Yan Beicheng trailed Cheng Ziming to an old housing area. This area had typical old housing with grey, cement walls. The residents later renovated with white-framed sliding windows made out of plastic and steel. There was no official entrance to this place and there was no security.
This area was part of the old city. There were bound to be a few neglected areas in the fast progressing B City that was developing very slowly. This was such a location.
This was Cheng Ziming"s home. He was living with his parents. He still did not have the capability to move his parents into a better home. He did not dare to use any of Lin Yuwen"s money before marrying her for fear of failing through his final effort.
Yan Beicheng kept a distance with Cheng Ziming"s car to avoid him noticing he was being trailed.
After taking note of Cheng Ziming"s parking s.p.a.ce and car plate number, Yan Beicheng went to find a parking s.p.a.ce. There were no designated parking s.p.a.ces in older areas like this, but with the high owners.h.i.+p of private cars in times like these, it was still difficult to find a place for parking as it was filled with cars.
Yan Beicheng got his car parked with much difficulty and got off. He took a good look at the environment. There were not many streetlights, which made the surrounding quite dark. There were also no security cameras.
With that, Yan Beicheng went to the back of his car with a poker face and took out a set of fis.h.i.+ng tools from his car boot. He took out a fis.h.i.+ng hook from it. This was a brand-new set of fis.h.i.+ng tools he had bought as a gift for Old Master Yan; it had every type of fis.h.i.+ng hook available in the market.
Yan Beicheng narrowed his eyes and took out the thickest hook. He walked nonchalantly towards Cheng Ziming"s car.
He looked around and once he confirmed there was n.o.body, quickly used the fishhook to give the car tire a vicious stab. He pulled the hook out gave the tire a few kicks to ensure it was leaking air. Then, he quickly stabbed the remaining three tires with the fishhook.
After that, he once again walked away nonchalantly.
Cheng Ziming came home with a grim expression and saw w.a.n.g Jinglin with the same miserable look, "Mum, have you called Lin Chu?"
He had told w.a.n.g Jinglin about what happened tonight while on the way home. He thought that since w.a.n.g Jinglin had a good relations.h.i.+p with Lin Chu, she would not give her trouble and asked w.a.n.g Jinglin to persuade her.
w.a.n.g Jinglin nodded but did not look happy, so he asked quietly, "She didn"t agree, did she?"
w.a.n.g Jinglin sighed and nodded, "I"ve always thought that Lin Chu was a good girl. She had a good personality and was kind. I didn"t expect her to be so calculative. I"ve apologized and comforted her, but she refused to listen. Looks like she must have been hurt badly by you. The more she loved you in the past, the more she hates you now. Even though she deserves pity but to be so unsentimental and hard-hearted, even someone pitiable would become someone hateful."
"To think that you felt sorry for her," Cheng Ziming said angrily.
w.a.n.g Jinglin sighed as she shook her head. "Sigh! No wonder the Lin family doesn"t like her. I used to think that it was not right of the Lin family to treat an adopted this way, it was unbecoming of them. But it looks like the Lin family had spent a long time living with her and know Lin Chu better. They"ve long seen her for what she is."
"d.a.m.n it! This is all because of Lin Chu," Cheng Ziming punched the air angrily and helplessly.
"What do we do now? The Lin family would think less of you, right? What can we do to fix this? Do you… Do you need me to have a chat with Mrs. Lin?" w.a.n.g Jinglin asked worriedly.
"They would definitely be prejudiced about me. Mum, don"t go rus.h.i.+ng over first. Let me think of a plan. There must be a way to redeem my image with them," said Cheng Ziming.
Lin Chu laid in bed. She did not put Cheng Ziming and w.a.n.g Jinglin"s matter to heart. She was angry at that moment, but the anger had now subsided. She did not want them to affect her negatively. She did nothing wrong and there was no point in self-torture.
Her mind was filled with everything to do with Yan Beicheng. She tossed in bed, unable to sleep, so she picked up her phone by her pillow and started swiping through Weibo. She then turned on WeChat after finis.h.i.+ng with Weibo.
There was a new message in her contact book. She clicked it open and there was a friend request named "When the swallow returns". Other than that, there were no other introduction from it nor any other message validating its ident.i.ty.
Lin Chu frowned and chose to ignore it. Although it was not a frequent occurrence but occasionally, there would be strangers adding her for no reason. Most of them would usually come with a message though.
For example, "Hi, pretty lady".
Or, "Hey pretty lady, let"s get to know each other."
Words like these.
Lin Chu was aware that these people were only looking for a one-night stand.
Yan Beicheng returned to Ding City. He did not even go home before adding Lin Chu as a friend on WeChat after he got out of the car. He walked through the door and changed his shoes and lowered his head to find out if Lin Chu had approved him. But she had not.
He went to his bedroom to change his clothes and looked again. Lin Chu still has not approved. He went to take a bath and came out to look again. Still not approved.
Yan Beicheng sat frustrated on his bed. He checked his WeChat every few minutes. After a while, he continued looking intently at his phone while walking downstairs to get a gla.s.s of water.
Coincidentally, he b.u.mped into Aunt Zhuang holding a cup of milk while her head was lowered, looking at the phone. Yan Beicheng swiped through his friends in WeChat and saw Aunt Zhuang had shared a news link: [Zhong Nanshan says, "If we don"t control the use of pesticide, China won"t be able to produce children in another 50 years!"].
Yan Beicheng, "…"
Ever since he added Aunt Zhuang, he had been reading shocking news like this every day. It made him feel that Earth is no longer safe.
"Master Yan," Aunt Zhuang called out upon seeing Yan Beicheng.
Yan Beicheng thought that Aunt Zhuang has been using WeChat much longer than he was, so he asked, "I"ve sent a friend request to someone, but the friend hasn"t replied. Is there a chance that my friend hasn"t received it?"
"That won"t happen unless your friend didn"t see it. Otherwise, your friend must have ignored it. There"s no reject option in WeChat. Either you accept it, or you leave it there to ignore," said Aunt Zhuang.
She quickly added upon seeing Yan Beicheng"s expression turn dark. "Of course, if Master Yan took the initiative, your friend won"t ignore you, they just haven"t seen it."
Aunt Zhuang hurried back to her room after saying it.
Yan Beicheng got his gla.s.s of water and went back to his bedroom. He waited for far too long and was getting impatient, so he gave Lin Chu a call.
Lin Chu had just finished swiping through her friends" accounts and was forcing herself to shut her eyes and go to sleep when the phone rang beside her ear. She picked it up and saw an unfamiliar string of numbers. She thought that it must be some scammer calling, but the phone continued ringing as if there was something important to tell her. She looked at the number and recognized it as a local number.
So, Lin Chu picked up the call, "h.e.l.lo."
"What do you mean by just h.e.l.lo? I"m not having a good time here," she was incredulous at the familiar voice coming from the phone.
Lin Chu blinked, she was surprised but hesitant, "Yan…Beicheng?"
Yan Beicheng was delighted. Lin Chu had a three-second delay when calling out his name because she was hesitant, but Yan Beicheng took it upon himself to delete his surname from her words. His mind kept Lin Chu"s call of "Beicheng" in a loop. He was overcome with extreme joy.
It was wonderful to hear her call out Beicheng!
Yan Beicheng smiled. His heart was beating with excitement and he jumped on his bed and rolled around.
He rolled around while gently answering, "Yes, it"s me."
He sounded sweet, like someone madly in love.
Lin Chu was stunned by his antics.
He sounded unhappy when she picked up the phone, and suddenly, he turned all sweet and gooey after just calling out his name.
Lin Chu tried to rub off all the gooseb.u.mps on her arm. She had wanted to ask "Can I help you with anything?", but the thought of Yan Beicheng"s unpredictable temperament had her changing the question, "You haven"t gone to sleep?"
Yan Beicheng"s heart beat faster and stronger. He could feel his face burning up. He stuck his face on the cooler side of the blanket for a moment before shyly placing his forehead on the bed while twisting around.
See that? It was different when you have a girlfriend.
He had a girlfriend who cared for him!
She was worried that he did not rest well!
His Chu Chu was really attentive!
"Yes, I haven"t slept. I can"t sleep because I was thinking about you," Yan Beicheng blurted out shyly. His voice was even mus.h.i.+er than before.
"…" Lin Chu trembled. She did not expect Yan Beicheng to say something like this without warning. Lin Chu was stunned with this suddenness and did not know how to react.
"Have you slept yet?" Yan Beicheng asked gently.
Lin Chu thought it was a stupid question. If she was asleep, how could she answer the call?
"Not yet," Lin Chu answered honestly.
"Have you read your WeChat?" Yan Beicheng asked again.
Lin Chu did not know why did he asked this and suddenly remembered "When the swallow returns", but she was not sure if it was him, so she answered honestly, "I"ve read it. Someone I didn"t recognize tried to add me, so I ignored him. There"s nothing good that comes from the friend request of these strangers."
Yan Beicheng was silent for a moment, "That"s a good girl. You did right. You should never give opportunities to these strangers."
Lin Chu"s face went red and her heart beat faster at him calling her a good girl. She hid deeper into her blanket as her temperature went up.
"Go to sleep soon," Lin Chu said quietly.
"Okay, I"ll add you on WeChat. Remember to approve my friend request." Yan Beicheng said gently and turned off the lights in his room with a remote. He pulled open his blanket and covered himself.
He tossed in bed and laid comfortably in the dark. The sheets beneath him were the ones used by Lin Chu last night. The blanket was the one that covered Lin Chu last night, and the pajamas he had on were worn by Lin Chu last night. Yan Beicheng felt a rippling sensation coursing through him.
His deep, hoa.r.s.e voice followed that ripple. It could be the effect of the comfortable environment, but Yan Beicheng"s voice sounded even more laidback and intoxicating. Lin Chu listened as she felt him gently whispering in her ear.
Lin Chu quickly answered as she felt her head went numb with heat. Her breath was irregular and she could hear him breathing through the phone.
Yan Beicheng"s deep laugh, which sounded like jade pearls, could be heard through the phone. Lin Chu"s ears went red at his voice. She wanted to keep her ears at a distance from this beautiful voice to curb the effect it was having on her, but she could not bear to not listen to it as it sounded wonderful.
After laughing, Yan Beicheng whispered happily, "Did you miss me?"
Lin Chu felt her whole body turn warmer and she was feeling uncomfortable under her covers. She covered her face with one hand, but it did not help, and said quietly, "Didn"t we see each other just now?"
There was another round of low laughter from Yan Beicheng through the phone. Lin Chu had sounded like she was being coquettish with him, it was a little embarra.s.sing and involuntary.
Yan Beicheng was so happy, he had to cover his mouth to stop himself from laughing too loud. His shoulders were trembling from the stifled laughter.
Lin Chu could not resist his laughter, it was too tempting. She wondered if he was doing it on purpose.
She hurriedly said, "Go…Go to sleep. I"m hanging up, goodnight."
"Approve me on WeChat first," Yan Beicheng quickly said before she hung up.
Lin Chu agreed before hanging up.
Yan Beicheng quickly turned out his WeChat and changed his ID from "When the swallow returns" to "Yan Beicheng" and sent a friend request to Lin Chu again.
Lin Chu did not immediately go onto WeChat. She buried her face into her pillow for quite a while. She did not even realize that her lips had curved up into a slight smile.
After a while, when she felt that her face was not as hot, only did Lin Chu turned on WeChat. There was really a friend request for her.
Lin Chu, "…"
Did Yan Beicheng not know to change his picture along with his name?
"When the swallow returns" was indeed him. Now there were two requests in her WeChat with the exact same picture lined up together.
Lin Chu approved the request. Yan Beicheng must have been standing by his WeChat because a message was immediately sent, "Goodnight."
Lin Chu replied "goodnight" as well and placed her phone next to her pillow. Her eyes were closed but her heart was beating so wildly that she was unable to sleep.
The next afternoon, Cheng Ziming was prepared to leave the house for his date with Lin Yuwen. He had been on the phone with Lin Yuwen the whole night, sweet-talking her to convince her of his true love for her, and not her money. He could feel that Lin Yuwen bought it. She even promised to explain to her parents and to make sure they would not misunderstand him.
This was why Cheng Ziming was in a good mood this morning. His car keys were in his hands and he was in high spirits. He had b.u.mped into a neighbor on the way out and discreetly displayed the BMW logo on his keys, garnering an envious look from his neighbor.
"Ziming, are you going out?" The auntie living on the third floor of the unit spotted Cheng Ziming.
Cheng Ziming nodded. "There"s something to attend to."
The auntie saw the car keys with the blue and white logo in his hands and smiled even more warmly. "You have the most promising future among all of us here in this place."
She turned towards a young man next to her and said, "You should learn from your brother Cheng here. Ziming, do remember to give our Xiao Yuan help in the future."
"Xiao Yuan"s results are good. He has even got into B University. He would definitely have great prospects in the future," Cheng Ziming smiled as he said.
His neighbor smiled at the praise and after exchanging a few more words, brought her son back home.
The moment she entered the door, her expression changed to one of scorn. "Hmph! All he did was get together with a rich woman. What"s there to show off when you"re sponging on a woman? Just move if you really have the money. Why would you still stay in this place? Xiao Yuan, remember, if you want money, never do the same as Cheng Ziming. It"s so embarra.s.sing. They are the only ones who aren"t aware and still think that they are doing well, acting like they are above us."
Cheng Ziming was not aware of the auntie"s real thoughts and was walking with his head held high towards his car. But he was suddenly stunned.
Why were all four of his tires punctured?!
Lin Chu was still at home emailing her resume to apply for jobs. She did not hear from any of her previous applications, but she did not panic over it as she had just submitted them.
Xu Moyan went out to make a phone call and came back quickly. She looked excited, "Lin Chu, there"s a job opportunity."
Lin Chu moved her eyes away from the computer screen in surprise. She looked at Xu Moyan in antic.i.p.ation.
"There"s this professional public relations company. The company is not big, but the boss is well-known among peers, so the requirements are much higher than the usual companies. The projects they take on are huge. Each project is a retainer for a year and a half, which is why they don"t hire many. Every employee is an elite. My client told me that there"s a vacancy there right now, but I guess the compet.i.tion must be fierce. There are many who want to learn from the boss. I heard that if you"ve worked under him before, it would be equal to being covered with gold, and much more useful than what you learn in branded universities. Every company will fight to have you once you leave that company and your benefits will only go up," Xu Moyan picked up a box of yogurt and sat cross-legged next to Lin Chu.