Zhou Xiangming waited a few minutes without hearing back and became anxious: [How is it?]

He Ye: [Not so good, but since we are old classmates, I won’t block you.]

Zhou Xiangming: [???]

He Ye was really annoyed with Zhou Xiangming and forgot to reply to Lu Jin.

Normally it wouldn’t matter, but tonight she wasn’t in the mood for Lu Jin’s jokes.

The online taxi stopped at the east gate of Dangui Jiayuan. He Ye got out with a bag in her left hand and a shopping bag in her right, walking ahead without noticing a black Panamera parked on the road.

Inside, Lu Jin had been looking at the buildings in the community. Just as He Ye was about to enter, he noticed her familiar figure.

He held the car door, paused, then let go. Ten minutes later, guessing she had entered the house, Lu Jin sent a message: [Are you really going on a date?]

He Ye was sitting on the sofa, about to call Zhu Qing when she received a message: [What’s the matter?]

Team Leader: [I just returned to Xiaofeng. Uncle He heard that I live close to you, so he asked me to bring you some fruit.]

He Ye was surprised. This was something her father would do. Even if Lu Jin made it up, she couldn’t ask her father to verify it, as it would raise her father Wu Li’s suspicion.

Team Leader: [It’s quite heavy. Can I deliver it to you?]

He Ye: [I’ll go get it. I won’t bother you.]

Team Leader: [I have parked outside your community. Which building are you in? I will take you downstairs and leave after that.]

His last comment made He Ye sense a hint of caution.

“The more you fear someone, the more you should respect him.”

Maybe Lu Jin was genuinely a little afraid of her, worried that she would always think the worst of him.

This thought softened He Ye’s heart: [Thank you, I’m in Building 6.]

Team Leader: [Okay, see you later.]

It took He Ye less than five minutes to walk from her community. She looked toward the east gate, put her phone away, changed into her outdoor shoes, and went downstairs empty-handed.

She stepped outside and waited.

It was past eight o’clock in the evening. The temperature had been around ten degrees lately, but it was forecast to snow tomorrow. The night sky was gloomy, with no stars visible.

A couple walked by, arm in arm, chatting and laughing.

He Ye put her hands in her pockets, thinking about the fruits in her refrigerator and guessing how much her father had sent, if he really did send them.

Then, a familiar tall figure appeared from the opposite intersection, holding a flat box against his waist in his left hand and a heavy shopping bag in his right.

Her heart raced as He Ye pursed her lips and walked toward him.

As she got closer, she could see Lu Jin’s face illuminated by the streetlights. He looked clear and cold, quite different from Team Leader in their WeChat chat.

Finally, they met in a dimly lit area.

He Ye saw the box Lu Jin was holding. 

The big box was divided into several compartments, filled with beautiful fruits and fresh roses, perfectly arranged together.

The gift box reminded her of the heart-shaped rose gift box she received on Chinese Valentine’s Day that year.

She noticed a small greeting card on the gift box.

Quickly looking away, she asked, a bit nervously, “Did my dad send all of this?”

Lu Jin raised the shopping bag in his right hand: “This is what Uncle He prepared.”

He Ye quickly took it, holding something made her feel more natural.

Lu Jin then switched to holding the big gift box with both hands.

The flowers smelled sweet, and the fruits gave off a fresh scent.

He Ye couldn’t see his eyes, but she heard him say casually, “I’m going to the 4S shop for maintenance tonight. There’s a Valentine’s Day event, and every car owner gets one. I don’t need it, so I’m giving it to you, my old classmate. The flowers will last in a vase for a couple of days.”

Given by the 4S store?

He Ye looked at the greeting card again. Thanks to her good eyesight, she recognized a few words: “Honorable Mr. Lu…”

It was indeed quite fancy. Ordinary 4S stores wouldn’t usually give away such an exquisite fruit gift box.

“No, I’m not very good at flower arrangements, and there are plenty of fruits.”

He Ye smiled and shook the fruit bag in her hand, saying, “You can take it home. Auntie will probably like it.”

After that, she thanked him again, picked up her fruit, and turned to leave.

Lu Jin stood there, still holding the big gift box.

He wanted to call her back but felt it was pointless since she said no.

Lu Jin watched her walk away without looking back.

When she stepped into the building, he looked up.

He didn’t know which apartment He Ye lived in, and after searching for a while, he didn’t see any lights turning on.

Other residents of the community walked by, glancing at him, likely wondering about his failed attempt to see her.

Suddenly, raindrops began to fall.

Lu Jin turned around and walked through the light and shadows of the street lamps, getting into his car just before the rain intensified.

He placed the fruit gift box on the passenger seat, not wanting to drive, and took out the greeting card from the gift box.

“To the distinguished Mr. Lu, I wish you a happy holiday.”

The formal blessing was written by him. If she accepted the gift and took it back upstairs, she might recognize his handwriting under the light.

His phone vibrated, and Lu Jin took it out.

Zhou Xiangming: [You really didn’t go look for He Ye?]

Lu Jin tossed his black phone onto the armrest.

The screen lit up again with Zhou Xiangming: [Ah, I don’t know what I did, but I seem to have upset both her and Zhu Qing tonight. The problem is, I don’t think I said anything. A woman’s heart is indeed deeper than the bottom of the sea.]

Lu Jin frowned, picked up his phone, and asked: [Did you offend someone on WeChat? Send me a screenshot.]

There was nothing to hide from his good friend, so Zhou Xiangming sent him both chat screenshots.

Lu Jin figured out the situation without much thought.

The two friends, He Ye and Zhu Qing, had gathered together, and Zhou Xiangming had upset Zhu Qing. When Zhu Qing was upset, He Ye would naturally be unhappy too.

Lu Jin: [Ask again, do you want to pursue Zhu Qing?]

Zhou Xiangming: [Why should I pursue her? She doesn’t like me.]

Lu Jin: [Very good, then it doesn’t matter if she blocks you.]

Zhou Xiangming: [That’s not what I meant. We’ve been classmates for many years; we don’t have any deep hatred. Why would we break up?]

Lu Jin: [Don’t worry, when she gets married, as an old classmate, you can give her a big red envelope and she’ll probably forgive you.]

Zhou Xiangming: […No, why do I feel like you’re being sarcastic tonight?]

Lu Jin didn’t respond. He had already given everyone the reminders he needed and had more important things to focus on.

A few minutes later, he placed the card back between the two roses, took a picture of it, and sent it to He Ye: [It’s not easy to hold it all the way, do you really not want it?]

He Ye: [No.]

Almost immediately, Lu Jin saw the message get withdrawn, but she didn’t send another one.

He could imagine how upset and embarrassed she felt at that moment.

Team leader: [Take a closer look at the card.]

In Room 901 of Building 6, He Ye lay on her bed, gritting her teeth, but she still enlarged the picture to look closely at the greeting card.

She recognized Lu Jin’s handwriting since he had tutored her in programming for a month.

Just as she was about to find another greeting card to compare the handwriting, Lu Jin sent her another photo.

It was the same fruit gift box and greeting card, but now the card was flipped over, showing a different message: “To the distinguished classmate He Ye, I wish you a happy holiday.”

He Ye was stunned.

Was this part of the original message or added later?

No matter what, the handwriting made it clear that this gift box had nothing to do with the 4S store..

Team leader: [Really?]

He Ye had no choice but to accept it. If she went downstairs now to get it, she could picture how Lu Jin would look at her.

Team leader: [It’s okay. I’ll work harder next time.]

Team leader: [Don’t be upset; after all, there are still graduates from Peking University and Tsinghua University waiting for you to win the prize.]

He Ye finally laughed: [Yeah.]

Team Leader: [Good night.]

Wishing to dream of you.