Chapter 21

The hand behind her released its grip. Shu Shiran let out a breath of relief and stepped back.

Knowing he was teasing, she gave a noncommittal reply: "You'll know when the time comes."

Ji Xi did not pursue the topic further and asked, "Are you heading back?"

"It's ten o'clock." Shu Shiran had been working overtime for several days and wanted to get some rest early tonight.

Ji Xi said, "Perfect, let's go together."

"You're leaving too?" she asked.

"Feng Kuan has had too much to drink, and he’ll just drag me into more if I stay."

So, he was escaping the drinking.

As they walked toward the exit together, Ji Xi said, "You haven't been drinking. Why not drop me off?"

Shu Shiran asked, "You didn't drive?"

Ji Xi gave a hum. "It should be on your way."

There was no reason for her to refuse a ride that was on her route. However, after agreeing, she felt a flicker of confusion. She hadn't touched any alcohol tonight—only non-alcoholic drinks. Since he hadn't been sitting with her, how did he know?

In an instant, they were out of the bar. The contrast between the biting night wind and the air conditioning inside was sharp.

"I'll wait for you up ahead; no one will see," Ji Xi said.

Shu Shiran nodded, and her momentary confusion dissipated with the wind. It wasn't an important matter, after all. It wasn't as if he had been watching her all night.

***

The next day, Wu Tianqi, fresh off his birthday, arrived at the office carrying over a dozen wooden fish. Having no use for so many, he had picked out the cute, chibi-style ones to gift to his colleagues.

He felt everyone needed them. When revising designs or dealing with unreasonable client demands, one could tap them to find inner peace, or use them to vent stress during rough patches.

There were only a dozen or so people in the studio, and Wu Tianqi had prepared one for everyone, including the receptionist. Soon, the office was filled with the sound of wooden fish—a rhythmic, 360-degree surround-sound chorus.

Wu Tianqi took the last one and headed to Shu Shiran’s office. He knocked on the door. Shu Shiran looked up, saw him standing there, and said, "Come in."

Wu Tianqi walked in, grinning. "Sister Ran, I found the 'No-Redraw Card' in the book."

The book Shu Shiran had given him the day before contained a "No-Redraw Card." It meant exactly what it said: he could use it to skip a mandatory redraw.

Shu Shiran remarked, "I thought you wouldn't open it."

"How could I not? It was a gift from you! I'm surprised you didn't remind me."

"I gave it to you. If you didn't find it, that’s on you," she replied.

Wu Tianqi was glad his curiosity had led him to open the gift. At this stage in his career, that card was more practical than anything else. His greatest fear was getting a design rejected and having to start over. Seeing that card had made his day.

"I'll read both books carefully, too. Sister Ran, you’re just like my own sister! My one and only sister."

"…Don't be such a smooth talker."

Wu Tianqi chuckled and pulled the small wooden fish from behind his back, placing it on her desk. "I gave one to everyone in the studio. Helps with the stress."

So that was the source of the tapping she had heard earlier. She had thought it was her imagination.

"Thank you," she said.

"This is the most exquisite one of the lot," Wu Tianqi said. "It looks great as a desk ornament, too."

He couldn't actually imagine the gentle, elegant Shu family princess tapping on a wooden fish—it seemed too absurd. But having it as an ornament was fine; perhaps next time she wanted him to revise or redraw a design, seeing the wooden fish would remind her of his kindness and make her go easy on him.

Shu Shiran knew exactly what he was thinking.

After Wu Tianqi left, she picked up the wooden fish to inspect it. It was a yellow cat design—quite adorable. She placed it next to her computer.

***

Friday passed, and the weekend arrived. Because of the overtime last week, Shu Shiran hadn't returned to Lubi, so she planned to go back this weekend and, incidentally, let Ji Xi make an appearance in front of her grandmother.

After waking up on Saturday, she lay in bed and messaged Ji Xi, asking if he was free to drive her to Lubi in the afternoon.

- Ji Xi: What time?
- Shu Shiran: Maybe one or two in the afternoon. Later is fine, too.
- Ji Xi: I’ll be downstairs at one.

Shu Shiran checked the time—nearly noon—and got up immediately. After a shower, she cooked a bowl of wontons. By the time she finished eating and changed, it was almost one o'clock.

Her phone chimed twice. Thinking it was Ji Xi, she picked it up, only to find a message from Zheng Tingyan in their group chat.

- Zheng Tingyan: @Shu Shiran, your husband is certainly popular. I ran into Zhao Siling at a lunch banquet today and heard her talking about him to others. She looked like she had her eyes set on him.

The word "husband" felt so foreign that it took a moment for Shu Shiran to realize who Zheng Tingyan was talking about. She recalled the banquet where Zhao Siling had indeed shown interest in Ji Xi.

- Shu Shiran: You didn't mention that I’m married to him, did you?
- Zheng Tingyan: Of course not. My lips are sealed. I just listened quietly. She used to talk about you so maliciously; I can't wait to see the look on her face when you and Ji Xi finally go public.
- Xu Ying: I want to see that too.

A notification popped up at the top of her screen.

- Ji Xi: I'm here.

Shu Shiran grabbed her bag and headed downstairs. The black Cullinan was parked out front. Ji Xi sat in the driver's seat, one hand resting carelessly on the steering wheel, his head lowered as he checked his phone.

Seeing him, she was reminded of Zhao Siling's interest. *Zhao Siling again.*

As she stepped out, Ji Xi looked up. Their eyes met through the windshield, and remembering the parade of women around him at the bar, she suddenly felt a surge of irrational annoyance. *He looks like the type who’d go out looking for trouble,* she thought.

Ji Xi watched her get in and raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong? Who annoyed you?"

"No one." Shu Shiran suppressed her emotions and buckled her seatbelt. "Let's go."

Ji Xi lingered on her for a second longer before pulling away. The drive to Lubi took about thirty minutes. The sound of the navigation system filled the car.

"What kind of person does your grandmother like?" Ji Xi asked. "So I can prepare."

Shu Shiran recalled what her grandmother had said. As they stopped at a red light, Ji Xi turned to look at her. "Why aren't you saying anything? Do I not measure up?"

"She said she wanted someone with a simple romantic history, a good personality, and a job that isn't too demanding," Shu Shiran replied. She paused, then added, "You can play around as much as you want in your private time—I won't interfere—but you need to be restrained in front of my grandmother."

Her grandmother was the most important person in her life right now.

Ji Xi narrowed his eyes, his tone dropping. "You won't interfere?"

"But I don't want my grandmother to worry. That’s my bottom line."

Ji Xi curled his lips. "Your bottom line is really low."

The light turned green, and he slammed on the gas. Shu Shiran was pressed back against her seat. The sudden acceleration was clearly intentional, and she glanced at him. He kept his eyes on the road, offering only a cold, indifferent profile.

Sensing his sudden, mocking tone, she fell silent. The atmosphere in the car cooled.

A while later, as they hit the elevated highway, Ji Xi spoke again. "Shu Shiran, is it possible that my romantic history is simpler than yours?"

His tone remained biting. The remark immediately reminded her of the night she caught Yan Yi cheating—when Ji Xi had seen her at her most vulnerable.

He was really hitting a sore spot. She felt a flash of irritation. "…I've only had that one relationship, and it didn't even last six months."

"Is that so?"

The sunlight softened the cold angles of his face. Shu Shiran turned toward the window and said nothing. After a few seconds, Ji Xi tapped his fingers on the steering wheel and said lazily, "I've never been in a relationship."

"…"

"Really?" she asked, skeptical. She suspected he was just trying to paint himself as having a clean slate.

Ji Xi didn't answer. He simply suggested, with a nonchalant air, "Why don't you go investigate it yourself?"

"…"

Shu Shiran would never do such a thing. She thought about it—what Ji Xi said wasn't entirely unreasonable. As long as you never gave someone the title of "girlfriend," then they weren't your girlfriend. And if you’d never had a girlfriend, then of course, you’d never been in a relationship.

There were plenty of people who spent years playing the field only to claim their first love was still waiting for them.

***

When they arrived in Lubi, Ji Xi pulled over outside the old Shu family estate.

"Should I go down with you?" he asked.

"That would be too deliberate," she replied. Her grandmother would know it was him who brought her.

Since she had put it that way, Ji Xi didn't press the matter. "I’ll come pick you up when you're ready to leave."

"I'll probably stay for dinner," she said.

"Fine."

After confirming the plan, Shu Shiran got out. Grandmother Shu knew she was coming and had cleared her schedule of mahjong players, waiting for her after lunch.

"Have you eaten, Nannan?" the old woman asked.

Shu Shiran nodded and asked about her grandmother's health. Not long after, someone arrived. It was Shu Shian. Seeing Shiran, who often visited on weekends, he didn't seem surprised and called out, "Sister."

Shu Shiran nodded.

"Why are you here today?" Grandmother Shu asked.

"Just passing by and thought I'd stop in," Shu Shian replied. "I heard you weren't feeling well."

"Just a bit of discomfort when the temperature dropped. I'm fine now, nothing to worry about."

Shu Shiran had nothing to say to Shu Shian, so she used a phone call as an excuse to go upstairs. She still had her room there.

Ever since her mother passed away when she was twelve and her father brought Shu Shian and his mother into the house, she had lived there. It wasn't until she returned from her studies in England that she moved to Chuan Song No. 1.

She sat in her room for over half an hour before receiving a WeChat message from her grandmother asking her to come down. She took her phone and went downstairs, but saw only her grandmother.

"Did Shu Shian leave?" she asked.

"He left."

The grandmother didn't mention that she knew the "phone call" was just an excuse.

The relationship between Shu Shiran and Shu Shian had improved compared to the past. He was two years her junior. She hadn't known of his existence until she was eight, when rumors of her father having an illegitimate child began to circulate. One day, seeing her mother crying alone, she asked about it. Her mother had changed the subject, and she had assumed it was just gossip.

It wasn't until after her mother passed away and Shu Shian and his mother appeared that she realized the rumors were true. Her mother had been ill for a long time, and while the doctors urged her to keep her spirits up, she remained perpetually melancholy. Only then did Shiran understand the true reason behind her mother's tears.