“Get out and wait for me for a moment. I need to take care of something; I’ll be back soon.” Chu Zihang’s face was expressionless.
Sitting in someone else’s luxury sports car, arguing was pointless, so Lu Mingfei obediently got out and stood by the side of the road. Chu Zihang shifted into reverse, stomped on the gas pedal, and the Panamera’s four wheels smoked as it accelerated backward, merging back into the traffic, heading back the way they came.
Lu Mingfei was dumbfounded—it was the first time he’d seen someone driving so wildly. He didn’t know that it was a family tradition for some people.
The scorching sun stung his skin, and the hot air rose from the asphalt in shimmering waves. Chen Wenwen was walking in the distance, following a group of people. Through the heat waves, the boy in front had a swaying, wobbly back.
Everything looked wobbly.
“Hey sis, do you eat foie gras?” someone said loudly.
“No, it’s too salty. I’ll just have salad, you guys go ahead,” Liu Miaomiao answered absentmindedly.
“Boss, it’s so hot, why are we walking around outside? Let’s go to Cold Stone for some ice cream,” someone else said.
“Save some space for dinner,” came Zhao Menghua’s voice, faint and distant.
The conversations seemed far away, yet right by his ears.
Sometimes people just can’t help but listen seriously to those heart-wrenching words. Maybe his brain was just acting up…
Chen Wenwen looked down at her white sandals. Each time, her slender, fair feet peeked out from under her skirt, inching forward step by step.
When she was still with Zhao Menghua, and he came to school to find her, after dinner they would stroll under the lights. She would also walk like this, with her head down. There were classmates everywhere, heading home after their evening classes, and every time someone loudly greeted her, asking, “Is that your boyfriend, Chen Wenwen?” her face would flush, as if it were an embarrassing thing, but also so very happy. Zhao Menghua would hug her shoulder tightly, laughing and greeting their classmates.
Now, she still couldn’t lift her head. It wasn’t out of embarrassment; her head felt too heavy, as if it would break her neck.
Zhao Menghua felt irritated. Since leaving Sophie Lard Pizza, Chen Wenwen had been following him, stubbornly staying close.
What was the point in sticking around now? It was over. Acting like a resentful woman was pointless. Zhao Menghua thought he hadn’t wronged Chen Wenwen—it was just a breakup, right? Before the breakup, they had a huge fight. Zhao Menghua gritted his teeth and said they were done, and Chen Wenwen had stubbornly agreed, biting her lip. Zhao Menghua had hesitated for a second, then said, “Fine, don’t regret it!” and stormed out. A few days later, at a party, he happened to sit next to Liu Miaomiao and suddenly felt lucky he had broken up. The entire party, he had his phone on silent, as Chen Wenwen sent him dozens of messages throughout the day.
He wanted to turn back and yell at Chen Wenwen, “Aren’t you tired of this? I told you not to regret it! Playing the tragic lover is pointless now.”
But with Liu Miaomiao by his side, being too harsh on an ex-girlfriend would make his new girlfriend feel he wasn’t kind. So Zhao Menghua held back. He genuinely liked Liu Miaomiao—she was beautiful, well-behaved, and came from a good family. She didn’t argue with him like Chen Wenwen, and she made him look good in front of his friends. And as luck would have it, their fathers were golf buddies. When his mom heard he had a new girlfriend, she was thrilled, clapping her hands and saying, “Good riddance! You and Chen Wenwen were never a good match!”
Zhao Menghua also thought he wasn’t a good match with Chen Wenwen. From afar, she always seemed so quiet and serene, reading a book, untouched by even a speck of dust, eyes lowered, utterly beautiful. But once he caught her, he realized that the more artistic types were the most annoying, always overly sensitive.
Chen Wenwen also felt that she wasn’t suited for Zhao Menghua.
They hadn’t seen each other for almost two months now. Zhao Menghua wouldn’t answer her calls, and her emails vanished without a response. Late at night, she stared blankly at Zhao Menghua’s QQ status—last weekend he went rafting, the next he went to an amusement park, and the weekend after that he climbed Xiang Mountain… Every weekend, Zhao Menghua had plans, but with whom? Chen Wenwen had no idea.
She suddenly burst into tears, startling the old librarian into a flare-up of his rheumatism.
Actually, the story in “The Lover” had no resemblance to hers.
“They were ultimately incompatible.” The white girl in “The Lover” and the rich Chinese young man also parted ways because they weren’t a match.
She came today just to see Zhao Menghua. This expectation had overcome her heavy hesitation. She even put on some light makeup, hoping to look better so that he wouldn’t worry. The reason she asked Lu Mingfei to come was because she knew everyone else at the gathering would be Zhao Menghua’s buddies. It made her nervous. She hadn’t thought about getting back together with Zhao Menghua—she just wanted to meet him, simply.
But why did she end up crying so hard?
Why did she keep following along?
She knew doing this wouldn’t make Zhao Menghua turn around to look at her. She knew his personality better than anyone… But if she just left now, she might never see Zhao Menghua again… and all those memories would be gone. Memories of walking together along the riverside under the streetlights at school—now the lights had gone out; memories of eating together in the cafeteria—now the food had gone bad; memories of buying a Hello Kitty charm and forcing it onto Zhao Menghua’s phone—she figured that charm must have been torn off by now. The little pink fuzzy kitten was somewhere in a trash heap, weighed down by all kinds of dirty things, and it couldn’t even cry because it had no mouth…
She regretted it. She shouldn’t have bought that Hello Kitty charm in the first place—if she hadn’t, the kitten would still be lying quietly in the display case, waiting for someone to claim it.
Why should an innocent little kitten be so pitiful because of an ill-suited relationship?
That poor… little kitten…
Finally, her tears fell, dropping onto the scorching cement pavement, evaporating in a faint wisp of steam.
“Hey! Hey!” Xu Yanyan nudged Zhao Menghua in the waist with her elbow. He caught a glimpse of Chen Wenwen standing still, tears streaming down her face, and felt a tiny bit of guilt.
“Can’t you just stop!” Zhao Menghua brushed away Xu Yanyan’s arm forcefully.
He wished that brush-off had been on Chen Wenwen—it was just too much! He couldn’t stand it. What did she want from him? If she hadn’t come today, if they had met alone another time, Zhao Menghua would have patted her shoulder and comforted her. But she just had to show up, and without causing a scene—she brought Lu Mingfei with her. That guy was really dead set on Chen Wenwen. Now everyone had left in an awkward mood—what else did she want? Right next to him was his new girlfriend, Liu Miaomiao. He was going to take his buddies out for Italian tonight to regain his face—she wasn’t invited. What was she tagging along for?
Suddenly, a deep engine sound rang out. Zhao Menghua didn’t have time to look up; he only felt the hot wind slice through the air, almost cutting his hair. A dark blue blur passed by, the screech of the brakes making his teeth hurt. The Panamera came to a sudden stop beside Chen Wenwen.
This madman was actually driving in reverse!
The car window rolled down. Half of Chu Zihang’s face was hidden by his sunglasses, and his expression was ice-cold—he could easily play a loyal hitman to the boss in any Hong Kong movie. He said, “Lu Mingfei said he’s treating you to dinner tonight.”
“Yes, you.” Chu Zihang nodded at the bewildered Chen Wenwen, his handsome and masculine face seeming to say, “It’s that simple—the message from the boss has been delivered.”
At this moment, his seriousness, dominance, indifference, and gossipiness fused perfectly into one. This invitation seemed impossible to refuse. Imagine someone admiring you, inviting you to an elegant, ambiguous one-on-one dinner, but the invitation is delivered in such a forceful way that you feel like if you say “no,” the messenger will pull a “Desert Eagle” from the glove compartment and shoot you between the eyes…
“He’s booked a table at the Aspasia restaurant tonight,” Chu Zihang pulled a card from the glove box and handed it to Chen Wenwen, “The address is on it, the time is 7:30.”
Chen Wenwen stared blankly at the black card. Aspasia—she’d vaguely heard of that restaurant, a new, luxurious Italian place that was said to have reached the pinnacle of extravagance. Could this really be that cowardly boy’s doing? Truly impressive… Boss Lu was both imposing and firm!
Not far away, the boys from Shilan Middle School stared wide-eyed, their jaws almost dropping to the ground. With the current temperature on the pavement, you’d probably soon smell the scent of roasting chin. Zhao Menghua clenched his fists—he had a feeling that he was about to be defeated again by an opponent he never thought much of…
“Refuse?” Chu Zihang frowned.
Could anyone refuse in that tone? He clearly already looked impatient. The “Desert Eagle” in his glove box was probably eager to leap out. Even Zhao Menghua thought refusing would be suicide.
Chen Wenwen lowered her head, tucked her soft hair behind her ear, and sniffled, “Alright.”
The window rolled up, and the Panamera sped off, coming and going in a rush. The roar of the four exhaust pipes once again left Zhao Menghua’s ears buzzing.
merbwa