Mo Chengyu felt like she had seen through it all. But she didn’t say much.

She’d already said more than enough. Sometimes, for a beautiful and sincere romance to be truly moving, the two people at its center had to be the ones to break that last, unspoken barrier.

So she ushered Jiang Qiuqiu to a seat. "Long time no see! I still haven’t congratulated you for taking first place again, Qiuqiu!"

"You already congratulated me on my terminal."

"That doesn’t count. It only counts when it’s said in person." Mo Chengyu propped her chin on her hand and asked like an overbearing CEO, "Congratulations come with gifts. So, what do you want, Qiuqiu?"

"Um... anything is fine."

"If you’re that nonchalant, I won’t know what to get you." She clicked her tongue, and then, as if struck by a sudden idea, she scooted closer. "Qiuqiu, what if I give you Black Hole as a congratulatory gift?"

"..."

Jiang Qiuqiu was taken aback, and only then did Mo Chengyu burst out laughing. "Just kidding! It’s not like I can order that guy around. The real gift I prepared for you is right here!"

She even supplied her own sound effect—"Ta-da-da-da!"—as she pulled a black box from her pocket. Unlike the velvet box from Mo Si, this one had a more high-tech look, gleaming with a metallic luster even in the natural light.

"Go on, open it. I think you’ll like it."

Jiang Qiuqiu opened the box. Inside was a terminal.

"It’s a prototype from our research institute, a terminal I thought you might like. And don’t you dare say it’s too expensive and refuse it." Mo Chengyu spread her hands. "I brought this especially for you."

There are different degrees of closeness in relationships. From a distant acquaintance, an expensive gift would naturally be a cause for anxiety.

But when the relationship was close enough—

’Well, I’ll just have to get her a grand gift in return next time!’

"Thank you, Sister Chengyu. I love your gift."

After chatting about the gift for a while, Jiang Qiuqiu finally asked why Mo Si wasn’t there.

"Oh, him? Something came up at work, and he was urgently summoned."

"He might still be in a meeting? It’s been so long, who knows if it’s over yet. Anyway, let’s not talk about him, he’s such a downer. Yesterday, we were right here watching the live broadcast of your gala—"

"You were watching the Federation Annual Gala?" Jiang Qiuqiu felt a fresh wave of embarrassment.

Mo Chengyu nodded. "Yep! We saw you last night, Qiuqiu. You were absolutely gorgeous! You’re a great cook, beautiful, gentle, and your spiritual power is incredible. I have no idea which lucky guy is going to snatch you up."

"I’m getting off-topic. Let’s get back to Black Hole. He was surprisingly talkative yesterday. Constantly saying this was no good, that was no good; that this part of your gala was unreasonable, and that part was illogical... a true nitpicker of our time."

"He was?" The Black Hole Mo Chengyu described sounded like a completely different person from the one Jiang Qiuqiu knew. "He grumbles like that?" 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"Yep."

"And his expression can change in a flash."

"???" She was getting more and more lost.

"Alright, alright, enough about him. Let’s talk about you! Qiuqiu, I saw you getting along quite well with that ’godly’ streamer from your platform yesterday." With Mo Si absent, Mo Chengyu spoke much more freely. "Made a new friend?"

"You could say that. We wouldn’t have become friends if we hadn’t clashed first."

"But I noticed your platform doesn’t just have one handsome guy—it has tons! A few of the ones who took photos with you last night were really eye-catching, too. Are any of them your type?"

Uh, well—

Jiang Qiuqiu was still pondering the question when, just outside the door, Mo Si returned from his meeting.

He had seen Jiang Qiuqiu’s message on his way over and had rushed here. Just as he reached the door, his superior hearing began to play the conversation from inside directly into his mind:

"Haha, not just one handsome guy, oh no, lots of handsome guys! So eye-catching! Are any of them your type?"

’Excellent. And who might that be talking?’

’Ah, Mo Chengyu. It’s been three days, and she’s already asking for a beating.’