Chapter 15#

The driver took Yan Heqing to his apartment building.

“Thank you,” Yan Heqing said, then got out of the car.

Not far away, in a corner, a faint red glow flickered. Lu Muchi was smoking, his eyes cold.

He recognized the car that dropped Yan Heqing off as a Lin family car.

Yan Heqing really had reunited with Lin Fengzhi.

Subsequently, Lu Muchi took out his phone and dialed Yan Heqing’s number again.

“The number you have dialed is switched off—”

At the same time, Yan Shengbing heard the same message.

“Damn it!”

Yan Shengbing put down his phone, cursing, “This brat still hasn’t turned on his phone!”

It was freezing cold. Every time Yan Shengbing spoke, cold air rushed into his mouth. He wrapped his cotton coat tighter, complaining endlessly, “It’s already ten o’clock and he hasn’t come out yet. Should we still wait?”

The last sentence was directed at Zhao Huilin.

Zhao Huilin was also freezing. She rubbed her hands vigorously and looked towards Peking University, which had long since closed its gates.

It was really strange. They had been waiting every day, but they hadn’t managed to catch Yan Heqing even once.

Another gust of biting cold wind blew. Zhao Huilin shivered uncontrollably. She stomped her feet to keep warm, her teeth chattering from the cold. “Let’s go home!”

…

Yan Heqing cooked a bowl of tomato dough drop soup.

After eating the steaming hot soup, his whole body felt warm. He washed an apple, carefully dried it with a tissue, returned to his room, turned on his computer, and began to review his lessons.

Final exams were in a month.

He turned on the small heater. Within half a meter of the coffee table, it was very warm. Occasionally, the crisp sound of biting into an apple could be heard in the air.

Downstairs, Lu Muchi couldn’t get through on the phone. He looked up at the lit window, his gaze obscure.

Did Yan Heqing blacklist him?

Hailing a car, Lu Muchi sat in the back seat and ordered the driver, “Give me your phone.”

The driver was baffled but quickly took out his phone, unlocked it, and handed it to Lu Muchi.

The number was already memorized by heart. Lu Muchi dialed it directly.

—

“The number you have dialed is switched off…”

Lu Muchi’s eyebrows twitched slightly. He switched back to his own phone and dialed a number. “Check all phone numbers under Yan Heqing’s name immediately.”

A string of numbers was sent from the other side very quickly.

Lu Muchi took a look and knew that Yan Heqing had changed his number. He was instantly furious. How dared Yan Heqing! Ignoring him again and again, when he had clearly said to wait for his call!

His hand rested on the door handle. Just as Lu Muchi was about to get out of the car, a call came in.

It was Lin Fengzhi.

Lu Muchi suddenly deflated. He stared at the screen, not answering for a long time.

Since learning last time that Lin Fengzhi had someone he liked, they hadn’t been in contact.

Lu Muchi didn’t ask if the person Lin Fengzhi liked was a man or a woman. It was meaningless; anyway, it wasn’t him.

He was afraid that Lin Fengzhi didn’t like men, so he had been pretending to be a caring brother protecting Lin Fengzhi, planning to confess when Lin Fengzhi turned 20. But Lin Fengzhi fell in love with someone else!

Lu Muchi felt an indescribable suffocation again.

The phone didn’t ring for long before it went quiet.

This was the first time Lu Muchi hadn’t answered Lin Fengzhi’s call. Holding the phone, he lowered the car window and looked at Yan Heqing’s window.

The next second, the light went out.

Gone to sleep?

A strange thought suddenly popped into Lu Muchi’s mind. He wondered if Yan Heqing had fed raw fish to the stray cats again today.

Lu Muchi was lost in thought. The gentle smile on the boy’s brow in the dim corridor that night flashed through his mind again.

Yan Heqing had never smiled at him so gently. He had never even smiled at him.

To this day, he still didn’t know if Yan Heqing had dimples.

His irritability grew even stronger. Lu Muchi rolled up the car window. “Back to the company.”

Hearing the sound of the car downstairs, Yan Heqing didn’t even lift his eyelids. Only the core of the apple remained. He threw it into the trash can and continued working on the question bank.

Then he turned on the light.

In a blink of an eye, it was Saturday. The old man suddenly invited Yan Heqing to go ice fishing at a private lake.

Yan Heqing contacted the manager to ask for leave.

“Xiao Yan, it’s not that I’m harsh and won’t approve your leave,” the manager nagged. “You only come two days a week. Many customers in the shop only drink the cocktails you make. Now you want to take a day off…”

He hesitated, implying he wouldn’t approve it.

“Can I swap shifts?” Yan Heqing said. “Next week, except for Tuesday, you can arrange any day for me to make up the shift.”

The manager agreed immediately. “I’ll notify you once the shift is arranged.”

Half an hour later, the old man came to pick up Yan Heqing according to the address. Yan Heqing was already waiting at the unit entrance with his things.

After putting the things in the trunk, the old man was ready to give up his seat. “Xiao Yan, you drive. I’ll take a nap.”

Yan Heqing scratched his head. “I can’t drive.”

The old man was very surprised. “You don’t know how?” Boys of this age usually have a driver’s license, right?

The corners of Yan Heqing’s lips curved. “I know how to drive, I just haven’t taken the driver’s license test.”

A driver’s license was a considerable expense, and he didn’t have the money to buy a car before.

Now that he often went fishing, driving himself would be much more convenient. He put getting a driver’s license on his winter vacation schedule.

The old man understood it differently. “True, there are traffic jams everywhere now. The subway is more convenient. If it weren’t for that place being in the wilderness with no subway, I wouldn’t want to drive either.”

Yan Heqing suggested, “How about hiring a designated driver?”

“Troublesome.” The old man refastened his seat belt and whispered, “Wait until we get out of the city, then you drive. No one checks, and it’s a good chance for you to practice.”

A shallow arc appeared at the corner of Yan Heqing’s mouth. “Wait until I practice well. I don’t dare to experiment with you.”

The old man laughed heartily. “Alright, alright, alright. I’ll drive all the way today.”

The old man was talkative and didn’t stop along the way. Time passed quickly. After leaving the city and getting on the highway, they drove for another hour or so and arrived at the foot of the destination mountain.

The temperature was several degrees lower than in the city, surrounded by mountains covered in white snow.

The only road into the valley had a gatekeeper barrier. After scanning the license plate, the gatekeeper opened the barrier to let them through.

The old man introduced, “Here, if the license plate is registered, you can enter directly. If not, you swipe a membership card.”

He freed a hand, took out a black gold card from the storage box, and handed it to Yan Heqing. “My license plate is registered. You take this card and use it.”

Yan Heqing didn’t politely refuse. He needed this card.

He took the card and said seriously, “I’m good at handling snakehead fish. I’ll catch one later. Whether you like it braised or stewed in soup, I’ll show you my skills.”

The old man’s eyes narrowed with laughter. “I like both. You’d better catch two snakehead fish!”

Yan Heqing nodded. “Okay, I’ll catch two.”

Both sides of the road were endless forests covered in snow, possessing a solemn and calm beauty.

Driving a few more kilometers into the mountains, they finally reached the lake surrounded by snow-capped mountains.

The lake surface, which was deep blue in summer, was now frozen into a large mirror. Quite a few tents had already been set up, but the area was so long and wide that it didn’t feel crowded.

However, the parking lot was full of cars.

Everything about this valley was good, except that the parking lot wasn’t built big enough. The old man circled several times without finding a spot, and his temper flared up. “That’s why I hate coming on weekends. It’s always crowded on weekends!”

Cars kept coming in from behind.

Yan Heqing observed quietly and found an empty spot. “Turn left, there’s a spot next to the fourth car ahead.”

The old man immediately turned left and successfully grabbed the parking spot, beaming with joy. “Young people’s eyes are still better.”

As soon as the car was parked, the old man hurriedly unfastened his seat belt and got out. He didn’t want Yan Heqing’s help. Carrying his bag and holding his things, he ran nimbly towards the lake. “Choose a spot yourself! I have an old spot. Call me if you catch a snakehead fish!”

Yan Heqing replied, “Okay.”

The old man ran far away. Yan Heqing was still in the same place. He didn’t rush to get his bag but turned around and walked along the parking spaces, observing the license plate numbers.

Lu Lin commonly used two cars: one was a Jing A0000 driven by a driver, and the other was a Jing A1111 he drove himself when fishing.

Among the densely packed cars, Yan Heqing checked all the license plate numbers but didn’t find Jing A1111.

Lu Lin didn’t come today.

It was unexpected yet not unexpected. Since it wasn’t Tuesday, the probability of Lu Lin coming was relatively low.

But even if Lu Lin came, Yan Heqing didn’t plan to meet him now.

Last time at the bar, he wasn’t sure if Lu Lin had any impression of him. A formal meeting shouldn’t be too ordinary.

Returning to the parking spot, Yan Heqing opened the trunk, took his equipment, and went onto the lake surface.

The old man had to return to the city in the evening, so Yan Heqing didn’t set up a tent. He randomly picked a spot to sit and fish.

While drilling the ice hole, Yan Heqing stared intently at the flying ice chips, and an unusual idea gradually took shape.

In less than an hour, Yan Heqing caught two snakehead fish.

He called the old man, and the old man came running happily.

“Oh my, Xiao Yan.” The old man was obviously envious. “You said you couldn’t catch a single fish before, but now you catch more than me every time. What method did you use?”

Yan Heqing squatted aside, skillfully killing the fish. “No method. A brilliant teacher produces a brilliant student.”

The old man was amused again.

At the Lu Corporation headquarters, Lu Lin finished processing the documents and raised his hand to check the time.

3 o’clock.

He made a phone call. “In ten minutes, bring the car to the company entrance.”

Turning off the computer, Lu Lin stood up, loosened his tie, and walked into the lounge.

Subsequently, he changed into a windbreaker and cargo pants, came out carrying fishing gear, and went downstairs.

The car stopped at the entrance on time. Lu Lin let the driver get out and get off work. He sat in the driver’s seat and drove out of the city alone.

When he arrived at the valley, the sky was completely dark. The dim streetlights provided almost no illumination.

Light snow was falling. A beam of headlights penetrated the wind and snow ahead. Lu Lin slowed down.

This road wasn’t too wide, just enough for two cars to pass. One lane for entering the mountain, one for leaving, with only a yellow line in the middle.

At the moment the two cars passed each other, the passenger window of that car was just rolling up, and a familiar side profile flashed by.

Screech!

In the quiet snowy valley, a sudden screech of brakes resounded.

The black Bugatti stopped on the road. Snowflakes fell on the roof. Lu Lin lowered the car window, and cold wind rushed in. In the rearview mirror, the Audi was gradually moving away.

It was him.

Lu Lin’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

…

“Sorry, Xiao Yan.” The old man drove a bit faster than when they came. “Calling you back so early, something came up at home.”

Yan Heqing rolled up the car window. “It’s okay. It’s better to go back early when it’s snowing. It will be troublesome if it freezes.”

The old man hadn’t thought of that. “That’s true. I’ll drive faster. It would be annoying to get stuck on the highway.”

The old man drove even faster.

At the same time, Lu Lin turned the car around and contacted Xie Yunjie.

“Which days does that bartender work?”

Xie Yunjie didn’t catch on. “What bartender?”

“OG.”

“Oh, oh, that little bartender.” Xie Yunjie was very surprised. “Why ask about him all of a sudden?”

Lu Lin sped up. “Want a drink.”

“Today works,” Xie Yunjie replied. “He’s there on Fridays and Saturdays.”