Zhou Zhuofei stared in disbelief at Xie Ya, who stood before her in casual attire with jet-black hair, looking almost docile at first glance. It took her a long moment to regain her composure.
With his hair color and style changed, she had nearly failed to recognize him.
But this way, he looked even more like Xie Huai.
Zhou Zhuofei glanced at him twice before quickly averting her gaze. Handsome men were a dime a dozen—no need to torture herself by looking.
“Do you two know each other?” Xie Lan had no idea they were acquainted. Zhou Zhuofei knew but hadn’t mentioned it, while Xie Ya was completely unaware that the “Zhou Zhou jiejie” Xie Lan spoke of was the same Zhou Zhuofei he knew.
“We’ve met a few times, but we’re not close,” Zhou Zhuofei said first. At best, their relationship could be described as familiar acquaintances.
Friends? Not even close.
“Oh, I see. What a coincidence, though,” Xie Lan mused, marveling at the serendipity that the only two people seeing her off happened to know each other.
“Are you two the only ones here?” Zhou Zhuofei scanned the surroundings. Had the Xie family sent only Xie Ya to bid farewell?
“Dad sent an assistant to help me. He’s too busy to come today.”
Xie Lan said it calmly, but Zhou Zhuofei’s heart ached at the words.
In an ordinary family, parents would never miss sending their daughter off for her first time studying abroad, no matter how packed their schedules were.
But in a way, it was good that Xie Lan didn’t seem to realize the problem.
“So your eldest brother didn’t have time either?”
Before Xie Lan could answer, Xie Ya let out a scoff, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “Even if he had time, he wouldn’t come. All he knows how to do is wire money.”
Zhou Zhuofei couldn’t help raising an eyebrow. Same old sharp-tongued Xie Ya—some things never changed.
Xie Lan didn’t refute him. Instead, she turned to Xie Ya and said, “Second Brother, thank you for coming to see me off.”
Xie Ya’s voice softened slightly, though it was clear he and Xie Lan weren’t particularly close. “I didn’t have anything else to do anyway. Just take care of yourself out there. Call if you run into trouble.”
“Okay, thank you, Second Brother. I’d like to talk to Zhou Zhou jiejie alone for a bit.”
Without another word, Xie Ya walked away.
None of his past behavior toward Cen Huan had earned him any favor with Zhou Zhuofei, but today’s actions made her think there might still be some decency in him after all.
“I didn’t expect your second brother to come. I thought you two didn’t get along.”
“Honestly, I didn’t expect it either. But he’s always been decent to me.”
Xie Ya wasn’t warm toward her, but he’d never gone out of his way to make trouble for her either. His words might be blunt, but at least they were honest.
“So is this just how he acts with everyone?”
Xie Lan thought for a moment. “Pretty much. But I think I understand him.”
If she’d grown up in the Xie household from childhood, she might have turned out the same way.
The longer she stayed with the Xies, the less it felt like a home. Her father’s affection seemed more like a role he played in his spare time, while her eldest brother treated her as little more than a stand-in for someone else. There was no genuine warmth to be found.
In the end, Xie Ya was the only one who treated people with any real honesty.
Zhou Zhuofei sighed. “In a way, you two really are alike…”
Their backgrounds were similar, and both found themselves in awkward positions.
Judging by Xie Ya’s upbringing, it was clear their father had never considered grooming him as a successor. Xie Ya probably knew it too, which was why he’d chosen to drift along and do as he pleased.
“…But you’re also very different. You’re you, and he’s him. Look at you—despite all the hardships you faced, you still managed decent grades. He had top-tier tutors, and yet his results were worse than yours.”
“Now you’ve got a better opportunity ahead of you. You can climb even higher. Maybe I’m not in any position to lecture you, but once you reach new heights, you’ll probably look back and realize none of this bothers you anymore.”
Come to think of it, Xie Ya’s life wasn’t without options. He’d simply chosen this path.
Zhou Zhuofei pulled out a gift she’d bought in advance. “Good thing I picked this up last week while shopping. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known what to give you on such short notice.”
It was a small pendant—nothing expensive, just a token for good luck, and compact enough to carry easily.
“May your future be smooth sailing, and your studies flourish.”
“Thank you, Zhou Zhou jiejie.”
Xie Lan clutched the pendant, too moved to speak. Her departure had been moved up unexpectedly, and she hadn’t even expected Zhou Zhuofei to show up.
But not only had she come, she’d even prepared a gift in advance. That thoughtfulness meant more than anything.
“Don’t cry. If you start, I’ll end up crying too,” Zhou Zhuofei said lightly, opening her arms. “Let’s hug. Who knows when we’ll see each other again?”
Xie Lan didn’t hesitate, stepping forward to embrace her.
Zhou Zhuofei smelled lovely, and her body was soft. Xie Lan didn’t want to let go, nuzzling against her shoulder for a moment.
After a pause, Xie Lan suddenly whispered in her ear,
“Jiejie, there’s something I didn’t tell you.”
“What is it?”
“My leaving early wasn’t an accident. Dad arranged it on purpose.”
“What do you mean?”
“You and Eldest Brother already signed the settlement agreement, right?”
Zhou Zhuofei froze. How did Xie Lan know about that? She hadn’t breathed a word of it.
“How did you find out?”
“One day, the school needed a parent’s signature, so I went to Eldest Brother’s office. I overheard him talking to a lawyer… and then I heard your name. That’s how I found out.”
“I see. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. The agreement required confidentiality, and I didn’t want to distract you from your studies.”
Xie Lan shook her head, her soft hair brushing against Zhou Zhuofei’s ear like a kitten’s affectionate nudge.
“I know you were looking out for me. And I know you refused Eldest Brother’s condition to cut contact with me.”
“…Well, of course. I’ve known you for years—who is he to dictate that?”
Xie Lan laughed at her indignant tone. This was the Zhou Zhou jiejie she knew.
“So I told Dad about it.”
“Huh?” Zhou Zhuofei immediately connected the dots—was that why the lawyer had been replaced?
Xie Lan hurried to explain, afraid of being misunderstood. “Don’t worry, I didn’t say anything about what happened before. I just repeated the part of the call I overheard and asked Dad why Eldest Brother didn’t want me seeing you.”
She figured it wouldn’t be hard to investigate. And given how much their father valued appearances, he wouldn’t let it slide.
Sure enough, within days, he informed her the matter had been resolved—and arranged for her early departure.
She could vaguely guess there was a connection between these two matters, but going abroad had always been an inevitable outcome—now it was just happening sooner. Plus, the issue with Zhou Zhuofei had been resolved, so she gladly accepted the arrangement.
As for why her eldest brother hadn’t shown up today, she had a pretty good idea—he’d probably found out about her "tattling."
"...Anyway, big brother won’t bother you again from now on."
"So that’s how it is. You’re really amazing," Zhou Zhuofei praised sincerely. "To extract the key details from the information so quickly, come up with a solution, and actually get it done—you’re seriously incredible!"
"But I wasn’t the one who really handled these things."
Xie Lan was conflicted. On one hand, she felt her father’s love wasn’t entirely pure, but on the other, she couldn’t help craving his attention and care.
"That’s because you’re still young and don’t have enough influence yet. But you can work hard to become stronger. Then you’ll be able to handle these things yourself in the future. Who knows? Maybe others will even come to you for advice when they run into problems."
"Can I really become like that?"
"Of course you can. Have some confidence in yourself." Zhou Zhuofei gave her an encouraging pat on the back. "Actually, I should thank you. If it weren’t for your help, things wouldn’t have been resolved so quickly."
She’d been prepared for a long, drawn-out battle—who knew everything would turn around overnight?
Still, something about it felt a little off. But Zhou Zhuofei couldn’t be bothered to dwell on it. The matter was settled—why overthink it now?
When she finished speaking, she noticed Xie Lan had been silent for a while. Oh no, was she actually crying?
But... if she wanted to cry, let her. After all, Xie Lan was only eighteen.
"Take good care of yourself. Your health is the most important thing," Zhou Zhuofei said gently, her gaze catching sight of Xie Ya in the distance. She added, "If you think Second Brother is a good person, stay in touch with him."
Judging by how Xie Ya treated Cen Huan, he’d undoubtedly go all out for the people he cared about. Having a brother was better than having none at all.
Xie Lan’s voice sounded muffled. "I understand."
"Keep it up. Who knows? In a few years, you might become someone I have to look up to."
"Then I hope you’ll be happy too, sis."
"Of course! I’m very happy now, so I want the same for you." Zhou Zhuofei’s tone suddenly turned serious. "Not that I’m telling you to find a boyfriend, though. These days, you’ve got to be careful about that!"
"I’m not looking! I’m going to study! I want to graduate early and come back to see you all as soon as possible."
"That’s the spirit!"
Thanks to Zhou Zhuofei’s pep talk, the melancholic mood was finally lifted.
Just then, Xie Lan’s father’s assistant approached with her belongings. "Miss Xie, it’s almost time."
Seeing the assistant arrive, Xie Ya also came over, and the three of them escorted Xie Lan to the security checkpoint.
Xie Lan kept looking back as she walked, until finally steeling herself and moving forward, disappearing into the crowd.
A sense of parting sorrow slowly crept into Zhou Zhuofei’s heart. She hated goodbyes more than anyone, hated change more than anyone.
But growing up meant accepting reality—nothing stayed the same forever, not even herself.
Once Xie Lan was gone, the assistant exchanged a brief farewell with Xie Ya and left.
Zhou Zhuofei glanced at Xie Ya, giving him a silent nod, then turned to leave as well.
After a few steps, she heard footsteps behind her. Since everyone was heading out, it made sense they’d be going the same way, so she didn’t pay much attention, pulling out her phone to message Xiao Wang instead.
The footsteps stayed close behind her the whole time as she typed away.
Just as the exit came into view, the footsteps suddenly quickened.
Then Xie Ya’s voice sounded beside her. "How did you get here? Need a ride back?"
