Feeling uneasy, he glanced at Cheng Liao.
“The angel just passed by,” Cheng Liao smiled. “There’s a saying that when a lively dinner table suddenly goes quiet, it’s because an angel has passed by.”
He simply replied, “Hmm.”
Cheng Liao sighed, “Ugh, you’re so quiet, it makes me look like a chatterbox.”
“I’m not very good at talking,” he admitted apologetically, then put down his chopsticks, “How about I perform something for you?”
Cheng Liao propped her chin on her hand, guessing, “A magic trick?”
He didn’t respond, holding a pose and even slowing his breathing like a statue.
Cheng Liao waited for a while before leaning closer to inspect him. “Is this act called ‘Frozen in Time’?”
After a long pause, he picked up his chopsticks again and said, “It’s called 4'33".”
4'33" is a famous piece by John Cage, where he sat silently at a piano for 4 minutes and 33 seconds before declaring the performance over.
Cheng Liao laughed, nibbling on her spoon with her small, pointed teeth. “That’s the coldest joke I’ve ever heard.”
After dinner, Sheng Jingchu went to wash the dishes, and Cheng Liao leaned against the doorframe to supervise.
Feeling a bit self-conscious, he suggested, “Why don’t you rest for a bit?”
Cheng Liao smiled mischievously, “I’m learning by watching.”
He couldn’t see what there was to learn—it was just a matter of putting on an apron and washing dishes in the sink.
The apron he wore was the same red one with small yellow flowers that Cheng Liao had worn while cooking.
He washed the dishes with such meticulous care that it seemed like he wasn’t just washing dishes but handling some ancient, important task, carefully considering each step, even finding the perfect angle for rinsing.
When he finished, he dried the plates and put them back in their exact original positions.
The kitchen was restored to how it looked when Cheng Liao first entered, with even the pot handles aligned as before.
Turning around, Sheng Jingchu saw Cheng Liao staring at him intently, making him feel a bit awkward.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
Cheng Liao laughed and said, "What should I do? I feel like praising you again."
"Is it for washing the dishes?" Sheng Jingchu didn't think he'd done anything particularly impressive. "I'm sure I don't clean them any better than anyone else."
Cheng Liao shook her head. "No, I was thinking you'll definitely make a good husband someday."
His hands paused as he was untying the apron. He felt that this wasn't so much praise as it was an exaggeration, but he couldn't help feeling a little flutter of joy. It was as if a spring breeze had wrapped itself around his heart, tightening until it became a cocoon, from which something was starting to emerge.
He smiled too, and his long, water-bright eyes had an unusual gleam in them.
Cheng Liao heard him say, "I think so too."
On the way to taking Cheng Liao home, Sheng Jingchu asked her, "I have a friend who's an editor at the Jiangcheng Daily. If you want, I can introduce you to him."
Warmth filled Cheng Liao's heart, but she still joked, "I thought you were going to say, in true CEO style, that you’d buy out my company tomorrow and make my boss and team leader jobless."
Sheng Jingchu asked, "What's 'CEO style'?" He still couldn't quite get the hang of the "er" sound at the end, making the word sound a bit off.
Cheng Liao explained, "It’s short for the style of a domineering CEO."
He shook his head. "I can’t afford to buy your company right now."
Then, he added, "Actually, 'right now' might not be the right word. Your boss's shares are worth three billion. Unless there's a major market crash, his wealth will only keep growing."
Cheng Liao clenched her fist and shook it. "Guess I should go buy a lottery ticket when I get home."
He tried to comfort her. "Buying out your company may be impossible, but I can make an effort toward some of your other wishes."
He thought for a moment. "Do you like my sports car?"
"You’re going to take me for a spin? I want to go at 180 miles per hour!"
That wish seemed trivial to him, but that wasn't what he meant.
"I could give it to you."
Cheng Liao was so shocked that she couldn’t speak for a moment. She dug into her ears to make sure she hadn’t misheard.
She quickly waved her hands, "Did I save the galaxy in my past life or something?"
He understood what she meant—it was the idea of not accepting something so significant without earning it.
So, he said, "You cooked for me."
In Hangzhou, at Cheng Shu’s restaurant, and at his home.
Cheng Liao pulled out the package of grapefruit candies and shook it. "This is more than enough."
She then shifted her gaze and smiled. "Be honest with me, were you just teasing me?"
He wanted to say no, but in the end, he didn’t persist.
She gave him a thumbs-up. "Well done! You’re even learning how to joke now."
After dropping Cheng Liao off at her home, Sheng Jingchu found that Cao Xihe had arrived. He had the passcode to Sheng Jingchu’s door, and no matter whether Sheng Jingchu was home or not, he could stay as long as he wanted.
Cao Xihe had his feet propped up on the arm of the sofa, one hand rummaging through a bag of dried squid.
He had come to discuss the Toyota Cup. The date was already set—early August—and Sheng Jingchu would be leading the Chinese team. The Korean side was certain to send Zhao Yanhun.
Cao Xihe had been defeated by Zhao Yanhun three times in a row and bore a grudge against him, hoping to draw Zhao Yanhun in the first round.
Seeing Sheng Jingchu enter, Cao Xihe lazily sat up, still looking like a boneless figure.
He mentioned Ding Lan. "She’s still mad at you because you beat our teacher. Can’t you just apologize and make peace?"
When Ding Lan joined Jie Hanzhou’s school, Sheng Jingchu was already a prodigy in the Go world, participating in numerous competitions and events, so he didn’t have much interaction with her. It was Cao Xihe who often brought Ding Lan along, essentially raising her as a player.
Sheng Jingchu didn’t want to talk about Ding Lan, so he asked Cao Xihe, "Is it odd to give someone a rather expensive gift out of the blue?"
Cao Xihe raised an eyebrow. "Is this rare? Are you planning to give me that Tianhuang stone seal?"
Knowing Sheng Jingchu wasn’t talking about that, Cao Xihe continued, "Well, it depends on the purpose. To put it simply, if a guy gives a girl an expensive gift, he definitely has ulterior motives. In short, he’s trying to woo her. If the girl doesn’t accept, it means she doesn’t want to be wooed. Simple as that!"
Sheng Jingchu frowned. "But what if the guy doesn’t have… those kinds of intentions?"
He couldn’t bring himself to say the word Cao Xihe had used, so he chose a more subtle phrase.
Cao Xihe spat out the piece of dried squid in his mouth. "Seriously? Who’s this person? They’ve got issues."
Sheng Jingchu realized discussing this with Cao Xihe was a mistake. He changed the subject. "I hear you’ve become quite popular lately."
Ever since Cheng Liao’s special feature on Cao Xihe was released, a large number of fans had shared it. Today, after Japanese fans hacked the ShowTime website, Chinese fans were outraged. Whether they were Cao Xihe fans or not, everyone united to support him. Some fans even turned his expressions from the special into memes.
Cao Xihe’s follower count on Weibo shot up, and he received so many private messages that the Weibo app crashed.
Speaking of this, Cao Xihe was quite excited. "If Kato Kiyomasa knew this would be the outcome, he’d be furious."
Sheng Jingchu continued, "Then don’t you think you should thank Cheng Liao?"
Cao Xihe nodded. "True, but how should I thank her?"
Cheng Liao’s punishment had been decided: a company-wide notice of criticism, and her probation period was extended.
Although the team leader denied that Cheng Liao had reported to him, he still bore some responsibility and had his performance bonus docked for the month.
To Cheng Liao, the notice of criticism didn’t matter—everyone already knew about it. As for the extended probation, HR informed her that she had officially transitioned from an internship to a probationary period, which also lasted three months.
Three months had passed, and now there was an "extension," but she had already gotten used to it. So the entire punishment was within her tolerance range.
The team leader was furious about the punishment, and every time he saw Cheng Liao, his eyes seemed to blaze with anger.
Yan Xiao secretly pointed at the team leader’s desk and whispered to Cheng Liao, "Look, a fire-breathing dragon!"
Cheng Liao was in a good mood. Thanks to the special on Cao Xihe, ShowTime had gained significant popularity, and there was even a trending topic on Weibo: "If you love your country, watch ShowTime."
So although the company had penalized Cheng Liao, she was still assigned to cover the Toyota Cup Go tournament in Japan in early August, with the opportunity to be on camera.
From bad luck to good fortune, she thought.
A few days later, Cao Xihe called Cheng Liao, and she was a bit surprised. With the August tournament approaching, Sheng Jingchu had already gone into seclusion to prepare, and she hadn’t heard from him in a few days. Did Cao Xihe not need to prepare?
Cao Xihe invited Cheng Liao to karaoke.
“The medal of honor has half of your contribution too,” Cao Xihe coaxed her. “Come on, it’s at 7 p.m.”
She immediately asked who else was going.
"Just me, my senior, my junior, and you—just the four of us. You can bring a friend if you want."
Since Cao Xihe and Ding Lan were firmly on the same side, and Cheng Liao felt outnumbered, she quickly sought reinforcements: her cousin, Cheng Yi.
Cheng Yi had just broken up with her boyfriend. That morning, she had gone to visit a female colleague, only to see her boyfriend dropping the colleague off.
Cheng Liao tried to comfort her, "Maybe it’s nothing. What if they just went to watch the sunrise together?"
Women are particularly sensitive in these matters, and Cheng Yi knew Cheng Liao was just spouting nonsense. Feeling irritated, she accompanied Cheng Liao to the karaoke session, and immediately clashed with Ding Lan.
The two of them exchanged a few rounds of subtle yet sharp jabs, much like two fighting cocks.
When Ding Lan sang "You Come Back," Cheng Yi countered with "Goodbye, Goodbye."
Ding Lan sang "Happy Breakup," and Cheng Yi responded with "Love Until Death."
Ding Lan sang "Don’t Look at Me, I’m Just a Sheep," while Cheng Yi retorted with "I’m a Wolf from the North."
Cao Xihe was dazzled by the back-and-forth, and Cheng Liao couldn’t even get a chance to grab the microphone, while Sheng Jingchu didn’t seem interested in trying at all.
Bored, Sheng Jingchu started folding a handkerchief into the shape of a mouse. The process wasn’t complicated—fold, roll, and then tie a small knot on one side, making it look like a little mouse's head.
Cheng Liao found it amusing and moved closer to Sheng Jingchu, saying, "I used to know how to do that too."
She remembered how, as a child, everyone knew how to fold these, along with playing jump rope and string games. When she was alone, she would loop rubber bands around her fingers, twiddling them like playing an imaginary instrument.
When he finished, he placed the little mouse in Cheng Liao's hand. "A girl taught me this."
There was a light smile at the corner of his lips, a warmth in his eyes that softened his usual aloofness, making him seem like an ordinary man. But in this moment, he was more captivating than ever.
Cheng Liao was momentarily stunned, then she laughed, "Was she your first love?"
He thought for a moment, then smiled as well. "It seems like she was."
They sat together for a while, watching as the rivalry between Cheng Yi and Ding Lan intensified.
When Ding Lan sang "Para Para Sakura," Cheng Yi countered with "Broadswords Slash the Heads of the Invading Japanese."
Sheng Jingchu turned to Cheng Liao and said, "You know that Kato Kiyomasa will also be competing in the Toyota Cup, right?"
Kato Kiyomasa had made it to the semifinals in the previous tournament, so Cheng Liao was well aware of his participation.
"And then?" she asked.
"Actually, after the tournament, Kato Kiyomasa will be getting married."
Cheng Liao gasped. "Really? I haven’t heard anything about that! I didn’t even know he was in a relationship. How did he suddenly end up getting married?"
Sheng Jingchu had a good relationship with Kato Kiyomasa, so Kato had invited him to the wedding.
"They met through a matchmaking service, and it’s a quick marriage." He hesitated for a moment. "Kato invited me to sing at his wedding, but I’m not good at that."
Cheng Liao suggested, "Why not ask Cao Xihe to coach you?"
She had just heard Cao Xihe sing and thought he was quite good.
Sheng Jingchu seemed troubled. "Kato didn’t invite Cao Xihe to the wedding."
Cheng Liao immediately realized, "I’m so silly. Cao Xihe and Kato Kiyomasa are arch-enemies."
Their feud was more than just Kato losing to Cao Xihe.
Initially, the two had gotten along well and even went out drinking together before the Samsung Cup. But that time, Kato got drunk. The next day, he kept hiccuping from the alcohol and almost vomited during the match, losing the first game.
Since then, Kato felt that Cao Xihe wasn’t a true friend, and his Japanese fans accused Cao Xihe of being malicious, intentionally getting Kato drunk to make him lose.
Cao Xihe’s Chinese fans saw it differently and firmly believed that if Kato lost, it was his own fault for not using his brain.
This deepened the rift between the two, to the point where they couldn't stand the sight of each other.
Cheng Liao felt sorry for Sheng Jingchu. "So what are you going to do?"
Sheng Jingchu looked at her. "Maybe you could coach me?"
Cheng Liao waved her hands vigorously. "No way, I’m tone-deaf. If I start singing, it’s like the birds would disappear, and no one would be left in the mountains."
"Just supervise me," Sheng Jingchu insisted. "The Go academy is busy strategizing lately, and I’m afraid I’ll forget to practice."
Cheng Liao finally nodded. "Alright, I’ll supervise you."
She poked the little handkerchief mouse in her palm. "You have to remember to supervise your master too."
Cheng Yi and Ding Lan were so absorbed in their singing battle that Cao Xihe had to keep ordering hour after hour at the bar. Finally, he and Cheng Liao couldn’t bear to watch anymore and dragged the two women out.
Neither of them was willing to concede, so they agreed to a rematch next time.
As they were leaving, Cheng Liao went to the bathroom.
The KTV was in night mode, with dim lighting casting blurred shadows. Cheng Liao was exhausted and splashed her face with water before heading out. She flicked the water droplets off her face.
Sheng Jingchu was waiting in the hallway. He was wearing a rare pink shirt today, a color that would typically make a man look frivolous, but on him, it was just right. He usually looked a bit mature, and while black, white, and gray were safe colors, they were also too formal, making him seem a bit somber.
In the private room, he had kept his jacket on, so Cheng Liao hadn’t noticed the color of his shirt. Seeing it now, she was pleasantly surprised.
She greeted him, "Are you headed to the restroom too?"
He replied, "I’m waiting for you."
Then he walked closer, stopping just a step away from her. There was a faint scent of lemongrass on him—probably from his body wash, since she knew he didn’t wear cologne.
He glanced at his watch. "It’s already the early morning of July 22nd."
He reached into his pocket, took out a small pendant, and carefully placed it around her neck. He was so gentle that he didn’t even touch her ears, but she could still feel a warmth, wondering if it was just her imagination.
She looked down. It was a wooden carving of a cicada.
Upon closer sniffing, she noticed it had a subtle fragrance.
He said, "Happy birthday, Liao Liao."
July 22nd was Cheng Liao’s birthday.
She rarely celebrated her birthday. In her family, children didn’t have birthday parties—only milestone ages were marked by her grandmother.
She rubbed the pendant, feeling a bit lost. Maybe it was too late, or maybe she was too tired, but her mind felt dull, and her heart ached with a bittersweet emotion that rose from her throat and reached her eyes.
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