NABC Chapter 101
Chapter 101
wei shixu sat on the sofa, fiddling with a worn-out basketball in his hands. the basketball had been repaired, inflated, and restored to its spherical shape, though it still looked oddly colored and quite shabby. he tossed it from his left hand to his right and back again, creating a graceful parabola. his fingers were long and his knuckles well-defined, much like quan zhisui's.
qian cheng, standing nearby, watched the basketball sway back and forth like the pendulum of a clock, nearly crossing his eyes in the process. he shifted his gaze and asked, "young master, are you sure we don’t need to deal with the zuo family’s surveillance of quan zhisui?"
wei shixu, still engrossed in playing with his beloved basketball, didn’t even look up. "no need."
qian cheng thought for a moment and said, "young master, i think it’s going to be difficult for quan zhisui to get approval to live on campus. given zuo zhiyu’s personality, he won’t agree to sign the application form."
wei shixu replied, "hmm, so?"
qian cheng continued, "what i mean is, maybe we should step in? after all, she’s just a 17-year-old high school student!"
wei shixu finally looked up, raising an eyebrow. "who are you looking down on?"
qian cheng almost lost his composure. "young master, you can’t judge others by your standards. they haven’t had the same rapid growth experience as you! their approach and methods in handling things are often lacking!"
those three years, though tumultuous, had accelerated wei shixu’s growth, placing him at a height that others could only admire.
wei shixu went back to playing with the basketball. "just prepare the single room. don’t worry about the rest."
qian cheng took a deep breath. "understood, young master."
he didn’t argue further and took out his phone to make the arrangements.
wei shixu glanced at the phone and asked, "is that a phone charm made from scraps?"
qian cheng nodded. "yes, young master. i made two."
wei shixu smiled. "it’s quite nice. where’s the other one?"
qian cheng’s mouth twitched. "i gave it to my sister, young master. it’s just scraps, after all."
wei shixu chuckled. "i know. don’t worry, i’m not implying anything."
qian cheng: "..."
for a moment, he thought wei shixu was going to snatch it to give to his beloved classmate!
in qian cheng’s eyes, the young master was practically a madman these days, buying anything that caught his eye, driven by an intense shopping urge, wanting to give everything away.
the problem was, he couldn’t just send everything all at once—the girl wouldn’t accept it.
as a result, he had accumulated a pile of strange gifts in the storage room, with no idea when they’d ever be given away.
qian cheng was practically sweating on wei shixu’s behalf!
...
xu zhiyi returned the next day, storming in and having a heated argument with zuo zhiyu.
"dorm mates?" wei shixu raised an eyebrow, then handed her a key. "i got you a single room."
quan zhisui blinked. "huh?"
wei shixu explained, "i donated money to renovate the dormitory. i can even get the school to waive your dorm fees."
quan zhisui replied, "i’ve already paid."
wei shixu smirked. "you won’t have to pay for senior year."
with that, he stepped forward to help her carry her suitcase, leading her inside.
the renovated dormitory at liang secondary school was almost like an apartment complex. each room had a clean bathroom, and every floor had a laundry room. most rooms were shared by six students, with very few single rooms available.
quan zhisui’s single room was on the second floor.
it wasn’t large—certainly not as spacious as the master bedroom on the second floor of the zuo residence—but it was a small suite with its own washing machine and bathroom, and everything seemed brand new.
quan zhisui began unpacking her clothes. she had brought along the teddy bear she received as a birthday gift, as well as some items she had taken from her master.
she felt that the zuo residence wasn’t safe, and the school was a better option.
wei shixu helped her unpack, his gaze lingering on the teddy bear as he chuckled softly.
he asked, "have you thought about my proposal?"
quan zhisui replied, "you mean zuo zhiyu’s illegitimate child abroad? the ten-year-old?"
wei shixu nodded. "that mother and son are different from xu zhiyi, and different from zuo zhiyu’s other women in the country. she’s got some background."
some background, but not much—though still far superior to xu zhiyi.
quan zhisui was intrigued. "tell me more."
wei shixu explained, "her name is hou qiaoling. her father was originally a high-ranking official from another province, but he was disciplined and removed from office."
quan zhisui stroked her chin. "and then?"
wei shixu continued, "hou qiaoling was raised as a socialite, exactly the type to attract zuo zhiyu. after her father’s downfall, her mother committed suicide. at her lowest point, she met zuo zhiyu, who was on a business trip in her city, and they fell in love."
quan zhisui suddenly interjected, "wait, there’s a gap in information here. the zuo family is only somewhat well-known in liangxi town. outside su province—heck, even outside liangxi—zuo zhiyu is a nobody. did hou qiaoling not know he was married?"
wei shixu nodded. "exactly. because of her father’s scandal, which affects three generations, hou qiaoling’s best option for her child’s future was to move abroad. so after getting pregnant, she bought property overseas and gave birth there. overseas, information is more closed off, so she had no idea."
quan zhisui started clapping. "what a juicy scandal! fang yue didn’t mention these details."
wei shixu explained, "fang yue is just a driver. zuo zhiyu wouldn’t let him in on everything. hou qiaoling is different from xu zhiyi—she’s got some brains and some tricks up her sleeve. that’s why zuo zhiyu is a bit wary of her and hasn’t revealed his domestic situation."
quan zhisui asked, "do you have a way to contact hou qiaoling?"
wei shixu nodded. "anytime."