. Though he had a source of income, he still needed a plausible explanation for it. Whether it was starting a business, freelancing, or some other money-making venture, he needed a cover story.

"Guess I'll think about it tonight while lying in bed..." Shen Yi muttered to himself as he closed the holographic screen in front of him.

Glancing out the window, he noticed it was already nighttime. The rain outside had gradually lightened, now falling in a gentle drizzle.

He got up, pulled the clothes from the washing machine, and hung them to dry. Grabbing his phone, he casually ordered takeout.

The rain had ruined his plans for an evening run, so while waiting for the food to arrive, Shen Yi did some light indoor exercises to stretch his limbs.

He hadn’t had time to go for a long run during his recent trip back to his hometown, and he was already missing the feeling. A few days without exercise left him restless.

"No wonder people say working out is addictive. Seems like they weren’t joking."

"Hey, maybe I should sign up for a marathon?"

Shen Yi pondered the idea while doing push-ups.

That middle-aged man by the lake—who looked like a coach—had repeatedly recommended it before, but back then, Shen Yi hadn’t been in the mood to consider it.

He didn’t know much about marathons, only that professional athletes flew around the world to compete for prize money.

For amateurs, it was more about passion or personal challenge. Actually winning prizes required serious training.

Shen Yi wasn’t afraid—his stamina could easily handle a full marathon. What worried him was accidentally breaking a world record and drawing too much attention.

He wasn’t joking. Last time, what he considered a "slow jog" over 20 kilometers had taken him just 57 minutes.

He still hadn’t tested his full potential, afraid of what the results might be.

Being slightly better than average made you a genius. Being too far ahead? That made you a freak.

He didn’t want his physical abilities to attract scrutiny before his system was exposed.

"Wonder if those urban legends about ‘live dissection research’ are real..."

Ding-dong.

The doorbell rang, snapping Shen Yi out of his wandering thoughts. He stood up, shaking out his arms before answering.

"Hello, your delivery is here."

Shen Yi thanked the delivery guy in the yellow helmet, took the food, and glanced at the apartment across the hall—still no sign of movement.

Where did she go?

After closing the door, he sat down and devoured his dinner before resuming his workout.

The earlier exercises had just been a warm-up. He was far from satisfied.

Once done, he showered and stepped out feeling refreshed.

Shaking the water from his hair, he checked his phone—several unread messages awaited.

The first was a photo from Fu Nanzhi.

It showed her dinner: three dishes and a soup, beautifully presented and undoubtedly delicious.

Below it were her messages:

"Hubby, look! Guess which one I made?"

"Cat eagerly waiting emoji"

"(｀へ´)?"

"Hey hey hey?"

"Cat scratching head emoji"

Shen Yi smiled, almost able to picture Fu Nanzhi’s adorable face through the screen.

Still shirtless, he sat down and started typing.

"Sorry, was in the shower. Didn’t see your messages."

Fu Nanzhi must have been glued to her phone because she replied instantly.

"Ohhh... that explains it."

"Come on, guess! Can you tell which one I made?"

Shen Yi reopened the photo, zooming in to inspect it closely.

In their simulated life, Fu Nanzhi had initially been hopeless at cooking—Shen Yi had handled all the meals. Later, after he took over Jinhang and got busier, she had quit her job to become a full-time mom after adopting Xiao Lingdang.

That was when she finally learned to cook, painstakingly following recipes.

So the answer was obvious. Shen Yi recognized it immediately and typed his reply.

"The lotus root and pork rib soup, right?"

"Wow, you’re amazing! You got it! ヾ(≧▽≦)o"

Fu Nanzhi praised him, then followed up:

"How did you know, hubby?"

Shen Yi shook his head, fingers flying across the keyboard.

"Easy. The first soup you ever made successfully was this one—how could I forget?"

"Besides, the dishes would need to be cooked fresh. You’re at work all day, so your mom must’ve made those. Only soup can be prepped ahead of time."

"Hehehe..."

Fu Nanzhi sent a string of giggles.

"You still remember that~"

"Full marks! Here’s your reward—a kiss! o(￣3￣)o"

Shen Yi sent back a kissing emoji, then asked:

"How’s it going at your mom’s place?"

Fu Nanzhi replied:

"Absolutely perfect."

"You should’ve seen her face when I served her the soup—hilarious!"

"She couldn’t stop praising me after tasting it. Too bad you couldn’t try it..."

Shen Yi quickly typed back his praise:

"Your cooking skills speak for themselves."

"Don’t worry, focus on winning over your mom first. If she’s happy, everything else falls into place."

Fu Nanzhi responded obediently:

"Mhm."

"You’re right."

"?)))3'"

Shen Yi noticed a short voice message and immediately played it, holding the phone to his ear.

"Hubby~ I miss you."

A soft, muffled whisper reached his ears, as if she’d buried herself under the blankets to say it.

Shen Yi’s grin widened. He set the phone down to reply, "I miss you too."

Still feeling it wasn’t enough, he scrolled through his stickers and added one.

Fu Nanzhi didn’t reply right away—maybe she got busy.

Shen Yi exited the chat. While he was showering, someone else had called—Shu Yunyi, whose contact he’d only added two days ago.

Compared to Fu Nanzhi’s lively messages, Shu Yunyi’s approach was minimalist.

Opening their chat, he saw no texts—just a missed call notification.

Call canceled.

Shen Yi hit redial.

The line connected after a few rings. Shu Yunyi’s low, velvety voice came through:

"What were you doing? Why didn’t you pick up?"

Shen Yi answered promptly:

"Was in the shower. Left my phone outside."

"Oh? Let me see."

The mention of a shower piqued Shu Yunyi’s interest. She sounded amused as she abruptly hung up.

Ding-ding... ding-ding-ding...

Before Shen Yi could lower his phone, a video call request popped up.

Chuckling, he accepted.

The camera displayed his face clearly—damp strands of hair clinging to his forehead, his sharp jawline perfectly outlined.

Shu Yunyi’s teasing voice came through:

"Well, well, who’s this handsome guy?"