Chapter 103: A Date with a Certain Great Deity

Upon understanding the situation, despite some lingering hesitation, Chloe still signed the contract with Landon as agreed. She harbored an indescribable, wholehearted trust in Jasper Xiao, and having had a good impression of Landon in her previous life, she didn’t delay further. After all, this arrangement was actually to her advantage, and the matters between Landon and Leng Lu had little to do with her!

Regarding these two “split personalities,” Chloe could only respond with speechlessness and mild irritation. Perhaps this was simply their way of finding joy in life.

She meticulously reviewed each clause of the contract, ensuring that Landon had included all the negotiated terms before putting pen to paper.

“Nothing pressing lately, right? I still need to continue attending classes,” Chloe looked up and asked, studying Landon’s expressionless face, feeling a touch unsettled.

She was puzzled about how such a cold, aloof iceberg could transform into a gentle, refined gentleman. It defied logic…

“Mm, sure. I’ll handle those troublesome matters for you, so you can rest assured,” Landon replied coolly, with no affectation, still exuding that chilling aura.

In truth, neither Chloe nor Landon took the commissions from the past two years seriously. Not only was Chloe’s current value still modest, but even if she took on jobs, half of the earnings had to go to Empire Shadow, with the remainder split as commission. No matter how you calculated it, the profits wouldn’t be substantial. Therefore, Landon had readily proposed this condition from the start.

Due to Empire Shadow’s heavy cut, both Chloe and Landon had no intention of taking on too much work or pushing themselves too hard. Chloe, having been reborn, simply wanted to savor more of her student days, while Landon believed she shouldn’t be rushing ahead but should spend more time at school. Thus, the two reached this peculiar understanding.

Leaving the leftover issues concerning Wang Yanan in Landon’s hands, Chloe didn’t bother further. She trusted Landon to handle them far better than she could.

Meanwhile, the students at Empire Shadow, especially those in the performance department, were enduring quite a harsh time. Teachers’ constant admonitions about propriety, honor, chastity, and self-discipline had worn the poor kids down to the point of calluses on their ears. Dating or making friends was discouraged, and even having relatives visit required great caution to avoid gossip.

It was undoubtedly a dark period—especially for freshmen, who realized that university life was nothing like they had imagined. Many silently cursed the root cause countless times in their hearts.

Nevertheless, the overall atmosphere had been purified, making the air feel somehow fresher.

Before long, more than half the semester had passed, and the weather had turned cold. The filming involving Zhu Xueshuang and Liu Yujia was nearing completion, and soon they would return to school and their dormitories.

Chloe lived alone in her dorm and hadn’t experienced any lively company for a long time.

Suddenly, she recalled that the great Bai Yun hadn’t appeared in days. No wonder something felt missing—could he have disappeared?

Just as she reached to check her computer for updates, her phone rang. Seeing an unfamiliar number, she assumed it was a wrong call but, as the ringtone persisted, she answered: “Hello?”

“Hey, Chloe!” came a strange yet pleasant voice, slightly mysterious and excited, betraying the speaker’s enthusiasm.

“Who?” Chloe paused, raising an eyebrow. She didn’t recognize the voice.

Fortunately, the caller didn’t play guessing games and quickly laughed: “It’s Bai Yun!”

“Huh?” Chloe froze mid-motion, a bit taken aback. She had just been thinking about Bai Yun, and now he was calling her?

Though they chatted online daily and felt incomplete without their exchanges, they had never called each other. When she had received Bai Yun’s “surprise” gift, she hadn’t even used her phone, opting to find him online instead.

Was this the beginning of something more real? She wondered if he knew he should have given her a heads-up first.

“Hehe!” Bai Yun sounded genuinely happy, his voice brimming with laughter. “I’m currently in Dijin. Got time to grab a meal?”

“Dijin? What are you doing in Dijin?” Chloe asked, surprised. The initial unfamiliarity vanished, and she relaxed into her usual online chat style, speaking freely.

They had never hidden behind masks online, so there was no barrier between them. Though they’d never met or spoken in person, their longstanding friendship was unaffected.

“I quit my job!” Bai Yun sighed, conveying both relief and renewed energy.

“Oh, so you finally kicked your supervisor to the curb?” Chloe teased. “What brings you to Dijin? Job hunting, perhaps?” Though she said it, she didn’t really believe it.

“No, I quit to focus on writing full-time. But I’m interested in a side project recently, so I came to check it out. Besides, I’ve never been to Dijin before!” Bai Yun was candid about his little secret.

“Oh? Already have a side gig lined up? Not bad, not bad. When are you free? I’ll treat you to a meal,” Chloe smiled warmly, taking the initiative. Having accepted Bai Yun’s generous gift, treating him to a meal was only natural. Despite the distance, this was a rare opportunity, and since he was in Dijin, she wanted to show some hospitality.

“You’re treating? Alright then! How about tomorrow? I’m free for now,” Bai Yun chuckled, clearly delighted.

“Perfect, tomorrow’s the weekend, and I have no classes,” Chloe nodded, suspecting Bai Yun had planned this timing carefully.

“Great, we’ll talk then. I’ll pick you up at your school in the morning,” Bai Yun said confidently. Empire Shadow’s reputation was strong; even if Bai Yun was unfamiliar with Dijin, he wouldn’t get lost.

“Ah, no, that won’t work...” Chloe quickly declined. In these sensitive times, she dared not let Bai Yun come to school.

“Huh?” Bai Yun was momentarily confused, unsure why it was a problem.

“It’s complicated… long story short, I’ll explain when we meet tomorrow. Let’s pick a place; I’ll come directly there,” Chloe awkwardly dodged, avoiding elaborate excuses.

“Alright then, how about Quanjude for roast duck? Coming all the way to Dijin without trying it would be a shame,” Bai Yun named the spot without asking Chloe to choose. Their friendship didn’t require such formalities. He sensed something must be amiss at Chloe’s school for her to avoid meeting there, and he was curious about what was going on with Empire Shadow.