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“Zhi Zhi, I’m counting on you for my lifeline. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, whether or not your best friend can survive depends on you.”
Under the thin night sky, Nanzhi walked along the tree-lined path, stepping on the fallen leaves. Listening to her friend on the other end of the phone sounding both aggrieved and pitiful, she couldn’t help but laugh and asked,
“Is it because you lost as USB drive at Sheng Ye?”
“Yes, yes, yes!” Her friend nodded vigorously on the other end, speaking quickly, “A white USB drive, located on the 8th floor, room 8A02 of ‘Sheng Ye’.”
Nanzhi glanced at the brightly lit entrance of Huaihai University in the distance, where neon lights danced around the campus.
The usually bustling south gate of Huaihai University was surprisingly quiet at this late hour.
A few silhouettes hurriedly pulled their suitcases as they made their way out, rushing to reunite with their families for the Mid-Autumn Festival.
None lingered near the school gate.
Retracting her gaze, Nanzhi no longer watched those eager students heading home. She spoke to Gu Qinghe on the other end of the phone, “I’ll head over shortly. Just wait for my news.”
After hanging up, she looked at the dim sky. Nanzhi was about to open her ride-hailing app to book a car to ‘Sheng Ye’ to retrieve the USB drive for her friend.
Just as her fingertip touched the screen, a familiar youthful voice called from behind.
“Nanzhi.”
Nanzhi paused, turning her head to look back.
Chi Zheng, dressed in a white shirt and black pants, was walking towards her from the other side of the tree-lined path, a backpack in hand.
As the other person approached, Nanzhi politely greeted him, “Senior.”
Meeting her clear and bright gaze, Chi Zheng felt a faint blush creep to his ears. Even the grip on his backpack tightened unconsciously as he asked her,
“I heard you’re staying in Huaihai City for the Mid-Autumn holiday? The students from our department who aren’t going home are planning to have a meal together tomorrow. Nanzhi, do you have time to join us?”
As they got closer to the school gate, the sounds of traffic and honking horns from the outside world filled the air. Nanzhi smiled slightly, and without much hesitation, she declined.
“I have some things to take care of tomorrow, so I might not be able to make it.”
There was a hint of disappointment in Chi Zheng’s eyes, but he didn’t show it. “Then let’s get together when you have some free time.”
He walked alongside Nanzhi as they headed outside the school.
Reaching the roadside, Chi Zheng slowed his pace, his tone filled with hope as he asked Nanzhi, “It’s getting a bit late.How about I take you home?”
Nanzhi was about to refuse when, before she could say a word, a black limited-edition Maybach came to a stop. The window rolled down, revealing a man with a cold and aloof profile partially illuminated by the dim light.
His eyes were dark, unfathomable.
He glanced at Nanzhi and Chi Zheng, who were standing a bit too close.
His voice, when he spoke, was slightly icy and detached.
“Nanzhi.”
Nanzhi’s back stiffened, instinctively turning her head.
As she was about to decline Chi Zheng’s invitation, the sight of the familiar yet unfamiliar figure in the driver’s seat of the Maybach—Jiang Jinnian—caused her throat to tighten, transforming her response into an astonished two-word question:
“…Elder Brother?”
Chi Zheng naturally noticed Jiang Jinnian as well.
Although he had never had the chance to meet Jiang Jinnian in person, Chi Zheng was no stranger to his face.
— A frequent guest on financial channels and in financial newspapers, anyone with even a slight interest in the business world would recognize Jiang Jinnian, the eldest son of the prestigious Jiang family, who holds a dominant position in both domestic and international business circles.
Nanzhi had always been very low-profile at school, and Chi Zheng had no idea that she had such a connection to the prominent Jiang family of Huaihai.
Jiang Jinnian didn’t look at Chi Zheng; instead, he tapped his long, pale fingers against the square steering wheel and fixed his gaze on Nanzhi, whose surprise was still evident in her eyes.
“Get in the car. We’re going home.”
Nanzhi tightened her grip on her phone.
She quickly said goodbye to Chi Zheng and hurried toward the Maybach, but instead of opening the door, she leaned in through the lowered window and said to Jiang Jinnian,
“I need to go to ‘Sheng Ye’ first, so I won’t trouble you, Elder Brother…”
“It’s no trouble.”
Before her voice could fade, Jiang Jinnian interrupted her.
His tone was calm yet brooked no argument.
“Get in. I’ll take you.”
Nanzhi’s words caught in her throat.
Under his dark gaze, she didn’t dare refuse again. She glanced at the back seat door, fighting the urge to step back, and finally opened the door to the front passenger seat.
The black car quickly merged into the brightly lit lane, and the grand South Gate of Huaihai University gradually became a small dot in the rearview mirror.
Nanzhi had moved into the Jiang family when she was very young, but her encounters with Jiang Jinnian were few and far between.
One reason was that Jiang Jinnian often stayed abroad and rarely returned to the country.
Additionally, his temperament was aloof and self-restrained, always surrounded by an air of distance that made people hesitant to approach him. Nanzhi naturally maintained a respectful distance from him.
Even when he occasionally returned home, she would mostly make it a point to avoid running into him.
This time, Jiang Jinnian’s sudden return to the country and his personal visit to Huaihai University caught her off guard.
Nanzhi wasn’t skilled at interacting with Jiang Jinnian, and he, in turn, was not particularly easy to get along with. Once in the car, she quietly lowered her presence, sitting obediently in the passenger seat.
Even her hands were placed neatly in front of her, perfectly still.
Jiang Jinnian glanced at her, his one hand on the steering wheel, his knuckles tapping lightly against it. In the silence, he suddenly asked,
“Who was that just now?”
Nanzhi, who had been slightly lost in thought, instinctively replied upon hearing Jiang Jinnian’s question, “A senior from university.”
He didn’t seem satisfied with the answer.
He pressed further, “What kind of senior?”