Chapter 10: On Speakerphone - Roommates Shocked

"Morning."

One word.

Low, magnetic, with a casually indifferent lilt.

Definitely didn't waste that handsome face.

Jiang Wan's 嘴角 tilted upward.

This wasn't an accidental tap.

He was responding to her.

It meant the flirting mission had entered a new phase.

From complete radio silence, to actual conversation, and now voice messages.

The day he agreed to be her boyfriend couldn't be far off.

Jiang Wan could practically see the five hundred thousand waving at her.

She played the voice message one more time.

It sounded... familiar, somehow.

She couldn't place it.

Whatever. Jiang Wan shook her head and replied with a voice message, spirits high: "Your voice is so nice~"

"Brother should send me more voice messages from now on."

She needed to build the habit.

Sent. She tucked her phone into her pajama pocket and pushed open the bedroom door.

Jiang Feng sat at the dining table drinking soy milk. He looked up and scanned her when she emerged.

"Sis, did you find money? You're this happy first thing in the morning?"

Jiang Wan suppressed her smile, perfectly composed. "You nailed it. I dreamed I found money."

She ducked straight into the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face.

Five minutes later, back at the table.

Soy milk steaming. Fried dough sticks golden and crisp.

Sunlight streamed through the window. Outside, the old locust tree had sprouted fresh buds.

Everything was stirring back to life.

Lazy days always flew by fast.

Jiang Wan helped her parents clean the restaurant, drilled her brother through practice exams, played badminton.

Took more gaming companion orders.

And, unfailingly, flirted with His Highness Shang Shixu.

Time rolled along to Sunday afternoon.

After lunch at the family restaurant, Jiang Wan shouldered her bag and boarded the bus to Haicheng's city center.

The bus lurched onto the highway. Outside the window, the scenery shifted from county-town low-rises to gleaming skyscrapers.

Jiang Wan leaned against the window, earbuds in.

Her phone screen showed various part-time job listings.

She scrolled through. One listing caught her eye.

A private high-end club hiring servers.

Requirements: Female, 165cm+, under 55kg, excellent presentation. Male, 178cm+, under 75kg, excellent presentation.

Hours: 8 PM to midnight, four days off per month. Salary: 10,000 RMB/month.

Interested parties should submit resume and recent photo.

Special note: Exceptional candidates may be offered a negotiated arrangement.

Jiang Wan was 168cm, 45kg - with every curve exactly where it should be. She absolutely qualified.

The hours were a bit late, though.

But the listing did say exceptional candidates could negotiate.

She'd submit her resume and see.

After applying, she scrolled a bit more.

The bus pulled in past four PM.

Jiang Wan dragged her tired body back to the dorm.

She pushed open the door - a wave of fresh strawberry fragrance hit her.

Li Zhile stood at the desk, holding an elegant white gift box. Inside, a dozen massive, plump strawberries were arranged in neat rows.

Each one gleamed red, twice the size of an ordinary strawberry.

"Come, come, come! One each!" she called.

Wang Yurong rushed in first, picked the biggest one, and bit in without even washing it.

"Holy crap, so sweet!"

Zhou Feiyan reached for one too, then headed to the bathroom to rinse it before eating.

Li Zhile picked one up and handed it to Jiang Wan. "Wanwan, yours."

"Thanks, Lele." Jiang Wan took it, cradling it in her palm.

Vivid red strawberry, fresh green leaves. Picture-perfect.

She carried it to the bathroom, rinsed it, returned to the table, and snapped a photo with her phone - the berry cradled in her hand.

She opened Facebook and sent the photo to Shang Shixu.

Nice2MeetYou: [Such a beautiful big strawberry~]

Boston. A luxury apartment.

Shang Shixu jolted awake to the message notification.

He grabbed his phone, phoenix eyes narrowing.

The screen read 4 AM.

That "little toad" had forgotten again - the twelve-hour time difference between them.

He opened Facebook. A photo filled his screen.

A girl's palm cradling a single massive strawberry.

Shang Shixu's gaze locked on her hand.

Slender, even fingers. Pale and rosy. Like carved jade.

His eyes darkened. His thumb moved across the screen.

Lie: [Nice.]

On the other end, Jiang Wan saw the reply, glanced at the time in the corner, and suddenly realized she'd forgotten about the time difference again.

Emmm...

She'd woken him up.

Why didn't he put his phone on silent?

Nice2MeetYou: [Sorry, babe! Woke you up]

She launched into her practiced soothing mode.

Two minutes later, two voice messages arrived.

Lie: [It's fine.] (voice message)

Lie: [Is it good?] (voice message)

Jiang Wan wasn't wearing earbuds. She hit play on speaker.

Instantly, three roommates turned to look in unison.

Wang Yurong: "Whoa - who's that? That voice is bewitching."

Li Zhile, dropping a bomb: "Sounds like post-sex. Unsatisfied."

Zhou Feiyan chimed in: "Pregnant voice."

Jiang Wan turned crimson: "..."

Could they not?

Under three burning stares, Jiang Wan forced out an explanation. "A friend... he just woke up."

She dropped her head and typed fast.

Nice2MeetYou: [Yeah, it's good]

Four words. Her fingers trembled on the keyboard.

Stupid roommates and their wild associations - now her brain was filled with inappropriate material too.

Without waiting for Shang Shixu's reply, she fired off another message.

Nice2MeetYou: [Go back to sleep, babe. Talk later.]

Boston.

Shang Shixu read the message. His gaze drifted back up through the chat history.

It lingered on the photo of her hand for two seconds.

Then he dialed a number.

8 PM. Jiang Wan's phone rang on the desk.

She checked the caller ID - Gu Manning.

She picked it up, walked to the balcony, closed the glass door behind her, and answered. "Hello?"

"It's me." Gu Manning's voice came through. "Did you receive this month's payment?"

"Yeah... hold on, let me check."

Jiang Wan switched to her messages. Ten minutes ago, a transfer of thirty thousand yuan had come through.

"Got it."

Gu Manning cut straight to business.

"How are things progressing with Shang Shixu?"

Jiang Wan leaned against the balcony railing. The night breeze lifted strands of her hair.

"Going okay."

"He replies to basically everything I send now. Sometimes he initiates."

"And the last couple days, he started sending voice messages."

Jiang Wan reported everything faithfully.

"Really?!"

Gu Manning's voice jumped an octave, excitement leaking through.

"You're incredible!"

"When I was talking to him those two weeks, he didn't reply with a single character."

"Getting him to send voice messages on his own - that's practically a miracle!"

Jiang Wan consoled her. "Honestly, when I started, it was the same for me. He's genuinely hard to crack."

Gu Manning laughed softly. "Don't comfort me. I know I have zero flirting talent."

Then her tone turned serious.

"Wanwan, I'm counting on you. You have to get him to agree to be my boyfriend."

"Don't worry - the moment he says yes, the five hundred thousand is yours, not a penny less."

"And if I need you to keep helping after that, there'll be a bonus."

"Mm, understood." Jiang Wan acknowledged.

11 PM. Lights out in the dorm.

Everyone settled into silence. Only the occasional rustle of sheets.

Jiang Wan lay in bed, phone in hand.

She opened Facebook. She was about to type - then reconsidered. Instead, she pressed and held the voice button, whispering:

"Goodnight, brother."