Ruan Yu jumped up in an instant.
Ten minutes—another ten minutes. Why was it always so nerve-wracking?
She scrambled to her wardrobe, repeating the emergency routine, and at the nine-minute mark, she dashed out the door with a stack of documents in her arms, panting as she leaned against her knees inside the elevator.
Stepping out of the apartment building, she had intended to catch her breath, but spotting a Land Rover parked in the distance, she immediately broke into a jog.
All because of that ridiculous misunderstanding, the esteemed Lawyer Xu hadn’t spared her a single punctuation mark in three whole days. How could she dare keep such an important figure waiting even a minute longer?
By the time she reached the car, a faint blush had spread across her cheeks. Through the windshield, she recognized the driver as Chen Hui, the young man who had greeted her at the law firm last time.
Xu Huaisong was in the back seat. He rolled down the window and glanced at her.
She stood by the window, slightly bent over, catching her breath as she greeted him, "Lawyer Xu..."
Xu Huaisong tilted his chin, signaling for her to get in.
Since he was sitting in the back, Ruan Yu naturally chose the front passenger seat. After all, the driver wasn’t a blind date this time—no need to avoid suspicion.
Xu Huaisong’s gaze instantly turned frosty. "To the law firm," he said coolly.
The moment the car door closed, the atmosphere became eerily quiet. Curiosity gnawed at Ruan Yu, and she couldn’t resist turning to ask, "Lawyer Xu, how did you happen to be around here?"
"On the way from the airport to the firm. Passed by."
Ah, so he hadn’t planned to come here originally—he’d made a detour after receiving her message.
Ruan Yu smiled. "Thank you for the trouble."
No sooner had she spoken than Chen Hui, about to start the car, suddenly received a call. After a few words, his expression turned grave.
He turned back. "Song-ge, Zhang Jie’s handling a case at the construction site, and there’s been a sudden complication."
Xu Huaisong paused, then nodded. "Take my luggage to the hotel later." With that, he opened the door and stepped out in one fluid motion.
Before Ruan Yu could react, he had circled to the passenger side, leaning down to look at her through the half-open window. "You’re going to the construction site?" he asked, pulling open her door handle.
Ruan Yu let out two quick "Ohs," finally realizing Chen Hui couldn’t drive them anymore. She hurriedly got out, silently grumbling about how exhausting it was to communicate with Xu Huaisong.
Would it kill him to explain a little more?
The door slammed shut, and Chen Hui sped off in the blink of an eye.
It was high noon, the sun blazing. Hangzhou had been unusually hot these past few days, creating a stark contrast between the sweltering outdoors and the air-conditioned car. Ruan Yu clutched her documents with one hand and shielded her forehead with the other, looking up at Xu Huaisong. "Should we hail a cab?"
Xu Huaisong, likely also unwilling to endure the heat, frowned and said, "No need." Then his gaze shifted to the apartment building behind her.
This time, Ruan Yu caught on quickly. "Should we talk at my place?"
Xu Huaisong didn’t answer directly. "If it’s inconvenient, we can reschedule. I’ll just go back to the hote—"
"No, no, it’s convenient!" she cut him off immediately.
Five minutes later, as she fumbled with the lock at a snail’s pace, Ruan Yu wanted to slap herself.
Just because this man had been giving her the cold shoulder for days, she’d turned into such a sycophant? Convenient? Hardly.
If she remembered correctly, in her earlier rush to tidy up, she’d turned the place upside down—her living room sofa was probably buried under piles of clothes. And possibly all kinds of clothes at that.
No way.
The moment the lock clicked open, Ruan Yu spun around, pressing her back against the door as she looked up at Xu Huaisong. "Um… could you wait here for a second?"He lowered his gaze to look at her and nodded.
Ruan Yu slipped in through a slightly opened door, leaving it ajar, then swept through the living room like a whirlwind.
Xu Huaisong stood quietly without glancing around. Three minutes later, the door in front of him cracked open again, and a head peeked out: "...Done."
Ruan Yu invited him in, noticing how his eyes scanned the floor at the entrance—just like Li Shican had done before.
She had to explain again that she didn’t have men’s slippers and told him to come straight in.
The two walked into the living room in silence. Ruan Yu felt this situation was even more nerve-wracking than a celebrity’s sudden visit. The sense of familiarity she had built with Xu Huaisong during their video calls seemed to have vanished entirely, as if everything had reset to square one.
It was like meeting an online friend in real life.
Trying to break the awkwardness, she pointed to a desk in the living room and said, "That’s where I video-called you before."
She followed up with an awkward, diplomatic smile.
Xu Huaisong, however, didn’t look at the desk. His gaze slowly swept over the beige sofas behind it, pausing briefly where Li Shican had once sat.
He gave a faint "Mm" and, when moving forward, avoided that spot, choosing to sit on the opposite side instead.
Ruan Yu had long forgotten where Li Shican had sat last time and didn’t notice this detail. She asked if he wanted some water.
"Coffee, please."
"Is instant okay?"
"Mm."
Ruan Yu casually turned on the standing air conditioner in the living room before heading to the kitchen to boil water for the coffee. When she returned, she found Xu Huaisong had taken off his glasses and was leaning back on the sofa with his eyes closed, looking utterly exhausted.
She set the coffee cup down gently and checked the time.
It was 1 PM in Beijing, which meant 10 PM in San Francisco. Xu Huaisong had just arrived, hadn’t adjusted to the time difference, and had endured over ten hours on a plane followed by several more in a car.
Ruan Yu rubbed her forehead.
Earlier, she had only considered not letting this important guest make a wasted trip. Now, calculating the time, she realized she should have sent him straight to a hotel to sleep.
With that thought, she stayed quiet, carefully moving her laptop from the desk to the coffee table and sitting on the sofa across from him to review documents.
She read for a while, then glanced up at him.
After a few rounds, she confirmed—his breathing was steady and slightly heavy. He was truly asleep.
So, what now?
Ruan Yu opened her mouth, the word "Xu" already on the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed it back.
By the time the steaming coffee had cooled completely, she still hadn’t managed to wake him.
Her laptop suddenly made a soft "ding"—a WeChat message had arrived. Ruan Yu quickly muted it, glancing at Xu Huaisong to ensure he hadn’t stirred, then opened the chat.
Sister Yao: Xiao Wen, is the anti-plagiarism comparison ready yet?
This Sister Yao was a friend in the writing community who had helped her prepare the anti-plagiarism materials when the scandal first broke. Later, the work shifted to Xu Huaisong, and her involvement had stopped.
Ruan Yu typed as softly as possible: Almost done. Thanks for checking in, Sister Yao.
Sister Yao: It’s been days and it’s still not finished? Be careful—is that lawyer dragging his feet on purpose?
Ruan Yu glanced at the motionless Xu Huaisong and quickly replied: No, he wouldn’t.
Sister Yao: If it’s not intentional delay, then he’s just not competent enough. Make sure you’ve got the right person.
With the man in question less than two meters away, Ruan Yu worried Xu Huaisong might see these messages. She hurriedly typed: He’s very professional, just busy. Don’t worry, Sister Yao.After sending the message, Ruan Yu noticed the person opposite her shift slightly, changing to a crossed-arm posture.
She stood up and tiptoed to the standing air conditioner, adjusting the angle of the vents to ensure the cold air no longer blew directly on him. Just as she turned back, the ringtone of a voice call sounded.
It was Xu Huaisong's.
Awakened by the noise, he opened his eyes and first glanced at her standing by the air conditioner before picking up his phone to answer. "Mm."
"Just fell asleep."
"Haven't eaten."
"Mm."
The call ended after just these four short sentences. Ruan Yu pieced together the meaning of the conversation and stepped forward. "You haven't eaten yet?"
Xu Huaisong straightened his wrinkled shirt and sat up properly, nodding.
"Then should we go grab something to eat first?"
"Too hot." Xu Huaisong glanced at the blazing sun outside the window and shook his head.
"Do you eat takeout?"
Takeout might not be hygienic, and she doubted Xu Huaisong would eat it.
Sure enough, he shook his head again.
But now that she knew he was hungry, it would be inhumane to make him discuss the case with her on an empty stomach.
Ruan Yu thought for a moment and pointed to the kitchen. "I have food at home. See if there's anything you can make do with?"
This time, Xu Huaisong nodded. But perhaps still groggy from his nap, he bumped into a stack of documents on the coffee table as he stood up.
The papers slid across the surface and knocked into a coffee cup. With a "clatter," the cup fell to the floor and shattered into pieces.
Coffee splattered everywhere.
Ruan Yu froze.
Xu Huaisong pinched the bridge of his nose.
He'd been rushing to handle the case and had only slept ten hours in three days—he was truly out of it.
Ruan Yu quickly waved her hands. "It's fine, I'll clean it up later."
She led him to the kitchen and opened the fridge for him to see. "We can make a sandwich or pasta with these ingredients."
She deliberately suggested Western options, but Xu Huaisong's gaze landed elsewhere. "This," he said, pointing to a pack of rice cakes.
So he wasn't entirely Westernized after all.
Ruan Yu asked, "How would you like them prepared?"
"Fried."
She nodded and bent down to take out the rice cakes. "Go wait in the living room, then."
Xu Huaisong left.
Ruan Yu tied on an apron and got to work in the kitchen. Just as she was about to slice the rice cakes, she hesitated.
These were water-milled rice cakes, which weren't really suitable for frying. But then she suddenly understood why Xu Huaisong had wanted fried rice cakes.
Because among Suzhou's specialties was a type of lard rice cake, usually fried.
He must be homesick.
And she happened to have some lard rice cakes her mother had sent her earlier.
Given how exhausted he was—falling asleep the moment he sat on the sofa—she ought to treat him properly. With that thought, she swapped the water-milled rice cakes for the lard ones.
Following the method her mother had taught her, Ruan Yu prepared the batter, cracked an egg, heated the oil, coated the sliced rice cakes, and fried them over low heat.
The pieces soon turned golden brown, filling the air with a mouthwatering aroma.
Even she, who had already eaten lunch, felt a little hungry.
As she plated the rice cakes, Ruan Yu couldn't resist sneaking a bite. Afraid Xu Huaisong might see, she glanced toward the living room—only to find him crouching on one knee with his back to her, sleeves rolled up, doing something she couldn't make out.
She froze just as he turned around, holding a dustpan full of porcelain shards.
Ruan Yu hurried over. "I can handle this."
Xu Huaisong set the dustpan aside and said succinctly, "Rag. Tape."She let out an "Oh," found two items, and was about to squat down to clean up herself when the cloth in her hand was taken by Xu Huaisong.
Without a word, he wiped the floor clean, set the cloth aside, and then held his hand out to her again.
Ruan Yu placed the tape in his palm and bent down to say, "This material shouldn't leave any ceramic shards."
Xu Huaisong ignored her, meticulously picking up the supposedly nonexistent ceramic fragments as if performing surgery.
Ruan Yu was slightly stunned.
Though he was just taking responsibility for his own mistake, seeing this scene, it would be a lie to say she wasn’t moved at all.
So, when she returned with the rice cakes and saw Xu Huaisong’s slightly surprised expression, she said something she normally wouldn’t have: "I switched to lard rice cakes. You probably haven’t had them in years, right?"
Then came the fatal question.
Xu Huaisong raised an eyebrow. "How did you know I’m from Suzhou?"
Author’s note: Ruan Ruan: If I said I divined it with my fingers… would you believe me?
All my lovely readers who bought the official version, come claim your red packets! Since the backend doesn’t allow bulk sending to subscribers, you’ll need to leave a comment so I can send them out.
OpenNovel