Li Weiyi returned to her workstation, her eyes staring blankly at the computer screen in a daze.

She and Xie Zhilu had been classmates, getting together in their junior year. Back then, Xie Zhilu had pursued her relentlessly. Li Weiyi had always felt that Xie Zhilu was quite a ruthless person—ruthless with himself, and even more ruthless with his studies. His family circumstances weren’t good. He had tested into a key university from an impoverished county. Throughout his four university years, he had consistently ranked in the top ten of his department, served as vice president of the student union, and for graduate school, he had followed the most outstanding advisor.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to pass the exam today for a department with real power that had an acceptance rate of one in a thousand.

During these five years together, they had shared many tender and sweet moments, especially in their junior and senior years. One studying for graduate school entrance exams, the other looking for work, they had supported each other mutually, turning bitterness into sweetness, spending day and night together. To say it was unforgettable might be going a bit far, but to say they were kindred spirits with no regrets about their youth was truly not an exaggeration.

It was just that during these past three years, Li Weiyi had been working and renting an apartment to live in, while he lived on campus pursuing his graduate degree. Both of them were so busy their feet barely touched the ground. Gradually they saw each other less and less. Sometimes Li Weiyi couldn’t see him for an entire month.

It wasn’t that there hadn’t been complaints and arguments. Li Weiyi had high work pressure and often worked overtime on weekends too. He was just a student—how busy could he be? Li Weiyi hoped he would make more trips to see her, to accompany her more. But Xie Zhilu had always been a very aloof and self-disciplined person. He felt that his girlfriend should just follow his timeline, revolve around him. After arguing a few times, they stopped arguing. Both of them avoided this topic of who gave how much and who accommodated whom. Seeing each other once every week or two, they both calmly and peacefully cherished the time they spent together. Therefore, their relationship had continued in this bland yet stable manner all along.

But what important thing did he have to tell her?

Although his attitude on the phone just now had felt vague, maybe he was just busy. When he was busy, he was always absentminded when answering calls—a thorough career-oriented man. Li Weiyi thought back to their last meeting, which had actually been a month and a half ago. The two had eaten dinner, walked on the cold streets, Xie Zhilu had wrapped her in his coat, the light scent in his embrace, and his passionate kiss… Li Weiyi’s heart softened, and her suspicions were swept away completely.

Suddenly, a thought sprang to mind…

Could he be planning to propose?

That’s why he didn’t tell her right away that he had passed the civil service exam, and why his words were ambiguous, and why he had to tell her in person.

In the afternoon, after Li Weiyi finished the work at hand, she followed Zhou Dajie to take a taxi to the headquarters building to deliver the report. Although office work was now digitized, some extremely important documents still needed to be submitted in paper form with signatures from leaders at all levels.

When they arrived downstairs at the building, Li Weiyi’s face was flushed as she said in a small voice: “Sister Zhou, my boyfriend passed the exam.”

Zhou Dajie was very happy for her: “That’s great! Remember what I told you. How about tomorrow I deliberately ask you about it in front of the leader?”

Li Weiyi said: “Yes! Thank you, Sister Zhou! You’re so thoughtful—we’ll treat you to dinner later.”

Zhou Dajie laughed heartily. She also really liked this diligent, clever young girl who knew how to handle situations. The key was that this ability to handle situations was done with just the right touch—adorable and sincere, not annoying at all. She also hoped to continue being colleagues with Li Weiyi. As for herself, she completely didn’t worry about layoffs. After all, her husband was a director at headquarters.

The two walked into the headquarters lobby. While they were registering at the front desk, a secretary led two men and one woman past them. Zhou Dajie nudged Li Weiyi with her elbow. Li Weiyi looked up.

No wonder her first glance fell on the man walking in front. He looked to be twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, wearing an iron-gray suit with a black shirt, no tie. This man’s features were sharp as a knife, his bone structure cold and stern, yet he was pale and slender. Among the three people, he was the tallest. Whether it was his eyebrows, the corners of his eyes, his cuffs, or the tips of his shoes, his entire being exuded the bearing of someone in a position of power.

Li Weiyi lowered her voice: “Who’s that? So handsome.”

Zhou Dajie actually knew. She joined Li Weiyi in appreciating this striking masculine beauty with lingering interest, saying: “The boss of Huicui Technology, named Zhang Jingchan. Handsome, right? He should be here to discuss cooperation with our Group. I heard he’s only twenty-seven this year—so young and so handsome. He’s quite a famous figure in this city’s business circle. But don’t covet him, there’s nothing to envy. He’s famous not because he’s made a lot of money these past few years, but because… you know what? I heard from my husband that all the socialites in the city, those bosses’ daughters, his employees and business partners—you could say all the women in Xiang City—not one of them is willing to marry him.”

This was truly juicy gossip. As Li Weiyi and Zhou Dajie finished the procedures and walked toward the elevator, they watched that group of people already board the previous elevator and go up. Li Weiyi asked quietly: “Is he impotent?”

“Hey, you understand quite a bit for a young girl! It’s not that reason. Whether he’s capable or not, how would I know, hahaha! By the way, aren’t you from Chen City? Have you heard of Fuming Group?”

Li Weiyi nodded. Of course she had heard of them. She remembered it was about eight or nine years ago, when she was in high school. All over Chen City were Fuming Group’s construction sites and clothing brand stores. She had heard that at that time their business had even expanded outside the province, and she had also heard that Fuming’s boss was Chen City’s richest person at the time.

“This Zhang Jingchan is the only son of the former Fuming Group boss.”

Li Weiyi was shocked.

Because Fuming Group had gone bankrupt and closed down seven or eight years ago. At the time, this incident had caused quite a stir, because Fuming Group owed a lot of debt—many, many hundreds of millions. Not only did they owe the banks, they also owed many private loans. After that, there was no more news.

Zhou Dajie revealed an inscrutable expression: “His father owed one billion, and to this day he’s still on the list of dishonest judgment debtors, subject to consumption restrictions. I heard he’s living very hard.”

Li Weiyi thought of that face with its sharp and commanding presence that she had just seen, and instinctively asked: “What about him?”

Zhou Dajie actually showed an admiring expression: “This Zhang Jingchan, young President Zhang, is truly quite a person. I heard that before the incident happened back then, his father divorced his mother ahead of time to protect him and his mother, letting them leave with nothing. Although mother and son didn’t get anything, they also didn’t inherit the debt, right? Legally, Zhang Jingchan doesn’t need to repay the debt, but over these past few years, he’s started his own company, and I heard he’s already repaid three or four hundred million for his father. However, he still carries six or seven hundred million in debt on his shoulders. He’s a man with a sense of responsibility, good-looking, and capable, but as long as the debt isn’t completely repaid, who would be willing to marry him? This bachelor might have to wait until he’s in his thirties or forties.”

——

The next evening.

The Western restaurant Xie Zhilu had reserved was quiet with few people, two grades higher than the restaurants they usually went to. This made Li Weiyi’s heart pound even more. Fortunately, she had prepared early. She had endured the cold, abandoning her heavy down jacket, wearing instead a wine-red coat with an off-shoulder wool dress underneath. Her freshly washed long hair draped over her shoulders, and her makeup was more glamorous than usual.

Even though Xie Zhilu had looked at her for so many years, at the moment of sitting down, he was somewhat dazed.

Li Weiyi smiled slightly.

Xie Zhilu didn’t smile. His expression was heavy, his hand picking at the menu, his thumb constantly rubbing.

Li Weiyi’s heart swung like a swing, wavering again. Looking more carefully at the person before her, he wore a somewhat worn down jacket, his sweater had pilling, his sneakers had mud on them—not a trace of solemnity about him. Every word and action of his concealed worries.

Li Weiyi stopped smiling too.

Xie Zhilu’s voice was even more somber: “Let’s order first. After we eat, we’ll talk. What do you want to eat? Today I’m treating.”

Li Weiyi suddenly felt a few degrees of harsh mockery rise in her heart, thinking: Only men without social experience would deliberately point out and make a big deal of treating and paying.

“I’m not eating.” She was also getting angry now, looking at him coldly. “Whatever you have to say, say it first.”

Xie Zhilu was rarely hesitant, his tone softening a bit: “I haven’t even said anything yet, why are you losing your temper? Let’s eat first. Let’s have a good meal together.”

Li Weiyi finally detected from his words and actions a flavor of a last meal before execution. But she really couldn’t figure out what the problem was. The two of them had been fine all along, and everything was progressing according to their plans for the future. Last year they had even met each other’s parents, and both sides had no objections. So where exactly had things gone wrong?

Li Weiyi looked at him incredulously: “Xie Zhilu, did you cheat on me?”

With his monk-like field of study, busy every day with civil service exams and doing projects, he actually still found time to cheat?