Chapter 25
This was the second time Chen Mian had met the man with deep blue eyes.
She remembered first seeing him last week, perhaps at some high-society party last week.
Chen Mian wasn't originally qualified to attend that banquet, and she hadn't initially planned to go. It was her friend Josie who told her that one of Chen Mian's favorite male singers would be attending the banquet.
Josie immediately made a phone call to what appeared to be her father. Josie arrogantly ordered him, "You have to get me two invitations."
Unaware of the effort Josie's father had put in, two seemingly insignificant yet incredibly valuable invitations were delivered to Chen Mian the following day.
"Well?" Josie said, as proud as a white peacock. "I told you I had a way."
Chen Mian held the small, exquisite piece of paper in both hands, gave Josie a quick kiss on the cheek, and exclaimed, "Oh my god, that's amazing!"
At that moment, she was both marveling at Josie's 'omnipotence' and excited to meet her beloved singer.
However, a dozen hours later, she wished she had never attended the banquet.
Chen Mian did meet his beloved singer, but the singer did not look presentable.
He was wearing a black suit, seemingly with nothing underneath. At that moment, the singer was kneeling beside a wealthy woman, massaging her feet.
His demeanor was like that of a dog trying to please its master, drooling over the meat on the high platform.
At that moment, Chen Mian wished she were blind; she had never despised her own taste and vision so much.
Josie too.
They turned their heads in unison, looking at the sky, the ground, and the bright crystal chandelier reflected in the French windows.
Josie had to socialize with her elders for the rest of the time. Chen Mian stayed in the hall alone for a while, but felt bored, so he slipped out and sat on the fountain steps in the garden to get some fresh air.
There was no one around. The venue in the distance looked like a giant glass lamp, and you could vaguely hear some scattered conversations coming from inside.
At that moment, Chen Mian felt an unprecedented loneliness.
She has no relatives here, and only two friends: Josie and Naomi.
Aside from attending classes, Chen Mian spends most of his time alone in his apartment.
Playing games or reading novels.
Her relatives—or rather, the term 'relatives' isn't quite appropriate—are all in China.
Chen Mian had not been in contact with them for a very, very long time.
She thought back and realized it had been more than half a year.
Chen Mian lowered his head, looking at the spotless ground at his feet, and scratched at the uneven edges of the stone steps with his fingernails.
She was waiting for the banquet to end so she could hitch a ride home with Josie.
At the same time, the sound of crisp footsteps rang out not far away.
Chen Mian didn't pay any attention, assuming she was just someone who, like her, had gotten tired of being inside and came out to relax.
Until the sound gradually got closer and closer to her, as if it were right next to her ear.
She subconsciously looked up and gazed into a pair of deep blue eyes.
The color of those pupils was strikingly similar to the night sky above.
"Hello," Chen Mian straightened up and greeted the other person awkwardly, "Have I bothered you?"
"No."
"Then you..."
Just then, my phone rang.
Chen Mian quickly said 'sorry', turned to answer the phone, and asked, "What's wrong, Josie? Are you going back?"
“I probably won’t be able to go back tonight. My father has something to do, and I have to stay here with him. Why don’t you stay here too? The host family has extra rooms that can accommodate us for the night.”
"But... but I have to finish my homework tonight, and it's due tomorrow afternoon."
"Oh! Can't we rush it tomorrow morning?"
Chen Mian is not the type to trouble others unless absolutely necessary. After thinking for a few seconds, she said embarrassedly, "It won't be enough time to do it tomorrow morning."
"I can take you back."
Chen Mian looked over at the sound of the voice. The man was still there, probably waiting for her to finish her phone call.
“I can take you back,” he kindly repeated, “it’s on my way.”
After Chen Mian got into the 'kind person's' car in a daze, she belatedly realized that she hadn't even said where she lived, so what kind of route was she going by?
"thank you."
“It’s okay, my name is Eli, and my Chinese name is Zhou Zhixun.”
Zhou Zhixun could tell the other party's nationality, and even told Chen Mian his Chinese name when he introduced himself.
"Chen Mian, Tiara."
“Tiara,” Zhou Zhixun repeated, praising, “your name is very beautiful.”
Chen Mian thanked him quietly.
Inside the car, only she and Zhou Zhixun were present. Chen Mian felt compelled to say something to break the ambiguous and awkward atmosphere between them.
Is one of your parents Chinese?
“No,” Zhou Zhixun replied, keeping an eye on the road ahead. “My grandmother was Chinese. She married an American and had my mother. My mother then married an American and had me. My Chinese name was given to me by my grandmother. She loved China very much and even asked me to bring her back to China after she passed away.”
Chen Mian nodded. "I see."
Chen Mian couldn't quite remember what they talked about after that; the other person dropped her off at her apartment building.
The apartment she rented was some distance from the city center, and the area wasn't very safe. Piles of garbage were left on both sides of the road, and in the summer, there was always a lingering stench of sourness and urine.
As he was leaving, Zhou Zhixun politely asked if he could have Chen Mian's contact information.
Chen Mian readily agreed, watching as the other person entered her phone number and then turned off the phone.
"Go on up, goodnight."
"Yes, you too. Thank you for tonight."
What Chen Mian didn't know was that Zhou Zhixun had already saved her number in his phone, and named it 'darling'.
...
This is a bakery with a wonderfully fragrant aroma.
It is also the shop that Chen Mian frequents most often.
She loves the croissants made here; the crust is crispy and the inside is soft and fluffy. They're incredibly delicious when sliced and spread with butter or their homemade jam.
Moreover, the prices are very affordable, with croissants or apple pies costing around $3.
Chen Mian inevitably met the gaze of the person by the window. She sighed inwardly, forgiving herself for being a complete idiot and really not wanting to run into a half-acquaintance like Zhou Zhixun.
"Hello, are you here to buy bread too?"
"Hmm," Zhou Zhixun stood up as Chen Mian approached, "This shop seems quite popular, but I haven't made a choice yet. Do you have any good recommendations?"
“Is this how it is?” Chen Mian held up one corner of the bread bag and showed it to the other person. “This is delicious, especially with their blueberry jam.”
“Okay,” Zhou Zhixun quickly accepted Chen Mian’s suggestion. He took a small metal shopping basket from the wooden table next to him and put two bags of croissants recommended by Chen Mian and a small bottle of blueberry jam into it. “Anything else?”
"The rest..." Chen Mian looked around, "Actually, I think they're all pretty good. You can buy them all and try them out. It's just that the shelf life is very short. You should buy a few to try this time."
“Okay,” Zhou Zhixun followed her 'arrangements' and put a few more items into the shopping basket. “Thank you.”
"You're welcome."
Chen Mian thought that someone of Zhou Zhixun's high position and power would not appear in such an insignificant bakery, much less eat the food there.
In fact, Zhou Zhixun really didn't know how. He had already figured out Chen Mian's movements. Every weekend, she would come here early in the morning to buy a week's worth of bread.
I just came early to wait for her.
"To express my gratitude, may I treat you to lunch?"
"No need," Chen Mian declined. "I didn't help you at all, I didn't even bring these things for you, you don't need to be so polite."
Moreover, she really didn't want to be alone with Zhou Zhixun face to face; she didn't even know what to talk about with someone she was meeting for the second time.
I don't know what topics I could talk about with an elite like him, whether it's about her daily studies or her aimless life.
No matter what they talked about, she thought that everything about her life seemed as boring, childish, and insignificant as children playing house in the other person's eyes.
“I know a really good restaurant nearby. I’d be a bit lonely going there alone. Why don’t you come with me? We can keep each other company.”
Chen Mian declined several times, but finally had no choice but to follow him out of the bakery.
After that, they talked a lot, mostly about Chen Mian.
We talked about her studies, life, and family.
At first, Chen Mian was wary and didn't want to reveal too much of his privacy to the other party, but when facing Zhou Zhixun, he felt like a quail facing an eagle.
The moment his gaze met those deep blue eyes, Chen Mian sadly realized that she couldn't lie or make excuses at all. Like a criminal being scrutinized, she recounted her situation in great detail.
However, Zhou Zhixun had already investigated everything about Chen Mian.
She was born in China, and her father was a businessman who was well-known in the area.
According to records, Chen Mian's father was married when Chen Mian was born, and she had a half-brother named Chen Yixian.
After the meal, Zhou Zhixun escorted Chen Mian back to her apartment. When they parted, he stood across the road and saw Chen Mian being harassed by a drunk man pretending to be intoxicated. Feeling uneasy, he escorted her to her apartment building.
The rooms were not soundproof, and Zhou Zhixun frowned as he listened to the loud music coming from some unknown apartment.
People will encounter discrimination to some extent when they are abroad.
Chen Mian had encountered many similar incidents, but she never expected someone to directly spill yellow urine on the soft mat at her door.
The pattern on the cushion was a mess, making me feel nauseous.
She guessed it might be the white man who asked for her contact information last week, and since she didn't give it to him, he was retaliating with this vile behavior. Or maybe it was the black man upstairs; he exercises until the early hours every night, and Chen Mian had confronted him yesterday when she couldn't take it anymore.
Zhou Zhixun glanced around with a complicated expression; the building was no different from a slum.
Is this the kind of place Tiara lives?
This place couldn't even guarantee the most basic security. He looked at the security door, which wasn't even as thick as his fingernail; a single shot could almost pierce through it.
"Tiara, perhaps I can offer you a good place to stay. Would you like to move in?"
-
During Chen Mian's sophomore year, she moved from a detached apartment building into a completely different manor.
Her room was upstairs from Zhou Zhixun's bedroom, an entire floor equipped with a walk-in closet, a study, and a music room.
Chen Mian looked at the astonishing decor; her luggage couldn't even fill one compartment of the walk-in closet.
Belatedly realizing her mistake, she stared blankly at Zhou Zhixun and voiced her concern, "Sir, I can't even afford your rent."
Zhou Zhixun gave a slight smile. “You don’t need to call me ‘sir.’ You can call me by my full name or just Eli. There are hundreds of rooms in this manor, and they’re just sitting there empty anyway, so there’s no need to pay for them.”
That being said, Chen Mian knew that Zhou Zhixun looked down on her paltry sums of money, but the thought of her moving in for free made her uneasy.
Zhou Zhixun seemed to sense her troubles. "I'm going to adopt a dog in a few days. Could you help me take care of it? I'm very busy with work and rarely have time."
ah...
"OK."
"Then I'll leave it to you... By the way, what breed of dog do you like?"
"Mount Bern".
"Okay, let's raise this variety then."
Something feels... off.
Chen Mian couldn't quite put his finger on it. Perhaps wealthy people just have some strange common ailments. They've long regarded money as dirt, so it's normal for them to make such inexplicable demands.
Maybe...
"Oh, right," Zhou Zhixun said as he was about to go downstairs, "take some time to get used to it, and let me know if there's anything you're not satisfied with."
Chen Mian nodded blankly. How could he not be satisfied living in such a luxurious house?
-
That night, Chen Mian had an unusual insomnia.
It was too quiet all around, not a sound at all, except for the occasional rustling of the blankets as I turned over.
She found it somewhat absurd.
I clearly fell asleep to the deafening music from my neighbor last night, but tonight I can't sleep because it's too quiet.
Humans really are creatures that bring trouble upon themselves.
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