Because the students from the Shanghai International Studies University had performed exceptionally well during the foreign affairs reception over the summer, the foreign professionals and school teachers specially invited them to dine on Western cuisine at the Peace Hotel.
A few students were quite excited as they followed behind the teachers.
"Zhaoxi, are you staying at school over the winter break?"
Ji Zhaoxi smiled and shook her head. "I have to go home for the New Year."
A trace of disappointment appeared on the boy's face. "Alright then."
He looked at Ji Zhaoxi beside him, his face slightly flushed.
He had noticed her since the very beginning of the school year. However, she had been very quiet back then. Even though she was beautiful, not many people dared to approach her.
He had not expected that after getting to know Ji Zhaoxi over the summer, he would find her completely different from his initial impression. She did not speak simply because she didn't know what to say, and she would blush whenever someone praised her.
Feeling an itch in his heart, he lowered his voice. "Zhaoxi, do you want to go out and have fun this weekend?"
Ji Zhaoxi glanced at him in surprise. The boy's face turned completely red under her gaze, but he still did not look away.
"I know a restaurant that's really delicious. Do you want to give it a try?"
The teachers walking ahead had overheard their conversation. The adults exchanged glances, their eyes filled with amusement.
Ji Zhaoxi looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry, I have plans this weekend."
The boy felt a bit let down, but he still smiled at her. "That's okay. We can go eat there when you have time."
Not far away, a receptionist noticed the VIP in front of him looking in that direction and quickly and carefully explained.
"Master Qin, those should be students from the Shanghai International Studies University. We also often invite students from their school to help with translation work. You also..."
Qin Du interrupted him flatly. "It's fine. Lead the way."
Wang Jie, who was following behind, almost had his eyes pop out of his head.
This, this, this... isn't this Miss Ji?!
Inside the private room, the tassels of the chandelier swayed gently. Teacher Lin and several other bosses had been waiting for a long time, but no one dared to even touch their chopsticks.
When the door was pushed open, the people at the table immediately stood up, wearing smiling faces. "Master Qin."
Qin Du slowly took off his suit jacket without looking at anyone.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
"Not long, not long at all. We all know that you are busy with a myriad of affairs every day, Master Qin. We are already very happy that you could grace us with your presence." Boss Lin smiled apologetically, holding up his wine glass.
Wang Jie looked at these people. When they first came to Shanghai, this Boss Lin put on the biggest airs. Now, for the sake of his goods, he had to bow his head to outsiders like them.
"Master Qin, this hilsa herring is very fresh, please have a taste," Boss Li said, bowing and scraping.
Qin Du did not respond to them. He took a sip of his wine and looked at them indifferently. "Boss Lin, would you say that if a fish swims to the wrong place, it deserves to die in the net?"
The faces of the men opposite him instantly turned pale. Boss Lin's voice couldn't stop trembling.
"Master Qin, to tell you the truth, these are hardware parts urgently needed by the higher-ups. They've been held up at Shiliupu for so long they are almost growing mold. Could you please do me a favor? You can name any condition you want."
Qin Du leaned back in his chair and said nothing. The private room was so quiet that even the sound of breathing could not be heard.
He looked at the man opposite him, his face flickering in the light, and spoke in a cold voice. "You know better than anyone what is hidden in that batch of goods. Does Boss Lin think that just because you have those people backing you up, I must keep a place for you?"
Boss Lin's face was extremely pale, and the cigarette in his hand trembled involuntarily for a moment.
Many scalpers had gathered at the entrance of the Peace Hotel. They stood by the door, trying to sell tea leaves to foreign guests, while some privately exchanged foreign exchange certificates with foreigners at high rates.
The other classmates were going to a disco, but Ji Zhaoxi didn't really want to go, so she prepared to head back to school alone.
A few young men in floral shirts were leaning against a utility pole, and a cassette player nearby was blasting some pop music.
When Ji Zhaoxi walked by, they let out a burst of jeering laughter.
"College student heading back to school?"
Ji Zhaoxi glanced at their scrawny limbs and ignored them.
Seeing that Ji Zhaoxi was about to leave, one of the men reached out to stop her, swaying as he stood in front of her.
"What's in the bag? You brought books when coming out to play?" The man tugged at Ji Zhaoxi's bag, a cheap smell of tobacco wafting over. "What book is it? Read it to me, will you?"
Ji Zhaoxi frowned deeply and grabbed the man's hand. The man's expression immediately twisted in pain.
Before he could react, a hand suddenly appeared behind Ji Zhaoxi and gripped the man's wrist tightly.
With a loud crack, the man let out a pig-slaughtering scream that echoed through the alley.
The expressions of the other men who had been jeering instantly changed.
"Master... Master Qin..."
They no longer cared about the wailing man on the ground and scrambled away in a panic. An unmarked black car nearby received an order and followed them.
An unfamiliar scent mixed with a familiar one. Ji Zhaoxi lowered her eyes and squatted down to pick up the books scattered on the ground. The person also squatted down to help her.
Ji Zhaoxi saw that hand. It was covered in scars and looked completely different from the hand in her memory.
Ji Zhaoxi said nothing, keeping her head down as she walked forward. She was furious.
The person followed quietly, not saying a word, like her shadow.
Ji Zhaoxi's eyes gradually reddened. She really couldn't understand what he was thinking. Hadn't he decided to ignore her? Why did he suddenly appear in front of her again?
Tears fell involuntarily, suddenly blurring her vision.
"Xixi..." Qin Du's voice carried a hint of panic.
He walked up to her and carefully wiped her tears. "Don't cry."
Ji Zhaoxi pushed him away. Qin Du didn't dare to touch her again. He only carefully handed her a tissue, his voice very soft. "Don't be angry, Xixi. I won't touch you."
Ji Zhaoxi tried to walk around him to leave, but Qin Du kept following by her side.
"What exactly are you trying to do? Didn't you want us to go our separate ways? What do you mean by doing this now?" Ji Zhaoxi sobbed uncontrollably.
"I don't know anything about you. I don't know what you are doing now, or when you came to Shanghai."
"This is for the best. I can finally return the money you sent me. I don't want your money. We have nothing to do with each other, and I never want to speak to you again!"
Qin Du's chest heaved violently. He looked at her, almost unable to catch his breath.
Qin Du opened his mouth, his Adam's apple bobbing stiffly, his face deathly pale. "Xixi, I... I'm not like you."
"You are in college now. Your family background is clean, and you will have a very bright future. Everything in the past was my fault. Because I was selfish, I misled you. You were still young, and your path is still so long. What happened between us won't amount to anything in your life."
"When you graduate and stay in Shanghai, you can go to the Foreign Affairs Office, or even the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. If you meet someone you like in the future..."
Ji Zhaoxi's face was covered in tears. She pushed him hard, thoroughly disappointed in him.
"Xixi, don't be sad..." Qin Du followed her helplessly, his eyes red.
"I won't say it anymore. I really won't say it anymore."
Qin Du's voice was extremely hoarse, his tone full of pleading. Watching Ji Zhaoxi cry, the suffocating feeling made him want to take a knife and cut his own heart open.
Ji Zhaoxi cried uncontrollably, ignoring him and just walking on her own.
"It's my fault, Xixi. Stab me with a knife, okay? Hit me... just don't cry. I'm a bastard, but please don't torture yourself, alright?"
"Get away!" Ji Zhaoxi screamed, her crying voice full of rejection.
Qin Du stood aside with a pale face. Looking at her back ahead, the string in his heart completely snapped.
He rushed forward and pulled Ji Zhaoxi tightly into his arms, his body trembling involuntarily. "Xixi..."
The more Ji Zhaoxi struggled, the tighter Qin Du held her.
"Get away! You ignore me when you want to, and you hug me when you want to. What do you take me for?!"
Qin Du subconsciously hesitated to hold her, but he knew that if he let her go this time, she would never speak to him again.
"I regret it... I regret it, Xixi..."
Tears fell onto Ji Zhaoxi's neck. Qin Du's shoulders trembled slightly, his voice carrying a hoarse sob.
"I don't want you to leave me, and I don't want you to fall for anyone else..."
The sound of traffic occasionally drifted in from outside the alley. A vendor selling pear syrup candy was pushing his bicycle, the wheels constantly creaking. All the sounds from outside the alley faded into mere background noise.
The alley was filled with an ambiguous atmosphere. It was unclear who took the initiative, or who started it first.
Ji Zhaoxi's ears were filled with Qin Du's chaotic, heavy panting. Their breaths intertwined in the air. Qin Du's kiss carried a hint of almost desperate plunder. Ji Zhaoxi was kissed until she was somewhat deprived of oxygen. She wanted to push him away, but the next second, an extremely suppressed whimper echoed in the alley.
"Xixi... Xixi..."
Qin Du's hand pillowed the back of her head, his calloused fingers gently rubbing the side of her neck. His eyes were bloodshot. He lowered his gaze, looking at the girl in his arms who was breathless from the kiss, his eyes full of struggle and pain.
Let it just go on like this. Whenever she needed him, he would always stay by her side.
When she grew tired of him and no longer needed him, he would leave.
Let him cherish this stolen time...
Her face flushed red, Ji Zhaoxi leaned against Qin Du's chest, panting. Qin Du held her, gently stroking her back.
Under the bright streetlights.
Wang Jie leaned against the car with a melancholy expression, dropping cigarette butts on the ground one after another.
It had been so long; had Master Qin still not earned Miss Ji's forgiveness?
