Chapter 33

The man’s voice was low and gentle, and somehow, his English sounded especially nice.

Zhou Zhou looked at the bowl of wonton noodles in front of her, then looked up at Cheng Yanran holding a bouquet of flowers. She was so surprised she didn’t know what to say. After stammering out a few “you… you…,” she finally managed to ask, “How did you know I was here?”

Cheng Yanran placed the flowers in front of her, sat down across from her, and smiled. “The delivery guy already brought the flowers—could I get a bowl of wonton noodles in return?”

Zhou Zhou quickly asked the shop owner for another bowl and said, “Did you come to pick up your clothes? Wait a second, I’ll go get them for you.”

“No rush. You eat first. I haven’t had dinner either.”

The truth was, he had already eaten.

He had come to Jade Bay at the agreed time to pick up his clothes and bring her some fresh fruit. But on the way, he saw her walking, looking completely out of it.

After parking his car, he quietly followed behind her for a long while—she hadn’t noticed at all.

It wasn’t just him—she hadn’t noticed anyone. It was like nothing around her registered anymore.

When she walked into the dim sum shop, he quickly picked out a beautiful, colorful bouquet from a flower shop nearby—not too flashy, just bright and cheerful—then rushed into the shop after her. Luckily, he made it in time—her noodles had just been served.

The shop owner told him the name of the bouquet, but he forgot it. So he gave it his own name.

He hoped she could be joyful every year and happy every day.

There weren’t many people in the shop that night, but a young man and woman having dinner—with the man tall and handsome, the woman fair and pretty, and a giant bouquet of flowers on the table—naturally drew attention.

Even the shop owner smiled knowingly.

Zhou Zhou usually ate slowly, but in this flirty, romantic atmosphere, she sped up.

Almost at the same time Cheng Yanran finished, she was done too.

Clutching the bouquet carefully, she quickly said, “Let’s go, let’s go.”

If they didn’t leave now, she was going to be cooked by all the stares.

Cheng Yanran smiled and stood up, following her outside.

It was a deep, chilly night. Instead of telling her to go home and rest, he asked if she wanted to take a walk in the park nearby.

Zhou Zhou honestly admitted that she didn’t really want to go home alone that night. Having someone to walk and talk with sounded pretty good.

But…

She looked down at the bouquet in her arms—deep purple, light purple, pink, soft yellow, pale blue, light green… roses, ranunculus, orchids, bellflowers, hyacinths… so many types and colors, a whole vibrant bundle of blossoms.

She smiled and asked, “What about the flowers?”

She couldn’t just carry them the whole time. It was too eye-catching—the bouquet was big enough to hide her entire upper body.

Cheng Yanran reached out and carefully took the bouquet, avoiding her hands. “Wait a second, I’ll put it in the car.”

Only then did Zhou Zhou notice his car was parked right by the curb.

Her heart stirred a little. She suddenly had an idea of how he knew she was in the shop.

The two of them walked together, not too close or too far apart. The late autumn wind blew with a quiet chill.

It was already late, and there were only a few stragglers left in the park.

There was a lake in the park, so they walked along it to shield themselves from the wind.

Most of the conversation came from Cheng Yanran. Zhou Zhou just listened.

Tonight, he was surprisingly talkative.

He admitted honestly that he had already eaten, but he couldn’t eat much—tonight was a family dinner.

“You know how it is with relatives—everyone shows off, compares, hides things, brags. Toast after toast, it’s all so boring. I never understood the point of those dinners. And my cousin’s getting married after the New Year, so the whole dinner turned into a marriage-pushing session. Who can eat like that? Thankfully, I had my older cousin to block the fire for me.”

“Your cousin?”

“My aunt’s daughter—she’s doing her Ph.D. now.”

After listening to him ramble all evening, Zhou Zhou’s bad mood had mostly cleared up. She hadn’t been in a dark place; she had just needed to get through that rough patch.

She already knew his cousin had a “shotgun wedding.” The contrast was too sharp—so she didn’t even know how to comfort him. Instead, she teased, “Even you, President Cheng, are being pressured to get married?”

“Sigh! Every holiday, it’s always the same! And now, with my cousin as the new comparison—it’s even worse.” He let out a deep sigh.

“Come on, is it really that bad?” She remembered that he was only a year older than her—barely thirty.

“When I was in Singapore, there was a time I really missed home-cooked food. But after I moved back, I don’t even go home that much, because every time I do, my mom tries to introduce me to some girl—teachers, accountants, designers. Tonight, to win an argument with my aunt, she even wanted me to go on a blind date with her old friend’s daughter, who’s still in college! Thankfully, my dad only asked about my business stuff—otherwise, I wouldn’t have survived.”

He tilted his head slightly to see her expression. She still had a smile on her face, eyes twinkling. Since she didn’t seem offended, he kept going.

He wasn’t sure why Zhou Zhou had looked so down earlier, but at their age, it was usually either work or personal stuff weighing them down. He didn’t want to say the wrong thing about her job, so he could only poke fun at himself.

And by pure coincidence, Zhou Zhou had also had a rough evening because of being pushed to get married. What he said hit the nail on the head.

“Oh right, I saw your dad yesterday. Mayor Xu did a last-minute inspection at your family’s store,” Zhou Zhou quickly explained. “That stop was added at the last second, arranged by the Houhu District team. I didn’t know ahead of time—otherwise, I would’ve told you so your dad could prepare.”

She and Cheng Yanran were good friends. If she had known his father’s shop was on the list, she definitely would’ve given him a heads-up.

“I know. You don’t have to explain,” Cheng Yanran said seriously as he turned to face her.

The truth was, Zhou Zhou had overthought it. He hadn’t even considered that.

Yesterday afternoon, his dad had texted, insisting he come home for dinner. He thought something serious had happened.

When he got home, his father had already made tea and was waiting on the balcony.

He was stunned—he had no idea what was going on. It felt like he was about to be interrogated.

Then his dad poured him a cup of tea and said slowly, “I met the one you’ve been thinking about. Your taste is better than mine and way better than your cousin’s. Zhou Zhou is a girl in a million—you’d better not miss this chance.”

He remembered exactly what he had replied at the time.

He said,
“Dad, you’re wrong. She’s not one in a million—she’s one of a kind.”