Originally, Song Ruyu should have treated Qin Sheng for lunch. In the end it was Qin Sheng who had treated her. Song Ruyu wasn’t polite at all. Although it was just a bowl of Hot and Sour Rice Noodles, she would only do so on the condition that she did treat Qin Sheng as a friend.
After lunch, Song Ruyu left Tsinghua University and went back to her office to continue working. People who worked in places which functioned as a think tank were under great pressure. After all, every policy they stipulated would affect tens of millions of ordinary people. Consequently, ordinary people would not dare to work there.
When Qin Sheng had nothing to do, he wandered around the campus. He didn’t go to find Han Xu and Wei Li, nor did he contact Chang Baji and Hao Lei. Although he had been attending classes at Tsinghua for so long, he hadn’t hung around this top-class domestic academy yet. It was said that there were many interesting places. After all, he happened to be idle at the time.
In the end, Qin Sheng was tired of walking around. He sat on a bench next to the main road and observed the people coming and going, which Song Ruyu had advised him to do moments before; to sense their joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, and to listen to their random talking. This feeling was somewhat wonderful. It seemed that he was prying into everyone’s inner world. In the end, Qin Sheng’s mind was set at ease.
There were two classes in the afternoon. As soon as Qin Sheng arrived in the classroom, he was surrounded by Han Xu, Wei Li, and the others. They, who had probably become closer because of what had happened the night prior, were even daring to make fun of each other.
Han Xu said with a smile, “Old Qin, tell me, how did you manage to catch that beautiful lady? No wonder you’re not interested in those cheap women. It turns out you have such a beautiful girlfriend.” He, who had been a playboy for so many years, was most interested in this kind of thing.
Qin Sheng was at a loss for words. He replied, “I already said that she’s just my friend, not my girlfriend. I introduce you to my girlfriend in person if there is a chance.”
Xu Yang curled his lips and said, “No, I don’t believe it at all, unless your girlfriend is even more beautiful than the one we just saw.”
Luo Zheng, who came from Jiangsu, laughed and said, “We just said that if she weren’t your girlfriend, we wouldn’t be reserved. Look at how jealous you were at that time.”
Qin Sheng did not take it seriously. He said, “I am warning you out of kindness. Her brother is not a simple one. If you’re interested, you can inquire about Song Hesheng. Then I think I don’t have to tell you what will happen next.”
“Song Hesheng?” Han Xu muttered to himself, “Why does this name sound somewhat familiar?”
Luo Zheng and Xu Yang also said thoughtfully, “I may have heard the name mentioned by my friends. He seems to be a very influential one from a powerful political family in Sijiu City, but I don’t know the exact details.”
Only Wei Li, who often hung out in the social circle of Sijiu City, changed the look on his face when he heard the name. Song Hesheng’s name was well-known. He had heard it frequently from many friends in Beijing, who simply couldn’t catch up with the Song Family at all. It turned out the beautiful woman’s brother was Song Hesheng. If so, it was clear that she was also a member of the Song Family. No wonder Qin Sheng acted had said such things.
So Wei Li echoed, “Lao Qin is right. If you don’t want to die, don’t think about hitting on this beauty. Otherwise, it’ll be too late before you regret it.”
Xu Yang said quickly, “Why are you talking in such a mysterious manner? It seems that this beauty is not ordinary. Forget it. There are tens of millions of other beautiful women in the world. Why do we have to insist on falling in love with this one only?”
After they exchanged a few jokes, they stopped talking about Song Ruyu. Qin Sheng didn’t have any problem with it. After all, everyone loved beauty. Otherwise, someone in the historical records wouldn’t have abandoned his country for a beautiful woman.
After the classes were over in the afternoon, Qin Sheng headed for Tuanjiehu directly, where Cao Yufeng and his girlfriend would treat him to dinner. After they had hurriedly said their goodbyes on New Year’s Eve, it wasn’t then that they finally got a chance to meet each other again. Qin Sheng didn’t refuse them. After all, they had treated each other as brothers living in the same dormitory at college. Besides, he had nothing to do that evening.
Although Qin Sheng had been back in Beijing for quite a long time, it seemed that he hadn’t enjoyed the roast duck to the fullest yet. Speaking of the best roast duck in Sijiu City, many people would surely recommend the one from Big Dong. The most delicious restaurant of the Big Dong brand was the one located in Tuanjiehu. It was said that Mr. Dong, who had been well-known for a long time, often cooked there. As for the most famous Quanjude Roast Duck, its flavor was getting worse and worse. Only the foreign tourists would be tricked, since they weren’t familiar with the flavor.
Qin Sheng went inside alone to find Cao Yufeng. Hao Lei and Chang Baji sat down randomly. They had not eaten roast duck yet. That day was just the right time to satisfy their hunger. Otherwise, their trip to Beijing this time would be in vain.
Seeing Qin Sheng coming in, Cao Yufeng stood up with a smile and waved his hand. “Big Boss, this way.” Luo Xiu, Cao Yufeng’s girlfriend, also stood up. She still kept what had happened last time in her mind. If Qin Sheng hadn’t been there, they would have suffered a great loss at that time, and it would have been a blow to Cao Yufeng.
Qin Sheng walked over slowly with a smile on his face. He greeted Cao Yufeng and Luo Xiu smilingly. After sitting down, he said and smiled, “I planned to meet you a few days later after I finished my work, to be free and available. And yet you beat me to it.”
Cao Yufeng replied, “I thought you were still in Shanghai. So I just made a phone call and inquired about your situation. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
Qin Sheng said emotionally, “I just came back the day before yesterday. Before the New Year, I took part in an advanced study class at Qinghua University. I have been attending classes these two days. It’s been hard for me.”
Cao Yufeng laughed and said, “It’s surely good to go back to school. What I miss the most is the college life at Fudan University. Life at that time was comfortable and fulfilling. Now I realize the life I lead after I return from work is the most miserable one.”
Qin Sheng said faintly, “Yes, life at school is the best. Unfortunately, none of us can go back. My study at Tsinghua is not a kind of school life. After all, it is not as pure as it used to be. Unknowingly, several years have passed since we graduated from college. The four people in our dormitory, including you and me, were all present at the gathering when I just went back to Shanghai the year before last. Except for the gathering at that time, it seems that not all the attendees showed up after that. There would always be someone absent whenever there was a gathering.”
Cao Yufeng nodded and said, “Yes, only once. You were in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai respectively before. But I work hard in Beijing miserably, while I’m caught up by many trivial things in daily life. Honestly, it’s somewhat difficult for me to find you there. What’s more, you are all busy. We can’t agree on a schedule to meet each other. But the situation now is much better. At least you are in Beijing. I will have someone to drink with in the future. Hahaha.”
Qin Sheng said casually, “I will go back to Xi’an tomorrow. When I am done with the business in Xi’an, I will trick Lao San and Lao Si to come to Beijing. Then we can have a good gathering.”
Cao Yufeng said happily, “Okay, I’ll wait. I somewhat miss those two guys.”
After chatting for a while, Cao Yufeng asked Qin Sheng to order the dishes. Qin Sheng asked him directly to order the signature dish. Luo Xiu took the menu over voluntarily and placed an order. In addition to the roast duck, she also ordered four or five other signature dishes.
Other than chatting and drinking happily, they did nothing else. They didn’t even ask each other about those trivial things. Qin Sheng asked them whether they had chosen a suitable date to get married. He was looking forward to attending Cao Yufeng’s and Yu Kefei’s wedding parties. As for Xia Ding, Qin Sheng didn’t count on him anymore, who should get married much later than him.
After returning to the Qin family’s courtyard, Qin Changan, who went out early and returned home late, had still not returned. Qin Sheng began to pack up his stuff, intending to go back to Xi’an the next morning and solve what had plagued his mind.
It was Friday that day. The Song family’s courtyard was livelier. Song Ruyu and Song Hesheng had returned to visit their grandfather at the same time. Usually, they both lived in their households, only gathering at that place during the Spring Festival and other holidays. After dinner, they chatted with Old Master Song in the main hall and talked about some trivial things. It was not until the Old Master was ready to have a rest that Song Hesheng called Song Ruyu. Sitting on the stone pier in the courtyard, they had things on their minds respectively.
Song Hesheng said thoughtfully, “Ruyu, I heard that you met the boy from the Qin Family in Shanghai, didn’t you?”
Song Ruyu replied gently, “How did you know?”
“That’s none of your business,” Song Hesheng said in a low voice, “Ruyu, I don’t know what you’re thinking about. But I want to tell you that the boy from the Qin Family doesn’t deserve you. If you’re interested in him, you’d better get him out of your mind as soon as possible.”
“Brother, what’s wrong with you? I’ve only seen him a few times. Why do you think I’m interested in him?” Song Ruyu laughed and said, “How do you know what I’m thinking about and whom I keep in my mind?”
Although Song Hesheng looked confident facing whoever he ran into, he didn’t have the slightest confidence at all in front of his sister. That was because he had never been able to figure out what his sister was thinking about. So he said helplessly, “Ruyu, I don’t know what you’re thinking about. I just want to remind you in advance.”
Song Ruyu smiled faintly and said, “Brother, thank you for your kindness. I know that you’re doing it for my own good.”
Song Hesheng hesitated for a while and spoke suddenly, “Ruyu, could it be that you already knew?”
Song Ruyu frowned and asked, “What is it? Which one?”
Song Hesheng shook his head and said, “I’m fine. Maybe I was wrong.”
They didn’t say anything else since it was difficult for them to figure out each other’s thoughts. After greeting, they left the courtyard. Song Ruyu’s thoughts were naturally different from those of Song Hesheng. What Song Hesheng was thinking about was surely beyond Song Ruyu’s comprehension. Even so, if Song Hesheng intended to stop Song Ruyu from marrying Qin Sheng, he would have to ask his grandpa to give up the marital engagement completely. It was clear that Song Hesheng had to start from Qin Sheng.
Song Hesheng squinted and said, “Qin Sheng, I’m sorry.” He knew that doing so might make him offend a lot of people. Setting aside the relationship between him and Qin Ran, the relationship between the Song Family and the Qin Family might be brought to a stalemate. Even so, Song Hesheng had no choice but to make such an unwise decision for his sister.
If Qin Sheng knew that Song Hesheng thought so, he would probably visit Song Hesheng in person and fight with him. Qin Sheng might say, “I already have a girlfriend. Can’t you check my background first? I have never intended to hit on your sister. Don’t make me a scapegoat for this.”
In the Qin Family’s siheyuan, Qin Sheng had been waiting for Qin Changan, who did not come back until midnight. Qin Sheng took the initiative to talk with him for a while, saying he would return to Xi’an in the early next morning. Qin Changan gave him a few words of advice. At the same time, he also advised him about whom he should visit in Xi’an. He had informed his friends in advance, which made Qin Sheng feel confident. After all, this kind of thing was not as easy as the fighting and brawls between children.
In the next morning, Qin Sheng took Hao Lei and Chang Baji along with him and headed for Xi’an. At the same time, a group of people was on the way to Shanghai…
