Chapter 7: Huai City

Wen Nianqi covered her face. She was in deep trouble!

Out loud, though, she said, "I'm fine."

Knowing Wen Nianqi's family had been struggling lately, Su Qinghe generously offered to teach her how to make money.

"Niannian, aren't you short on cash lately? I don't make much from commissions, but it covers my daily expenses. If you're interested, I can teach you."

Su Qinghe took commissions online—a single illustration could sell for several thousand.

Hearing she could make money, Wen Nianqi's eyes lit up.

She pushed the curtain aside. "Really? Teach me!"

"Let me pour some cold water on you first. We're both art students, but commissions aren't the same as coursework. There are tons of good artists out there. If you want to make real money, you need to build a reputation."

"Since you're just starting out, you'd better keep your prices low."

Wen Nianqi understood the logic—it was like coaxing a sugar daddy. You couldn't open with a huge ask right away. Only after building an emotional foundation could you slowly demand more.

Su Qinghe taught Wen Nianqi where to find commissions, what to say when pitching, where to promote herself, what kind of groups typically requested artwork...

She held nothing back.

Wen Nianqi wasn't stupid. She knew how valuable this was.

Jiang Yue and Ji Haitang stood nearby listening in, purely out of curiosity.

Ji Haitang was grinding her GPA, sprinting for a scholarship. Jiang Yue was into anime culture—a minorly famous cosplayer who hit conventions in costume whenever she had free time. Her income was decent.

Jiang Yue spoke up too. "I think your photography skills are pretty good. Those convention shots you took of me last time went viral. You could shoot at the next con and make money too."

In the past, Wen Nianqi would've scoffed at such pocket change.

One little whine from her and tens of thousands would land in her account. She didn't need to hustle at all.

Now?

She desperately needed that pocket change!

"Thank you guys!"

That afternoon, Wen Nianqi insisted on treating them to a meal.

Bubugao, Lu Yuweng.

Wen Nianqi scratched her head awkwardly. "Sorry, this is all I can afford to treat you to. Once I have money, I'll take you all to a fancy restaurant."

In the past, Wen Nianqi had been generous too—she'd treat the whole dorm to meals at the drop of a hat.

Back then she had money. Every meal was no less than a thousand yuan.

Ji Haitang and the others laughed. "My dear Eldest Miss, is it possible that you were just too loaded before? This is what normal college students eat."

"Is that so?"

Before digging in, Wen Nianqi snapped a photo and sent it to Shen Wang.

Kitten [Out having a meal with my roommates.]

Bzz—

The phone by the pillow flickered with light.

Shen Wang slowly opened his eyes.

It was already 2 a.m. in Switzerland.

Having his sleep disturbed, he frowned and tapped open the image.

An ordinary meal photo, phone held high, shot from above.

Cheap setting, cheap food... even the milk tea on the table was cheap.

That was his first reaction.

Shen Wang [So broke you can't afford food?]

Wen Nianqi, mid-conversation, picked up her phone, a little surprised.

Shouldn't he be asleep at this hour?

Normally when she messaged at this time, she got no response.

Kitten [Just experiencing earthly pleasures for a change.]

Shen Wang laughed in anger.

Earthly pleasures, my ass.

Nothing but filthy junk.

Shen Wang had a bad temper when woken up, but today he didn't feel particularly angry about the interrupted sleep.

For the first time ever, he raised his phone and snapped a photo out the floor-to-ceiling window, then sent it.

Shen Wang [You disturbed my sleep.]

Wen Nianqi opened the photo—pitch black, with a faint curve barely visible. It was shot toward the side of the bed, a pair of slippers in frame.

During their entire online relationship, Shen Wang had never sent her a photo.

Not even in her past life, all the way up to the day they met in person.

Kitten [Didn't mean to. •́‸ก]

Shen Wang didn't reply. He turned off his phone, rolled over, and went back to sleep.

Ji Haitang tilted her chin toward the phone, her tone meaningful. "Boyfriend?"

Wen Nianqi gave a casual "mm."

Su Qinghe wore an auntie-style grin. "Your boyfriend's voice is really nice. What does he look like? Is he handsome?"

Wen Nianqi often played games with Shen Wang in the dorm—his voice was no secret.

She lowered her head, ashamed.

From adding each other as game friends to confirming their relationship, less than a day had passed. And it wasn't a pure romantic relationship either.

To be precise, it was an employment relationship.

Shen Wang had never asked for her photo, and Wen Nianqi tacitly hadn't asked for his either.

The nature of their relationship was mutually understood without being spoken.

"Pretty handsome."

That part was true.

Shen Wang might be a piece of work, but his looks were genuinely undeniable.

"From hearing you two chat, it sounds like you and your boyfriend get along really well. When are you meeting in person?"

Wen Nianqi said, "We've tentatively agreed on this year's National Day."

Jiang Yue's eyes sparkled. "Really? So romantic! Online dating sounds pretty nice actually. I want to try it too."

Wen Nianqi couldn't bear to let such a sweet girl follow in her footsteps, so she gently advised, "If I could choose again, I would never do online dating."

"You can't see or touch them—no sense of security at all. Whether they cheat depends entirely on their conscience. How many guys these days can control themselves? Emotional cheating is way too easy."

"And it's a huge gamble. You could easily end up with a three-hundred-pound specimen. Photos are just for looking—they can be photoshopped. These days even videos can be faked."

Ji Haitang nodded. "My friend went through that. Sweet talk online, super attentive. Turned out to be a thirty-year-old uncle when they met—and he had a family!"

"Oh my god! Guess Niannian really got lucky."

Wen Nianqi let out a dry laugh.

Lucky my ass.

She'd paid with her life.

Rebirth was such a badass cheat code, but the reason she got reborn wasn't something she could bring herself to say out loud!

That evening, Wen Nianqi found a recently popular anime character online, made fan art of it, and posted it.

"New artist here, affordable prices, come commission me!"

Then without pausing, she started working on the fireworks design according to the official website's requirements.

Ding—

Shen Wang [Awake.]

Wen Nianqi had drawn three drafts and wasn't satisfied with any of them. Her inspiration had run dry.

Then she received Shen Wang's message.

Kitten [Good morning!]

Shen Wang [Your turn.]

Kitten [?]

Shen Wang [Report.]

So he'd been reporting to her just now?

Wen Nianqi casually snapped a photo of her draft.

Kitten [This master has hit a bottleneck.]

Shen Wang zoomed in for a look.

Shen Wang [Is this for an ugly contest? If this got accepted, it'd be more than just a rigged result.]

Kitten [!]

[These are just my discarded drafts!]

Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, ready to pounce and scratch.

Shen Wang casually set his phone aside and ground coffee, shirtless.

Fu Yan came out of his room, saw the faint upward curve of Shen Wang's lips, and felt a chill.

"Wang-ge, I think you've been really off lately."

"What's off about me?"

Fu Yan boldly spoke up. "Is it that online girlfriend of yours..."

Before he could finish, Shen Wang cut him off. "No."

"Just keeping a pet. You're overthinking it."