Chapter 6

The silence lasted for a while on the other end of the phone, and then his grandmother’s voice came through again. “Alright, since you’ve made your decision, I won’t force you. You may seem obedient and well-behaved on the surface, but deep down, you’re quite stubborn. When you make up your mind about something, no one else’s words matter. Just promise me that you’ll take care of yourself, and if anything happens, you’ll tell me, not just share your good news.”

“I understand, and you need to take good care of yourself too. Look at the time now, it’s late. How about I call you tomorrow during the day? Is that okay?” Fan Xing knew that his grandmother’s concession was out of her concern for him, and he felt a sense of sadness but couldn’t do much about it.

“Okay,” his grandmother replied. After hanging up, she suddenly remembered something else and added, “By the way, give Little Ai a call. He came to the hospital today to do volunteer work and visit me. He doesn’t know you’re not coming back, and he’s looking forward to attending the same university with you.”

Fan Xing hadn’t expected to hear that name. He held his phone tightly, and his voice was soft. “I’ll contact him.”

After hanging up the phone, Fan Xing lounged in the swing chair, lost in thought. His slender, delicate fingers unconsciously traced a few letters on his own arm—Eric.

Eric, also known as Little Ai in his grandmother’s words, was like Fan Xing, an Asian. However, unlike Fan Xing, he was a wealthy Asian, attending the best prestigious school.

Fan Xing had first met him at a national math competition. Both of them had participated, and Eric had won first place.

At the time, Fan Xing thought Eric was the typical student council president type—handsome, smart, diligent, and the role model for all the teachers.

Later, he realized he had it all wrong. Once Eric left school, he transformed into a completely different person. He took off his glasses, shed his school uniform, and became incredibly skilled in street fights. Where was the studious and abstinent top student? He had become the typical delinquent.

Fan Xing had been surprised because Eric had won first place in the national math competition, while Fan Xing had performed poorly and not achieved any notable ranking. Why would someone like Eric notice him?

Eric seemed to read his thoughts and smiled like a cat who had stolen cream. “I have a good memory for handsome boys. Hello, I’m Eric. What’s your name?”

That day, they officially got to know each other. Still, they had very little interaction afterward because, after all, they attended completely different schools—one a prestigious private school and the other a public school that didn’t require tuition.

However, some people are destined to be different from the moment they appear in your life. In Fan Xing’s heart, Eric was that person.

He had once been ecstatic at the thought of attending the same university as Eric, staying up all night in excitement. But now, they were miles apart, and Fan Xing had married someone else.

For the first time since deciding to marry He Qingmo, Fan Xing felt a pang of heartache. It was the first time he allowed himself to acknowledge this feeling, even though he kept reminding himself it would be the last time.

Just this once, the last time…

He continued to admonish himself in his heart, reminding himself.

It took him a long time to finally break free from these emotions. When he looked at the time, it was already past five in the afternoon.

He quickly tidied up his emotions, picked up his laptop, and went downstairs. He thought about cooking dinner since He Qingmo was at home, and he didn’t want to make something too casual. However, he found a note on the refrigerator: “Don’t wait for me for dinner.”

The handwriting was elegant and beautiful, a pleasure to look at.

Although He Qingmo had written something for him last night while dipping his finger in water, the writing wasn’t very clear. Seeing words written on paper was much more straightforward.

Fan Xing stared at the note with envy, unable to throw it away. He put it in his pocket, intending to copy it later in the evening.

Since He Qingmo wasn’t at home for dinner, Fan Xing didn’t have to worry about what to make. He decided to make soup dumplings, a bit of a hassle but convenient to store in the refrigerator and steam whenever he wanted.

He was in the middle of preparing when He Qingmo’s assistant, a practical person, arrived with groceries after Fan Xing had mentioned he needed some.

This made Fan Xing’s cooking much easier.

However, making soup dumplings was a bit time-consuming. Kneading the dough, preparing the filling, and rolling out the wrappers took quite a while, and before he knew it, it was already past 9 PM.

Fan Xing had a few bites and cleaned up the kitchen. Then he brought his laptop to the dining area and started working on some tasks.

He had things to do in the afternoon, but a phone call from his grandmother had distracted him, and he hadn’t accomplished much.

First, he edited a video of himself making soup dumplings, condensed it into a five-minute clip, added text explanations and background music, and then registered as a popular content creator on a well-known Chinese video platform. He uploaded the video to his new channel.

After uploading the video, he didn’t log out but instead started watching similar videos on the platform.

Fan Xing was not unfamiliar with the platform, having occasionally watched videos there even while living abroad. He had learned to make certain dishes by watching the videos and wanted to see what other creators were doing in this space.

He became engrossed in the content and lost track of time until he heard the sound of the door opening. Startled, he realized it was already past midnight.

Quickly shutting down his computer, Fan Xing jumped out of his chair and ran to the entrance to greet He Qingmo. He had already entered the house and was in the process of changing his shoes, his suit draped over his arm. There was a faint scent of alcohol around him, which made Fan Xing a bit uncomfortable.

Fan Xing took the initiative to greet him, saying, “Brother, you’re back.” He took the man’s clothes and hung them up. The slight scent of alcohol on He Qingmo made him feel uneasy.

 

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