They left the luggage at the hotel and went to deal with the fact that Xu Ye hadn’t eaten.
There was one other important thing Xu Ye had to do that afternoon: buy his mother a gold bracelet.
It had been in his plans for a long while.
He’d already come clean to Old Xu about the fruit shop, but his mother was still entirely in the dark, and this trip home he intended to tell them about the trading company as well — otherwise, when he suddenly came into money, there’d be no explaining it to them.
Hearing that this was what he had in mind, Chen Qingqing asked, more or less in passing, “What’s your mum like?”
“My mum?”
“Mm.”
“Everything about my mum is great. She’s just a bit naggy — although that’s only ever aimed at me and my dad.” And then Xu Ye’s expression turned distinctly wicked. “Why do you ask? Are you worried about how you’ll get on with your mother-in-law?”
Chen Qingqing shoved him away at once, turned her head aside and pushed her lips out. “What are you talking about.”
“Hah. You really don’t need to worry about that. If you came to my house, my parents would be extremely, extremely good to you.”
Chen Qingqing went decisively quiet, not wanting to continue a conversation that made her face burn.
The two of them got to the mall, where the ground floor alone had three or four gold jewelry shops — Chow Tai Fook, Chow Sang Sang, Lao Feng Xiang. Xu Ye looked over the lot of them, and in the end took Chen Qingqing into the first Chow Tai Fook.
He came straight to the point, going up to a sales assistant inside. “I want a gold bangle for my mother. A plain band’s fine, but it has to be solid.”
“What inner diameter?”
“My mum’s wrist should be about the same as yours.”
“Then a fifty-eight will do.” The assistant took a plain gold bangle out from behind the counter and handed it to Xu Ye. He looked it over and asked, “How much?”
The assistant answered while working a calculator. “Today’s gold price is 328 yuan a gram, and this bangle weighs twenty-five grams. So, eight thousand two hundred.”
Xu Ye nodded without hesitation. “Fine, I’ll take it. Could you box it up for me.”
“Right away.”
While Xu Ye and the assistant were talking, Chen Qingqing had been looking at the other gold pieces in the display cases. Once the assistant went off to wrap it, Xu Ye came over to her and asked, smiling, “Do you want one as well?”
Chen Qingqing shook her head, with an entirely adequate reason. “I don’t. When have you ever seen a university student wearing gold jewelry?”
“Fair point.”
Then Xu Ye grinned. “We’ll get one when we’re married, then.”
Chen Qingqing rolled her eyes at him and moved off to another display case.
It was at this point that something else occurred to Xu Ye.
Should he get something for his future mother-in-law too?
By rights it was still a bit early in things to be giving her presents — but the woman had lent him five million yuan. On that basis alone, by any reckoning, he ought to make some kind of gesture.
The trouble was that his mother-in-law wasn’t his mother. His mother liked gold jewelry; his mother-in-law certainly wouldn’t.
So what should he get her?
“Sir, it’s wrapped for you.”
“Thank you.”
Xu Ye took the Chow Tai Fook bag from the assistant and walked over to Chen Qingqing — and just as he was worrying over what to buy, he spotted a display case of pearl necklaces.
For a career woman like his mother-in-law, gold jewelry might look faintly vulgar in a business setting. Pearls wouldn’t.
So Xu Ye called the assistant back over, asked about prices, and came away with a very handsome pearl necklace for five thousand.
Chen Qingqing assumed all of it was for his mother, and didn’t ask.
Once they were out of the mall the two of them went back to the school. The dormitory supervisor wasn’t there and the building had essentially emptied out, so Xu Ye walked straight up to Room 205 with Chen Qingqing without anyone stopping him.
The other three beds were all covered over with dust sheets, and there was nothing much left on the desks underneath them.
Since they had to be at the station first thing in the morning, Chen Qingqing started packing the moment they were inside. But she had no practical experience whatsoever, and simply folding the duvet up there took her a very long time. Xu Ye couldn’t watch it any longer. He called her down, went up himself, stripped the bedding set off in short order, folded the duvet and mattress pad, and put the whole lot into the woven bag the school had issued at the start of term.
And it was at that moment that Xu Ye noticed something: the Doraemon plushie he’d given Chen Qingqing over the summer. Not only had she not thrown it out, it had been sitting on her bed the whole time. Xu Ye didn’t ask. He simply handed the toy down to her without a word, and Chen Qingqing glanced at it, took it quickly, and stuffed it straight into her suitcase.
Then she walked briskly out onto the balcony and pretended to be taking the laundry in off the drying rack.
And right then the phone she’d left on the desk started ringing. Xu Ye picked it up, saw that it was Chen Hansong, and asked, “It’s your dad. Do you want to take it?”
Chen Qingqing thought about it, then said, “You take it.”
Xu Ye didn’t stand on ceremony. He answered straight away.
Chen Hansong: “Hello? Qingqing, have you broken up for the holiday? When are you coming home? Dad’ll come and pick you up at the station.”
Xu Ye coughed twice and said pleasantly, “We’re heading back tomorrow. Qingqing’s packing at the moment.”
Hearing Xu Ye’s voice, Chen Hansong — who a second ago had sounded entirely tender — turned instantly disgusted. “How is it you again? Where are you?”
Xu Ye: “I’m in her dorm room.”
Chen Hansong: “What time do you get into Jiangzhou tomorrow?”
Xu Ye: “I’ve already told Auntie. She’s picking us up tomorrow. No need to put yourself out, Uncle Chen.”
Chen Hansong: “You be careful on the way.”
Xu Ye: “Don’t worry.”
Chen Hansong: “Don’t worry my arse. With you involved, I worry a great deal.”
Xu Ye: “Uncle, that’s a bit hurtful. You know what kind of person I am — I— hello? Hello?”
“Qingqing, what is wrong with your father? We were having a perfectly civil conversation and he just hung up on me.”
Chen Qingqing ignored him. She took the phone back, picked up her suitcase and headed for the door.
Xu Ye caught up quickly and took the suitcase off her, and once Chen Qingqing had locked the dorm room they left the school together and walked to the hotel.
…
Evening arrived in no time at all.
In the hotel room, when Chen Qingqing saw that it had gone dark outside, she started feeling faintly tense.
Xu Ye was behaving perfectly well, sitting on his own bed playing with his phone.
But in a room like this, under twenty square meters, alone with him, that was more than enough to set her mind running.
“Shower. Do you want to go first, or shall I?”
The question came out of nowhere and nearly made Chen Qingqing jump. She said haltingly, “You… you go first.”
“All right.”
Xu Ye got up straight away and went into the bathroom.
Chen Qingqing sat on the edge of the bed listening to the water running. Unable to settle, she picked up her phone and put on Bubble by G.E.M., and turned the volume up a little.
Xu Ye came out of the bathroom, dried his hair, and then went right back to sitting quietly on his own bed. Chen Qingqing went in after him.
Once they were both lying down, Xu Ye turned off the light in the room.
Chen Qingqing let out a small breath at that, and her mind gradually settled. And just as she closed her eyes to go to sleep—
“Qingqing. Are you cold?”
(End of Chapter 179)