Chapter 33

The next day, feeling refreshed, Zhuang Zhuoyuan went to work. After considering his options along the way, upon arriving at the base, he ultimately decided to tell everyone about Zhan Hantao's failed marriage proposal first. It wasn't that he was being nosy or gossipy; rather, everyone already knew about Zhan Sir's proposal at the bar that day. To prevent anyone from unintentionally stabbing Zhan Hantao in the back when they came to congratulate him, Zhuang Zhuoyuan had to gather everyone beforehand for a small meeting to explain all the precautions.

This outcome was naturally unacceptable to Zhan Sir's many fans, so besides feeling regretful, they all eagerly inquired about the reasons for Ding Huihui and Zhan Hantao's breakup. But Zhuang Zhuoyuan had no idea how much this was, and even if he wanted to, there wasn't enough time, as Zhan Sir, one of the parties involved, had already arrived at the scene.

"Assemble on the playground in five minutes."

Before everyone could calm down, Zhan Hantao walked in as if nothing had happened. They had agreed beforehand to remain calm and not put extra pressure on Zhan Sir, but from the moment he entered the office, everyone's eyes couldn't help but linger on him, though they didn't know what to say.

Just then, Jianren and Ah Xuan walked in from outside. Initially shocked by the news of Zhan Sir's failed proposal, the team members in the office hadn't noticed that the two of them hadn't attended the "morning meeting," and as a result, things went wrong because of their loose tongues. Jianren congratulated them as he walked in: "Zhan Sir, congratulations on your successful proposal! Have you set a date yet?" Qiu Junxuan chimed in, "When are you having the banquet? Do you need any help?"

Seeing the two being quickly pulled aside by their teammates, and Ah Li and Long Po gesturing for them to be quiet, Zhan Hantao immediately realized that everyone knew what had happened last night. His eyes darkened inadvertently, but he quickly turned his gaze back to Zhuang Zhuoyuan, the source of the news.

Zhuang Zhuoyuan was also worried: "I just don't want them to ask you."

The mother quickly stepped in to smooth things over: "Inspector Zhan, the brothers are just concerned about you."

The atmosphere instantly became even more tense. Not only were people hesitant to speak, but they also hesitated to even look at Zhan Hantao again. Zhan Hantao glanced around, then spoke again, his tone casual: "What's wrong? It's just a breakup, it's nothing. I keep my personal and professional lives separate; I won't let personal matters affect my work. Okay, see you at the playground later."

He left as soon as he finished speaking, as if nothing had happened, but the group grew increasingly anxious. Watching Inspector Zhan's retreating figure, Ah Xing hesitated for a long time before finally speaking up: "Won't Inspector Zhan do something foolish?"

Zhuang Zhuoyuan immediately replied with "Crazy."

Ah Zu was a bit slow to react, but he always thought things through quite deeply. He frowned and speculated, "If Zhan Sir said it's nothing, then it should be nothing, right?"

But Jianren quickly retorted, "The more he says there's nothing wrong, the more trouble he'll cause. I'm afraid he'll keep it bottled up inside, and it'll eventually turn into a big problem."

Before he could finish speaking, he was immediately surrounded and beaten by a group of brothers. Everyone told Jianren not to say anything carelessly later, and Zhuang Zhuoyuan also told Axing to be careful what he said, but in the end, his tightly furrowed brows could not be relaxed for a while. He was the last one to fall behind, and Su Wenqiang just happened to pull him aside and said, "You usually get along so well with Zhan Sir's girlfriend, find some time to ask her why they broke up and whether there is any chance to salvage the relationship."

Zhuang Zhuoyuan was also quite troubled. He and Iris had tried to contact Ding Huihui, but she just wouldn't answer their calls. Now they didn't even know where she had moved to. "Iris sent her a message this morning. Let's wait and see if she replies."

However, he still had to go to the airport to intercept her. Zhuang Zhuoyuan asked Ding Huihui's colleague for her flight information, and after finishing work and picking up Iris, he rushed to intercept her before she boarded the plane. Unexpectedly, he ran into Su Wenqiang, who was seeing his friend off at the airport. Iris went up to greet him, and when she returned, Zhuang Zhuoyuan was already talking to Ding Huihui.

Acting on her woman's instincts, Iris didn't step forward at that moment. Instead, she pulled Su Wenqiang behind a load-bearing pillar. Ding Huihui was explaining why she broke up with Zhan Hantao: "I've thought about the breakup very carefully. I know that Atao loves me very much, but we just don't get along. I know it's been very hard for him to accommodate me."

Zhuang Zhuoyuan felt a headache coming on. He and Iris had actually talked to Ding Huihui about this several times: "Huihui, don't always think the wrong way. Tao has never said that accommodating you is hard. Besides, dating is about a man and a woman, one is attractive and the other is not. Mutual accommodation is necessary for feelings to develop. Look at me and Iris, we are so compatible now because we have accommodated each other. The adjustment period is a bit tough, but as long as you have confidence, you will definitely make it work in the end. Like Tao, he has changed so much for you."

“The problem is that the changes he made weren’t the changes I wanted.” Ding Huihui frowned and sighed, using the proposal from the previous night as an example: “Like that vintage car, yes, A-Tao catered to my taste, and I was indeed very touched, but what I really wanted was an authentic vintage car, not the pink one he thought girls liked. And the roses on the car, such a large bouquet, it was indeed very romantic, but I prefer simple tulips. In the Netherlands, he had already seen my joy holding tulips, and even in Hong Kong, he could see the tulips on my phone case, couldn’t he? A-Yuan, stop wasting your breath. The facts prove that A-Tao only loves me, but he can’t understand the real me deep down. I need a soulmate, just like you.”

One of the differences between English and Chinese in expressing meaning lies in the lack of clarity in reference. Whether this "you" refers to "you" or "you all" was a question that likely left most of the people present, except for Ding Huihui. Su Wenqiang suddenly understood Iris's earlier strange behavior; she must have already sensed that Ding Huihui's feelings for Zhuang Zhuoyuan might not be ordinary.

Zhuang Zhuoyuan was visibly flustered, even his speech was slightly stuttering, which inevitably raised suspicions. Was he intimidated by Ding Huihui's boldness, or had he also sensed something was amiss? Regardless of which possibility was correct, as a married man, any further involvement with other women was a crime, and even if he escaped the death penalty, he would not escape punishment. Su Wenqiang turned to look at Iris, whose face remained calm, her gaze fixed intently on the two people conversing.

"Hui... Huihui, you need to be clear about what you're saying. Yes, Iris and I are what you call soulmates, but not everyone can be your soulmate, and you can't just grab anyone and expect them to be your soulmate. For example, Iris and I get along very well, and it seems very sweet to you, but if I were to date you, I would probably be a terrible boyfriend, do you understand?"

These hurried, off-the-point remarks made Su Wenqiang want to roll his eyes. He guessed that Zhuang Zhuoyuan himself realized his mistake, which was why he was still awkward and hesitant, almost sweating with anxiety. In contrast, Iris remained calm. Su Wenqiang really wanted to become a gossip reporter and interview Iris to find out how she was feeling.

Looking left and right but not seeing his girlfriend, Zhuang Zhuoyuan was half relieved and half anxious. If it weren't for his brotherhood with Zhan Hantao, he would have been tempted to back out of this whole affair. Iris's advice and reminders on this matter echoed in his ears even more, prompting Zhuang Zhuoyuan to want to end his conversation with Ding Huihui as quickly as possible: "Anyway, a soulmate takes time to cultivate. You and A-Tao are already in the process, why not continue? Maybe you're just one step away from reaching the finish line. Why give up at the last minute and go through a huge detour?"

After being bombarded with long and complex arguments, Ding Huihui felt helpless. She simplified things and asked Zhuang Zhuoyuan a single question: "If I left my phone in a taxi while traveling with you, what would you do?"

When the topic suddenly shifted to this, Zhuang Zhuoyuan's heart skipped a beat. He instinctively became more cautious, but after thinking for a while, he honestly replied, "I'll pursue her."

Ding Huihui's eyes lit up with obvious joy: "Why?"

“The tulip on your phone case was so hard to get Richard Edison to paint it by hand, you know? It’s one of a kind in the whole world…” By this point, Zhuang Zhuoyuan had already seen where the trap was set, but it was too late. He could only try his best to salvage the situation: “Ah Tao would have done the same thing. You and I are friends, and if any of my friends lost something in a taxi, I would help them chase after it. Ah Tao is different. Everything he does is just for you. Like this phone case, he tried his best to find it for you. We are just the bridge for him to realize his wish, the messengers to convey his feelings.”

Having said that, Zhuang Zhuoyuan couldn't think of anything else. He was really afraid that Ding Huihui would ignore the rejection in his words again. Seeing that she was about to speak again, he felt only nervousness.

Fortunately, Iris called at that moment. As soon as the phone rang, Zhuang Zhuoyuan answered it, the instant he pressed the answer button feeling as if a thousand-pound weight had been lifted from his heart. But there was no sound on the other end. Suspecting a bad signal, he glanced at Ding Huihui, then quickly took a few steps to the side, calling "BB" as he went. From Su Wenqiang's perspective, she clearly saw Ding Huihui's eyes dim for a moment—a reaction that was definitely not indifferent. Beside her, Iris ignored Zhuang Zhuoyuan's calls, directly ending the call and then putting her phone on silent after exiting the page. The call went through but he didn't answer; he answered but the call didn't go through. Zhuang Zhuoyuan's voice immediately became anxious. Without saying another word to Ding Huihui, he jogged away, preparing to leave.

A sniper's observation skills shouldn't be this bad, but seeing him run past where they were standing and then another five or six meters ahead, Su Wenqiang hesitated. She whispered to Iris, "Should we call him back?"

Iris glanced at her, her mood clearly not pleasant as she spoke: "His mental fortitude is so poor, and his observation skills and IQ have declined so drastically. Ah-Qiang, you should go back and tell Zhan Sir to give Ah-Yuan extra training."

Su Wenqiang thought she had better choose to keep quiet.

Watching Zhuang Zhuoyuan's departing figure, Ding Huihui's expression couldn't be more disappointed. She seemed to want to stay and wait for him, but with boarding imminent, she couldn't be willful this time and could only turn away, leaving behind a lonely figure.

Iris showed no intention of leaving. They thought that once Ding Huihui was gone, they should go after that fool, A-Yuan, but Iris remained rooted to the spot, as if certain that Zhuang Zhuoyuan, who had already rushed out, would turn back. Su Wenqiang truly didn't know if it was right or wrong for her to be here today and stay for so long. Her personality was always straightforward, and even with her womanly sensitivity, she couldn't understand the complex emotions swirling within Iris's heart.

While she was lost in thought, Zhuang Zhuoyuan returned. He stared at the unmoving red dot on his phone screen, and upon seeing his girlfriend, he slowed his pace, hesitant to approach. Knowing her as he did, he was certain she had overheard the entire conversation; the phone call wasn't a coincidence. Zhuang Zhuoyuan keenly sensed that Iris was angry.

"Wife, I was wrong." Once he realized this, Zhuang Zhuoyuan dared not delay any longer and hurriedly stepped forward to take his girlfriend's hand to admit his mistake. Iris didn't seem angry and let him hold her hand. What she said was completely reasonable: "I know the mistake wasn't yours. You can't stop others from liking you. Your attitude is relatively clear, right?"

Zhuang Zhuoyuan already knew the points that needed to be corrected: "If there is a next time, I will definitely refuse her to her face. But if she doesn't say she likes me, I really don't know how to refuse her. It would seem like I'm just being presumptuous."

Iris rubbed her chin, agreeing with him: "That's a question, but even the most difficult problems can be solved eventually. I believe you'll be able to handle it well next time."

Without explicit instructions, Iris meant he was to complete the task independently. To put it more bluntly, he had to resolve the romantic entanglements he had created himself; she was going to completely ignore them. Zhuang Zhuoyuan immediately frowned; he had a feeling Iris would be angry for a long time.

The perceptive Iris immediately confirmed his thoughts. She looked up and kissed Zhuang Zhuoyuan on the chin, defining it as a goodbye kiss: "In order not to affect your thinking, I've decided to stay at the mansion in Repulse Bay for the time being. I'll come back after you've resolved this matter."

Zhuang Zhuoyuan felt as if the sky had fallen and the earth had collapsed. Su Wenqiang, who had silently watched the whole thing from behind, was certain that if he could, Zhuang Zhuoyuan would have stopped Ding Huihui's flight on the spot. Iris's move was brilliant, truly brilliant!