Chapter 27: This Was Definitely Confusion And Infatuation!

Zhong Yu Bai’s words had thrown Ji Zhen Tang’s breathing and heartbeat into chaos. She felt breathless and flustered, unsure if the man beside her had heard. But judging by his gentle and refined nature, even if he did, he would pretend not to, burying any dubious intentions beneath his gentlemanly demeanor. Seeing his dignified expression, she felt bewildered and hesitant, a flame igniting within her.

Dubious intentions? She carefully considered the phrase, was it appropriate?

Reflecting on it, what exactly is the art of conversation?

Every time he said, “Today isn’t suitable,” or “It’s not the right time,” it seemed to leave room for anticipation, complicating their relationship with endless possibilities.

But what he said was: “No kissing today.”

Like an unwritten commandment, an understanding unrelated to her could also be justified.

Simply because he wasn’t doing it today.

“Always questioning, always startling, always letting your imagination run wild,” Zhong Yu Bai teased as he watched her puzzled expression, his voice teasing, “What thoughts are brewing in that little head of yours?”

Her clever tongue seemed to be dulled, words becoming scarce, choked up.

“What do you want to eat?” he asked again.

This question brought her back to reality, reminding her of something important. “Today, let me treat you to a meal. I haven’t properly expressed my gratitude for your kindness all this time.”

Zhong Yu Bai didn’t refuse, agreeing to her invitation.

After pondering her wording for a few seconds, he added, “Let’s not mention kindness.”

Ji Zhen Tang didn’t reply. She was browsing food options on Meituan.

Half a minute later, she looked up, and Zhong Yu Bai had already started the car. She asked, “It’s Sunday today, and there’s a discount at Haidilao. Have you been there?”

Zhong Yu Bai fell silent, deep in thought.

“It’s for students only, cherish it,” she said earnestly.

He replied, “We can give it a try.”

Ji Zhen Tang continued to reinforce her argument, “People’s expectations and the cost of happiness are directly proportional. As you become wealthier and more accomplished, perhaps you may not understand the simple joys of us common folks. But for us, after a long day of classes, going out for discounted hotpot is probably the most wonderful thing.”

Zhong Yu Bai said, “I may not fully understand, but I can empathize.”

She nodded in relief.

Understanding is the foundation of empathy, a skill that’s not easy to master. Sometimes even people living under the same roof end up hurting each other. Without a little understanding, trust between individuals can easily crumble.

Long live understanding.

As Ji Zhen Tang was about to step into the restaurant, she suddenly felt nervous and hesitant again. She worried that Zhong Yu Bai might not enjoy hotpot, because Zhong Heng didn’t like it. He said it smelled bad and was dirty, which had angered her at the time. But now she was afraid of neglecting her guest. She glanced back at Zhong Yu Bai’s clean clothes, remembering that wealthy people’s clothes couldn’t be hand-washed. If they picked up the smell of hotpot, it would be a disaster.

Lost in thought for a while, Zhong Yu Bai had already walked up to her with graceful steps. Seeing her hesitation, he asked what was wrong.

“If you don’t like it, just say so. Don’t be polite with me. I’m not being thrifty because of the discount; I genuinely like hotpot,” she said.

Zhong Yu Bai smiled gently, “If the purpose of food goes beyond pleasing the taste buds, I look forward to sharing in your simple joys.””

This statement was a bit convoluted, and she pondered it for a moment.

He explained, “Instead of focusing on what to eat, it’s more about who you’re dining with that makes it worthwhile.”

In other words, as long as he’s eating with her, he’s fine with it.

With that, Zhong Yu Bai followed a waiter into a private room.

“My immature and arrogant ex-boyfriend wouldn’t think like this. Sometimes he seemed caring, but his care was conditional on satisfying himself first. For example, he would respect my preferences and ask me what I wanted to eat, but before that, anything he didn’t like to eat would be off the table. He would only let me choose from what he could accept,” Ji Zhen Tang complained as she sat down, then thought for a moment and added, “But come to think of it, maybe there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s a kind of compromise, albeit an incomplete one.”

As she muttered to herself, she suddenly panicked, “Oh no, I think you’ve spoiled me. Now I’m finding faults in everyone.”

Zhong Yu Bai chuckled, “It’s because you have a low tolerance for yourself. You could be even worse.”

Ji Zhen Tang lifted her head, “Well, be prepared, I’m about to go further down the lawless and domineering path.”

His smile deepened as he took a sip of warm water, “I look forward to it.”

Both of them didn’t like spicy food, so the aroma was less intense. Soon, a clear soup base was brought to the table.

Ji Zhen Tang said with a mouthful of meat, “I really dislike a word that often appears in romantic relationships, ‘hesitation.’ Well, it’s not just about romantic relationships between men and women, but all kinds of relationships. One moment you have it, and the next moment you worry about losing it. Every action of the other person makes you speculate for a long time, suspecting if they are unfaithful or if they don’t love you. A healthy relationship shouldn’t involve such suspicions. If you make someone doubt whether you love them or not, then you don’t love them.”

Reasonable output must be based on phenomena. After listening to her tongue-twisting words, Zhong Yu Bai didn’t delve deep into such issues with her, nor did he intend to express his opinions. Instead, he calmly stored away his subjective emotions and casually asked, “Who made you hesitate?”

Ji Zhen Tang thought of Su Yunli and Zhong Jing, but also thought of herself and her father.

“I’m just vaguely referring to such a phenomenon and refuse to delve into it,” she crossed her arms to indicate her refusal.

He smiled, “Okay, I’ll step back.”

“So, would you make the person you love hesitate?” she asked again.

Zhong Yu Bai replied decisively, “No.”

At critical moments, he didn’t beat around the bush, and his necessary honesty made her smile willingly.

Ji Zhen Tang said, “Can I ask you some other questions?”

He looked at her generously, indicating she could.

“Do you have many enemies?” She felt a bit out of place in the midst of the conversation.

As she asked, feeling hot, Ji Zhen Tang took off her coat, revealing her snow-colored arms under the qipao’s short sleeves.

“What do you mean by enemies?” he asked in return.

“People who want to harm you,” she clarified.

After a brief pause, Zhong Yu Bai replied, “Should I stumble one day, there won’t be a helping hand, only the cold gaze of many watching eyes.”

She could tell he was trying to soften the blow, as even the term “cold gaze” was toned down.

“So I can’t afford to fall.”

Zhong Yu Bai was profound; when he spoke with such conviction, there was no trace of bitterness or fear, no harsh words. Instead, amidst the heat of the moment, his rolled-up sweater sleeves, his calm demeanor, gave off a sense of warmth and tranquility.

Silence can be deep, and stability can be terrifying.

Ji Zhen Tang looked at him for about half a minute and raised two fingers, “Second question, did you tell anyone about us dancing on the plane that day?”

He chuckled, “Why would you have such worries?”

“Oh, I’m not worried. I was thinking, I’ve been helping out at the drama club recently, and next month we’re going to rehearse a musical. Can you accompany me in practicing dancing? I feel like you understand dancing well.”

A slight smirk played at the corner of Zhong Yu Bai’s mouth.

Considering her unexpected advance, he pondered the secret behind it.

Strictly speaking, with today’s unexpected visit, it could be considered the second step.

“Not afraid anymore?” he asked.

She said, “I don’t want to be afraid anymore,” with an air of determination, as if saying, “Knowing there are tigers in the mountains, I still prefer the mountains.”

He smiled gently, “I’ll accompany you anytime.”

After that, Zhong Yu Bai took the initiative, “Third question.”

Ji Zhen Tang asked, “Have you read ‘Happy Inn’? It’s about a Cambridge female student and a wealthy old man from Hong Kong—”

Before she finished speaking, Zhong Yu Bai chuckled profusely, as if he had heard the same thing a thousand times.

He didn’t interrupt people’s speech, but Ji Zhen Tang stopped herself, “Have you read it?”

Still with a hint of laughter, Zhong Yu Bai shook his head, “After listening to Jialing talk about it, now you’re talking about it. Every day telling the story to different people, expecting to gather what kind of answers?”

Ji Zhen Tang was surprised, “Ha! I trusted him so much, and he actually betrayed me!”

Zhong Yu Bai smiled without saying a word.

She stopped berating Ding Jialing verbally, “Compared to him, of course, your answer is more important to me.”

Zhong Yu Bai said, “People are different, emotions are different, hearts are different. Referring to other people’s stories is meaningless.”

She looked at him, waiting for more.

He continued, “If it were me, I wouldn’t choose to start like that. Since the trajectory of development cannot overlap, what’s the point of making references?”

At his words, Ji Zhen Tang’s hand holding the meatball dropped, splashing a few drops of hot water.

At the same time, he briefly expressed some opinions, “Make yourself happy, it’s more important than studying birds and cages. Once your heart is free, nothing can trap you.”

Ji Zhen Tang was lost in thought.

Using a ladle, Zhong Yu Bai calmly scooped up all the meatballs for her. He placed them in a small bowl nearby to cool down, making it easier for her to eat them later.

“Speaking of happiness, I want to tell you something. I mentioned creation this afternoon; there’s good news.” Ji Zhen Tang’s thoughts wandered, suddenly remembering something and opened her phone, wanting to show her the message about being shortlisted that her teacher sent.

A small interlude occurred.

Ji Zhen Tang suddenly found that she couldn’t open the webpage of that award. She thought the network was poor, but even switching to data didn’t work.

Seeing her furrowed brow—

“Don’t worry.”

Just a few simple words from Zhong Yu Bai eased her tension.

Ji Zhen Tang realized how different he was from others. He often spoke without the word “should”: not ‘you should not worry’, but ‘don’t worry’; not ‘don’t cry’, but ‘don’t cry’; not ‘don’t be afraid’, but ‘don’t be afraid’.

Such tone, with a little less oppression and instruction, and more reassurance and gentleness.

It was a caring side buried in the details, difficult to disguise.

“Okay, anyway, the duck that’s already in your mouth won’t fly away.” She no longer insisted and put down her phone.

At the same time, the door of the private room was pushed open.

A waiter brought in a beautifully packaged bag.

Zhong Yu Bai took it and placed it on the table, pushing it towards her, saying, “The winters in the south are tormenting, cold outside and hot inside. How to dress, how to keep warm, always a struggle.”

Ji Zhen Tang felt a chill.

Putting on a coat made her warm, but taking it off made her cold. Now dressed in impractical clothing, she felt a bit clueless. She didn’t know when he had noticed this, but he had someone buy her a cashmere shawl.

“Use it once and don’t worry about being careful.”

Ji Zhen Tang hesitated, fearing it might catch odors, but he saw through her hesitation.

First, it was expensive shoes, and now, it was a designer shawl. “Use it once, don’t worry,” she thought. She relaxed a bit and wrapped the shawl around her arm, then smiled, “Big boss, can you show some mercy to us common folks? I’m feeling quite nervous right now.”

Zhong Yu Bai didn’t reply but abruptly changed the subject, “Have you ever performed any of Shakespeare’s plays in the drama club?”

“Which one?” she asked.

“Hamlet. There’s a famous line in it.” He looked at her and softly said, “You are the paragon of animals.”

Ji Zhen Tang was momentarily stunned, then blushed and looked down, chewing on her words.

She remembered the line but felt like the subject was different.

The original line was, “What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties.”

She didn’t know if he remembered it wrong or did it on purpose.

Turning Shakespeare’s timeless essence into a sweet and lingering compliment.

“You are the paragon of animals, so everything else is less precious compared to you.”

After dinner, Zhong Yu Bai escorted her to Luotang Pavilion. At the corner of the street, under the crabapple tree, the car stopped, and he accompanied her into the alley.

Ji Zhen Tang tightened her coat, carrying the wrapped shawl on her wrist, looking like she wanted to say something but hesitated. Eventually, she couldn’t hold back and secretly revealed her brand name to him.

“Begonia, it’s a type of crabapple flower.”

After saying that, she showed a shy and slightly joyful, childish smile.

The two stood under the lantern of a shop, the door slightly ajar, casting a gentle light directly between them.

Zhong Yu Bai looked down at her smiling face and asked, “What’s the significance?”

Ji Zhen Tang explained slowly.

“My mother is a Chinese immigrant from Xingzhou, and so was my grandmother. My grandfather was a Frenchman who went there for business. Both my grandparents passed away early, and I never met them, so my mother has always had a hard life. But now, she’s turned the corner and found someone who genuinely cares for her, even though he’s not wealthy. My mother is different from me; she isn’t materialistic at all, and she’s easily satisfied. Oh, I digressed.”

“This brand is because my mother said my grandfather loved Chinese crabapple flowers, so she gave me the character ‘Tang’ in my Chinese name. This word means ‘autumn crabapple.’ These flowers also exist in Xingzhou, and every year my mother uses them to commemorate my grandfather.”

He thought for a moment, seizing a different point, “Do you speak French?”

Ji Zhen Tang said, “I’ve taken classes, but to be honest with you, my level is terrible. I only attended two classes for elective courses, and both times the teacher was showing movies. I failed the whole course. So, until now, I only know how to say ‘hello,’ ‘thank you,’ ‘I’m sorry,’ and ‘excuse me’—oh, and one more sentence, Je t’aime (I love you).”

She finished speaking with a smile, a bit embarrassed, and then thought he probably wouldn’t understand.

However, Zhong Yu Bai unexpectedly responded, “Then I’m a little better than you; I’ve learned a couple more sentences.”

She looked pleasantly surprised, immediately cupping her ears with both hands, as if listening attentively.

In order for her to hear clearly, Zhong Yu Bai slightly bent down and leaned closer to her earlobe, with a hint of gentlemanly smile at the corner of his mouth. His low, mellow voice mixed with the faint rustle of the wind, whispered into her mind, “moi aussi, bébé. (Me too, baby.)”

The wind completely closed the door of Luotang Pavilion, and the distinct light disappeared in an instant. The dim yellow light from the row of small windows cast shadows upon shadows, intertwining with each other.

In the depths of the alley, the ancient red brick walls were filled with traces of battles and prosperity after being washed by a hundred years of time. Eventually, everything here became old and ordinary.

Only at this moment, the emotions flowing freely in the darkness were fresh and new.

The scent of food and tobacco had faded from his body, leaving only the lingering fragrance of perfume, like aged oak and the rich aroma of red wine, without any hint of aggression, gradually enveloping her, immersing her in this chilly yet warm night.

Though the syllables were familiar, her mind was rusty, and her reaction was slow. She asked blankly, “What does it mean?”

He switched back to Chinese, smiling, “It means, ‘Goodnight, sweet dreams.’”

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