Chapter 87: Sharing Hardships Together

This time, the battle for the monthly ticket rankings quickly went viral, drawing attention even from those outside the usual circles. As the protagonist who took first place in this ranking war, Jiang Zheng naturally found himself in the spotlight.

Many analysts believed that the reason this novel not only won the monthly ticket rankings but surpassed a million votes was largely due to a fortunate coincidence. It was the sudden eruption of long-suppressed dissatisfaction among countless readers that led to this outcome. Such a situation was unlikely to repeat itself; if another ticket war were to occur, it would be impossible to see such a terrifying number of votes again.

No matter how it was analyzed, as the central figure in this event, Jiang Zheng’s novel received tremendous attention. This was the true beginning of his work gaining traction across the entire web. Many readers only learned of the novel because of this incident, and once they started reading, they found it impossible to stop.

…

After two consecutive days of intense writing, Jiang Zheng still hadn’t recovered. He posted a solo chapter to thank everyone for their support, which had won his book first place in the monthly ticket rankings. He then mentioned that, for the time being, he could only guarantee the daily basic updates, and any additional chapters would have to wait.

He needed rest. Yesterday, driven by the readers’ enthusiasm in the review section, he hadn’t thought of anything else but writing. As a result, when he woke up today, his fingers ached faintly. Jiang Zheng knew this was from overuse.

Of course, the outcome was excellent. To say his novel had taken off was no exaggeration. After all, being number one on the monthly ticket rankings—if that wasn’t taking off, then what was?

He hadn’t yet received a notification that his task was complete, and Jiang Zheng supposed it was because the novel wasn’t finished. Popularity was no longer an issue; as long as he completed the book, his task would be accomplished. From now on, he could write at his own pace, no longer needing to worry about insufficient attention.

…

“I’ve called you so many times—why didn’t you answer? And when I came to find you, why weren’t you ever home?” On a busy street, Li Sha glared at Yang Po, her anger barely contained.

She hadn’t been able to reach Yang Po for two days. He didn’t answer her calls, ignored her messages, and she hadn’t found him at his rented apartment. Li Sha had been beside herself with worry. In this unfamiliar city, Yang Po was a stranger to everything. She was terrified that something might have happened to him, and the anxiety nearly brought her to tears.

Today, she’d come again to his neighborhood, hoping to see if he was home. Unexpectedly, before she even reached his apartment, she ran into Yang Po on the street. But the Yang Po before her now was nothing like the one she remembered.

Yang Po looked at the girl in front of him, pursed his lips, and said, “Nothing, I just had something to do.”

“What could possibly be so important that you can’t answer your phone or reply to my messages?” Li Sha pressed.

“It was just something, why do you have to ask so much?” Yang Po suddenly lost his temper and shouted.

“You’re yelling at me? You’re actually yelling at me?” Li Sha stared at him, incredulous. In all their months together, this was the first time Yang Po had ever raised his voice at her.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. My thoughts are just a mess right now. I want to be alone for a while. I’m sorry,” Yang Po said, then hurried away.

Li Sha watched his retreating back, hurt swelling in her chest until tears streamed down her cheeks like broken pearls. After a while, she wiped her tears and turned to leave. But she only took a single step before stopping. She still couldn’t let go of her worry for Yang Po. She wanted to know what difficulties he was facing.

“Oh Li Sha, why must you be so foolish?” she whispered to herself, then headed toward Yang Po’s apartment.

Standing at his door, she raised her hand, hesitated for a long moment, and finally knocked. No one answered, so she knocked again.

At last, the door opened.

“Why haven’t you left yet? I told you, I want to be alone,” Yang Po said.

His words stung. Tears threatened again, but Li Sha forced herself to hold them back.

“Are you in some kind of trouble?” Li Sha asked.

Yang Po didn’t reply. His fingers, gripping the doorframe, turned white.

“No,” he managed to say, voice hoarse and utterly unconvincing.

“Yang Po, I’ve always believed that couples should face difficulties together. If you hide things from me whenever you’re in trouble, it makes me feel like an outsider,” Li Sha said softly.

Yang Po remained silent, eyes fixed on the ground.

“If you still think of me as your girlfriend, then tell me what you’re going through. We can try to solve it together. I may not be able to fix everything, but another perspective can help,” Li Sha continued.

Yang Po slowly raised his head to look at the girl before him, his feelings in turmoil. Having experienced several relationships, he had grown indifferent to love. Though he told himself he loved earnestly each time, in reality, he had become increasingly detached and careless.

Yet in this moment, he suddenly felt that long-lost flutter of true affection—the kind that only comes with first love. The better Li Sha treated him, the less he wanted to speak.

“Please leave,” Yang Po forced out between clenched teeth.

Li Sha stepped back, tears finally spilling over. “So… you never really considered me your girlfriend, did you? I understand now,” she said.

“That’s not true!” Yang Po protested.

“If it’s not, then why won’t you tell me what’s wrong?” she pressed.

“I… I just… just…” Yang Po stammered.

“If you still won’t say it, then I’m leaving,” Li Sha said, turning away.

Yang Po’s grip on the doorframe grew even tighter. As Li Sha began to walk off, he suddenly spoke: “I was scammed!”

Li Sha stopped and turned back. “What did you say?”

“I said, I was scammed,” Yang Po muttered, his face burning with shame.

“How did it happen? Tell me everything,” Li Sha urged.

…

Inside Yang Po’s apartment, Li Sha listened to his account, her face expressionless.

“So, you were scammed out of ten thousand yuan?” she asked.

Yang Po nodded.

Li Sha took a deep breath. The words of reproach were on the tip of her tongue—she had warned him about that suspicious online part-time job, but he hadn’t listened. Now look at the result. But in the end, she swallowed her lecture; this was not the time for blame.

“Can you still reach that customer service agent who called herself Little Fish?” Li Sha asked.

“No, I’ve been at the internet café for the past two days, trying dozens of alternate accounts, but I still can’t find her,” Yang Po replied.