After Meng Huaijin drove Shu Wan home, he changed his clothes and went out again.
Shu Wan was a transfer student, and it had only been a little over a month since she started at the school. She knew the names of everyone in her class, but when it came to people, she was close enough to go shopping or have meals with, there was only her deskmate, Lu Siqi.
After finishing dinner by herself and cleaning up, Shu Wan was just about to call Lu Siqi when another call came in.
Seeing the caller ID, Shu Wan hung up without a second thought.
A moment later, the phone rang again.
It was the same number.
After three repeated calls, she finally answered on the fourth, just as the ringing was about to end.
She didn’t say anything.
The person on the other end spoke first.
“Wanwan, it’s me. Zhou Ze.”
Of course she knew.
She hadn’t deleted his number.
But she remained silent.
“I came to see you, Wanwan. I’m in Beicheng now.”
Shu Wan was slightly stunned.
“What did you come to Beicheng for? Aren’t you afraid your parents will beat your legs off?”
Zhou Ze sounded like he was hurrying somewhere. She could hear the wheels of a suitcase rolling in the background.
“Can we talk in person?”
The answer was almost on the tip of Shu Wan’s tongue.
She swallowed it back and pretended to be calm.
“Let’s not. You should just go back.”
There was a pause on the other end.
Then he sighed.
“I know you’re angry and hurt because we haven’t contacted you these past few months, but that was beyond our control.”
“If I really didn’t care about you, I wouldn’t have risked being kicked out of my family just to come here and find you.”
“Anyway, I’m already here. I’m not going back unless I get to see you.”
“…”
And he might even get kicked out of the family.
The corners of Shu Wan’s lips lifted slightly.
In the end, she asked,
“Where are you? Send me your location.”
“I just left the airport and I’m about to take a taxi. I’m not familiar with Beicheng. Why don’t you pick a place, and we’ll meet there?”
Shu Wan glanced at the time.
It was seven in the evening.
She still had three hours before Meng Huaijin’s curfew.
After roughly calculating the travel time, she finally chose a pedestrian street not far from home. There were plenty of places to eat and stay nearby, so it would be convenient.
She put on her coat and took a taxi there.
After another twenty minutes of waiting, she finally saw Zhou Ze approaching with a backpack on his shoulders and a suitcase in tow.
The boy was wearing a black hoodie and a baseball cap. Standing beneath the bus stop sign, he waved at her with one hand.
“Wanwan.”
It had been nearly four months since they last saw each other.
He seemed to have grown taller again, and even his features had become more defined.
Shu Wan walked over and instinctively glanced behind him.
Zhou Ze knew exactly who she was looking for.
He reached over and casually ruffled the top of her head.
“Stop looking. Bai Fei had something come up at home, so she couldn’t come for now.”
The girl slapped his hand away and lowered her eyes.
“Mm.”
“Don’t be disappointed. When she found out I was coming, she asked me to bring you a bunch of gifts.”
Zhou Ze looked around as he spoke.
Shu Wan gave a faint smile, turned around, and led him into a restaurant run by people from southern China.
Zhou Ze looked her up and down for a long moment before sighing.
“You’ve grown taller too. And your standard of living doesn’t seem to have changed much either. Looks like your uncle is taking pretty good care of you.”
There was no problem mentioning her uncle.
But the moment he did, Shu Wan immediately glanced at the time again.
She greeted Zhou Ze to sit down, then scanned the menu with her phone and handed it to him to order.
He didn’t even look at it.
He simply pushed the phone back.
“You order whatever you like. I’m fine with anything.”
From kindergarten, elementary school, and middle school all the way through high school, they had either attended the same school or been in the same class.
After more than ten years of friendship, Shu Wan didn’t stand on ceremony with him.
She decisively ordered her favorite dishes.
Only after placing the order did she properly look at Zhou Ze.
To be honest, she had never imagined that he would actually come all the way to Beicheng to see her.
But now that he was here, Shu Wan was genuinely happy.
And relieved.
It was the kind of happiness and comfort that came straight from the heart.
After all, before this, she had once believed that she simply couldn’t hold on to anyone.
Whether it was her closest family members or the friends she had grown up with, they all seemed to leave her in the end.
“Does your mom know?” she asked.
Zhou Ze shook his head, then nodded.
“I told her I was going traveling. She can probably guess where I really went.”
“Then why did you say you might get kicked out of the family?”
“Who knows? I might get kicked out when I go back.”
Shu Wan rolled her eyes at him, then suddenly fell silent.
The boy studied her for a moment before speaking seriously.
“Don’t be sad, Wanwan. We’ll always be here.”
Shu Wan lowered her eyes and fiddled with her teacup.
In a quiet voice, she muttered,
“A man’s words are the biggest lies.”
“Where did you learn that?”
Zhou Ze looked surprised.
Of course, she had originally used that phrase to describe her uncle.
Now, she was using it to describe all men.
He continued,
“I mean it. Where are you planning to go to college? Are you staying in Beicheng? If you are, I’ll apply to a university here too.”
The food arrived.
Everything Shu Wan had ordered was vegetarian except for one meat dish, which she had specifically ordered for Zhou Ze.
The boy glanced at the food in front of her.
Without saying anything, he asked the server to take the meat dish away.
Then he lowered his head and ate vegetarian food with her.
“We’ll see how my scores turn out.”
It was only after they were halfway through the meal that Shu Wan finally spoke.
“I’ll see how many points I can get when the time comes.”
“Where did you rank in the class on this round of exams?” Zhou Ze asked.
Shu Wan replied calmly,
“Third in my class. Sixth in the entire grade.”
The boy raised an eyebrow.
“That good? Did your uncle hire you a private tutor?”
“Heh. He is my private tutor.”
“Then he must be pretty impressive!”
Zhou Ze asked,
“Is he strict with you?”
Strict?
That wasn’t strict.
That was extremely strict!
Thinking about that face, Shu Wan glanced at the clock again.
It was already past nine.
She quickly put down her chopsticks.
“Are you finished? If you are, let’s go. I’ll book you a hotel.”
“I’m finished.”
Zhou Ze waved his hand.
“How could I let you book a hotel for me? I already made a reservation. It’s nearby.”
Shu Wan looked at the location on his phone.
It really was close enough to walk.
“Are you free tomorrow? Be my tour guide?”
The two walked along the street as Zhou Ze chatted casually.
“I’m actually not very familiar with this area either,” Shu Wan admitted honestly. “Let’s look at a map together tomorrow.”
The boy smiled.
“Sure.”
Zhou Ze was a proper rich secondgeneration heir, so the hotel he had booked was fivestar.
Shu Wan walked him to the front desk.
Seeing that the time was getting closer and closer to Meng Huaijin’s curfew, she hurriedly told Zhou Ze,
“Tomorrow, I’ll take you to the Great Wall.”
Then she quickly left.
“Your gift! I brought you a gift!”
Zhou Ze called out to her from the lobby.
The girl stopped a taxi by the roadside and waved at him.
“I’ll come get it another day!”
Who would have thought the traffic would be so bad?
Shu Wan ended up being a full half hour late.
By the time she breathlessly opened the door, Meng Huaijin was already home.
The man was sitting in the single armchair beneath the balcony window.
Behind him stood rows of towering buildings, their lights casting a vast glow into the night.
His tall, slender figure seemed to blend into the darkness, alternately illuminated and obscured by the lights.
He looked both handsome and sharp.
Their eyes met.
Shu Wan stood there dazed for several seconds before forcing out a smile.
“You’re back.”
Meng Huaijin didn’t answer.
He slowly separated his interlocked fingers from where they rested on his knees and tapped the watch on his wrist.
“Traffic was terrible. I kept the driver’s number. If you don’t believe me, you can call him and ask.”
Shu Wan poured herself a glass of warm water and gulped it down.
Then she noticed the food Meng Huaijin had brought back.
She opened one of the containers, took a piece of seaweed sushi, and stuffed it into her mouth.
“Out with a classmate?”
Meng Huaijin looked at her puffedup cheeks.
Shu Wan nodded.
“A girl?”
She strategically took another sip of water.
“My deskmate, Lu Siqi. You’ve met her before.”
The last time she had shed only two tears because she was heartbroken over the loss of her friendship, he had immediately asked if it was because of a boyfriend.
This time, the person really had come to see her.
There was no way Shu Wan would dare tell him the truth.
Because in the eyes of adults like him, there was no such thing as pure friendship between a boy and a girl.
Fortunately, Meng Huaijin didn’t press her.
He only reminded her not to eat too much at night before entering his bedroom.
Not long afterward, the sound of running water came from inside.
He was taking a shower.
Shu Wan’s thick eyelashes fluttered several times.
She quickly put the unfinished food into the refrigerator and left the living room.
The next day, Meng Huaijin, who also happened to have the day off, unexpectedly showed mercy and asked Shu Wan,
“Is there anywhere you want to go?”
Normally, she would have been overjoyed to hear that.
But this time was different.
Zhou Ze had risked being kicked out of his family just to come see her.
If she simply abandoned him and refused to accompany him, she would be a terrible friend.
“I made plans with a classmate to climb the Great Wall.”
Shu Wan met Meng Huaijin’s eyes and tried her best to sound natural.
The man gave a quiet “Mm” and reminded her to be careful.
That evening, because they had taken the wrong exit at the scenic area and ended up walking around for a long time, Shu Wan arrived home twenty minutes late.
Meng Huaijin was no longer as indifferent as he had been the night before.
He stared at the girl for a moment before asking coldly,
“Shu Wan, what happened today?”
She told him the truth.
She explained that they had gotten lost looking for the exit.
But she concealed the fact that the person she had gone out with was Zhou Ze.
On the second day and the third day, Shu Wan managed to return home right on time.
Meng Huaijin’s expression, however, grew colder with each passing day.
Until the fourth day.
Because she needed to pick up the gifts Zhou Ze had brought for her from Nancheng, Shu Wan went to the hotel with him before heading home.
When the hotel receptionist saw her about to get into the elevator with a boy, she kindly reminded her,
“Miss, if you’re staying here, you’ll need to register your ID.”
“I’m not staying here.”
Shu Wan immediately clarified.
The receptionist obviously didn’t believe her.
Many couples came to hotels repeating.
Then, after wandering around for a while, the woman would quietly follow the man into the room.
“I’m sorry, miss, but that’s our policy. Everyone staying here must provide an ID.”
The receptionist continued smiling politely.
“She’s just going upstairs to pick something up.”
Zhou Ze explained.
The receptionist had seen this kind of situation countless times and handled it smoothly.
“I’m sorry, sir, but we still need to register her. If your girlfriend doesn’t have her ID with her, she can provide her ID number instead.”
“I have it. I have it.”
Shu Wan didn’t have time to argue with the receptionist, much less explain herself.
Luckily, her ID was in her bag.
She took it out and handed it to the receptionist.
“Shu Wan.”
Suddenly, a deep and intimidating voice rang through the air.
Shu Wan’s pupils contracted violently.
Her heart instantly jumped into her throat.
In the blink of an eye, it felt as though she had been thrown into a frozen wasteland, leaving her so cold she could barely speak.
She hurriedly pulled back the hand holding her ID and stiffly turned her head.
Then, out of pure panic, she blurted out instinctively,
“II swear, we didn’t do anything!”
Meng Huaijin narrowed his eyes slightly.
His gaze, cold and deep as a frozen abyss, lingered meaningfully on her and Zhou Ze—the boy standing beside her while they were checking into the hotel.
The icy light in his eyes was so intimidating that it felt like a razorsharp blade piercing straight into her heart.
For a moment, she could hardly breathe.