24、
After sending Anning back, Moting returned to his dorm to grab something. The moment he walked in, he saw quite a few gift boxes piled on his desk. Zhang Qi had just entered too, and when he looked up and saw him, he laughed.
“All from your admirers. Heh, even my girlfriend sent one.”
Xu Moting was genuinely in a good mood today. “I brought a few cans of beer. Have a drink with me?”
“With pleasure.”
Zhang Qi sat down on the sofa and immediately asked, “In previous years you were always too busy to breathe, only taking us brothers out for a meal the next day. But this year your schedule’s packed right from the start. You just had dinner with… Li Anning?”
Xu Moting gave a quiet “Mm,” and handed him a can of beer.
“Honestly, I really didn’t expect you to move this fast. You’ve always kept your distance from women, and suddenly—bam—you’ve got a girlfriend already.”
Moting took a sip of beer. “It’s not that fast.”
Zhang Qi patted his shoulder, signaling that everyone understood the rules. “So how did that girl chase you down? To actually conquer the number one man of the Foreign Affairs Department… not simple at all.”
“She’s in the same year as us. No need to call her ‘that girl.’” Xu Moting’s lips curved faintly. “And besides, I’m the one chasing her.”
Zhang Qi stared at him in disbelief. “You’re kidding!”
To outsiders, Xu Moting was someone blessed by family background, holding an Ivy League diploma, naturally categorized among the elite young talents. Academics, career, social connections… everything seemed effortlessly within reach, without the slightest suspense.
But only he himself knew that in the one and only relationship he truly cared about… he’d once been rejected. And this time around, it was practically by “forceful coercion” that he’d made the other party accept him.
Tsk.
Moting pressed a hand to his forehead. These days, whenever he thought of Li Anning, his chest could no longer remain as calm as before. Every now and then he would wonder where she was at that moment, what she was doing…
It was fatal.
Zhang Qi was genuinely touched. In the end he laughed. “Third Brother said it wrong before. It’s Miss Li who’s truly incredible.”
The “incredible” Li Anning headed out early the next morning to squeeze onto the subway for work, suddenly struck by the sensation of being reborn into another world.
Not because of the fresh morning air or the rising sun or any melodramatic nonsense like that.
But because…
Why were BMWs, Benzes, and Mercedes now parked outside elementary schools?
And middle schoolers… middle schoolers…
Why did they look more mature than her, an office worker?
Their uniforms were tailored suit styles, the girls wearing light makeup, while she was in jeans, a T-shirt, sneakers, and completely bare-faced…
She was bewildered.
On the subway she texted her cousin:
Anning: Should I maybe learn makeup or something?
Cousin: Yes.
Anning: Really?
Cousin: …
Cousin: Last night I dreamed my boss threw me into headquarters training.
Anning: Free overseas travel?
Cousin: My ass! First of all, our headquarters are in Germany. Second, I only brought 500 euros. Then I lost my mind and spent 490 euros on a new phone, and activated BIS without buying a data plan…
Cousin: The moment I woke up my first thought was: It’s over. Without a plan they’ll think I owe fees and detain me in Germany!!
Anning: Maybe return the phone?
Cousin: …
That day Anning barely made it to the company on time. The signal on her phone had been unstable the entire way. In the subway she’d even lost EDGE completely and fallen back to GSM. Yet the moment she reached the gates of Longtai, the signal suddenly jumped to 70 dBm.
Across the street stood a securities company.
“No wonder it’s the financial district,” she muttered. “Finally found my people.”
A colleague walking behind her heard that and laughed. “Anning, fighting guerrilla warfare?”
Embarrassed, Anning shut off the Tang and Song history page on her phone and greeted her senior properly.
The people in Longtai’s laboratory had already gotten familiar with each other last year, so there were no interpersonal or technical difficulties at work.
At noon she received a text message:
Today I won’t be returning to school. If anything comes up, call me.
Anning leaned against the window, thinking…
Mm.
It’s over.
So it’s officially become reality after all?
Should she resist a little?
Then the image of his upright and righteous appearance flashed through her mind.
Anning admitted she didn’t dare resist.
That evening when she returned to the dorm, she found Maomao standing on the balcony with a clothes pole raised high, shouting something about thunder and transmigration.
Anning: “What’s wrong with her?”
Chaoyang: “She wants to encounter Emperor Yang of Sui.”
The moment Maomao saw Anning come back, she rushed inside. “Miao! Hurry and tell me what my future husband is like!”
Coincidentally, Anning had recently been reviewing Tang dynasty history.
“Emperor Yang of Sui…” she said thoughtfully. “Although historical records do give him relatively fair evaluations for both achievements and faults, the title of tyrant can never really be escaped. Mm… thieves who steal hooks are executed, thieves who steal kingdoms become nobles. Maomao, are you sure you still want to encounter him?”
“Ahahahaha! Political instability, huh? The moment for a woman to change history has arrived!”
Then she dashed back onto the balcony again.
Chaoyang could no longer stand it. “Mao Xiaoxu, if lightning actually strikes you, we’ll only see you in the hospital.”
“Transmigration of the soul! Soul transmigration!” Maomao declared dramatically. “What you people will see is merely an empty shell without a soul. This is art, understand? It’s trendy now!”
At that moment Anning suddenly laughed.
“That reminds me of Nero’s last words: Qualis artifex pereo! Roughly meaning: ‘What an artist dies in me.’”
“……”
At that moment someone knocked on the door.
“Excuse me, who’s Li Anning?”
Anning turned her head. “I am.”
“Delivery. Please sign for it.”
“Huh? I didn’t order anything.” Confused, Anning walked over while Chaoyang immediately followed behind her.
“Wow wow, Yade’s beef dumplings and lobster pies?!”
Anning frowned. “Did you make a mistake?”
“X University, Building 14, Room 315, Li Anning. A customer dining in our restaurant ordered this delivery midway through the meal. It’s already been paid for.”
Without waiting for her to hesitate further, the delivery worker shoved the bags into her hands and turned to leave.
“……”
“Who’s this generous? And so considerate too—there’s enough for four people.” Chaoyang more or less understood what was going on. “Maomao, stop fooling around and come eat. Also call Qiangwei over from next door.”
That night Anning sent someone a text. After deliberating for ages, she only typed one word:
Thank you.
The other party replied:
You’re welcome.
“……”