Fifty-Four

 Zhou Yang didn't say a word, snatched the tablet from Su Qian's hand, and glanced at it.

Great, this time the introduction wasn’t someone like Shen He, who came from a prominent family. It was Zhang Xinhua, a guy who rose through property demolitions. Most importantly, Zhang Xinhua is currently Su Hao's landlord, greatly increasing their chances of meeting. Moreover, Zhang Xinhua's family, in their eagerness to find him a match, had lowered their standards to just wanting a woman.

He had a premonition that if Zhang Xinhua had been introduced first, it might have worked out.

Veins bulged on his hand gripping the tablet, and then he tossed the tablet back to Su Qian, gave her a cool look, and turned to go upstairs.

It was the first time Su Qian had been looked at like this by her son.

She was stunned for a few seconds, holding the tablet in her arms, her back inexplicably chilled.

She snapped back to reality.

Quickly, she shouted, "Auntie, Auntie, hurry, I'm so cold, make me some ginger tea."

Then she put on her slippers and headed to the kitchen.

Upstairs, Zhou Yang took out his phone, found Zhang Xinhua's number, and called him. Soon, the other side answered, his voice clear, "Brother Yang."

Zhou Yang leaned against the table, holding a pen, "My mom introduced you to someone?"

"Uh, seems like it. My mom just sent me the other party's WeChat, I haven’t looked at it yet, I’m outside."

"Do you have an alternate account?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Good." Zhou Yang licked the corner of his lips and said.

"Huh? What do you mean, Brother Yang?"

The next morning, Su Hao went to the bathroom to freshen up. The sound of activity came from the kitchen. Cheng Ling, holding a spatula, walked to the bathroom door and asked, "Su Hao, should I make more for you to take to work?"

Su Hao, her mouth full of foam, glanced at Cheng Ling and nodded, "Okay, thanks, Mom."

"No problem. By the way," Cheng Ling coughed. Su Hao looked at her again and saw her smiling. Su Hao raised an eyebrow, "What?"

Cheng Ling smiled, "I sent you a contact card, add him when you get a chance."

"Su Qian introduced him. He seems to be our landlord, but he's quite a decent young man." Cheng Ling's mood lightened significantly, her smile more relaxed.

Su Hao was taken aback.

After spitting out the foam and rinsing her mouth, she picked up a towel to dry her face and applied some moisturizer. She asked, "Zhang Xinhua?"

"Seems like it."

Su Hao had only seen this young landlord once, on the night of the falling object incident. The rest of the time, rent payments were made via WeChat, and they hadn't spoken. Zhang Xinhua also didn't post on his Moments, maybe he blocked his tenants.

He had seen her tangled up with Zhou Yang.

And he was still willing to chat with her?

Su Hao wiped her hands, got ready, and went into the bedroom to change clothes. Cheng Ling had already placed breakfast on the table. Su Hao sat down, and Cheng Ling said, "Remember to add him later."

Su Hao took a spoon, "Okay."

Doesn't she already have his WeChat? Why add him again?

Carrying the breakfast prepared for them, Su Hao went downstairs. The wind was quite strong and chilly; winter was coming. Su Hao tightened her thin jacket as she walked to the community.

The doorman suddenly handed her a bouquet of roses.

Su Hao was stunned.

"Uncle Lin?"

Uncle Lin smiled, "A florist delivered these this morning, said they're for you."

"There's a card." He pulled out a card, and Su Hao took it and opened it.

Wife, good morning.

Zhou Yang

Su Hao put the card back and told Uncle Lin, "You can deal with it."

After saying that, she swiped her card and entered the community.

Uncle Lin stood there for a few seconds, then went back to the guardhouse and made a phone call.

"Hey, Mr. Zhou, she didn't take it and told me to deal with it."

On the other end, the man's voice was very low, "Okay."

He had expected this.

Going upstairs and entering the company, Su Hao immediately saw Qiqi and Yan Chong sitting on the sofa, Qiqi's hand in Yan Chong's. Su Hao smiled, walked over, and placed the breakfast in front of them, "Today it's steamed buns."

Qiqi quickly pulled her hand back, "Ah, ah, thank you, Su Hao."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." Su Hao looked at them, smiled, and went back to her seat. It seemed that after one night, they had made up. Soon, others arrived and eagerly ate breakfast, all very happy. They all sent red envelopes to Su Hao, but she didn't accept them.

Qiqi, drinking milk, sat next to Su Hao and said, "We should include the cost of breakfast in the base salary, okay?"

Su Hao wanted to say no, but she paused when Qiqi continued, "Can you help make breakfast every day? If you can't sometimes, that's okay, we can be flexible."

Su Hao glanced at Qiqi, thought for a moment. Actually, having her mother do something would keep her more spirited. She said, "I'll discuss it with my mom."

"That's great!" Qiqi slurped her milk, then tilted her head, staring at Su Hao. Su Hao noticed her gaze and glanced at her.

Qiqi smiled, "I saw it last night—a handsome man tying your shoelaces. Who was that? You said he wasn't worth mentioning, really too modest."

Su Hao hadn't paid much attention at the time, but she got out of the car first, and Qiqi, behind her, saw it, which was normal. She paused and said, "Just like that."

"Don't say 'just like that,' tell me, what is he like?"

"He's okay, but..." Su Hao opened the back end, her face reflected on the screen. She said, "He..."

"Does he have many women after him? And is he quite a playboy?" Qiqi quickly picked up, flattening her milk box. Su Hao nodded.

Qiqi: "I can guess. Do you know how much his watch costs?"

Su Hao shook her head. She rarely paid attention to such things.

"Over twenty million." Qiqi whispered, "He must be wealthy, a rich second generation?"

Su Hao: "No."

"What? Then he must be a big shot." Qiqi's eyes widened, "And you don't want him? What do you want then?"

Su Hao propped her chin, looking at Qiqi. Her eyes were soft, gentle. Qiqi blushed under her gaze.

Su Hao was truly beautiful.

Su Hao thought for a moment and said, "I don't know how to describe it to you."

"Yeah, everyone has their own thoughts and pursuits in love, I understand." Qiqi patted Su Hao's silky black hair, feeling how nice it was to touch.

Su Hao smiled at Qiqi and continued her work.

Qiqi was very understanding.

Su Hao finally felt what it was like to make friends.

Of course, Yun Lu was also a friend, but ultimately, she was on Zhou Yang's side.

Around ten o'clock during a break, Su Hao checked WeChat. Cheng Ling had sent her a contact card, and so had Su Qian. Both were for Zhang Xinhua, but not his current number. Su Hao glanced at it and exited, then noticed a new contact in her address book. She opened it; it was the number Cheng Ling had sent.

"Su Hao."

Su Hao paused and accepted the request.

As soon as she did, a message came through.

Z: Su Hao, did you have breakfast?

Su Hao: Yes.

Z: It's getting cold, remember to wear more.

Su Hao: Thanks, you too.

Zhang Xinhua (z): Can I call you Haohao?

Su Hao: Sure.

z: Haohao, you speak very concisely. Do you have any questions for me?

Su Hao: Not at the moment.

z: Tsk, okay.

Military technology.

Zhou Yang finished editing, tapped the nine-key layout on his phone, then put the phone down and relaxed a bit. He removed the cigarette from his mouth and swore.

"A bit nervous, splitting one sentence into two, tsk." He extinguished the cigarette, took a sip of his now cold tea, and Assistant Lu stood nearby holding some documents.

Watching President Zhou accidentally type "wife" and then delete it, then try to ask Su Hao out for a meal but think it wasn't right and delete it again, and then type "I miss you" only to delete it immediately.

Thus, the chat history was now very simple.

Assistant Lu's eyes showed a bit of pity.

"President Zhou, is this really okay?"

"Otherwise?" Zhou Yang looked up at him, "You want to teach me?"

Assistant Lu shook his head, "I can't teach you."

Zhou Yang leaned back, loosened his collar, cracked his knuckles, then picked up his phone and focused on the chat screen, thinking for a while before typing.

z: Are you from Huijiang? Huijiang has a famous stream called Huixi Stream. I heard there's a famous story about it. Can you tell me about it?

At noon, after having lunch at home, Su Hao sat on the sofa and saw this WeChat message. She thought, did Zhang Xinhua visit Huijiang?

Thinking of that story made Su Hao feel a bit soft inside.

Someone had sung a song called "The Water of Huixi Stream" when she was young.

It was said that it was a place where people made vows for three lifetimes. If they wanted to be together for the next two lifetimes, they had to drink a sip of Huixi Stream water, and they could promise three lifetimes.

The Huijiang government even added a plaque to Huixi Stream. People would deliver drinkable Huixi Stream water, but generally, only couples married for seven years could go.

Because of the seven-year itch, many people couldn't last.

The story was so true that many people were afraid to drink the water, and fewer and fewer people did.

Su Hao once fantasized about going there with the right person after seven years, as it would be the most beautiful testimony of love.

Su Hao sent the summarized story to z. After a long time, almost two hours, he replied.

z: A beautiful story, just like you.

Su Hao felt closer to this person.

There weren't many tasks in the afternoon, so Su Hao updated product images, refreshing those of less popular products. Qiqi and Yan Chong had probably argued for a day or two and now, having made up, were glued to each other in the office, barely coming out all day. Xiao Qi and two others gathered around Su Hao, chatting with her.

Xiao Qi said, "We should go on a winter trip before the holiday. Where do you think we should go?"

"How about a zip-lining adventure?" suggested Xiao Hua.

"I think that's a good idea. What about you, Su Hao?"

Su Hao: "I'm not familiar with it, you guys decide."

"Alright, we'll let Yan Chong know about our unanimous decision." The three were excited, and Su Hao was a bit expectant too.

Xiao Qi said, "We definitely have to go this year. The company next door went to Disneyland today, took lots of photos, and I'm so jealous."

"I'm jealous too."

"Me too."

After work around six, Su Hao left with Xiao Qi and the other two. All three were single and homebodies, surrounding Su Hao as they walked towards the door. They encountered the neighboring company returning from their outing, causing a noisy commotion. Su Hao awkwardly dodged and bumped into someone.

She was startled and looked up.

The man had a firm chin and well-defined features. He glanced at the people who bumped into her with a warning in his eyes, then lowered his head. His long eyes reflected her face. Zhou Yang said in a low voice, "Off work?"

"I came to pick you up."

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