What to text when she says she likes your texts but is slow to reply during the day

When she says she likes your texts, read that as a statement about the content and the tone, not a promise about availability. Those are two different things. A person can enjoy a conversation a lot and still have no room for it between 9 and 6. So what you're really learning is that the thread works, and that her day is full. The slow replies on their own don't tell you whether she's interested.

What would change the read is the pattern across more than a few days. If she replies warmly when she does reply, starts conversations herself in the evening, and suggests things to do, the gaps are just the shape of her day. If she gets vague, stops asking you things back, or lets the thread die after a good exchange, she's signalling something different. Watch the whole week, not the single gap.

Your reply to her compliment should answer what she actually said before you open anything new. She told you she likes the texts and that work eats her day. Take the warm part, say something light about the day part if there's a natural opening, and then let her decide whether to go deeper. One message that does both is enough.

Two kinds of reply suit this moment. The first is the light, warm one: it takes the compliment without fuss and gives her something easy to answer. The second is a small question about her day, one that asks for a line rather than a paragraph and leaves room for her to tell you about work if she wants to. In both, keep your draft shorter than hers, with no apology and no lecture on how you understand she's busy. If your draft is asking her to explain herself, cut it down until it asks nothing harder than what she had for lunch.

Timing is where most of the damage happens. If she's at work until late afternoon, sending into the middle of her day means your message sits under three others when she finally looks, and a stack of unanswered pings reads as pressure. Better to send once, at a moment when she's likely to be free, and then leave the thread alone. Early evening usually works. Late at night can work too, but only if you haven't been pinging her since lunch.

Wait a reasonable stretch before you follow up. If she hasn't replied to a good message within a day, one short follow-up that adds a new small thing is fine. Keep it light and don't mention the silence. If there's still nothing after that, let it sit for a few days before you try again, and if she doesn't pick it up after two real attempts, the thread has probably run out of room for now. Stop there, and if she comes back later, meet her with the same tone you had before.