Chapter 12: Another Call

Chapter 12: Another Call

Fan Xiaoyao glanced back at Yang Yeyeh with a look of exasperation, grinning as she said, “Don’t worry, Your Highness is far from desperate. If I ever fall for someone I meet online, I’m afraid it’ll have to wait until my next life!”

Yang Yeyeh gazed after Fan Xiaoyao’s retreating figure and let out a gentle sigh, her face etched with concern. “Well, I hope things are just as you say.”

After parting ways with Yang Yeyeh, Fan Xiaoyao felt idle and aimless, so she decided to visit the Xinhua Bookstore in Kangcheng. Before long, she lost herself among the endless shelves.

“Cloudy evening, outside the car window…” The familiar ringtone rang once more. Seeing the area code flash up from the border district, Fan Xiaoyao was instantly filled with resistance. She hesitated, phone in hand, torn between answering and ignoring the call. Fortunately, the ringing stopped at just the right moment, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

A notification sounded—she had received an unread message.

Her elegant brows knitted together as she bit her lip, finally opening the message. It contained only a single sentence: “Stop being so guarded—I’m not a bad person. Give me a chance to know you.”

Fan Xiaoyao’s subconscious recoiled at the thought of getting entangled with this “five-hearted man” again. She pressed delete without hesitation, feeling satisfied only when her inbox was empty.

Another notification chimed in: “There’s no point deleting my messages. If you don’t reply, I’ll keep sending them every day, every hour, every minute. If you block my number, I’ll just get a new one… Try me!”

Fan Xiaoyao muttered under her breath, “Obsessive. Suit yourself.”

“Cloudy…” Before the ringtone could finish, she hurriedly rejected the call. This repeated more than a dozen times, drawing the attention and irritation of the other customers in the bookstore.

“Young lady, this is a bookstore. Could you please put your phone on silent?” someone admonished.

Another chimed in, “Young lady, if you’re fighting with your boyfriend, just block him if you don’t want to answer.”

A chorus of readers began voicing their complaints.

Because the phone kept ringing, the growing annoyance in the crowd became palpable. Seeing the situation, Fan Xiaoyao could only muster an apologetic smile. “Everyone, I’m truly sorry. I wasn’t thinking, and I’ve disturbed your reading. I sincerely apologize.”

An elderly woman approached and patted Fan Xiaoyao’s shoulder, speaking earnestly, “Child, that was your boyfriend just now, wasn’t it? When couples quarrel, the worst thing is to give each other the cold shoulder. Open communication is the key!”

Fan Xiaoyao blushed as she tried to explain, “Auntie, that wasn’t my boyfriend just now. It was… just a stranger—a madman, really…”

The old woman raised her eyebrows, skeptical, and hurried to make peace. “Child, no matter how angry you are, don’t say things you don’t mean. Young people always have their little spats.”

Fan Xiaoyao realized she was stuck—no explanation would make sense to this woman. “Cloudy evening, outside the car window…” The ringtone sounded again, and everyone stared at her. “Answer it already!”

Fan Xiaoyao realized she must have left the house on an unlucky day. What should have been a simple afternoon of reading had turned into a public spectacle. Annoyed, she picked up the call and vented all her frustration on the caller.

“Are you haunting me? In a past life I owed you nothing, and in this life I bear you no grudge. Why must you fixate on me?”

Wang Guocheng’s voice on the other end was tinged with plea. “Can’t you speak to me a little more kindly?”

“Kindly? Sir, who are you to me? Why should I be gentle with you?” Fan Xiaoyao’s chest felt tight. She couldn’t understand why this “five-hearted man” was so persistent.

“Don’t you feel we have a special connection?” Wang Guocheng spoke from the heart. “That night, didn’t we have a great conversation? We talked about everything and anything—it was delightful, wasn’t it?”

Fan Xiaoyao rubbed her temples. “Sir, just because we had a good chat, does that mean we have to become lovers?”

Wang Guocheng was clearly puzzled. He thought back to the personal ad Fan Xiaoyao had posted on the forum to find a boyfriend. Driven by selfish motives, he had already arranged to have all her posts deleted from the forum.

He pressed on, “Didn’t you post on the forum that you were looking for a five-hearted boyfriend? Wasn’t that your intent? Now that someone suitable is here, are you shrinking back?”

Caught off guard, Fan Xiaoyao stammered. The truth was, she hadn’t thought much of it when she made that post—it was just for fun. She had never expected to actually find a boyfriend online. “I…I…”

Wang Guocheng sensed her guilt and spoke more forcefully. “I? I what? If you dared to put yourself out there, you should have known how to follow through.”

Fan Xiaoyao glanced around nervously, then slipped into one of the bookstore aisles to avoid the crowd. She bit her lip. “So what do you want?”

Wang Guocheng chuckled on the other end. “What do I want? You make it sound like I’m bullying you.”

Fan Xiaoyao didn’t know how to respond, so she fell silent.

Hearing her quiet, Wang Guocheng mocked, “What’s this? Out of words now? Weren’t you sharp-tongued just a moment ago?”

Fan Xiaoyao decided that with someone this cunning, silence was her best weapon.

When Wang Guocheng realized she was still silent, he finally spoke first, “Honestly, neither of us is married—why not give it a try? I won’t lie, my family’s been pressuring me to settle down, but I haven’t been interested in anyone else. If you think you can accept it, let’s start dating now.”

Only then did Fan Xiaoyao realize the true reason behind Wang Guocheng’s persistence: family pressure to get married. She felt the upper hand shift back to her. “I’ll consider your proposal. But whether we become a couple depends on your performance.”

Wang Guocheng was nervous at her words. He asked uneasily, “What kind of performance do you want to see? With all my qualities, are you really not tempted?”

Fan Xiaoyao smiled sweetly. “Whether I’m tempted or not, it’s too soon to say. But we can try dating. During the trial period, you’ll have to call me three times a day to check in. Also, you need to write down every sweet thing you say to me in a little notebook. And whatever I say goes. Can you do that?”

Wang Guocheng gritted his teeth, weighing the pros and cons. Not wanting to lose her, he agreed to her terms. “Alright, if there’s a chance to make it official after the trial, I’ll meet all your requests! Xiaoyao, we will make this official.”