Chapter 14

Chen Xi had been bustling about all day, waiting until all the guests were seated and the dishes were served before she finally had a moment to rest.

She sat quietly in the corner, propping her chin on her hand as she watched the comings and goings, trying to memorize every face.

With nothing else to do, Chen Xi’s gaze wandered through the crowd, and she counted—there were exactly two hundred and eight guests present.

Her aunt and uncle busied themselves entertaining the guests, while Chen Xi stole glances at Zhou Yanzhou seated at the head table.

He was the youngest and most eye-catching among them. Several young women kept sneaking looks at him; those bold enough even approached to strike up conversations, only to be coolly declined without a hint of expression, leaving the girls embarrassed and bowing their heads as they retreated.

Several government officials sat beside him—figures Chen Xi had only seen on local news broadcasts. Yet here they were, seemingly relegated to supporting roles in Zhou Yanzhou’s presence, something Chen Xi had not anticipated.

She didn’t delve too deeply, merely pondering what kind of background Zhou Yanzhou had to be so well-regarded in this small town of Xiping, where he hardly knew anyone.

It wasn’t surprising that local officials treated Zhou Yanzhou with such deference; the project he was about to launch promised to significantly boost Xiping’s economic development.

Who could be ungrateful to a bringer of fortune?

Of course, rumors circulated as well.

It was said that the mayor’s daughter, around Zhou Yanzhou’s age and also an overseas returnee, had been invited by her father to a dinner hosted at their home especially for Zhou. Yet Zhou had barely glanced at the mayor’s daughter during the meal, refusing to engage, let alone respond to the mayor’s matchmaking attempts.

When the dinner ended, Zhou Yanzhou had tersely remarked to the mayor’s hints, “Your daughter’s quite interesting.”

The mayor, hopeful, arranged for the two to watch a movie together, but Zhou Yanzhou stood her up entirely. Infuriated, the daughter insulted him, claiming he was too highbrow and that an ordinary girl like her could never catch his eye.

Somehow, this reached Chen Xi’s aunt, who privately scoffed, “I think the mayor’s daughter just aimed too high, trying to climb the social ladder. When rejected, she resorts to slander.”

Chen Xi, standing nearby, heard this and quietly lowered her eyes, concealing the fleeting surprise in her gaze.

Lost in thought, Chen Xi was suddenly tapped on the back.

She instinctively turned her head to find the man who had been laughing and chatting at the head table had somehow come up behind her. Hands in his pockets, he gestured for her to follow him outside.

Chen Xi didn’t understand his intention until he took a couple of steps away and, seeing her still frozen in place, waved and said, “Why are you standing there? Come with me.”

Some guests noticed the scene, casting glances in their direction.

Xu Jingqian, having finished his rounds with the toasts, saw Chen Xi trailing Zhou Yanzhou out of the courtyard one after the other. The usually composed expression on his face unexpectedly betrayed a hint of worry.

His wife, however, harbored no suspicion and instead smiled smugly, “I never thought our Xi Xi could catch the eye of that gentleman.”

Xu Jingqian’s expression darkened, warning his wife, “You can say that to me, but not a word elsewhere.”

Startled, Li Qinyin muttered, “Can’t praise, can’t insult—your niece is really quite something.”

Xu Jingqian sighed, holding his wife close as he quietly explained, “Do you think this gentleman will stay in a small place like Xiping long? Trust me, he’ll be back in Beijing within two years at most.”

“If he leaves, that’s good. But what about those left behind? Xi Xi is only sixteen this year, with so much ahead of her. Should she really rely on someone like him? Would that be fair to my sister?”

Though Li Qinyin was strong-willed, her love for her husband ran deep. Hearing his reasoning, she too found her fleeting thoughts absurd.

Meanwhile, Chen Xi followed Zhou Yanzhou out of the courtyard, walking until they reached a Mercedes-Benz she had seen several times before. They stopped there.

Zhou Yanzhou unlocked the car and took out a gift box from the passenger seat, handing it to Chen Xi with a brief explanation, “This is your uncle’s congratulatory gift.”

The box was somewhat heavy. Chen Xi glanced at the label—purely in English—appearing to be a bottle of red wine?

Was that all he wanted from her, just to pick up the gift?

Before she could ponder further, Zhou Yanzhou pulled out a small, delicate gift box from the car and pressed it into her hands, lightly saying, “This one’s for you.”

Caught off guard, Chen Xi instinctively accepted it, glancing down to find the latest model Apple phone on the market.

Zhou Yanzhou had given the whole package—earphones, charging cable—all included.

Chen Xi immediately felt as if she had been handed a hot potato and refused without hesitation: “I don’t want it.”

Zhou Yanzhou, good-naturedly watching the girl’s resistance, calmly replied, “I never take back gifts. If you don’t want it, just throw it away.”

Chen Xi was torn, unsure how to respond.

Seeing her reluctance, Zhou Yanzhou deliberately pressured her: “The phone didn’t cost you anything; it was a gift from one of our partners.”

“The SIM card, though, I bought for you. It has my number stored. Don’t lose it.”

Chen Xi’s mind raced as she hesitated whether to accept the phone.

Zhou Yanzhou left no room for refusal, his tone firm, “Do you want me to keep calling you on your home phone?”

“What if I can’t answer?”

Finally persuaded, Chen Xi reluctantly took the phone.

Before going inside, she secretly hid the phone under a brick at the gate and only took the gift meant for her uncle inside.

Zhou Yanzhou didn’t return; he took a call and drove off without even saying goodbye.

Her uncle looked at the gift Chen Xi handed over and sighed, catching her innocent expression.

The birthday banquet ended, guests gradually dispersed. Her uncle returned to the company to handle remaining work, her aunt, exhausted, went to rest, and Nurse Wu took her cousin upstairs for a nap.

Chen Xi worried about the phone hidden under the brick. Afraid her aunt might notice, she waited until everyone had gone upstairs before sneaking out to retrieve the box. Cradling it, she slipped quietly into her bedroom.

Gently closing and locking the door behind her, Chen Xi placed the box on the bed and slowly peeled away the packaging with great care, afraid to damage it.

Seeing the palm-sized phone, her breath caught for a moment as she held it tenderly.

The device was light, encased in a pink shell, with Apple’s classic logo on the back. Its design was very girlish, and Chen Xi liked it very much.

She turned it on, ignoring everything else, and first opened the contacts.

Just as Zhou Yanzhou had said, the phonebook contained only one number, labeled simply with the letter “Z,” and the address was Beijing.

Chen Xi glanced once, memorizing the string of digits. Even after changing phones several times, she could still recite the number fluently.

It was then she realized that some people had already set their hearts on her, and there was no escaping it.

While she was still figuring out how to use the phone, a message arrived without warning—

“Is the phone easy to use?”

Chen Xi’s hand trembled. She hadn’t even installed any apps yet but tapped the message, staring at it for a long time before replying, “Just turned it on.”

Zhou Yanzhou: “I topped up your account with two thousand yuan. If it’s not enough, let me know.”

Chen Xi looked at the message, unsure how to respond.

Two thousand yuan for phone credit would last her for years.

Her monthly allowance was only three hundred yuan—how could she ever repay that?

While Chen Xi was still worrying over the phone bill, Zhou Yanzhou switched topics: “Don’t want to go out during summer vacation?”

Chen Xi recalled his words that morning in the garden and found herself at a loss for reply.

Just then, she successfully installed her messenger app and logged into the account she had created during computer class.

No sooner was she online than Zhu Qing excitedly messaged her:

“Did you buy a phone?”

“I told you to get one ages ago. It’s so painful not being able to contact you during vacation.”

“Did you get an Apple? They’re so expensive. This model is nearly six thousand yuan now. I want one, but my dad won’t allow it.”

Chen Xi was still learning to use the phone but Zhu Qing’s messages enlightened her—Zhou Yanzhou’s gift was far beyond what she could reasonably accept.

She wanted to return the phone but was reluctant to sever her only connection to him.

Torn, Chen Xi placed the phone back in its box and carefully hid it under her pillow, forcing herself to stop overthinking.

Perhaps from exhaustion, Chen Xi soon fell asleep.

When she woke again, darkness had fallen.

Drowsily opening her eyes, she felt dizzy, as if caught in a bottomless whirlpool that left her paralyzed.

Only when the phone vibrated beneath her pillow did she snap back to reality. She grabbed the phone and unlocked it.

No new messages appeared; their last conversation still showed Zhou Yanzhou’s question: “Don’t want to go out during summer vacation?”

Hesitating, Chen Xi exited the chat and opened her messenger app.

Over ninety-nine new messages popped up, mostly class group notifications.

She skimmed through quickly and found nothing important, then quietly left the group. Rarely, she posted a status update.

Within moments, four or five people liked it. Before Chen Xi could see who, a friend request popped up.

Opening it, she recognized the name—He Xu.

The request message contained only two characters: “He Xu.”

Chen Xi stared at He Xu’s cute kitten avatar for a few seconds before accepting the request.

No sooner was the friend added than He Xu sent a kitty waving hello sticker with the caption “Hi.”

The sticker was adorable, and Chen Xi couldn’t help but smile, teasing, “Cute sticker.”

He Xu sent a shy panda sticker in reply, explaining, “Saved from the group chat. Want them all? I’ll send you everything.”

Chen Xi: “Sure.”

He Xu proceeded to send over twenty stickers in rapid succession. Just as the last one appeared, He Xu suddenly retracted it.

Chen Xi had barely glimpsed a chibi figure holding a rose with the words “I like you” before it was pulled back.

Apparently embarrassed, He Xu hastily explained, “That last one doesn’t count. It was a prank by my roommate.”

Chen Xi didn’t call him out, replying with a smile, “Okay.”

After sharing the stickers, their relationship seemed to grow closer. He Xu immediately asked, “What are you doing?”

Chen Xi: “Just woke up. You?”

He Xu sent an exasperated sticker and replied, “Writing a test at the library.”

Chen Xi: “Impressive.”

After a brief pause, He Xu sent, “There’s an English contest in Beijing. Want to join? If you win first prize, you get extra points for the college entrance exam. Accommodation and food are all covered by the school.”

Chen Xi only caught the word “Beijing.” Thinking of the message lingering in her phone, she suddenly found an excuse.

A small smile played on her lips as she readily agreed to He Xu: “Sure.”