Chen Yi had been single for twenty-one years. During the days when her own mother was forcing her to return to the country and intern at the family company, she had the good fortune to meet someone she liked—and even managed to get together with that person. Online only, of course.
Once the dazed shock and wild elation faded, Chen Yi felt like she was in a dream.
Was this real? Had it really happened?
She pinched the flesh of her thigh. The sharp pain made her gasp.
Good. Not a dream. This was really happening.
But wasn’t it all a bit too fast?
In Chen Yi’s own imaginings, she and Fade would go back and forth for at least three months. She’d seen it online with other couples like them—the ambiguous phase lasted half a year at minimum. Her and Fade… what was this? A lightning romance straight to shotgun wedding?
And in her original script, she was the one doing the chasing, the one confessing first and pursuing relentlessly for a shot at winning a smile from the beauty. But from the way things had turned out, she seemed to be the one getting the bargain.
Everything had happened so quickly, so dreamlike, that Chen Yi spent the whole night restless and barely slept. The first thing she did the next morning was grab her phone and double-check the message Fade had sent yesterday.
It was there.
She hadn’t imagined it.
She was thrilled, sure…
But wasn’t it all a little too impulsive?! She hadn’t even come clean about her real identity. She didn’t even know Fade’s real name, what she looked like, or where she lived. And stepping back even further, she had no idea if Fade had someone in real life. Fade knew next to nothing about her either.
Was this what online dating felt like?
Was she just opening a blind box here?!
She’d figured that after they mutually confessed their feelings, they’d spend a long time getting to know each other before stepping into a relationship.
They could even meet in person first, then start dating.
But the way things were unfolding was way beyond her expectations. Every move Fade made was one step ahead of her predictions.
It was magical.
And did Fade really like her? Chen Yi mulled it over, really mulled it, and no matter how she looked at it, something felt off. It was too weird! The person who’d been ghosting her just days ago suddenly popped up with a confession and asked her out. Post about that online, and anyone would say it screamed pig butchering scam.
The kind where they sold you off to Myanmar or Vietnam, made you churn out five hundred calls a day, no dinner till you’re done.
But that didn’t add up either…
If Fade was a scammer, there was no need to sink so much money and time into reeling in a newbie like her. It didn’t make sense for a con artist.
The investment was sky-high—what kind of payout would even break even?
“Absolute Shadow” was proof enough.
After turning it over in her mind, Chen Yi realized her hesitation about this event—which should have been pure joy—was like getting bonked on the head by a pie from the sky and then worrying if there was a trap underneath.
Could something this good really just drop into her lap like that?
The last scraps of her rationality were still screaming that the whole thing was too bizarre, utterly illogical, and downright unnatural.
She decided to play it cool, ease into a light romance, and observe carefully while testing the waters.
She wasn’t suspecting Fade had ulterior motives. She just wasn’t entirely sure if last night’s decision had come from the heart.
It left her uneasy.
Still, uneasy or not, she had to do what needed doing.
With that thought, she sent Fade a good morning message.
Her fingers typed the old habitual address: Master~~, good morning.
Fade replied in seconds with a three-second voice message.
Chen Yi tapped play.
“Good morning, baby.”
Fade’s voice was a little husky and gravelly, maybe from just waking up. She must have held the phone right up to her lips while speaking—the words came through crisp, laced with an unmistakable stickiness. She infused “baby” with such deep affection.
For a split second, it felt like Fade was whispering right in her ear.
Chen Yi couldn’t take it.
How was this woman so good at this?
As Chen Yi agonized over how to respond, another voice message popped up from Fade.
“Mm… you’re up pretty early today.”
“I went to bed a bit late last night. Still in bed.”
After the voice came a photo.
It was taken from above, showing a woman lying in bed. Her face was turned away from the camera, out of frame, leaving only the elegant line of her jaw. Her neck was long and slender, her skin pale and delicate, with long black hair spilling over her shoulders.
The room’s lighting was dim, giving the photo a soft, grainy blur.
If anything, it made it more intimate.
Chen Yi stared at the photo, her brain short-circuiting for three whole seconds.
She desperately wanted to send a voice message demanding, Sis, what’s with this first thing in the morning?
But she couldn’t bring herself to say it.
It would sound like she was getting the sweet deal and then complaining about it.
Her ears burned hot. She started typing, deleted and retyped for ages on the keyboard, then finally sent a voice message instead.
“A little excited, so I got up earlier.”
“Why’d you stay up late, sis?”
After sending it, Chen Yi cautiously played it back to make sure her voice didn’t sound off.
No instant reply this time.
Chen Yi set her phone aside and went to wash up. While brushing her teeth with nothing else to do, she couldn’t resist checking if Fade had responded yet. She darted back to her room for her phone.
A new voice message.
“You really have to ask?” Fade let out a soft laugh there. “I thought you knew.”
“Isn’t the reason I stayed up late the same as why you’re excitedly up early?”
“What do you think, girlfriend?”
Chen Yi sprayed a mouthful of toothpaste foam everywhere.
Oh my God!
Why had no one warned her that Fade was this much of a flirt?!
Right now, she felt like a total newbie at this love game—level 1 rookie—while Fade was playing like a maxed-out pro at level 99.
How was this possible?!
At a total loss, Chen Yi set her phone down. She cleaned up the mess, changed into work clothes, and headed out. Only once she was on her way did she send Fade a shy emoticon.
She really wasn’t good at volleying back.
Under an onslaught like Fade’s, Chen Yi felt pretty helpless.
Chen Yi: Heading to work!
XYZ: Okay.
Chen Yi: Hehe, work isn’t too busy, so I can reply. But if I don’t, I’m probably tied up.
XYZ: Spitting a tongue twister?
Chen Yi: Just explaining to Master first!
XYZ: [propping chin]
XYZ: You really love that title, huh.
XYZ: I get it.
Chen Yi nearly smashed her head into the elevator door.
Chen Yi: ??
No! Sis! What do you get? Spell it out!
Chen Yi: I didn’t!
XYZ: What’s the rush? I haven’t even said anything.
Chen Yi: Anyway, no! TT
Chen Yi: Don’t tease me like that.
XYZ: Spoiling me first thing in the morning?
Chen Yi: !!
She suspected that by the time she got to the subway station and scanned her code at security, the facial recognition camera would reject her. At this rate, she probably didn’t even look human anymore—she was a walking tomato.
XYZ: Alright, alright. Be safe on the subway.
Chen Yi: Okay~
She pocketed her phone obediently and shuffled into the morning rush-hour crowd. After squeezing aboard and finally snagging a seat, a realization hit her—
Chen Yi: Wait, did I ever tell you I take the subway to work?
Xu Yan spotted the message while eating breakfast.
The auntie taking care of Xu Yixiao had prepped it the night before; Xu Yan just reheated it, and it tasted pretty good.
Her personal phone lay on the table, the chat labeled “My girl” glowing on the screen.
She arched a brow and took a bite of her sandwich.
The little one was getting sharper.
She didn’t flinch at all, replying calmly: Yeah.
Then added: You even told me it’s Line 7.
Cool as a general in battle.
Chen Yi was completely thrown off.
Had she just forgotten in a brain fart? She shared so much with Fade every day—random chit-chat from all over the place. Mentioning her commute seemed normal enough.
Huh.
Chen Yi let it go.
Fade: Don’t play on your phone too long on the subway. You’ll get dizzy.
Chen Yi’s heart warmed.
Chen Yi: Got it.
Fade: Also, what’s with that title?
Fade had zeroed in on the detail in Chen Yi’s last message. Or rather, she’d instantly picked up on the subtle shift in Chen Yi’s emotions when she typed it.
Fade: So if I’m not Master anymore, I guess I’m just “sis,” huh.
Chen Yi scooted over to the subway seat with the divider, huddling closer to it. She hunched her back a little, shifted how she held her phone—like she was terrified anyone might glimpse a single pixel.
Chen Yi: No!
Chen Yi: I’m just kinda shy about it TT
Chen Yi: And I don’t even know what to call you…
Chen Yi wondered if she should seize this chance to ask Fade for her real name. But if she did, would Fade think it was too forward? They were dating now, after all! Wouldn’t it be weird if she didn’t even know her girlfriend’s real name?
A fierce debate raged in Chen Yi’s mind.
Her phone buzzed softly, heralding a flurry of new messages from Fade.
Fade: [Zhihu Q&A—Fellow lesbians, how do you address your other half? Looking for some references.]
Fade: [Screenshot]
Fade: These are pretty good. Want to pick one? ^^
Chen Yi had figured out a pattern by now.
Whenever Fade started throwing in those ^^ smileys, it meant she was secretly cooking up some mischief. Well, “mischief” might be too harsh a word. Put another way, Fade was definitely scheming something.
Sure enough, Chen Yi tapped open the screenshot.
A verified user named Xiao Aqian had replied:
[Darling] [Baby] [Wife] [Big Sis] [Master] [Mommy]…
Call her whatever feels right! The original poster can totally get creative!
Chen Yi’s mouth twitched.
The first few made sense.
But what the hell were those last two?!
This Xiao Aqian had to be off their rocker! Had they even bothered to read the question properly?!
Her heart pounded wildly.
A new message from Fade popped up.
“Our baby, pick one?”
Chen Yi felt like her life points had just plummeted by 999.
Her fingertips hovered, then tapped out a reply.
“Wife/////\\”
On the other end of WeChat, Xu Yan smiled in satisfaction.
