Chapter 8 Indulging Your Arrogance: "Want to Hold Hands?"
The campus of Kyoto University has a very artistic atmosphere, with shady willows, winding lotus ponds, and the chirping of cicadas in summer. It has a unique quiet beauty and is perfect for a leisurely stroll or date.
Adding to the special nature of today, the campus was filled with couples walking side by side.
As Xie Qingci walked out of the exhibition hall, her phone vibrated again. At first, she thought it was Liang Jingzhuo sending her another message, but when the vibration in her bag continued, she realized it was a phone call.
The weather in Jingzhao in August is quite unstable, so she brought an umbrella in advance to prevent a repeat of that sudden downpour.
She stopped by the tree-lined path, tucked the umbrella into her other hand, and took her phone out of her bag.
As she took out her phone, the name Liang Jingzhuo came into view. She paused for a moment, then answered the call.
"Xie Qingci." Before she could even speak, a deep, clear male voice came through the receiver, "This is Liang Jingzhuo."
Unlike text chats across a screen, she could hear his voice during a voice call, and that inexplicable sense of tension suddenly rose again.
She replied, "I know."
Grandma Zhuang had given her his phone number before, saying that she could call him directly if there were any problems, as sending messages was useless and she often couldn't see them.
But over the course of these days, she didn't seem to realize that he couldn't see the messages.
He would even try to make conversation and engage in awkward small talk with her.
"Where are you?" he asked.
She glanced at the tree-lined path stretching ahead and repeated the location she had already told him in the message: "I'm at school."
Did he not see the message she just sent him?
He replied, "I know, where in the school are you? I'm at your school."
The sudden proximity made the voice on the other end of the receiver seem almost within reach. Xie Qingci focused her gaze slightly, glanced at the entrance of the exhibition hall not far away, and replied, "I'm at the exhibition hall, but I've already come out. Are you at the school gate?"
Just as she was about to ask him which door it was, a voice from the other end of the phone interrupted her, "Don't run away, I'll come find you."
With the same seriousness as a parent informing a student, Xie Qingci, who was about to take a step forward, withdrew and obediently replied, "Okay."
After the voice faded, a moment of silence fell over the phone. Xie Qingci held the phone in silence for a moment, then called his name: "Liang Jingzhuo?"
"Hmm." A faint electrical hum accompanied his voice again.
She said, "Then I'll hang up."
There was a two-second silence on the other end of the line, followed by a voice saying, "Okay."
Xie Qingci took the phone away from her ear, hung up, glanced at the bustling pedestrian path, her heart rate steadily rising, and she let out a soft sigh of relief.
Just as she was about to put her phone back in her bag, she suddenly heard hurried footsteps behind her, and she instinctively turned around to look.
He Yi originally thought Xie Qingci would stay until closing time, but when he looked up again while chatting with others, she was gone.
She asked her two roommates and found out that she had already left. She hurriedly chased after her, and luckily she hadn't gone far. She ran over and called out to her, "Xie Qingci."
I didn't have much of an impression of He Yi and Xie Qingci, but their faces seemed somewhat familiar. I might have seen them at some event on campus.
Hearing him call her name, she smiled and replied, "Hello."
He Yi, slightly out of breath from chasing her all the way, smiled and asked, "Do you have any plans today? If not, can I ask you out for dinner?"
Hsieh Ching-Tzu has encountered many such straightforward invitations, but she has politely declined most of them.
She raised the corners of her lips, about to refuse as usual, when she suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar figure walking from not far away.
The words of refusal that were on the tip of her tongue suddenly caught in her throat, and she turned to look at them.
A black Rolls-Royce Phantom with license plates from three different regions was parked on the side of the road opposite the one-way street on campus. Liang Jingzhuo got out of the car, dressed in a black suit, looking impeccably groomed and refined. After locking his gaze on her, he stepped through the crowd and walked towards her.
In a crowd mostly dressed casually, his outfit stood out, and his superior height and cool face attracted frequent glances.
He Yi was still waiting for Xie Qingci's reply when a voice suddenly came from behind him: "Xie Qingci."
The man's voice has a unique magnetic quality, possessing a mature charm that is beyond his years.
His gaze followed the direction Xie Qingci was looking.
Liang Jingzhuo's gaze lingered on Xie Qingci's face for a moment before turning to the boy standing in front of her.
He looked to be around the same age as her; they must be classmates.
He Yi was slightly taken aback, then his expression brightened as he recognized Liang Jingzhuo, "You are..."
When the exhibition hall closed and the area was cleared out, Ke Meng and Duan Siyu came out.
Xie Qingci glanced over there, then turned back to He Yi with a smile, "Sorry, I have to go now. Thank you for your support of the charity exhibition today."
After saying that, without waiting for He Yi to speak, she grabbed Liang Jingzhuo's arm and walked towards the car parked on the side of the road.
Liang Jingzhuo was being pulled along, looking like he hadn't quite figured out what was going on, and glanced at the person next to him.
"I made a reservation at a restaurant at six o'clock, there's no need to rush."
The grip on my arm was quite strong, as if I was a little nervous.
He lowered his eyes and looked at the hand on his arm.
Her fair and slender figure contrasted sharply with his black suit, causing his gaze to pause.
Just before getting off the bus, Uncle Zhong remarked meaningfully, "Miss Qingci is very popular!"
His gaze returned to her face. "Was he just asking you out?"
Xie Qingci was only thinking about avoiding running into Ke Meng and Duan Siyu. Although she didn't intend to hide it, judging from their reactions a few days ago, such an unexpected encounter would probably not be any better than that between Mars and Earth.
Hearing this, she turned to look at him. His expression was unreadable, and his deep eyes were fixed on her.
She felt inexplicably guilty, blinked, and honestly admitted, "Yes."
Liang Jingzhuo looked at her for a moment without saying anything.
Once in the car, Uncle Zhong greeted her with a smile, "Hello, Miss Qingci."
Xie Qingci smiled and nodded. "Hello, Uncle Zhong."
Liang Jingzhuo got into the car from the other side. Xie Qingci glanced at it and noticed a bouquet of flowers on the seat next to her.
The bouquet was wrapped in simple white European-style paper, and tied with a large ribbon bow at the center of the handle.
The flowers are fresh, plump, and fragrant.
She only recognized the secondary flowers as pink tulips, but she couldn't identify the other type of pink flowers that were clustered in the center.
Slightly taken aback, Liang Jingzhuo turned and sat in the car, picked up the flowers from the seat, and looked at her, saying, "These are for you."
It was a straightforward sentence, devoid of any linguistic skill.
Xie Qingci paused slightly, looked at the flowers he offered, took them, and whispered, "Thank you."
Liang Jingzhuo's gaze lingered on her slightly lowered eyelashes for a moment before he looked away and responded with a soft "Mm".
Uncle Zhong glanced at the rearview mirror, chuckled silently, started the car, and drove away from Peking University.
Liang Jingzhuo arrived in Jingzhao very early. When he came out of the airport, he saw a crowd of people holding bouquets and waiting for their partners in the arrival hall, and he paused slightly.
Uncle Zhong followed behind him, carrying a briefcase. Seeing this, he glanced into the crowd, then looked back at him, taking a look at his empty hands.
She sighed, "On such a nice day, I wonder if I'll feel disappointed if I don't receive flowers from my boyfriend?"
He glanced at me and understood the implication in my words, "You can just tell me to buy flowers directly, instead of being so indirect."
Uncle Zhong looked over and chuckled, "But on a day like today, the flower shop probably won't accept rush orders."
Just as Uncle Zhong predicted, no flower shop was willing to accept cash orders; they were already busy with pre-orders and simply couldn't keep up.
I visited several shops before finally getting a response from a high-end florist that they could accept cash orders, but I would have to wait a while.
Otherwise, he would have arrived at Peking University even earlier.
but--
He glanced sideways at the flowers that Xie Qingci was holding in her arms.
With its pink and white tones, it's gentle and lovely, and has a name that perfectly matches its color: Cute Porcelain.
It suits her very well.
-
Liang Jingzhuo had booked a French restaurant near the city center. There was some traffic congestion, but fortunately they left early, so the traffic wasn't too bad.
They arrived at the restaurant just in time for their reservation, and after sitting down, Xie Qingci felt that the restaurant looked very familiar.
She herself rarely comes to such romantic restaurants with friends.
After searching my memory for a while, I remembered that it was popularized by a popular modern drama, and it was one of the dating locations for the male and female leads.
She glanced at Liang Jingzhuo sitting opposite her and asked him, "Do you watch TV dramas usually?"
Liang Jingzhuo was looking at the menu when he heard this and looked up.
Beautiful restaurants that aim to create an atmosphere often use overhead lights for illumination, but this is also a very unfriendly type of light, easily creating unflattering angles.
However, despite the less-than-ideal lighting, his face remained untouched; the interplay of light and shadow accentuated the contours of his face, making them appear even more defined and striking.
Her expression was blank, but her perfectly sculpted, sensual lips parted slightly as she asked, "What TV series?"
Xie Qingci smiled slightly, then shook her head. "It's nothing, just asking casually."
She didn't ask any unnecessary questions; he didn't seem like the type of person who would watch romance dramas.
The scene of a man in a suit with a serious face watching the male and female leads have a deep and affectionate conversation is far more bizarre.
Xie Qingci is not picky about food and has a wide range of tastes, so she finished ordering quickly.
During this festive season, the restaurant is bustling and romantic, filled with beautifully dressed girls who smell lovely and soft.
Xie Qingci glanced down at her clothes. Before leaving home, she didn't know it was Qixi Festival. She thought it was just a simple meal, and since she also had to help out at the exhibition hall, she dressed casually.
A simple white V-neck shirt, jeans, and a pair of white sneakers.
My gaze swept across the table and fell upon the area beneath the white tablecloth, where her legs were together, knees bent, and slightly extended forward. Beside her sneakers were a pair of spotless black men's leather shoes, open and enclosing her feet.
Her gaze lingered for a moment before she slowly withdrew her foot.
Compared to the hushed conversations at other tables, their silence was unusual. Liang Jingzhuo glanced at the person opposite him for a moment, then his gaze shifted to her neck beneath the collar of her shirt.
Slender and fair-skinned, with a prominent and beautiful collarbone beneath the V-neck.
He paused for a moment, then took out the gift he had prepared for her.
Yu Guangzhong: A small box wrapped in red silk ribbon was pushed over the table, and Xie Qingci looked up at it.
Liang Jingzhuo pushed the box in front of her and said, "Happy Qixi Festival."
Xie Qingci paused slightly, glanced at the exquisite box, reached out and took it, saying, "Thank you."
Then, somewhat embarrassed, she said, "Sorry, I didn't know today was Qixi Festival..."
So we didn't prepare anything.
But receiving flowers and gifts made her even more embarrassed.
"It's alright." Liang Jingzhuo saw her guilt. "It's what I should do anyway."
He gave her a gift without expecting anything in return.
Xie Qingci laughed and said without any hesitation, "Then I'll treat you to a meal next time."
Let me think about what to give him.
Liang Jingzhuo glanced at the smile on her lips, nodded, and replied, "Okay."
Xie Qingci felt that Liang Jingzhuo was more relaxed and at ease in person than when they chatted through a phone screen; at least he wouldn't make small talk out of nowhere.
The dinner went fairly well. She would take the initiative to start conversations, and he would try his best not to let her have an awkward silence. Regardless of whether he knew about the topics she brought up, he would give appropriate responses.
He wasn't as cold and unapproachable as he usually appeared.
She breathed a slight sigh of relief. Thankfully, it wasn't just a humanoid high-precision processor that only knew how to work.
Recalling Ke Meng's assessment of him, Xie Qingci chuckled, undoubtedly earning a puzzled look in return.
She looked at him, smiled, and shook her head to indicate that it was nothing.
Ke Meng always said that Xie Qingci's smile has a special magic, with her eyebrows and eyes curving and her dimples shallow, reminding people of a long-lost first love. Although she didn't have a first love, it's that feeling, soft and beautiful.
Liang Jingzhuo's gaze lingered on the smile on her lips again, and after a long while, he looked into her eyes without saying a word.
Xie Qingci paused slightly, slowly suppressed the smile on her lips, pursed her lips, and looked away from his gaze.
-
As I stepped out of the restaurant, thunder rumbled across the sky, accompanied by several bright flashes of lightning; it looked like it was going to rain again.
Traffic in the city center was completely paralyzed tonight, with roads jammed and scarlet taillights mixed together. Uncle Zhong was stuck at the intersection about 100 meters from the restaurant.
He called Liang Jingzhuo and asked if they could walk a bit to the intersection to get in the car, so they could leave after waiting for a few more red lights. Otherwise, if they turned around, they would probably be stuck at the intersection for another hour.
Liang Jingzhuo asked Xie Qingci for her opinion.
One hundred meters is not far, and it will save time, so Xie Qingci readily agreed.
After hanging up the phone, the two walked out of the porch and headed towards the intersection along the street.
Under the cover of darkness, the lights are dazzling, the streets are crowded with people, and the neon lights blend into a romantic atmosphere, with many couples walking hand in hand.
Xie Qingci looked at the balloon vendors along the way. With the special holiday, even an ordinary balloon could sell for three figures, but the place was still packed with customers.
They were going against the flow of people, like a lone boat breaking through the surging waves.
Couples walking arm in arm and hand in hand appear out of place, highlighting the incongruity of their need to maintain a polite social distance.
Once your attention starts to shift in this direction, you can't look away, and a strange sense of urgency arises.
Xie Qingci turned her head to look at the shops on the roadside, trying to distract herself, and prayed that she could get to the intersection quickly.
As I was pondering the details of the art exhibition, a voice suddenly asked from beside me, "Want to hold hands?"
A note from the author:
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