Chapter 6

 

Ming Xi and Cai Ni walked proudly ahead, followed closely by the young foreigner. The whole scene was quite eye-catching, and many eyes in the market were drawn to them.

Today was Ming Xi’s first time seeing a living foreigner, and so was Cai Ni.

Cai Ni’s spoken English was terrible, and she didn’t dare to say anything, but she couldn’t stop sneaking glances at him. The foreigner smiled at her—confident and charming. Cai Ni cursed silently: show-off.

Henry raised his wrist to check the time, and the edge of his sleeve lifted, revealing a golden, expensive watch.

Both Ming Xi and Cai Ni noticed it and exchanged a subtle look. Was this foreigner stupid? Flaunting wealth like that in a place like this—wasn’t he afraid of getting robbed?

Cai Ni: … Could he be trying to scam us instead?

Ming Xi: … What are you thinking about? This is our territory!

It was chilly outside, and Ming Xi couldn’t help bouncing a little on her toes. From behind, Cai Ni slipped her arms around her, her hands deftly burrowing into Ming Xi’s coat pockets.

Henry stood nearby and happened to glance over—his lips curling into a faint, unreadable smile.

Just as they were lost in their own thoughts, their gazes drawn to the man who was slowly approaching from the front.

Ming Xi and Cai Ni merely lifted their heads, but Henry had already raised his hand high, his face lighting up as he called out cheerfully, “Hi, Byron!”

… So this foreigner’s business partner was him!

Liang Jiancheng.

Facing the cold wind, Ming Xi silently mouthed his name. In that instant, her heart seemed to lift slightly—then quietly settle back down.

She had thought she would never see him again. Yet here he was, appearing by sheer coincidence. No wonder the voice she’d heard through the phone earlier had sounded so familiar.

Ming Xi stood frozen in place, her legs stiffening a little.

Liang Jiancheng approached, stopping on the step just below them. Seeing her, he showed no particular surprise—just greeted her naturally, “We meet again.”

Ming Xi was also quite calm. Her pride was just the right amount to restrain her outward joy, leaving only a faint smile at the corner of her mouth. With quiet poise, she merely nodded in return.

Cai Ni behind her couldn’t help but exclaimed excitedly: “Oh my God, you two actually know each other!”

Ming Xi turned around and introduced him: “He is Professor Liang’s…son.”

It turned out to be the professor’s son! After hearing Ming Xi’s introduction, Cai Ni peeked out from behind Ming Xi’s shoulder and shyly greeted the handsome man, “Hello… I’m Cai Ni. I’m one of your dad’s students too.”

Liang Jiancheng nodded and said politely, “Hello.”

When Ming Xi looked up again, she met his gaze. Then, deliberately, she shifted her eyes to take in his outfit.

Compared to the casual look he’d worn the last time she saw him at the professor’s house, today he was dressed more formally: a black overcoat, gray trousers, and underneath, a soft gray sweater of fine texture. The round neckline revealed the dark blue collar of a shirt beneath it.

The man had a face both clean and strikingly attractive, and his build was equally fine. The open collar framed a bit of his neck—against the wind, he looked a little cold, but clearly unbothered.

…

Now that he had reunited with Henry, Liang Jiancheng didn’t linger long and offered a few words of thanks.

Henry, however, was much more direct. As he’d said before, he wanted to give them a small tip. Without hesitation, he pulled a brown leather wallet from his jacket, drew out two U.S. dollar bills, and handed them forward.

Cai Ni had never encountered a situation like this before and panicked a little. She shot Ming Xi a questioning look—Do we take it?

Ming Xi politely accepted the two US dollar bills and thanked him in English: “Thank you very much. If you’re still unfamiliar with the market, we can continue showing you around.”

Liang Jiancheng’s eyes glimmered with amusement, though he said nothing. He slipped one hand casually into his coat pocket—calm, collected, yet his expression alive with subtle humor.

…

“Wow, Professor Liang’s son is so handsome!” Back at the main market, Cai Ni couldn’t stop whispering “Professor Liang’s son” into Ming Xi’s ear every few steps.

Ming Xi responded with a few noncommittal hums.

“So did it go smoothly for you that day?” Cai Ni asked her about the gift delivery thing

Ming Xi shook her head with a sigh. She usually didn’t like to speak negatively, but there was no way to call that day a success. Still, it hadn’t gone too badly either—she did at least get two gift boxes back.

Cai Ni nodded, understanding. “No wonder he seemed a bit cold.”

Ming Xi thought about the scene that happened in the professor’s house that day. She didn’t think Liang Jiancheng was cold, so she spoke up for him: “He just looks that way.” His facial features were too sharp, and his face was long, so his smile looked serious.

Cai Ni: “…” Really?

“Of course.” Ming Xi said humorously, “If he gained fifty pounds, you’d think he was the friendliest guy in the world.”

Cai Ni burst out laughing, “That’s true.”

They’d gone to the market and actually come back with money—two crisp fifty-dollar bills. A hundred U.S. dollars total! At the current exchange rate, that was over eight hundred yuan!

Each of them took one, and both were delighted.

“This American guy is really generous!” Cai Ni gushed, now full of praise for him. After all, that amount was almost equal to her mother’s annual bonus!

Ming Xi agreed that Henry was generous. Then, a bold thought crossed her mind—if she could earn money from Americans too…

She wondered what exactly Liang Jiancheng did for work. He seemed to be providing services to foreigners, but without any hint of servility or flattery. The way he and Henry interacted—it looked less like employer and employee, more like equals, maybe even friends.

There was no doubt his English must be excellent to handle business like that. The thought didn’t intimidate Ming Xi at all—if anything, it made her even more hopeful.

…

Meanwhile, Liang Jiancheng had finished that day’s inspection at the market. He drove Henry back to Yicheng’s most luxurious hotel—the Bomei Hotel. In the car, Henry cracked a teasing joke: “So, are you interested in that short-haired girl from earlier?”

Liang Jiancheng was really surprised: “What makes you say that?”

Henry: “I saw the way you kept looking at her.”

Liang Jiancheng had no way to explain—that was only because he knew her. If he told Henry that, Henry definitely wouldn’t have tipped them.

Henry, always a gossiper, added, “But you don’t have a chance anyway. From what I could tell, those two girls are a couple.”

Liang Jiancheng’s lips curved in a faint smile—sexy yet cool, even as he laughed. His reply was short and dry: “Thanks for the reminder.”

Henry went upstairs, and Liang Jiancheng came to the hotel front desk and booked another room.

Professor Liang had never liked being disturbed, and his son was the same. Every time Liang Jiancheng came to Yicheng, he stayed at a hotel unless absolutely necessary. A few days ago, he’d been running around the factory, barely getting any sleep, and since he’d been on a long drive to Yicheng, he’d stopped at his father’s place first and just wanted a place to catch a nap… but just as he’d dozed off, the doorbell rang.

That day, he was obviously trying to drive away the uninvited guest and his tone was unfriendly. And yet, she still smiled so brightly, completely unfazed. Truly, that girl was born for doing business.

…

At eight o’clock in the evening, Cai Ni’s parents took the two US dollar bills they brought back and looked at them carefully under the brightest light in the house.

“It might be counterfeit money.” Cai Ni’s father concluded.

Cai Ni’s mother said, “We’ll find out tomorrow at the bank.”

Cai Ni quickly snatched her bill back, clutching it to her chest protectively. “No way—I’m keeping mine! It’s the first U.S. dollar I’ve ever owned. I’m saving it as a souvenir.”

Ming Xi said: “…I’ll exchange mine!”

Cai Ni: “…”

Tonight, the melodrama that Cai Ni’s mother was obsessed with was off the air, so Cai Ni was given the choice of the remote control. The family bought a DVD player at the end of the year, and Cai Ni talked Ming Xi into watching a horror movie with her—a disc borrowed from De Zi.

Her parents couldn’t stand “that ghost nonsense” and promptly retreated to their bedroom.

Ming Xi agreed to watch. The two of them made hot chocolate, steam curling from their mugs, and settled in to face the “ghosts.”

The DVD player was connected to the TV. Cai Ni ran over to push the disc in, then quickly ran back to Ming Xi. Soon, the words “Midnight Ring” appeared on the TV screen, and they immediately yanked the blanket up to their noses.

Ring ring… ring ring…

Terrifying—the movie opened with the sound of a phone ringing.

And before the scene on-screen had even finished—Cai Ni’s home phone started ringing too.

Ring ring… ring ring!

Who……

Scared people to death!

Who on earth was calling at this hour?!

Cai Ni was so frightened she spilled her hot chocolate and screamed for her father to answer it. Cai Ni’s father ran out of the bedroom in thick pajamas. When he learned what was going on, he rolled his eyes at her dramatics and picked up the phone.

His hand trembled a little as he did.

After a pause, he looked toward Ming Xi and said awkwardly, “Ming Xi—it’s your father. He’s looking for you.”

—

Two days. They’d actually managed to find her?

Ming Xi looked at Cai Ni’s father in disbelief, thinking that this was even more shocking than the horror movie phone ringing. Half-skeptical, she walked over to the house phone, lifted the receiver, and pressed it to her ear. On the other end came Ming Decheng’s furious roar.

“Where have you been these past two days——”

“…”

“I told you to have a meal at Qin Li’s place, and you just up and ran off! What kind of childish tantrum was that?!”

“…”

“Your mother and I just went to see a storefront — we were planning to lease it and start a restaurant business. That shop was introduced by Qin Li! She invited us to dinner out of kindness, and you had to go and make a scene. The people she invited — those are future business contacts I’ll need! You’re always causing trouble for me!”

Ming Xi didn’t say anything, her face calm as she held the receiver. After a long silence, she finally asked quietly, “How did you know I was at Cai Ni’s house?”

Still fuming, Ming Decheng didn’t bother to explain. He just barked for her to get home immediately.

She pressed again, her voice firmer. “How do you know I’m here?”

Ming Decheng finally answered, exasperated: “You little troublemaker — I called every number in your class directory!”

Ming Xi: “…”

Some people’s words just… didn’t stand up to logical scrutiny.

Ming Decheng also got annoyed and snapped, “Fine! Don’t come back if you don’t want to!”

Ming Xi moved the receiver away from her ear and silently hung up.

This was the first time she had run away from home after living here for so long. Cai Ni had once told her that whenever she got angry at her parents, she wanted to run away. Not because she really wanted to leave home, but because she wanted them to find her anxiously.

So tonight, her father had called because she was his daughter — or because she still had some use to him?

It was too late to go home, so Ming Xi stayed the night again at Cai Ni’s. As a result, Ming Decheng and Yang Yumei came to pick her up early the next morning.

Since her parents had shown up themselves, Cai Ni’s parents couldn’t really insist on keeping her any longer.

Cai Ni’s mother saw them to the stairwell. Yang Yumei, playing the part of the aggrieved one, sighed and complained tearfully, “It’s really not easy being a mother…”

Cai Ni’s mother tried to comfort her. “Kids don’t understand — that’s normal. We parents shouldn’t take it to heart. Honestly, Ming Xi’s still a lot more sensible than my daughter.”

Yang Yumei shook her head. “I have a bad temper to begin with, and with everything that’s been happening at home lately, I might’ve been a bit harsh with her.”

The implication was that Ming Xi ran away from home because she’d been treated harshly.

Cai Ni’s mother smiled understandingly: “It’s completely normal. Which parent doesn’t scold their kid a little? We’re not saints.”

Ming Decheng had driven a Santana over. He leaned out the window and called impatiently, “Alright, let’s go already!”

Yang Yumei put her hand on Ming Xi’s shoulder and took her into the car.

The whole ride back, Ming Decheng drove in silence, Yang Yumei sat in the passenger seat, and Ming Xi sat in the back, remained silent.

It’s hard to see the whole picture when you’re in the middle of a situation. Ming Xi couldn’t tell whether she had misunderstood them — or they had misunderstood her.

The car passed by Yicheng’s most prosperous Jiangan Street. She leaned her head to look out the window. Beams of winter sunlight fell into Yicheng’s Qingshui River, and the river surface was sparkling like shattered gold.

Street vendors lined both sides of the road, pushing carts and calling out to customers. Since the state-owned enterprises had begun restructuring last year, many workers had been laid off. With factories closing down, people could only turn to street stalls and small trading.

It was an age when everyone wanted to get rich — but there were few real paths to do it, and the gap between rich and poor was growing wider every day.

“What’s going on with the box of bird’s nest at home?” Yang Yumei in the passenger seat suddenly asked.

Hearing Yang Yumei’s question, Ming Decheng, who was driving, also joined in: “Yeah, where did you get such an expensive thing?”

“That—ah—” Ming Xi spoke a little slowly, without replying immediately, and became cautious.

When she’d left home two days ago, she’d only taken the cocoa powder. The luxury bird’s nest had been deliberately left behind. Not only left behind, but placed right in the most conspicuous spot in the house.

She wanted Ming Decheng and Yang Yumei to see that box of bird’s nest.

If her suspicions that day were true, she would naturally be on guard. So she decided to strike first before Ming Decheng and Yang Yumei could attack her.

To attack herself, in advance.

“A man I know…” she began softly, lowering her head, her tone shy, spinning a lie from thin air. “You could say he’s… my boyfriend.”

At that, both Ming Decheng and Yang Yumei went silent.

Ming Xi kept her head down, pretending not to dare look up, sneaking glances at them through her lashes. “He treats me pretty well,” she went on nervously. “Said he wants to marry me.”

Shameless and blunt words kept coming out of Ming Xi’s mouth.

Ming Decheng: …

Yang Yumei: …

The sheer audacity and stupidity of it was enough to make anyone furious.

In the back seat, only Ming Xi’s dark eyes betrayed her true emotion — her heart was pounding wildly.

An ordinary “boyfriend” wouldn’t be enough.

She was already risking her life, so naturally, her dignity was no longer important. Ming Xi blinked and added, “He says he’s a big boss. Worth tens of millions. Has maids, a driver, and several companies and factories. I don’t know if it’s true — maybe he’s just throwing money around to impress me!”

Bang!

The car suddenly jolted — it had run over an empty soda can, the sound echoing like a tire blowout.

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