Yan Tinglin’s two suitcases were loaded onto the accompanying vehicle, and the four of them got into the black SUV.
Today, Zhōu Shíyì was driving personally. Yan Tinglin sat in the front passenger seat holding a bouquet of flowers, and with nothing else to do, he even counted how many flowers there were.
Zhōu Shíyì glanced at him and said, “Stop counting. They were ordered online and just picked up at the store. The number of flowers doesn’t mean anything special.”
Finally, Yan Tinglin had the upper hand.
Yan Tinglin smiled, “You didn’t order them online either.”
Zhōu Shíyì didn’t argue.
Yan Tinglin said, “Actually, you should have bought a bouquet for me.”
“I don’t even want to see you, and you expect me to buy you flowers?”
“Ha ha.”
The two in the back seat who were discussing work were interrupted. Níng Quē looked toward the front passenger seat. “What are you guys talking about?”
Yan Tinglin smiled, “Just random chatter.”
Níng Quē asked, “How many days are you staying this time?”
“Ten days, maybe two weeks at most. I can’t stay any longer; there are still a lot of things waiting for me back home. If there’s a chance, I’ll stay longer next time.”
His words were clear enough—he didn’t plan to stay.
Níng Quē had expected as much and wasn’t surprised.
If he really came to Jinghe, that would be the real surprise.
Yan Tinglin turned to Níng Quē and said, “I booked a room for myself at your campus hotel. I’ll be with you these days.”
“You’re not going home?”
“No. My parents stayed with me for several days last week; I was getting a headache from their nagging.”
His parents were currently on a business trip abroad, so no one was at home. Staying anywhere was the same.
He wasn’t going to Jinghe; he didn’t want Zhōng Yì to make the trip for nothing, so he flew back to talk with her.
No one else would get this kind of treatment.
On the flight back to China, he hadn’t slept and had once again seriously considered whether to join Jinghe.
He really wanted to cooperate with Zhōng Yì once; back then, the reason he had actively asked for her WeChat wasn’t just because of her face.
He wasn’t that superficial.
But after careful thought, he still didn’t have enough reason to willingly give up everything he had now and choose Jinghe.
The thought of coming back only had a 50% chance—insufficient to sway him.
Zhōng Yì accounted for 20% of that, since she was the one who made him break the norm and come back.
Zhōu Shíyì accounted for 30%; in his heart, that friend was still incomparable.
As for the rest, there was nothing else that could convince him to stay.
Fame and fortune—he didn’t lack those.
If Zhōng Yì had flown to the Bay Area to find him accompanied by Zhōu Shíyì instead of alone, he wouldn’t have flown back.
He couldn’t bear to let her come all this way in vain.
If fate had arranged such a “white moonlight” for him, then he had to let her shine—he couldn’t let that title be meaningless. Whatever privileges a white moonlight deserves, she had to have them too.
“You said the Jinghe cafeteria is pretty good, right? Since I’m here, I want to try everything.”
Yan Tinglin thought for a while, then asked Níng Quē, “Do you guys have fish noodles in the cafeteria? You said they’re delicious.”
Níng Quē said, “Yellow croaker noodles. I advise you not to eat them; the bones will get stuck.”
“No problem. Zhōu Shíyì is especially good at picking out fish bones. He can do it for me.”
Zhōu Shíyì: “Just wait and see.”
“Ha ha!”
Yan Tinglin tactfully added, “If I can’t wait, I remember Zhōng Yì likes to eat fish too. I’ll ask her for help.”
Zhōu Shíyì: “She has to go to the hospital to get fish bones out after she eats.”
Zhōng Yì:
Yan Tinglin propped up his chin and smiled all the way.
Since Zhōu Shíyì returned to China three years ago, his life had become monotonous and dull, and it had been a long time since he had been this happy.
The only interesting thing was that pinned post about not getting her WeChat.
“Let’s have lunch in your cafeteria.”
Zhōng Yì said, “I booked a restaurant to welcome you.”
“No need for that, the cafeteria’s fine.”
***
The SUV didn’t enter the city but drove straight to Jinghe Campus.
When they arrived at the hotel entrance, Níng Quē accompanied Yan Tinglin to check in, while the couple waited in the car.
Zhōu Shíyì looked at her through the rearview mirror. “Did you catch the meaning behind what Yan Tinglin said?”
Zhōng Yì nodded. She clearly understood the implication of “If there’s a chance, I’ll stay longer next time.”
Just like Director Jia said, it’s difficult to persuade him with just goodwill.
Zhōu Shíyì said, “I’ve known him for so many years, and he’s never been an emotional person.”
If he were emotional, he wouldn’t have achieved what he has today.
Zhōng Yì leaned forward, resting her arms on the back of the driver’s seat, her chin on top.
She was very close to him, her breath mingling with his.
Her fingertips unconsciously poked his shoulder. “I’ve tried my best, so I have no regrets. Whether Yan Tinglin joins Jinghe or not isn’t something I can control.”
As she spoke, her warm breath softly brushed his neck.
Since that intimate night, when no one was around, she was willing to lean against him.
But she leaned so close, her fingertips still stroking his shirt over his shoulder, making Zhōu Shíyì restless.
“Get me a bottle of water.”
Zhōng Yì sat upright and opened the car’s built-in fridge under the center armrest in the back seat. “Coffee or soda?”
“Anything.”
She grabbed a bottle of iced coffee, twisted off the cap, took two sips herself, then handed it to him.
After handing him the coffee, she leaned back against the seat like before.
Her fingertips rubbed back and forth over his shirt fabric on his shoulder, completely unaware of his Adam’s apple moving repeatedly.
“Next time, don’t mention me getting a fish bone stuck in front of Níng Quē. He doesn’t know I went to the hospital, but I know he did.”
Zhōu Shíyì: “You two even compete over who gets fish bones stuck?”
Zhōng Yì laughed. “I have to keep up appearances. That day when the bone got stuck, I didn’t show anything.”
“You don’t have to keep up appearances with me.”
“Then help me pick out fish bones from now on.”
“Okay.” Zhōu Shíyì handed her back the half-finished coffee.
Zhōng Yì shook her head, not wanting it.
She was already thinking about how to persuade Yan Tinglin.
After checking in and bringing their luggage to the room, the two quickly went downstairs.
Yan Tinglin didn’t order the yellow croaker noodles but steamed fish instead.
When the fish arrived, he pushed the plate toward Zhōu Shíyì. “You help Zhōng Yì pick out the fish bones.”
Níng Quē suppressed a smile, lowering her head to eat her own dishes.
Zhōu Shíyì gave Yan Tinglin a side glance. “After this meal, you’re going back, right? I’ll buy your plane ticket.”
Yan Tinglin laughed, “That won’t do, I’ve got a dinner appointment with Shen Chi.”
Zhōu Shíyì: “Take this fish home, and let Shen Chi pick out the bones for you tonight.”
Níng Quē finally couldn’t hold back and nearly burst out laughing.
Zhōu Shíyì ignored Yan Tinglin and only picked out half a fish for Zhōng Yì.
In recent years, Yan Tinglin mostly ate alone. Today was a rare lively occasion—and they were all people he cared about most.
Zhōng Yì told him to keep the first and second of next month free. “Come with me to Shanghai.”
Yan Tinglin asked, “To see the Semiconductor Exhibition?”
Zhōng Yì nodded, “Yes. If you only listen to me, you don’t have a concept of the development of the domestic semiconductor industry chain.”
Yan Tinglin considered for a moment. “Then I’ll go see it.”
He had never attended a domestic semiconductor exhibition before; this time was a lucky coincidence.
He knew full well Zhōng Yì hadn’t given up trying to keep him.
But his mind was made up—not joining Jinghe.
This Shanghai trip to the Semiconductor Exhibition was just to accompany her.
When Níng Quē helped bring luggage back to the room earlier, she curiously asked him what kind of person or thing would make him stay.
He thought about it and said: No one and nothing.
Maybe he was naturally not very emotional, his feelings not deep or intense, with little interest in love.
Someone like Zhōng Yì, who could make him actively ask for WeChat, and even after being rejected, it didn’t bother him—she was already special to him.
Yet even she couldn’t make him stay, nor could Zhōu Shíyì.
Let alone anyone else.
“The Semiconductor Exhibition—you going?” He looked at Zhōu Shíyì.
Zhōu Shíyì picked out some fish meat and fed it to Zhōng Yì. “I’m busy. Those two will go with you.”
Yan Tinglin picked out fish bones. “How busy are you that you can’t take two days off?”
Zhōu Shíyì: “Even if I had nothing to do, I still wouldn’t go.”
Yan Tinglin wasn’t angry and just laughed.
He remembered that year in heavy rain when Zhōu Shíyì came to pick him up. That made him even happier.
For three consecutive days, Yan Tinglin ordered that fish dish.
He rarely had such authentic taste abroad.
***
At 10 PM on the 28th, Yan Tinglin ordered another steamed fish.
Níng Quē stayed late working and joined him for a late-night snack.
Meanwhile, Lù Chéng’s two concerts in Beicheng had successfully concluded.
Sister Cen attended every show, sitting right next to Jì Fánxīng.
The next morning, Sister Cen and Lù Chéng both posted messages simultaneously, thanking each other for nine years of journeying together and wishing for better futures apart.
Less than fifteen minutes after posting, it exploded on trending searches.
Netizens speculated wildly why the two had parted ways, as no rumors had been heard before.
Not only netizens, even insiders found it baffling.
Zhōng Yì had known they’d publicly dissolved their partnership today, so she hadn’t paid much attention.
At noon, she received a call from Jì Fánxīng, informing her that everything had been handled.
“Sister Cen is about to start her own path as well.”
“What does that mean?”
Jì Fánxīng: “She said she’d long disagreed with her partner and was too entangled to break it off. This time, with the Lù Chéng and Feng Ming incident, it was the perfect opportunity.”
“Oh, and Lù Chéng asked me to pass on a few words: first, to thank you; second, to wish you happiness.”
Perhaps Lù Chéng had let go when he said that, or maybe not.
But regardless, he had to move forward.
Zhōng Yì: “Thank you.”
She recalled when they broke up over the phone back then, Lù Chéng was reluctant.