Guess what I want?
The fireworks display lasted for over half an hour, and the crowd at Jiangxin Square lingered for a long time, standing and watching until it was well past one in the morning before the square gradually quieted down…
But Lu Zizheng and Jiang Huaixi didn’t wait for the fireworks to end or the crowd to disperse; they drove away at the height of the bustling commotion.
After the grand banquet, there is inevitably solitude; after the splendor, there is inevitably desolation. Fireworks will eventually come to a stop, and Lu Zizheng couldn’t bear to see that moment. She hoped that this fireworks display with Jiang Huaixi would leave only the most brilliant beauty in their memories, without the loneliness of an ending.
After dropping Lu Zizheng off at the entrance of Mother Lu’s apartment complex, Jiang Huaixi also got out of the car, holding the car door with one hand and looking at Lu Zizheng, with a hint of hesitation in her expression.
Lu Zizheng slightly furrowed her brows, somewhat puzzled, “What’s wrong?”
Jiang Huaixi’s fingers slightly moved as she held the car door, then she lightly parted her lips and said in a gentle voice, “Do you have time tomorrow afternoon? I… my grandmother’s eightieth birthday is tomorrow, and I would like to invite you to have a meal at our home.”
Lu Zizheng obviously didn’t expect this at all. The invitation was too sudden, and she was so nervous that she couldn’t react for a moment. She just slightly widened her eyes and stared blankly at Jiang Huaixi.
Seeing Lu Zizheng in a daze, Jiang Huaixi seemed a bit troubled. Her eyes dimmed, she lowered her head and smiled, pretending not to care, “It’s okay if it’s inconvenient.” Indeed, such an invitation was too abrupt and forced. Lu Zizheng was not someone who liked socializing, so it was normal for her to refuse. However, even though she was prepared for the rejection, why did she still feel disappointed at this moment?
She collected her inexplicable sadness, looked again at the still dazed Lu Zizheng, and as usual, reminded her, “Go inside, I’m leaving.”
Bending down, lowering her head, closing the door, and getting into the car, her movements were smooth and fluid.
Seeing that Jiang Huaixi was about to start the car and leave, Lu Zizheng finally reacted. She hurriedly took a few quick steps to the car, reached out, and lightly knocked on Jiang Huaixi’s car window.
Jiang Huaixi lowered the window and saw Lu Zizheng bending down, her eyes burning with intensity as she hurriedly explained, “I’ll go.”
Jiang Huaixi’s eyes instantly lit up, a smile almost breaking out at the corners of her mouth, but she deliberately furrowed her brows slightly and said coldly, “Are you cursing?”
Lu Zizheng chuckled softly, calmed down, and said seriously, “What time tomorrow? I’ll be at home waiting for you.”
Jiang Huaixi relaxed her expression and said, “Is two o’clock okay?” After speaking, she added, “Grandma doesn’t want a big celebration, so it’s just a family meal. You don’t need to be too nervous.”
Lu Zizheng’s eyes flickered, and her brows began to slowly knit together. Jiang Huaixi’s attempt to comfort her had failed, and hearing this, she became even more nervous. A family meal—why would they invite her…
Jiang Huaixi seemed to see through her thoughts and teased, “Grandma thinks I’m too well-behaved and worries that I might make bad friends. She wants me to bring you home to see if you might be a bad influence on her good granddaughter. You seem a bit nervous, so it looks like you also think you might be a bad influence on me.”
Lu Zizheng laughed and said, “Then my mom should be ready to chase you out with a broom. Alright, good granddaughter of grandma, I understand. I’ll be waiting for you at my place tomorrow.” Seeing it was getting late, she waved her hand at Jiang Huaixi and said goodbye, “I’m going in now. Be careful on your way home, good granddaughter.” Finishing her words, she quickly ran off, as if afraid to hear any retort from Jiang Huaixi.
Jiang Huaixi didn’t immediately roll up the window. She watched Lu Zizheng’s rare childlike playful dash away, her lips curving into a smile. Running like a fool without any grace at all, but she really liked it…
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When Lu Zizheng got home, she took out her key to unlock the door and prepared to turn on the hallway light, only to find that the living room light was still on. Closing the door, she changed her shoes while peeking into the living room, seeing her mother standing by the water dispenser with a cup, her face looking somewhat displeased.
Lu Zizheng changed her shoes and asked her mother, puzzled, “Mom, why are you still up so late?”
Mother Lu placed the cup on the small shelf next to the water dispenser and said, somewhat wearily, “There was some noise outside just now. I couldn’t sleep, so I came out to have a drink of water.”
Lu Zizheng didn’t suspect anything. Seeing that her mother had only casually draped a jacket over her shoulders, she said with concern, “It’s quiet outside now. You should go back to sleep. You came out without wearing something warmer.”
Mother Lu laughed and said, “The way you talk, it sounds like you’re my mother instead of the other way around. Alright, I’ll go back to sleep now. You should wash up and get to bed too.” After saying that, she turned to go back to her room but then remembered something and turned back to ask Lu Zizheng, “Did Jiang Huaixi eat the dumplings?”
Lu Zizheng was taken aback—dumplings? Oh, right, the dumplings! She remembered that when she entered the building with Jiang Huaixi, she left them in Jiang Huaixi’s car and then forgot about them. They must still be in Jiang Huaixi’s car now…
She took out her phone, intending to call Jiang Huaixi, but then thought, what would she say? Tell her not to touch the bag? The more she emphasized it, the more suspicious it would seem. If Jiang Huaixi loosened the bag even slightly, she would see the chopsticks and the lunchbox inside. How would she explain that?
She hadn’t figured out what to say yet when her phone vibrated twice. Lu Zizheng unlocked the screen and saw a multimedia message from Jiang Huaixi. Opening the message, she saw a photo of an empty lunchbox with a pair of chopsticks next to it. Below the photo, it read: “Although the dumplings were indeed quite ugly, I appreciated your effort and ate them all. You shouldn’t be too moved.”
Lu Zizheng only sent back a cool “goodbye” emoji, then locked her phone and asked her mother, who was standing by waiting for an answer, “How did she know I made the dumplings?”
Mother Lu blinked and calmly said, “Oh, I told her. Not long after you went downstairs, I was worried the dumplings would get cold and upset her stomach. I also thought it might be inconvenient for Huaixi to answer the phone while driving, so I sent her a message saying, ‘Zizheng remembered you like dumplings and made some for you. You two take your time and have fun, but make sure to eat the dumplings first. It’s not good for the stomach if they get cold.'”
Lu Zizheng slapped her forehead in embarrassed annoyance and said, “Mom, who said I was thinking about her!”
Seeing the situation was not good, Mother Lu quickly turned around and made her escape: “Ah, I suddenly feel a bit sleepy. I’ll go to my room to sleep now…”
Lu Zizheng sighed and weakly went to the bathroom to wash up.
How were they ugly? They actually looked quite good, okay?! If they were ugly, just don’t eat them! Lu Zizheng felt she was brushing too hard; her gums seemed to be on the verge of bleeding, all thanks to Jiang Huaixi.
Jiang Huaixi was driving home and felt her ears getting a bit warm. Looking at the ugly bunny placed on the car dashboard, she couldn’t help but smile.
The next morning, after having breakfast, Lu Zizheng bid farewell to her mother and went home. She exited the community gate, hailed a cab, and headed straight to the mall. On the way, Lu Zizheng kept thinking about what gift to bring to Jiang Huaixi’s house.
But even when she arrived at the mall, Lu Zizheng still hadn’t figured anything out.
She rarely interacted with people and even less frequently visited others’ homes, but she wasn’t completely clueless about social etiquette. However, understanding is one thing, and doing it well is another. The Jiang family was wealthy, and Lu Zizheng couldn’t think of what they might lack, nor did she know what they liked.
She sent a text message to Jiang Huaixi: What do Uncle, Auntie, and Grandma like?
Jiang Huaixi replied instantly: They will be very happy just to have you come. You don’t need to bring anything.
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……
Lu Zizheng looked at the dazzling array of gifts in the mall, feeling completely at a loss. Holding her phone, she locked and unlocked the screen several times before suddenly having a bright idea.
She opened the browser on her phone, went to Baidu, and typed in, “First time…”
As soon as she entered the first three characters, suggestions popped up: “What gift to bring for the first visit to a girl’s family,” “What to give when meeting the girl’s parents for the first time,” “What to bring when meeting the parents for the first time…”
Oh, that wasn’t what she initially intended to ask; she just wanted to know what to bring when visiting a friend’s house. Seeing these suggestions, she inexplicably became nervous, and her face started to heat up. Actually, it’s almost the same, right? No harm in looking, right? Thinking this, Lu Zizheng’s index finger trembled as she clicked on the first suggestion, “What gift to bring for the first visit to a girl’s family…”
After seriously reading through enthusiastic suggestions from netizens for several minutes, Lu Zizheng closed the webpage and sighed. Everyone was suggesting things like tobacco, alcohol, tea, health products, and things that people like. Since she didn’t know their preferences, she could only follow the general advice. If she couldn’t score extra points, she just hoped not to lose any.
Oh, why did she care so much about the impression Jiang Huaixi’s parents had of her?
Lu Zizheng went from one mall to another, visiting four or five malls before finally getting everything she needed. In the end, she bought premium tea for Jiang Huaixi’s parents, health products for Jiang Huaixi’s grandmother, and also prepared a finely crafted international chess set for Jiang Huaichuan.
After leaving the mall, Lu Zizheng diverted to a hair salon. By the time she finished getting her hair done, it was already past 12 noon. She had a quick lunch outside and then hurried home with all her bags.
After taking a shower at home, she started trying on outfits one after another. She wanted to look elegant and fresh yet bright. Oh, this won’t do, oh, this won’t do either. Looking at the clock, she realized there was no time left. Ah, whatever, this will have to do.
When Jiang Huaixi called to say she had arrived, Lu Zizheng was still standing in front of the mirror, just having applied her lipstick. She hung up the phone and carefully scrutinized her reflection in the mirror again. Although she couldn’t compare to the stunning look Jiang Huaixi had yesterday, she thought she didn’t look too bad either.
Today’s Jiang Huaixi had her hair back to its usual long, straight, black style. Wearing long boots, simple pencil pants, a shirt, a sweater, and a coat, she looked fresh and neat, standing by the car, forming a beautiful scenery line.
Lu Zizheng hadn’t dressed up so carefully in a long time. As she walked step by step towards Jiang Huaixi and saw her slightly surprised expression, she felt a faint sense of nervousness.
Jiang Huaixi noticed the bags in her hand, slightly frowned, then reached out to take them and put them in the back seat. She opened the car door for her, stepped aside to let her in, and then smiled with a slight curl of her lips, saying, “It seems you’re still not convinced that I said I was prettier than you yesterday. Today, you’re so eager to win back a round?”
Lu Zizheng lightly pressed her lips and gave a faint smile. After getting in the car, she looked back and asked with a smile, “So, does that mean I win today?”
Jiang Huaixi was slightly stunned, and Lu Zizheng felt a bit embarrassed under her gaze, naturally looking away and lowering her head. Jiang Huaixi’s eyebrows curved, and she raised the corners of her mouth, softly saying, “Alright, let’s say you win today.”
Lu Zizheng responded with a soft hum, sounding both satisfied and dissatisfied.
On the way, Lu Zizheng, feeling uneasy, glanced at the gift bags in the back seat and asked Jiang Huaixi, “I don’t know what Uncle and Auntie like, so I bought tea for them, health products for Grandma, and a chess set for Huaichuan. Do you think that’s appropriate?”
Jiang Huaixi frowned slightly and said, “You shouldn’t have spent so much. They will certainly think it’s inappropriate.”
Lu Zizheng nervously let out an “Ah.”
Jiang Huaixi then smiled lightly and said, “Don’t worry, they will like it. However, from what you listed, it seems I didn’t hear about a gift for me. What did you prepare for me?”
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Lu Zizheng glanced at her and responded calmly, “Nothing for you.”
Jiang Huaixi raised an eyebrow, displeased, and said, “I’m the one running around for you, so why do those sitting at home get gifts, while I, the hardest worker, get nothing?” She paused and asked seriously, “Do you think that’s fair?”
Lu Zizheng pretended to agree and said earnestly, “Hmm, it does seem a bit unfair. So, tell me, what do you want? Let’s see if I can satisfy you.”
Jiang Huaixi looked at her with intense eyes for a long time before slightly curling her lips into a smile, “I can’t think of anything for now, so I’ll keep it on hold.”
Lu Zizheng hummed softly, “No extensions allowed.”
Jiang Huaixi turned her head back without arguing. Lu Zizheng saw a faint, gentle, and charming smile on her beautiful profile.
“Zizheng, guess what I want?”
LP: Re-translated on August 09, 2024