CM - 55

Shen Tingwen no longer contacted Zhou Shuirong. At school, he didn’t say a word to her. Outside of school, he no longer took the bus with her. He also stopped going to the gym. It was as if the three words “I’m sorry to have bothered you” had carried him and his apologies permanently away from Zhou Shuirong.

Zhou Shuirong focused on her studies, attending classes during the day, hitting the gym at night, and tutoring and doing homework late into the night.

She didn’t know which university she wanted to attend, but she was used to being excellent, and no one could stop her from moving forward.

She seemed to have forgotten the flutter in her heart for Shen Tingwen, or maybe there never was one. Perhaps the unusual feelings were just an illusion, a result of him suddenly intruding into her life after she had been alone for so long.

________________________________________

Xu Su came to see Zhou Shuirong again, and he still hadn’t processed his feelings for her.

He asked Zhou Siyuan about her preferences and found out that Zhou Shuirong had dabbled in everything while she was abroad.

She was very smart and loved adventure. She preferred interacting with mountains, oceans, and animals over people.

She had been to many countries, rich and poor. She had lived in Sudan for a year, experiencing the constant warfare caused by the civil war up close.

She could understand obscure plays and quickly analyze the script’s themes. She also played the piano and danced well. Although her voice was naturally low, through practice and hard work, she had the opportunity to perform in Shakespeare’s classic play Twelfth Night on Broadway. She even earned two thousand five hundred dollars, which she immediately donated to a social assistance organization founded by the federal government before she returned home gracefully.

She had very open-minded parents who gave her the freedom to think and the money to expand her horizons. She was born at the top of the pyramid and could look down on everything.

He, on the other hand, was raised by others. How hard did he have to work, and how excellent did he have to be, to be worthy of her?

He was discouraged but didn’t want to give up.

Fang Qi was a great person, but liking someone had nothing to do with whether they were a good person.

He bought tickets for Twelfth Night at a Beijing theater next month. He wanted to invite Zhou Shuirong to go with him. He knew she wasn’t an adult yet, so he wouldn’t do anything. He could wait for her to grow up and for her to want to experience love.

________________________________________

Zhou Shuirong had never worn a qipao before, but she had heard about them from Zhou Yan. On the weekend, after she finished her homework, she asked Uncle Er about them and found this old, established qipao tailoring shop. She wanted to have one made.

The hand-embroidered styles were a bit expensive, but she had her heart set on one. The shop owner, seeing that she was quite wealthy, referred her to a partner shop nearby that did hand-customized clothing.

With nothing else to do, she strolled over after her measurements were taken. She found that it was a custom suit shop.

She stood outside the window, looking at their non-for-sale items. One was a white women’s suit with a notch lapel, a neutral style that wasn’t overly formal. It looked like the kind of street-style suit you’d see in fashion magazines.

She immediately fell in love with it, but they wouldn’t sell it. Since it was a private shop, there was still room for negotiation.

She called Uncle Er and told him about the situation. Uncle Er told her to wait, and then Shen Tingwen showed up. He was dressed casually in all black and didn’t look at Zhou Shuirong. He said a few words to the staff, paid, and left.

Zhou Shuirong also didn’t talk to him. This was good. It was best for things to be this way from now on, always.

She took the suit box from the shop assistant. Uncle Er’s phone call came in. He said, “I don’t know that shop well, so I called an old buddy of mine. He said he’d send his grandson over. You know him; he’s your little boyfriend.”

Zhou Shuirong immediately denied it. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

“Not yet.”

“Never. We’re not even talking anymore.”

“Right, right, right. I believe you.”

“Uncle Er, seriously?”

“Look at you, girl. I said I believe you. Isn’t that enough?”

Zhou Shuirong hung up. Her mood, which had been neutral, suddenly soured because of Shen Tingwen. When she got upset, she tended to act impulsively. She asked the shop assistant and found out that Shen Tingwen didn’t know the shop either. He was only able to buy the suit because he paid double the price. She immediately transferred the money to Shen Tingwen and said, “Take the money. If we’re going to break up, let’s do it completely. Don’t owe anything.”

Shen Tingwen, being just as stubborn, accepted the money.

Zhou Shuirong thought this was good, so she cleared the message and blocked him.

________________________________________

Yuan Gengcheng had driven Shen Tingwen to the shop. Shen Tingwen went in and came out shortly. He was in the car now but didn’t tell him to drive off. He was still watching Zhou Shuirong inside the store.

Yuan Gengcheng was puzzled. “She’s just a little girl, and she’s practically rebelling against you. How can you tolerate that?”

“I spoiled her, so why can’t I tolerate it?”

“She’s taking advantage of the fact that you like her. Just ignore her for a few days, and she’ll be as docile as a little kitten.”

Shen Tingwen couldn’t bear to ignore her, but this time he really wanted to give her some space to think things through. He couldn’t push her too hard. If he pushed her away, he’d have to chase after her again.

________________________________________

Half a month passed in a flash. Zhou Shuirong’s monthly exam results put her in the top fifty of the entire school, and twenty-seventh in her class. The moment the homeroom teacher saw her grades, he was filled with mixed emotions. After a day of consideration, he called Zhou Shuirong to his office and sincerely apologized for his previous misunderstanding.

Zhou Shuirong accepted, and the rift between her and her teacher was mended.

After leaving the office, Zhou Shuirong ran into Shen Tingwen. He looked calm, neither happy nor sad, just like when she first met him.

This time, the person beside him was no longer Jing He. On second thought, he and Jing He didn’t seem to be friends. He wasn’t friends with anyone. He seemed to have always been like her—lonely and a loner.

He had been so clingy that she had forgotten this. Thinking back now, Zhou Shuirong seemed to be his only exception.

...

She walked quickly into the building to avoid running into him and to avoid the awkwardness.

The monotonous life of a senior high school student consisted of nothing but studying, but Zhou Shuirong was grateful for the heavy workload. It kept her from thinking about Shen Tingwen too often.

Speaking of which, she thought of him less and less these days. She was almost certain that her heart racing and her blushing for Shen Tingwen were all just a figment of her imagination. It was like two people who chat often might think they’ve chatted their way into love.

She had never met anyone like Shen Tingwen before, so it made sense that she was a little flustered.

________________________________________

Shen Tingwen saw Zhou Shuirong avoiding him. She really meant what she said. She was avoiding him, and with her effort, the relationship he had built over time had instantly returned to what it was before they met.

That’s great, Zhou Shuirong. Acting cute didn’t work, being clingy didn’t work, and she wasn’t like any other girl. No matter what he did, nothing worked.

He was starting to regret giving her space. She hadn’t thought things through at all. On the contrary, she seemed even more determined to draw a clear line between them. What kind of girl was like this?

Why was Zhou Shuirong so different from other girls? What gave her the right to just cut him off?