“You are going to work as a psychological consultant.”
“No way. You are doing so exceptionally well in the psychiatric department. Is Director Zhao out of his mind? What a total freak.”
No matter what, seeing that Chu Xichen was already packing his things, it was bound to be a fact. She could only sigh helplessly and say, “Since you are resigning today, do you have any plans to hang out and get together with close colleagues tonight? If you have made plans, you cannot forget about me!”
“I do not have such plans.”
“Do not be like that. Wouldn’t you feel stuffy going back alone after such a depressing transfer? How about I treat you to a drink? Shall I take you out to a bar to have some fun? I dare bet with you, you have never set foot in a bar before, right?”
Tianluo smiled slyly, her big round eyes sparkling brightly, with a small black mole beside the bridge of her pert and delicate nose, making her look both extremely sweet and very distinctive.
“You guessed wrong on that one.” Chu Xichen gave a smile. “I am leaving. Call me if anything comes up in the future!”
“Oh.” Tianluo furrowed her brows, able only to quietly watch him leave. Not until his figure grew distant did she mutter in a low voice, “But I want to find you right now.”
Chu Xichen did not look back, and therefore he did not see the sorrow and loss in the gaze of the person behind him.
Chu Xichen had just placed his belongings into his car when his mobile phone rang.
“Mom, I am on my way home.” Chu Xichen closed the car door and answered the call.
“Ah-Chen, there is no need to rush back. Didn’t you promise Mom a few days ago that you would meet Aunt Li’s niece when she returned to the country? She arrived this morning. Why don’t you two pick a place and meet up later!”
Chen Juan’s cheerful voice came through the phone.
“Today?” Chu Xichen furrowed his brows.
“Yes. Her work in Country M has not finished yet, and this time she just squeezed out some time to return to the country to handle some matters. Time is quite rushed, so the two of you can meet first. If you feel it is going well, you can keep in touch. She will be transferred back to the domestic branch at the end of the year, and then you can take your time developing things further.”
“Then it would be better to meet at the end of the year.”
“Won’t that still be more than half a year away? Aunt Li said there are already several people pursuing her abroad. If you keep dragging your feet like this, you will not stand a chance when the time comes.”
Chu Xichen fell silent. He really did not want to go.
“How about it, Ah-Chen? You are already twenty-seven years old. Mom has never urged you in the past, but Mom is afraid that if you keep dragging things on, all the good girls will be picked by other people.”
“Fine then, Mom. You and Aunt Li can arrange it.”
Chu Xichen finally agreed in the end. Although he did not want to, he was afraid of making Chen Juan unhappy. Chu Xichen’s father passed away when he was very young, and it was his mother who raised him single-handedly with great hardship, never remarrying either.
Chu Xichen did not possess that kind of enthusiasm for romance, and he did not even appreciate that overly intense and burning brand of affection.
In his view, such overly passionate emotions were dangerous and extreme, and they could hardly last long. A wise person does not fall into the river of love. Between people, relationships are best kept plain and ordinary, with no need for excessive closeness and reliance.
Yet for now, he still had to obediently bite the bullet and go on the blind date to put up an act. He certainly could not let his mother know right now that he was an advocate of singlehood and break her heart.
A moment later, Chen Juan called him again, sending him the address and the girl’s phone number.
The tea restaurant had an elegant environment, filled with soothing light music. Chu Xichen’s gaze swept over the sparse tables of guests, accurately locating table number eight near the floor-to-ceiling window.
Seated there was a young lady with long, wavy hair. Exquisite light makeup highlighted her fine features. She was fashionously dressed with a generous demeanor, and she was currently on the phone.
The girl seemed to sense his gaze and looked over toward him. She flashed a polite smile and hurriedly said into the phone, “The person has arrived, I will hang up first!” before hastily cutting the line.
Chu Xichen walked over with a polite smile. “Are you Miss Zhang Wen? I am Chu Xichen.” He gentlemanly extended his slender hand toward her.
“Hello, Mr. Chu!” A light flush rose onto the girl’s face as she reached out to shake hands with him.
“You can also call me Wenwen. All my friends call me that,” the girl continued.
Chu Xichen gave a slight smile without committing to an answer, thinking only of how to politely and harmlessly end this troublesome matter as quickly as possible.
“What would you like to drink? I only ordered juice for myself just now.”
“I am fine with anything.”
The waiter approached, and Chu Xichen requested a cup of plain tea.
“How long does Miss Zhang plan to stay this time back in the country?” Not wanting to appear rude through prolonged silence, Chu Xichen casually asked a question, grinding his patience to pass the time.
“I have already booked the flight for tomorrow afternoon. However, I will be back at the end of December.” The girl took a small sip of the juice in her cup, paused for a moment, and then looked at him again. “I heard that Mr. Chu will turn twenty-five right at the beginning of next year. I wonder how you plan for your future?”
The girl asked very tactfully, which was also a way of probing his intentions.
Chu Xichen smiled faintly. “Actually, I do not have any plans yet. I feel that my current state is also quite fine.”
The girl thought to herself, Just that?
The girl’s heart instantly grew cold. She knew this was his tactful rejection. If he had any romantic interest in her, he should at least have mentioned wanting a stable relationship and then building a small, loving family. With him replying like this now, he had practically killed the conversation.
However, she was captivated by the man’s appearance and temperament, as he was precisely her preferred type. Unwilling to give up just like that, she was just about to say something to salvage the situation when a pair of designer limited-edition casual shoes and two straight, long legs suddenly stopped beside her.
“Miss Zhang, what a coincidence!”
The girl raised her head and was very surprised to see Ning Anyu. Yet she immediately stood up and revealed a standard workplace smile. “Mr. Ning, what a coincidence, you are here too.”
Ning Anyu smiled at her, and his gaze shifted back to Chu Xichen. “Doctor Chu, we meet again!”
Chu Xichen furrowed his brows with a cold and gloomy expression. Seeing this person caused him to associate him with that jerk in his dreams, stirring up an unnamable fire within his heart.
“Does Miss Zhang know him? Shall we call it a day here, and you two can chat slowly?” Chu Xichen said.
The girl was a workplace elite, so her emotional intelligence was naturally high. Seeing Chu Xichen’s expression, she could tell they definitely had bad blood, which left her feeling depressed inside. Why did Ning Anyu have to come and meddle at a time like this?
Although Ning Anyu genuinely looked very handsome, she did not like him at all. In her view, he was a wealthy second-generation heir who attended a diploma mill university, behaved frivolously, and carried a trace of ruffianism, making him completely unsuitable as a good marriage prospect.
However, when she once encountered an attack in Country M, it was Ning Anyu who helped her. In terms of reason and sentiment, she felt embarrassed to leave Ning Anyu hanging on the side, so she only hoped Ning Anyu would know better and leave on his own accord. Therefore, she hurriedly said to Ning Anyu:
“Thanks to Mr. Ning for helping me with such a huge favor last time, I was just planning to invite you to dinner to express my gratitude. Does Mr. Ning have time tomorrow noon? I am currently discussing some matters with Mr. Chu right here.”
Her meaning was that whatever he had to say could be discussed tomorrow, as she currently had serious business to attend to and had no time to entertain him.
Yet Ning Anyu refused to buy it. He curled the corners of his lips into a smile and said, “It was just a fight anyway, my hands were simply itching. There is no time like the present, why don’t I treat the two of you to a casual meal tonight?” Ning Anyu looked directly at Chu Xichen.
He had originally intended to head to the boxing gym, but while waiting at a red light on the road, he happened to catch sight of Chu Xichen in the neighboring car, so he temporarily changed his mind and followed along. He very much wanted to understand him a little better.