Chapter 39 "Suddenly Wanting to See You"

Chapter Thirty-Nine: "Suddenly Wanting to See You"

In the deep alley, the light shining through the neighbor's window was very dim. Lin Su looked at the tall man and felt it was all very unreal.

At that moment, she was sitting under a tree with her grandparents and a few neighbors, listening to them chat about how one neighbor's son had been promoted, or how another neighbor's daughter had found a boyfriend whose job was quite good...

Someone asked Lin Su, "Su Su, your maternal grandmother said you don't live with your stepmother's family?"

Lin Su said, "Yes, we don't live together."

"Was the dormitory arranged by a friend?" Lin Su nodded again.

The auntie smiled and said, "Tell me, is that friend your boyfriend?"

Lin Su answered honestly, "No, he saw that I was pitiful and let me stay in his dormitory temporarily."

Lin Su's grandmother chimed in, "Su Su is still so young. She just finished the college entrance exam and has to go to university. How can she find a partner so soon? It's not too late to find a suitable one after she gets to university."

As they were talking, Lin Su noticed them looking in that direction, so she turned around curiously as well. The young man, wearing a white shirt, stood tall and straight at the corner of the intersection. The dim light and shadow shone on his face, making him look like a scene from a movie.

Lin Su thought it was one of her neighbors, and secretly thought to herself that the other person looked like Zhou Yunqi.

But then I thought, how could it be Zhou Yunqi? He's in Beijing right now, busy with his career.

Xu Yaodong told her that he was in talks with an overseas Chinese in the United States, seemingly planning to jointly establish a food company to take orders from overseas, mainly producing candy, chocolate, and small cakes. Although he didn't have much capital to invest or technical support, he could provide raw materials within his authority. At the time, she sighed, "Sure enough, I knew Zhou Yunqi had been planning this for a long time."

So how could he possibly have time to come over? Besides, she had arranged to stay at her grandparents' house for a week and would be going back in a couple of days.

But as the figure drew closer, Lin Su exclaimed in surprise, calling out his name: "Zhou Yunqi—"

"It really is you!" She stood up and walked up to him, saying incredulously, "What are you doing here?"

The crowd enjoying the cool air nearby all had their eyes on this tall, handsome man.

Quite by chance, Zhou Yunqi ran into Lin Su's classmate, Zhang Wenqiu, on the street today. Zhang Wenqiu happened to be coming out of the bookstore and almost bumped into him. He didn't recognize her at first, but Zhang Wenqiu called out first, "Hey, aren't you Lin Su's friend?"

He looked at the other person and politely replied, "Yes, you're her classmate?"

"Yes, you still remember me," Zhang Wenqiu said happily.

They happened to be walking the same stretch of road, and finding themselves without anything to talk about, they felt awkward. Zhang Wenqiu then tried to make conversation by talking about Lin Su, and before long, the conversation drifted to: "I met Lin Su's boyfriend a few days ago. I don't know if you know him."

Zhou Yunqi: "Lin Su's boyfriend?"

"Yes, her boyfriend from the educated youth era was quite a fun person, and he was very funny."

Zhou Yunqi: "What's his name?"

"Xu Yaodong".

Zhou Yunqi was both amused and exasperated: "She clearly introduced him to you as her boyfriend?"

“No, that’s not true,” Zhang Wenqiu said. “It’s just my deduction.”

Tell me about it.

“Xu Yaodong was an educated youth, right? He’s still in the southwest and hasn’t returned to the city. Lin Su often wrote letters to people there. Receiving a letter from there always made her happy for a whole day. At that time, I felt that her relationship with people there was unusual.”

Zhou Yunqi smiled and said, "Hmm, anything else?"

"Also, the other day when we went to see the lotus flowers, she told us herself that she had someone she liked, and that he was a sent-down youth." Zhang Wenqiu said excitedly, "Isn't that him?"

Zhou Yunqi: "...She said herself that she has someone she likes?"

"Of course, it started because a boy in our class wanted to pursue her that day, so she said it out loud, probably because she didn't want to be pursued by boys."

Zhang Wenqiu was already a bit gossipy, and was also amazed by Zhou Yunqi's appearance, so she talked as much as she could.

"Oh, and also, it seems she lives with that educated youth. I saw men's clothes hanging out to dry, and when I went to call her that day, they came downstairs together."

After a half-second silence, Zhou Yunqi smiled and said, "You are quite thoughtful."

As if encouraged, Zhang Wenqiu continued, "It's nothing. I think her experience is different from ours. She has suffered so much. Of course, it's very good that she has someone to make her happy."

Trying to cheer her up... Zhou Yunqi frowned: "Haven't she been happy these past six months of school?"

“No, I’m very happy. She’s doing very well. She always gets the top grades, and she’s beautiful. Her teachers value her highly,” Zhang Wenqiu said. “I mean, she looks especially happy when she’s with her boyfriend.”

The man's upturned lips flattened. She was indeed always particularly lively when she was hanging out with that brat Xu Yaodong, but she was quite well-behaved around him.

Or perhaps he was just too serious.

At the intersection, Zhang Wenqiu said goodbye and left. The man felt a pang of sadness and lit a cigarette by the roadside.

As he walked towards the dormitory with a cigarette between his fingers, he thought back to her hug, the sketch she drew for him, the way she touched his face, the way she rubbed against him... all of which stemmed from liking him?

He didn't notice anything amiss, nor did he see anything in her clear eyes; he simply thought these were the actions of an ignorant child.

She openly expressed her feelings, and all her classmates knew about it, but he alone firmly believed that she didn't understand anything.

When he returned to the residential compound, Xu Yaodong was carrying a watermelon and chatting with the gatekeeper, repeatedly calling out, "Boss, I thought you wouldn't be back until tonight."

He silently returned to the house. Xu Yaodong said, "When the ice is delivered later, I'll chill the watermelon, and we'll each have half."

Zhou Yunqi said, "You eat by yourself, I have to go on a long trip."

Xu Yaodong: "Boss, where are you going?"

"Go find her."

Xu Yaodong: "..."

After a two-hour train ride, it was already dark when Zhou Yunqi arrived in Jinshi. He asked for directions along the way and came to a hutong called Tianjing Lane. At the entrance of the lane, he could see two towering locust trees. He walked towards the trees, turned a corner, and saw her sitting under the trees, fanning herself with a palm leaf fan.

The light and shadow were dappled and dim, but the skin on her arms and neck was so white it reflected light.

He thought about it all the way there, but he couldn't figure out why he came to find her, nor what he wanted to say to her after they met. But he just wanted to see her.

Now, she finally stands before him.

Her face was fair and clean, her eyes were dark and bright, showing a mixture of joy and confusion.

The moment he saw the dimples at the corners of her mouth, the answer that had been troubling him all this time became clear.

Yes, what is he doing here?

He probably wanted to pursue her.

His childhood friend pursued the girl he liked in a straightforward manner. However, everyone's personality and experience are different, and so are their rivals. Perhaps he was destined not to be as bold and direct as his friend, but he had his own rhythm when it came to pursuing the girl he loved.

Faced with her doubts and the gazes of so many eyes, Zhou Yunqi smiled and said, "I came here to inspect the area and happened to stop by to see you."

After saying that, he looked up at the big locust tree with its lush branches and leaves overhead: "It is indeed a good place to cool off under the big locust tree."

Lin Su assumed he was genuinely there to investigate, perhaps to find a suitable location for the company to open a factory, and couldn't help but grin: "Yes, it's really cool here."

Lin Su's grandfather coughed, and she then remembered something and brought him to them: "Grandpa and Grandma, this is Zhou Yunqi, my friend."

The two elderly people, along with everyone around them, looked at him more closely, becoming increasingly amazed by his appearance and demeanor. The grandfather asked, "You came from the capital?"

Zhou Yunqi: "Yes."

"Come in and sit down," Grandma invited.

Zhou Yunqi replied, "No need, it's too late now. I'll just say hello and come back to visit tomorrow."

The old man said, "Sit here tonight, and come back tomorrow."

Lin Su also said, "Come in quickly and have some tea."

Zhou Yunqi eventually walked into the small courtyard.

The courtyard is very small, only about two or three square meters. It has many flowers and plants, and a small table. The two elderly people like to eat outside in the summer.

Zhou Yunqi was called into the house. He looked around the small room, which was clean and tidy. It was clear that the people living there were very cultured.

Lin Su took a pot of herbal tea, poured him a cup, and said, "This is my grandfather's secret herbal tea recipe. It's refreshing and thirst-quenching in the summer."

“Then I’ll have to savor it properly,” Zhou Yunqi said.

Grandma brought out a plate of fried dough twists and said, "Try these little fried dough twists, Susu loves them. I just happened to buy some more today."

Zhou Yunqi said, "She really loves eating these fragrant and crispy things."

Upon hearing this, the two elderly people exchanged a glance, but unsure of his identity, they could only ask, "Susu, how did you two meet?"

Lin Su was speechless for a moment. She had never mentioned Zhou Yunqi's name to her grandparents before. Just as she was about to speak, Zhou Yunqi said, "We came from the same farm."

The two elderly people immediately understood: "You must be the educated youth friend of Susu's?"

"So that dormitory room was also assigned to you?"

Zhou Yunqi nodded: "Yes, I'm still in the southwest and haven't returned to the city. The dormitory is just sitting empty anyway, so let her stay there for now."

"So, are you staying at home now that you're back?"

Zhou Yunqi said without changing his expression, "My parents are gone, so I'll be staying at my uncle's house for now."

The two elderly people were both experienced, and although they had some suspicions, they refrained from asking further questions out of politeness.

Lin Su interrupted them and asked him, "What kind of car did you come in?"

"train."

"So where are you staying tonight?"

He cast a gentle glance at her and smiled, "It's a restaurant not far away. I was just passing by when I came across it, so I thought I'd stop by and see you."

He spoke so succinctly that Lin Su didn't even consider any other possibilities.

Zhou Yunqi didn't stay long before getting up to say goodbye. His grandmother said, "Susu, see him off."

The people who had been enjoying the cool air hadn't yet left. Seeing two well-matched young people walking in the night, they kept looking at them until they turned a corner and could no longer see them.

Zhou Yunqi immediately stopped and said to her, "You should go back now. I'll come back tomorrow."

Lin Su nodded: "Don't you have to do an inspection tomorrow? Come over when you have time."

But then she saw a slight smile on his lips, his gaze fixed on her with a deep tenderness in his eyes.

Lin Su hesitated for a moment, then asked, "What's wrong with you?"

"I'm not here to conduct an inspection," he said bluntly.

Lin Su's eyes widened slightly: "You're not here for an inspection?"

The man exhaled deeply, smoothed her loose, washed black hair, and then patted her head, his eyes calm and gentle: "I suddenly wanted to see you, so I came."

Lin Su's heart skipped a beat, as if it were being gently kneaded by a soft hand.

The man's slender fingers lifted a lock of her long hair, twisted it around his fingers, and then released it, the smooth hair quickly slipping through his fingers.

He smiled softly, his eyes filled with tenderness: "I've come to take you back to the capital."

Lin Su: "..."