Chapter 43 Love Letters: No Need to Feel Inferior in Front of Me
As Zhou walked from the lobby to the taxi stand, he forced himself with all his might not to look back.
Only after getting into the car and giving the driver the address did she finally breathe a deep sigh of relief. Looking out the window, she could no longer see the spot where they had just been standing.
All the way, she kept thinking about Chen Jingchi, about what he had said, about the warmth of his palm touching her cheek, and about why she felt empty and lonely even though they had just parted ways.
I still couldn't figure it out, attributing it to withdrawal symptoms after leaving the group.
On her way home, Fan Xin posted a screenshot of Chen Jingchi's Weibo post from the previous night in the three-person dormitory group chat.
Fan Xin: [Oh my god, I went to sleep right after watching the live stream last night, how could there be such an exciting follow-up?]
Ankejia: [OMG]
An Kejia: [I just saw this too, what's going on?]
Zhou Yu had never mentioned her relationship with Chen Jingchi to them, leaving them unaware of the background. She felt that if she continued to hide it, it would be even more difficult to explain later.
Zhou Yu: [He wasn't in a good mood last night.]
Fan Xin: [So what's the situation for you guys now?]
An Kejia: [Why are all the fans speculating that there's something going on between you two?]
Zhou Yu: [We're still friends.]
The word "currently" always leaves much to the imagination, but Zhou Yu couldn't reveal any more information.
An Kejia: [Oh~ I get it, I get it, hehehe]
Fan Xin: [Jiajia, what do you know?]
An Kejia: [Idiot! I'll tell you when we get back to the dorm!]
The phone rang again, and Zhuo Wencheng sent a photo in the group chat.
Zhuo Wencheng: [Today's Male Celebrity Airport Photos]
Zhuo Wencheng: [The True and False Monkey Kings]
In the photo, Xu Yue is wearing a black hat and a mask, walking next to Du Heng. A group of fans have gathered around them, taking photos with their phones, just like a celebrity being greeted at the airport.
Xu Yue: [This is the first time I've truly experienced how cool a popular male star can be, okay?]
Zhan Li: [This is hilarious! They kept calling him "brother," but they didn't even recognize who he was!]
Tan Bei: [What do you know? They recognized Du Heng, but the agent is the real telltale sign.]
Zhan Li: [I think Du Heng is about to break down.]
Tan Bei: [You know what, they really do look alike. I couldn't tell them apart even from behind.]
Zhou Yu then realized that Chen Jingchi had led her off the plane to the exit hall, and they hadn't encountered any fans along the long way. It turned out that Xu Yue had drawn their attention away from them.
The two were of similar height and build, and even Zhou Yu had to take a while to recognize who it was when their faces were covered.
She suddenly became very curious about whose idea it was.
The answer then appears automatically.
Chen Jingchi: [Thank you, brother]
Xu Yue: [Brother, try imitating your signature next time; it'll be indistinguishable from the real thing.]
Chen Jingchi: [I'll teach you right away]
As Zhou Yu was watching their chat, Tan Bei's private message popped up at the top.
Tan Bei: [Baby, please forgive me. Chen Jingchi said he wanted to talk to you alone, so I left with them first. [囧]]
Zhou Yu wasn't angry with her at all, and felt a little touched by her explanation. She replied, "It's okay, I know."
Tan Bei sent over two kissing emojis.
After arriving home, Zhou Yu packed her suitcase and was about to send a message to Liu Xianya when she heard the sound of a key in the lock at the door. She quickly went to open the door, startling Liu Xianya who was outside.
"Oh, you're back? I was wondering if you were going to stay there for a few more days." Liu Xianya put her bag on the entryway cabinet, took off her shoes, and came in. "Well, that's it, I didn't even buy much groceries."
“The others were in a hurry, so they came back.” Zhou Yu took the groceries from her and said, “Let’s just have a meal together.”
Liu Xianya, wearing slippers, followed her into the kitchen. Zhou Yu noticed that she looked at him several times without saying anything, and knowing full well what was going on, asked, "Are you trying to talk about what happened last night?"
"Hey, I watched the live stream. It's a real shame." Liu Xianya changed the subject. "But that kid is so young, he'll have plenty of opportunities in the future."
Zhou Yu didn't reply, just stared at her.
Liu Xianya felt embarrassed by his gaze and laughed, "Alright, alright, you know I care about this kind of thing, but I was afraid you wouldn't tell me."
Liu Xianya only follows her and Chen Jingchi on Weibo, so she must know what happened. However, Zhou Yu has always avoided talking about matters of the heart, so she doesn't want to ask directly, fearing that her daughter won't want to talk to her.
“Just ask me,” Zhou Yu said. “I won’t hide it from you.”
Liu Xianya smiled, her eyes crinkling, and asked in a rising tone, "What did he mean by that Weibo post yesterday? Are you two dating?"
Zhou Yu shook his head, carefully choosing his words as he explained to her, "No, he's... pursuing me now."
“I was just saying, you two have collaborated on so many songs, you must have developed feelings for each other,” Liu Xianya asked naturally. “Do you like him?”
Zhou Yu remained silent, tacitly agreeing.
"He can sing and is handsome. Aunt Zhao's daughter is completely obsessed with him. She even said her daughter specially taught her how to buy albums to boost Xiao Chen's sales." Liu Xianya said exaggeratedly, "If she knew that Xiao Chen was pursuing you, she would be so envious."
Indeed, Zhou Yu was incredibly lucky to have someone who liked him. And yet, she still rejected him.
After Liu Xianya finished speaking, she remembered something and asked, "Yesterday was your birthday, did he do anything for you?"
Zhou only remembered this after she reminded him, and after saying "Yes," he went to the bedroom to get the keychain.
Upon seeing the jade pendant hanging on the keychain, Liu Xianya's eyes widened, her voice filled with undisguised surprise: "He gave this to you?!"
"Hmm." Zhou Yu could tell from her expression that it definitely wasn't cheap, so she quickly asked, "How much is this?"
Liu Xianya didn't know much about jade or jadeite. She had learned a little about it when she sold jade bracelets before, but she had never seen such clean and clear jade before, so she didn't dare to give an estimate.
"It's so pretty, it must be expensive, but as a layman, I can't really tell how much it costs." Liu Xianya held it up to the light and examined it closely. "Why is it made into a keychain?"
"I don't know, he just gave it to me like that." Zhou Yu began to regret it. "I shouldn't have accepted it."
With Chen Jingchi's temper, there's no reason for him to take back what he's given away. Zhou Yu felt a headache coming on. Last night, the kiss he gave her on the cheek had completely numbed her senses, leaving her no time to think about this.
"Indeed, you two haven't even talked yet, why are you giving such an expensive gift?" Liu Xianya muttered.
Zhou Yu felt uneasy after hearing her words. The several vinyl records she gave him last time only cost about a thousand yuan in total. Who knew he would give her this as a return gift, and even make it into a keychain? Now it seems he was afraid she would overthink it, afraid she wouldn't dare to accept it.
She grew increasingly anxious: "Mom, how am I supposed to return it?"
Liu Xianya returned the keychain to her and said, "Don't worry, I'll ask how much this thing is worth tonight. If it's really too expensive, I'll talk to Xiao Chen for you and tell him we really can't accept it."
Zhou Yu was slightly relieved: "Okay."
Liu Xianya told her to put the keychain away, and Zhou Yu put it back in the black box. He went back to the kitchen and asked, "By the way, do you have any time off on the 15th of next month? Chen Jingchi is having a concert here, and I want to take you to see it."
"Oh! Aunt Zhao told me about this. I do have some free time," Liu Xianya said in surprise. "She said tickets are really hard to get. Do you think you can get any?"
“No need to scramble for tickets, we can just go in.” Zhou Yu smiled at her, “And we’ll get the best seats.”
"Really? Then I have to go and join in the fun." Liu Xianya quickly asked her to pull up the calendar. "The 15th is a Friday, but I'm afraid I'll have to work overtime that day. I should be able to go on Saturday and Sunday."
Zhou Yu nodded: "Then I'll tell them later to reserve two seats for us."
Liu Xianya had never been to a concert before, and her anticipation immediately surged. She was so excited that she hummed a tune while chopping vegetables, and asked, "How many people are in the audience? How long is the concert?"
"Tens of thousands of people, possibly singing for two hours? I don't know either," Zhou Yu said. "They haven't even started rehearsing yet."
"Two hours? Doesn't he get tired singing all by himself?" Liu Xianya exclaimed in surprise.
"It probably won't be a continuous performance; there might be an intermission." Zhou Yu set up the rice cooker and then brought up another matter, "By the way, Mom, I put a bank card in your little savings account."
Liu Xianya kept many of her important things in a combination lock box deep inside her wardrobe. When Zhou Yu returned, he also put the card with the royalties deposited into it.
Liu Xianya didn't take it seriously, assuming it was her school card: "Why are you keeping it there? Don't you need to use it often?"
“It’s money I earned, not money you gave me,” Zhou Yu said. “The password is our birthdays.”
Liu Xianya knew that she could make money by writing lyrics, so she asked, "How much have you saved?"
Zhou Yu was afraid of scaring her, so he didn't dare to say directly, "You'll know next time you withdraw money."
Liu Xianya smiled and said, "I don't need them. I'll save them for you to use later."
*
After dinner, Zhou Yu accompanied Liu Xianya for a walk in a nearby park. When they returned around nine o'clock, Tan Bei sent her a message: "We've arrived at Shengyu. They're having a meeting. I'm so bored, I miss you."
She sent a photo of a conference room where the boys and several staff members were sitting around a conference table, discussing the song selection for the concert.
Chen Jingchi's original songs are not enough to support the entire concert's length, so he will definitely choose some songs to cover. This is what we are discussing in the meeting now.
Zhou Yu replied: 【You can also offer some ideas】
Tan Bei: [I listen to mostly English and Korean songs, I guess copyright issues are tough [tongue sticking out]]
Tan Bei: [Is there anything you'd like to hear? I'll pass it on for you.]
Zhou Yu's listening range was pitifully small, consisting of only two types: original songs by Chen Jingchi and covers by Chen Jingchi.
If she offers a choice, Chen Jingchi will easily notice something is wrong and thus see through her secret.
She would rather not take that risk.
Zhou Yu: [The songs I listen to don't require copyright fees]
Tan Bei: [Haha, I won't pass this on for you, I'm afraid Chen Jingchi will get too cocky.]
A few seconds later.
Tan Bei: [Oh, you've been mentioned! Want to hear about it?]
Zhou Yu: [What did she say about me?]
Tan Bei: [Mute your phone, I'll call you with a voice message]
Zhou Yu: [Good]
She found her earphones, put one on her right ear, answered the call, and muted it. She heard Du Heng's voice on the other end: "Couldn't Zhou Yu's writing be enlarged directly on the screen? Didn't the MV use it?"
"That's possible, but what about cover songs?" a staff member asked.
"Why don't you ask her tomorrow if she's free to help copy it?" Du Heng said to Chen Jingchi. "Just use all of it if you're going to, it'll be easier to read, and the lyrics don't have that many words anyway."
Chen Jingchi: "Okay."
Liu Xianya, who was standing next to her, leaned closer and asked, "What are you laughing at?"
Zhou Yu looked up: "Where did I laugh?"
Just as Liu Xianya was about to say something, her phone suddenly popped up with a notification to start a live broadcast. She quickly said to her, "Go get your keychain. I'll get in line and go on mic to ask how much that jade is worth for you."
Zhou Yu was taken aback: "Who are you asking?"
"I've been following this appraisal expert; he's very professional," Liu Xianya said, opening the live stream. "Don't worry, I'll just say I received it myself; I won't expose you."
Zhou Yu saw that the live stream had nearly 10,000 viewers as soon as it started, and the background was set up quite professionally, so he believed it wasn't a scam. He got up and went to his room to get the keychain.
Liu Xianya told her to sit down and not get in the shot, but Zhou Yu simply got up and stood behind the sofa to watch her do her thing.
After watching for a while, I realized that I'm not as good at using my phone as my mom. Last time, she even managed to accidentally connect to the microphone while watching Chen Jingchi's live stream.
After finally getting her turn, Liu Xianya pointed the camera at the keychain in her hand and greeted, "Hello, Teacher Xuesong. I'd like to ask you to help me figure out how much this is worth. I'm thinking of a return gift."
The anchor on the left leaned closer, took a few glances, and asked with a surprised expression, "Where did this come from?"
“It was a gift from my friend,” Liu Xianya said.
"A friend gave it to you?" The streamer asked in surprise, her eyes wide. "Girl, bring it closer so I can take a closer look."
Liu Xianya picked it up and held it up to the light source on the living room ceiling: "Can you see clearly, teacher?"
"Yes, I can see it clearly. Miss, please wait a moment. I have a phone call coming in. I need to take this." The anchor then muted the call.
Zhou bent down to look at her phone. Even after the streamer left the screen, the comments kept scrolling.
[A friend gave this to me? It couldn't be a female friend, could it?]
[A clear opening]
What kind of family can afford to be so extravagant? Aren't they worried about scratching their keys?
Is this the world of the rich? Wearing that on my body, I'd really think it was glass!
[Why is that old man answering the phone? He only works one hour a day and he's already slacking off.]
Zhou Yugang read a few messages and noticed that the discussion in his headphones suddenly stopped, and he could vaguely hear a ringing sound.
A few seconds later, Du Heng's deliberately lowered voice came from beside him: "Teacher Xuesong is looking for you, go out and meet him."
Tan Bei was sitting right next to Chen Jingchi, and her words were clearly captured by the phone's receiver.
Zhou Yuzheng felt the name sounded familiar, and his gaze inadvertently drifted to the top left corner of the live stream.
Appraisal of Cedar Trees.
Zhou Yu vaguely guessed what was going on, but she wasn't sure yet. While waiting with Liu Xianya, she opened a short video platform, searched for the name of the live stream, and clicked on it to see a store page. The jade jewelry hanging in the window wasn't too expensive, costing a few hundred or a thousand yuan, which was quite affordable.
Half a minute later, the host finally returned to the screen, smiling and saying, "Oh dear, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, young lady. Let me take another look at this jade."
Liu Xianya held it even closer and turned it around to let him observe it properly.
"Young lady, this piece of jade is indeed quite beautiful. It's so clear and bright, and you can't see any inclusions. The carving is also very exquisite. This jade gourd symbolizes good fortune and a harmonious and happy life." After reciting the poem, the host raised his hand and held up five fingers. "It's probably around this number."
Liu Xianya made a bold guess: "Five hundred thousand?"
"One zero is missing."
The comments were scrolling too fast for Liu Xianya to see clearly. She nodded and said, "Fifty thousand, that's alright."
Zhou Yu, however, saw the netizens' comments clearly.
[I've reported a scam in the live stream.]
[How could it be 50,000? I'll buy ten identical ones from Xuesong for 50,000!]
What's wrong with this old man? He's started doing this kind of swindling too?
[What do you know? Tomorrow, we'll have 50,000 yuan worth of Hetian jade in our shop window. They've figured out this reverse marketing trick.]
[It's all scripted, let's all move on.]
Liu Xianya ended the live stream and returned the keychain to her: "Fifty thousand is acceptable, but it's still too precious for ordinary people like us. You should thank him properly."
Zhou Yu felt a little uncomfortable. Liu Xianya could say that only if she believed that they would fall in love sooner or later. After all, even if it really was 50,000, it was not a small amount. Even the best of friends would have to think twice about whether they should accept it.
Zhou Yu nodded, then immediately took the keychain, went into the bedroom, closed the door, hung up the call with Tan Bei, and made a voice call to Chen Jingchi.
She already knew it couldn't be the 50,000 the streamer had said; it was definitely 500,000.
She didn't even care that they were in a meeting; she was anxious if the call was delayed by even a second.
Chen Jingchi answered the call quickly. The background noise was very quiet, so he probably wasn't in the conference room.
"Chen Jingchi." Zhou Yu asked in a low voice, worried that the bedroom door wasn't soundproof and Liu Xianya might hear her, "I knew it was expensive, and you still lied to me that it wasn't much!"
She didn't have time to be tactful with him; the one minute the anchor was on air was spent on the phone with Du Heng, and Chen Jingchi must have found out about it too.
Chen Jingchi showed no remorse, and instead smiled and said, "It would be impolite to have the gift appraised."
Zhou Yu was speechless. She knew she had done something wrong, but ultimately she wanted to know how much he had spent. She couldn't just accept it without knowing the details. Besides, it was just a birthday celebration; she didn't feel she deserved such an expensive gift.
Besides, who knew that the antique appraisal host Liu Xianya randomly connected with would actually be Chen Jingchi's buyer? How could such a coincidence happen to her?
“I apologize, I really shouldn’t have done that, I’m sorry.” Zhou Yu finished speaking, her voice lowering a few decibels, “But I’m not worth you spending so much money.”
"Why isn't it worth it?" Chen Jingchi retorted. "Zhou Yu, I'm pursuing you. Isn't it normal to spend a little money when pursuing a girl?"
His pursuit was so ostentatious and grand that Zhou Yu couldn't accept it with ease. Looking at the lustrous white jade in her hand, she said softly, "It's a little bit for you, but not for me. How am I supposed to give you a gift next year?"
“We’ll be together next year,” he said firmly. “You are the best gift.”
Zhou Yu was speechless at his confidence.
"Just pretend you don't know anything, and use it however you like," Chen Jingchi said. "When I gave it to you, I didn't think about the price; I was only thinking about how to make you happy. Only the most beautiful jade is worthy of the person I like."
He spoke each word with conviction: "Zhou Yu, don't feel inferior in front of me. I value you more than anyone else."
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Author's Note: Thank you to reader "keyee" for the +1 nutrient solution! [pink heart]
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