A good night’s sleep.
The next day at noon, after lunch with Chen Qingqing and Zhang Ruowei, Xu Ye drove back to school.
Term started on the sixteenth of the first month, and the day after tomorrow he meant to come back over and spend the Lantern Festival with Chen Qingqing — which left him two days to get the fruit shop open and the company back to work. Not much time, and a great deal to do.
The campus was still fairly empty, though the dormitory doors were open. Xu Ye parked downstairs like someone who had done it a hundred times, carried his suitcase up to the room, and was reaching into his bag for the key when the door opened from the inside.
It gave him a fright. He thought someone had broken into the room.
“Xu Ye, you’re back?”
It was Li Tongwen who had pushed the door open. He had arrived that morning, had just finished cleaning the room, and was carrying the bin out to empty it.
Xu Ye had only phoned Zhang Xinzhou the day before. Yang Fei was local, so getting him back to school was a single call, and Li Tongwen lived too far away — apart from the winter and summer holidays he never went home at all. Xu Ye had thought he should have a few more days at home and hadn’t messaged him. It had never once occurred to him that Li Tongwen would arrive earlier than he did.
“Why are you here so early?” Xu Ye asked, puzzled. “Term doesn’t start until the sixteenth.”
“Tickets for the sixteenth are impossible,” Li Tongwen explained. “I got a sleeper for last night, slept on the train, and got into Shanghai in the small hours.”
“I deliberately didn’t call you. I thought you should have a couple more days at home.”
Li Tongwen smiled. “There’s nothing to do at home anyway. I thought the fruit shop would need stocking up in advance, so I came early. I’ll go and empty this.”
“Mm.”
Xu Ye brought his suitcase in, spent a few minutes unpacking, then climbed up to the top bunk to get his quilt down and hang it out in the sun. Li Tongwen saw and took his own down at once, then turned and asked, “Shall we hang Zhang Xinzhou’s and Yang Fei’s out too?”
“You take Yang Fei’s, I’ll take Zhang Xinzhou’s.”
“Mm.”
With the quilts out, Xu Ye came back to the room and phoned Chen Jianjun first, asking him to bring a delivery of fruit over tomorrow afternoon. Then he tagged everyone in the company group and asked when they were coming back to school.
Ruan Xiaolu spoke up first.
Ruan Xiaolu: back tomorrow
Xia Minghui: already at school
Jiang Wei’s answer was the shortest of the lot — two characters.
Jiang Wei: on my way
As things stood, Xu Ye had three businesses in hand: the fruit shop, the trading company, and the investment company nobody had been told about.
He had planned it out long ago. If the fruit shop could hold its current earnings until he graduated, he would transfer it after graduation; if it couldn’t, he would transfer it before.
As for the trading company, once they had the business down he intended to hand it over to Zhang Xinzhou and Jiang Wei.
And his own energy would go mainly into investment.
Xu Ye slept in the room that afternoon, and at around five in the evening drove out to Hongqiao Railway Station.
…
Outside the station.
Yanqing stood beside the suitcase watching the traffic go past, then bumped Zhang Xinzhou with her hip. “Ask Xu Ye how much longer.”
Zhang Xinzhou looked off in the direction the cars were coming from. “Already did. He says this stretch is a bit backed up. He should be here any minute.”
“Did you tell your dad about the car?”
“I did.”
Zhang Xinzhou sighed. “I collected rent for the family for a month over the winter break, and my dad would still only give me fifty thousand. Says a beginner should get a secondhand car and be done with it. I asked him to let me drive the Mercedes and he wouldn’t have it at any price. Am I even his?”
“Ha. You definitely are,” Yanqing said. “My dad says you look just like your dad did when he was young. I’ve seen photos of him young.”
Zhang Xinzhou ran a hand over his face, not believing it. “So tell me. Was my dad better-looking when he was young, or am I?”
“You’re both ugly.”
“Would it kill you to say something nice?”
Yanqing, thoroughly enjoying herself, was about to answer when a white Mazda pulled up right in front of them. The window came down and Xu Ye called out, “Get in. You can’t stop here long.”
Zhang Xinzhou put the suitcase in the trunk and got into the passenger seat.
“How long does it take to drive from our school?”
“Fifty minutes on the outer ring expressway.”
“That’s not far, then.” Then he asked, “How much was the car?”
“A bit over a hundred and twenty thousand. It’s only to get around in — as long as it drives, that’s all I need.”
“True enough.”
Yanqing waited until the two of them had more or less finished, then put in, “Xu Ye, how is it you don’t seem to have put on any weight over New Year?”
“I haven’t. I was out running every day at home.”
Yanqing turned a disapproving look on Zhang Xinzhou. “Look at him, and then look at you.”
Zhang Xinzhou’s scalp crawled.
At home, the old man said that line constantly.
He hadn’t expected to come back to school and still not escape it.
But Xu Ye came straight in. “Yanqing, don’t go comparing your Zhang Xinzhou to me. There aren’t many people our age who are better than I am.”
Yanqing laughed out loud. “Your skin really is thick.”
Zhang Xinzhou gave him a wounded look and raised a thumb. “Yes, yes, yes. You’re marvelous. You’re a cut above the rest of us.”
…
None of Qin Zhiwei’s roommates had come back to school.
Being alone in the room didn’t bother him, since he wasn’t close to any of them anyway.
After his shower that evening he got into bed early and messaged Shen Xinyi to ask when she was coming back.
She replied quickly.
Shen Xinyi: I’m looking at tickets now
Qin Zhiwei: you didn’t buy in advance?
Shen Xinyi: no. Suzhou isn’t far from Shanghai. if I can’t get a ticket my dad can drive me
Qin Zhiwei: but the sixteenth is bound to be jammed
Shen Xinyi: oh, true. I hadn’t thought of that
Shen Xinyi: shall I just go back tomorrow, then? Qingqing and Ruowei are already in the dorm anyway
Qin Zhiwei: sure
Qin Zhiwei naturally wanted her back early. It would give him a day with her before term started.
Shen Xinyi: I’ll go and talk to my parents
Qin Zhiwei: mm-hm
Five minutes later.
Shen Xinyi: right, decided. I’m going back to Shanghai tomorrow. leaving after lunch, should get in around three
Qin Zhiwei: if you’re taking the train I can drive out and pick you up
Shen Xinyi: where did you get a car?
Qin Zhiwei: Xu Ye bought a new one over New Year. I’ll take his
Shen Xinyi: will Xu Ye agree to that?
Qin Zhiwei: of course. we’re blood brothers, different fathers and different mothers and all
Shen Xinyi: /snicker/
While he was talking to Shen Xinyi, Qin Zhiwei was also messaging Xu Ye.
Qin Zhiwei: Dad. you there?
Xu Ye: spit it out
Qin Zhiwei: lend me your car tomorrow. I’m picking Shen Xinyi up from the station
Xu Ye: you’ve had a few days’ practice. are you up to it?
Qin Zhiwei: definitely
Xu Ye: take it easy, then
Qin Zhiwei: don’t worry. I’ll come to you tomorrow morning, and once I’ve dropped Shen Xinyi at school I’ll drive it back to you
Xu Ye: no need. I’m going over there on the fifteenth, I’ll drive it over myself. saves you going back and forth
Qin Zhiwei: Christ. I’m so moved
Qin Zhiwei: I’m actually tearing up
Xu Ye: don’t make your old man sick. get lost
(End of Chapter 200)