Chapter 20 "Try mine..."

"Try my cooking." Xiang Wan placed the last dish on the table, tilted her head slightly, looked at Huang Shiyu who was sitting upright, and could see her discomfort. She pulled out a chair, sat down next to Huang Shiyu, and said, "I'm really sorry about what happened earlier. I hope you didn't find it funny."

"Thank you, it's no problem." Huang Shiyu looked at Xiang Wan's smiling face and answered somewhat awkwardly. Normally, she would not have acted like this.

She attributed this unnaturalness directly to Li Xingzhou sitting opposite her.

After Xiang Wan briefly explained the situation, Huang Shiyu realized it was a misunderstanding. Xiang Wan was actually Xiang Zhinan's older sister, and the two of them really didn't look alike at all.

Xiang Zhinan's eyes were always filled with a deep smile, as if nothing in the world could make him sad. You could tell from that comical first meeting that he had a really good attitude.

Although Xiang Wan was smiling, it was a smile that seemed to have been practiced hundreds of times, a conditioned reflex. Even though it was the most perfect and flawless smile, it didn't make Huang Shiyu lower his guard. Instead, it gave him the feeling of doing business with someone at a dinner table.

However, considering Xiang Zhinan's personality, it's understandable that they are siblings. They are quite similar in some ways, such as their equally energetic and decisive work style.

"Don't you and Xiang Zhinan eat every day?" Xiang Wan had just checked the refrigerator while cooking and found only a few eggs, a head of broccoli, and a small amount of abalone, nothing else.

Li Xingzhou lowered his head and silently ate the rice in his bowl, without answering Xiang Wan's question.

“I see the fish in the fish tank are eating better than you and Xiang Zhinan.”

Huang Shiyu glanced at the fish tank behind Li Xingzhou out of the corner of her eye. It was the same length as the dining table, and the water must have been changed. Even from a distance, she could see several fist-sized fish swimming leisurely near the artificial tree placed in the bathtub.

There were also several thumb-sized fish fry that had just been released into the water.

The fish in the Speed ​​Technology conference room were raised by Huang Shiyu, so she knew all too well the cost of raising fish. Xiang Wan was right; the fish in the tank were better fed than the two of them.

Besides looking at the fish tank, she also noticed the silver safe underneath it.

It wasn't that she was a little greedy and had a lot of money on her mind, but she couldn't understand why anyone would put a safe in the living room. Isn't it said that wealth should not be flaunted?

Perhaps for Li Xingzhou, money is nothing special, not something rare.

Just as she was about to look away, she unexpectedly met the gaze of Li Xingzhou, who was still engrossed in eating.

His deep eyes had a sharp look in them, and perhaps because he had just lifted his eyelids, there was a faint sense of aloofness in his expression. The look she wanted to take back fell into his eyes.

However, Li Xingzhou only glanced at him briefly before looking away, as if the wind had gently blown across a calm lake without causing even a ripple.

After Huang Shiyu looked away, only one thought remained in his mind: How embarrassing! Would he think I was staring at him the whole time? But Li Xingzhou's eyes are really quite beautiful; I feel like I've seen them somewhere before.

"You're such a grown man, why do you still make people worry about you like this?" Xiang Wan saw that he finally decided to look away, and then started rambling on again.

Li Xingzhou picked up a piece of broccoli and ate it, thinking to himself: It's a bit salty.

He was a little speechless: "What's the point of buying a bunch of food and putting it in the refrigerator if you can't even cook? Are you just going to stare at it all day?"

"You really are just like that brat, one sentence from you is worth ten sentences from him." Xiang Wan thought of Xiang Zhinan again, thinking about how to make him reveal his true colors.

"I only said one sentence, you did all the talking." Li Xingzhou was afraid that Xiang Wan would keep going on and on, so he quickly put a piece of broccoli on her plate. It was a bit salty, which was just enough to shut her up. After he finished, he slowly said, "I'm fine eating this. As long as I don't starve."

What I was thinking was: He just moved in today, how could he have time to go grocery shopping?

Seeing that Li Xingzhou was following Xiang Zhinan's lead, and glancing at the items in the room, which were very new and the floor was spotless, as if it had just been cleaned not long ago, it was clear that Xiang Zhinan was not here, because the place where that brat lived would never be this clean.

She glanced again at Huang Shiyu, who was eating with his head down next to her. Although she could only see half of his face, it was precisely because of these faint lines that the superiority of his features was even more apparent.

When the door opened earlier, Huang Shiyu's shocked look for a few seconds did not escape the shrewd Xiang Wan. In the business world, it is said that one must have eight hundred shrewdnesses, and these shrewdnesses must be used on everyone who appears in one's field of vision.

She saw through their pretense at a glance, but it's a quality every adult should have to keep quiet about it.

But she was still very curious about who this person was, and so she did it.

"Beautiful lady, what do you do for a living?"

"Smart healthcare." Huang Shiyu was a little surprised that the topic had turned to her, but she still answered obediently.

"Hey, isn't that the same as Xingzhou? Hmm, very good, keep it up, the next ten years will belong to artificial intelligence."

This isn't flattery or boasting; it's the answer that capital has already provided. VC's research reports have long shown that any company worldwide even remotely related to artificial intelligence has received an astonishing amount of funding. Moreover, giants like Apple, Google, and Microsoft have all given their verdicts. So, the idea that the next decade will belong to artificial intelligence is no exaggeration.

Huang Shiyu clearly agreed with her words. After all, this person was someone who undertook high-intensity work every day and managed a company comparable to international giants, so she did have a sharp eye.

"Are you also in this industry?" Huang Shiyu asked.

Instead of answering, Xiang Wan asked, "What did you study?"

"My undergraduate degree is in finance, and I also minored in computer science. I've learned a little programming, but I'm only scratching the surface," Huang Shiyu answered in great detail.

In fact, she was right. She had only reached the beginner level in programming and was too busy to find the time to pursue further studies.

Just then, Li Xingzhou across from him finished eating and put down his chopsticks. He slowly took out a tissue to wipe his mouth, his gaze casually drifting towards Huang Shiyu, his manner perfectly measured, neither too much nor too little.

"You're not that old, yet you've learned so much. If only Xiang Zhinan were even a little bit as studious as you. That kid is too playful; he'd come all the way here even if he had to work on a project." As she said this, Xiang Wan chuckled, her gaze towards Huang Shiyu also carrying a faint smile. This smile felt different to Huang Shiyu; it was a genuine smile.

Huang Shiyu thought: Xiang Wan and Xiang Zhinan must have a very good sibling relationship, unlike her relationship with her parents' younger siblings, which is not too distant but not very close either, with a very strong sense of distance.

"How old are you?" Xiang Wan asked again.

This feeling made Huang Shiyu think that her next sentence would be that she should find a partner. Perhaps the shadow left by being pressured by her mother during the Chinese New Year two years ago was too deep, which made her have a certain degree of conditioned reaction.

"Twenty..." Huang Shiyu paused, not saying five, then remembered that she had just celebrated her birthday a few days ago, and immediately changed her mind: "Twenty-six."

“Twenty-six, great,” Xiang Wan said. “This is the best age.”

Xiang Wan didn't miss Huang Shiyu blinking twice at her words. She took a sip of water and continued the previous topic.

"Listen to me, in this society, thirty-year-olds have lost their drive, twenty-year-olds are still inexperienced and inevitably too impulsive, twenty-five-year-olds are still in the early stages of growth and transformation, and twenty-six-year-olds are different. They are not the best, but not the worst either, and are the most suitable age for starting a business and building a career."

After listening to Xiang Wan's words, Huang Shiyu's biggest feeling was that no matter if she was thirty, twenty, or twenty-five, she liked it.

She believes that every age group has its unique charm. As time goes by, just like the Ship of Theseus, the ship's planks and masts are constantly being replaced and the course is being adjusted towards the goal. Even if the previously replaced planks are not suitable for the journey, the journey will definitely be a route that can withstand scrutiny and examination.

Li Xingzhou, who hadn't said a word until now, commented in a rather irritating way, "Oh, are you saying you've lost your drive?"

"I haven't asked you yet. Isn't this Xiang Zhinan's house? What are you doing here?" Xiang Wan had wanted to ask this for a long time, but she forgot about it after finishing cooking. Now she just remembered.

She added, "Where's that brat? Did someone tip him off so you could come here to ambush me, and then he ran away?"

Xiang Wan could only think in this direction.

Huang Shiyu was also quite curious about this matter. After all, even if she didn't want to get too much information about Li Xingzhou, since they were working on projects in the same field, it was necessary to know about the competition.

She wasn't curious about Li Xingzhou's life, but she knew he lived in Jing'an District, though she didn't know which building. She wasn't so perverted as to pry into other people's lives.

Huang Shiyu cupped the warm water in her hands and drank it, her gaze following Xiang Wan as she looked at Li Xingzhou.

Li Xingzhou looked up and glanced at her. The topic had distracted him, and the answers in his mind were filling his brain. But because Huang Shiyu was staring at him, the answers in his mind eventually took over completely.

"Ah, you want to switch houses with me?" Xiang Zhinan asked Li Xingzhou incredulously, his eyes filled with surprise.

Seeing that Li Xingzhou didn't speak, he continued, "Are you alright? My house can't compare to your villa. Although this designer is very famous overseas and I hired him from far away at great expense, it still can't compare to the value of your villa. If you like that designer's style, I can introduce him to you."

The villa where Li Xingzhou currently lives is a former residence of a famous person and is very valuable on the market. Instead of remodeling or reshaping the villa, Li Xingzhou preserved the unique exposed red brick architecture of old Shanghai villas, creating a strong sense of separation from the British-style villas on the adjacent street, as if closely connecting the past and the future.

"Too slow. I think your set is quite good, I like it very much." Li Xingzhou looked indifferently at a certain spot, ignoring the shock in Xiang Zhinan's words.

Xiang Zhinan thought for a moment and continued to persuade him: "But my house is in Songjiang District, which is not close to your workplace. You need to think it through."

Li Xingzhou fixed his gaze on Xiang Zhinan and said, word by word, "Just tell me if it's okay or not, you don't need to consider anything else."

"You've been thinking about an answer for so long, is it really that hard for you to say?" Xiang Wan reminded him when she saw him staring at the bowl for a long time, clearly lost in thought.

"Don't let Xiang Zhinan's assistant tip you off anymore. That kid is almost driven to tears by you. Besides, betraying your boss is a big taboo in the business world."

Since Li Xingzhou had said that, Xiang Wan knew she really couldn't get any information about Xiang Zhinan from him. However, she still had to catch that brat. A few days ago, she received a photo of Xiang Zhinan shirtless on the street and spent a lot of money to buy it out, causing her to lose money she shouldn't have spent. This debt is still unpaid, and when it's settled at the end of the year, it will have to be distributed among various projects. Fortunately, it's only five million; any more and the shareholders would be dissatisfied.

Unable to find Xiang Zhinan at this stage, Xiang Wan simply started peeling the plate of shrimp that hadn't been touched much. After peeling them, she handed a plate to Huang Shiyu. Just as Huang Shiyu was about to take it, Li Xingzhou intercepted it halfway.

"Why did you steal the shrimp I was peeling for the pretty lady? I can peel them for you if you want some." Xiang Wan frowned, not angry, but scolding, meaning that the lady was a guest and how could she be so inconsiderate!

“She’s allergic to seafood,” Li Xingzhou replied matter-of-factly.

As soon as these words were spoken, not only Xiang Wan was stunned, but Huang Shiyu was also taken aback. She glanced at the other person, her eyes filled with an incomprehensible emotion.

Xiang Wan simply glanced at the two of them silently, unusually remaining silent.

"I can eat seafood now, and I'm not allergic anymore. It's different from before," Huang Shiyu said softly.

"Oh, that's unfortunate, I'm allergic to seafood right now." Li Xingzhou was used to not following the rules, he glanced at her and said, word by word.

The conversation couldn't continue any longer. Xiang Wan was basically the one trying to liven things up. She asked questions, and Huang Shiyu answered them. The atmosphere was tense and awkward, but aside from that little incident, Huang Shiyu was still quite satisfied. She really didn't expect Li Xingzhou to suddenly say that.

Everyone had tacitly agreed to maintain this dividing line and not cross it.

After returning to her apartment, she began unpacking the luggage she had brought from the rented place.

Then she pulled out a pencil case she hadn't used in a long time. Looking at this old-fashioned pencil case, she found clues in the dense fragments. It was the prize she won for second place in a writing competition back then.

Upon opening it, she found various pens and erasers that she no longer used. With a flick of her finger, a slip of paper was pulled out.

Because the window was wide open and there was a slight breeze blowing in from time to time, Huang Shiyu was thinking of catching the note fluttering in the air to see if it contained any important information she had missed, lest it be blown away by the wind and gone somewhere else. Just as she was about to catch it, the wind seemed to pick up a bit more, and she missed.

If she hadn't caught it, that would have been one thing, but then she accidentally knocked over a water glass that was sitting on the table.

The next second, the note fell to the ground, and the cup rolled a few times on the table before she caught it with one hand. But the note was still soaked, leaving not only transparent water stains but also a thin line of writing.

Please allow me to be your summer, or if possible, I would like to ask you to share my summer.

Summer is a season of vibrant, unrestrained growth, when plants flourish.

Huang Shiyu was stunned, her gaze fixed on the note, as if trying to figure out who wrote it to her through the messy handwriting.

But she knew all too well the jumbled handwriting that betrayed her fluctuating thoughts.

It is Li Xingzhou's handwriting.

Just moments ago, the sun was shining brightly outside the window at midday, but now it was slowly setting, falling faster and faster until her eyes were swaying as she looked at the note.

In a daze, it felt as if time had rewound eight years.

"Huang Shiyu".

"Why do you keep calling my name?" Huang Shiyu finally couldn't stand his cloying tone when he called her name and glanced at him.

The sunlight at this spot was so pure that it shone through the thick glass window and dazzled Li Xingzhou's face. She only glanced at it before quickly looking away.

"Do you think my handwriting is good?" he said with a smile.

Hearing his words, Huang Shiyu glanced at him again and saw him writing something on the wet paper. She couldn't see a single word; all she could see were the faintly visible, transparent characters under the sunlight. But as the moisture evaporated, the writing returned to its original state.

At first, she didn't pay much attention, assuming he was just killing time by writing something for fun. Then, while continuing to write on the test, she replied, "There's nothing here. What are you showing me?"

Li Xingzhou then asked, "How is it?"

"It's not very good. If you write like this, no one will know what you're writing. Once the paper dries, there will be nothing on it. If someone picks it up, they'll just think it's a piece of waste paper."

Li Xingzhou twirled the pen in his hand and said, "No, no, that's too absolute. Even if you write with a pen that shows color, does that mean it won't be a piece of waste paper to others?"

Before Huang Shiyu could react, Li Xingzhou put down his pen and continued, "For me, the words written on the paper, whether they are colored or not, are not the most important thing. What matters most is the meaning contained between the lines."

He raised his hand and held up the note on the table in front of Huang Shiyu. "After all, many things are not suitable to be expressed directly with words. Sometimes language seems pale and powerless in the face of many things. If you say something that the other person doesn't like or doesn't want to hear, it will be quite uncomfortable for both of you, don't you think?"

The note had been baked by the sun, and no trace of writing could be seen, as if the previous scene was her illusion.

Li Xingzhou looked at Huang Shiyu, and added with a serious expression and a smile, "But it's different when written in this way. At least it leaves room for both sides. It's good that we can both attack and defend."

Huang Shiyu seemed a little taken aback, staring blankly at him, "Is there anything that's so hard to say?"

His expression still held a hint of a smile, but it was inexplicably tinged with a thoughtful and hesitant look.

Seeing his silence, Huang Shiyu tried to ask him, "Then what did you write? Did your pen run out of ink or did you write on blank paper? I couldn't tell just now."

Li Xingzhou took a breath, leaned back in his chair, and forced a smile. He didn't give a direct answer, but said, "As I said, some things are too difficult to say outright. Let's talk about it at a more suitable time."

Li Xingzhou's face shimmered in the light, and over time, that face transformed into the note in her hand, while the sunlight outside shone brightly on her face.

So that summer, in the classroom of the second year of high school, the boy who always smiled at her had already carved his love for her into a piece of paper, stroke by stroke, and then it sprouted and took root.

The note slipped from your fingertips is like an expired movie ticket; it takes away more than just time—it takes away the past that can never be returned to, leaving only blurry and faded traces.

The movie had already ended when she realized she had seen it before, eight years ago. The humid rainy season in the movie had faded, and her own sunny day had arrived.

The phone on the table is vibrating incessantly, constantly beeping with text message notifications.

Huang Shiyu had to suppress her emotions, glance at the contents of her phone, and her pupils contracted as if she had been stimulated by something.

-----------------------

Author's note: VC stands for Venture Capital, also known as venture capital.

The line "Please allow me to be your summer" was written by Emily Dickinson.

I originally planned to do a three-in-one update, but I'm stuck on a part of the plot and haven't sorted it out yet. There will probably be two updates today.