Chapter 50 Even if you're so spoiled, can you hug me?
Liang Jingzhuo arrived in Jingzhao by plane at around 8 p.m. There was a problem with the main server of the European section. He had been personally following up on this project from the initial planning stage, and he had to travel with the project team when problems arose.
A program running on multiple global servers will inevitably encounter many tricky and difficult problems during the startup phase. The original plan for this business trip was to return in mid-December, but the problems were resolved smoothly, and the remaining procedures are a matter for technical support, so he can return early.
Before boarding the plane, he considered whether to tell Xie Qingci in advance, but ultimately decided not to.
Ms. Zhuang always said that he was straightforward, lacked romantic flair, and didn't know how to create surprises.
He thought that ending his business trip early and suddenly appearing in front of her should be considered a surprise.
This hopeful thought cooled abruptly when I called her after getting off the plane and was told that her phone was switched off.
It started snowing in Jingzhao at the end of November, a sight never seen on Hong Kong Island. As dusk settled and snow fell heavily, he led Lu Li out of the airport, frowning, and made another phone call to Xie Qingci.
The result was the same as the previous call: the other party's phone was switched off.
Lu Li seemed to have guessed the unexpected situation, so he asked, "It's Friday today, will Miss Xie have gone home?"
He paused for a moment upon hearing this, then called Ms. Zhou. After politely greeting her, he asked if Xie Qingci had returned. Zhou Mingzhen was completely unaware of this and said no. She then asked with concern if he couldn't reach her.
To avoid worrying his elders, he simply said that he had called but she hadn't answered, and that she was probably out with friends. He said he was going to the school to find her.
After hanging up the phone, I went straight to Peking University.
The sudden first snowfall plunged the entire city into a snow-covered wonderland. As the car drove onto the elevated highway, the snow fell even harder, causing traffic jams.
As the neon lights of the night blended into the rising steam and falling snow, he glanced at the cold night view outside the car window, made another phone call, and the result was exactly the same as before.
Where did they go?
Did you lose your phone, or did you encounter some other problem?
The prolonged period of no contact made even calm thoughts inevitably contemplate some unpleasant possibilities.
He frowned, just about to call Aunt Wen to ask if Xie Qingci had returned to Fushun Hutong today, when a familiar name jumped into view as his phone vibrated.
He answered the phone, intending to say he didn't have time for her idle chatter, but a surprised exclamation came through the receiver first: "Brother! I think I saw my sister-in-law!"
Lin Lexin had no classes recently, so she came to Jingzhao to visit friends. She was incredibly lucky to encounter Jingzhao's first snowfall of the year. After having dinner with some friends, they decided to continue their fun by going to karaoke. This kind of weather is perfect for getting together with friends, drinking, singing, and chatting.
However, the entertainment venues were packed tonight, and when they arrived at the karaoke room, they were told they had to wait. The wait wasn't too long, so they decided to wait a while. It was at this moment that she saw Xie Qingci.
Lin Lexin had never met Xie Qingci in person, but she had seen the photos Zhuang Shuying posted in the family group chat. Xie Qingci was so beautiful that she was immediately recognized.
However, Xie Qingci did not recognize her, and she was worried that going up to greet her abruptly would scare her, so she just watched silently for a while without going up to say anything.
The tension in his heart slowly subsided. Liang Jingzhuo pressed the phone, which he had been about to hang up, back to his ear and asked, "Where are you?"
Lin Lexin glanced down at the address. "Wait a minute, I'll send it to you."
No sooner had he finished speaking than an address navigation message came in.
Liang Jingzhuo glanced at the address sent in the message box, replied, "Got it," and was about to hang up.
The cunning man on the other end of the phone certainly wouldn't let this opportunity for blackmail slip by. "How heartless, Mr. Liang! I just gave you information about your sister-in-law's whereabouts, and you want to hang up without even a thank you!"
Lin Lexin is the daughter of Liang Jingzhuo's aunt and Liang Junshi's niece. She is ten years younger than Liang Jingzhuo and is eighteen years old this year. Her family is mostly male, and she is the only girl. She is naturally spoiled to the extreme, but Liang Jingzhuo does not indulge her and often finds her noisy. During family gatherings, he tells her to shut up the most.
But today was a special case, and he unusually patiently stayed on the phone, sending the address to Lu Li and saying, "Thank you."
Lin Lexin was not satisfied with this perfunctory reply, saying, "It lacks sincerity."
Normally, the person on the other end of the phone would hang up by this time, but not today. They even asked her, "Otherwise? What are you going to do?"
Lin Lexin was quite surprised, marveling at her sister-in-law's power while simultaneously plotting her own scheme, "In February next year, didn't your group sponsor B·D's joint concert?"
An epic collision of two major male and female groups, holding a joint concert, tickets are truly hard to come by, with scalper websites offering tickets for the inner field for as much as 300,000 yuan each.
Both groups happened to be ones that Lin Lexin liked. With the last ticket sale at the end of this month, she figured that with her unlucky reflexes, she probably wouldn't be able to get any tickets anyway, so she decided to take a risky approach.
The group's sponsorships and naming rights are handled by the brand and marketing departments. He doesn't participate in the decision-making of the subsidiary companies. He only knows that there will be a big joint performance next year. He doesn't care about which celebrities will be invited. He just roughly looked at the budget and market return estimates and thought it was a worthwhile project to invest in. He doesn't know anything else.
"I don't know about that. Are you going?"
Lin Lexin said expectantly, "Yes! Please help me, brother~ If I can't see my idol's concert, I will be restless, suffer from insomnia, anxiety, depression, and even lose hope in life!"
I've driven all the way to my doorstep and still haven't found the one I like. I'm so regretful.
Moreover, such an unprecedented joint concert is a once-in-a-lifetime event, and the financial investment required to put it together must have been considerable, making it very difficult to replicate.
Liang Jingzhuo was neither interested nor concerned, and replied, "Understood, I'll send an email to the brand department for you."
Lin Lexin was so quick to agree that she screamed excitedly for a while, then said with a mischievous smile, "Brother, you're doomed, you've fallen in love."
It's truly wonderful news that even a single-minded, cold-faced workaholic can slow down like this one day.
Liang Jingzhuo remained expressionless, said, "I'm hanging up," and then took the phone away from his ear and pressed the hang-up button.
The roads were slippery and difficult to drive on due to the snow. The situation was unexpected, and there wasn't time to change the tires to snow tires. Lu Li drove very slowly and it was two hours later when he arrived at the address given by Lin Lexin.
He had just gotten off the car when he received another message. Lin Lexin asked if he had found Xie Qingci, and then sent a string of numbers—the room number of Xie Qingci's private room—with the caption: [Since you're so unusually in love, I'm including your sister-in-law's exact room number. Don't thank me too much.]
Traffic was congested in the city center tonight, and this area wasn't far from Fushun Hutong. Liang Jingzhuo got out of the car at the intersection, and Lu Li went back to change his snow tires first.
As you ride the elevator upstairs, the car is filled with upbeat pop music and a unique fragrance.
Liang Jingzhuo rarely participates in entertainment activities. Sometimes he goes to bars with friends, but only occasionally. He doesn't like noisy environments, so his brows were unconsciously furrowed until he stepped out of the elevator.
Upon entering the KTV lobby, a waiter approached him to ask if he had a reservation. He replied that he had come to find someone himself.
The other person assumed he had made plans with a friend and subtly glanced at his clothes.
He was wearing a bespoke suit with a black overcoat and black leather gloves, which made him seem out of place.
But the waiter didn't say anything more. Who says you can't wear a domineering CEO outfit to karaoke?
Following the room number given by Lin Lexin, he found the corresponding number in the corridor, strode over, and finally stopped in front of the exact number.
The long, transparent glass panel on the door of the private room displayed the room number, and he glanced inside.
A familiar yet unfamiliar voice faintly drifted from inside the room. Xie Qingci stood in front of the screen, holding a microphone, and was singing.
He had never heard her sing before; this was the first time. He paused, intending to push the door open, and stood outside to listen to her finish a song.
The private room was dimly lit, and the light and shadow of the music video playing on the screen fell on her. When the last line was sung, Xie Qingci put down the microphone and gave a slight smile.
She sang quite well.
Just as she was about to push the door open, she heard her roommate ask her the next question.
The microphone in his hand was slightly amplified, but the not-so-loud conversation still reached his ears.
In the end, he decided to wait for her in the rest area.
-
Xie Qingci looked at the person standing in front of her, still in a daze, and asked, "Why are you back?"
Isn't the return trip time uncertain?
Liang Jingzhuo looked at the person in front of him, who showed no surprise whatsoever, just like when he returned early from his business trip last time. He remained silent for a moment.
Xie Qingci blinked, and stared at him silently for a moment. "You... solved the problem?"
He seemed to be in a rather urgent situation when he was on his business trip. He sent her the message on his way to the airport late at night, when she was already asleep and didn't see it. When she woke up the next day, he was already on the plane.
Liang Jingzhuo glanced at the slightly flushed cheeks of the person in front of him, and only after getting closer did he smell a faint scent of alcohol on her. Instead of answering, he asked, "Have you been drinking?"
Xie Qingci raised her hand to cover her mouth. "Is the taste very strong?"
She only drank two glasses, but she was indeed a bit tipsy. Her head was still spinning, and she felt like she was walking on cotton.
Looking into her dark, bright eyes, Liang Jingzhuo replied, "Mm."
Xie Qingci raised her hand to cover her face. "Oh no, I can't go home tonight."
She had originally planned to return to the Xie family's old house after finishing her business with Ke Meng and Duan Siyu. The old lady called a few days ago saying that she hadn't been back for a long time and missed her, but given the current situation, it seemed she couldn't go back.
"Want to play again?" Liang Jingzhuo asked her.
Alcohol numbed her nerves, and Xie Qingci's reaction was a beat slower. Her phone was already charging and turned on. She picked it up and glanced at the time; they had been playing for almost two hours.
Ke Meng and Duan Siyu were still in the private room. She paused for a few seconds and said, "Wait for me."
After saying that, he turned around and walked back to the private room.
The two people bouncing on the sofa were singing "Friends" together, their lingering affection making them look like they were really into acting.
Xie Qingci always felt that these two only came to the KTV to make jokes and act, and didn't really want to sing. They just sang old songs that they could make strange and weird.
As soon as she entered, the two men waved to her, gesturing for her to join them. "Please welcome our Academy of Fine Arts' number one goddess, Ms. Xie Qingci."
As they spoke, the two of them even clapped their hands in a serious manner.
Xie Qingci stood under the sofa, cupped her hands to her mouth like a megaphone, and shouted something.
The music was too loud, and the two, still engrossed in their performance, couldn't hear it clearly. So they turned it off. Ke Meng jumped off the sofa, pressed the pause button, rubbed his ears which were almost deafened by the loud music, and asked her, "What's wrong?"
Xie Qingci pursed her lips. "I might have to go now."
Duan Siyu picked up the juice on the table, took a sip, and asked in confusion, "Why? Is your mother urging you?"
Before leaving, Xie Qingci told them that she was going home tonight.
Xie Qingci shook her head. "No, um... Liang Jingzhuo came over."
The two people, one sitting and one standing, remained in the same position as a second ago, blinking blankly twice before finally reacting after two seconds. "Didn't you say you weren't coming over anytime soon?"
Xie Qingci was also puzzled; she didn't know how he always managed to end his business trips early.
He nodded. "Yeah, but I'm here anyway."
Ke Meng glanced at the time and breathed a sigh of relief: "Luckily it's not too late, otherwise if I were to be accused of taking the president's wife to a nightclub and not returning home at night, I'm afraid I wouldn't even dare to go to Hong Kong again."
Seeing that it was getting late, Duan Siyu suggested that she and Xie Qingci leave together, as it wouldn't be fun if the three of them were left alone. Ke Meng had no objection, put on her shoes, picked up her bag, and was about to leave with Xie Qingci.
Xie Qingci paused for a moment. Liang Jingzhuo hadn't officially met Ke Meng and Duan Siyu yet. Would it be inappropriate for them to meet like this?
Before he could think about it, the two of them pulled him out of the private room.
Overwhelmed with excitement at seeing the real person, the two stopped pretending and began looking around as soon as they stepped out of the corridor.
Liang Jingzhuo paid for their private room at the front desk, took the card back from the waiter, and the three of them came out. He turned around and looked over.
Xie Qingci walked in the middle, her calm and composed demeanor making the two people beside her seem as lively as monkeys from Flower Fruit Mountain, looking around with great energy.
He felt that his previous description was quite accurate; the child was indeed a kid.
Duan Siyu saw Liang Jingzhuo before Ke Meng. After locking her gaze on him, she tugged at Ke Meng's sleeve, and the person who sensed the movement turned around.
The man standing in front of the bar was tall and imposing, with a calm expression on his deep-set face.
The two immediately stopped their relaxed, looking-around-around posture and greeted him with smiles, "Hello, Mr. Liang, we are Aci's roommates."
After that, they introduced themselves.
"My name is Ke Meng."
"My Duan Siyu."
Liang Jingzhuo's gaze swept lightly over the two of them, and he nodded. "Hello, I am Liang Jingzhuo."
The two laughed and said repeatedly, "We know, we know."
He glanced at the two children in front of him, whose faces were also slightly flushed, and then at Xie Qingci, guessing that they must have eaten and drunk wine together.
So he said, "Where are you going? I'll give you a ride since it's on my way."
Ke Meng and Duan Siyu looked at each other for a while, and finally nodded solemnly in agreement.
Turning back, she replied, "School, thank you for your help."
Liang Jingzhuo replied, "It's alright." Then he looked at Xie Qingci, who was standing behind them, and asked for her opinion: "Why don't you go back and rest first? Let's go back to Fushun Hutong and have Lu Li take them back to school?"
Xie Qingci's mind was still a little fuzzy. She shook her head and said, "No need. Let's... take them back first."
Liang Jingzhuo nodded and agreed, then stood there for a while, but no one came over from a few steps away. He seemed a little helpless.
How much did you drink? You're so sluggish.
He walked over, took the bag from her hand, glanced at her bewildered eyes, and took her hand. "Let's go home."
Xie Qingci felt that she wasn't drunk, just a little slow to react. She secretly complained to him that he was talking like a child, but she still obediently let him lead her outside.
Ke Meng and Duan Siyu followed behind and saw the two holding hands, pinching each other's philtrum, looking up with expressions of "I'm in pain," their hands gripping each other very tightly, as if afraid the other wouldn't be able to take it and would faint on the spot in the pink bubble.
After they went downstairs, Lu Li, who had already changed his tires to snow tires, was waiting for them in the parking lot.
There weren't enough seats for four people in the back. Liang Jingzhuo glanced at Xie Qingci, who was being led by the hand. She was being unusually well-behaved today. He opened the back door and let Ke Meng and Duan Siyu get in first, before settling Xie Qingci down next to them and buckling her seatbelt.
Before closing the door, he added, "Please take care of her."
Xie Qingci looked at the seatbelt fastened in front of her and wanted to object. She wasn't drunk, just a little slow to react.
Ke Meng, standing next to him, patted his chest and assured him, "It's guaranteed!"
"..."
Seeing that she didn't seem too reliable, Liang Jingzhuo held onto the door frame for a moment, glanced at Xie Qingci who was sitting steadily by the door, and only after confirming that she was indeed not in any serious condition did he push open the car door, turn around and open the passenger door to get in.
Lu Li glanced at the back seat through the rearview mirror. Liang Jingzhuo fastened his seatbelt and said, "Let's go to Peking University first."
The car started slowly, and the three drunken young men huddled in the back seat, motionless.
Ke Meng, who is usually such a talkative person, seemed to be affected by the atmosphere today, and didn't even have the courage to say the big plan he had been planning for a long time: coconut chicken.
After the bumpy ride in the train carriage, Xie Qingci felt even more dizzy. Remembering that she had just borrowed a power bank to let Zhou Mingzhen and Grandma Xie know she was safe, she quickly took out her phone.
There was a phone call from Zhou Mingzhen, as well as two messages asking where she was, sent an hour ago, and an old lady asking if she was going back this weekend.
She replied to Zhou Mingzhen first, and then waited a few hours, fearing that Ms. Zhou would worry.
She said her phone had just run out of battery and she was eating out with her roommate, so she didn't see it.
Ms. Zhou replied quickly, "I understand, Jingzhuo has already spoken to me."
As soon as Liang Jingzhuo learned Xie Qingci's exact location, he sent a message to Zhou Mingzhen.
Xie Qingci stared at the message for a moment, stunned. [What did he want to say to you?]
A few seconds later, Zhou Mingzhen's message popped up: [He couldn't reach you, so he called to ask if you were home yet. I said no, and he sounded quite worried. After hanging up, I called you, but your phone was off. I was about to go out and look for you when he messaged me saying he'd found you and you were hanging out with friends. He told me not to worry and that he was coming to pick you up.]
Xie Qingci paused for a moment, her hand on the edge of her phone lingering, and she glanced up slightly at the person sitting in the front passenger seat.
Recalling his expression when he first met her, although it was somewhat cold, there was no bad mood; he was still gentle and considerate.
He didn't say he had been looking for her for a long time, nor did he say he was worried.
She gently bit her lip and lowered her head. On the screen, Ms. Zhou sent a new message.
[Your Aunt Zhuang told me before that Jingzhuo may seem cold and unapproachable, but he's actually very thoughtful. She was worried you might not be able to handle the initial stages of getting to know him, so she asked me to talk to you beforehand and not take it personally. I thought that you'd eventually have to get to know each other, and that's an important process, so I didn't tell you. What are your thoughts now?]
What are your thoughts?
Xie Qingci looked down at her phone for a long time.
...
As they approached Peking University, Ke Meng discreetly approached Xie Qingci and whispered in her ear, "Qingci, do you think your husband would scold me if I told him now that he would invest in my coconut chicken shop?"
Xie Qingci pursed her lips and remained silent, then turned her head slightly and replied, "I don't know either. In any case, I've never seen him curse anyone."
He was always polite when talking to his subordinates on the phone. Although he was professional, he never spoke to them in a commanding tone. He would even apologize if he disturbed them outside of work hours, and he often ate group meals with his employees.
She thought he must be a pretty good boss.
Even Xie Qingci didn't know, so Ke Meng dared not act rashly and decided to wait until they were more familiar with each other before making a move.
-
The car slowly came to a stop at the entrance of Peking University in the night. Ke Meng and Duan Siyu thanked them warmly and got out of the car one after the other. As they ran into the school gate, they turned back and blew two kisses to Xie Qingci.
Xie Qingci was amused by their silly antics, so she rolled down the car window and waved to them.
The other rear door opened, and Liang Jingzhuo sat down next to her from the passenger seat.
The snow outside the car had stopped, and the chill after the snow was blowing in, along with his crisp scent. Xie Qingci thought she might have really drunk too much today, because she found the smell incredibly pleasant.
It is clear, gentle, and has a special, calming and peaceful feel, like a meadow.
The car door closed, and the air conditioning, working warmly, quickly dispelled the chill. A warm hand reached out onto her cheek.
She wasn't wearing much, and Liang Jingzhuo checked to make sure she wasn't cold before withdrawing his hand and instructing Lu Li, "Let's go, drive slowly."
It had rained before the snow, and the roads were icy and slippery.
Only Xie Qingci and Liang Jingzhuo remained in the back seat, and Lu Li raised the partition.
The hissing sound of the barrier cleared Xie Qingci's muddled thoughts somewhat. She glanced at the barrier slowly rising in front of her, then turned to look at the person beside her.
He sat at the other end, tilting his head slightly to look at her without saying a word. The two of them stared at each other for a while.
In the darkness, the girl's eyes shone like two round black pearls, as gentle as a small animal waiting to be petted.
After a long time, she called his name, "Liang Jingzhuo".
Since they met, Liang Jingzhuo had heard her call his name many times—in a reproachful tone, a gentle tone, a questioning tone… but this was the first time he had heard it in this tone.
She looked soft and a little aggrieved. He composed himself and responded with a soft, "Hmm?"
Even her voice unconsciously softened.
She looked at him intently and asked, "Can you hug me? I love your scent."
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Author's Note: Two chapters combined into one! [kiss][kiss][kiss]
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