When Cheng Liao got home, she was greeted by her grandmother wielding a broom, "You sneaky girl, why didn’t you tell your grandma you got yourself a boyfriend? I only found out because your Zhao grandma showed me the newspaper!"
The newspaper she mentioned had a photo of Cheng Liao hugging Sheng Jingchu.
The photo didn’t show her face, just a back view. But the neighbors had watched her grow up, so they immediately recognized her. Coupled with rumors from two months ago, the relationship was all but confirmed.
The first thing Cheng Nuo did after school was confront her, "Second sister, are you really dating Sheng Jingchu?"
Cheng Liao didn’t bother to respond, "Haven’t you seen the news before?"
Cheng Nuo scratched his head, "I didn’t believe it! Who knew Sheng Jingchu’s eyes were really glued shut?"
His words were so rude that Cheng Liao decided to ignore him completely.
Cheng Nuo, unwilling to give up, grinned and said, "Sis, do you think it’s too late for me to learn Go now? Didn’t I grab a Go piece during my first birthday? Maybe it means I’ve been on the wrong path all these years and that Go is my true calling. Sis, can you get brother-in-law to teach me?"
Cheng Liao patted Cheng Nuo’s head and sighed deeply, "Cheng Nuo, let me tell you, in life, it’s important to have dreams, but it’s also important not to be delusional! Maybe if you’re reborn, there’s still a chance."
She then pinched his chubby cheeks, "And by the way, what you grabbed was a Chinese checkers piece, okay!"
Starting a new relationship made Cheng Liao feel a bit anxious and uncertain. She knew she was too indecisive; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been stuck on one person for ten years.
Cheng Yi was unimpressed, "Are you blind or just stupid? Or maybe both? I thought you secretly got together with Sheng Jingchu the day you left Xu Chi’s house."
Cheng Yi had a unique way of offering advice, "Besides, you can’t just let him hug you for nothing in front of all those people. Hold on to him, cling to him, win him over!"
Cheng Yi even laid out a three-step plan for her, patting her on the shoulder and sighing earnestly, "Whether you can improve your children’s genes depends on how hard you work."
The interview video with Cheng Liao and Linda was finally produced, and for the first time, Cheng Liao saw herself on camera.
She had to admit, the camera wasn’t kind to everyone. With her round face, it was like the camera lens closed in on her, making everything else disappear.
Fortunately, her smile was somewhat endearing. While many viewers who had come to see Sheng Jingchu might have felt that "a flower had been stuck in cow dung," at least this "cow dung" was kind of cute, so they just made a few snide comments with a light heart.
There were a few particularly sharp comments that Cheng Liao noted down:
"Oh my, our Yuanbao must be starving; every time I see her, it’s like I’m looking at a pancake."
"She’s got waves on her face, but her figure is as flat as a board."
"When the teacher forgot the compass during class, they immediately called Cheng Liao to the front. She just pressed her face against the blackboard—wow, what a perfect circle!"
Cheng Liao looked in the mirror and thought she still had a chin, but it’s hard to judge yourself without a bit of a beauty filter. She wasn’t sure how fair her assessment was.
So she sent Sheng Jingchu a WeChat message:
"Is my face really that round?"
She didn’t expect a response, but to her surprise, he replied quickly:
"I think round faces are the most beautiful."
A moment later, he sent another message:
"Qin Guan once wrote a story called The Blind Songstress. The story goes that a young man befriended a one-eyed courtesan, and everyone laughed at him. But he said that since being with her, all other women seem to have an extra eye. It’s only after meeting you that I realized all other faces aren’t round enough."
Cheng Liao smiled and replied:
"Wow, you’re learning to flirt!"
He responded:
"To someone with feelings, it’s flirting. To someone without, it’s harassment. Thankfully, you’re the former."
The cafeteria at Xiu Era was the reason Cheng Liao got up early every morning to take the crowded bus to work.
The chef’s menu catered to tastes from all over the country, with the occasional Spanish dish thrown in for fun.
She and her lunch buddy, Yan Xiao, had just sat down after getting their food when they spotted Xu Chi.
Xu Chi was a company leader and typically didn’t take the same elevator as regular employees. Given Cheng Liao’s position, she rarely had the chance to encounter him.
Xu Chi sat down across from Cheng Liao and glanced at Yan Xiao, "You’re not done eating yet?"
Yan Xiao, feeling a bit awkward, looked longingly at the ribs on her plate, nodded to Cheng Liao, and left with her tray.
Cheng Liao didn’t like his behavior, so she asked coldly, "What do you want?"
Xu Chi looked at her, feeling a bit disappointed. In the past, every time they met, her eyes would light up as if he were the only person in the world.
But now, she could see everything—except him.
This wasn’t the place for a conversation, so Xu Chi didn’t say much, "Come up to the top floor after lunch."
"If it’s business, send an email. If it’s personal, I believe I’ve already made myself clear."
"Cheng Liao!"
She put down her chopsticks. With hundreds of eyes in the company watching, gossip would spread like wildfire as soon as they left the cafeteria.
She couldn’t finish her meal and stood up, walking away without looking back.
Cheng Liao ordered two meals from a nearby restaurant and brought them up. As expected, Yan Xiao was waiting for her.
Yan Xiao sniffed the food through the plastic bag, "I want the braised pork." Then, in a lower voice, she asked, "What’s your relationship with Vice President Xu?"
"Nothing special, we just knew each other since we were kids."
The phrase "knew each other since childhood" was enough to fuel people’s imaginations about a love-hate relationship. Yan Xiao nodded knowingly.
Typhoon "Haitang" was about to make landfall. Although Jiangcheng was some distance from the coast, the city was always heavily affected whenever a typhoon passed through.
The city’s drainage system wasn’t great, so heavy rain often led to flooding.
The municipal government had already issued a typhoon warning, and the HR department sent out a notice for everyone to leave work early.
As Cheng Liao left the company, she saw Xu Chi sitting in his car, honking at her.
When she didn’t move, he rolled down the window, "It’s going to rain. Let me give you a ride."
Cheng Liao stepped back into the building, "I just remembered I have some work to finish."
She waited by the entrance for a while, but Xu Chi’s car didn’t leave.
Afraid she’d really get caught in the rain, she called Sheng Jingchu.
"Are you out right now?"
His side was a bit noisy, "What’s up?"
"Can you come pick me up?" She added mysteriously, "Today could be a bit special…"
"Alright." Sheng Jingchu hung up the phone.
Cheng Liao figured he had caught on to her hint.
So, she waited by the revolving door, listening carefully for the sound of car horns outside.
After a while, she still didn’t hear anything, but Sheng Jingchu called her back.
"Come out, I’m here."
Cheng Liao ran out happily, but the moment she saw Sheng Jingchu, she froze in place.
He was riding a bicycle.
And not just any bicycle—it was an old-fashioned one, with rusty handlebars and a frame that creaked everywhere except for the bell, which was oddly silent. The bike looked so fragile that Cheng Liao genuinely worried it might fall apart on the way.
Xu Chi had already opened his car door and stepped out. He glanced at the bicycle Sheng Jingchu was holding and then looked up at the sky, speechless.
"Cheng Liao, stop being stubborn. It’s going to rain soon."
Cheng Liao didn’t feel like she was being stubborn. Besides, Sheng Jingchu had come all this way to pick her up. Whether it was a bicycle or even a tractor, she felt she had to get on.
So, she nudged Sheng Jingchu, "Let’s go."
It wasn’t until they had put some distance between themselves and the company that Cheng Liao couldn’t hold back her laughter, "What made you decide to come by bike?"
"My car’s in the shop. I was visiting Teacher Jiang, and when I got your call saying you wanted something ‘special,’ I realized I hadn’t taken you on a bike ride before, so I borrowed this one from Teacher Jiang."
Cheng Liao eyed the bike with concern, "Teacher Jiang is quite thrifty, huh…"
"This bike has had three different owners. The first was Teacher Jiang’s father-in-law, a Go master. Then it was Teacher Jiang’s wife’s brother, Director Zhu of our Go academy. And now, it’s Teacher Jiang’s."
If there were a Go museum, this bicycle, which had witnessed the rise of Chinese Go, could be displayed for all to admire.
Sheng Jingchu patted the back seat, "Aren’t you getting on?"
Although she was full of worry, Cheng Liao was more concerned about the rain catching up with them before they reached home, so she nervously climbed on.
She first tried holding onto Sheng Jingchu’s shirt.
After a while, Sheng Jingchu slowed down.
He glanced back at her, a smile in his voice, "If we keep going like this, I might have to walk with my shirt wide open."
That’s when Cheng Liao realized she was gripping too tightly and had already pulled off a few of his shirt buttons.
Despite this, she hesitated for a moment before Sheng Jingchu picked up speed. When they hit a downhill slope, she let out a startled "Oh my!" and clung tightly to his waist.
There was a familiar scent on him, the smell of lemongrass.
As Cheng Liao pressed herself against his back, she felt as though the tension in her heart suddenly settled.
Even if the bike fell apart halfway, it didn’t matter—she had him.
The rain hadn’t started yet, but thunder rumbled loudly, shaking the ground as if the very earth trembled.
It was the first time Cheng Liao had seen such intense thunder. She muttered to herself, "This thunder doesn’t seem normal." She made a gesture as if calculating something and looked around, "Could there be a demon transcending a tribulation here?"
Sheng Jingchu stopped, "We can’t keep going; it’s going to rain heavily soon."
There weren’t many places to take shelter, just a half-demolished temple with an overhanging eave. Some people were already huddled under it to avoid the rain.
Cheng Liao followed Sheng Jingchu under the eave, and just as they settled in, the rain began to pour down in torrents.
A mist quickly rose between heaven and earth, filling the air with the scent of wet earth.
Cheng Liao moved further inside and pulled Sheng Jingchu along, "Stand a bit further in; the rain might splash under the eaves."
In her haste, she had grabbed Sheng Jingchu’s pinky and ring finger. When he stepped back, she felt a bit shy and tried to retract her fingers, but he caught them and held them in his palm.
This wasn’t the first time they had held hands. The first time was when they were running together by West Lake in Hangzhou, but back then, she was too nervous and only wanted to pull him along without any particular feeling, so it didn’t leave much of an impression.
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