Chapter 106 · if: Modern Daylight

Miss Hua is facing a difficult problem in her life.

Question: How can I tell if a man likes me?

In response, her childhood friend and dating expert, Ms. Su Yiqing, said, "Ask him out! What's the point of keeping him around?"

Hua Deng, looking troubled, stirred the spoon in her hand, the clinking of the coffee cup against the glass making a crisp sound: "But he doesn't like me, how can I ask him out?"

"You should ask him out first. How will you know if he likes you if you don't go out with him?"

"But……"

"No buts, listen to me, you're hesitant because you've never been in a relationship before."

"oh."

Hua Deng lowered her head and thought for a moment, then took out her phone, opened the chat window and waited for a long time before looking at Su Yiqing expectantly: "Then how should I tell him?"

Su Yiqing: "...I give up. With a face like that, why can't you succeed?"

Hua Deng retorted, "But he's very good-looking too."

"Really?" Su Yi looked doubtful. "Do you have a photo? Let me take a look."

Yes, this one.

Hua Deng pulled up a photo from her album: "This is the only one I found on his Instagram. Isn't it beautiful?"

Su Yi narrowed her eyes, speechless for a moment: "Are you kidding me? This is just a glimpse of her profile, and it's completely blurry."

To be honest, the atmosphere in the photo is quite nice, like it was taken candidly. The man is sitting on a bench by the river, his arm casually draped over the back of the bench, his posture relaxed and his expression indifferent.

Although the image of the half-face that was only visible was blurry, the sharp eyebrows and eyes and the high nose bridge certainly matched Hua Deng's description of "good-looking".

Su Yiqing paused, staring at the watch peeking out from the edge of the photo. After a while, she said, "This is a fake, isn't it? The real one definitely isn't with him. Were you scammed?"

Hua Deng looked bewildered: "But we've only met once. Would he lie to me like this?"

Su Yiqing immediately became alert: "Wait, tell me first, how did you two meet?"

So Hua Deng told her how they met.

It was an ordinary overcast day. She had another argument with her parents and felt frustrated, so she drove to the beach.

When she was little, her maternal grandmother often brought her here to see the sea. It is said that she and her maternal grandfather met here. Every time, she would hold the lantern and tell her stories.

After her grandmother passed away, Hua Deng still kept this habit: whenever she was in a bad mood, she would bring a bouquet of flowers and go to the beach to relax.

Today she brought a bouquet of lilacs; she passed by a flower shop, thought they were pretty, and bought them on a whim.

She got out of the car, holding a lilac flower, walked through the forest path, and came to the rocky outcrop overlooking the sea.

This sight surprised her. The place she went to was very remote, and almost no one knew about it. She intended to treat it as her own secret base.

But today, there's an unfamiliar figure here.

Hua Deng hesitated for a moment, then turned to leave. She didn't want to disturb anyone's peace and quiet, and she didn't want to have any contact with anyone right now.

But through the gaps in the cherry blossom trees, she suddenly realized that the person was not standing, but sitting in a wheelchair.

A man in a suit and tie is sitting in a wheelchair on the rocks looking at the sea. This place is not easy to find, let alone getting in in a wheelchair. So why did he come here?

Judging from his clothes, he might have dressed up carefully. Hua Deng couldn't help but conjure up a tragic story in her mind: a man with a smooth life and a successful career, who suddenly suffered an accident and could only spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. Unable to bear such a blow, he put on his best clothes and went to the beach on his birthday, preparing to end his life.

Thinking of this, she could no longer sit idly by, and turned her toes toward that figure.

Hearing footsteps, the man didn't turn around, clearly determined to die, which made Hua Deng even more convinced of her guess.

Only when she came to his side did the man turn his head slightly and give her a lukewarm glance.

Hua Deng paused for a few seconds, partly because of his face. Although she shouldn't be focusing on that at a time like this, she couldn't help but sigh for a moment. He was much more handsome than any celebrity on TV.

Secondly, it was his gaze that was colder and more world-weary than she had imagined, as if he were about to jump off a cliff.

Sigh, it's hard not to feel disheartened after something like this.

She restrained herself from looking at his legs and tried her best to keep her expression normal, without showing any sympathy.

Then, she greeted us in a relaxed tone: "Hello, is this your first time here?"

Man: "Hmm."

His indifferent attitude did not displease Hua Deng; on the contrary, it made her soften her tone even more: "I used to come here often, and I thought no one could find this place."

Man: "I didn't see the sign."

Hua Deng didn't quite catch on: "What sign?"

He said, "A sign that keeps out strangers and dogs."

Hua Deng: "..."

She even had the mood to joke around. Was it really because her kind approach had a positive effect?

She decided to try again: "Do you have pollen allergies?"

The man glanced at the cherry blossom tree behind him: "If there were, I would be dead by now."

Hua Deng hesitated for a moment, but insisted on finishing her sentence: "In that case, I'll give you this bouquet of flowers."

She handed him the lilacs. He didn't refuse, but he didn't seem inclined to take them either. Hua Deng carefully placed the flowers on his lap and said, "The lilac symbolizes freedom and rebirth."

Man: "...Are you sure?"

Hua Deng was obviously just making things up, but that didn't matter. She nodded seriously, "I'm sure."

The man lowered his eyes. The flowers were light and vibrant, clashing with his dark clothes, and he had never liked such things.

But she asked him, "Don't you like lilacs?"

He replied, "No, the lilacs are very nice, I'll accept them."

He shifted his gaze from her smiling face to the undulating sea, remaining silent.

From the moment she uttered the meaning of lilacs, he understood why she had given him flowers. It was a good misunderstanding, he thought expressionlessly.

Hua Deng thought her comforting words had worked and was secretly pleased, so she couldn't help but say a few more words: "Actually, the view of the sea is very good here. The view is wide open and no one will disturb you. Look at that seagull, how fast it flies."

"Yes, very soon."

"It's a pity it's cloudy today. The sea will be even more beautiful when the weather is sunny."

"Okay, I'll come on a sunny day next time."

Hua Deng laughed: "But it's been a long time since I've been here. Luckily, nothing has changed."

She didn't want to mention why she came here; his life was already unhappy, and she didn't want to add to his troubles.

But this person, who had just been indifferent to everything, suddenly turned around and calmly asked, "So why did you come here today?"

"It's because..."

As soon as he asked the question, Hua Deng couldn't resist sharing his thoughts and recounted what had happened that day, half complaining and half joking.

"I don't want to get married." She sat on the rock, distressed. "Why do my parents insist that I marry someone I don't even know?"

“You don’t have to marry him,” he said. “We live in a society governed by the rule of law.”

"They are very unhappy about this."

"Oh, then you should marry him."

"...I don't want to get married."

"Then I won't marry him."

"..."

The streetlights remained silent.

The two looked at each other for a moment, and then she chuckled: "Okay, fine, if I don't want to marry you, I don't want to marry you. It's really not a big deal."

"Oh, right," she said, taking out her phone, "what's your name? Let's exchange contact information?"

...

"In short, that's how it is." Hua Deng looked at Su Yiqing earnestly. "Do you think I still have any hope?"

Su Yiqing's expression was indescribable; Hua Deng felt it was like the look her advisor had when she was in school and saw her graduation thesis.

"That watch is definitely a fake," Su Yiqing concluded.

"ah?"

"Fine, if you like it, give it a try," Su Yi sighed softly. "Ask him out tomorrow, I don't believe he won't be attracted to you."

"Where should we meet? At the movie theater?" Hua Deng asked humbly.

Su Yi paused for a moment and said, "Logically speaking, you two have become friends and chatted online for a month, so you can go to places for adults, but you... How about this, there's an ocean park nearby, you can go there with him. It's close to home and safe."

Hua Deng: "That sounds good. What should I prepare?"

"Prepare an earphone, then hand it over to me with confidence." Su Yiqing revealed a domineering smile. "I've dated plenty of men, so just go ahead and ask them out. I'll teach you how."

*

On the other side, a figure sat quietly on the shore where the sea breeze was blowing gently.

But soon, shouts and curses shattered this peaceful moment: "Chen Zhou! You son of a bitch! Are you sick, sitting in a wheelchair here all day?!"

A young man, leaning on a cane, limped in along the wooded path.

The person who came was Jin Ze. Last month, he and Shen Zhou were in a car accident. Shen Zhou was unharmed, but Jin Ze broke his right leg and is still unable to move around. This has made people extremely angry.

What's even more infuriating is that Shen Zhou is utterly inhuman. On the day he was discharged from the hospital, he stopped the car halfway by the sea, took his wheelchair, and said he wanted to see the sea and reminisce about his childhood.

He spent his childhood in England, so what's the point of coming here to reminisce?

Jinze, panting heavily, was even more furious when he saw Shenzhou remaining calm and undisturbed. He reached out his wicked hand, intending to push him down.

As expected, he had locked the wheelchair, making it impossible to move.

Jinze chuckled, completely losing his temper, and sat down on a nearby rock.

However, before he could even settle in, Shen Zhou glanced at him, inexplicably stood up, and pulled him up again.

"...What are you doing?"

“This is not your place,” Shen Zhou said.

"You're asking me to divide this broken rock between you and me? Have you lost your mind?" Jinze cursed.

He took a breath, his gaze towards Shen Zhou growing increasingly suspicious: "Something's not right. You started acting strangely after we came back from the beach that day! What exactly are you trying to do?"

Shen Zhou said, "I want to be in a relationship."

Jinze: "What case have you filed?"

Shen Zhou: "Let's date."

Jinze: "...!!!"

Something even more unbelievable than a seagull drowning has happened!

"Wait, wait." He sat down, feeling dizzy. "Did I hit my head that day? I think I'm hallucinating from a concussion."

Shen Zhou: "Hua Deng, you know him, help me think of a way."

Jin Ze did indeed know her; the Jin family and the Hua family had many business dealings, and he had seen that young lady quite a few times.

But that didn't stop him from being surprised; it took him a long time to calm down.

"Uncle, are you really going to date? My mom died young, so I'm the only one who can help you with this. Let me look up some tips online first..."

Shen Zhou turned and left, but Jin Ze followed him again, limping: "Damn it, don't take the wheelchair with you!"

*

At night, Hua Deng stayed overnight at Su Yiqing's house.

She pulled the covers over herself and started sending messages to Chen Zhou.

[Dengdengdeng]: Are you free tomorrow? I'd like to ask you out, is that okay?

Unbeknownst to her, Shen Zhou across from her was ordering Jin Ze: "Recommend locations for dates with girls, compile them into a document and send it to me within five minutes... no, three minutes."

[Dengdengdeng]: How about Ocean Park? It's newly opened, and a friend said it's good. I hope you're not allergic to seafood.

On the other hand, Shen Zhou remained calm and deleted all the concerts, jewelry exhibitions, and other recommendations made by Jin Ze.

The lights wait patiently.

The chat window shows that the other person is typing.

After a while, she received a reply.

[. ]:good.

Hua Deng: "..." Does it really take this long to type a single character?

However, he seems quite easy to reach, which suggests there's hope.

Miss Hua jumped out of bed: "Yi Qing! Come and pick out a dress for me to wear tomorrow!"