In the Bentley, the driver hesitated slightly as he glanced at the back seat through the rearview mirror, where Liang Tianming, dressed in a suit and exuding a calm and composed aura, sat. The driver cautiously explained:
“I’ve noticed that Miss Zhiyi and that boy sometimes walk home together after school, but there haven’t been any intimate actions. Perhaps they’re just ordinary friends…”
Liang Tianming didn’t respond immediately, his expression inscrutable.
After a few seconds, the driver nervously asked, “Director Liang, should we stop the car to pick up Miss Zhiyi and take her home?”
Liang Tianming crossed his legs, his deep eyes continuing to focus on the documents in his hands as he replied, “No, let’s head home first.”
“Understood.”
The Bentley turned right and disappeared around the corner.
On the street.
Liang Zhiyi and Pei Chen walked slowly, eventually arriving at Lao Lin’s Noodle Shop.
As they lifted the curtain and walked in, the warmth inside the shop immediately dispelled the chill from their bodies, making it feel almost like coming home.
It was mealtime, and all the tables in the shop were occupied. The proprietress was busy serving noodles to the customers.
“Uncle Lin, Aunt Lin—”
The owner turned at the sound of their voices, his eyes lighting up, “Oh, Xiao Pei is here, and Xiao Liang is here too…”
The girl’s face, half-buried in her scarf, emerged with a bright smile. “Aunt Lin, I was really craving your noodles, so I asked Pei Chen to come with me.”
The proprietress beamed, “What would you like to eat? There aren’t any free tables right now. Would you like to wait a bit or share a table with someone?”
Pei Chen, worried that the girl might not like the crowdedness, asked her in a low voice, “If you don’t want to share a table, we can wait a little longer.”
“It’s fine, we can share.”
She stood slightly on her tiptoes, her light and playful voice reaching his ear, “I’m really hungry. I feel like I could eat a whole cow.”
A faint smile curved Pei Chen’s lips as he said to the proprietress, “Aunt Lin, it’s okay. We’ll share.”
“Alright, then what would you like to eat?”
Pei Chen ordered pig’s trotter noodles, knowing that Liang Zhiyi liked them, but since she also wanted to try something new, he suggested adding a platter of braised delicacies. She nodded, “Then I’ll have a bowl of beef noodles.”
“Sure.”
The proprietress headed to the kitchen. Liang Zhiyi noticed a table occupied by a mother and her child, with the seats across from them empty. She approached and asked the woman, “Hello, Auntie. Would it be alright if we shared the table with you?”
The middle-aged woman smiled, “Of course.”
Liang Zhiyi happily waved to Pei Chen, who grabbed the utensils and sat down next to her.
Leaning towards him, Liang Zhiyi pointed to something on the table near the cashier, asking, “What’s that?”
Pei Chen glanced over and replied, “It’s sesame cakes made by Uncle Lin’s family.”
Curious, Liang Zhiyi said she wanted to try one. Pei Chen got one for her, and she took a bite, exclaiming, “It smells so good; it’s fresh out of the oven.”
Watching her cheeks move as she chewed, like a little hamster, Pei Chen teased her lightly, “Were you that hungry?”
“I just ran 800 meters, you know. That really drains your energy.”
She continued eating the cake with a proud look on her face. After a while, Pei Chen reminded her, “You’ve got sesame seeds stuck on your face.”
“Where?”
“On your left cheek.”
She raised her hand to wipe it off and looked at him, asking, “Did I get it?”
Her clueless expression made Pei Chen instinctively reach out and gently brush the sesame seeds off her cheek with his fingertip.
The two were very close, and the sweet scent of gardenias from her enveloped him. Her soft, smooth skin felt like cream under his touch. Realizing how intimate his gesture was, Pei Chen quickly withdrew his hand, a wave of heat rising from within him.
Liang Zhiyi also paused for a moment, then playfully teased him, “Thank you, Class President. Is this part of your duties?”
She was quoting something he had once said to her, making fun of him.
Pei Chen: “….”
The girl’s eyes curved into crescent moons as she laughed. Just then, the proprietress brought their food over, saying, “Here’s your noodles and the braised platter.”
“Thank you, Aunt Lin.”
The proprietress smiled, “Enjoy your meal. I’ll be busy in the meantime.”
Liang Zhiyi tasted the beef noodles and found them delicious.
As they ate, the middle-aged woman across from them was urging her child to eat, saying, “Come on, take a big bite.”
“Mom, I don’t want to eat the meat.”
“You can’t be picky. Look, the big brother and sister across from you are eating meat too, and that’s how you’ll grow tall, right?”
Meeting the little boy’s gaze, Liang Zhiyi put a piece of meat in her mouth, demonstrating, “You have to eat meat to grow strong, little one.”
The boy obediently ate the meat, then said, “Mom, after this, I want to play on the slide…”
Pei Chen looked up just as the middle-aged woman, her face full of gentle smiles, fed noodles to her son. She responded warmly, “Okay, when Dad comes to pick us up, we’ll play on the slide together. But first, you need to eat your meal like a good boy, okay?”
“Alright…”
Pei Chen lowered his head, memories swirling in his mind, darkening his expression.
Liang Zhiyi silently noticed his reaction and seemed to understand what he was thinking.
After a while, the middle-aged woman left with her child. Liang Zhiyi, seeing that Pei Chen remained quiet, gently nudged his elbow and smiled at him, “Pei Chen, let me tell you about a few unlucky things that happened to me today…”
She began sharing amusing stories, trying her best to cheer him up.
As Pei Chen looked at her smiling face, the heavy emotions in his heart slowly dissipated.
Some of the other customers had left the shop as well. When the proprietress came over to clear the tables, she chatted with them briefly. Liang Zhiyi casually mentioned that Pei Chen had won the basketball championship last week, to which the proprietress exclaimed, “Wow, Xiao Pei is so impressive! It’s wonderful to see you young people enjoying life at this age.”
Liang Zhiyi then asked offhandedly, “Aunt Lin, do you have any children?”
The proprietress paused for a moment before smiling and replying, “Old Lin and I don’t have any children.”
Both Liang Zhiyi and Pei Chen were surprised. The proprietress explained, “When I was younger, I wasn’t in good health, so we decided not to have children. But now, Old Lin and I are quite content with just the two of us.”
Liang Zhiyi hadn’t expected to touch on a sensitive topic and quickly apologized, “Aunt Lin, I’m so sorry…”
“It’s alright. We’re doing just fine now.”
“Well, I hope you and Uncle Lin grow old together. That’s pretty romantic too.”
The proprietress smiled warmly.
After chatting for a bit more, the proprietress returned to her work. Once they had finished eating, Pei Chen paid the bill.
As they bid farewell to the elderly couple and stepped out of the shop, Liang Zhiyi teased, “Pei Chen, why didn’t you let me pay again? Are you trying to make me owe you more and more?”
Pei Chen was momentarily taken aback and explained, “No, it’s just a meal. That’s all.” As a guy, he didn’t want the girl he liked to have to pay when they went out together.
The girl smiled, “Well, I’ll pay you back slowly in the future.”
Their eyes met for a few seconds, and Pei Chen felt a ripple in his heart. “Let’s go. How are you getting home?”
“I’ll take the subway.”
So they walked together to the subway station.
The subway was crowded, and they stood facing each other in the midst of the throng. Pei Chen held onto the handrail, shielding the girl in front of him so that no one could jostle her.
Liang Zhiyi, biting on a lollipop, looked up at him and asked, “Pei Chen, New Year’s is coming up soon. How do you usually spend New Year’s Eve?”
Pei Chen responded calmly, “I don’t usually celebrate it.”
“That sounds boring! How about we go to the mall that evening? I suddenly feel like catching some claw machine toys. I haven’t done that in so long. We could also watch a movie together.”
She tugged at his sleeve, “Pei Chen, let’s go together, okay?”
Pei Chen looked down, meeting her bright, expectant eyes. The emotions stirring within him were hard to suppress. After a few seconds, he softly agreed, “Okay.”
The girl beamed, “Great!”
After another stop, Liang Zhiyi reached her destination. She said goodbye to him and got off the train.
Pei Chen glanced at the route map. He still had three more stops to go and would need to walk another ten minutes after getting off the subway, which would take about fifteen minutes longer than taking the bus.
But he wanted to spend a bit more time with Liang Zhiyi, even if it was just for those two stops.
Ten minutes later, he got off the subway.
At the same time, Liang Zhiyi arrived home.
At the entrance of the Liang family’s villa, the housekeeper opened the door for her, “Miss Zhiyi, have you had dinner? If not, I can prepare something for you.”
“I’ve eaten already, no need to trouble yourself.”
As she walked in, she noticed her father, Liang Tianming, sitting in the living room, reading the evening newspaper. Her eyes lit up, “Dad, you’re home early today!”
She ran over and hugged his arm, “Dad, have you had dinner?”
Liang Tianming put down the newspaper, patted her head, and smiled indulgently, “I’ve eaten. Your mom just left for her night shift.”
“Oh, no wonder I didn’t see her earlier.” Liang Zhiyi stood up and smiled, “Dad, you must have had a long day at work. Let me give you a shoulder massage.”