Time Travel Begins the Moment I Divorce My Wife - Chapter 11

[Girlfriend: Is that not okay? Big sis.]

The conversation circled back again.

Fortunately, Ji Xunchi was much more composed now. Calmly, she typed out a definitive reply.

She decided to talk less and act more, sticking to a rhythmic tempo to coax the other party as quickly as possible.

After agreeing on a time, Ji Xunchi got up, pulled out fresh clothes from the wardrobe for after her shower, and headed into the bathroom.

Half an hour later, freshly showered and with her hair dried, Ji Xunchi sat back down in front of her computer, opened WeChat, and initiated a voice call.

After a few rings, the call was answered.

On the other end, there was only the soft, shallow sound of breathing.

A brief silence passed. Realizing the other person wouldn’t speak first, Ji Xunchi took the lead.

“What are you up to?”

Her deliberately lowered voice, transmitted clearly over the high-quality connection, carried a husky undertone that once again ensnared its intended prey like a slick hook.

Hearing this question, Hua Jiangyu’s initially indifferent expression involuntarily softened a little.

A trace of satisfaction flickered in her eyes.

She parted her lips, instinctively about to respond.

But considering her voice might sound too youthful, she quickly pressed them together again and chose to type instead.

[Girlfriend: Waiting for big sis’s call~]

Not willing to speak?

Eyebrow raised, Ji Xunchi glanced at the WeChat interface but didn’t dwell on it.

She decided to cut straight to the point. “Going to sleep now?”

Hua Jiangyu: “…”

The curve of her lips drooped slightly as she stared at the time on her phone screen, muttering silently to herself.

[Girlfriend: Is big sis getting impatient?]

“Not at all.” Ji Xunchi’s throat moved as she reopened the update page on her computer while keeping up the conversation. “I just don’t want to disturb your sleep later.”

[Girlfriend: Is big sis pulling an all-nighter for work?]

Glancing down, Ji Xunchi replied, “Yeah, so there might be some keyboard sounds later.”

Hua Jiangyu indicated she didn’t mind.

In that case, Ji Xunchi didn’t hold back.

She adjusted the screen brightness and duration, then placed her phone on the right side, freeing both hands to fully focus on typing.

The rhythmic clatter of the keyboard echoed intermittently in the quiet spaces between them.

At some point, Hua Jiangyu had put on her headphones. The sound of keystrokes filled her ears sometimes rapid, sometimes slow. Though lacking any melody, it was unexpectedly hypnotic.

As she scrolled through relationship threads on a forum, the steady sound from her headphones played on.

The other person was deeply engrossed in work, not uttering a word beyond those initial few lines of small talk.

This somewhat undermined Hua Jiangyu’s original objective, but in the stillness of the night, the relentless tapping of keys symbolizing diligence unexpectedly allowed her mind to flesh out the other’s image.

Serious, focused, hardworking.

These were truly admirable traits.

Hua Jiangyu’s impression of her improved just a little.

The minute hand crept silently around the clock. By the time Ji Xunchi finished typing the second chapter at breakneck speed, she suddenly realized Strawberry Tip hadn’t sent any messages in a while.

Had she fallen asleep?

Thinking this, Ji Xunchi tentatively whispered, “Still there?”

No response.

She must be asleep.

Ji Xunchi rubbed her shoulders, carefully moved the chair aside, stood up to pour herself a cup of warm water, and then sat back down.

She planned to finish writing the first three chapters today and try applying for a publishing contract, aiming to earn money as quickly as possible after all, she still had debts weighing on her.

Earlier, Ji Xunchi had gone back to the novel’s page and noticed that the book she had just posted already had a few organic favorites. Considering it had only been up for a short while, having readers bookmark it was a good sign.

After resting for a few minutes, Ji Xunchi continued working late into the night.

Another half-hour passed, and the story’s progress got stuck on a small descriptive detail. Ji Xunchi exhaled softly, shifting her gaze away from the computer screen to rub her tired eyes.

Just then, a few soft, drowsy whimpers suddenly came from her phone.

Her hand, about to reach for the cup, froze mid-air. Ji Xunchi wondered if she had misheard.

Holding her breath instinctively, she listened carefully, but the other person on the call seemed to have just turned over in their sleep. After a faint rustling sound, everything fell silent again.

As if those familiar sounds had been an illusion.

Ji Xunchi stared blankly into space for a few seconds before finally lowering her gaze and downing the now-cold water in one gulp.

The moment the sound of keyboard typing resumed, the unconscious whimpers of deep sleep emerged again without warning.

This was no illusion.

Ji Xunchi rubbed her ears, staring absently at the phone screen.

The voice of Strawberry Tip sounded a lot like Hua Jiangyu’s.

A lot.

She hadn’t misheard, nor would she ever mistake it.

There had been a time, many nights, when Hua Jiangyu, flushed and exhausted after their activities, would fall asleep beside her. Sometimes, Ji Xunchi, too numb from revising scripts to sleep, would lean against the headboard and gaze at Hua Jiangyu’s porcelain-like face under the moonlight, lost in thought.

Back then, Hua Jiangyu had been like a well-fed, snowy-white kitten, dozing off sweetly, occasionally letting out soft, indistinct murmurs tiny, delicate sounds that could melt a person’s heart.

Those sounds, isolated, created an effect entirely different from Hua Jiangyu’s daytime demeanor.

After all, looking at Hua Jiangyu’s cool, detached aura during the day, it was hard to associate her with the word “adorable.”

But it had happened, and it had been Ji Xunchi’s alone.

She had even secretly recorded it once.

Back then, she had deliberately worn Hua Jiangyu out, and after she fell asleep, Ji Xunchi had stayed up late, holding her phone close to Hua Jiangyu’s chin just to capture those sweet, murmuring sounds.

Her persistence paid off after holding her phone up for nearly an hour, her arm sore, she finally managed to record it.

But because she had waited so long, her hand had gone numb, and she nearly dropped the phone onto Hua Jiangyu’s collarbone. Luckily, Hua Jiangyu had turned over in her sleep just in time to avoid it.

Now, looking back, those moments and details felt like a lifetime ago.

Hua Jiangyu’s voice and image seemed to flash before her eyes, bringing back memories of those late-night moments when Ji Xunchi had found joy in the smallest things. Her mood grew heavy.

No wonder people said staying up late led to overthinking and melancholy.

Ji Xunchi ended the voice call.

Since the other person was already asleep, her goal of lulling them to sleep had been achieved.

She tucked away that faint suspicion in her heart and continued writing the remaining parts of the story.

The next day, Ji Xunchi dragged herself to her seat, eyelids heavy.

Last night, she achieved her goal of writing ten thousand words in a day and felt like her brain was completely drained.

Fortunately, today’s morning reading session involved memorizing English, so Ji Xunchi could take a little nap.

Jiang Yu noticed and asked, “Did you stay up late playing games again last night?”

Ji Xunchi shook her head slowly, her reaction delayed, with no desire to speak at all.

Propping a book in front of her face, she leisurely closed her eyes.

She had no idea how much time had passed when the sudden surge of loud reading startled her awake. Her eyes flew open as she gripped the book, her lips moving along with the words she was supposed to be memorizing.

A few seconds later, the reading voices remained clear and strong, but the classroom remained teacher-free.

Ji Xunchi’s briefly revived energy immediately dissipated. Her shoulders slumped as she shifted into a more relaxed sitting posture.

The original owner of this body, due to poor academic performance and a love for fun, always preferred sitting near the back door during seat assignments. After all, the back door was permanently locked, and she could easily glance out the window to spot the teacher’s approach thus avoiding trouble.

Just now, Ji Xunchi had instinctively looked up at the window but saw nothing.

She switched the hand supporting her head and tilted her gaze slightly backward, directly facing the back door.

Suddenly, Ji Xunchi noticed two holes in the door.

One on the left, one on the right, with a natural vertical dividing line perfectly in between symmetrical, as if designed.

Her fingers itched, and she reached out to poke them.

The first one felt soft and oddly warm.

Strange.

Intrigued, she spread her index and middle fingers, aiming for each hole.

Just as she was about to poke, the holes suddenly vanished, leaving only two beams of light shining through from outside into the classroom.

Ji Xunchi: “…”

Her mind snapped awake in an instant.

Her neck stiffened as she looked up, meeting the stern, livid face of the homeroom teacher glaring down at her from the window.

Two pitch-black eye sockets were unmistakably visible.

Beside her, Jiang Yu had already ducked under her book, shrinking like a quail.

Ji Xunchi picked up her English textbook and shuffled out into the hallway.

As she passed the homeroom teacher, she heard his icy remark: “Your book is upside down.”

Ji Xunchi glanced down sure enough, it was.

She looked back up at the teacher’s eyes, which she had nearly poked, and adjusted the dictionary’s orientation. “Fixed.”

Then she was promptly kicked out of the classroom.

Standing calmly in the hallway, the morning breeze chased away her drowsiness.

Holding the dictionary, she began memorizing words.

At noon, taking advantage of the free time, Ji Xunchi promptly started chatting with her girlfriend.

[Girlfriend: I thought you’d stay with me till dawn~]

Isn’t that what other couples do? Staying on the phone all night.

When Zhou Qingyi found out about this, she remarked that only mediocre and incompetent people fail to complete their tasks during work hours and end up working late into the night.

Her words were dripping with implications that Paradise was lacking.

Hua Jiangyu, who had nearly been swayed again yesterday, suddenly felt a bit more clear-headed.

Combined with the fact that the call had ended early, it seemed like an attempt to avoid providing the service earning money without putting in the effort.

Doing one job but getting paid twice.

Stay till dawn?

That would be overtime work!

Ji Xunchi really wanted to say that last night’s service fee didn’t include that.

But she held back.

[Because I heard you sleeping soundly last night, and I was afraid my frequent movements would disturb you, so I hung up (hugs).]

Seeing the words “slept very soundly,” Hua Jiangyu gave a light cough and decided not to press the matter further.

After all, last night was the first time she had ever fallen into a deep, defenseless sleep in front of a stranger.

Even though there was still a vast distance between them.

Hua Jiangyu felt it was appropriate to show some concern about her work situation.

[Girlfriend: Did you finish last night’s project report?]

Ji Xunchi thought about how she had woken up to the morning breeze to refresh herself and typed back with complete honesty.

[Finished it. The results were great my boss was very satisfied. He even upgraded my office to a better spot.]

Though, in reality, her seat had simply been moved from the very last row to the very first.

Ji Xunchi had a sneaking suspicion that the homeroom teacher was worried she might one day blind him if she stayed in the back.

Support Time Travel Begins the Moment I Divorce My Wife