Chapter 356: Ning Qiuer, Ignored by Xue You

What was written on the manuscript was a new novel.

“Am I interrupting your work?” Xia Yu asked.

“It does bother me a little, but it’s okay. Just don’t stay up too late; let me sleep early,” Wen Zhiying replied.

Xia Yu had only asked out of politeness. Wen Zhiying’s support was merely Level 2, so he couldn’t just stop what he was doing.

“If you’re busy, let me know, and I’ll avoid that time in the future.” Saying this, Xia Yu picked up the manuscript and started reading from the beginning.

He originally thought Wen Zhiying was still writing the story about the warden and the hooligan, but to his surprise, it was an entirely new novel.

“It’s half a month until the deadline; I really need to start writing now,” Wen Zhiying continued explaining.

“Will you make it in time?” Xia Yu asked, surprised.

“No problem. I’m one of those inspiration-driven writers. Even if I only have a week left, I can still manage. Although by then, the editor will lock me in a hotel room,” Wen Zhiying’s voice carried a hint of fear.

Sensing that fear, Xia Yu understood: Wen Zhiying had indeed experienced that before.

“Do all editors do this?” Xia Yu asked curiously.

“No, other publishers generally don’t. However, my publisher has business dealings with a company in the eleventh district, so they’ve adopted this method. They only dare to use it on new authors like us. Those established, famous authors can write whenever they please,” Wen Zhiying’s voice was filled with resentment.

Without commenting on this method, Xia Yu continued reading the novel in his hand.

The novel had only just begun. The first few pages told the story of a young female writer falling in love with a wealthy man. The story progressed quickly—after two dates and four or five scenes, they had already entered the hall of marriage.

That was all there was.

The style of the beginning was clearly Wen Zhiying’s, nothing unusual.

As for the story itself, a few pages weren’t enough to judge much.

“Want to experience something?” Xia Yu asked Wen Zhiying.

“I bought an accordion; it’s in the next room,” Wen Zhiying said.

Picking up the accordion, Xia Yu first familiarized himself with how to use it, then began playing with one hand while pulling the bellows with the other.

In this ordinary way, three hours passed, and Xia Yu went to bed.

The next morning when he woke up, he was already back in his own body.

As usual, he first checked the logs of the hosted Yuyi, and Xia Yu found no records—the night had passed without incident.

Then he took out his phone and saw a message from the newly added Ning Qiuer.

It was a photo she had sent last night, showing her having a late-night snack with Liu Manman.

There was also a line of text below.

[“Manman asked me to send this to you, saying she wants to make you jealous.”]

Xia Yu looked at the table in the photo and saw two bowls of cooked vermicelli. The vermicelli itself wasn’t particularly appealing, but what caught Xia Yu’s attention were the toppings on top.

The bright red chili oil, along with the seaweed and peanuts, was mouthwatering.

These were two bowls of hot and sour vermicelli—something Xia Yu used to eat often before he became wealthy, but hadn’t touched since.

Now, he found himself missing that taste. Compared to extravagant delicacies, street food was actually just as good.

Looking at the time on his phone, he saw it was only 2 a.m., so he gave up on the idea of going to a restaurant for a bowl.

Lying back on the bed, Xia Yu rubbed his chin, pondering the meaning behind Ning Qiuer sending him this photo.

Liu Manman asking her to send the message was clearly just an excuse. It would have been easy to refuse such a request, so it was obvious that Ning Qiuer herself wanted to interact.

He wasn’t that close to Ning Qiuer, nor did he believe he had enough charm to attract this former pop queen.

He recalled their meeting yesterday, when Ning Qiuer had added him on QQ after recognizing him from that video.

Was it because of the song? Well, it probably didn’t matter much anyway.

From his phone’s photo album, Xia Yu selected a picture of a white jade dumpling and sent it as a reply. Then he tossed the phone aside and went back to sleep.

At seven in the morning, he woke up to find a furious emoji sent by Ning Qiuer.

Besides Ning Qiuer, Liu Manman had also sent a message.

[“Want to come over today? Qiuer’s cooking is really good! [photo]”]

Opening the photo, it was still the same hot and sour vermicelli, but from a different angle.

After a moment’s hesitation, Xia Yu agreed. If Liu Manman said it was good, even with some exaggeration, it must still be delicious.

Ning Qiuer probably hadn’t professionally studied cooking. He was curious to see how the taste of her self-taught methods compared to that of a professional chef.

He asked his advisor for leave. As a well-known musician, he had the capital to skip classes. After all, with his exam-passing skill, he could easily pass any test.

Come to think of it, the outside world still believed his piano and guzheng skills were at Level 5. If he revealed that he had recently upgraded to Level 6, perhaps Huadu University would invite him to become a professor.

But that would be more trouble than it was worth.

After washing up and having breakfast, Xia Yu mentioned this to Youxue and asked if she wanted to come along.

The girl eagerly agreed.

Calling Youxue’s teacher, Xia Yu requested a one-class absence for her, and together they took a car to Liu Manman’s house.

At that moment, Liu Manman and Ning Qiuer were sitting together, talking about Xia Yu.

Looking at her phone with the QQ chat interface completely devoid of replies, Ning Qiuer asked Liu Manman, “Your friend seems to not care about me at all?”

“Right? You feel the same way too, right!” Liu Manman finally found someone who shared her feelings. “I mentioned you to him before, but his reaction was as if I was just talking about an ordinary person.”

Before Ning Qiuer could ask more, the doorbell rang.

The two went downstairs together, and the maid had already opened the door.

Ning Qiuer glanced at Xia Yu, then shifted her gaze to the girl beside him—Youxue.

Liu Manman briefly introduced Youxue.

“Hello,” Ning Qiuer smiled as she greeted Youxue. Her expression was warm, and her heart was equally warm.

Because she noticed the familiar sparkle in the girl’s eyes—the sparkle of joyful surprise upon seeing her.

So it was indeed Xia Yu who was the exception; his little sister was perfectly normal.

Feeling pleased, she readily agreed when Youxue asked for a photo, and actively posed with her.

Side by side making heart shapes with their hands, one in front and one behind making rabbit ears with their hands…

After the photos were taken, Youxue excitedly sat on the sofa, looking at the pictures on the camera.

At first, Ning Qiuer felt gratified, but as time passed, she began to sense something was off.

Why was this girl so engrossed in the photos? She was right here in person—weren’t the photos far less beautiful than the real thing?

Feeling uneasy, she finally saw the girl stand up.

Thinking Youxue was coming to talk to her, Ning Qiuer straightened her posture, only to hear Youxue say, “I should go back to school now. Goodbye.”

Ning Qiuer looked at Youxue in disbelief, watching her put away the camera, put on her backpack, and say goodbye to Liu Manman, Xia Yu, and herself before heading toward the door.

The girl opened the door, stepped out without hesitation, and the door closed behind her.

She really left.

Ning Qiuer clenched her fists:

School—how many times a year do you go there anyway? What’s so important about attending? I’m a legendary singer, someone rare to see in a lifetime! Shouldn’t she have skipped school to come see me?

This girl was abnormal too!

She turned her gaze back to Xia Yu, but felt that Xia Yu still had feelings for her—he had agreed to come out at her invitation, and was still looking at her now.