That night, Cen Jin slept restlessly and woke up around six in the morning.
She rolled over, stretching out her arm to embrace the person beside her, but found only space. Her heart sank as she discovered Li Wu was no longer in the room.
Cen Jin hurriedly got out of bed to look for him.
The hallway was dark, with only a warm glow coming from the living room direction.
Following the light, Cen Jin found Li Wu in the kitchen, sitting at the dining table with only a pendant lamp lit, head lowered as he wrote intermittently, looking as focused as if taking an exam.
He hadn’t noticed Cen Jin watching him from the dark corridor corner for quite some time.
Cen Jin walked over in her slippers, tiptoeing carefully, and he remained unaware, his brows furrowed in concentration.
Only when her slim shadow fell across his paper covered in dense writing did Li Wu suddenly look up, hastily covering his notebook.
Cen Jin didn’t try to grab it, only asking: “What are you doing? Making up homework?”
The young man pressed his elbow on the cover, looking conspicuously guilty: “No.”
“Then what?”
Li Wu thought for a moment and decided not to hide it: “I’m afraid I won’t be able to speak when I meet Uncle and Auntie, so I wanted to organize my thoughts first.”
Cen Jin laughed: “Are you writing a thesis? Even outlining.”
Li Wu rubbed the back of his head, somewhat embarrassed: “Not really.”
Fair enough, opportunity favors the prepared. Cen Jin brushed his hair, like stroking a patch of grass: “Need my advice?”
“No need, if you help it would be like cheating,” Li Wu stood up, still protecting his outline as if afraid Cen Jin might suddenly snatch it: “There’s congee in the pot, I’ll get you some.”
Cen Jin didn’t insist: “I haven’t brushed my teeth yet.”
“Brush after eating.”
“Alright.”
After speaking, she turned toward the counter. Li Wu followed, and as soon as he got close, his arms encircled her waist, matching her step for step, refusing to separate.
With a big tail-follower dragging behind her, Cen Jin’s steps became uneven. After bumping into Li Wu’s leg for the third time, Cen Jin reached back to punch his stomach, telling him to move away.
It was like an ant’s scratch – Li Wu didn’t budge at all, instead holding her even tighter, whispering behind her ear: “Have uncle and auntie contacted you?”
Cen Jin stopped in front of the rice cooker, tilting her head: “I haven’t checked my phone yet.”
“Take a look,” he pleaded earnestly.
Cen Jin laughed: “What, nervous?”
“Mm.” He felt completely uncertain.
Li Wu asked: “How come you’re not nervous?”
Cen Jin remained composed: “I am nervous.”
“Can’t tell at all.”
“What’s done is done.” Cen Jin picked up the bowl. “We can only let nature take its course.”
Li Wu was extremely anxious: “Quick, turn on your phone and check.”
Cen Jin snorted: “Weren’t you so brave a few hours ago? What happened to that reckless spirit of living and dying together with me?”
“I’m worried they’ll be anxious if they can’t find you.”
Cen Jin sniffed the fragrant five-grain congee: “Didn’t my dad exchange phone numbers with you? Has he contacted you?”
Li Wu scratched his head: “That’s just it – he hasn’t.”
The complete calm made him even more restless. He would rather Cen Jin’s parents immediately make their stance clear so he could address their concerns specifically.
Cen Jin also found it strange, so she took out her phone from her pocket. Just as she pressed the side button, the young man behind her suddenly turned his face away, wanting but afraid to look.
Cen Jin glanced at him: “Do you know what you look like right now?”
Li Wu looked back, face full of curiosity: “What?”
“Like me when I was little, getting blood drawn at the hospital, afraid to look at the needle – the same.”
“Well, I’m not afraid of that anymore.”
The young man looked up at the ceiling, letting out a long breath, as if awaiting fate’s judgment. The next moment he stared straight at Cen Jin’s lit-up screen, brave enough to face it.
Seconds later, they looked at each other in surprise.
Cen Jin’s side was equally uneventful – there wasn’t even a missed call notification from when her phone was off.
Cen Jin puzzledly opened WeChat.
The chat list was crowded, reaching Cen Jin’s social peak overnight. There were close friends and casual acquaintances, some offering sincere congratulations, others using blessings as a pretext to pry.
Among the flood of messages, Cen Jin immediately spotted her father’s WeChat. He had only sent a simple invitation, his tone gentle:
“Jin Jin, would you like to have lunch with Dad tomorrow, just the two of us?” There was even a small smiley face at the end.
The time was 12:43 AM.
Cen Jin’s nose tingled. Her dad usually followed a healthy lifestyle, typically going to bed before eleven. It seemed he had been sleepless last night, all because of his willful daughter following her heart.
But he hadn’t immediately questioned her in anger.
Cen Jin checked the likes and comments again, discovering that her father had even liked the photo of her and Li Wu together.
She stared at her father’s tiny avatar, her eyes growing moist, then turned back to the silent Li Wu, her voice slightly choked: “Ah.”
Li Wu, who had witnessed everything, slowly released her and stood straight, saying nothing.
Cen Jin sniffled lightly: “You don’t mind if I have lunch alone with my dad?”
Li Wu shook his head.
His suddenly solemn expression looked adorably silly, making Cen Jin laugh through her tears as she pinched his chin twice: “Why so serious all of a sudden?”
Li Wu said: “Reply to uncle first.”
“Oh,” Cen Jin lowered her eyes and replied: Of course ok.
Before she could put down her phone, a message came from the other side: Don’t tell Little Wu, I’m afraid he’ll overthink and assume I’m going to say bad things about him.
Cen Jin: “…”
Li Wu: “…”
Cen Jin smiled gently, typing “won’t.”
Just as she was about to send it, Li Wu stopped her: “Add one more thing.”
“What?”
“He won’t think that way.”
Cen Jin chuckled and did as he said.
She then asked her father: Are you still up or just woken up?
Father Cen replied: Just got up.
Cen Jin knew they were both deceiving each other, but neither pointed it out – this was the tacit understanding between father and daughter for thirty years.
Cen Jin asked: How’s mom?
Father Cen said: Don’t worry about her, Dad’s here.
One answer, two meanings. Cen Jin’s eyes welled up with tears again.
Li Wu, who was present throughout, felt his emotions surge, unable to express it in words. He could only embrace Cen Jin from behind again, gently pressing against her hair, using physical tenderness to soothe them both.
After exchanging good mornings with her father, Cen Jin put her phone back on the counter, nestling against his chest, not wanting to move: “How about now, feeling a bit more at ease?”
Li Wu said softly: “No.”
“Even this isn’t enough?”
“I feel so inadequate, not even worth a thousandth of uncle.” But it wasn’t pressure, rather motivation. Li Wu declared earnestly: “I want to take uncle as my role model, learn how to treat you well.”
Cen Jin smiled, her eyes curving: “Better not, no one in eight hundred lifetimes could match my dad.”
Li Wu said: “I’m a quick learner, I’ll try my best to get as close as possible.”
Cen Jin stopped bantering: “Alright, I look forward to it.”
…
Since her father’s meaning was relatively clear, Cen Jin decided to wait patiently. She had Li Wu return to school for class while she went to work as usual.
As soon as she appeared, she was greeted by her colleagues’ expected whistles.
Cen Jin sat down at her desk with a faint smile, accepting all the teasing and banter.
Lu Qiqi rushed over like the wind, sitting next to her, whispering: “Finally, this day has come.”
Cen Jin glanced at her: “Which day? The day I’m no longer single?”
“The day you went public,” Lu Qiqi clicked her tongue. “You don’t think we couldn’t tell you were dating, right? It was so obvious.”
Cen Jin uncomfortably tucked her hair: “Then why didn’t you all expose me?”
Lu Qiqi said: “Because it wasn’t convenient.”
Cen Jin raised an eyebrow: “What wasn’t convenient?”
“Afraid asking would make you uncomfortable? I don’t know how to explain it,” Lu Qiqi puffed up her cheeks, then let out a big breath, as if she had been holding it in for a long time. “Yuan Zhen and I have known about you and your boyfriend’s relationship for ages.”
“Hm?” Cen Jin was slightly confused, furrowing her brows.
Lu Qiqi leaned back in her chair: “Don’t you know how big your ex-husband’s wife’s mouth is? People at the company heard from her side that you were dating a college student, saying he was a poor student you used to support.”
Cen Jin stared in shock, extremely surprised.
Lu Qiqi glanced toward Yuan Zhen’s desk: “Ning Hui was the first to know, then secretly told us. Yuan Zhen told us not to spread it around, especially not to gossip in front of you. Said you had strong self-esteem, might quit and leave. After you transferred to her department, she finally got back half her life, didn’t want to go back to how things were before.”
Lu Qiqi smiled again: “We all really like you, didn’t want this to create any awkwardness between you and everyone.”
Cen Jin’s chest heaved long and deep, suddenly feeling relieved. Her lips curved: “Then why were you all acting in the comments and group chat last night?”
“If we’re putting on a show, we have to do it properly,” Lu Qiqi showed her rows of small white teeth, criticizing: “Besides, you’re the better actor! We only knew you were dating someone unusual, who could have guessed he was that handsome summer intern from Meet? Yuan Zhen completely broke down when she saw the photo yesterday, and said she couldn’t believe it. She had been an unwitting love matchmaker for you two without knowing anything. She was speechless, said you two were good at pretending.”
Cen Jin rested her chin on her hand and smiled, then asked: “You don’t find it strange?”
“Gin sis – please –” Lu Qiqi held her forehead. “We’re advertising company G, not some government office. What’s strange about it? Come shock my eyes when you date a ten-year-old.”
True enough. Cen Jin deeply agreed, sighing slightly: “I overthought things.”
“You overthought it. If you had told us directly from the start, we wouldn’t have had to hold back for so long.”
“Thank you all for considering my feelings so much. How about I treat everyone to dinner this week?”
“Really?” Lu Qiqi’s eyes lit up, smiling with squinted eyes and raised eyebrows: “Remember to bring – your gift~”
Cen Jin curved her lips: “No problem.”
Just as Lu Qiqi was about to leave, she suddenly stopped, came back, and whispered: “When you first came to Aoxing, you mentioned your little brother to me a few times. It wasn’t him, was it?”
Cen Jin thought for a moment, then nodded: “It was him.”
“Damn, so it was raising from childhood,” Lu Qiqi raised her fist, completely convinced: “You’re something else, Jin Jin!”
As the girl returned to her desk, Cen Jin also began handling messages with relief.
Sure enough, Yuan Zhen was already questioning her on WeChat: Are you even human?
Cen Jin typed an explanation: I swear, we weren’t together then, and we were having a cold war over volunteering disagreements.
Yuan Zhen: I’ll believe you for now.
As a severe younger-man enthusiast, Yuan Zhen immediately discussed her feelings: How is it? Little brothers are good, right? Little brothers are sweet, right?
Cen Jin agreed: Yes, not bad.
Yuan Zhen was bursting with excitement: Where did you find this poor student little brother, I also want to contribute to the country’s charitable cause.
Cen Jin smiled without answering, instead switching to her ex-husband’s WeChat, sincerely saying: Thank you and thank your wife too.
After a moment, Wu Fu replied:?
Cen Jin immediately deleted him from her friend’s list, hoping he could properly taste and digest this multi-layered thank-you cake she had especially served.
It turned out that when a person leads with sincerity, the whole universe makes way.
Cen Jin felt refreshed and threw herself to work as usual.
While smoothly communicating with clients, Yuan Zhen suddenly burst out with a shout from nearby, just one word: “Damn!”
Everyone looked over.
Yuan Zhen scanned the room, her gaze finally landing on Cen Jin’s face, smilingly announcing to everyone: “Meet’s store manager just messaged me on WeChat, saying Cen Jin’s boyfriend is treating the company to coffee today. Anyone who wants some, please come place your order with me.”
Wow–
The whole office erupted in joy and excitement.
The CEO, who had just arrived at the company, stopped in the corridor, completely bewildered: “What’s going on, celebrating New Year early?”
Cen Jin sat stunned for a moment, then came to her senses and interrogated Li Wu on WeChat: What are you doing?
The young man played dumb: What did I do?
Cen Jin: Do you know how many people are in our company?
Li Wu: I’m a senior employee, the manager gives me a 30% discount.
Cen Jin: Even with a 90% discount it’s still wasting money.
Li Wu: Someone in the family has to spend money, I don’t want others to misinterpret you.
Cen Jin gritted her teeth: So what? We’re not done here.
Li Wu couldn’t ask for more: Good, you must keep your word.