Chapter 115
Is Zhan Xinyue there?
Shi Ziqian hugged her back, holding her very tightly.
Hot tears dripped one by one onto her neck.
"Shouldn't you be laughing at a time like this? Why are you crying instead?" Zhan Xinyue wanted to laugh, but tears started falling too.
"Maybe it's because I'm too happy," Shi Ziqian said in a muffled voice. "New Moon, something I thought I would never have, seems to have finally come true."
There was only one thing Shi Ziqian wanted most, and she already knew it when she was 17.
All he wanted was love.
“New Moon, thank you for loving me.” Shi Ziqian’s hoarse voice reached her ears, like a devout vow, “I will give you everything I have, my whole life, all my time, and all my love.”
"Okay." Zhan Xinyue smiled through her tears. "Shi Ziqian, let's love each other forever."
That night, it was almost 3 a.m. when the two of them finally returned home hand in hand.
Shi Ziqian pulled her close, and for the first time, he no longer hid his true emotions in front of her. He whispered, "Xinyue, I don't want you to see him. I'll be jealous."
"Okay." Zhan Xinyue gripped his hand tightly. "I won't."
Before going to bed, Zhan Xinyue took out her phone and carefully edited a post for her WeChat Moments. She selected Shi Ziqian in the "Who should see this?" section and clicked "Post".
She posted a photo, a candid shot she took of Shi Ziqian on her balcony the night they first got together. He stood under a streetlamp, his tall figure casting a long shadow. It was the first photo of him on her phone, but it wouldn't be the last.
Caption:
Let's walk together on every road from now on, my favorite person.
They went to bed very late that night, but both slept very well.
When Zhan Xinyue woke up in the morning, Shi Ziqian was already up, leaning against the sofa by himself.
Zhan Xinyue originally wanted to call him, but after taking two steps over, she saw him looking down at his phone with a gentle smile in his eyes.
She leaned against the door and laughed, knowing that Shi Ziqian must have seen it.
The last day before school started was wasted by the two of them spending time together. When they returned to the dormitory, their roommates had already come back and brought back the latest good news: Dudu's love life had made new progress. She and the boy named Li Siyuan officially confirmed their relationship during the holiday.
So before the start of their sophomore year, three of the girls in the dorm already had boyfriends.
Yiqing also insisted on having an online romance. It is said that her online boyfriend was an international student, and there was a time difference between him and China, so Yiqing's gaming time gradually stabilized to the point where she would go online very late every day.
Seeing that Yiqing was always sitting in front of the computer late at night, Dudu started to complain to her every day about various cases of being scammed in online dating, but Yiqing remained unmoved.
Have you two ever video chatted?
Yi Qing calmly replied, "No."
Have you exchanged photos?
Remaining calm: "No."
"No, no, no! Nothing at all! You never know who's online, maybe the other person is a bald old man."
Yi Qing smiled slightly: "No, we've spoken on the phone, his voice is very pleasant."
"What can a voice prove!" Dudu sighed, looking up at the sky. "Wang Yiqing, I really didn't know you were such a voice enthusiast!"
The other roommates had expressed varying degrees of concern about Yiqing's relationship, but Yiqing usually had a good temper and was very resolute on this matter, so they gradually stopped saying anything.
Two weeks later, one evening when Zhan Xinyue went out, she saw a young man standing downstairs in the dormitory. He wasn't very old, but he looked much more mature than the other college students. She glanced at him but didn't pay much attention. However, when she and Shi Ziqian were taking a walk with Panpan after dinner, she suddenly saw a huge exclamation mark from Dudu in the dormitory group chat.
!!! !!! !
The legendary online lover of Qing has appeared, and it turns out he really isn't a bald old man!
The post included a picture of Yiqing talking face-to-face with a boy. Upon closer inspection, the boy in the photo turned out to be the same one she had seen at the dormitory entrance.
Yiqing finally popped up after a long time: Hey, I told you he was an international student! He was studying for his master's degree abroad, but he just graduated and came back to China and found a job in Zhongguancun Software Park, which is very close to us, so he came to see me.
Dudu immediately said: Oh, you're a graduate student. Your online boyfriend is quite high-quality.
Yiqing corrected her: "You're not my online dating partner anymore."
Dudu sent a voice message, drawing out her words in a low voice: "We're not online dating anymore—"
Yi Qing sent two disdainful emojis, which made Zhan Xinyue laugh for a long time.
And so, the four of them in the dorm started dating in their spare time between their busy new semester.
Zhan Xinyue studied diligently how to solve Shi Ziqian's sleep problems and finally came up with an idea.
She remembered Shi Ziqian saying that he slept better in noisy classrooms during high school, and guessed that he might feel safer when there were people around, so she suggested that she call him that night.
She told her roommate that every night after everyone had fallen asleep, she would put on her headphones and call Shi Ziqian. Neither of them would speak; they would just listen to each other's breathing through their headphones and fall asleep together.
After a period of time, Shi Ziqian's sleep improved significantly.
Before the National Day holiday, a few people in the dorm were asking each other about their holiday plans, trying to get inspiration. Suddenly, Dudu suggested, "Since everyone is in a relationship, we have less time to hang out together. Why don't we take this opportunity to each bring our boyfriends and have a team-building event?"
This suggestion was met with enthusiastic responses from everyone. After discussing it among themselves, the group unanimously decided to go to Mount Tai, which is not far from Beijing.
Zhan Xinyue had no opinion on where to go, and the thought that she had never traveled with Shi Ziqian before made her feel very happy.
Before messaging Shi Ziqian to ask for his opinion, she asked one more time: "How many days should we go?"
"Two days should be enough for Mount Tai, right?" Dudu said. "I just checked the travel guide. We'll set off on the 1st, do some sightseeing in Tai'an, start climbing in the evening, and be able to come down the mountain around the morning of the next day. We'll be back in Beijing before nightfall."
Zhan Xinyue paused, her hand already on the keyboard: "Night climb, huh? Aren't we going to sleep?"
"Climbing Mount Tai at night is the best way to experience it. You can reach the summit in the early morning to watch the sunrise. Why sleep in at such a young age? When you're out having fun, you should stay up all night!" Dudu said. "Besides, you can save on a hotel night's accommodation. It's the best of both worlds!"
Zhan Xinyue thought to herself: Okay, college students are all crazy.
Students of this age never consider physical exertion when going out to play; they only care about budgeting.
Zhan Xinyue wasn't incapable of enduring the hardship, but she was a little worried about Shi Ziqian's health when she thought of him.
It was so hard to get my sleep back to normal...
After hesitating for most of the day, Zhan Xinyue tried to raise her objection again: "I think this itinerary might be a bit too tiring?"
"It's okay," Yiqing said. "If we're tired, let's find a KFC to rest for a bit!"
Everyone nodded in agreement; no one seemed to think there was anything wrong with it.
Zhan Xinyue had no choice but to compromise. After hesitating for a long time, she clicked on Shi Ziqian's profile picture and sent him a message: Do you have any plans for the National Day holiday?
Shi Ziqian replied quickly: I was just about to tell you that I have some family matters to attend to and I need to take leave next week to go back home. I may not be able to return to school until after the National Day holiday.
I see...
A faint sense of regret welled up in Zhan Xinyue's heart, but after a moment she breathed a sigh of relief. This was for the best; his sleep had finally improved a lot recently, so she shouldn't bother him anymore.
Shi Ziqian indeed left school a week before the holiday. He went home this time because of his old house in his hometown. The old house had been abandoned for so long and had become increasingly dilapidated, finally collapsing completely this year. He had a lot of affection for that house, but since it had been uninhabited for so long, he didn't think about rebuilding it. He just wanted to go back and take another look, ask someone to level the ruins, tidy it up a bit, and plant some flowers and trees.
After finishing up his business there, Shi Ziqian went home and wanted to have a talk with Shi Yuesheng.
He hadn't originally planned to tell Shi Yuesheng about his relationship with Zhan Xinyue, but he recently changed his mind.
He still felt that he didn't need his father's approval for his own affairs, but suddenly felt he should formally tell him. After all, he was his father, and he wanted Zhan Xinyue to feel that she was recognized by her family, that her actions were legitimate and aboveboard.
Back home, Shi Yuesheng was sitting in the living room drinking tea. He wasn't surprised at all by his sudden return, only slightly lifting his eyelids.
Shi Ziqian sat down in front of him and said bluntly, "Dad, let's talk."
Shi Yuesheng slowly blew on the teacup in his hand, his expression unchanged. "What do you want to talk to me about? Do you want to talk about your girlfriend, or about the investments you've been trying to make recently?"
Shi Ziqian's back slowly tensed, but his face remained as impassive as his: "Wu Chuni told you."
Shi Yuesheng shook his head. "I have far more ways to know about your current situation than you think."
Seeing Shi Ziqian staring at him silently, Shi Yuesheng put down his cup, poured himself a fresh cup of tea, and said leisurely, "Relax a little. Why are you so tense? You should know that it's not so easy for young people to break free from their parents' control."
Shi Ziqian stood up: "Since you already know, I have nothing more to say. I'm going upstairs."
"Wait a minute." Shi Yuesheng called out to him, "Now that you're back, let's have a good talk, father and son."
Shi Ziqian scrutinized him for a moment before sitting down.
Shi Yuesheng continued drinking his tea, but then asked a question: "Ziqian, I know you've always been prejudiced against me and against businessmen. I want to ask you, what do you think is the most important quality of a successful entrepreneur?"
Before Shi Ziqian could speak, he continued, "I guess you meant to say, shrewd, mercenary, and adept at navigating social situations, right?"
Shi Ziqian didn't respond, seemingly acquiescing.
Shi Yuesheng wasn't angry; instead, he smiled slightly and said, "You're wrong."
He looked at Shi Ziqian and said, "To become a good entrepreneur, the most important thing is to have ambition, drive, keen insight, and the courage to make decisive decisions."
"Some people say that I got into real estate by luck or because of connections. But in fact, I started from scratch and always ambitiously searched for the path to wealth. Finally, I keenly found the opportunity of that era, bet everything on it, and that's how I succeeded."
Shi Ziqian stared at him, but still didn't say anything.
"So, this industry isn't as simple as you think, but since you're my son, it might not be too difficult for you. I'm actually quite happy to hear that you're starting to show interest in business. If you want to do it, then go for it!"
After a pause, Shi Yuesheng continued, "I know what you're thinking right now. Actually, I have no interest in interfering in your personal affairs. But I want to tell you, if you really don't want to be controlled by me, then make some achievements and prove your abilities to me. Don't fantasize about having absolute freedom until you're fully capable. Since you're planning to invest, I'll give you some money. Go find the next big opportunity in the industry."
“No need,” Shi Ziqian said. “I have my own money.”
“What can you do with that little money? It’s not easy to achieve anything; you always have to pay your tuition. Consider this money as my tuition for you.” Shi Yuesheng took a sip of tea. “As a father, I always want to do something for my child.”
Shi Ziqian thought for a moment, then stood up: "Consider it a loan from me."
He turned to leave, and before going upstairs, he heard Shi Yuesheng say leisurely, "Take your car with you before you go. Nobody drives it all day, and it's just taking up space in the garage. A man can't be in a relationship without a car."
The night before her departure, Zhan Xinyue made a video call to Shi Ziqian.
When the video call connected, Shi Ziqian had just taken a shower and looked very relaxed.
She knew he didn't like going home much, and it was rare to see him in such a good mood at home, which made her a little happier too.
The two chatted for a while, and she mentioned to Shi Ziqian that she was going to climb Mount Tai the next day. Shi Ziqian looked a little surprised and asked her who would be going with her, to which Zhan Xinyue gave the truth.
After listening, Shi Ziqian hesitated for a moment: "Xinyue, they all brought their boyfriends."
Fearing he might misunderstand, Zhan Xinyue immediately explained that she had originally intended to invite him to join her, but she didn't mention it because he had to go home.
Shi Ziqian nodded and didn't say anything more, only reminding her to be careful and not to get separated from the group.
The next day, a group of seven people gathered at the school gate, forming a large and lively crowd.
This was Zhan Xinyue's first time traveling with so many people, and she found it quite novel. They chatted and laughed all the way, taking the subway and then the high-speed rail, and arrived in Tai'an smoothly. After exploring Tai'an and having dinner, all that was left to do was wait for nightfall.
Yiqing and her boyfriend spent a long time researching travel guides together, and said, "We can start climbing around 9 or 10 pm, and we can take a break along the way. That way, we can reach the top of the mountain around 6 am."
Since they were going to climb all night, they couldn't do anything too strenuous at the moment. The group strolled around the streets for a while and finally found a teahouse, booked a private room, and rested.
The teahouse had a mahjong machine, but unfortunately, most of the people present didn't know how to play, so they ended up playing cards instead. During this time, Yiqing and her boyfriend tried to sneak off to an internet cafe to play games, but they were discovered and firmly stopped by everyone. Dudu dragged Yiqing to the table, and Zhan Xinyue, being the only single person among them, received even more special attention.
Around 8 PM, everyone was a bit tired, and Zhan Xinyue finally escaped from the card table to help everyone order takeout.
As soon as she stood up, Dudu's boyfriend immediately took her place. Zhan Xinyue asked for everyone's opinions, casually ordered some food, and then turned around to see Dudu and her boyfriend sitting face to face. On the other two sides of the card table sat Xiaoye and Yiqing, their boyfriends leaning back in their chairs watching their cards.
Everyone took special care of her along the way; no one neglected her because they were all focused on their boyfriends. But during this brief respite from the hustle and bustle, Zhan Xinyue suddenly felt that while the excitement was genuine and the happiness was real, something seemed to be missing, and the experience wasn't quite complete.
She counted; it had been a whole week since she last saw Shi Ziqian. They hadn't been apart for such a long time in a long time, and she missed him terribly.
She took out her phone and sent a message to Shi Ziqian.
We're getting ready to start climbing at 10 o'clock. Guess what we're doing right now?
Shi Ziqian returned after a long time: "Is he resting at the foot of the mountain?"
Zhan Xinyue's eyes crinkled into a smile: "You're incredibly clever." We found a teahouse nearby, and everyone was playing cards. I just lost a lot of hands [crying cat emoji], but it's okay, it was just for fun, I didn't lose any money, haha.
Shi Ziqian asked: What teahouse?
Zhan Xinyue casually took a picture of the door with the sign and room number printed on it and sent it over, then continued: We just ordered takeout, and we're going to eat something before we leave.
This time, Shi Ziqian didn't reply for a long time again.
"He's taking so long to reply..." Zhan Xinyue thought, resting her chin on her hand. What could he be doing right now? It's so late; he should be home at this hour. Is he taking a shower?
While she was lost in thought, Dudu glanced over and immediately called for her boyfriend to give way, telling Xinyue to come over and continue playing cards.
"You guys play, I'll take a break." Zhan Xinyue waved her hand in refusal, then glanced at her phone; Shi Ziqian still hadn't replied.
"That won't do. If you leave, it'll be a situation where I always lose!"
Zhan Xinyue knew that this was just a kind excuse from Dudu, who couldn't bear to see her all alone. After struggling for a while, she was finally pushed back to the card table.
They played several more rounds, but the takeout still hadn't arrived. Although everyone continued playing cards, they all wore expressions of longing and anticipation. By this time, everyone was genuinely hungry. Yiqing and Xiaoye's boyfriend simply stopped watching them play and went to the balcony of the private room to look down.
"Look at that Bentley downstairs, a man's dream." Yiqing's boyfriend gazed at a spot downstairs and sighed, "I wonder if I'll ever have the chance to drive one in my lifetime."
Yi Qing, who was listening from the other side, replied, "I wonder if I'll ever have the chance to sit on it in my lifetime."
“I think there’s a chance,” he said with a smile. “Once my job is more stable, I plan to get a few good buddies and start a business together. If it works out, you can sit here with me.”
Yi Qing smiled and said, "Then I'll be waiting."
Her boyfriend is supposedly quite accomplished; he studied mathematics at a prestigious university in China and later went to the US to pursue a master's degree in computer science, a different field. He said he wanted to start a studio, and everyone thought it wouldn't be a problem.
After a few people joked and teased him and Yiqing for a while, there was a knock on the door.
"Ah, the takeout is finally here! I'm starving! I'm going to open the door!" Dudu immediately dropped the cards and tried to run away.
Before she could even get up, Xiao Ye had already pinned her down. "Stop! With so many cards left, are you trying to escape?"
Yiqing also said, "That's right, we're definitely going to win this round. No one's allowed to leave the table until this round is over!"
The group started arguing, and Yiqing's boyfriend said, "You guys keep fighting, I'll go get it."
He strode to the door, opened the private room door, and let out a soft "Eh."
"Handsome, you've gone to the wrong place, haven't you?" he asked, puzzled.
"I don't think I've gone to the wrong place." A clear male voice said, "Is Zhan Xinyue here?"
Inside the room, before Zhan Xinyue could react, Yi Qing and Du Du had already cheered.
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