Chapter 363 Pitiful Yet Adorable
Already seven or eight parts drunk, Qin Fen raised his glass to Nan Zhiyi across the two people, his tongue a little tied, "Sister-in-law! I...I really didn't expect this! You...write so well, and you're such a...such a...Old Gu is so lucky! I...I'll toast you!"
As he spoke, he went to pour more wine.
Li Xiaoxuan frowned as she watched. "Alright, alright, drink less. You can't even speak properly and you're still offering toasts!"
Nan Zhiyi quickly picked up the orange juice. "Minister Qin, you're too kind. Thank you for liking my book. I appreciate your kind offer, but please make yourself at home."
Li Xiaoxuan looked at Nan Zhiyi with a questioning gaze.
Nan Zhiyi met Gu Xiao's gaze through the slightly noisy crowd and mouthed three words: "I'll talk to you later."
Li Xiaoxuan nodded, after all, this was not the time for gossip.
The other guests at the table, taking advantage of the lively atmosphere, raised their glasses to toast Gu Xiao and Nan Zhiyi, their words conveying a desire to make friends.
"Minister Gu is young and promising, and his wife is both talented and beautiful. They are a perfect match, a match made in heaven!"
I have also read Comrade Huaiwei's work...
"I will need Minister Gu and Comrade Nan's continued support in the future..."
The couple smiled, neither overly enthusiastic nor impolite: "You're too kind, everyone. Let's keep in touch in the future."
Li Xiaoxuan was entertaining the guests on the side. From these few words of conversation and the discussions of the people around her, she finally learned that Zhiyi was the writer who wrote science fiction novels under the pen name "Huaiwei"!
She had read two of the books herself and was surprised, but also proud of her friend.
Taking advantage of the moment when everyone's attention was slightly diverted, she winked at Nan Zhiyi.
Nan Zhiyi raised her glass to her from afar and smiled slightly.
Amidst the clinking of glasses and pleasantries, Zhang Yueran sat quietly next to Nan Zhiyi, eating her food in small bites, but her gaze kept drifting involuntarily to the person opposite her.
Zhou Xingzhi did not take the initiative to chat with people, but occasionally raised his glass to those he knew well, or turned his head to say a few words to Qin Fen.
Suddenly, his gaze swept in her direction, and Zhang Yueran, as if she had been caught doing something wrong, lowered her head and pretended to stare intently at the porcelain bowl in front of her.
She could feel that gaze linger above her head for a moment before casually looking away.
Dinner is over.
The maid quickly cleared the table, and some guests, such as Deputy Editor-in-Chief Deng and his wife, Director Huang and his wife, and couples with young children, got up one after another to say goodbye.
Qin Fen and Li Xiaoxuan, as the hosts, saw them off to the door one by one.
A few friends who were closer to Qin Fen and Gu Xiao remained in the living room. They moved to the sofa area to drink tea and chat.
I drank half of the tea.
Zhang Yueran noticed that Zhou Xingzhi walked over to Qin Fen and Li Xiaoxuan and whispered a few words, seemingly saying goodbye.
Qin Fen patted him on the shoulder, and Li Xiaoxuan nodded with a smile.
Then, Zhou Xingzhi walked towards where Gu Xiao and Nan Zhiyi were sitting.
Zhang Yueran's heart began to race involuntarily.
Her gaze moved from his hands to his long strides, then to his calm profile, almost uncontrollably following him.
As he drew closer, close enough to see the lines on his shirt collar, she lowered her eyelashes and stared at her fingers resting on her knees.
Zhou Xingzhi stopped in front of Gu Xiao and Nan Zhiyi. "Minister Gu, Mrs. Gu, please go ahead."
Take care.
"Goodbye, Mr. Zhou. Take care on your journey."
The brother-in-law and sister responded softly.
Zhang Yueran held her breath and whispered after her sister, "Goodbye..."
Zhou Xingzhi nodded slightly and turned to walk towards the gate.
As she watched his figure disappear, a strong impulse surged within Zhang Yueran.
She tugged at Nan Zhiyi's sleeve, "Sister, it's a bit stuffy in here, I... I'm going out for some fresh air."
Nan Zhiyi was being talked to by Li Xiaoxuan, and without thinking much, she reminded her, "It's cold outside, don't stay too long."
Zhang Yueran hummed in agreement, then eagerly got up and strode towards the door.
The cold winter wind swept over her, making her shiver and clearing her feverish head.
Zhou Xingzhi hadn't gone far; he was walking a short distance ahead.
He tilted his head slightly, seemingly looking at the dark blue night sky dotted with snowflakes, the cool light outlining his profile.
He seemed to hear footsteps behind him and turned around.
Their eyes met suddenly in the air, even though they were a dozen steps apart.
Zhang Yueran opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word. She felt her cheeks burning rapidly in the cold wind.
Zhou Xingzhi looked at her, who was only wearing a worn maroon sweater. Her nose and cheeks were red from the cold wind, but her eyes were surprisingly bright.
He pursed his thin lips, a complex mix of emotions washing over him.
Her little thoughts, which she thought she had concealed well, seemed naive and somewhat laughable to someone as insightful as him, yet... they were also purely touching.
He wasn't an oblivious block of wood or stone, but...
Zhou Xingzhi lowered his eyes and said softly, "It's cold, and you're not dressed warmly enough. Come inside."
This simple word of concern gave Zhang Yueran immense courage.
She took another small step forward, and the distance between them shortened again.
"Comrade Zhou... I... may I write you a letter? Or... call you, that would be fine too."
She was startled by her own audacity, and clenched her fingers tightly behind her back.
Zhou Xingzhi frowned, the words of refusal rolling on his tongue.
He looked into her pleading eyes and saw her trembling, thin shoulders... but the thought of directly refusing her in his heart was hard to voice.
Zhang Yueran... In his eyes, she looked pitiful, like a moth drawn to a flame, yet also endearingly naive and stubborn.
He finally nodded slightly, as if in agreement, but then took a step back distantly, saying, "I'm very busy, I may not have time, and I may not... remember to reply to you."
This was already a polite way of refusing.
Zhang Yueran, caught up in her own courage, automatically ignored the subtext in the words.
"It's okay! It's okay!"
Seeing her so happy, Zhou Xingzhi sighed inwardly, simply gave her his address and phone number, and Zhang Yueran repeated them carefully, saying, "I've got it, Comrade Zhou, I... I'll write to you soon."
Zhou Xingzhi didn't respond to her silly promise again, but just looked at her one last time and said, "Go in."
"Okay!"
Zhang Yueran replied briskly.
She obediently turned around and walked back, but slowed her pace, looking back every few steps.
Just as she turned around for the third time, a taxi slowly drove up from the intersection and stopped in front of Zhou Xingzhi.
He opened the car door, strode over, and sat in the back seat.
The taxi started up quickly, its taillights leaving two red streaks in the snowy night as it drove away into the distance.
Zhang Yueran stood there, gazing at the empty street corner, and found herself strangely moved, even by his simple act of getting into the car.
She stood there blankly for a while, until the heat on her face was dispelled by the cold wind, before returning to the Qin family home.
Nan Zhiyi and Li Xiaoxuan were standing in the entrance hall.
Seeing her come in, Nan Zhiyi grabbed her hand. "Silly girl, I was just about to go out to look for you. Why didn't you even wear a cotton coat when you went out for some fresh air? Look how cold your hands are!"
She wrapped her hand around Zhang Yueran's hand and rubbed it.
Zhang Yueran sneezed from the heat inside the room, rubbing her nose. "It's okay, sis. I just stood there for a little while, got some fresh air, and my head is much clearer now! Hehe."
Nan Zhiyi glanced at her a few times and, seeing that she was in a very good mood, advised, "You can't do that, you'll easily catch a cold."
He then turned to Li Xiaoxuan beside him and smiled, "Xiaoxuan, we'll head back now. Let's get together again next time."
Li Xiaoxuan had just finished talking with Nan Zhiyi for a while and was quite satisfied, so she didn't try to keep her any longer.
"Okay, drive carefully. When Xiaoman's on holiday, I'll come to your house to talk to you and see Xiaoman; it's been so long since I've seen him..."
Nan Zhiyi readily agreed: "Okay, you're welcome to come anytime."
Gu Xiao greeted Qin Fen from the sofa.
The three said their goodbyes and left.
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