Chapter 27

By the time the movie ended, Cheng Li had already forgotten most of its plot.

All she could remember was that her hand had been held firmly in the palm of the person next to her throughout.

Though there had been a brief moment when their hands parted, when the movie finished, and everyone stood to leave, the hand of Rong Qi beside her seemed equipped with a precise radar. It reached out without hesitation, clasping her hand once again.

The two of them walked down the steps from their seats, one in front of the other.

Around them, the other moviegoers were abuzz, eagerly discussing the film’s plot.

In contrast, they remained silent, moving along with the dispersing crowd until they exited the theater.

By then, the mall had already closed, but the cinema had a designated elevator for late-night moviegoers to leave.

So, they followed the crowd into the elevator.

Inside, Cheng Li noticed a young man glancing repeatedly at Rong Qi, his gaze lingering for several moments. The young man even pulled out his phone.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, Cheng Li, acting on a sudden burst of courage, grabbed Rong Qi’s hand and led him out.

The underground parking lot was no longer as crowded as before. After the mall’s 10 p.m. closing, most of the cars were gone, leaving the area sparsely populated.

Thankfully, Cheng Li had a good memory and remembered the general direction of where the car was parked.

Once they had distanced themselves from the potential onlooker, she finally stopped, turning to explain, slightly embarrassed, “That guy in the elevator kept staring at you and even took out his phone. I think he was trying to sneak a photo.”

“Trying to photograph me?” Rong Qi raised an eyebrow.

“Well, you’re kind of a public figure now,” Cheng Li admitted.

After all, she had Googled him before.

One particular photo of him attending the World Internet Conference had been retweeted tens of thousands of times on Weibo.

Comments under the post had proclaimed that he was the most handsome among CEOs and the smartest among handsome men—a masterpiece of creation.

Since the success of Qiyu Technologies, his life and career had been dissected thoroughly online.

While many prodigies have risen from the youth program, none looked quite like him.

Even Zhihu, known for its intellectual discourse, had a popular thread titled:

“Is Rong Qi, founder of Qiyu Technologies, the most handsome CEO in China?”

The post was packed with thousands of comments, with many sharing candid photos of him taken during work encounters.

Some even claimed, “This is raw and unedited—no Photoshop.”

What started as a discussion thread had devolved into a shrine for his admirers, with playful memes and fanfare.

It was rumored that many Qiyu employees secretly frequented the thread. After all, they were the ones who interacted with him most regularly.

Rong Qi let out a faint laugh. “Kind of a public figure?”

“You are a public figure,” Cheng Li quickly corrected herself, apologetic for her earlier casual phrasing. “That guy probably recognized you and wanted to take your photo.”

“Does it matter?” Rong Qi asked, his tone calm.

Cheng Li blinked, momentarily stunned.

He had a point. While he might be a public figure, he wasn’t a celebrity.

Unlike pop idols, he had no need to maintain a curated image of being single. Even if someone captured him going to a movie with a woman, it wasn’t a big deal.

“Doesn’t that tarnish your image?” she teased, smirking.

“My image?”

“Yeah, someone like you—shouldn’t you have booked the entire theater?”

Hearing this, Rong Qi chuckled, the sound light and pleasant. “And whose fault is that? You didn’t give me the chance.”

Only then did Cheng Li recall that she had booked their tickets on her phone while they were in the car.

Indeed, she hadn’t given him the opportunity.

As they chatted, they arrived at his car.

It was then that Cheng Li noticed their hands had remained naturally clasped the entire time.

Neither of them had let go.

Standing by the car door, she lowered her head, her gaze fixed on their entwined hands.

Suddenly, Rong Qi took a step closer. Reflexively, Cheng Li moved back, only to find the car behind her.

The air between them seemed to thin, making it harder to breathe. Her heartbeat quickened, pounding chaotically in her chest.

The surroundings grew unnervingly quiet.

In the vast parking lot, it felt as if only the two of them existed.

Cheng Li slowly raised her head, her eyes meeting his.

In that instant, her palm pressed against the car door, the cold metal doing nothing to cool the sudden heat rising within her.

As the distance between them closed, their breaths nearly intertwined, he tilted his head slightly, his gaze landing on her lips, which were soft and faintly pink.

Suddenly—

Beep! Beep!

A sharp, blaring car horn echoed through the empty parking lot, its sound reverberating in all directions.

The intrusive noise shattered the fragile atmosphere like glass, dragging them back to reality.

Cheng Li blinked, breaking eye contact.

She heard the quiet click of the car door as Rong Qi opened it.

“Get in,” he said softly, his voice steady as he gently patted her on the head.

Once both were seated inside, an unspoken tension lingered in the car.

It wasn’t until the engine started and they drove out of the parking lot that the silence finally began to dissipate.

Cheng Li finally had an excuse to turn her head and look out the car window.

But the scenery along the street, though gliding past her eyes, left no impression. Her mind was still replaying the earlier moment.

What would have happened if not for the interruption of that horn?

The answer was on the tip of her tongue.

A kiss?

*

That night, Cheng Li barely got any sleep.

Her dreams were a chaotic blur. One moment, she was wearing a school uniform, seemingly in high school; the next, she was in other scenes. Yet no matter the setting, there was always another person present.

Rong Qi.

When Cheng Li woke up, the morning light had yet to fully break.

She stared at the ceiling, and a memory surfaced—on the day she caught Xu Jiheng cheating, she had also been lying like this, staring blankly at the ceiling.

But now, only two months later, the breakup with Xu Jiheng felt like a distant past life.

The pain of betrayal that had once felt like a knife twisting in her heart was now just a faint memory.

Xu Jiheng had long since faded from her life.

And Rong Qi had, almost imperceptibly, taken over her present life with quiet dominance.

Cheng Li turned over in bed and hugged her blanket tightly.

She didn’t know what the future held, but for now, she felt good.

In fact, it felt great.

Since it was the weekend, Cheng Li wasn’t in a rush to get up.

After a while of playing on her phone in bed, she even managed to fall asleep again for a quick nap.

But by 9 a.m., her bedroom door was knocked on.

“What is it?” she mumbled groggily.

Ling Shuanghua stood at the door and said, “Get up already. We’re going to your grandmother’s for lunch today. Did you forget?”

Cheng Li shot up in bed, rubbing her hair. “When was that decided? No one told me!”

By the time Cheng Li had finished washing up, half an hour had passed.

Ling Shuanghua, waiting impatiently in the living room, complained, “I swear, you and your father are so slow. Later, when your grandmother starts throwing shade, it’s all going to be directed at me.”

“Coming, coming,” Cheng Dingbo called out as he emerged from the bathroom.

When Ling Shuanghua saw Cheng Li come out of her room, her face darkened. “What are you wearing?”

Cheng Li looked down at herself—a thin white sweatshirt and jeans.

Casual and comfortable.

“Go change,” Ling Shuanghua said firmly.

Cheng Li sighed. “Change into what? This is perfectly fine.”

Cheng Dingbo chimed in, “Exactly. It’s comfortable.”

“And let your relatives with their snobbish eyes look down on you?” Ling Shuanghua insisted. “Go change into that dress you bought recently.”

Cheng Li took a deep breath but didn’t argue further.

She went back to her room and changed.

She knew why her mother was making such a fuss.

The Cheng family, though small with only three siblings—her father, uncle, and aunt—wasn’t short on drama. As the second child, her father had often been overlooked, living up to the old saying, “Second children get no love.”

This wasn’t unique to the Cheng family; second children across the country could probably write a collective memoir of grievances.

To make matters worse, her mother, a teacher who had moved to Shanghai after university and stayed, had always been considered beneath the Cheng family’s standards.

Back then, her grandparents, both former cadres, had high expectations for their children’s spouses.

A humble teacher like her mother never stood a chance of winning their approval.

But Cheng Dingbo, though unambitious in many respects, was unwavering when he made up his mind. Despite strong opposition from his family, he married her mother anyway.

They went straight to the registry office and tied the knot, with no support from the family.

Ling Shuanghua had no complaints, though. She often spoke proudly about how she had juggled teaching and raising Cheng Li all by herself without missing a beat.

It was this resilience that cemented her position of authority within their household.

Now that her generation was older, family gatherings had turned into competitions over their children.

First, it was about academics. Now, it was careers.

Back when academic performance was the focus, Cheng Li had been the undisputed star.

But after starting her job at Fanhai Intelligent Systems, a startup company, the elders in the family often lectured her, deeming it unstable compared to large corporations.

As they prepared to leave, Ling Shuanghua grabbed the Chanel bag Cheng Li had bought her.

Having been frugal all her life, Ling Shuanghua was not one to spend extravagantly.

When she first learned that the bag cost over 40,000 yuan, she had been furious with Cheng Li.

But ever since one of her sisters-in-law had gasped at it during a family gathering, the bag had become her go-to for any visit to her in-laws.

It was her battle armor.

“Why is there traffic at this hour?” Ling Shuanghua complained from the passenger seat, looking at the congested road ahead.

“There’s a fender bender up ahead,” Cheng Dingbo said, glancing at the GPS.

“Cheng Li, can your self-driving system prevent accidents like that?” he asked, showing keen interest in the technology.

Cheng Li replied, “Statistically, autonomous driving is indeed safer than human driving. However, it’s not foolproof. In complex and unpredictable situations, the system might not handle things effectively.”

“So you’re saying your system can fail too?” Cheng Dingbo pressed, sounding like a curious layman.

Cheng Li nodded. “It can. There have already been several serious accidents both domestically and internationally caused by autonomous driving assistance systems.”

“Well, then it’s not entirely safe, is it?”

Cheng Li chuckled. “Dad, you should take a look at China’s traffic accident reports. Over 80% of accidents are caused by human error. Are you suggesting that if you choke on water once, you’ll never drink it again?”

“That makes sense now,” Cheng Dingbo nodded in sudden realization.

From the front seat, Mrs. Ling interjected, “It’s moving, it’s moving—let’s go!”

When the family of three arrived at the old family home, they were barely through the door when Cheng Li’s aunt, sitting on the sofa, greeted them with a teasing smile, “Our esteemed guests have finally arrived.”

Mrs. Ling casually said to the grandmother watching TV, “Mom, we’re here.”

The grandmother appeared unresponsive until Cheng Li raised her voice. “Grandma, we’re here!”

“Oh, Cheng Li’s here!” The grandmother finally looked up with a warm smile.

Mrs. Ling, unfazed by the behavior, remarked lightly, “I’ll go help in the kitchen.”

While Cheng Li’s grandmother treated her fairly well, it was only in comparison to Mrs. Ling, who had long been on the family’s bad side.

The eldest uncle’s son, a grandson, was naturally the apple of her grandparents’ eyes. The cousin from her youngest aunt’s side—also a girl—benefited from the aunt’s status as the youngest and only daughter of the family, securing her a special place in their favor.

This left Cheng Li, despite her good looks and academic achievements, perpetually ranked at the bottom of the family hierarchy.

In the kitchen, where Mrs. Ling inevitably took charge of cooking, Cheng Li joined to help. Her eldest uncle’s wife joked, “Girls really are more considerate. Our Cheng Xiao has been busy with work all morning and hasn’t even been home. Boys, you know—they only think about their jobs.”

Mrs. Ling’s sharp eyes shot up. “Out you go. There’s no need for your help here.”

Left with no choice, Cheng Li exited the kitchen.

She understood her mother’s unspoken sentiments: if none of the other young family members were helping, she didn’t want Cheng Li to bear the extra burden. After all, they were all children—why should Cheng Li be the only one running around?

Two hours later, the food was ready, and Cheng Li’s cousin finally returned.

During the meal, the aunt brought up her daughter’s absence. “Mom, Lingling couldn’t make it to lunch today. She went to Hong Kong with her fiancé to shop for their wedding. She said she’ll bring you a big gift when they return.”

The grandmother’s face lit up with joy. “Tell her not to waste money on me. It’s more important to buy whatever she needs for her wedding.”

The mention of weddings inevitably shifted attention to Cheng Li.

Her previous relationship had been family knowledge, so her aunt said, “Mom’s 80th birthday is coming up soon. Let’s have all the young ones bring their partners to make the celebration even more festive.”

Cheng Li’s cousin was already married, leaving her in the spotlight.

She took a deep breath, about to respond, when Mrs. Ling spoke first. “Cheng Li won’t bring anyone. She’s not getting married yet, so it’s better not to involve someone just for the occasion.”

“Don’t tell me they’ve broken up?” The aunt, ever blunt, pressed on.

Not one to beat around the bush, Cheng Li admitted, “Yes, we broke up.”

The aunt continued, “What happened? I thought that Xiao Xu seemed decent—good looks, solid education, and a respectable job. Cheng Li, not to criticize, but you shouldn’t set your standards too high. Xiao Xu was a good match.”

Mrs. Ling was fuming inside. What did they mean by “a good match,” as if Cheng Li couldn’t do better? Especially after knowing Xu Jiheng was unfaithful, Mrs. Ling couldn’t stomach the thought.

She snapped, “Our Cheng Li is beautiful and well-educated. She can pick whoever she wants.”

The aunt countered lightly, “But Cheng Li is already 28. If girls wait too long, they become leftovers. No matter how great their qualifications, they should start worrying—otherwise, they’ll end up as high-risk pregnancies when they finally have kids.”

The jab stung, and Cheng Li noticed it wasn’t entirely innocent. The aunt had always compared her daughter, Duan Yuling, to Cheng Li.

Duan Yuling had average grades in school and only managed to get into college by pursuing an arts track. Worse, her looks didn’t hold a candle to Cheng Li’s, despite the latter majoring in STEM.

But now, with Duan Yuling engaged to a wealthy heir and seemingly poised to outshine Cheng Li, the aunt’s confidence was unrestrained.

“High-risk pregnancy? Cheng Li is still young. Even if she wanted to get married now, I wouldn’t let her,” Cheng Dingbo cut in sharply. “Marriage isn’t something to rush. What’s wrong with taking your time to find someone good?”

As soft-spoken as he usually was, everyone knew that if anyone dared to mistreat Cheng Li, he wouldn’t hesitate to lash out.

The aunt fell silent, but after the meal, the grandmother called Cheng Dingbo into another room.

“What were you doing snapping at your sister like that? She’s just concerned about Cheng Li’s future. If she didn’t say it, I would have. I told you not to find someone from out of town, but you wouldn’t listen. Look at what’s happened now—it fell apart, wasting Cheng Li’s youth. Do you think girls can afford to squander their best years? Soon she’ll be left with whatever’s leftover, and she’ll end up just like you—”

The door wasn’t fully closed, and their voices carried into the living room.

“I don’t see what’s wrong with being like me. I have a happy family, and I only wish Cheng Li could have the same,” Cheng Dingbo retorted firmly.

Cheng Li stole a glance at Mrs. Ling, who was calmly eating an apple, entirely unbothered.

It was clear the grandmother hadn’t closed the door on purpose, intending for everyone to overhear.

Unexpectedly, Old Cheng didn’t falter at the critical moment.

Grandmother, fuming with anger, retorted, “Fine, fine! I won’t meddle anymore. I’ll just wait and see what kind of great son-in-law you two manage to find!”

Leaving Grandmother’s house and just getting into the car, Cheng Dingbo glanced at Ling Shuanghua in the front passenger seat and offered a reassuring comment. “Don’t be upset. Next time, I’ll come back alone for dinner.”

“Why would I be upset?” Ling Shuanghua reached up to smooth her hair and smiled faintly. “I have a happy family, harmonious life, and a husband and daughter who are on the same page as me. What’s there to be upset about?”

Hearing this, both father and daughter in the car breathed a sigh of relief.

Cheng Li gave her father a subtle thumbs-up.

Her dad’s philosophy of life was definitely worth learning.

Ling Shuanghua had spent her entire life navigating battles of wits with Grandmother, always refusing to admit defeat.

Now, taking a deep breath, she spoke slowly but resolutely, “From this point on, our family has only one goal.”

Both Cheng Dingbo and Cheng Li turned to look at her.

“To find Cheng Li a fantastic husband, one who’ll blind their eyes with envy.”

Cheng Li: “…”

Meanwhile, Rong Qi, who was still working overtime despite it being the weekend, inexplicably sneezed in his office.

His assistant, He Zhuoyuan, noticed and immediately asked, “President Rong, should I turn up the office air conditioning?”

Although it was already October, many office buildings still ran central air conditioning.

Rong Qi nodded.

Just then, his phone on the desk buzzed twice.

It was a message from Cheng Li.

Cheng Li: [Barely made it out alive from my grandmother’s house.]

Rong Qi: [?]

Cheng Li: [My grandmother’s house is like a gladiator arena—you wouldn’t understand.]

Rong Qi: [I’ll be off work in half an hour.]

Sitting in the car, Cheng Li saw the message and was a little puzzled.

Rong Qi: [Looking forward to hearing the details.]

She chuckled softly under her breath.

An hour later, she received his call.

“Come downstairs.”

Surprised, Cheng Li recalled his earlier message. Speaking quietly, she asked, “You really want to hear about it? It’s just boring family drama.”

“I brought wine and ears.”

His low voice resonated in her ears.

In that instant, all the frustrations of the day completely