“That logic is genuinely broken.”
Qin Zhiwei hadn’t dated anyone in his life, but even he couldn’t sit with reasoning that absurd. He pushed back his chair to leave.
Gu Mengyao stood up quickly. “Zhiwei — can you not tell Xu Ye we met today?”
“Don’t worry. I’m not a gossip.”
Liu Qian shot up. “Who are you calling a gossip?”
“I didn’t say you. Calm down.”
Gu Mengyao put a hand on Liu Qian’s arm and pressed on. “Can you tell me where Xu Ye is working this summer?”
“Encounter Music Bar.”
And with that, Zhiwei walked out.
The moment he hit the street, the regret set in.
What did I get out of that? Nothing. And I paid for two drinks.
Those two didn’t order a single thing. They just sat there and waited for me to cover them. Classic.
Zhiwei, if you fall for that again, you deserve it.
Back inside the bubble tea shop.
“Mengyao — you’re not actually thinking of going to find him, are you?”
Gu Mengyao shook her head slowly. “I haven’t decided yet.”
“Honestly? If he’s not coming to you, just drop it. We’ve graduated — there’ll be better guys in university. You’re gorgeous, you can do way better.”
Gu Mengyao’s voice was flat. “I just want to understand why he went cold so suddenly. I’ve been thinking about it for days and I still can’t figure it out.”
“Stop overthinking it. The news said there are way more guys than girls out there right now — in the future, we’ll be the ones doing the choosing, not them. Trust me, Xu Ye is going to regret this.”
Just after four in the afternoon, Xu Ye’s dad came home.
As a career civil servant who’d perfected the art of looking busy while doing nothing, he could finish his actual workload in under two hours and spend the rest of the day in comfortable idleness. That was the perk of a government job when you’d given up on promotion — low stress, reliable hours, and nobody bothered you. [TL: 摸鱼划水 — literally “touching fish, paddling water” — is Chinese internet slang for slacking off at work, doing the bare minimum while appearing occupied.]
“You’re still home?” his dad said, surprised to find Xu Ye on the couch.
“I need to talk to you about something.”
“Can’t be good.”
Xu Ye pulled him down onto the couch and grinned. “I’ve gone through all the Module One theory questions. I want to register at a driving school tomorrow.”
His dad reached into his pocket, produced a cigarette, lit it at a leisurely pace, and said, “Money stuff — that’s your mom’s department. You know where I stand in this household.”
“Mom doesn’t come home for lunch and she gets back later than you. Cover me for now.”
“I’m broke.”
“Dad. Above the bathroom ceiling panel. And under the TV cabinet. You’ve been building up a stash for a while now.”
His dad nearly dropped the cigarette.
“How did you find that?”
“Not much gets past me in this house.”
“You’d better not say a word to your mom. That’s been months of saving.”
Xu Ye smiled and said nothing.
His dad read the smile correctly.
He let out a short, put-upon grunt. “You little — fine. I’ll talk to your mom tonight about the driving school. If she agrees, we’ll leave the money on the table before we head to work tomorrow morning.”
Xu Ye clapped him on the shoulder. “That’s what I like to hear. I’m off to work.”
“Show some respect.”
Jiang Meilin was exhausted.
The night before, she’d rushed back from the neighboring province after work to be there for her daughter’s birthday. The morning after, she was back on a train before sunrise. She’d made it through a full day of work and then, instead of going back to the hotel, had her assistant book her another ticket straight back to Jiangzhou.
Coming out of the station, she opened WeChat.
Jiang Meilin: Ruxue, Qingqing’s home today?
Wang Ruxue: she is.
Jiang Meilin: confirm for me — that bar is called Encounter Music Bar, right?
Wang Ruxue: correct. want me to send you the address?
Jiang Meilin: yes. I’m heading there now. If Qingqing tries to leave the house, let me know in advance. I don’t want her to know I’m going to see Xu Ye.
Wang Ruxue: understood.
The address came through a moment later. Jiang Meilin handed the phone to the driver.
“Xiao Wu — take me here.”
“Yes, Jiang Zong.”
The car pulled up outside Encounter Music Bar while the sky was still transitioning to dark.
Xu Ye was sitting in the chair by the entrance, waiting for the evening rush to pick up, mildly bored.
“Jiang Zong, we’ve arrived.”
“Wait in the car.”
“Of course.”
The car door opened. A long, well-dressed leg stepped out first — red-soled heels, a fitted skirt, a tailored blazer over a button-down shirt, a clean ear-length bob. No jewelry except for a high-end watch on her right wrist. The overall impression was one of someone who commanded rooms for a living and knew it. [TL: Red-soled heels are a subtle reference to Christian Louboutin, a luxury French shoe brand instantly recognizable by its signature red sole.]
Once out, she didn’t walk straight in. She went around to the trunk, changed into a pair of flat sandals she’d brought along, and then headed through the door.
“Welcome — what can I get you?”
The bar was empty. Xu Ye was the only male staff member on the floor — and Jiang Meilin had seen the photo. She recognized him immediately.
“You’re Xu Ye.”
“That’s me.” He blinked. “Do you know me?”
Jiang Meilin pulled out a chair and sat down. Her expression gave nothing away. “I’m Chen Qingqing’s mother. Do you have a few minutes?”
Inside, Xu Ye’s stomach did a small drop. Outwardly, he kept it together.
He sat down across from her and waited.
He’d been expecting this. He just hadn’t expected it to come this quickly.
Across the room, Pei Youwei took one look at Jiang Meilin and read the situation immediately — this woman wasn’t here for a casual drink, and her bearing put her well above any of their usual customers. She’d already guessed this was Wang Ruxue’s boss. When Zhang Xiaonuan and Zhou Ying started drifting over with their ears out, Pei Youwei grabbed both of them and steered them firmly in the other direction.
“Start from the beginning,” Jiang Meilin said. “How did you and Qingqing meet?”
Xu Ye told her the truth.
Jiang Meilin listened, then said evenly, “So in total you’ve met — how many times?”
“Three.”
“Once at the lake. Once here. Once at the bank, and then the mall.”
She kept full control of the conversation. “Is there anything you want to explain to me about the situation between you and Qingqing?”
“Honestly, auntie — that’s a question you should be asking your daughter, not me. You know her better than anyone. Do you really think she’s the type to start dating someone after three meetings?”
Jiang Meilin hadn’t expected him to hold eye contact through that entire answer. In her office, department heads from every division avoided her gaze. This eighteen-year-old sitting across from her in a bar uniform hadn’t looked away once.
“It’s not impossible,” she said. “My ex-husband and I got married after knowing each other for a very short time. Everyone around me said I was being reckless.”
Xu Ye kept a straight face. “In that case, auntie, you can rest easy. Your daughter is absolutely not being reckless.”
Jiang Meilin shifted topics. “How old are you?”
“Eighteen.”
“Just finished the gaokao?”
“Yes.”
“Any target schools?”
“Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.” [TL: 上海金融学院 (Shanghai Finance University) — not to be confused with the more prestigious Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (上财). Xu Ye’s target school is a solid but second-tier institution by Shanghai standards, though locally competitive enough that it requires above-average scores to get in.]
Jiang Meilin raised an eyebrow. “I know that school. It’s technically a second-tier university in Shanghai, but in our region you’d need first-tier exam scores to get in. If you can manage that, you’d have better options available.”
“For someone trying to stay in Shanghai, the choices are actually fairly limited at my score range.”
“So your priority is location?”
“Yes.”
“As someone older — I’d say that for an ordinary person, studying finance isn’t necessarily the most rational choice.”
Xu Ye smiled. “I’m going to be a wealthy person.”
Jiang Meilin didn’t know where that certainty came from. But looking at the expression on his face — relaxed, unhurried, entirely sure of itself — something shifted in her.
His fundamentals were solid. Height. Looks. How he carried himself.
And if he actually had the drive to back it up—
Maybe…
(End of Chapter)