She changed the subject, her tone growing severe.

“Shi Jin,” she said, “there’s something I have to tell you.”

“Go ahead.”

******

She confessed what had happened to Bomei and tried her best to make her words concise and comprehensive.

“I didn’t take care of Bomei properly, and it lost a lot of fur. I’m taking it to get its fur trimmed today and to get a change in style.”

After all, it was Shi Jin’s dog. Jiang Jiusheng didn’t think she had the right to decide.

Shi Jin didn’t hesitate. “You can decide.”

Jiang Jiusheng was silent for a moment, then said tentatively, “I plan to give it a crew cut.”

Liu Xu had been very aggressive. Unless Jiang Jiusheng chose a crew cut, it was likely to make Bomei look bad.

Shi Jin gave a low laugh. “It doesn’t like getting its fur trimmed. You can bring some meat jerky and toys. Otherwise, there’s no way it will sit still.”

His voice sounded huskier through the phone, and it was soothing to listen to as it met her ear.

Jiang Jiusheng stood before the balcony in Shi Jin’s apartment. It was a warm and pleasant autumn day. “Got it,” she said.

“Can you send me a photo when you’re done?”

“Sure.” After a pause, Jiang Jiusheng said, “Shi Jin?”

“Hmm?” Shi Jin responded, then waited quietly for her to speak.

There was a long silence. Finally, Jiang Jiusheng lowered her voice and said, “About last night..”

She stopped halfway and did not continue.

Shi Jin seemed to have taken a few steps. She heard the sound of the wind, and the volume of his voice increased. “What’s the matter?”

Jiang Jiusheng’s tone was casual as she said, “It’s nothing.”

Shi Jin seemed to contemplate this. He was silent for a while. He was still deep in thought when he said, “I wanted to call you last night, but you go to sleep at 10:00 p.m., so I didn’t want to disturb you.”

Jiang Jiusheng was flabbergasted. “You even know that I go to sleep at 10:00?”

“I know many things about you,” Shi Jin replied. His smile could practically be heard through the phone.

She smiled wordlessly and lifted her head. The sunlight outside was visually mesmerizing. The clouds looked beautiful as they floated by. She hung up only after exchanging a few more sentences. He said, “See you when I get back,” but he waited for her to cut the call.

In the end, she didn’t ask her question on her mind: Who was that woman from last night?

She had started to say it, but the remaining words had gotten stuck in her throat. She hadn’t been able to bring herself to ask. Now that she thought about it, she didn’t think she was in a position to care or to guess.

Shi Jin was a gentleman, and he had once said that he was single. She didn’t know why, but she felt quite sure that he would never lie to her. If he did fabricate a lie, she suspected that someone like him could fool her for a lifetime. It was just that the previous night’s call had made her feel like her heart had been stabbed with a knife. After the initial numbness, it had gradually started to throb with pain.

Jiang Jiusheng kneeled and smoothed the uneven fur on Bomei’s head.

“Bomei.”

The dog lifted its head.

Woof!

Jiang Jiusheng smiled at it. “I think I want more than just your father’s hands.”

Bomei answered while eating.

Woof!

Her smile faded. She couldn’t believe she was actually talking to a dog.

I guess the impact from last night’s call hit me quite hard. I’m infatuated and head over heels in love.. I think I might be doomed.

After remaining in a daze for almost half the day, she whipped out her phone and gave Mo Bing a call. The moment Mo Bing spoke, she asked, “Mo Bing, what should I do to keep my fanboy by my side forever?”

How sudden.. Since when did she start caring so much about fan management?

Mo Bing took 10 seconds to react before offering her professional suggestion. “Maintain a fixed distance and keep things fresh,” she said. “Make the fan continue to desire you.”

If that was the case, they could no longer speak on the phone so often.

Jiang Jiusheng was rather vexed. “What about interactions?” she asked. “Wouldn’t frequent interaction deepen the relationship?”