Cheng Xiyu settled into the car, wearily pinching the bridge of his straight nose.
Wang Ye, seated in the driver’s seat awaiting instructions, cautiously asked, “Mr. Cheng, shall we return to the military compound? The residence prepared for you there has been renovated. We could go see if it suits your needs.”
“Not there,” Cheng Xiyu replied, recalling the message he’d received at noon. “Take me to Jiang Shu’s place.”
It was almost 8 p.m. Jiang Shu should have finished work by now, probably at home preparing dinner while waiting for him. The thought eased his mood slightly.
Cheng Xiyu didn’t have strong preferences when it came to food—no particular favorites nor strong dislikes. After years in the military, even the pickiest eater would learn to eat anything. Yet, he genuinely enjoyed Jiang Shu’s cooking, though he couldn’t quite explain why. It was just simple home-cooked meals, after all.
Perhaps what he truly liked was watching Jiang Shu cook. Under the warm glow of the lights, his adoring little lover would serve steaming dishes to the table, filling the air with an inviting aroma—a warmth he had never experienced in his first twenty-six years of life.
It wasn’t as if no one had cooked for him before. During his youthful romance with Bai Yiyi, she had spent weeks learning to prepare meals and desserts, eagerly bringing him lunchboxes. But for some reason, she eventually stopped. Perhaps it was because he often forgot to eat them, only remembering when the food had long gone cold.
When he arrived at Jiang Shu’s apartment, no one was home. Pushing the door open, he was met with darkness. Jiang Shu wasn’t there—only the steady ticking of the wall clock broke the silence.
The tenderness he had felt moments earlier evaporated. Impatient, he dialed Jiang Shu’s number.
As the call connected, he thought he heard a man’s voice trying to strike up a conversation. Jiang Shu said something politely, and the man’s voice faded away.
It seemed Jiang Shu was even more popular than he had assumed.
“Are you out alone?” His tone was cold, rendered even icier by the digital transmission.
“…No, I’m with Lin Xiao—with Miaomiao. She had some matters to attend to… Have you returned?” Jiang Shu replied after a brief silence.
Miaomiao… Lin Miaomiao? He recalled she was Jiamu’s cousin.
Cheng Xiyu gave a noncommittal “Hmm.” He didn’t ask what the matter was, and she didn’t offer an explanation.
Glancing outside at the darkening sky, he initially considered waiting for her at home but inexplicably changed his mind. “Where are you? I’ll come pick you up later.”
On the other end, Jiang Shu seemed taken aback before responding, “Okay.”
Jiang Shu didn’t own a car—whether she knew how to drive was unclear. Early in their relationship, he had offered her one, but she declined.
With nighttime being unsafe, he didn’t mind fulfilling his boyfriend duties to make her happy. If it were Bai Yiyi from the past, she would have insisted he come fetch her.
It wasn’t until he started the engine that he realized Jiang Shu had never really asked him for anything. Aside from when he helped transfer her mother to the hospital initially, she had never made any demands of him.
As a result, her presence in his life felt faint. If he hadn’t been spending more time in Nan City lately, he might have almost forgotten about this little lover of his.Jiang Shu was quiet and easily content. The card he had given her seemed untouched, as if simply being by his side and seeing him every day was enough to bring her happiness and joy. She was different from other mistresses—while others demanded houses and cars, she only wanted him.
Over at the hotpot restaurant, a group of male university students pushed a tall, handsome young man forward. Clearly popular on campus, he blushed slightly and asked, “…Miss, are you also from Nan University?”
Jiang Shu replied, “I’ve already graduated.”
“So you’re an alumna… Could I add you on WeChat?”
Lin Miaomiao, who had never witnessed such a scene before, noticed the young man’s neck flushing with nervousness as he shyly opened his phone’s QR code.
Indeed, even the shyest boys muster courage when they meet a girl they like.
“…Sorry, that’s not convenient,” Jiang Shu responded politely, her expression unchanged, as if she had merely answered a casual question rather than been approached by a handsome stranger.
“Oh… alright, my apologies,” the young man replied, dejected but gentlemanly, returning to his seat without further insistence.
His friends immediately crowded around, asking if he had succeeded. He shook his head glumly.
After declining him, Jiang Shu received a call from Cheng Xiyu.
Seated at the table, surrounded by the rising steam and rich aroma of the boiling hotpot, she held her phone after ending the call, feeling a vague sense of heaviness. He had been returning home frequently lately, and she didn’t like it.
“Shushu-jie, is Xiyu-ge picking you up? Don’t worry, I won’t snitch—my lips are sealed!”
Jiang Shu looked puzzled. “Snitch?”
“Hehe, yeah! Xiyu-ge is super possessive. If he found out a handsome guy asked for your WeChat, he’d definitely get jealous!”
Jiang Shu wanted to say, “No, he wouldn’t care,” but she only smiled faintly.
“You two are so perfect together! When will I find a boyfriend as considerate as Xiyu-ge? Sigh…”
“………………………”
Considerate? Cheng Xiyu? The thought almost made her laugh. Associating that word with him felt surreal to Jiang Shu.
He was domineering, aloof, and shrewd. Occasionally, he showed traces of warmth, and sometimes she sensed loneliness in him—though she later dismissed it as her imagination. A man like him only needed to beckon, and countless attractive men and women would willingly throw themselves at him. What did he have to do with loneliness?
He was undoubtedly exceptional—just not hers.
“Hey, Shushu-jie, your boyfriend’s here!” Lin Miaomiao emphasized the word “boyfriend” with playful teasing.
Her boyfriend was here?
Jiang Shu froze for a moment.
She turned to look outside the hotpot restaurant.
Through the wooden-framed glass window, Cheng Xiyu stood in a simple white shirt and black trousers, elevating the basic suit into something runway-worthy—casual yet stylish. He exuded the untouchable aura of a frosty flower, tempered with a soldier’s sharp, commanding presence, drawing sidelong glances from passersby.
Jiang Shu and Lin Miaomiao walked out of the hotpot restaurant together.
“Sister Shu, I’ll head off first, let’s meet up another day~ Bye, Brother Xiyu~” Lin Miaomiao hopped toward her little red car—she didn’t want to be a third wheel.
The lights were dim, the night was enchanting…
She looked up at Cheng Xiyu, and he was gazing back at her. In the darkness, she couldn’t quite make out the expression in his eyes.
The moment their eyes met, she felt a fleeting sense of déjà vu. It was as if a scene from many years ago had resurfaced—under the phoenix tree at the high school gate, someone had once waited for her just like that.
A tall, slender boy with clear, bright eyes, dressed in a blue-and-white school uniform, stood beneath the tree, smiling gently at her 16-year-old self. The midsummer sun shone brightly, and a soft breeze rustled the leaves…
Lost in the memory, past and present overlapped—her footsteps quickened, faster and faster, until she broke into a light run and threw herself into his arms, just as she had at sixteen.
A sudden breeze stirred, her heartbeat quickened, and her warm, hurried breath brushed against his neck. When she looked up at him, her eyes sparkled like bright stars.
Cheng Xiyu chuckled softly and reached out to ruffle her hair.