Chapter 6

Zhou Yanzhou spent a week in Yunnan.

Jiang Chi had set up a hot spring villa, and after Zhou Yanzhou had spent four or five days lounging around the place, he finally recalled the existence of someone named Chen Xi.

That day, Zhou Yanzhou’s luck at cards was abysmal. He lost every single round until his face turned grim, and he found everyone and everything an eyesore.

As luck would have it, a tactless woman tried to cozy up to him. At first, Zhou Yanzhou ignored her, but when he saw her digging through his wallet—which he had left in the jacket draped over the back of his chair—his expression chilled instantly, and he threw his cards aside.

The woman was startled by his aura and stood frozen to the spot, terrified.

Seeing this, Jiang Chi hurriedly got up, snatched the wallet from her hand, stuffed it back into his pocket, and impatiently waved for her to leave.

The woman was a minor internet celebrity with nearly a million followers. A couple of days prior, Jiang Chi had noticed her IP was in Yunnan and had used an intermediary to bring her over to keep Zhou Yanzhou company. He hadn’t expected that she would realize Zhou Yanzhou’s status was extraordinary and attempt to climb the social ladder.

Losing interest, Zhou Yanzhou left the group, grabbed his jacket and cigarette case, and walked out.

The villa was situated at the foot of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. To boost its profile, Jiang Chi had imported custom bedding, and every room featured floor-to-ceiling windows to provide the best possible view of the mountain’s full grandeur.

Zhou Yanzhou had been at the villa for a week and had witnessed the "golden mountain" sunrise three times. At first, he found it somewhat interesting, but later, he felt it was nothing special.

Once you see it enough, the novelty fades.

Back in his room, Zhou Yanzhou tossed his jacket onto the bed and lit a cigarette.

He stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows, watching the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain—still snow-capped and bathed in the golden hue of the setting sun—when, for no reason, Chen Xi’s face popped into his mind.

It was a similar afternoon when he had leaned against his car, hands in his pockets, lazily admiring the girl before him. She had been wearing a blue-and-white school uniform, as pure as a blank sheet of paper, fidgeting with her fingers and unable to speak for the longest time because her intentions had been exposed.

For some reason, he felt a sudden urge to tease her and asked intentionally, "You didn't peek at my identity, did you?"

That single sentence was enough to make her give herself away, her eyes darting around in panic, not daring to meet his gaze.

Zhou Yanzhou understood. He tilted his chin slightly and asked with a playful, enigmatic smile, "Is it nice to look at?"

Taken off guard, Chen Xi murmured, "What?"

Zhou Yanzhou slowly leaned down, closing the distance to the young girl, and whispered into her ear—which was already crimson enough to bleed—as a joke, "Secretly hiding someone else's belongings is against the law if it’s serious. Aren't you afraid?"

Heaven is his witness; at that moment, he only had a fleeting thought of teasing her and had no intention of doing anything else.

Who knew that as soon as the words left his lips, the girl’s eyes turned red, and she bit her lip, staring at him in utter helplessness.

She looked as if he were the truly wicked villain.

Zhou Yanzhou didn't dare provoke her further and hastily found an excuse to end the nonsensical conversation: "I was just teasing you. Don't take it to heart."

Having said that, Zhou Yanzhou recalled a pile of troublesome matters back in Beijing and suddenly shifted his tone, adding a reminder: "However, you’d best not get involved with someone like me."

At the time, Chen Xi hadn’t realized that Zhou Yanzhou was genuinely warning her. It wasn't until she touched the core of his true nature that she realized she really shouldn't have gotten involved with him.

--

It loved to rain in Xiping in June.

The college entrance exams were only two days away. The seniors were pulling all-nighters, while the sophomores and juniors were busy clearing out their desks and tidying up the classrooms for a three-day break.

Seeing that this year’s senior class was wrapping up and they would be seniors themselves after the break, the homeroom teacher abandoned his usual benevolence and assigned seven or eight sets of practice papers during the holiday, claiming it was to help them adapt to the senior year lifestyle.

The classroom was filled with groans, everyone complaining that Old Yang was being too ruthless.

Chen Xi didn't join in the lamenting; she silently folded the eight papers together and shoved them into her backpack. Seeing her lack of resentment, Zhu Qing couldn't help but sigh, "As expected, those with good grades aren't afraid of practice papers."

Chen Xi nodded and said faintly, "I usually do this much on weekends anyway."

Zhu Qing couldn't help but give a thumbs up: "If you aren't number one, who is!"

Chen Xi smiled and corrected her, "I was second in the last monthly exam, not first."

Zhu Qing looked wounded, clutching her chest as she said, "My dear top student, can you stop triggering me?"

Chen Xi was amused by Zhu Qing’s comical expression; she lowered her head, zipped up her bag, and said okay.

The weather was bad that day. The clouds in the sky hung low, and a soft, drizzling rain was falling.

Chen Xi always forgot to bring an umbrella. Before the break, she went to the office for the homeroom teacher to update her information form. When she emerged, the school was mostly empty, with only a few scattered people around. Chen Xi walked through the misty campus with her backpack, letting the raindrops land on her.

Rounding the playground, Chen Xi was about to head toward the school gate when she was called out. She turned back and suddenly bumped into He Xu’s gentle gaze.

He wasn't wearing his school uniform, just a white T-shirt and black trousers, carrying a grey backpack and holding a black umbrella as he walked out of the Building A teaching block unhurriedly.

Chen Xi couldn't figure out He Xu’s intentions and stood silently in place. It wasn't until he drew near that she noticed the electronic watch on the wrist holding the umbrella.

It was the latest Apple model, something many boys in the class had been discussing and were obsessed with.

He Xu looked clean-cut, with regular features, the very image of a "good student."

Chen Xi had only interacted with him twice and couldn't say they were familiar, so she was quite surprised when he called her name.

He Xu was actually quite nervous. Seeing that Chen Xi didn't have an umbrella, he silently tilted the black umbrella toward her and said calmly, "Going home?"

Chen Xi noticed the umbrella overhead. She lowered her eyes to stare at her toes for two seconds and gave a small nod.

He Xu nervously swallowed, hastily finding an excuse: "You live in the East District, right? Taking the number five bus? I’m going the same way. Shall we go together?"

"The rain isn't heavy, but you'll easily catch a cold if you get soaked for too long."

The rain intensified without warning. It had been a gentle drizzle a moment ago, but in the blink of an eye, it turned into a downpour. Rainwater splashed onto their trouser legs, soaking the fabric, and the chill was biting.

Chen Xi looked at the sincere-looking He Xu, then at the torrential rain that showed no signs of stopping, and tacitly agreed to his suggestion.

He Xu was very gentlemanly. On the walk from the playground to the bus stop at the school gate, he kept the umbrella tilted toward Chen Xi’s side. By the time they arrived, despite the heavy rain, Chen Xi’s upper body was completely dry, with only her trouser legs slightly wet.

In contrast, He Xu’s shoulder was soaked, and his backpack was completely drenched.

There weren't many people at the bus stop, and the bus hadn't arrived yet. Chen Xi hugged her backpack while waiting and responded to He Xu’s questions.

He Xu stole glances at Chen Xi from the corner of his eye, silently praying for the bus to arrive slowly. Yet, seeing Chen Xi’s bangs blown messy by the wind, clutching her bag and shivering from the cold, he grew anxious and began praying for the bus to come quickly.

The bus stop was in a wind tunnel, and the wind and rain lashed out mercilessly, making Chen Xi shiver uncontrollably.

Seeing this, He Xu stood in front of her without a word, silently shielding her from the wind and rain.

Just then, a dark Mercedes and a green bus arrived simultaneously. Because her view was obstructed, Chen Xi only saw the number five bus and didn't notice the Mercedes not far away.

As soon as the bus stopped, He Xu held the umbrella to shield Chen Xi as she boarded.

After Chen Xi got on and swiped her student card, He Xu closed his umbrella and followed. He swiped his card and walked to the second-to-last row, naturally sitting down beside her.

Rainwater streaked the glass, and the mist outside turned everything blurry.

Chen Xi glanced at He Xu, who had sat down beside her, then silently looked away, staring straight ahead.

No one knew who had leaked the news, but the old man back in Beijing discovered that Zhou Yanzhou had run off to Yunnan to fool around. A single phone call to Jiang Chi left him trembling with fear, repeating, "Our father is only doing this for your own good."

Zhou Yanzhou didn't want to hear it anymore and booked a noon flight back to Xiping.

Jiang Chi was filled with guilt, and on the way to the airport, he kept promising that once he finished his business here, he would definitely fly to Xiping to stay with Zhou Yanzhou for two months.

To Jiang Chi, Zhou Yanzhou’s current stint in Xiping was like the exile of a disgraced minister by an emperor in ancient times—it wasn't training; it was pure suffering.

Zhou Yanzhou couldn't bear to watch Jiang Chi’s sycophantic behavior and warned him with a look to stop.

Jiang Chi, daring not to speak his mind, made a zipping gesture across his lips and fell silent.

As soon as Zhou Yanzhou landed in Xiping, Chen Huai reported a long list of tasks and dinner parties he was expected to attend. Zhou Yanzhou felt a headache coming on, and his expression wasn't particularly good.

Seeing that Zhou Yanzhou was in a bad mood, Chen Huai silently shut his mouth.

On the way from the airport into the city, Chen Huai remembered something and said hesitantly, "President Xu’s niece wants to invite you to dinner to thank you for helping her out that night."

Zhou Yanzhou looked blank. "Which President Xu?"

Seeing that Zhou Yanzhou wasn't resistant, Chen Huai cautiously reminded him, "President Xu Jingqian. His niece is the high school student from the dinner table that night."

Zhou Yanzhou immediately recalled the girl named Chen Xi.

It had indeed been a few days since he had seen her.

Inviting him to dinner? What kind of dinner? A roadside stall?

Zhou Yanzhou didn't take Chen Xi’s invitation to heart, but the moment he returned to this rainy place, he felt a tightness in his chest.

Just as the car turned off the viaduct and was about to head toward the hotel, Zhou Yanzhou looked at the fork in the road ahead and interrupted, "Go to Xiping No. 1 High School."

The driver hesitated for a moment but followed his instruction and took a different route.

As they reached the school area, the rain suddenly intensified. Zhou Yanzhou secretly regretted his decision, feeling he shouldn't have come.

Just as he considered turning back, the car arrived at the school gate.

Zhou Yanzhou sat in the car, staring listlessly in the direction of the main entrance, when he unexpectedly saw the sight of Chen Xi sharing an umbrella with a boy.

He watched the two of them hiding from the rain at the bus stop, a hint of amusement appearing in his dark, indifferent eyes.

Puppy love? Did her family know?

She looked so obedient, yet she was quite bold in private.

There were only a few people on the bus, and the driver was waiting to see if any more students were coming.

Listening to the pitter-patter of the rain, Chen Xi subconsciously looked out the window.

Through the blurry rain and mist, she thought she saw a black car parked not far away, hazard lights flashing and wipers running. Its exterior looked a bit like Zhou Yanzhou’s car.

Chen Xi instinctively looked at the license plate, but unfortunately, it was too far away, and she could only make out a flash of blue.

Just as Chen Xi was about to get off the bus to take a closer look, the bus doors suddenly closed, the engine roared to life, and it pulled away from the stop.

Chen Xi could only retract her gaze in disappointment.

The next second, however, her eyes widened in surprise. She saw the car that had been parked on the roadside speed up, overtake the bus, and drive away.

As they passed each other, Chen Xi clearly saw the license plate—Jing A66666.

Chen Xi was filled with astonishment. Was that Zhou Yanzhou?

Had he come to find her?