On Monday morning, the Moxiang Literature editorial office was bustling.
After Saturday's team outing and Sunday's rest, everyone was in fairly good spirits. Shen Miaomiao sat at her workstation, frantically revising the Chapter Six outline on her computer.
Ever since she'd seen the white-on-black L avatar on Lu Chen's computer last Friday, she'd been on edge. His line about the earth being round at Saturday's outing had pushed her suspicions to their peak.
But even after thinking about it all day at home on Sunday, she still hadn't found the courage to ask him directly.
“What if he isn't? What if I ask and he thinks I'm flattering myself?” she muttered inwardly as she revised. “Besides, even if he is, so what? He hasn't done anything wrong. All he did was pretend to date me online...”
Still, whenever she thought about all the nasty things she'd said about Lu Chen to L, her face burned.
“Forget it! Finish the manuscript first!” She shook her head hard, tossing those tangled thoughts out of her mind, and concentrated on the outline.
After about half an hour, her mouth felt dry. She got up to fetch water from the pantry. In a moment of carelessness, she left without using the keyboard shortcut to lock her screen.
As luck would have it, Lu Chen walked past her workstation at that very moment, a document in hand.
He was on his way to a project selection meeting. Passing through the open-plan area, he happened to glance at Shen Miaomiao's screen—
A private document was open, titled “My Romance Material Bank with Mr. Lu”!
Lu Chen stopped.
It had only been a casual glance, but the moment he saw the title, his feet stopped of their own accord.
“My Romance Material Bank with Mr. Lu”?
The corners of his mouth rose involuntarily. He looked left and right, made sure nobody was paying attention, then bent slightly and began reading the screen in earnest.
The document was packed with notes.
“10.12 He said, ‘Passed a cat café and saw a calico.’ Vivid, immersive detail. Could go into Chapter Three.”
“10.15 Taking the first step to make up after an argument hits harder than stubbornly holding out. Note for a scene where the hero wins her back.”
“10.18 He said, ‘Look at the screen, not at me.’ This line is so cool. It MUST go into Chapter Five exactly as it is!”
“10.21 He knows I like sweet taro-ball soup and drink iced Americanos. Amazingly observant. Could make the hero attentive and considerate.”
“10.23 He said, ‘If someone's willing to shield you, let them.’ Such a gentle line. Record it!”
“Important: This person's tone is becoming more and more like Devil Lu's. Could there be a connection? (To be verified.)”
Reading the parenthetical “To be verified,” Lu Chen couldn't keep his smile from growing. His eyes were full of affection.
This girl had actually sorted their conversations into a material bank, entry by entry, even specifically noting which chapter each detail could go into.
And she was still wondering whether he was connected to “Devil Lu.” It was already so obvious, yet she still had it marked “To be verified”?
Lu Chen shook his head, finding her slow reactions adorable.
Just then, returning with water, Shen Miaomiao saw from a distance that Lu Chen was standing at her desk, staring fixedly at her computer screen!
Her mind went blank. The cup in her hand nearly slipped to the floor!
“Shit!!!”
She raced over at a hundred-meter sprinter's speed, spread her arms, and blocked the screen with her whole body, shrieking in a stammer, “M-Mr. Lu! W-what... what are you doing here?!”
Her heart beat as though it would leap out of her chest. Cold sweat instantly soaked her back.
Had he seen it? Had he seen the title? The contents? The “To be verified”?!
If he had, her identity would be exposed, and the embarrassment would be so complete she'd have no choice but to resign on the spot!
Lu Chen suppressed his smile and gave her an expressionless glance. Calmly, he said, “Passing by. You haven't saved your document. Be careful you don't lose it.”
Then he reached out, pressed the save shortcut for her, and turned away.
His movements were so natural that he might really have been merely passing by, merely reminding her to save a file.
But Shen Miaomiao knew he'd definitely seen it.
He'd been standing there looking for at least ten seconds! Ten seconds! Plenty of time to read the entire title and the first few lines!
She collapsed into her chair, cold sweat breaking out all over. I'm doomed, doomed, doomed! How long was he looking?! Did he see “My Romance Material Bank with Mr. Lu”?! If he had, her identity would be exposed, and she'd be so mortified she'd have to resign on the spot!
She clutched her head, buried her face in her hands, and let out an agonized wail.
Beside her, Lin Xiaotong leaned over in concern. “Miaomiao, what's wrong? You look terrible.”
“I... I'm fine.” Shen Miaomiao waved, her voice as weak as someone recovering from a serious illness. “I just... suddenly feel there's no hope left in life.”
“What? Don't scare me! Did Mr. Lu reject your manuscript again?”
“Worse than that...” She wanted to cry, but no tears came.
Trembling, she messaged L online.
[Anonymous User 9527]: You there? You there?! Help! My cover nearly got blown today! Devil Lu just saw “My Romance Material Bank with Mr. Lu”!
[L]: Maybe he was only passing by and didn't get a clear look. Don't frighten yourself.
Sitting in his office, Lu Chen chuckled inwardly as he typed: I saw it clearly. Every single line. That “To be verified” was adorable.
He even remembered every entry in her material bank. “Look at the screen, not at me” had to go into Chapter Five exactly as it was. “If someone's willing to shield you, let them” needed recording. And she'd gotten quite comfortable calling him “Mr. Lu.”
Then he deliberately sent another message on WeChat.
[L]: By the way, that material bank of yours... who's the “Mr. Lu” in it?
Shen Miaomiao was so startled her phone nearly flew out of her hand. “H-h-how do you know I have a material bank?!”
[L]: You said before that you record details. I guessed.
[Anonymous User 9527]: I'm... just jotting things down! That “Mr. Lu” is the hero in my novel! Not a real person!
She said this without blushing or a racing heartbeat, her acting worthy of an Oscar-winning actress.
[L]: Oh? So he's the hero. Then I'll keep working hard to be good material for you.
That outrageously suggestive line made her face hot enough to fry an egg!
Clutching her phone, she rolled around on her bed, her heart in turmoil.
Before the end of the workday, Lu Chen passed her workstation again and set down a hot latte, leaving a casual remark. “Chapter Six is due tomorrow. Don't stay up late.”
Looking at the hot latte in her hand, Shen Miaomiao remembered L's online admonition not to stay up late. The two figures in her mind were almost merging.
“Impossible... Surely this is absolutely impossible?” She sat in her cubicle, furiously rubbing her hair, as though two little people were holding a meeting inside her head.
One screamed, “He knows you drink iced Americanos, knows you like sweet things, even says exactly the same line about the earth being round. He's definitely Lu Chen!”
The other immediately argued, “Stop dreaming! Devil Lu is a high-and-mighty editor-in-chief who reviews dozens of manuscripts every day. How would he have time to play your fake online boyfriend in an anonymous group at midnight? Your longtime fan L said clearly that he's twenty-nine and thinks logically. He must be an enthusiastic veteran reader!”
“But that avatar...”
“People can have the same avatar! Search for a white L on black and you'll find loads!”
“But he knows I love taro balls...”
“You wrote it on your onboarding questionnaire! Administration has all that on file!”
The more Shen Miaomiao thought, the more her head ached.
Whenever she resolved to confront L or ask Lu Chen in person, L either neatly talked her around with his orderly logic, some unexpected manuscript-reviewing work interrupted, or she lost her nerve herself, hypnotizing herself with “It must be a coincidence.”
Biting her straw, Shen Miaomiao let out a long sigh and decided to reach the highest state of ostrichhood: pretend she hadn't seen anything!
“Forget it, forget it! Why think so much?” She shook her head and forcibly suppressed the suspicion spreading wildly inside her.
“L really does help me, and Devil Lu really did shield me from marketing! Who cares who he is?! As long as he helps me finish this contemporary romance, get paid, and pass review, I don't care whether he's an immortal or a devil!”
Shen Miaomiao patted her burning cheeks and returned her attention to her computer screen.
In the editor-in-chief's office, Lu Chen stood before the tall windows, holding his unsweetened hot Americano. Through the glass, he watched Shen Miaomiao in the distance, adorably scratching her head one moment and shaking it the next. A deep, sly smile curved his lips.
His fingertips tapped lightly on his phone as he sent Anonymous User 9527 one last message.
[L]: Go to bed early tonight. Tomorrow, let's try out the romantic tension in Chapter Eleven.