Xie Jing abruptly opened his eyes.
The faint, intoxicating fragrance of red wine seemed to linger at the tip of his nose, along with all the uncontrollable desire and overwhelming passion he’d experienced in his dream.
Closing his eyes, the man raised a hand and gently pressed his temples, trying to calm the chaos in his mind.
At the end of the dream, had “Xie Jing” been discovered by his mother?
Had he really taken advantage of someone in such a vulnerable state?
Then again, it made sense.
The “Xie Jing” in his dreams merely appeared calm, restrained, and reserved on the surface. Deep down, his personality was fundamentally arrogant, conceited, and self-centered.
Otherwise, after learning that he had a fiancée named Cheng Xin and discovering that she didn’t meet his expectations, he wouldn’t have chosen to break off their engagement without the slightest hesitation.
Later, after coming to understand Cheng Xin’s true personality, he’d inevitably found himself attracted to her. His obsession with her had only deepened through their daily interactions.
Like a spring being compressed tighter and tighter, it was only natural that the dream’s “Xie Jing” would eventually cross that boundary at some critical moment.
What worried Xie Jing was whether his dream counterpart would go even further in the future.
After all, both he and the dream’s “Xie Jing” had personally witnessed just how deeply Cheng Xin and Xie Yan loved each other.
Ironically, it was “Xie Jing” himself who had brought about that unwavering, everlasting love in the first place.
Who on earth had come up with such a hopelessly tangled storyline?
Xie Jing slowly opened his eyes.
He carefully shut away every absurd, intimate image from the dream, then threw back the covers and got out of bed.
*
Thursday morning was bright and sunny, with temperatures gradually rising.
Cheng Xin had barely stepped into the office when Sister Zhou, who was coming out of the break room, immediately brightened.
Smiling teasingly, she asked, “Little Cheng, why are you dressed up so beautifully today? Is something going on?”
Before Cheng Xin could answer, Yan Xiyue, who had turned around upon hearing the commotion, sprang to her feet.
She rushed over like a whirlwind, grabbed Cheng Xin’s arm, and examined her from every angle.
Cheng Xin wore a white sleeveless bubble-hem dress paired with a blue-and-white striped shawl. An off-white chain-strap handbag hung from her shoulder, and she had blue canvas shoes on her feet.
She’d even applied a little light makeup.
Her entire appearance was simple and gentle, and even the large black-framed glasses perched on her nose no longer seemed out of place.
“Confess everything, and we’ll go easy on you. Resist, and we’ll be ruthless! Tell me what’s going on. Why are you dressed so nicely today? Is it for a date? Wait, don’t tell me it’s for that blind date!”
As though something had suddenly occurred to her, Yan Xiyue asked in disbelief.
“A blind date?” Sister Zhou was also somewhat surprised.
In her opinion, someone with Cheng Xin’s qualities shouldn’t have any need to resort to blind dates.
“Congratulations, you guessed correctly. Unfortunately, there’s no prize.”
Looking utterly miserable, Cheng Xin gave Yan Xiyue a thumbs-up before sighing softly.
“Do you think I wanted to dress up like this? Teacher Dong video-called me first thing this morning to supervise me personally. I couldn’t even get away with doing the bare minimum.”
Yan Xiyue had known for some time that Cheng Xin’s mother was somewhat controlling.
For example, she sent messages at exactly seven every evening to check on Cheng Xin’s whereabouts. And when Cheng Xin was still in school, she had absolutely forbidden her from getting too close to any boys.
But when Yan Xiyue thought about it carefully, Cheng Xin had attended Yicheng University, several hundred kilometers away from her hometown.
After graduating, she’d even chosen to remain in Yicheng instead of returning home.
Yet Teacher Dong hadn’t strongly opposed either decision.
From that perspective, she didn’t seem quite so controlling after all.
Yan Xiyue couldn’t figure it out.
Because of her outfit today, wherever Cheng Xin went in the company, acquaintances from other departments would compliment her.
She could only blush and repeatedly thank them.
At this rate, even her social anxiety was going to be cured.
Meanwhile, far away in Hai City, inside a private club…
Shao Wenzhou had lost all his gambling chips.
Using the excuse that he wanted a cigarette, he slipped out of the room, found a soft sofa, and sank into it.
Then he took out his phone and began pestering Xie Jing.
The video call rang several times before someone finally answered.
Xie Jing’s cool, handsome face immediately appeared on the small screen.
“You’re in the office again? Xie Jing, is there any hope for a workaholic like you? All you ever do is go between home and the company. Even an ascetic monk doesn’t live as miserably as you!”
Shao Wenzhou complained indignantly.
Xie Jing neither agreed nor disagreed.
He simply lowered his head and continued reading his documents, letting his friend talk.
“Hey, Xie Jing, did you know Chen Chuo has returned to China?”
“I heard something about it.”
“As expected of President Xie. You’re always well-informed. Zhengming and the others organized a welcome-back party for Chen Chuo today and invited me along. Everyone’s playing cards in the private room right now.”
“That brat Chen Chuo finally got a chance to show off. He’s winning money left and right. If you were here, he wouldn’t have a chance to shine. It’s really a case of the monkey becoming king when the tiger’s away.”
Everyone in Hai City’s circle of wealthy second-generation heirs knew about Xie Jing’s exceptional mathematical and learning abilities.
When it came to something like Texas Hold’em poker, if Xie Jing wanted to win, losing simply wasn’t an option.
Back when they were students, Chen Chuo had often secretly competed with Xie Jing.
Later, after watching Xie Jing skip grades, his confidence had been completely shattered.
He’d turned around and gone abroad, only returning recently.
“Hey, there’s something else you probably don’t know.”
Shao Wenzhou leaned mysteriously toward the screen.
“What?” Xie Jing asked casually.
“Zhengming’s younger sister might be entering an arranged marriage with Chen Chuo,” Shao Wenzhou whispered.
Xie Jing frowned.
“An arranged marriage?”
Shao Wenzhou leaned back indifferently.
“What else? You know how things work for people like us. Either we grit our teeth and achieve something on our own, or we obediently lie back and accept a marriage alliance.”
“I heard from Zhengming that the two of them have already started meeting privately. Neither seems opposed to the idea.”
“Speaking of which, my older sister is holding things together for our family right now. Don’t tell me I’ll end up having to enter an arranged marriage someday too?”
“How hateful! I haven’t even found my true love yet, and I’m already going to be reduced to a commodity by capitalism.”
Shao Wenzhou had successfully completed his daily lament about the possibility of being married off.
After finishing his complaints, he casually asked Xie Jing another question.
“Oh, right. Has that Peachwood Rabbit I sent you to attract your destined romantic partner worked yet? Have you met any girls you’ve taken a liking to recently?”
He’d expected Xie Jing, given his personality, to respond coldly with something like “How boring,” or simply ignore him.
But Xie Jing hesitated.
On the screen, Xie Jing had hesitated.
Shao Wenzhou knew him well enough to recognize that tiny movement of his lips.
He was absolutely hesitating!
Holy shit!
Shao Wenzhou abruptly sat upright.
“Wait a minute, buddy! Has the old tree finally blossomed? No, that’s not right—the iron tree has blossomed!”
“Quick, tell me! The girl who flashed through your mind just now—what’s her name? Where does she live? What does she look like? What’s her personality like?”
Shao Wenzhou’s shouting was giving Xie Jing a headache.
Why hadn’t he noticed before that his friend was so unbearably noisy?
Fortunately, his assistant Qin Feng appeared just in time to interrupt Shao Wenzhou’s endless questioning.
“President Xie, you have dinner scheduled with General Manager Wang from Risk Control and the others tonight. It’s almost time.”
Hearing this, Shao Wenzhou’s eyes darted around.
“All right, all right. I won’t bother you anymore, Mr. Busy. We’ll have a proper chat about this later.”
Shao Wenzhou ended the video call first.
Xie Jing frowned deeply.
He knew Shao Wenzhou far too well.
With that man’s tendency to stir up trouble whenever something interesting happened, there was absolutely no doubt that he’d cause some kind of commotion later.
He shouldn’t have hesitated.
*
At precisely 6:30 that evening, Cheng Xin appeared in the lobby of Yicheng’s Cloud Restaurant.
From a distance, she spotted a man in a suit sitting at their agreed-upon table.
His hair was neatly combed back to one side, and his appearance was admittedly decent, with thick eyebrows and large eyes.
Unfortunately, whenever he smiled, wrinkles spread out from the corners of his eyes, and his gaze looked particularly dull and murky.
With just one glance, Cheng Xin instinctively disliked him.
Although Cheng Xin had a gentle and obedient personality, she’d always been surrounded by good people throughout her life.
She’d never experienced bullying, exclusion by cliques, or anything of that sort.
That was because whenever she encountered someone whose personality clashed with hers, she would immediately choose to distance herself.
It seemed today’s blind date was destined to disappoint Teacher Dong.
Sure enough, the man sitting across from her could only maintain his gentlemanly, considerate act for ten minutes before his true nature began showing.
Perhaps Cheng Xin’s shy and obedient demeanor had also given him the wrong impression.
Whatever the reason, outrageous remarks began pouring from his mouth.
“Miss Cheng, since we’re both here with marriage in mind, I think it’s better to establish some ground rules from the beginning.”
“First, we’ll definitely need to sign a marriage agreement. You know what industry I work in.”
“Second, after we’re married, I don’t particularly like the idea of my wife working outside the home and constantly appearing in public. In the future, you only need to stay home, do the housework, and take care of the children and my parents. My salary is more than enough to support you.”
“Finally, I really like children. I hope we can have three after marriage, preferably two boys and one girl.”
“If I remember correctly, you’re already twenty-six, right? You’ll soon be past your optimal childbearing age, so we’ll need to move through the necessary steps as quickly as possible. What do you think?”
Cheng Xin felt as though she was witnessing the astonishing diversity of the human species for the very first time.
She would bet anything that Teacher Dong hadn’t properly investigated this man’s true character.
Otherwise, there was no way her mother would have sent her here to suffer through this ordeal.
“Is there anything else?” Cheng Xin asked with a forced smile.
After this experience, considering how much Teacher Dong valued her reputation, she probably wouldn’t pressure Cheng Xin into another blind date for at least the next two or three years.
Just thinking about it made Cheng Xin a little happy.
“One more thing. I have quite a lot of business engagements, so after we’re married, there may be occasions when I have to flirt with other women for appearances’ sake. As my wife, I hope you’ll be understanding and won’t make a fuss about it.”
The more the man spoke, the more enthusiastic he became.
Cheng Xin was reaching the limits of her patience.
She was just about to speak when the man opposite her stood up first and announced that he needed to use the restroom.
After he left, Cheng Xin took out her phone and opened her chat with Yan Xiyue.
Her fingers flew across the screen so quickly that they almost seemed to be throwing sparks.
She absolutely had to complain.
There was no way she could keep this to herself!
Yan Xiyue truly lived up to her reputation as Cheng Xin’s best friend.
When she started insulting the blind-date guy, her words were so venomous that Cheng Xin felt immensely satisfied just reading them.
At that moment, Cheng Xin, who was completely absorbed in venting her frustrations, had no idea that the man leaving the restroom would unexpectedly cross paths with Xie Jing, who had also come to dine at the restaurant.
The blind-date guy didn’t recognize Xie Jing.
But he immediately noticed the understated yet exquisitely tailored handmade suit Xie Jing was wearing, along with the expensive Patek Philippe watch on his wrist.
Whoa. That’s some serious money.
Having worked in finance for years, the man was familiar with most of Yicheng’s wealthy and influential figures.
Yet he’d never seen this person before.
Looking more closely at Xie Jing’s face, the corners of his mouth turned downward slightly.
With looks and a figure like that, combined with such expensive clothing, there was a good chance he was some wealthy woman’s handsome young companion.
Of course, it was also possible that he was being kept by a rich man.
After spending so many years in finance, he’d seen plenty of arrangements like that.
For some inexplicable reason, just as they were about to pass each other, the man deliberately swung his shoulder toward Xie Jing with considerable force.
But Xie Jing was exceptionally perceptive.
With an almost imperceptible sideways step, he effortlessly avoided the collision.
The blind-date guy’s shoulder struck nothing.
Unable to control his momentum, the man stumbled forward and nearly crashed into the wall.
Xie Jing stopped walking and slowly turned around.
His eyes were like a deep, icy pool.
Calm….
Cold…
Carrying the detached, condescending scrutiny of someone accustomed to holding power.
He simply stood there, silently watching the man.
After finally steadying himself against the wall, the blind-date guy met those dark eyes, which seemed capable of seeing through everything.
For some reason, his heart trembled.
But he maintained a composed expression and smiled.
“Sorry about that. Lost my balance.”
Xie Jing didn’t even spare him another glance.
He turned around indifferently and walked away.
However, after the blind-date guy straightened his clothes and emerged from the corridor, he happened to look toward the main hall.
The sight before him struck him like a bolt of lightning.
The “pretty boy” he’d looked down on was currently being fawned over by General Manager Wang from Risk Control—a man he ordinarily couldn’t even get close enough to flatter.
General Manager Wang was bending slightly at the waist, his face covered in an ingratiating smile.
Several other prominent businessmen, who normally carried themselves with lofty arrogance, were also gathered around the young man, treating him like the center of the universe.
The group soon disappeared toward the staircase.
In an instant, cold sweat soaked the blind-date guy’s back.
And so, when the man finally returned from the restroom, Cheng Xin was greeted by the sight of his deathly pale face and distracted, almost soulless expression.
What’s going on? Did he see a ghost?
Who would’ve thought that ghosts would come out to uphold justice before nightfall?
Originally, Cheng Xin had been planning to find an excuse to leave.
But seeing the man sitting there as though on pins and needles, her appetite suddenly returned.
While the person opposite her had completely lost his appetite, Cheng Xin successfully ate until she was stuffed.
She’d eaten her meal and vented her frustrations.
Now she wanted to leave.
Unfortunately, the man in front of her showed no intention of moving.
That was until she spotted Xie Jing in the distance, emerging near the staircase surrounded by a group of people.
To think I’d run into Xie Jing even in a place like this.
We really must be fated to meet!
I should look at him a little longer to cleanse my eyes.
The moment the blind-date guy saw Xie Jing, he abruptly stood up.
He quickly told Cheng Xin that he’d thoroughly enjoyed their blind date and suggested she go home and carefully consider his proposals.
“There’s no need to think about it.”
Cheng Xin picked up her handbag and rose gracefully, offering him a slight smile.
“You don’t meet my standards for a partner. We’ll split the bill. I already paid my half while you were in the restroom.”
“Goodbye. Oh, no—let’s never meet again.”
“And one last thing. You’re incredibly pretentious.”
After delivering those words with a smile, Cheng Xin turned and walked away.
The man froze.
A moment later, anger surged through him.
He wanted to chase after Cheng Xin and demand an explanation.
But when he noticed Xie Jing not far away, he only hesitated for two seconds before deciding that his career was more important.
He hurriedly straightened his tie and approached Xie Jing.
Unfortunately, before he could even get close, someone discreetly stepped in and blocked his path.
As the night grew deeper, a Rolls-Royce waited outside the restaurant.
In the back seat, Xie Jing leaned tiredly against the seat, using his phone to deal with several urgent overseas emails.
The reason they were still waiting there was that Qin Feng had left something behind in the private dining room.
The car window was lowered halfway.
The cool night breeze flowed inside, dispersing the lingering smell of alcohol from the business dinner.
Just then, a lighthearted yet strangely familiar voice drifted in through the window.
“…Teacher Dong is my mother, not his. Of course she’ll believe me. She knows I don’t like lying.”
“Anyway, now that I’ve gotten through this ordeal, she probably won’t pressure me into another blind date so easily.”
“Oh, my ride’s here. Gotta go. Bye!”
Xie Jing suddenly pushed open the car door.
Almost instinctively, he looked around in every direction.
But he couldn’t see a single familiar figure.
“President Xie, is something wrong?”
Qin Feng, who had just returned with the forgotten item, asked politely.
“It’s nothing.”
Xie Jing lowered his eyelashes slightly, concealing the fleeting surprise and complicated emotions in his eyes.
Cheng Xin…
Could she actually be a real person who exists in the real world?
*
Author’s Note: Well, um… after a few more chapters, the two of them should finally meet properly~