It was nearly 3:30 a.m. by the time things were settled.
As Yulan hailed a taxi, she was still marveling at the wonders of being in the big city when Shen Zhixing appeared behind her. "Come stay at my place for a couple of days."
Yulan started to decline, but Shen Zhixing cut her off. "The floor you're staying on is already notorious for people showing up to harass the 'other woman'."
Only then did Yulan sincerely curse Li Chuchu as an idiot in her heart. Three thousand yuan for half a night—a total loss.
The car stopped in front of a courtyard house in Houhu. Yulan wasn't familiar with Beijing, but even if you’ve never eaten pork, surely you’ve seen a pig run? Upon entering, a servant led her inside, winding through paths for a solid twenty minutes. The further they walked, the colder she felt, and the clearer the gap between herself and these people became.
If it had been just a villa, Yulan might have gritted her teeth and told herself, "Do not bully the young because they are poor." But faced with this, she couldn't even summon the energy to be jealous of the wealthy.
The guest room where Yulan stayed had a massive floor-to-ceiling window. Standing there, she could see not only the moonlight shimmering on the lake but also the distant, golden-tipped roofs of the Forbidden City. She realized she had completely misunderstood what Xi Mingzhou meant by "a little money." She had felt uneasy the moment she saw those two stone lions at the entrance.
Fortunately, Shen Zhixing maintained a perfect sense of boundaries. He was neither overly attentive nor cold; his demeanor was that of a highly respectable elder.
Yulan breathed a sigh of relief. She had a strong sense of pride. Since the beginning of her relationship with Xi Mingzhou, they had always split expenses, and she always made sure to return gifts of equal value. At first, when Xi Mingzhou was still a "delivery boy," she found it sweet. Later, as the frog turned into a prince, the gifts Xi Mingzhou gave her became increasingly expensive, and she began to struggle.
Back then, she had sat him down for an honest talk. She was prepared to either make it work or break up, but Xi Mingzhou’s reaction was the start of her truly accepting him as her boyfriend. He didn't just deeply reflect on his mistakes; he never repeated them.
As for when she started to like him, it was perhaps because in this age of instant gratification, Xi Mingzhou had sworn to her that if he didn't marry her, he would never touch her. She believed that if a relationship couldn't last until the end, both parties should remain debt-free; Xi Mingzhou believed that if a relationship couldn't last, one must hold firm to their bottom line. How were they not a match made in heaven?
***
England.
Zhou Qilan was in the bathroom, the room filled with mist that blurred her delicate figure. Her rounded breasts pressed against the glass door, visible in the haze. She pushed the door open slightly, poked her damp head out, and whispered, "Xiao Xi, I'm so cold."
Xi Mingzhou was feeling somewhat dazed. After their intense encounter, Yulan’s image had inexplicably surfaced in his mind, causing him to forget to turn off the air conditioning. He felt a sudden pang of shame, realizing he had forgotten that Yulan was frail and sensitive to the cold.
"My uncle has an estate here. I'll take you to move in tomorrow," he said, grabbing a bath towel.
"It only burned down the living room... the bedroom is still livable," Zhou Qilan’s voice grew smaller. "Xiao Xi... can you give me 500,000? If I use the living expenses my aunt gave me to pay the fines and repair costs this time, I..."
It was only 500,000. In the past, whenever he sent money to Zhou Qilan, he never even bothered to convert it into RMB. But for some reason, the moment she finished speaking, Yulan appeared in his mind—his little magnolia, who would fight to pay the bill even for a 500-yuan hotpot.
Xi Mingzhou lowered his eyes, masking the chaotic emotions in his mind. He pinched Zhou Qilan’s small face and kissed her forehead. "You silly pig. Who told you to be stubborn with me? And for two years, no less! If you're so capable, why is it that as soon as trouble hits, you still come to me first?"
He shouldn't have said that. At his words, tears welled up in Zhou Qilan’s eyes. She huddled in his arms and asked cautiously, "Xiao Xi, are you going to abandon your sister?"
"What are you talking about? My feelings for you haven't changed in all these years," Xi Mingzhou denied it instantly.
"But Xiwei told me that you let Yulan meet your uncle."
Xi Mingzhou tried to argue, but Yulan’s face kept haunting his thoughts. Irritated, he pressed Zhou Qilan onto the bed and untied the towel, intending to prove his commitment through action.
After it was over, Xi Mingzhou stood by the bed smoking, his voice raspy. "I'm heading back the day after tomorrow."
Zhou Qilan reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, instantly bristling. "Is it because of Yulan?"
"No."
"Really?"
"Yes. I want to get the paperwork sorted out early so I can come back and stay with you."
Zhou Qilan kissed his lips, a triumphant smile playing on her face. Forget Yulan, white magnolia, black magnolia—whatever. With her, Zhou Qilan, around, nobody else was going to have it easy.
Unfortunately, heaven does not always grant one's wishes. At that moment, Yulan was doing quite well—so well, in fact, that she could have sung to the heavens.
What could be more satisfying than encountering an old friend in a strange land while feeling lonely and adrift?
Yulan looked with curiosity at the robust young man before her. His bulky frame cast a shadow over her face, and the power in his arms beneath his short sleeves was undeniable. Yulan couldn't help but wonder what kind of abs were hidden beneath such a youthful face, the kind that would make countless women scream "male bodhisattva."
Although the person before her had changed drastically, his features still matched the scrawny, wheezing boy she remembered from when he was seven or eight.
"Xu Che, you kid, you really have changed in eighteen ways!" Yulan slapped him on the shoulder, but the resulting pain made her wince. *Tch, this guy’s biceps are like steel.*
Xu Che hung his head, his ears turning bright red. "I listened to Sister Yulan and have been eating well and working out."
Yulan was overjoyed and pulled him to a nearby chair. "I didn't dare contact anyone from back home after I ran away. Did you get into a school in Beijing?"
Yulan had always felt that her own mess of a family was a paradise compared to Xu Che’s. He seemed to have been born with a stacked deck of bad luck: a gambling father, a sick mother, a brother with Down syndrome, and a broken spirit. Back then, Yulan’s own life was in shambles, yet she couldn't stand to see others suffer. She would steal things from her grandmother every day to feed the half-dead Xu Che. If she were caught, it was just a beating, but if Xu Che kept starving, he wouldn't have survived.
Recalling it now, Yulan marveled that only her stubborn, one-track mind could have held a knife to Xu Che’s father’s throat, forcing him to let Xu Che stay in school when he wanted him to drop out and move bricks at a construction site.
"If you don't let him study, is he going to end up a waste like you in this tiny place? If you really want that, I might as well kill him right now so he can be reborn into a normal family."
Back then, the whole village thought she was a lunatic. Murder wasn't a crime for a madman, so no one dared to mess with her. She didn't know if Xu Che’s father still had a shred of conscience or if he was genuinely terrified by her threat: "If I see that Xu Che isn't in school, I'll kill him. If you're so brave, try sleeping with one eye open to guard against me."
Seeing him now, admitted to a university in Beijing, it was clear that his father had truly taken her words to heart.
"Sister Yulan? Sister Yulan?" Xu Che waved his hand in front of Yulan’s eyes several times before she came to.
"I got into Peking University Health Science Center this year."
"Peking University Health Science Center again?" Yulan muttered, subconsciously curling her lip.
"Does Sister not like it? With my grades, I could change majors." Xu Che was true to his name—his eyes were as clear as a deep pool. His words left Yulan unsure of how to respond.
He continued, "Is your boyfriend also from Peking University Health Science Center?"
"He isn't."
"Oh, so Sister Yulan has a boyfriend."
The smile on Xu Che’s lips didn't change, but inside, a thousand wild beasts were roaring. His gaze gradually turned cold, but fearing Yulan would notice, he lowered his head and pretended to be shy.
*Wasn't it a promise that when I grew up, we would always be together? I went through so much trouble to find you, how could you lie to me? My Sister Yulan.*