Chapter 47

After the school anniversary celebration, everyone agreed to have a barbecue dinner at a restaurant an hour later. Xiang Wan went back to her apartment to change clothes. As she walked out of the school alone, she bumped into Zhou Chengze, who was waiting for her at the school gate.

When she didn't use Zhou Chengze's umbrella at the entrance of the student activity center last time, she knew there would be more to this story.

"..." Xiang Wan knew there was no way to avoid it, so she paused for a moment and then continued walking forward.

Sure enough, just as the two were about to pass each other, Zhou Chengze stopped her: "Senior sister, do you hate me?"

His tone was normal, but in his previous life he was her fiancé, so Xiang Wan could naturally understand the grievance in his voice.

But it was precisely because she could hear his dejection that Xiang Wan felt somewhat awkward.

In her previous life, Zhou Chengze betrayed her, but in this life, Zhou Chengze not only did not betray her, but also saved her.

She hadn't figured out how to face him. Originally, she wanted to keep to herself, but fate had other plans, and their paths kept crossing.

But it's absolutely impossible to make Xiang Wan forget the betrayal in her previous life and act as if nothing happened.

She was someone who couldn't tolerate any injustice. If she hadn't discovered Zhou Chengze's betrayal when she was on her deathbed in her previous life, even if they had already entered into marriage, she would have definitely cut her losses in time.

However, Xiang Wan's emotions were somewhat complicated when facing Zhou Chengze, who had saved her in this life.

Faced with his question, Xiang Wan chose to remain silent, but Zhou Chengze repeated, "Does Senior Sister dislike me?"

Xiang Wan looked up at those eyes and said frankly, "Although it's not much, it's a little."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chengze paused, unconsciously taking a step back. His voice held a mixture of disbelief and a persistent insistence on getting to the bottom of things: "Why do you hate me?"

A north wind, carrying snowflakes, blew towards the two of them. Xiang Wan felt the coldness on her face and looked up at the sky.

Under the white sky, countless transparent snowflakes drifted down, and she reached out to catch one.

Looking at the snow in her palm, she felt a mix of emotions.

In December, Bei Yi was already experiencing her first snowfall. And this year, she was with Zhou Chengze during that first snowfall.

If we are together in the snow one day, then we can be considered to have grown old together in this life.

Xiang Wan looked at him, a hint of regret flashing in her eyes, followed by a long-lasting sense of relief. Perhaps it was time for her and Zhou Chengze to settle their scores and become nodding acquaintances from now on.

But the other party didn't know about his past life, so Xiang Wan only thought about it in her heart. Faced with his stubbornness, she simply used "destined to meet but not to be together" to appease him.

Xiang Wan walked past him, leaving Zhou Chengze standing there blankly.

"Were we destined to be apart?" he murmured, his voice filled with unspeakable disappointment. "And why isn't it something we can control?"

After a long pause, he turned around and looked at Xiang Wan's departing figure, his eyes regaining their firmness: "Awan, it's not that we are destined to be apart, but rather that things can be done by human effort."

From the first moment he saw Xiang Wan in the courtyard, he fell in love with her. Nine years had passed, and he couldn't just give up like that. He couldn't give up even if it was Xiang Wan...

*

Inside the Korean BBQ restaurant, eight people sat around two charcoal grills, all looking relaxed.

Che Nanbei sat in the main seat, with Xiang Wan, Chen Yan, Jiang Zhuochun, and Shen Feiyang to his right. To his left were screenwriters Jiang Nan, Zhou Chengze, and Zhou Xinyi.

The waiter was Korean, and he was asking them in broken Chinese if everyone had arrived and if they could serve the food.

After Che Nanbei nodded and said that everyone had arrived, he went out and brought out several small dishes to the table.

He placed the kimchi on the table and gestured as he spoke, saying, "This is a free gift."

Xiang Wan thanked him in Korean before he left.

After the clerk left, Che Nanbei raised his beer glass, his joy evident on his face: "Then let me say a few words first."

The trio exchanged a glance, their expressions somewhat helpless. This guy still couldn't shake his habit of getting carried away with success.

As soon as Che Nanbei opened her mouth, the people at the table were very supportive, especially the screenwriter Jiang Nan, who was a big fan of hers to her left: "Okay! Let Director Che say a few words."

But unlike his authoritarian and domineering manner during the rehearsals for the stage play, Che Nanbei's voice began to choke up after only a couple of sentences: "The success of this stage play is inseparable from the... hard work of everyone here..."

"Although I did contribute... sob sob... but the greatest credit... goes to everyone who worked so hard during rehearsals... sob sob sob."

Che Nanbei broke down in tears. When the screenwriter Jiang Nan saw her crying, he got up and hugged her. The two of them held each other's heads and cried bitterly.

The two of them cried so intensely that anyone who didn't know better would think they had won the Nobel Prize.

The trio laughed the loudest, not for any other reason than that when they were rehearsing the British play "The Million Pound Note" in their second year of high school, Che Nan-nan also cried like this.

Their group's play won the grade-level competition. Che Nanbei represented the four-person group on the stage to give a speech. As soon as she accepted the trophy, she couldn't even say two words before tears streamed down her face.

I'm already a junior in college, and I haven't changed my old habits at all. But this time I did make some progress; before I burst into tears of joy, I managed to say a couple of words.

Xiang Wan patted her on the back and put a piece of pork belly on her plate, telling her to calm down first.

Once the two calmed down, everyone started talking about the funny things that happened during the rehearsals these past few days, and everyone's faces were filled with smiles again.

Just then, a staff member came in to deliver the food: five plates each of pork belly and beef tenderloin. There were two barbecue grills in total; Jiang Zhuochun was grilling on the right, while Zhou Chengze and Chen Yan were grilling on their side.

Zhou Chengze was grilling pork belly, while Chen Yan was grilling beef tenderloin.

The meat is marinated in advance, so it can be eaten directly after cooking.

Since the meat wasn't ready yet, Xiang Wan first tasted the garlic oysters that the staff had just grilled and brought over. The oysters were very fresh, and the flavor was just right, combining the freshness of seafood with the flavor of garlic.

However, before the taste could linger in your mouth for even a few seconds, a piece of grilled pork belly appeared on the plate.

"..." Actually, she didn't need to see who it was; just by looking at the color of the roasted meat, she knew it was Zhou Chengze who roasted it.

She glanced across at Zhou Chengze, who was looking at her expectantly: "Senior sister, how's the grilling?"

Actually, she didn't need to taste it at all. Zhou Chengze was very good at grilling meat, and she knew that from her previous life.

Although there is a maid at home, he still personally grills the meat and prepares the dipping sauce for her.

But this same man was flirting with Zhou Xinyi while she was trying on wedding dresses.

Xiang Wan looked at Zhou Chengze, who was still pretending to be oblivious and acting as if nothing had happened, and was somewhat surprised. Although he wasn't arrogant enough to look down on people, he was still the type with a very strong sense of self-respect.

Just an hour ago, she had told him that they were destined to be apart, but Zhou Chengze acted as if nothing had happened and grilled meat for her.

But she didn't give him any special treatment because of that. Instead, she kept her head down and continued eating the oysters on her plate, never touching the piece of pork belly.

She ignored his enthusiasm, and the atmosphere became a little awkward for a moment. However, because everyone else was drunk, no one noticed what was happening except for Zhou Xinyi and Chen Yan.

Xiang Wan didn't say a word, but her actions directly demonstrated what it meant to say, "Although it's not much, I kind of dislike you."

Zhou Chengze, who was opposite him, paused for a moment while holding the tongs, then pretended nothing had happened and continued grilling the meat.

Xiang Wan originally thought this little incident would pass, but unexpectedly, when the party was about to end, there was another piece of grilled meat on her plate.

The meat was a bit charred, but you could still tell it was a piece of beef tenderloin. Xiang Wan raised an eyebrow at the beef without saying a word.

When the beef was placed on her plate, although the other person dodged quickly, she still clearly saw the other person's fair knuckles, and it was undoubtedly Chen Yan.

It seems they weren't satisfied with the umbrella game last time, so this time they started playing a barbecue game.

I never expected that Chen Ruilin, a business tycoon in his previous life, would have such a strong competitive spirit.

She found it somewhat amusing, but without looking up at him, she picked up the slightly burnt piece of meat, dipped it in the sauce, and put it in her mouth.

The texture was slightly lacking, but because the meat was good quality, it wasn't too difficult to swallow.

Across from him, Zhou Chengze witnessed everything out of the corner of his eye. His hand holding the barbecue tongs trembled, and the freshly grilled meat fell onto his pants under the table.

Zhou Xinyi, who was standing to the side, frowned and pulled out a napkin from the side and handed it to him: "Are you alright?"

The meat, scalding hot from the grill, fell onto his lap, but he calmly pulled out a napkin, wrapped it up, and threw it away.

He shook his head at Zhou Xinyi, indicating that she should eat first, and then went to the restroom by herself.

His pants were covered in a large oil stain, but he couldn't wipe it off no matter what he did.

Looking at the trousers he had carefully chosen from the few pairs of pants in his wardrobe in order to see Xiang Wan, Zhou Chengze's expression was indescribably bitter.

The piece of meat that fell was so hot that it made his nose sting. He thought of her haughty expression in the courtyard when they first met, and the words "destined to meet but not to be together." He smiled at himself in the mirror, but the smile was really forced.

He didn't understand. Xiang Wan was kind to everyone. Although she seemed arrogant, she was always gentle and kind to Chen Yan and her friends.

Zhou Chengze could see the soft heart beneath her aloof exterior.

But only towards him, he always felt that Xiang Wan was somewhat rejecting him, even harboring a certain hidden hostility.

But he hadn't done anything to wrong her. He was even the first to find and rescue her and Chen Yan when they fell into the dry well.

He was truly puzzled as to where Xiang Wan's hostility towards him came from.

No matter how hard Zhou Chengze tried to rub the oil stains off his pants, he couldn't get them off. He didn't waste any more time, washed his face, and went back home.

When he returned, everyone was already ready to leave.

Since it was right at the school gate, everyone walked back together.

She happened to be passing by Xiang Wan's apartment, so she didn't go back with them...

*

On the other side, Xiang Guan had just taken the elevator to the apartment door and hadn't even opened it when he saw two pairs of shoes at the door.

She raised an eyebrow, unlocked the door with her fingerprint, but took a step back just before entering.

"Surprise~"

"..."

The confetti landed right on her, but didn't spray her face. Xiang Wan feigned surprise and looked at the two people inside the door: "What brings you here?"

Xia Yueshen pulled her inside, while Wang Yidong took off her coat for her: "We asked Miss Shen and found out you're celebrating tonight, so we came here to give you a surprise."

Xia Yueshen pulled her to the dining table and sat her down: "This is a cake that Wang Yidong spent the whole afternoon making."

Thinking of something, she paused for a moment: "But you young people are probably already full from your get-together, you can put it in the refrigerator and eat it tomorrow."

Xiang Wan picked up a knife and fork, cut a large piece of cake, and put it on her plate. Her voice was calm and gentle: "That barbecue restaurant wasn't very good, so I didn't eat much."

Upon hearing this, both of their eyes lit up. Xia Yueshen pulled out a chair and sat opposite Xiang Wan, while Wang Yidong went to the kitchen to get two Western-style plates, and handed one to Xia Yueshen when he came out.

“You don’t like it too sweet, so I didn’t put in much sugar.” Wang Yidong sat down as well and cut a piece for her and Xia Yueshen as well.

Because they also had to rehearse plays in addition to attending classes, the three of them hadn't seen each other for almost a month since Xiang Wan was discharged from the hospital.

Xiang Wan ate her cake quietly, while the two people beside her kept talking about what had happened to them during the month they hadn't seen each other.

After finishing the cake, the three of them moved their conversation from the dining table to the sofa.

Xia Yueshen was talking about how she had recently taken revenge on her ex-boyfriend who was a freeloader and abusive, while the two people next to her leaned back on the sofa, resting their chins on their hands as they listened to her brag.

In fact, Xia Yueshen was not as assertive as she claimed. She was crying and confronting her scumbag uncle outside his workplace.

It was Xiang Wan who sent Li Xia to put pressure on him from behind. The scumbag uncle was afraid of losing his job, so he stepped in and made the scumbag take his group of poor relatives back to his hometown, and that's how the matter was settled.

Li Xia returned to China to deal with the matter shortly after receiving her email.

When Xiang Wan went missing, it was he who promptly arranged the search and rescue. He even visited her when she was hospitalized, though he had only returned to Europe two weeks prior.

Xia Yueshen disliked showing weakness in front of others, and both of them knew this, so they pretended not to know and listened to her boast about how satisfying her revenge was.

The three of them chatted until very late, and didn't go to sleep until very late.

After washing up in the master bedroom, Xiang Wan lay on the bed. Her phone screen lit up briefly, and she tapped it to look at the screen:

Shen Feiyang: [Wanwan, Dongjie brought you a cake, can you bring me one tomorrow too? [cute.jpg]]

Xiang Wan: [She made one especially for you; it's your favorite chocolate flavor.]

Shen Feiyang: [An unexpected surprise!]

Xiang Wan chuckled as she put down her phone, put on a silk eye mask, and prepared to go to sleep.

In fact, Shen Feiyang had informed her beforehand that Wang Yidong and Xia Yueshen would be coming to celebrate with her. So at the barbecue restaurant, Xiang Wan only ate half full and then stopped eating.

She was exhausted after a long day and slept soundly, so she didn't see the post from Beiyi University's official WeChat account quietly appearing in the notification bar of the tablet next to her:

[Jiang Juncang, CEO of Visida Group, visits Beiyi University...]