Chapter 2
Zhuang Zhuohua gave Iris an address, not their home, nor Zhuang Zhuoyuan's workplace, but a bar he frequented.
PC Bar.
She went for three days straight but didn't run into Zhuang Zhuoyuan. Iris thought this might be a test; after all, judging from Madam Zhuang's serious demeanor, he shouldn't be joking with her. Well, that didn't matter. She'd already waited a year and a half; one more week wouldn't hurt. What truly worried her was the attitude of the other party involved. Love at first sight was inherently unreliable; if she had pressed her advantage then and there, she and Zhuang Zhuoyuan would most likely have gotten together smoothly. But now, she had been out of contact for 18 months, and she didn't know if they could clear up this misunderstanding.
"Sigh..." The pale blue liquid swirled in the glass. Iris picked it up and put it down again, no longer even in the mood to watch the bartender mix drinks. Seeing her like this, the proprietress standing behind the counter kindly approached and asked, "Miss Zhou, isn't the person you're looking for here today?"
“No,” Iris pouted, then smiled. “It’s alright, it’s not 9 o’clock yet, I’ll wait a little longer, please don’t kick me out, landlady.”
"Please sit down and relax." Amidst the loud music, the proprietress, Pauline, smiled in return, but inwardly she was puzzled. The more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed. Among the regular customers, the only ones who hadn't come in the past few days were those tiger cubs who had gone out for training. Apart from them, there really wasn't anyone who could match Miss Zhou. Could it be...? A thought suddenly struck her, and she quickly pulled her husband, Zhan Yunchao, aside: "Do you think that Miss Zhou might be waiting for someone from A-Tao's team?"
"Who's waiting for A-Tao?" A beautiful woman with bangs walked in through the door. Hearing the conversation between the owners, especially the people mentioned, she immediately joined in. "Sister Pauline, Uncle Chao, has A-Tao arrived yet?"
"Huihui's here," Pauline greeted her son's girlfriend. "Is your friend's wedding banquet over? Why didn't you send Atao to pick you up?"
Ding Huihui took Pauline's arm and sweetly replied, "Atao just got back, so I wanted him to rest a bit longer. I can come back by myself, and a friend gave me a ride, so it's very convenient. By the way, who were you saying was waiting for Atao?"
“Oh, she’s not waiting for Ah Tao, she’s waiting for Ah Tao’s friend.” Uncle Chao pointed at Iris. “That lady is looking for someone, and your sister Pauline is wondering if the person she’s looking for might be Ah Tao’s friend.”
"Iris?" Ding Huihui's gaze fell on the bar, and her eyes widened in surprise. She rushed to Zhou Yishi's side and excitedly grabbed the latter's arm. "Iris, it really is you!"
"Huihui!" Realizing what had happened, Iris was also very happy. Meeting an old friend in a strange city was definitely worth ordering another drink. "Long time no see! I didn't expect to meet you here!"
The two embraced, and Ding Huihui immediately took Iris's hand and enthusiastically introduced her to Zhan Yunchao and his wife. As they walked, she said, "This is the bar my boyfriend's parents own. My boyfriend will be coming over in a little while. Come on, let me introduce you to them first."
Since they were all on the same side, there was less to worry about in their interactions. So at exactly nine o'clock, when the Flying Tigers members entered, Zhan Hantao, who was in the lead, first saw Iris chatting happily with his parents and Ding Huihui. He immediately noticed this new face in the bar, and just as he was wondering why someone he had met once before was here, the person he was paying attention to was already walking towards him.
“Hello, Mr. Zhan, I am Iris. I hope you still remember me.”
"Oh!" A strange sound came from among the group of tall, burly men behind Zhan Hantao. Iris glanced over and saw that the person who made the sound had already been silenced by his companions. She heard the others whisper, "Jianren, shut up!"
Zhan Hantao chose a very cautious approach: "Ms. Zhou, now that you're in Hong Kong, is there anything I can help you with?"
“Iris came to Hong Kong to find someone!” Ding Huihui also came over and took Zhan Hantao’s arm in a coquettish manner. “Atao, since you know Iris, why don’t you help her?”
The sweet girl's offensive was indeed invincible, especially when this sweetness came from his girlfriend. Zhan Hantao's lips unconsciously curled up. He patted Ding Huihui's hand and turned back to ask Iris, "I wonder who Miss Zhou is looking for?"
“You know who I’m looking for,” Iris already had the answer in her heart. If this group of people were all his friends, how could Zhuo Yuan, who loved excitement so much, not show up? “Mr. Zhan, will he be here soon?”
"Ah, yes." Zhan Hantao was stunned for a moment before he realized what was happening, and then he remembered how Zhuang Zhuoyuan had left him and disappeared for an entire afternoon in Amsterdam. As soon as he finished answering, Iris, beaming, reached over to grab her bag from her seat and headed to the bar for a drink: "Uncle Cheng, I'll cover their drinks this round."
The cheers were only half-hearted due to the surprise. After regaining their senses, the A team members, who had inexplicably benefited, became even more gossipy. Before Iris even left the house, they couldn't wait to surround Zhan Hantao, bombarding him with questions.
"Inspector Zhan, who is that young lady?"
How did you two meet?
Why did she buy us drinks?
Who is she looking for?
What are you going out for now?
Zhan Hantao felt helpless. He reached out and shooed away the group of gossipy women, then took his girlfriend's hand and walked back to their usual seat: "I don't know anything. You'll find out soon enough."
"Tch!" The crowd booed, but unfortunately they couldn't get any information out of their captain. After Uncle Cheng served the drinks, they could only awkwardly choose a seat with a belly full of questions.
"Where's A-Yuan? And Ma-Da, why isn't he here yet?" A-Xing started looking for people as he pried open the bottle cap. Jian-Ren raised his bottle to clink with his and took a big gulp of a third of it: "Ma-Da must have gone back to hand over the people. It's for comforting his wife, how can it be so quick? A-Yuan, he should be here soon. It's better if he's late, we'll have him treat us in the next round."
A burst of laughter erupted from the bar again. Iris stood at the door, faintly hearing the commotion inside. Her longing for Zhuang Zhuoyuan deepened instantly amidst the lively noise. She wanted to see him immediately!
Zhan Hantao could roughly guess Iris's feelings, but of course, he understood his good brother's thoughts even better. He still vividly remembered Zhuang Zhuoyuan's heartbroken state after losing contact with someone. Zhuang Zhuoyuan had helped him a lot in pursuing Ding Huihui, so now that the female protagonist of the missing person story had reappeared, Zhan Hantao naturally wanted to lend a hand.
"Yuan, hurry up, your love at first sight is here, Tao."
"What's going on?" Zhuang Zhuoyuan was baffled as he looked at Zhan Hantao's text message, and his steps involuntarily slowed down. "What love at first sight? Are you kidding me again! Could it be that Sister Pauline has sent another girl to set me up on a blind date? Is this necessary? Am I that unpopular?"
Under the streetlights, Zhuang Zhuoyuan's shadow stretched long. He stood there talking to himself, giving Iris time to process what he was seeing. She quickly took a picture with her phone, took a few deep breaths, and seeing that the person she was thinking of didn't seem to have any immediate plans to come over, the action-oriented Iris headed straight for the other side.
"If the mountain won't come to me, then I'll go to the mountain. I hope I didn't scare you."
Let alone the unexpected appearance of someone in front of him, the rapid sound of high heels alone was enough to make Zhuang Zhuoyuan reflexively assume a defensive posture. Seeing his reaction, Iris was naturally not happy, but fortunately, she wasn't someone who got angry easily, so she just pouted and asked with a hint of disappointment, "Zhuang Zhuoyuan, you have a girlfriend?"
"No, no. Iris?! What are you doing here!" Zhuang Zhuoyuan's tone changed drastically, as if he had just seen her, and his terrified expression remained even after the transition. Iris was even more annoyed by this, and lowered her head: "It seems you're not happy to see me. Then just pretend you've never seen me."
"Wait!" Zhuang Zhuoyuan instinctively reached for her hand, but immediately realized it was inappropriate and quickly let go. Iris's eyes were filled with resentment. Zhuang Zhuoyuan's heart pounded, unsure whether it was from nervousness or something else: "I... I didn't not want to see you, I was just too surprised. Iris, I didn't expect to meet you here."
Iris puffed out her cheeks and corrected, "It wasn't a chance encounter, I came here specifically to find you. I went through countless hardships to find you!"
The usually calm and composed sniper seemed unable to concentrate on his thoughts that night; every word Iris spoke caused his mind to go blank for moments. Zhuang Zhuoyuan desperately wanted to know what she meant—was it his expectation, or his misunderstanding?
Iris finally began to doubt her own charm. Her previous reactions were understandable, but at this moment, the usually understanding Zhuo Yuan was still in a daze, which made people wonder if his feelings for her had been worn away during the 18 months of no response.
"Ah Yuan, I'm so sad, I need a hug to feel better."
Amidst the familiar, coquettish voice, Zhuang Zhuoyuan saw Iris open her arms, and his thoughts became even more chaotic, unsure whether to accept her advances. Iris pressed closer, but at the last centimeter, the distance between them stopped closing. Zhuang Zhuoyuan heard her voice again: "You really don't have a girlfriend?"
"No," he answered urgently, his heart pounding.
The other party remained calm: "Are you absolutely sure?"
"Absolutely certain." A quick "Yes, madam!" will probably follow in the next second.
"Then I'll hug you!" Iris was in high spirits, slipping through his arms and waist to affectionately embrace him. Zhuang Zhuoyuan was somewhat at a loss; his brain, which had just regained some of its senses, instantly went blank again. This felt like a dream, and he was a little afraid that Iris would disappear in an instant.
"Iris, you're really back?"
“I should say I’ve come,” Iris nuzzled his neck. “Of course, if you’re going to give me a home, then you can say I’m back.”
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