Chapter 52: It’s All a Misunderstanding
Chapter 52: Chapter 52: It’s All a Misunderstanding
At 8:50 AM, after a two-hour and forty-four-minute journey, Zhang Yan arrived in Chi Xinyue’s hometown, Bai City.
Well-prepared, he had positioned himself at the very front of the train doors. He wanted to get off immediately and find a vantage point with a good field of view so he wouldn’t lose track of his junior. Fortunately, Chi Xinyue was quite eye-catching, making it easy for Zhang Yan to trail behind her.
"Sir, hurry, follow that white Volkswagen up ahead. The license plate ends in 231," Zhang Yan said.
The taxi driver was a middle-aged man who had just seen a very pretty young woman get into the car ahead. He didn’t move immediately. Glancing at Zhang Yan through the rearview mirror, he said slowly, "Young man, even though that girl is pretty, trailing her like this isn’t right."
Seeing his junior’s car starting to pull away, Zhang Yan said anxiously, "I fell in love with her at first sight on the train. You have to help me, sir. I’ll add fifty yuan to the fare!"
"You got it! Young man, I can tell just by looking at you that you’re a good, honest kid with no bad intentions! To be honest, when I was young, I was just like you—daring to love and hate..."
Despite his rambling, the driver was quick on the draw. He slammed on the gas and tailed the car.
Zhang Yan stared at the vehicle ahead, continuing to mull over what situation his junior might be facing. The current Zhang Yan was no longer the guy who would easily fall head over heels into a love-struck stupor. Therefore, he had known from the very beginning that Chi Xinyue had approached him with an ulterior motive.
However, as they spent time together, he gradually discovered that she was just a simple girl with no real schemes. He concluded that even if she were hiding something from him, it couldn’t be anything too terrible. He trusted his own judgment—though heaven knew where he got that confidence.
Later, the successful triggering of the companion system proved that Chi Xinyue was secretly in love with him, affirming his previous assessment. His own judgment might be flawed, but Brother Tongzi’s judgment would never be wrong!
Even so, he had still tested the waters in various ways. Every single item he bought for Chi Xinyue was actually a test. No matter how deeply a person hid their true self, they would inevitably expose a flaw when they obtained what they wanted. Yet, when his junior received all those expensive gifts, she was clearly very happy, but that was all—just very happy.
Her happiest and most excited moment was when she learned that Zhang Yan had secretly planned a perfect date for her. He believed she had no idea how much money he had spent on it. After all, even he only grasped the true cost after frantically researching it and negotiating directly with the aquarium management. In fact, in the eyes of an ordinary person who didn’t care about business operations, the daily revenue of a small-to-medium aquarium on a non-holiday would at most be several thousand, perhaps ten thousand at best.
Yet it was precisely this gift—which paled in comparison financially to the luxury items she had received before—that sparked her most enthusiastic joy. It was at that moment that Zhang Yan firmly concluded that what his junior valued most from him was not material wealth, but genuine affection.
Even if that affection was supported by money.
Based on various signs, Zhang Yan deduced that she must have encountered some family difficulties. If it had only been a personal issue, he believed she wouldn’t have been so conflicted. He just couldn’t figure it out. He had already demonstrated enough capability, and she should know that he had the power to solve the vast majority of problems. Why couldn’t she gather the courage to come clean with him?
He wondered if he was truly that untrustworthy.
Seeing the car he was tailing start to slow down, Zhang Yan quickly glanced at the meter. "WeChat Pay. Please confirm the receipt, sir."
Zhang Yan’s tracking skills were far from masterful. Under normal circumstances, his junior would have spotted him long ago. However, because she was deeply worried and distracted, she had remained completely oblivious the entire way. He followed her right up until she unlocked a door and entered a house. After confirming the house number, he backed out of the alley.
Returning to the main street, he was surprised to see that his taxi driver hadn’t left yet. The man seemed to have been sitting in his car, peering in his direction the whole time. Since he was unfamiliar with the area, Zhang Yan hurried over and knocked on the window. "Sir, do you know where I can buy things like fruit, cigarettes, or liquor around here? It’s my first time visiting, so I can’t exactly go empty-handed."
Only then did the driver finally believe that Zhang Yan truly harbored no ill intentions. He quietly turned off his phone—which already had three digits dialed in—and pointed in a direction. "There’s a small supermarket over there. But I reckon their cigarettes and liquor are probably fakes. You’re better off just buying some fruit or something."
The driver didn’t roll up his window and drive away until he saw Zhang Yan heading back into the alley with a bag of fruit.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
After all, Zhang Yan was no longer a rookie when it came to visiting a girl’s home, so he wasn’t particularly nervous.
Since the Chi family rarely had friends or relatives over, they figured the knocking was just the neighborhood committee or a salesperson. They told Chi Xinyue not to bother getting up. Her uncle, Chi Chenglong, walked to the door. Looking through the peephole, he saw a very energetic and handsome young man carrying a bag of fruit.
Thinking the guy must have knocked on the wrong door, he secured the chain lock and opened the door just a crack. "Young man, who are you looking for?"
Seeing an older man open the door, Zhang Yan naturally assumed he was Chi Xinyue’s father. He immediately offered a warm smile. "Hello, sir! I’m your daughter’s boyfriend!"
Chi Chenglong was furious. Although he had opted for a second child and did indeed have a younger daughter, she was only eight years old!
"You psycho, what kind of nonsense are you spouting?! How could my daughter possibly have a boyfriend?! You’ve got the wrong door!" he yelled, moving to slam the door shut.
Zhang Yan had no idea what he’d said wrong. He glanced at the house number. There was no mistake! He hurriedly stuck his foot into the gap to block the door. "Sir, I didn’t get the wrong door! There might be some misunderstanding, but your daughter and I are truly in love!"
This left Chi Chenglong completely bewildered. Seeing the young man’s sincere expression, for a split second, he actually wondered if he was breaking up a pair of star-crossed lovers... Like hell he was!
"You’re cruising for a prison sentence, kid! Believe it or not, I’ll call the cops and have you arrested right now!"
Inside, Chi Xinyue thought she heard Zhang Yan’s voice. She chuckled self-deprecatingly, thinking she was daydreaming so hard she was starting to hear things. But as the commotion at the door grew louder, she couldn’t sit still anymore.
Disbelieving, she ran to the entryway and peered through the gap in the door. The very face she had been longing for was actually right there on her doorstep!
"Senior? What are you doing here?!"
Zhang Yan finally spotted his savior and immediately called out in delight, "Baby, hurry and explain! Your dad seems to have some sort of misunderstanding about me!"
His junior was completely baffled. "My dad is lying in bed. This is my uncle."
Zhang Yan froze, completely mortified.