The two of them ran all the way to the side entrance of HKU, where Xu Manjin pulled Shen Hua to crouch in the shade of a roadside tree.
Shen Hua was baffled. “Why are we squatting here?”
“Waiting.” Xu Manjin was brief.
Shen Hua sighed and had no choice but to crouch along with her.
About fifteen minutes later, a black Porsche slowly pulled up to the curb. The door opened, and a girl got out.
She turned and tapped on the rear window. The window rolled down, revealing a middle-aged man’s face.
The next second, without any regard for their surroundings, the two started kissing right there on the street, their intimacy glaringly obvious.
Xu Manjin spoke up from beside her. “Take a good look, sis.”
Shen Hua was completely stunned.
What shocked her even more was that over the next ten-plus minutes, three or four more luxury cars pulled up. The girls who got out of each car were probably HKU students. They exchanged brief words with the men inside—some handing over items, some hugging—with looks in their eyes that carried a familiarity and ambiguity she couldn’t quite decipher.
Xu Manjin patted her on the shoulder, her tone tinged with complexity. “See that? This is the ‘rule of the game’ you don’t get. The men have money and resources; the women want convenience or something fresh. Everyone takes what they need, and nobody holds anyone back.”
She paused, then added, “I’m not telling you to be like them. But don’t cling to that rigid idea that ‘dating has to lead to marriage’! Lin Qinghuai has such good conditions. Even if you don’t marry him, just spending time with him, getting some experience—that’s fine too! Better than holding on to those old rules of yours!”
Shen Hua stared at the luxury cars gradually driving away, her heart feeling as if something had knocked into it.
She had always believed that love should be like her parents’—steadfast, aimed at a lifetime. But the scene before her, along with Xu Manjin’s words, made her feel for the first time that there was an invisible wall separating her from this world.
Xu Manjin kept talking. “Let me tell you, this street is privately called ‘Luxury Car Street’ at HKU. Come back at night when class lets out, and you’ll see all kinds of fancy cars lined up—Bentleys, Ferraris, Rolls-Royce Phantoms—not even rare.”
She pointed her chin at the car that had just driven off and continued, “The rule here is ‘everyone takes what they need.’ Most people don’t even know each other. If you fancy a car or a person, you just walk up and knock on the window. As long as the man inside nods, you can get in. Some just want a ride home, some want to meet ‘connected’ people, and others… well, they just play around, nobody takes it seriously.”
Shen Hua felt a lump in her chest. “How do you know all this?”
“I seriously wonder if you’re even in the music department,” Xu Manjin said, exasperated. “This gossip is everywhere every day. How are you living like you’re in a paradise?”
“Do you do this too?” Shen Hua asked.
Xu Manjin rolled her eyes. “If I wanted to, I’d have knocked on a window long ago. You know I’m all about looks. If the guy inside is ugly, even if he invites me, I wouldn’t bother getting in!”
Shen Hua couldn’t help but laugh.
The two of them went back to the rooftop. Xu Manjin shoved the business card back into Shen Hua’s hand, opened her phone’s notes app, and held it up in front of her. “Just follow what I wrote. Don’t chicken out!”
Shen Hua stared at the number on the card. After a few seconds of silence, she pressed the dial button.
The phone rang for three or four seconds. The moment it clicked through with a “click,” her heart shot straight into her throat.
A man’s deep voice came through, speaking in Cantonese. “Hello.”
His voice was even more magnetic than the night she’d heard it before, like a cello string soaked in warm water—a gentle vibration that tickled her heart.
Shen Hua’s face turned bright red in an instant.
Xu Manjin beside her was stamping her feet in anxiety, frantically mouthing, “Say it! Read what I wrote!”
Shen Hua opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She could only watch the call screen flicker.
Just as she was about to give up and hang up, the man suddenly switched to Mandarin and clearly called out two words: “Shen Hua?”
Both Shen Hua and Xu Manjin froze.
He actually remembered her name!
Zhou Yunting had actually expected this. He had only given this number to Shen Hua, so he guessed it was her when the call came through. He deliberately waited a few seconds, wanting to hear what she would say.
But she couldn’t squeeze out a single word for a long time, so Zhou Yunting had to speak first.
Xu Manjin was getting even more anxious, poking Shen Hua’s arm and mouthing more forcefully, “Say it! Ask him if he has time!”
Shen Hua swallowed hard, looking at the notes on the screen. “You, you…” she stammered, and the words “Do you have time” got stuck in her throat.
She fell silent again.
Then a low laugh came from the other end. “You what?”
Shen Hua: “…Nothing. Forget it, I dialed the wrong number. Pretend I didn’t call.”
Zhou Yunting felt an itch in his chest, like something that had been started but suddenly stopped halfway, leaving him uncomfortable.
He had waited several days for this call. Now he suddenly felt that if he hung up, she probably wouldn’t call again.
So he spoke first. “Are you free tomorrow? Let’s have dinner together?”
Shen Hua was dumbfounded. Xu Manjin beside her nearly jumped up in excitement, frantically making an “OK” gesture at her.
Shen Hua steadied herself and replied, “Okay… What time tomorrow?”
“Evening. I’ll pick you up.” Zhou Yunting’s voice carried a smile. “Where are you?”
Shen Hua glanced at Xu Manjin, who nodded vigorously, and said, “I’m at HKU.”
The man chuckled. “What time works for you?”
“I have no classes tomorrow afternoon.”
“Then five o’clock.”
“Okay.”
After hanging up, Shen Hua was still in a daze, the phone in her hand burning like a branding iron.
Xu Manjin threw her arms around her and squealed excitedly, “I told you he’s interested in you! Shen Hua, you’re about to get a boyfriend!”
Shen Hua spent ages picking through her wardrobe and finally settled on a pair of slim jeans and a simple white T-shirt.
Just before five, she slipped out through the small door beside her dorm building. Xu Manjin was still shouting from behind, “Remember! Today, aim to seize it in one go!”
Shen Hua didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Seize what?”
“Seize the rich handsome guy!” Xu Manjin leaned in and said mysteriously, “If he tries anything funny, call me immediately. I’ll grab a wine bottle and rush over to knock him out!”
“Don’t do anything crazy.” Shen Hua couldn’t help but laugh.
“So what if I do?” Xu Manjin shrugged, unconcerned. “My family may be in the arts, all refined on the surface, but deep down every one of them has a fierce streak—”
“Okay, enough.” Xu Manjin waved her hand, putting on a look of resignation. “But hey, I’ve got you as my bestie, so I’m happy to offend the rich and powerful for you. My choice.”
Shen Hua smiled and said goodbye. When she reached the meeting point, she spotted the familiar Rolls-Royce parked by the roadside at first glance.
The assistant she had met before was standing by the car. When he saw her coming, he immediately stepped forward and opened the rear door. “Miss Shen, please.”
Shen Hua thanked him, bent down, and got in.
The moment she was seated, she met a pair of deep, dark eyes.