Chapter 7

“Want to eat something?”

“Not hungry.”

He pulled open the car door first, not waiting for Xiao Zhiyan, and walked towards the building.

His hand just touched the stainless steel door handle, which was freezing cold, and a gust of cold wind suddenly rushed in from the corner. He Chuyue hurriedly pulled her clothes tighter, thinking that she would never wear an open coat again.

It was freezing.

Because she let go, the heavy door slowly closed, and He Chuyue, who was stuck in the doorway, reacted with her eyes but her body was half a beat slower. She instinctively used her leg to block it, but her strength was mostly taken away by her open collar, and her body was pushed back. She was unsteady, and her vision was blocked by her messy hair.

“Bang!”

The heavy door was pushed open, and He Chuyue was enveloped in the large shadow cast by Xiao Zhiyan. The wind that had been blowing into her body was blocked by him, and the brief warmth made her brain stop thinking.

She followed the hand on the door handle to see the owner’s bony wrist.

Against the black overcoat, his skin was so white. Going up, she could only see his fair, smooth jawline. His lips were pursed, she didn’t know if he was holding the door hard or if it was because of the cold.

He was close, so close that if she took a step back, she would step on his toes.

The boundary of polite distance was touched, she thought of them that night and her face warmed up. She moved forward.

“Thank you.”

She was really not cold anymore.

Xiao Zhiyan retracted the hand that was vaguely protecting her waist, his voice falling softly on her head.

“Let’s go.”

At the unmanned elevator entrance, two figures stood there.

He Chuyue crossed her arms and looked at Xiao Zhiyan through the reflection of the elevator mirror.

Everything just now was so hurried and rushed, that she only had the leisure to examine his outfit now.

Black woolen coat, inside was the familiar white shirt with black suit pants, except for the patch of water stains on his leg.

Black and white attire, unchanging.

Forget it.

She had just thrown up on him, what right did she have to comment on others.

The late-night elevator arrived quickly, and He Chuyue opened the door.

“Come in.”

Before Xiao Zhiyan could speak, Latte, who had been guarding the door, changed from baring its teeth to barking wildly. In an instant, the entire corridor was filled with the warning of an adult large dog.

“Latte!”

He Chuyue stretched out her leg to block Latte, seeing that Latte didn’t intend to move forward, she called out again, and Latte turned to look at its owner.

“Latte, don’t bark.” He Chuyue glanced at Xiao Zhiyan behind her, who didn’t look afraid, and said to Latte, “He just took me to the hospital, he didn’t hurt me, okay?”

Hearing this, Latte indeed lay down, but its tail didn’t wag.

Afraid that Xiao Zhiyan would be scared, He Chuyue still blocked him with her leg, gesturing for him to come in.

Xiao Zhiyan didn’t move.

Before coming, Xiao Zhiyan had specifically asked Duan Ze Ming why a person would send two messages with two different tones at the same time, and was unwilling to admit that the previous message with a very bad attitude was from her hand.

Duan Ze Ming’s answer was: “First, the other party is a Gemini, second, it’s very likely to be a Gemini woman, and finally, run! If you meet a Gemini woman, just run!”

Xiao Zhiyan couldn’t understand, standing at the door and asking directly: “What’s your zodiac sign?”

He Chuyue was stunned, she didn’t expect Xiao Zhiyan to believe in this.

“Virgo.”

Their eyes met, and she added: “Sign.”

“Okay.”

“What’s wrong?” She felt that Xiao Zhiyan was a Gemini, he was very split.

Xiao Zhiyan shook his head, his gaze didn’t fall on the room behind her, but instead stepped back a little.

“The doctor said you shouldn’t overwork, let’s talk another day.”

He Chuyue: ?

Xiao Zhiyan, who had been talking about talking back on the way, changed his mind at the door and said to talk tomorrow?

“But I—”

“Get some rest.” It seemed that he felt it was impolite to speak at the same time and also overpower her voice, Xiao Zhiyan stood, then the corner of his lips slowly curled up, showing her a smile. “Goodbye.”

He was really split.

He Chuyue felt a cold wind behind her. Looking at the person who had already entered the elevator, and then looking at Latte, she quickly understood the strange smile.

Xiao Zhiyan was afraid of dogs!

He couldn’t even pretend not to be afraid, look at how he was scared into a face paralysis.

The night shrouded everything, even the moonlight outside the window was covered in frost, gently hanging on the treetops.

The clock pointed to two in the morning, besides Latte’s even breathing, there was no other sound, He Chuyue bit her nails and turned over.

She was actually having insomnia.

Her eyes, looking at the ceiling, were a little sore. Turning to the left, she couldn’t sleep, turning to the right, she still couldn’t sleep. After struggling for a while, she finally sat up and took out her phone to start scrolling through her Moments. Suddenly, she remembered that she hadn’t added WeChat with Xiao Zhiyan.

She tried his phone number, and sure enough, an account appeared, but the avatar was a kitten.

Would Xiao Zhiyan use a cute cat avatar?

It was too inconsistent with his persona.

She had to remember to add WeChat next time, don’t expose herself.

He Chuyue exited the page and refreshed her Moments again. As she scrolled, she clicked on her own, starting to admire it.

All the posts were forwards from the hc public account, interspersed with a few occasional daily life posts when she was in the mood, nothing else.

What a dedicated and hardworking, life-loving Moments!

The person involved was very satisfied and planned to browse every post carefully and seriously.

When she touched the date of the previous month, her fingertips paused, and she clicked on that Moments post out of nowhere.

“Who can save my aching and painful waist!!”

Below it was a long string of comments from her colleagues, He Chuyue flipped through her replies one by one, and when she saw Mei Qingxue’s post, her body suddenly sat up straight.

[Mei Question: You must have worked hard last night, your waist can ache from being tired.

What kind of tiger-wolf words?!

When was this commented? She didn’t even remember it??

Calculating the time, a wave of heat climbed up her cheeks.

This was the day after the hotel, she was feeling this way after sitting for a long time at work, how did it become another meaning in Mei Qingxue’s mouth? She even let this comment lie in her Moments?

She was crazy!

She hurriedly deleted it, and pressed her phone.

Sleep!

Latte, who had been awakened, jumped onto the bed and lay beside He Chuyue. Soon, it breathed evenly.

She didn’t know how long she had been asleep, He Chuyue’s dreams came one after another. Finally, the dreams disappeared, and before she could fall asleep, she heard the sound of slippers, followed by her aunt Dai Wenchun’s exaggerated voice.

“Are your ears still there? Ah! Niuniu, where are your ears?”

“Auntie—” He Chuyue dragged out the sound, lifted the quilt and covered her face, “I’m so sleepy.”

“There are three things you can’t sleep on during the Lidong, one of which is not being able to reverse day and night, come on, get up and eat some dumplings and go to the supermarket with your aunt.”

He Chuyue had no choice but to get up and wash up.

Because Dai Wenchun’s superstitions were really extraordinary, and her temper was also stubborn, if she didn’t do things according to her, He Chuyue would not be able to sleep even if she stayed in bed.

After finishing the Lidong dumplings, He Chuyue simply put on a long down jacket and played with her phone at the door.

She opened WeChat and saw that Xiao Zhiyan had sent a document at seven o’clock, asking if she was awake. Before she could reply, Dai Wenchun came out of the bathroom and saw He Chuyue dressed like this, so she hurriedly pushed her into the cloakroom.

“You’re so messy, you have no energy.”

He Chuyue was reluctant but couldn’t resist, she changed into a short down jacket with a slim beige inner layer and wide-leg pants before going out.

Her car was restricted today, so the two of them took a taxi to the mall.

On the way, He Chuyue was paying attention to Gu Qianqian’s hot search yesterday and didn’t notice Dai Wenchun’s upturned lips, until they reached the payment, she realized that they weren’t at the supermarket.

“Did the driver take us to the wrong place?”

He Chuyue was about to click on the order but was stopped by Dai Wenchun.

“Forget it, forget it, it’s not easy to do anything now, don’t bother them, it’s not far from the supermarket, let’s walk.”

He Chuyue finally noticed something was wrong, “Auntie, you’re so strange today.”

Dai Wenchun didn’t admit it, she took her arm and walked towards the nearby coffee shop, “Let’s go.”

“Wait.”

He Chuyue stopped in place, reviewing today’s events.

Originally, Dai Wenchun and Qin Tai’s work was enough to support a family of three, but when her cousin was one year old, he had a fever and was sent to the hospital a little late, leaving him with the problem of getting sick every time the seasons changed. Before he was ten years old, he was constantly taking Chinese medicine.

Plus He Chuyue’s arrival, her grandfather’s death, and their savings were dwindling. Dai Wenchun also had to quit her teaching job to take care of the two children, so she opened a tutoring class at home.

She was used to hardship, and she also became frugal. Even though He Chuyue later sent half of her salary home, Dai Wenchun still couldn’t change her frugal habit, she would always argue about anything that was short or light. But today, Dai Wenchun not only suggested taking a taxi, but also condoned the driver ending the order almost two kilometers away from the supermarket, which was really abnormal.

He Chuyue looked at the nearest coffee shop and confirmed to Dai Wenchun: “Auntie, your destination is not the supermarket, it’s the coffee shop across the street. Someone is waiting for you there, right?”

Dai Wenchun’s expression explained everything, He Chuyue understood, “Or, the person waiting inside is me.”

Dai Wenchun didn’t hide it anymore: “Just meet, Niuniu, this person’s birth chart is really compatible with yours, really! Be good, go and meet him.”

He Chuyue’s hand, which was in her pocket, was gently shaken by Dai Wenchun. She stood on the noisy roadside, she couldn’t tell where her current anxiety came from.

Was she annoyed by her aunt’s concern? Or was she annoyed by her aunt planning her future? Or was she annoyed by her aunt taking her six-year-old self’s fortune-telling by the monk seriously?

He Chuyue didn’t want to think this way, but her current real feelings were telling her that her anxiety came from this, she was just an ungrateful, unreasonable bai yan lang – white-eyed wolf, a term for an ungrateful person.

She let the cold wind blow recklessly, feeling her whole body numb, without any reaction.

Thinking of the decision she had made not long ago, He Chuyue didn’t know whether to cry or laugh.

Was she lucky to be prepared, because the arrival of this child gave her a way to completely get rid of the trouble of blind dates?

With a loud honking, He Chuyue looked at the blocked road ahead, slowly withdrawing her gaze. She exhaled, suddenly feeling a little apologetic to her partner.

She might have publicly disclosed the results of their verbal agreement, which were not yet finalized, to a third party without consulting her partner.

Perhaps because of a feeling of breaking the pot and throwing it, He Chuyue faced the wind and said the most reckless thing she had ever said in her life.

“Auntie, I actually have a boyfriend.”

“Achoo”

A sound came from the Baroque-style soft padded bench, and with the crisp sound of the chess pieces falling on the chessboard, the man opposite Xiao Zhiyan spoke.

“Caught a cold?”

Placing a piece on the board, Xiao Zhiyan shook his head.

“I heard you sneeze.” The man insisted.

Xiao Zhiyan’s gaze fell on his face, that face that was seven or eight points similar to his own, reminded him: “Your turn.”

Xiao Wenqi shook his head, dropped a piece, and sighed: “You talk so little, how do you teach your students? Mom told me to tease you more, but you? It’s so hard to get you to say a few more words, let alone get you to smile more, it’s really worrying.”

The black piece followed closely behind, the outcome was decided, Xiao Wenqi leaned back on the chair, “You won again.”

It was nothing new.

It seemed that playing chess with Xiao Wenqi, Xiao Zhiyan winning was the norm. For the victor, it didn’t add much joy.

His expression was indifferent, he put away the black and white chess pieces, and answered his last question.

“I have very few classes too.”

Xiao Wenqi, the hands-off manager:

“The wedding is over, Mom and Dad don’t plan on staying long this time, I guess they might be in California for the New Year, or maybe New Zealand.” Xiao Wenqi leaned closer, glancing at the person behind the floor-to-ceiling window, and whispered, “Don’t blame your brother for not reminding you, you have to be careful these days.”

“Huh?”

“The unchanging nagging about getting married, you know. I feel like Mom was influenced by her in-laws, the two of them even invited five or six famous matchmakers from Beicheng to their house the day before yesterday.”

“Oh.”

“Oh?” Xiao Wenqi was very dissatisfied with Xiao Zhiyan’s attitude, “This year, Mom was busy with my wedding and forgot to arrange yours, just wait, it’s going to be your turn soon.”

“Don’t bother Mom.”

Xiao Wenqi smelled a rat.

“Something’s going on?”

“You guess.”

Xiao Zhiyan showed the smile he had at He Chuyue’s door.

Xiao Wenqi was disgusted: “So creepy, can you smile properly.”

The latter’s lips indeed stiffened, full of seriousness: “Really? Not good-looking?”

In the face of someone’s eager gaze for an answer, Xiao Wenqi deliberately prolonged the prelude.

“Very ugly and scary.”

Seeing that his younger brother was concerned about his expression management, Xiao Wenqi was truly certain that he really had something going on, and he was very concerned about it. He was immediately interested: “How did you meet? Someone from your school?”

“No.”

He spoke slowly, his fingertips rubbing his wrist, he paused, and lowered his head.

He Chuyue was wearing a red string on her wrist, with a small gold gourd strung on it, it would be uncomfortable to hold.

His palm moved away, and his fair skin would have a pink circular mark.

Her home seemed to also have many gourd pendants.

Did she like gourds?

The gray clouds in the sky had dissipated at some point, the warm light with the chill of winter fell on the pavilion in the back garden, leaving an alluring shadow beside the exquisite leather shoes.

Xiao Zhiyan stood up and tried to move the corner of his lips, but he was afraid of showing a creepy smile, so he innocently retracted his expression, feeling a little frustrated.

“I just met her recently.”

The crisp sound of bells rang as the door was pushed open, a thick coffee aroma filled his nostrils, He Chuyue coughed, and quickly let go of the door handle and ran to the side, squatting down to vomit.

The cold wind by her ear was relentless, He Chuyue couldn’t feel the cold, but the heat subsided and she felt much refreshed.

Slowly straightening up, leaning against the wall, she secretly searched for Dai Wenchun in the glass, and finally saw her sitting at a small square table behind the counter, holding a plate.

Looking at the person on her phone who didn’t respond, He Chuyue, who had come out under the pretext of putting on makeup but was actually reporting back, felt a chill in her heart. Unfortunately, she couldn’t stay out for too long, so she adjusted her breathing and walked towards the square table with trepidation.

“Did you find an actor?”

He Chuyue didn’t understand: “What actor?”

“Didn’t you just go to report back?” Dai Wenchun looked as if she knew everything, and exposed her, “It looks like you didn’t find one? Do you want me to call Xiao Wang and ask him to come back?”

Xiao Wang was the person Dai Wenchun had arranged for He Chuyue to meet today. They had just met briefly and talked about the situation, luckily the other party was also dealing with his family, and after reaching an agreement, they left.

“Hey” He Chuyue hurriedly stopped her hand, “He just left, you’re going to call him back, aren’t you playing with people? Don’t call.”

“Then you call.”

“What am I going to call?”

“Call your boyfriend.”