Then, putting down his current task, the team leader looked at Cheng Liao and said, "Even if you hadn’t come to find me, I would have sought you out. I can’t recommend this; it just doesn’t have enough appeal."
It felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over her head, but she wasn’t ready to give up. "If it’s not suitable for the homepage banner, could it be placed more prominently in the video section?"
"Cheng Liao," the team leader was growing impatient, "couldn’t you spend your time on something more useful? Cao Xihe isn’t even a champion—don’t you have anything better to do?"
"Then can I at least upload it to the website?" Cheng Liao asked weakly.
The team leader waved her off, "Do whatever you want."
Soon, Linda’s group’s video was out. Cheng Liao watched it—it was well-done but quite conventional. Compressing it into a five-minute short film would have been more fitting; the 45-minute special felt too drawn out.
Cheng Liao uploaded her video to the company’s platform, but it was like throwing a grain of sand into the ocean—not even a ripple, not a single molecule stirred.
She was heartbroken, gritting her teeth in frustration when Yan Xiao across from her tapped on her desk.
Staring at the stagnant click count in the backend, Cheng Liao vented to Yan Xiao, "Just imagine, if there were an outstanding, talented actress who poured her heart into a movie, expecting to win an Oscar, a Palme d'Or, a Golden Bear, or even a Grammy…"
Yan Xiao interrupted, "Grammys are music awards."
"Anyway, she makes a movie that’s destined to shake up the entire film industry. But before the movie even gets released, it gets banned by the Broadcasting Bureau. Wouldn’t that just drive you crazy? That’s exactly how I feel right now."
Just as she was getting into it, Xu Chi called.
Ever since the call during her business trip, Xu Chi hadn’t called again, and Cheng Liao hadn’t reached out either.
Though they had known each other since childhood, they didn’t stay in touch very often, and Cheng Liao had come to accept this as normal.
"Zhiliao," Xu Chi used her nickname, "come outside, I’ve got a surprise for you."
"I’ll give you a few options—
"A, a bunch of colorful balloons rise outside your window, with a long ribbon that says 'Fried Cicada, Two Servings for Five Yuan.'
"B, a deliveryman stands at your door with a large bouquet of flowers, a card nestled inside, and a little green caterpillar.
"C, a giant Mickey Mouse greets you warmly, and just when you think he’s about to hug you, he slips a restaurant flyer into your hand."
Xu Chi had done all these things before.
Option A was when she graduated from middle school. Everyone thought someone was going to confess to her, and nearly the whole school came out to watch. But when they read the words on the ribbon, the laughter was deafening.
Option B was for her 18th birthday when Xu Chi had a huge bouquet of roses delivered to her. When she happily leaned in to sniff them, she found herself face-to-face with a caterpillar.
Option C was when she got into university. Xu Chi had dressed up in a Mickey Mouse costume just to hand her a random restaurant’s discount flyer.
When it comes to goofing off, no one could beat Xu Chi.
Not expecting much from Xu Chi’s surprise, Cheng Liao walked out of the department’s glass door and saw Xu Chi standing at the end of the corridor, smiling as he walked toward her.
The Xu family had a bit of minority heritage, and in Xu Chi’s generation, this gave his hair a slight ash-gray hue, which glistened with a special sheen in the sunlight.
His complexion was also much fairer than most men’s. Cheng Liao often worked on location, so after a summer of being outdoors, her skin tone was just a bit darker than his.
Xu Chi stopped in front of her and spread his arms wide, "Surprise!"
Instinctively, Cheng Liao dodged, and Xu Chi’s arms missed, so he ruffled her hair instead.
"Getting smarter, huh? I was just planning to ruffle your hair anyway." He pretended to listen to the sound it made, "Boss, let’s trade this one in; it’s ripe!"
Cheng Liao couldn’t help but laugh.
Xu Chi observed her, then put on a stern face.
"Cheng Zhiliao, you’re getting so chubby your dimples are about to disappear."
Cheng Liao glared at him, smiling more broadly, and pointed to her left cheek, "How about now? Still got them?"
She was wearing an oversized yellow T-shirt, with a little duckling freshly hatched from an egg embroidered on the front. It was her usual style—oddly cute.
He looked at it with slight disdain, "Aren’t you a bit too old to be wearing that?"
The shirt was a gift from Sheng Jingchu. She’d worn it a few times and found the material soft and absorbent. When she searched online, she discovered it was from a French teen brand.
For someone like her, who mispronounced "Cache-Cache" as "car wash," no brand name was ever going to stick.
She patted the duck’s head affectionately, "Got a problem with it?"
"I need to have a word with HR. Starting today, we should implement a new rule—no weird clothes allowed during work hours, and anyone who wears them gets fined."
Cheng Liao looked up at the ceiling, "I think I see cows flying in the sky."
Just then, the elevator doors opened, and her department director stepped out. Seeing Xu Chi, the director paused, then quickly put on a professional smile and approached.
"Mr. Xu, here for an inspection?"
The director glanced at Cheng Liao again and asked, "You’re our department’s intern, right? What's your name again, Cheng…?"
"Cheng Liao, as in the 'liao' in 'cicada'," she replied respectfully.
Was Xu Chi the overseas returnee executive that Yan Xiao had mentioned before? Cheng Liao looked at Xu Chi meaningfully. If she remembered correctly, Xu Chi had gone abroad to study because his grades were so poor.
The director smiled at her and said, "Keep up the good work; you’ll eventually become 'outstanding' just like the 'liao' in your name."
Even after the director walked away, Cheng Liao was still puzzled. "How did you manage to get in here?" she asked Xu Chi.
Xu Chi adjusted the collar of his shirt and said, "Do you know what the CEO’s last name is?"
"Gu," she replied.
CEO Gu Zheng, an MIT graduate who once worked at Microsoft in the U.S., returned to China in 1996 to establish his first internet company.
"Exactly," Xu Chi said with a leisurely smile, "he’s my uncle."
That evening, when Cheng Liao returned home, her father was online learning how to play Go, with a small notebook in hand. She sneaked a peek and saw that it was filled with circles and crosses.
Her father quickly covered the notebook and shooed her away, "Out, out, don’t interrupt my study."
Cheng Liao watched for a while, curious. "Why are you learning this? No one around here even knows how to play Go. I can teach you 'Plant Defense' or 'Angry Birds.' I’ve gotten good enough to clear a level with one bird."
Her father didn’t respond, but there was a hint of pride in his eyes.
Knowing her dad was hiding something from her, Cheng Liao leaned in and began massaging his shoulders.
After a while, she asked, "How does that feel? Comfortable?"
Her father closed his eyes in pleasure, "Very comfortable."
"Would you like to feel even better?"
He nodded, "Another ten bucks’ worth."
"Then tell me, do you have any good news to share?"
Her father could never keep secrets, especially when he was proud of something. Despite reminding himself repeatedly to keep it to himself, after a little coaxing from Cheng Liao, he couldn’t resist showing off.
He made a "pause" gesture, signaling her to stop for a moment. Then, he opened the Weibo page on the computer and brought up Sheng Jingchu’s profile.
"Look at this…" he said, pointing to the screen.
Cheng Liao leaned in to look. The latest post showed a picture of a Go game with a caption:
"Playing against Xiao Cao, who do you think is playing black, and who’s playing white?"
She looked at it a few times but couldn’t see how it was related to her father.
Eager to impress, her father saw that she wasn’t catching on, so he revealed the secret himself: "Look here, see the thermos next to the Go board?"
She nodded.
"The key is right here," he pointed to a small shadow on the thermos, "That’s the reflection of the table on the thermos. What can you infer from this?"
Cheng Liao stared at the tiny shadow, "I don’t see anything special."
"You can tell there’s a large blue and white porcelain bowl on the table!"
"What? Really?" Cheng Liao practically pressed her face to the screen. "It does look like there’s a bowl."
"Exactly," her father said, crossing his legs proudly, "it’s ours."
Cheng Liao had a bad feeling, "What do you mean?"
"I had Xiao Dong deliver the takeout."
Ever since her father became a Weibo sensation, business at Uncle Cheng’s Restaurant had boomed. Her father couldn’t manage it alone anymore, so he hired an assistant, Xiao Dong.
"How… how did you know Sheng Jingchu’s address?"
"That expert Go player, Jiang… Jiang Chunlai, came to the restaurant. I asked him."
If there were a bed nearby, Cheng Liao would have fainted on it. She rubbed her temples and swallowed hard.
"Dad, what’s the point of doing this?"
Her father didn’t receive the praise he expected and was a bit embarrassed. He waved her away in irritation.
"Ungrateful daughter! Not only are you clueless, but you’re also getting in the way of my progress!"
The door closed with a bang right in front of her face.
Cheng Liao stood at the door in a daze, looking around for something sharp to end it all, but after a bit of struggle, she decided she was too afraid of the pain.
Back in her room, she collapsed into her chair and covered her face with her hands.
Her dad’s meddling wasn’t helping at all. What if Sheng Jingchu misunderstood and thought she had feelings for him? That would completely shatter her dignity.
Just as she was about to message Sheng Jingchu to test the waters, he messaged her first:
"Thank your dad for the dinner."
Cheng Liao groaned, then managed to type out three words:
"You're welcome."
Sheng Jingchu looked at her response. Usually, her messages were full of chatter or strange pictures, but this reply was unusually brief and lacked any images. Was she in a bad mood?
He was about to ask when a call came through.
Xu Chi was hosting a party to celebrate his return, and he had invited both Cheng Liao and Cheng Yi.
Cheng Liao had planned to decline, but Xu Chi’s mother personally called to invite her, speaking in a warm and insistent tone.
"It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other. Last time I saw you, you were just a little thing. You must come by so Auntie can see how much you’ve grown."
Strictly speaking, Xu Chi’s mother wasn’t really a neighbor of Cheng Liao’s family; it was Xu Chi’s grandfather who had lived next door to them.
There was some history between the Cheng and Xu families. They had both served in the same court generations ago. After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the Cheng family retired to a rural life, while the Xu family ventured into industry.
An ancestral aunt from the Cheng family had once married into the Xu family, and if you traced back four or five generations, there were still some tangled family connections.
However, Cheng Liao’s grandfather had always looked down on Xu Chi’s grandfather’s scholarly demeanor and would practically hold his nose whenever they met. Xu Chi’s grandfather, on the other hand, secretly called him a "bandit" and forbade their children from associating with each other.
One year, a flood hit Jiangcheng, and Sweetwater Alley, where they lived, was quickly submerged. Cheng Liao’s grandfather moved his family to higher ground and noticed that Xu Chi’s grandfather hadn’t come out. He rushed into the floodwaters alone and carried him to safety.
In gratitude for saving his life, Xu Chi’s grandfather once jokingly said that his grandson should marry Cheng Liao’s granddaughter.
At that time, Xu Chi was just a month old, Cheng Yi had just been weaned, and Cheng Liao wasn’t even born yet, so the Cheng family didn’t take it seriously.
While the Cheng family brushed it off, Grandpa Xu never forgot. He was a little intimidated by Cheng Yi and would avoid her whenever he saw her, but whenever he saw Cheng Liao, he’d smile warmly and give her candy, affectionately calling her “granddaughter-in-law.”
The Xu family had a villa in the suburbs. Cheng Yi had just gotten her driver’s license and bought a car on loan, so she drove Cheng Liao to the Xu family’s place.
Even though they weren’t particularly late, the driveway was already filled with cars. Cheng Yi took one look and discreetly parked her Chery in a corner.
Cheng Liao was particularly taken by one of the cars, staring at it for a long time.
"It’s got its two front hooves stretching forward like this," Cheng Liao mimicked the action with her hands and asked Cheng Yi, "What kind of car is that?"
"Ferrari, you country bumpkin." Cheng Yi rolled her eyes at her, finding her cousin just as frustrating as her brother.
"Guess what Cheng Nuo asked me last time?" Cheng Yi didn’t expect a response and continued, "He asked me what the relationship is between Ferrari and Faraday!"
In a small voice, Cheng Liao asked, "Are they brothers?"
Cheng Yi regretted bringing Cheng Liao along. Just by looking at the cars in the parking lot, she could tell that the guests the Xu family invited were either wealthy or influential. This was no place for old neighbors, and only someone as naïve as Cheng Liao would think Xu Chi’s mom really wanted to catch up.
As soon as they opened the door, they were met with the sound of lively chatter. The first floor had been transformed into a banquet hall.
The male guests were impeccably dressed, and the women had on exquisite makeup.
The clinking of glasses and the scent of perfume filled the air.
Cheng Liao stuck out her tongue. Cheng Yi had insisted on wearing a gown, and Cheng Liao had laughed at her for making a fuss. But now, seeing how out of place she looked in her simple dress, she realized Cheng Yi had been right.
Xu Chi was in the middle of a conversation with someone but waved to them when he saw Cheng Yi and Cheng Liao from afar.
Xu Chi’s mother, dressed in a high-end Chanel gown, gracefully entered the room, followed by a man who immediately drew everyone’s attention.
He had narrow, watery eyes and an air of aloofness that bordered on arrogance. It was Sheng Jingchu.
His suit was simple in design, not the usual Italian brand he favored, but the silver-gray color had a touch of flair. A corner of a handkerchief peeked out from his pocket.
Cheng Liao hadn’t expected Sheng Jingchu to be there. She was just about to greet him when Xu Chi’s mother pulled Sheng Jingchu away to introduce him to others.
Her greeting got stuck in her throat. Cheng Yi handed her a glass of red wine and advised, "Just hold it for show—don’t actually drink it."
So, Cheng Liao obediently held the glass and tried to blend into the background.
Despite her efforts to stay inconspicuous, her outfit stood out at the banquet, and she could feel eyes on her every now and then.
Xu Chi’s mother noticed Cheng Liao and waved over a young woman.
Even in a room full of beautiful women, this young woman’s beauty stood out. She wore a long red gown that accentuated her graceful figure, and her lips were painted with the boldest shade of lipstick. She was as dazzling as the sun.
"This is Qiao Fei," Xu Chi’s mother said with an elegant smile as she introduced the young woman to Cheng Liao. "Xu Chi’s fiancée."
Xu Chi’s… fiancée?
Cheng Liao didn’t react immediately. She stared blankly at Qiao Fei, her mind roaring like a bomber flying overhead.
Cheng Yi linked her arm through Cheng Liao’s and gave her a sharp pinch.
When Cheng Liao still didn’t respond, Cheng Yi nudged her and said, "You’re so happy you’re in shock. Didn’t you hear Auntie Xu? This is Xu Chi’s fiancée."
Cheng Yi made sure to emphasize the word "fiancée."
Finally snapping out of it, Cheng Liao managed a smile at Qiao Fei. "Hello."
Xu Chi’s mother then introduced Cheng Liao to Qiao Fei.
"This is Cheng Liao, a neighbor from Xu Chi’s grandfather’s house. I’ve watched her grow up, and Xu Chi has always treated her like a little sister."
Xu Chi’s mother had always been aware of Cheng Liao’s affection for Xu Chi, but she never took it seriously. She saw it as nothing more than a child’s infatuation, believing that in matters of marriage, compatibility between families was what mattered most.
However, her father-in-law had recently brought up the idea of Xu Chi marrying Cheng Liao again, which irritated her. That’s why she had specifically invited Cheng Yi and Cheng Liao to the party—to show them their place.
Cheng Yi smirked internally, shooting a glare at Xu Chi from a distance. That kid had always been sly. He’d known Cheng Liao for over a decade but never made any promises. Now he had a fiancée, and yet he was still stringing along her cousin. It was despicable.
Feeling both indignant on Cheng Liao’s behalf and frustrated with her cousin for being tongue-tied at a crucial moment, Cheng Yi stepped in and said, "Exactly. When Cheng Liao gets married, Xu Chi, as her big brother, will have to give her a big red envelope."
Cheng Yi called out, "Jingchu," signaling him to come over.
Sheng Jingchu had been talking to a middle-aged man, and when he heard his name, he paused briefly, excused himself, and walked over.
Cheng Yi greeted Sheng Jingchu warmly but with reserved enthusiasm, then introduced him to Qiao Fei: "This is Cheng Liao’s boyfriend."
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