"Sorry, I was just taking a shower."
Shen Siyuan replied to Jiang Tingyu with a WeChat message.
But Jiang Tingyu did not respond immediately; it was unclear whether she hadn’t seen it or if it was a deliberate play of mind games.
For boyfriends and girlfriends, if there’s mutual affection, not getting an immediate reply on WeChat during a conversation can be quite agonizing and mess with one’s head.
If one side has developed feelings, they can become anxious and passive, falling into the other’s trap.
But since Shen Siyuan wanted to keep Jiang Tingyu on a leash, he naturally stayed calm, simply opened a game, and started battling other players.
Approximately two or three minutes later, he finally received another message from Jiang Tingyu.
However, Shen Siyuan did not switch out to reply immediately; instead, he finished the round and then casually closed the game.
"Do you want to come see my performance at my aquarium tomorrow?"
"Sorry, I was just playing a game, so tomorrow might not be good. I went back to my hometown today and probably won’t return until tomorrow evening."
Shen Siyuan frankly told her that he was playing a game and didn’t respond to her message to give her the impression that she wasn’t that important.
Saying he went back to his hometown was to inform her of a result and also a test.
If upon hearing this, Jiang Tingyu simply expressed regret and mentioned they could meet another time to see her performance, then it would mean that although the girl had feelings for him, they weren’t strong.
But if upon hearing this, Jiang Tingyu got curious about where his hometown was and if it was fun to visit,
In this case, Jiang Tingyu might be playing hard to get, trying to keep Shen Siyuan on the hook.
Or she actually developed feelings but isn’t ready for a relationship. She doesn’t want to miss out on Shen Siyuan, leaving her hesitant. So she wants to "tie him down" first and then take her time to decide if they should get together.
"Right, I heard you say yesterday that your hometown is Qingshui Town. Is it far from here? How long does it take by car?"
Seeing this, Shen Siyuan’s lips curled into a smile; now things got interesting...
So, Shen Siyuan went along with her and struck up a conversation.
He even said he would invite her to visit when he had time.
Just as they were chatting up a storm, Shen Siyuan suddenly said, "A relative introduced me to a potential match, I’m back for a blind date."
Clearly, Jiang Tingyu was rendered silent by this WeChat message; it took her a while before she replied.
"You just went on a blind date with me yesterday, and tomorrow you’re going to see another girl? Are you so eager to find a girlfriend?"
This comment was somewhat inappropriate, but it also clearly showed that Shen Siyuan’s actions had made her uncomfortable.
Also, she ended her sentence with ’ah’ instead of ’ma’, making the tone sound more gentle. It was clear, she didn’t want to just cut ties with Shen Siyuan like that.
"No choice, you’re not into me, so of course, I have to look around. Besides, it’s not me who is in a hurry; it’s my parents," said Shen Siyuan.
He passed the pressure onto her directly. If Jiang Tingyu truly wanted to keep Shen Siyuan on the hook, she would have to really consider if she can do so and whether just chatting would suffice. She would need to feel the urgency and weigh her options... Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚•𝙣𝙚𝙩
Shen Siyuan actually had a knack for reading people. If Jiang Tingyu wasn’t playing hard to get, his actions wouldn’t be considered scummy.
Most people who have been hurt in love are extra cautious when entering a new relationship, constantly probing - it’s only natural, and Shen Siyuan was not surprised by this.
They chatted a bit more, and Shen Siyuan took the initiative to end the conversation.
This also showed that Shen Siyuan didn’t care about their relationship.
If Jiang Tingyu let it be, then they probably wouldn’t interact again in the future.
But if Jiang Tingyu contacts him again, then she will sink deeper and eventually, due to investing too much emotion and too great a sunk cost, she won’t be able to let go and will end up paying an even greater price.
Thinking this, Shen Siyuan seems rather crappy.
However, Shen Siyuan actually has quite a fondness for Jiang Tingyu. After all, since she’s so beautiful, how could he not entertain some thoughts?
If Jiang Tingyu really wanted to seriously consider both parties’ feelings, Shen Siyuan would also engage earnestly in the relationship.
Under the moonlight, the old Taoist and Yu Youcai stood outside of Shen Siyuan’s courtyard, sizing up the building carefully.
Yu Youcai nodded his head.
"Your nephew is quite rich," said the old Taoist.
"He’s only made some money in these past few years; he lost quite a bit before that, and I had to chip in my retirement funds."
"You two must be very close."
The old Taoist turned his head. It was quite rare for someone to be willing to part with their retirement funds for their nephew.
"I have no children of my own in my life, he’s like half a son to me. Jianjun is filial too. When I die, he and his father will wear hemp and mourn for me," Yu Youcai said with a hint of pride.
The old Taoist nodded slightly, and then said, "You go inside, I will wait out here for you."
Upon hearing this, Yu Youcai went straight through the courtyard door and entered.
As for the old Taoist, why didn’t he go in? Was it because he didn’t want to?
Of course not. It was because he couldn’t.
A house is equivalent to private territory. If someone lives inside, their energy becomes connected as one whole. Unless one has direct blood relations and can enter without the owner’s permission, all ghosts and spirits would be kept outside.
This is also why that day, Lu Guanchang just lingered outside of Jiang Wenxin’s door and didn’t enter: because he simply couldn’t.
As for why Yin Xingyue could follow Dou Dou inside Shen Siyuan’s room, it was because the house didn’t actually belong to Shen Siyuan; he rented it.
That is also why some people knock three times on the hotel room door before entering and open the door sideways. They’re telling the "people" inside that someone is moving in and they should make room.
These practices actually have some reason behind them.
Yu Youcai entered the house, confidently walked upstairs and directly into Shen Siyuan’s room; clearly, this wasn’t his first visit.
But upon entering, he got a fright because Shen Siyuan was sitting on the bed looking at him.
"Uncle Grandpa." Shen Siyuan was a bit surprised. Why had he come in the middle of the night?
"You knew I was coming?" Uncle Grandpa said with a bit of astonishment.
Shen Siyuan nodded. Not only did he sense Yu Youcai coming in, but he also knew there was another ghost waiting outside the courtyard door.
As the master of the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, even though the Ten Thousand Soul Banner was mostly damaged, he still had this capability.
This is also why he could instantly notice Yin Xingyue following Dou Dou that day.
"Your situation is a bit strange, I hope it’s not that something’s gone wrong. I brought an old Taoist to take a look at you. He knows a lot, would you like to meet him?" Uncle Grandpa said.
Hearing that it was a Taoist, Shen Siyuan became interested.
If ghosts existed in this world, then those who were Taoists and Monks surely had the most authority to speak. Perhaps they could resolve some of Shen Siyuan’s doubts.
So he got up and said, "Then I’ll go out and see him."
But he quickly sat down again and said, "Let’s have him come in to chat, it is late at night, and it wouldn’t be good to wake up my parents."
Seeing that Shen Siyuan agreed, Yu Youcai turned around and went downstairs to call the old Taoist in.