Dealing with men is troublesome.
Dealing with men you don’t like is even more troublesome.
Dealing with a man you don’t like but can’t afford to openly offend is the most troublesome of all.
Shen Zhili sighed.
Forget it. When Xie Yuchi comes to pick her up at noon, she’ll find an opportunity to make things clear once and for all.
The whispers of the girls around her continued, tinged with a sour envy.
“Oh my god, Xie Yuchi treats Shen Zhili so well.”
“Exactly. If I were Shen Zhili, I would’ve agreed to be with him long ago. Why keep him hanging?”
“Handsome, from a good family, and so gentle—where do you find a perfect boyfriend like that?”
“Too bad he only likes Shen Zhili…”
“…”
Listening to these almost dreamlike discussions, Shen Zhili couldn’t help but twitch the corner of her mouth.
Indeed, a person’s greatest charm always comes from others’ imaginations.
Xie Yuchi was like a precisely measured cup of warm water—perfect in temperature, purity, and taste—but ultimately bland.
She didn’t like him.
She liked spicy guys.
Besides, right now, her mind was filled with nothing but Jiang Xianzhuo’s face, cold enough to freeze ice.
Just then, her phone vibrated.
Shen Zhili quickly picked it up, thinking Jiang Xianzhuo had finally replied.
But when she opened it, it was a message from Qiao Yi.
[Lili! I found out! Jiang Xianzhuo lives in an apartment building twenty kilometers east of the school called Qingshan Apartments, third floor, unit 302!]
[He works part-time at the 24-hour convenience store downstairs from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. every night!]
[Also, he doesn’t seem to eat at the school cafeteria much. He brings his own lunch every day…]
Shen Zhili stared at these messages, her fingers pausing on the screen for a few seconds.
Qingshan Apartments.
Unit 302.
She silently memorized these two pieces of information, then shifted her attention to the words “brings his own lunch.”
Shen Zhili pursed her lips lightly.
A familiar, slightly aggrieved craving surged up without warning.
She missed her husband’s beer-braised duck.
She missed the tender, fall-off-the-bone duck meat, the rich and savory sauce that melted in her mouth, and the addictive aroma that seeped into every crevice of the bones.
She also missed her husband cooking duck for her.
She missed being held in his arms, listening to his low, slightly raspy voice as he whispered in her ear:
“Does it suit the young lady’s taste today?”
Sigh.
…
The lunch break bell rang on time.
Shen Zhili tossed her books into her bag, zipped it up, and had just stepped out of the classroom when she saw Xie Yuchi already waiting at the door.
He was still his usual gentle and polite self, dressed in a clean white shirt. When he saw her, a perfectly appropriate smile appeared on his face.
“Let’s go.”
Before he could speak, Shen Zhili took the lead and walked ahead.
Qinzhou Academy’s cafeteria was divided into three floors.
The first floor was the ordinary student dining hall, noisy and crowded.
The second floor was an exclusive high-end restaurant requiring a card for entry.
The third floor consisted of completely private VIP rooms, with service and prices no different from top-tier restaurants outside.
The price and standard of each floor were worlds apart, much like their social statuses.
Xie Yuchi naturally took her to the third floor.
“I reserved a private room.”
He pressed the up button, turned to Shen Zhili, and spoke in a gentle voice.
Shen Zhili remained silent.
Her mind was racing as she searched for the right words, trying to figure out how to phrase things in a way that would make her position clear without embarrassing either family.
The elevator doors slid open silently, and the two of them stepped inside one after the other.
Just then, footsteps echoed from the stairwell.
Jiang Xianzhuo descended the stairs, holding a cleanly washed lunchbox in his hand.
He had just finished eating on the rooftop and was heading back to the classroom.
At that moment, his gaze locked onto the two people inside the elevator.
Shen Zhili stood at the front, wearing a beautiful dress, her slender and proud figure visible from behind.
Xie Yuchi stood behind her, slightly turned to the side, his posture intimate and protective, like a perfect pair.
The elevator doors slowly closed.
The narrowing gap severed his line of sight.
Jiang Xianzhuo stood still, watching the red numbers on the elevator panel outside climb upward until they finally stopped at “3.”
For some reason, he suddenly felt the lunchbox in his hand, which he had just rinsed with cold water, was now uncomfortably warm.
A few seconds passed before Jiang Xianzhuo lowered his gaze and continued walking toward the classroom, his expression blank.
…
In the private room on the third floor.
Shen Zhili sat down at the table covered with a pristine white tablecloth, watching as Xie Yuchi skillfully flipped open the menu and ordered for her.
“You mentioned the other day that the steak here is pretty good, so I had them prepare it in advance,” Xie Yuchi said gently, pushing a glass of lemon water toward her.
Shen Zhili didn’t touch the glass.
She set her phone down and looked directly at the flawless man sitting across from her.
“Xie Yuchi, we need to talk.”
Xie Yuchi paused briefly while ordering, then a knowing smile reappeared on his face.
“Do you think I’ve been… a bit too impatient lately?”
He set the menu aside and leaned forward slightly.
“It’s fine, I can wait.”
“No.”
Shen Zhili shook her head, cutting off his presumptuous consideration.
“What I mean is, you don’t need to pursue me anymore.”
The room fell silent for a few seconds.
The smile on Xie Yuchi’s face gradually faded away.
He stared at Shen Zhili for a moment, his light brown eyes, which usually held warmth and amusement, now devoid of any emotion.
“Is it because of Jiang Xianzhuo?”
Shen Zhili froze.
“I saw you this morning in the square.”
Xie Yuchi’s voice remained gentle and unreadable: “You’ve never bothered with things like that before.”
Shen Zhili didn’t respond.
Xie Yuchi didn’t seem to care about her answer, continuing on his own: “Zhili, even if you don’t like me, the two of you are impossible.”
“You’re not from the same world.”
Hearing this, Shen Zhili let out a derisive laugh. “Not from the same world? Is he an alien?”
“So you are interested in him,” Xie Yuchi’s lips twitched slightly. “Because of his face?”
Shen Zhili’s brow furrowed.
She didn’t want to continue this pointless conversation.
The next second, she stood up, looking down at Xie Yuchi, who remained seated.
“Aren’t you overstepping a bit? You’re meddling too much.”
“And where exactly do you get the confidence to speak to me in that tone?”
Shen Zhili picked up her bag and delivered her final remark.
“I still hope you can maintain the impeccable sense of boundaries you had before.”
After speaking, she pushed open the heavy door of the private room and walked away without looking back.
In his seat, the fake smile on Xie Yuchi’s lips completely vanished. For the first time, a crack appeared in the expression on his gentle face.
He took out his phone and dialed a number.
“Help me find out the specific hours Jiang Xianzhuo works at the convenience store.”