New York Siege
Zhiwei called Xuanyu. Xuanyu said that his colleagues had invited them to a team-building activity, and he couldn't go with them.
Zhiwei thought to herself, "This is definitely a big company; the interns' activities are much more diverse than those in their studio." She and May went to the Cheese Factory with their friends for dinner. After eating and drinking their fill, the group said they wanted to go to a bar and drink until they were drunk. Zhiwei said, "I need to call my mom on Friday night, so I won't be going to the bar with you guys."
Everyone burst into laughter, exclaiming, "Wow, Mommy's baby!"
Zhiwei just smiled. May said, "I still have a deadline to meet, so I'll go back and risk my life too."
The crowd cheered even louder, "We're good girls, we're good girls." Zhiwei and May weren't angry; they parted ways with the others and took the subway home.
On the way, Zhiwei asked, "Didn't you finish all the reports due this semester as soon as the vacation started before going to Florida?"
May said, "They went to a bar, and who knows how drunk they got. You never go to bars with them, so I know that all too well. It doesn't hurt to be cautious."
Zhiwei teased, "Aren't we two weirdos from the University Town of New York? We've come to New York, and we still won't go to a bar?"
May suddenly stopped smiling and said, "Because we only have ourselves, and if we make a mistake, no one can clean up the mess for us."
Seeing the seriousness in her voice, Zhiwei stopped smiling, patted her arm, and the two of them went into the subway station together.
Xuan Yu did have plans for the evening, so after work he drove to You Lin's hotel. After picking her up, he asked her, "Honorable lady, where are we going now? Why are you being so mysterious?"
Youlin said, "Let's drive to the Time Warner area. You'll see when we get there." Xuanyu had been in New York for two years, so he naturally knew the place better than Youlin, a tourist. He drove there with practiced ease.
Youlin asked him, "Do you know where the only Michelin three-star restaurant in New York City is?"
Although Xuan Yu didn't know, upon hearing her question, he said, "Could it be here?"
Youlin tapped his forehead. "Smart. Masa is one of the hottest restaurants in New York right now. Luckily, our agent helped me book a table last month. Perfect timing to celebrate your successful internship!"
Upon entering the restaurant, Youlin's reserved table faced the sushi counter, allowing them to see Masa meticulously preparing his ingredients. Youlin leaned close to Xuanyu and whispered, "Look, this is that famous sushi counter, rumored to be worth $60,000 and specially flown in from Japan. It's a pity we can't take pictures."
As expected of a Michelin three-star restaurant, the ingredients were of the highest quality. The black truffle Wagyu beef and Hokkaido sea urchin were particularly delicious and tender, melting in the mouth. He had lost count of how many sushi dishes he had eaten, and although he had only drunk some sake, he felt slightly tipsy.
After dinner, Youlin noticed that the two of them had both had a little to drink, so she called ahead to have her driver pick them up. The driver took them back to the hotel, handed the car over to the valet, and then went home. Xuanyu carried Youlin's handbag, put his arm around her waist, and helped her into the room without saying anything more.
Zhiwei noticed it was around nine o'clock and guessed her mother should have already gotten up, so she made a VoIP call to her. Sure enough, her mother answered the phone after only two rings.
Good morning, Mom.
"Weiwei, didn't you go out tonight?"
"I had dinner with some friends earlier, and they were going to a bar, so May and I came back."
"Not with your boyfriend?"
"Mommy! He's also doing an internship lately, he's very busy."
"Is your internship fun? I received an email from you last time, and you said you were interning in the same place as May?"
"It was so much fun. We helped a client renovate their apartment, which had a view of a corner of Central Park. The renderings of our renovation were really beautiful."
"Is school starting soon?"
"Yeah. I hope I don't end up unemployed after graduation."
“My Weiwei is so capable, there won’t be any problems. If all else fails, she can come back to Shanghai to stay with her mother.”
"Mom, didn't you go out?"
"I'm meeting up with your Aunt Mei later to go cycling in Binjiang. The weather's nice today, and Binjiang is quite beautiful right now. You haven't been back for years, I'll take you there next time you come back."
"Okay. Ms. Xu, aren't you going on your date?"
"There are very few single men who have hair but no belly, aren't greasy, and don't want to date young girls." The mother and daughter burst into laughter.
Monday came and school started again, and Zhiwei and May resumed their lives as college girls. If nothing unexpected happens, this will be their last semester as students.
Today, Zhiwei had a modern painting class, and after class, she needed to get to another classroom. As she packed her bag and prepared to leave, she suddenly noticed someone sitting at the back of the classroom, somewhat out of place with the others—it was Li Fuqiang. He wasn't carrying a bag, and when he saw her looking over, he nodded at her.
Zhiwei resisted the urge to facepalm, remembering that this course was indeed among the ones she had selected for Li Fuqiang. Who would have thought that the old man would actually attend?
She walked over awkwardly and said, "What a coincidence. I have class, I'll be going now."
Li Fuqiang got up and went outside with her, saying, "I don't understand anything, I'm just pretending."
Caught off guard by his blunt words, Zhiwei could only shut up, hoping that he would finish the lesson and take a break. As the company boss, shouldn't he have a lot of business to manage?
Thankfully, Li didn't show up for any of the subsequent classes, which put Zhiwei at ease. After finishing her classes in the afternoon, she spent the rest of the afternoon in the library. She had arranged to go to the studio with May on Wednesday and Thursday, so she needed to finish this week's project as soon as possible. After all, she didn't want to fail her final semester because of an internship; that would be a huge loss for a small thing.
After dinner, as she left the school gate to take the subway home, she was shocked to find Li Fuqiang standing there. How did this guy know she would appear at this time, or had he been on campus all day?
Li Fuqiang seemed to see through her question, and smiled, saying, "I'm taking a day off to experience university life and pretend I'm also a member of that ivory tower. Unfortunately, time doesn't last, and my mindset is different now. Looking at you young men and women, I only feel envy. This is youth that no amount of money can buy."
Zhiwei inwardly scoffed, thinking, "You say that because you're not short of money. You don't know how many young men and women are worrying themselves sick over making a living. How many of them have sold their youth for a pittance just to get a meager amount of money? It's probably all a trap."
Seeing her silence, Li Fuqiang said, "It's getting dark, and it's dangerous for a girl to walk alone. Don't worry, I won't do anything, I'll just accompany you for this part of the journey."
Zhiwei could only give a slight bow in greeting before heading towards the subway station. Once there, she naturally had a subway card; she figured this old gentleman hadn't ridden the subway in years. She took out some change from her pocket, bought a subway ticket, and handed it to Li Fuqiang.
Li Fuqiang was taken aback. He was used to others trying to take things from him, so being treated like this, with things stuffed into his hands, was a very new experience. The two of them didn't speak, just walked one after the other.
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