Chapter 31

Seeing Cheng Yanran still lost in thought, his dad lowered his voice and scolded, “Why didn’t you make a move in the past few years? What went wrong?”

“He was working abroad in Germany before. She only came back last year. Dad, I haven’t confessed yet. I don’t think she knows how I feel,” Cheng Yanran said, feeling a bit helpless.

He was full of passion but had nowhere to show it.

He was sure that if he didn’t take the first step, Zhou Zhou wouldn’t contact him even once in a whole year.

Cheng Anzhi was surprised and speechless.

On one hand, he was impressed by how outstanding the girl was. On the other, he couldn’t believe his son looked so smart but became so dumb when it came to love—coming home late every night but never expressing his feelings.

“Silly boy, if you like her so much, just stop worrying about pride and be more proactive. If you don’t have a chance to talk or meet, then create one. Send her some fruit or snacks every couple of days, invite her out to eat, ask her to go hiking, lake-walking, or have fun on weekends. Isn’t that how relationships grow?”

Cheng Yanran scratched his head.

Cheng Anzhi patted his head again, “As long as she hasn’t rejected you, it means she doesn’t dislike you. You still have a chance, got it?”

“Got it,” Cheng Yanran said, though he thought his dad’s advice wasn’t very reliable, it seemed okay.

Looking at the time, Zhou Zhou should be almost home, so he put down his tea cup and said, “I’m going to take a shower. Dad, you should sleep early too.”

Cheng Anzhi sighed as he sat there.

Sigh!

This kid, why can’t he figure it out?

It was almost eleven o’clock. When Zhou Zhou opened the door, she tried to step lightly but still woke Tao Cai.

She whispered, “Mom, you go to sleep. I’ll be quiet.”

Tao Cai wanted to prepare some food for her, but Zhou Zhou said she already ate and would go to bed after showering.

The old house didn’t block sound well. She quickly finished her shower and underwear washing, then rushed into her room, afraid of waking Yuan Yuan.

Lying down, she saw a message from Cheng Yanran saying he had safely sent Chi Yao home and asked if she had arrived.

She thought about what Chi Yao said and felt uncomfortable but politely replied.

Zhou Zhou: I’m home. Thank you.

Cheng Yanran: Don’t be so polite. Are you going out tomorrow? Need me to take you?

Zhou Zhou: No need.

Cheng Yanran: Do you remember what I said at the subway tonight?

Zhou Zhou: Your clothes are still at my place. When is a good time for me to send them to you by Dada (delivery)?

Cheng Yanran thought about his dad’s advice to send fruit and snacks, and asked if Sunday was okay to pick them up.

Zhou Zhou: Of course. I’ll be home Sunday night.

Cheng Yanran: Don’t miss it. Good night~

Zhou Zhou didn’t reply and just turned off her phone to sleep.

But she couldn’t fall asleep.

Cheng Yanran, Cheng Yanran.

She didn’t know how to face him.

He was really kind and thoughtful. She could vaguely feel his sincere and strong feelings.

That night at the subway, when he got off to see her, he reminded her to be careful on the ride and said, “Tonight I have to send your friend home, no choice. What I want to tell you is, whenever you need me, I’ll come immediately.”

He asked if she remembered. Of course she did, but she knew she wasn’t the kind to flirt or waste his feelings.

He was good, but unfortunately, she didn’t feel moved yet.

They only spent a little time together now. Most of her feelings came from old school memories, which might fade after some cooling off.

They were just in contact too often recently, she thought quietly.

Maybe if they didn’t see each other so much later, he’d lose interest.

After all, Cheng Yanran never clearly said he liked her, right?

Well, after Sunday when he took back his clothes, they’d naturally drift apart.

He was a young, successful deputy general manager, good-looking too. Surely he wasn’t short of girlfriends?

Maybe he was just between relationships lately.

How many girlfriends had he already had?

Zhou Zhou thought of all these possibilities, feeling more and more annoyed.

In the end, she almost wanted to send his clothes back immediately that night.

She didn’t know what time she finally fell asleep. The next day she woke up with dry eyes and dark circles—obviously hadn’t slept well.

Tao Cai suggested taking Yuan Yuan out to buy groceries so Zhou Zhou could get some more sleep.

Because she had to accompany Mayor Xu to a company park in the afternoon, Zhou Zhou woke up again and carefully applied light makeup to cover the dark circles.

She hesitated but didn’t wear the new rose-red thin coat she bought. Instead, she wore a gray thin wool coat with a white knit sweater suggested by the shop assistant.

Though she looked elegant and gentle, Tao Cai kept complaining.

“That red coat looked nice. Girls should wear some color, not just black, white, and gray every day, looking like an old lady. Ugly!”

“Mom, I’m almost thirty. Still a girl?”

“You know you’re almost thirty, and still no boyfriend. Always working overtime. Do you expect the country to give you a boyfriend?”

Zhou Zhou: ………

“Your aunt said there’s a young guy at her work who’s pretty good. Thirty-one, tall, handsome, polite. She sent you his photo. Look at it and if you like him, you can have dinner with him tomorrow night.”

Zhou Zhou: “I have plans with a friend tomorrow night.”

“What friend? More important than a blind date?”

“Yes, yes. Tomorrow night doesn’t work.”

“How about next week?” Tao Cai asked again.

Feeling annoyed and wanting to refuse, she said, “Next week doesn’t work either. Lately, nothing works.”

Since Zhou Zhou came back, Tao Cai had been eager to set her up with guys. The thing was, old people’s ideas were strange. As long as a man was tall, had a job, and was single, she thought he was good.

Marriage isn’t like a game, she thought. You can’t just mix and match like Tetris blocks.

Zhou Zhou didn’t want to talk about that topic with Tao Cai anymore. She quickly finished her meal, grabbed her bag, and said she was in a hurry and leaving. She also said she wouldn’t come back for dinner.

When she got to the subway station, she checked the time and saw it was still early. So, she found a seat in a nearby coffee shop, ordered a cup of coffee, and started chatting with Chi Yao.

But Chi Yao said there was a problem with the project. The boss was very angry and had checked data all night. She was now catching up on sleep and told Zhou Zhou not to disturb her.

Zhou Zhou sighed and sat there feeling bored for a while. Then she hurried to the industrial park where she already had an appointment.

This afternoon, there were two places to visit, both in the Houhu District.

One was an old home appliance factory, and the other was a biopharmaceutical company.

After finishing at both places, it was already 4:30 pm. Mayor Xu said he wanted to quickly check on the recent sales of big consumer goods and asked if Houhu District could find a car sales company.

The district official accompanying them immediately contacted a car company.

This area was known as a car city, with many car brands having stores there.

But when the car stopped, Zhou Zhou realized the place they came to was actually the store owned by Cheng Yanran’s family.