HomeSummer In Your NameChapter 94: Surprise Attack

Chapter 94: Surprise Attack

Boston, USA, Cheng Zuoyang’s apartment.

Zhang Shu’s phone on the bedside table vibrated frantically. He reached for it, squinting at the screen – a voice call request from Sheng Xia.

Zhang Shu answered, putting it to his ear, “Why not video call, baby?”

His voice carried the lazy casualness of someone between sleep and waking, but in the next second, he became alert like a hawk, eyes snapping open as he sat bolt upright.

Because the voice from the other end wasn’t Sheng Xia’s, but a long-unheard, serious, middle-aged woman’s voice.

“Zhang Shu, were you resting?”

“Hello, Auntie.” His voice was normal as if his earlier laziness had been Wang Lianhua’s imagination.

“Mm, what time is it there?”

“Seven in the morning.”

“Did I disturb your rest?”

“I usually wake up around this time. I’m at a friend’s place now, so it’s a bit later, but it’s fine – I’ve already stepped out to take the call. Please go ahead, Auntie.”

As Zhang Shu spoke, he walked out of the room. Outside, Cheng Zuoyang, who had just returned from the bathroom, looked innocent: Brother Shu was something, willing to throw him under the bus to maintain a good image in front of his future mother-in-law. Was this what it meant to be a businessman? Scary.

Zhang Shu spoke on the phone in the living room for about ten minutes. After hanging up, he came over to pull at Cheng Zuoyang’s blanket, “Since you’re awake, get up. Let’s go visit some hospitals today.”

“Don’t want to, it’s boring.”

“Then let’s go to the gaming company. Playing games should be fine, right?”

“Don’t want to. You’re not going to play games – more like you’re going to play me.”

“You only want to stay in the lab and library, and at your desk?”

Cheng Zuoyang buried his head in his pillow, “Go back, Brother Shu. I need to think carefully.”

He knew Zhang Shu’s purpose in coming to Boston, but Cheng Zuoyang had no interest in entrepreneurship and didn’t want to return to China for now.

“I do have to go back,” Zhang Shu stood over him, “If you don’t want to go out and look around, then I’ll book a ticket back to California for tonight.”

Cheng Zuoyang turned around.

Zhang Shu stated calmly: “I’ll send you another copy of the business plan and technical equity agreement. Take a good look when you have time. Zuoyang, I need you.”

Cheng Zuoyang sat up, sitting cross-legged like a child, but his expression was serious: “Brother Shu, you know that currently in China, it’s hard to find any research institute or company that can provide sufficient computing power support and storage equipment for my research… A startup would be even less likely.”

“Then what are you doing research for?” Zhang Shu interrupted, pulling up a chair and sitting on it backward casually, “Breaking through just for the sake of breaking through? Where is your demand side?”

“I’m not cut out for entrepreneurship.” Cheng Zuoyang’s voice was muffled.

“What’s the right material for entrepreneurship?” Zhang Shu countered.

Cheng Zuoyang fell silent again. Zhang Shu understood his personality and didn’t just wait, instead continuing seriously: “If you join Yi Xia, I certainly can’t promise you the best research conditions at this stage, but Zuoyang, as long as you eventually plan to leave the lab, you won’t find a boss who understands you better than me, or colleagues more compatible than me. But I’m different – I’m confident I can mobilize anyone I find, and I can’t wait. I can’t wait for the day when you can’t stand others anymore and come to find me. My company has to start, the team has to be complete…”

“Research conditions in China aren’t as bad as you think, and there’s a lot of support. It’s all in the business plan. As for anything else you don’t want to participate in, you don’t have to – that’s something no other company can promise you, but I can. You can still do your research in your comfort zone, you can even continue pursuing your doctorate…”

“I’m heading back to California first. You have half a semester to consider.”

After speaking, Zhang Shu packed his things and booked his ticket in one smooth sequence. Before leaving, he turned back, looking at Cheng Zuoyang for a long moment before saying: “Zuoyang, I forgot to tell you – Liao Jing has been single all these years, which is puzzling given her conditions. I also can’t understand you. If you had already decided to come to America and stay here, why did you participate in that mixer?”

Zhang Shu left.

Cheng Zuoyang stood at the door for several minutes, then returned to his desk, clutching his head and scratching his scalp.

He still asked what material was needed for entrepreneurship.

Zhang Shu himself was that material – showing full sincerity, then striking at the heart.

Sheng Xia didn’t know what Zhang Shu and her mother had discussed that day. After hanging up, Wang Lianhua just went back to her room. Sheng Xia spent the whole day anxious, but never got any response from Wang Lianhua. When she asked Zhang Shu, he said: “Nothing serious, Auntie is a reasonable person.”

Yeah right!

Wang Lianhua had always been very sensitive about these matters. She wasn’t a very traditional or rigid person, she just placed too much emphasis on “self-protection” and had her definition of it.

Sheng Xia returned to school carrying this anxiety and doubt.

The second semester of her second year had few courses, mainly dealing with her thesis. In her spare time, Sheng Xia ran her short video account with several undergraduate students, mainly posting interpretations of ancient poetry and “word-by-word analysis” videos. Sheng Xia had a good image, and whenever she appeared in traditional Hanfu clothing, it had impressive results. The account’s traffic kept rising, but the comments section constantly called for her daily vlogs – to be direct, they were “calling for that man who lives with her.”

Days were full and busy, but once she stopped, longing grew wild.

Sheng Xia got her visa approved and took a week off. Adding the Labor Day holiday, she carved out ten days of free time.

On May Day, Sheng Xia boarded a flight to California.

Before takeoff, she deliberately told a little lie, saying she would be recording the show intermittently for these two days and couldn’t carry her phone, so not to worry if she went offline. Zhang Shu didn’t suspect anything.

The San Francisco Bay Area in May was slightly warmer than Heyan. This was Sheng Xia’s first time traveling abroad alone, and she was a bit nervous, starting to regret planning this surprise – it might turn into a shock. But she was already here, she couldn’t lose heart at the “last mile.”

So Sheng Xia still decided to take a taxi to the Stanford student apartments by herself.

Getting out of the car, Sheng Xia was confused. The taxi driver said they had arrived, but which building was it? She only remembered Zhang Shu saying the building had a red roof and grey walls, but there were several buildings with red roofs and grey walls around – three-story buildings, two-story townhouses, and seven or eight-story high-rises. The building exteriors didn’t show building numbers or names, looking just like a large residential community. Sheng Xia stood by the roadside and messaged Zhang Shu.

Sheng Xia: “Let’s have a date.”

Sheng Xia: “Sharing location.”

The sent messages kept spinning in circles. Sheng Xia was puzzled – she had international service, how could she not have data? Just earlier in the taxi, she had been chatting with Xin Xiaohe and others in their group chat.

Several “dings” sounded, and Sheng Xia received several text messages. Opening them, she saw she owed over five hundred.

Sheng Xia frowned deeply, stunned – she had topped up over five hundred in phone credit before coming, how could this happen?

But she had no time to think about the reason. In this foreign country, she couldn’t move without the internet. Only then did she remember Wang Lianhua had prepared an American phone card for her, but it was in her suitcase. So she crouched by the roadside, rummaging through her luggage for the phone card, while passersby looked at her curiously.

Sheng Xia’s cheeks flushed red, anxious and nervous, her back sweating, her mind already playing out scenes of sleeping on the street.

Just as she finished changing the card and closed her suitcase, whether fortunate or unfortunate, through the gaps in the shrubbery, she saw Zhang Shu.

He was sitting in front of a coffee shop opposite the small garden, smiling and chatting.

Sheng Xia rubbed her eyes, confirming she wasn’t seeing things. He looked thinner than in the videos. After being in America for over half a year, his style hadn’t changed at all – just like in China, wearing a T-shirt with a shirt over it, jeans, and sneakers, simple and clean.

A girl sat across from him.

From her angle, Sheng Xia could only see the girl’s profile – a delicate, small face hidden under straight bangs, seemingly smaller than a palm, with sharp, neat black hair cut straight across, smooth as satin. The whole person looked capable yet aloof, like a girl who had walked out of a manga.

Sheng Xia looked at her silent phone. In the WeChat chat interface, Xin Xiaohe’s last message became prophetic: “Don’t turn your surprise into catching him cheating.”

Hadn’t he said there were no pretty Chinese female classmates?

At that moment, Zhang Shu’s phone on the table rang twice. He originally just glanced at it casually, his chatting posture unchanged, his lip movements maintaining the same rhythm, when suddenly his expression changed. He quickly picked up his phone, standing up abruptly to look around.

In this instant, Sheng Xia stood straight, letting the bushes hide her disheveled appearance.

She didn’t know why she instinctively hid, then immediately regretted it – she wasn’t the one who should feel guilty! So she crouched down to pick up her suitcase, pulled out the handle, and just as she was about to walk away, her phone rang.

Zhang Shu sent a voice call request.

She looked at her phone, waiting for several rings before answering, her voice weak and carrying a hint of grievance she hadn’t noticed herself: “Hello…”

“Don’t move.”

Zhang Shu’s voice came through the phone, and after speaking, he hung up. A few seconds later, Sheng Xia was pulled into a broad embrace. She was startled and almost dropped her phone, but he caught it quickly, pulling her back into his arms, holding her tighter and tighter as if wanting to embed her into his body.

“Why did you come like this? I almost made you wait again.”

Only then did Sheng Xia feel the reality that it was him, but her heart still felt sour. Her hands hung stubbornly at her sides, not hugging him back, as she said sullenly: “Sorry for interrupting your date with your pretty classmate.”

Zhang Shu laughed, hugging her tightly once more before slowly letting go, using both hands to cup her face, his gaze moving up and down, focused and entranced, before pecking her lips, “Jealous?”

As he spoke, he pecked again, and fine, dense kisses fell. He found the phones annoying, putting them in his pocket, but his lips didn’t leave her. The next second, he urgently cupped her face again, pursuing her with kisses.

It had been too long since they’d kissed.

Her nose was filled with his scent. Sheng Xia didn’t know where she was or what time it was until she felt dizzy from standing and lost her balance. Only then did he slowly release her.

Her lips were numb, her tongue was numb, and her legs were numb from standing too long.

“Let me go explain to someone first.” He spoke by her ear, one hand holding hers, the other pulling her suitcase handle, walking towards the café.

Sheng Xia was confused but still obediently followed behind him, staring at the back of his head in a daze.

She missed him so much and still wanted to kiss him.

In the café, the manga girl looked up, glanced at her watch, and said to Zhang Shu: “Ten minutes. You were gone for ten minutes.”

Zhang Shu lowered his head and smiled, “Sorry, couldn’t help myself. Let’s end here for today, we can talk more when I’m back in China.”

The manga girl’s expression remained cold: “I probably won’t have time to wait. I also have decisions I must make today.”

Zhang Shu didn’t hesitate: “Then this decision must be very important to you. A gentleman doesn’t take what others cherish. I also have more important matters.”

The manga girl cast him a questioning look.

Zhang Shu said: “A date with my girlfriend.”

The manga girl froze, looked at Sheng Xia, and then nodded, picking up her coffee cup and taking a sip: “That’s unfortunate then. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye.”

Sheng Xia listened in confusion as Zhang Shu led her away.

He lived in the building where the café was located. The building was old, but the dorm was well-equipped, even having a kitchen and living room. He had roommates, so he simply packed a few clothes and took Sheng Xia to stay at a hotel.

During their brief stay in his dorm, Sheng Xia saw many things related to her: his computer screensaver was her photo in Hanfu, her three published books were displayed on his desk, and the photo frame on his desk also contained her picture.

What surprised Sheng Xia was that it was a photo from her second year of high school, taken by Sheng Mingfeng when she participated in the essay competition finals.

How did he get that?

“This photo… where did you get it?”

Zhang Shu finished packing his things, just one bag. He glanced casually, saying offhandedly, “Your dad sent it to me.”

“Why?” Sheng Xia was startled. When did he start communicating with her father, and sending photos no less?

Zhang Shu thought she was asking why this particular photo, so he answered casually, “Didn’t you say I didn’t know sixteen-year-old you? Well, now I do.”

Sheng Xia: …

Putting her photo there, forcing him to look at it every day – that counts as knowing her?

“Childish,” she commented.

Zhang Shu took the frame from her hands and put it back on the desk, arguing, “How is it childish? My girlfriend is naturally beautiful and impossible to hide, whether at sixteen or twenty-three, always stunning.”

Sheng Xia’s cheeks turned slightly red. This man who said the photo was childish?

On the way to the hotel, Sheng Xia remembered earlier events and asked, “Didn’t you say you had no pretty female classmates?”

“She’s not my classmate. I just learned from Cheng Zuoyang that she’s studying Natural Language Processing at Stanford.”

“Then who is she?”

Zhang Shu looked slightly surprised: “You don’t remember her?”

Sheng Xia looked confused, shaking her head.

Zhang Shu: “She’s the girl I saved at Yifang Bookstore back then, Yuan Zhiyi.”

It was too long ago; Sheng Xia couldn’t remember the girl’s appearance, but the cold impression remained vivid. “Wasn’t she deaf and mute?”

“No, just hearing-impaired. She just doesn’t want to speak if she can’t hear. I want to bring her on as a partner, she’s considering it.”

“Then haven’t I interrupted your important business?” Sheng Xia’s heart tightened, afraid that her surprise might not be much of a surprise after all.

“No, it’s fine. You are my important business. I’ll never miss a date with you again.”

He said it naturally, without any particular emphasis. Sheng Xia squeezed his hand, still worried, “Don’t do this next time. Tell me, I can understand.”

Only then did Zhang Shu realize how much this bothered her. He pinched her cheek: “It’s fine. She was distracted anyway. She was fishing for her catch, I was fishing for mine. Each pursuing our interests.”

In the hotel room, Sheng Xia had barely put down her luggage when he trapped her in his embrace. A deep kiss fell, and she passionately responded. When they both tumbled onto the bed, he paused to ask, “Any more interrogations?”

Sheng Xia was dizzy from his kisses, her mind empty of everything except wanting to possess him. She shook her head, “No…”

Zhang Shu: “Then I’m going to push my luck.”

“Don’t misuse idioms, mmph—”

He did more than just push his luck – he was insatiable, his desires boundless, his appetite unquenchable!

She didn’t ask his feelings, he didn’t ask why she came. They imprinted their unspoken longing on each other’s bodies.

After the storm, it was already deep into the night.

What kind of date was this? Skipping all preliminaries straight to the main event, making such a small hotel room feel like a tourist attraction, leaving marks everywhere. Like she’d traveled thousands of miles just for this.

Somewhere in the middle, after who knows which time, she got hungry and wanted food. He ordered room service. She thought she could rest, but while eating he started getting handsy again. Afterward, she was angry and refused to eat, so he sweet-talked her with endless honeyed words, promising to behave, but just after eating and resting a bit, he again…

Sheng Xia finally understood what Xin Xiaohe meant about men needing to pay their “marital duties” regularly. Saving up for so long hadn’t killed him, but she felt like she would burst – truly unbearable.

She was too exhausted to say even one word, but Zhang Shu kept nuzzling her neck endlessly, constantly murmuring “Baby, baby…”

So noisy!

During the day he had seemed so calm, as if her arrival hadn’t particularly delighted him. Now it was like he’d finally processed it, holding her and refusing to let go.

So childish!

Wasn’t he the real baby?

She had to interrupt his monologue, asking, “What exactly did you say to my mom?”

Zhang Shu raised his head from her chest, “Weren’t we done with interrogations?”

“Now I want to interrogate.”

“Full of energy now, are you?”

“…”

Sheng Xia was furious and kicked him. “Forget it then!”

“Again?” This time Zhang Shu quickly caught her leg. “Stop always trying to kick me. If you damage something, you’ll regret it.”

“Shameless!”

“Mm, can’t get a wife by being proper.” He put away his playful expression and got up from her, jumping off the bed to get his laptop, asking, “Want to get up and look?”

He was shirtless, wearing only boxer briefs. Standing there with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, Sheng Xia’s eyes burned looking at him. She turned away, “Not getting up.”

Zhang Shu smiled carelessly, sat against the headboard with the laptop on his knees, opened a folder, and turned the screen toward her.

A compressed file containing several documents.

“Yi Xia Technology Co., Ltd. Business Plan”

“Yi Xia Technology Co., Ltd. Project Prospectus”

“Yi Xia Technology Co., Ltd. Equity Design Proposal”

“Prenuptial Agreement”

Yi Xia Technology ArcialVision.

She couldn’t believe this name was just a homophone. She had seen his business plan before, but the cover didn’t have the company name, so she just learned that he had registered the company using her name.

She understood somewhat now. He must have sent this file package to Wang Lianhua, right? Entrepreneurs care deeply about their first company’s name, usually choosing something related to themselves. After all, if it fails, it’s a memory; if it succeeds, the name will be bound to that man for life.

If that wasn’t enough explanation, this Prenuptial Agreement was practically a deed of sale.

It contained many terms and conditions, many involving content from the equity design proposal and prospectus. Read together, they conveyed one message: if they divorced, regardless of fault or who was at fault, Zhang Shu would leave with nothing. All pre-divorce assets, equity, and even patent income would belong to Sheng Xia.

When Xin Xiaohe later accidentally learned of this agreement, Lawyer Xin sighed: “This is simping behavior! He might as well write that he’ll keep earning money for his ex-wife even after divorce.”

Sheng Xia’s mind went blank.

Prenuptial agreement?

They hadn’t even discussed marriage, how had he prepared all this?

Others write prenups to separate assets, what was he doing?

“Did you write a military pledge?” Sheng Xia was shocked.

“The literary genius’s word choice is indeed unique,” Zhang Shu maintained that carelessly relaxed expression, “That description fits.”

Sheng Xia: “This isn’t necessary…”

Zhang Shu’s expression turned serious, his gaze becoming solemn, “We don’t need it, but Auntie does.”

His few words made Sheng Xia’s heart tremble. She stared at him, stunned, “But this way, you lose so much. Are you willing to hand over everything you’ve created?”

Zhang Shu moved the laptop away, looking at her in shock, “What do you mean? You think we’ll get divorced?”

Sheng Xia: …

He lay down, pouncing over to bite her lip, “Don’t even think about it.”

Early the next morning, Zhang Shu was again awakened by his phone ringing. Sheng Xia also opened her sleepy eyes in his arms.

Zhang Shu was extremely annoyed, kissed her forehead, turned over, and reached across her for the phone.

Seeing the caller was Cheng Zuoyang, Zhang Shu’s lips curled into a smile as he answered.

Sheng Xia lay beneath him, watching him with his messy bed hair, wearing a confident smile that blended pure youthfulness with dominant assertiveness, making her dazed.

“My fish took the bait,” Zhang Shu said, turning on speakerphone.

Cheng Zuoyang’s voice came through, sounding defeated, “Did you reach an agreement with Yuan Zhiyi?”

Zhang Shu: “More or less.”

Cheng Zuoyang: “Oh…”

Zhang Shu: “What’s wrong?”

“I…” Cheng Zuoyang hesitated, “I just wanted to ask, when I graduate, will it be too late?”

Hearing this, Zhang Shu broke into a silent huge smile, even winking at Sheng Xia – he might as well have thrown up a victory sign in celebration.

But his words came out steady and calm, “We can sign first, keep your position, keep paying your salary, and sign the technical shares when you officially join the project.”

“The salary doesn’t matter, but about Yuan Zhiyi…” Cheng Zuoyang’s voice was full of worry.

Sheng Xia bit her lip, thinking of Cheng Zuoyang’s lamb-like personality. Ah, genius scholar, still counting money for others after being sold!

Zhang Shu: “Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.”

They discussed some more details while Zhang Shu got up to brush his teeth and wash his face. By the time he hung up, he was fresh and clean, happily cupping Sheng Xia’s face and kissing her repeatedly.

Sheng Xia stared at him: “Why do I feel like you’re Cao Cao after tricking Guan Yu…”

Beaming with joy at successfully acquiring talent.

Zhang Shu didn’t deny it, “As long as I’m not Yuan Shao or Liu Biao.”

Sheng Xia didn’t understand why he suddenly mentioned these two – what was there to compare?

“Cao Cao wasn’t exactly a pure good guy, you know?” she reminded him, not entirely complimenting him.

Zhang Shu frowned, “Don’t worry, I won’t go after other men’s wives.”

Sheng Xia: … Who was talking about that?

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