The next morning, Jiang Cheng stared at the empty kitchen, silently picked up his phone and sent Li Yan a wechat.
"Mom? Where's breakfast?"
Li Yan replied almost instantly: "Go buy something downstairs yourself."
In the past, when Li Yan hadn't prepared breakfast she'd still leave him a hundred yuan for it; now she wasn't holding back at all.
Jiang Cheng shook his head in resignation and opened the food-delivery app.
After ordering, he started scrolling through his Moments.
The first post was from Zhou Zhiyun: "Sorry, I was being melodramatic—missing you."
Jiang Cheng frowned, tapped Zhou Zhiyun's profile picture and checked his feed—every single post was some emo, angsty line; it made his head ache.
"I'll still laugh wildly in front of you, then go back to loneliness afterwards."
"I can say 'it's fine' when it hurts; I can say 'whatever' when I'm sad."
"..."
Jiang Cheng exited and commented: "Dumped again?"
After posting, he kept scrolling and saw Zhou Ying share a plane ticket—from Shanghai to Chengdu.
Judging by the time, her flight should be landing about now.
Jiang Cheng sent her a private message.
Five minutes later she replied.
"I just got home."
"Why'd you come back?"
"I'm accompanying Mom to visit Dad; his death anniversary is coming up."
Jiang Cheng stared at the message, momentarily stunned.
The topic had turned awkward; while he was still thinking of how to respond, Zhou Ying took the initiative and sent another text.
"Was Tyrande fun? I went once when I was little."
That was one of the things Jiang Cheng admired about Zhou Ying—she wasn't melodramatic and always considered other people's feelings.
Being with her felt easy, pressure-free.
Yet a girl like that also meant an extremely sensitive heart.
She needed Jiang Cheng to pull her close and cherish her.
"Didn't get to play; it was for work. I flew back yesterday—want to go together next time?"
"So fast? You were only there a day?"
"Yeah, I'm in Chengdu now. Dinner tonight?"
This time Zhou Ying took a long while before replying.
"I've got plans tonight; how about I treat you tomorrow?"
"Sure, it's a deal."
...That evening Jiang Jianmin and Li Yan again didn't come home to cook, so Jiang Cheng had no choice but to drive out for dinner.
He headed straight to Taikoo Li.
After parking opposite the LV boutique, Jiang Cheng simply walked off.
In Chengdu there's a parking hack: if you drive an ordinary sedan, you obediently leave it in the underground garage.
But if, like Jiang Cheng, you're in a porsche 918, you can park wherever you like—even where it's clearly marked no-parking.
After all, the security guards will selectively turn a blind eye.
Jiang Cheng walked straight into LV; he'd returned without any clothes again—his previous purchases were all at Luxury Hotel, leaving him with only one fresh change.
Inside the shop he browsed casually; in under ten minutes he was done—his rule for tees was simple: plain styles that caught his eye.
Best of all, price was never a concern, so no time was wasted.
After paying he tossed the bags into the car and went looking for somewhere random to eat.
Just then a porsche 911 pulled up diagonally opposite the LV entrance.
Out stepped a Handsome Guy in a suit and tie.
He hurried to the passenger side and gallantly opened the door.
A pair of fair, long legs emerged; a woman in a simple white one-piece dress stepped out.
The snug dress traced her perfect curves with precision.
The instant she appeared, nearby security and passers-by locked their eyes on her.
One male street-style blogger was so entranced that he kicked a pillar while staring at her.
Hopping in pain, he squatted on the ground yelling for Mom and Dad.
"My god, she's gorgeous! A celebrity?"
"Taikoo Li never disappoints—might not be a star, but definitely an Internet Celebrity. That figure!"
"Those legs, and that front—heck, even I like her and I'm a girl."
"..."