This time he’d truly disgraced himself all the way back to his grandmother’s house.
Qin Zhiwei felt he had no face left to show anyone. After banging his head against the wall for a good while and realizing it accomplished nothing, he hurriedly called Xu Ye.
Xu Ye had barely gotten the phone to his ear when a sound like a pig being slaughtered came through from the other end. “Xu Ye! I’m finished!”
Assuming Shen Xinyi had rejected him, Xu Ye asked, puzzled, “What happened?”
Groaning and sighing, Qin Zhiwei recounted the misdirected voice message. Xu Ye heard him out with total composure and asked, “Did you recall the voice message?”
Qin Zhiwei: “I recalled it.”
Qin Zhiwei: “But I think Shen Xinyi already heard it.”
Xu Ye: “Not think — she definitely did. If she hadn’t heard it, she’d have seen you recall a message and would’ve asked what you recalled.”
Hearing that, Qin Zhiwei felt even more mortified.
Xu Ye: “It’s not a big deal. Making your feelings clear early isn’t a bad thing. Someone like you isn’t suited to all that roundabout maneuvering anyway — throwing a fastball works better for you.”
Qin Zhiwei: “Seriously? Bro, so what do I do now?”
Xu Ye thought about it. “Go to sleep. Then act like nothing happened, and keep chatting with her tomorrow.”
Qin Zhiwei: “Will that work?”
Xu Ye: “If she also pretends she didn’t hear the message, then you can afford to be bolder from here on.”
Qin Zhiwei: “It’s so humiliating.”
Xu Ye: “As long as you don’t find it awkward, the one who ends up awkward will be Shen Xinyi.”
And Xu Ye’s words proved prophetic.
At that very moment, in Room 205, Shen Xinyi lay in bed with her little heart pounding away. Face flushed, she stared at the ceiling, her head swimming.
That voice message from Qin Zhiwei just now had been far more direct than a confession. A confession, at most, gets you an I like you or an I love you. But what had Qin Zhiwei just said?
Marriage. Children.
They’d known each other two days. How could he say things like that so recklessly?
What an absolute jerk!
Near vermilion one turns red; near ink one turns black. He’d definitely picked up bad habits from Xu Ye. [TL: 近朱者赤，近墨者黑 — a classical saying meaning you take on the character of those you associate with; roughly “you are the company you keep.”]
Shen Xinyi was normally the earliest to sleep in the dorm. But tonight, she was the last, tossing and turning through the first half of the night.
…
A new week rolled around.
To Xu Ye, the weekend had passed as though it hadn’t happened at all.
This week, Xu Ye and his roommates poured most of their energy into the Christmas Eve campaign. Xu Ye had already contacted the apple supplier at the wholesale fruit market in advance, telling him to prepare at least a thousand crates.
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday — Xu Ye was busy with all of this. Thursday afternoon, he and Zhang Xinzhou skipped an Ideological and Political Studies class, and they’d barely arrived at the office when a middle-aged man with glasses and a crew cut knocked and opened the door.
Ruan Xiaolu at the front desk saw the Party emblem pinned to the man’s chest and immediately realized this was likely a school official. She quickly asked, “Teacher, can I help you?”
Jiang Wei, who had been at the computer doing the books, turned at the sound, saw the man, and shot to her feet. “Director Wang.”
The visitor was none other than Wang Weidong, director of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education Center at Shanghai University of Finance.
He was a colleague of Jiang Ping’s and they got on well. When Jiang Wei had applied for this office, she’d dealt with Wang Weidong several times, and in the end it was on the strength of that connection to Jiang Ping that Wang Weidong had approved the office for her without any fuss.
Wang Weidong looked around and nodded with a smile. “Not bad. It’s really taking shape. You’ve moved quickly.”
Xu Ye stood up too, shot Ruan Xiaolu a look signaling her to make tea, then stepped forward to greet him. “Director Wang, hello. I’m Xu Ye, Jiang Wei’s business partner.”
Perhaps out of regard for Jiang Wei, Wang Weidong had worn a smile from the moment he walked in. He accepted the tea Ruan Xiaolu handed him and got straight to the point with Xu Ye and Jiang Wei:
“I only came to see how you’ve set up the office. The school has always been very supportive of students starting businesses on campus. This office isn’t large, but for a company just getting off the ground, the size is more than sufficient. You must make the most of this opportunity and work hard to achieve something.”
“We will.”
“I mainly came to check on your progress — and to mention something that might be of help to you.”
Jiang Wei frowned. “What is it?”
Wang Weidong handed Xu Ye an invitation and smiled. “Several bodies led by the Shanghai Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Youth Federation are holding a Shanghai New Youth Venture Capital Conference this Friday through Sunday. Our school has one slot. You could go and take a look — treat it as a learning experience.”
Xu Ye replied immediately, “No problem. We’ll certainly attend.”
Wang Weidong took a sip of tea and nodded with a smile. “Then carry on with your work. Do it well, and try to make a name for yourselves.”
“Absolutely! Take care, Director Wang.”
Once Wang Weidong had gone, Zhang Xinzhou stood up, puzzled. “Which director was that?”
Jiang Wei explained, “Director of the school’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education Center. Everything involving the entrepreneurship center falls under him.”
“Oh.”
“Xu Ye, this venture capital conference he mentioned — are we going?”
“I’ll go on my own.” Xu Ye sat back down with a smile. “At official events like this, the projects that end up receiving investment are basically all decided in advance. Everyone else is just going through the motions.”
“Then why are you going at all?”
Xu Ye picked up the invitation Wang Weidong had left behind and smiled. “I might get to know a few investors. Expand the network a bit.”
“…”
…
Qin Zhiwei’s mood these past few days had been like a roller coaster.
After sending Shen Xinyi the voice message meant for Xu Ye that weekend night, he’d barely slept. First thing the next morning, he sent Shen Xinyi a “morning” — and she didn’t reply all morning. Qin Zhiwei assumed he was finished.
Then at midday during the lunch break, Shen Xinyi suddenly replied, saying she’d been in class all morning with no time to check her phone. Qin Zhiwei’s hopes sprang right back from the ashes.
That evening, the two of them were chatting away happily — and then Shen Xinyi suddenly stopped replying. Qin Zhiwei assumed he’d said something wrong, and went back through the chat log several times without finding anything amiss.
Early the next morning, around six, Shen Xinyi replied, saying her phone had suddenly frozen, she’d left it charging, and had accidentally fallen asleep. She even apologized to him.
Wednesday and Thursday, the two stayed in touch.
On Friday, Qin Zhiwei — from where, he had no idea — worked up the courage to ask mid-conversation: “Our schools aren’t far apart. Can I come see you this weekend, and we go out somewhere?”
Shen Xinyi took a long while to reply. First she said: I might be busy this weekend.
Then she revised it: I’m not ready yet.
And then immediately: You could come with Xu Ye.
Qin Zhiwei had absolutely no idea what any of this meant, so he hurriedly asked Xu Ye again.
Seeing the chat log, Xu Ye replied directly: “She feels things between you are moving a bit fast, and she needs to slow the pace down.”
Qin Zhiwei: “Are you going to see your girlfriend this weekend?”
Xu Ye: “Not sure I’ll have time. I’m in a car right now — heading to a venture capital event.”
Qin Zhiwei: “Well, when you do go see your girlfriend, make sure you remember to bring me along.”
Xu Ye: “My memory’s not very good.”
Qin Zhiwei: “Dad!”
(End of Chapter 154)