Chapter 48

In the blink of an eye, it was the last week of August, and the rare long holiday was almost over.

When Zhou Wu finished a video call with his grandfather, Qin Yun was sprawled on the sofa in his living room, lost in thought.

Seeing him come out, Qin Yun did a quick sit-up: “So, what’s the plan? Go to the racetrack this afternoon? Or the horse riding field? Hey, why not go skydiving?”

“No, got something to do.” Zhou Wu didn’t look at him and turned into his room after a quick glance.

“Going to the library again?” Qin Yun said speechlessly. “Big brother, no offense, but no one chases after a person like you do! Going to the library every day? If you’re trying to impress her, at least take her to Japan for skiing, shopping, or to New Zealand for a vacation.”

Zhou Wu’s voice came from the bedroom, lazily asking, “Have you been able to get in touch with Dou Yiqing these days?”

Qin Yun, who had been ignored for three consecutive days by Dou Yiqing and had been blocked twice: “…”

“I really don’t understand. These teachers work so hard for a few thousand a month? Every day it’s lesson planning, meetings, or making class schedules. She doesn’t even go to the library, stays at home busy, and when I offered to go over to accompany her, she told me to get lost.” Qin Yun became more agitated as he spoke, sitting up. “She treats me like this after she sleeps with me? Doesn’t that count as abandoning me? Does the police handle this?”

“I don’t know. Anyway, I’m not getting involved.” Zhou Wu came out of his room, wearing a loose black backpack over his shoulder, speaking coldly, “Before you leave, check if there’s enough dog food for Ye Ye. If it’s running low, add some. Bye.”

“Wait, why are you dressed like this again?” Qin Yun looked at Zhou Wu’s T-shirt and cargo pants, clearly not used to it. Zhou Wu used to dress casually, but never with such light colors. “And with a backpack?!”

Zhou Wu put on his sneakers, recalling the guy he spoke to earlier when he was trying to talk to Wen Ci, and scoffed, “It’s full of male college students inside, what’s wrong with me dressing like this?”

Qin Yun: “…”

Even with this face, he has such concerns?

Qin Yun gave up. He lifted his head. “Hey, wait for me. I’ll go with you. It’ll be boring with just the two of you. Wen Ci’s busy with work and won’t talk to you. I’ll come along to keep you company.”

The only reply he got was the sound of a door slamming shut.

—-

At the library, the usual spot. Zhou Wu casually flipped through a book, with his elbow resting on Wen Ci’s chair back. His left ear had an earphone hanging, which Wen Ci had given him, and it was playing the audio of an online open course.

A faint scent drifted over, and Wen Ci leaned back, turning slightly towards him, her back gently pressed against his arm.

With the school year approaching, the library had become busier. To avoid disturbing others, they spoke close to each other.

Wen Ci, with the same concerns as Qin Yun, asked, “Do you find it boring? You really don’t have to stay and keep me company.”

Zhou Wu didn’t find it boring. On the contrary, he found it interesting. He realized that when Wen Ci was preparing lessons or reading, she wasn’t as quiet as he imagined. When she encountered a difficult part, she would nibble on her pen or thumb, or use the end of her pen to push up her nose. At first, she was self-conscious about him seeing this, but after Zhou Wu imitated her twice, Wen Ci couldn’t hold back her laughter and started letting go, continuing her somewhat unattractive study habits.

Sometimes, when she went to the staff room for meetings with other teachers, Zhou Wu would follow, sharing her earphones. Occasionally, he’d point out a teacher’s poor Mandarin or tease a leader who had once caught him skipping school during high school, urging Wen Ci to open the microphone to “catch up” with that leader.

This led to Wen Ci having to cover Zhou Wu’s mouth whenever it was her turn to speak during the meetings, before laughing and answering with the microphone.

They spent the entire afternoon at the library, and then went for a meal. The first two days, Zhou Wu had booked fancy restaurants, but Wen Ci insisted on splitting the bill. After some negotiation, they agreed to each pay for one meal. Wen Ci took him to a private restaurant hidden in a narrow alley in the city, and the food was just as good as those served at grand banquet halls.

Zhou Wu didn’t answer, but instead asked, “Why are you dressed like that today?”

Wen Ci looked down at her brown oversized sweatshirt and replied, “Didn’t you say you liked me wearing your clothes?”

“…”

It’s true that he liked it.

It made him feel like Wen Ci smelled like him all over, satisfying his unspoken possessiveness.

And since it was so loose, it was easy to slip his hands inside. Sometimes, when he asked Wen Ci to help carry something, even when she was in a daze, she would still shakily roll up the hem of her clothes, stacking it beneath her neck, hiding half of her face.

As Zhou Wu chased after her these days, everything else felt good, except—

He lowered his eyes, his gaze lingering on Wen Ci’s lips for a few seconds. His throat bobbed, then he turned his face away, raised his hand to pat her on the head, and sighed, “Listen to the class, Teacher Wen.”

By the time they left the library, it was already dusk, with the sun setting and fiery orange clouds spreading across the sky.

Wen Ci sat in the car, fastened her seatbelt, connected to the car’s Bluetooth, and was about to open the navigation to the restaurant when a message popped up first.

It was a voice message from her mother and a location pin.

Her mother’s voice echoed in the car: “Come to this place for dinner tonight.”

Wen Ci typed a reply: [Mom, didn’t I say I’m having a work dinner tonight?]

Her mother replied: “Work dinners are common, you can skip this one. This dinner tonight is more important. I know it’s last minute, but you can tell your colleagues, they will understand.”

Wen Ci held the phone, turning her head apologetically.

Zhou Wu tilted his head slightly and lazily said, “Open the navigation, your colleague will drive you there.”

He drove Wen Ci to the restaurant’s vicinity and didn’t hurry to leave. He lightly eased the brake and slowly followed her, keeping an eye on her until she entered the restaurant.

The restaurant had floor-to-ceiling windows. As Zhou Wu passed by, he casually glanced inside to see how lively the family gathering was to warrant pushing back a colleague’s dinner.

He only took a quick look, then slammed the brake. The car stopped abruptly.

“Hello, you must be Wen Ci?” The man stood up and extended his left hand. “I’m Zuo Cheng, introduced by Aunt Li.”

—

When Wen Ci was led to the table number her mother had arranged for her, she realized something wasn’t right. But by then, it was too late to back out. She reached out and shook his hand. “Hello.”

“Please sit. You’re even more beautiful than in the photos—”

“Sorry,” Wen Ci interrupted him, apologizing. “This was something my mom arranged without my knowledge. I didn’t plan on going on a blind date, and I may have wasted your time.”

Zuo Cheng was taken aback, but then smiled. “It’s okay, making a new friend is good. I ordered a two-person set meal. I can’t finish it by myself, so let’s eat together.”

Wen Ci glanced at the order on the table. It was indeed a two-person meal, and it wasn’t cheap. After hesitating for a moment, she nodded. “Okay.”

Though she said that, during the meal, Zuo Cheng continued to talk in a suggestive way. Wen Ci either gave a perfunctory smile or a nod, or simply didn’t respond.

“Actually, you could get to know me a bit more, don’t be so quick to judge, think it over,” Zuo Cheng smiled. “I was planning to visit your house in a couple of days. My father and your father have known each other since they were young—”

“I’m not considering it,” Wen Ci cut him off, seeing he was becoming more persistent, and simply said, “Actually, I like someone else. Sorry.”

“It’s impossible,” Zuo Cheng smiled. “Aunt Li said you’ve always been focused on your studies and don’t talk to boys much—”

“Really, the clothes I’m wearing are his.”

“…”

Zuo Cheng looked at the clothes that clearly didn’t fit Wen Ci and frowned. “You have a boyfriend? Then why did your family contact me?”

“He’s not my boyfriend. I just have a crush on him, and my family doesn’t know.”

“Then how do you have his clothes?”

“…” Wen Ci touched her nose and started making up a story. “Actually, it’s from my ex-boyfriend, but I still like him. I haven’t had any other relationships, so… sorry.”

The blind date her family arranged for her must have been quite good. After hearing her explanation, Zuo Cheng nodded gracefully, understanding, and didn’t say anything inappropriate.

They hurriedly finished their meal and called the waiter to pay. The waiter, with an expressive face, informed them that the guests at the table behind them had already paid for their meal.

Her phone buzzed, and Wen Ci looked down to check.

[Zhou Wu: Waiting for you outside, ex-girlfriend.]

Wen Ci: “…”

—

Wen Ci walked out of the restaurant, and Zhou Wu was leaning against a tree, whistling at a stray cat by his feet. The cat wasn’t afraid of people and affectionately rubbed against his feet.

When he heard her approaching, Zhou Wu looked up, half-smiling. “You’re done?”

“…Sorry, I didn’t know it was a blind date.”

“I know.” Zhou Wu glanced at the dark sky. “Want to take a walk to digest?”

Just a short walk from the restaurant was a lake, with people jogging and elderly people dancing. The two didn’t really plan to walk, so they found a quiet spot and sat on a bench.

Wen Ci lowered her head and sent a message to her mom, clearly stating that she wouldn’t go on the blind date. Looking up again, she saw Zhou Wu lazily leaning with his arms crossed, chin slightly raised, and staring at the night sky with a relaxed expression.

Wen Ci also looked up. The sky was pitch dark, not a star in sight.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him staring at the night sky, and Zhou Wu amusingly asked, “Wondering what I’m thinking?”

Wen Ci: “What are you thinking?”

Zhou Wu replied slowly, “I’m thinking, before I even started chasing you, how did I already become your ex-boyfriend?”

“…” Wen Ci fell silent for a moment, then said calmly, “I lied.”

She had been busy with the start of the school year, her neck sore from looking down all the time. Wen Ci instinctively leaned back, and when she returned her head to its original position, Zhou Wu’s hand was resting on her neck.

He was massaging her neck lightly, and casually said, “Tell me, is there any way to make your mom arrange a blind date between me and you?”

Wen Ci was silent for a few seconds and politely asked, “How many times did she catch you skipping class back in school?”

Zhou Wu paused for a few seconds and grimaced. “Out of ten times, maybe eight. She even wanted me to drop out with Qin Yun and the others, but luckily my grandpa had some connections, or I wouldn’t have finished high school.”

Wen Ci: “…”

“If I had known back then I’d be chasing after her daughter—”

“You wouldn’t have skipped school?”

“I would have just done it faster.”

“…”

The hand on her neck began to gently tremble, and Wen Ci laughed, her shoulders shaking. She tilted her body to the other side. Zhou Wu chuckled and pulled her back with a hand on her neck.

Wen Ci half-leaned on him, lifting her eyes to look. The evening breeze was gentle, and under the dim streetlights, Zhou Wu’s hair swayed in the wind. His profile was sharp and clean, with a lazy smile on his face. For a moment, she was reminded of Zhou Wu in high school, leaning against the wall of the corridor, looking at her when their classmates were talking about an interesting topic, flashing her a quick glance—just like now.

His hand was still on her neck, and their skin was faintly warm.

Zhou Wu’s gaze was dark and intense, his head tilted slightly, with an unmistakable, bold attraction in his eyes.

Wen Ci’s heartbeat synced with the distant rhythm of the square dance music. She lifted her chin, moving closer. Zhou Wu’s breath was faint against her lips, almost touching.

“Teacher Wen,” Zhou Wu suddenly spoke. He didn’t move, drawing out his words lazily, “Isn’t it inappropriate to kiss me before we’ve confirmed anything? I’m not that easy.”