The First Day
The closer Cheng Liu got to her boyfriend, the faster her heart beat.
He was so handsome!
Beneath the overhead lights, his amber eyes were extraordinarily beautiful. There was a trace of coldness in them, yet his gaze was clear and bright. One long, pale hand held a heavy bouquet of white lilies of the valley, their flower heads drooping slightly. For a moment, it was difficult to tell whether his hand or the flowers were whiter.
He had only come to pick her up, yet he had deliberately dressed up and even put in coloured contact lenses.
The colour suited him quite well, though.
Cheng Liu’s gaze travelled slowly down from her boyfriend’s face. After admiring his beautiful, well-defined fingers and long, straight legs, her attention finally returned to the white lilies of the valley.
Only two hours ago, she had heard the woman beside her on the plane mentioning lilies of the valley. She had not expected her boyfriend to buy some too.
Were lilies of the valley the latest trend in gift-giving?
She did not know whether they held any special meaning. It was probably another marketing campaign created by merchants.
As Cheng Liu pondered this, she took several large strides towards her boyfriend and snatched the bouquet from his hand.
“You didn’t need to bring flowers just because you came to pick me up.”
The moment she finished speaking, she saw her boyfriend frown slightly.
Even his frown was beautiful!
Cheng Liu drew in a sharp breath internally while maintaining her usual composure on the outside.
She quietly reflected that she should not have said that. It sounded as if she did not appreciate his kind intentions.
However, apologising did not seem quite right either.
Cheng Liu simply transferred the flowers from her left hand to the right hand pulling her suitcase. She then grabbed her boyfriend’s hand and pulled him towards the exit.
“Let’s go home.”
As she turned around, Cheng Liu keenly noticed her boyfriend’s eyes widen slightly, as though he were shocked.
He must have been surprised because this was the first time she had taken the initiative to hold his hand.
Another flicker of guilt entered Cheng Liu’s heart, which had previously contained nothing but work.
Why had she neglected her boyfriend and left him completely alone back then?
His hand really was pleasant to hold, though.
It was warm and unexpectedly smooth.
However, after taking only two steps, Cheng Liu’s phone rang again. She had no choice but to release her boyfriend’s hand for the moment.
“Ms Cheng, you left one of your phones in the study. We tried calling you earlier but couldn’t get through. Would you like us to mail it to you?”
It was the hotel manager.
Hearing this, Cheng Liu turned slightly and glanced at the laptop bag on her back.
After speaking to her boyfriend that night, she had not put her personal phone back inside the bag. She must have left it behind because she had been in such a hurry when she departed at noon.
However, she rarely used her personal phone. Even her family usually contacted her through the number she was currently carrying.
“Keep it at the hotel for now. I’ll collect it the next time I go to G City,” Cheng Liu said.
She travelled to G City frequently. Her executive assistant had reserved the hotel suite for her on a long-term basis, and she hardly used her personal phone anyway. There was no problem with leaving it there.
“Of course. I won’t disturb you any further.”
…
After receiving the phone call, Ji Chaozhou brought the lilies of the valley to the airport.
He had waited for approximately half an hour when he finally saw Yun Fei emerging from inside, pulling her suitcase behind her.
She was not wearing a face mask. She was not even wearing sunglasses, leaving her entire face completely exposed.
The moment Yun Fei’s eyes met his, a smile immediately appeared on her beautiful face.
The surrounding travellers had already been glancing at her discreetly. Now, their discussions grew even louder.
Yun Fei seemed not to notice. She quickened her pace towards Ji Chaozhou, as though they were lovers reuniting after a long separation.
Ji Chaozhou’s expression became even colder.
She was doing it deliberately.
He swept his gaze across the surrounding area. Sure enough, several people carrying professional cameras with long lenses had appeared nearby without him noticing.
They continuously moved closer. Following the direction in which Yun Fei was heading, they began shifting their attention towards him.
Before Ji Chaozhou could turn away, however, someone suddenly darted in front of him, snatched the lilies of the valley straight from his hands, and began speaking to him with inexplicable familiarity.
The entertainment reporters holding their large cameras froze momentarily. Even their movements became hesitant.
Was this extraordinarily handsome man, whose appearance could overshadow countless young actors in the entertainment industry, not popular actress Yun Fei’s lover?
The next moment, the woman standing before Ji Chaozhou abruptly took his hand and pulled him around.
As she did so, she even lightly stroked the back of his hand with the pad of her thumb.
No matter how calm Ji Chaozhou usually was, he was stunned at that moment.
Before he could pull his hand free, however, the woman released him first and answered a phone call.
A little over ten seconds later, she ended the call and slipped the phone into her pocket. Turning slightly, she reached out and grabbed Ji Chaozhou’s hand once again before pulling him towards the exit.
Ji Chaozhou frowned as he stared at the person walking ahead of him.
He was certain he did not know her.
It was not as though no one who liked Ji Chaozhou had ever used various excuses to approach him. He had heard every absurd reason imaginable.
However…
Everything this woman did was so natural that, for one fleeting moment, Ji Chaozhou began to wonder whether he truly did know her.
He turned his head slightly and looked behind him.
Yun Fei had clearly witnessed the scene and appeared equally shocked. She had even stopped walking, causing the surrounding travellers to gradually crowd around her and request photographs and autographs.
Ji Chaozhou lowered his long eyelashes, concealing every trace of emotion.
Surprisingly, he did not withdraw his hand. He simply allowed the woman in front of him to lead him away.
Naturally, Cheng Liu had no idea what her “boyfriend” was thinking.
She was still immersed in the joy of how pleasant his hand felt as she strode towards the exit.
At the same time, she keenly noticed an entertainment reporter pointing a huge camera lens at them.
As they passed each other, Cheng Liu released the handle of her suitcase and used the hand holding the lilies of the valley to point at the reporter.
“Don’t publish anything carelessly.”
In recent years, she had gained some recognition within the business and technology sectors. However, Cheng Liu disliked seeing her face appear in gossip news, so she casually issued a warning.
The reporter had already been confused about the situation. Having decided to give up trying to understand and simply take pictures of everything, he lowered his camera and revealed a stunned face.
“Oh. All right.”
He assumed they were merely an exceptionally attractive pair of travellers who had accidentally wandered into the scene and were sensitive about being photographed.
Only after they had walked far away did the reporter belatedly come back to his senses.
He glanced at the crowd gathered tightly on the other side and, after thinking for a moment, decided against forcing his way through.
He had thought the news about Yun Fei’s lover coming to collect her from the airport was true.
It appeared to have been a misunderstanding.
However, the couple who had just passed by were genuinely beautiful, especially the man. Even he, another man, had stared in amazement.
The reporter lowered his head and examined the photographs he had taken.
They were so beautiful that he could not bear to delete them.
He recalled the female traveller’s warning.
As long as he did not publish them, surely there was nothing wrong with keeping them for himself.
With that thought, his gaze settled on the woman holding the male traveller’s hand in the photograph.
A moment later, he murmured quietly, “Why does she look… familiar?”
By then, Cheng Liu, the female traveller who had looked familiar to the reporter, had already led her boyfriend into the car park.
She opened the boot of her car and placed her luggage inside.
“Add me on WeChat.”
After closing the boot, Cheng Liu turned towards her boyfriend, who was standing beside her.
Saving her boyfriend’s contact details on her work phone made Cheng Liu feel as though she were blurring the boundary between her professional and private lives.
However…
Cheng Liu raised her eyes and looked at the dazzlingly handsome man before her.
She supposed her standards could be lowered a little further.
When he remained motionless for a long time, Cheng Liu looked down at her phone screen and pulled up her QR code.
“Scan it.”
The moment Cheng Liu displayed her WeChat screen before him, Ji Chaozhou inevitably saw the row of conversations on it.
His gaze eventually stopped on a familiar name.
Had she been sent by him?
Ji Chaozhou’s pale amber eyes calmly swept over the woman standing opposite him, who was only half a head shorter than he was. His gaze then settled on the WeChat name displayed above her QR code.
**Number Six.**
Her profile picture showed a handgun, its barrel pointing upwards and its grip angled to the right.
He recalled the way she had warned the entertainment reporter earlier.
A bodyguard?
Ji Chaozhou remained silent for a long time.
Remembering what Aunt Yun had said, he eventually took out his phone and added the supposed bodyguard on WeChat.
Cheng Liu patiently waited for her boyfriend to add her again.
Internally, she praised herself.
Her boyfriend was only angry and throwing a tantrum. There was nothing wrong with coaxing him a little more.
Besides, he had dressed up especially for her today. As his girlfriend, she ought to be generous. Lowering her head occasionally was no great sacrifice.
Therefore, she voluntarily walked over and opened the passenger-side door, waiting for her boyfriend to get inside.
Ever since childhood, Cheng Liu had always accomplished whatever she set her mind to.
Now that she had decided to turn over a new leaf and become the most devoted girlfriend imaginable, she would certainly give it her absolute best!
After Ji Chaozhou concluded that the woman was a bodyguard, he lost all desire to investigate what had happened inside the airport.
He entered the car with a cold expression.
Cheng Liu walked around to the other side and sat in the driver’s seat.
As she drove out of the car park, she quietly glanced at her boyfriend’s profile as he looked through the window.
They had not seen each other for three months, yet even his side profile had somehow become more perfect.
Cheng Liu’s heart pounded.
She had originally intended to take him directly to dinner. However, she now felt slightly self-conscious.
It would be better to return home, wash, and change her clothes before their date.
After all, her boyfriend beside her was beautiful, spotless, and impeccably clean, while she had spent the morning wandering around an experimental factory in G City before immediately boarding a plane.
“Where… do you live?” Cheng Liu asked hesitantly.
The moment the question left her mouth, Cheng Liu began feeling guilty again.
They had been dating for six months, yet she did not even know where her boyfriend lived.
“Building Five, Wenxing Residential Community,” Ji Chaozhou answered without turning to look at her.
After speaking, he quietly returned his gaze to the scenery outside the window.
He would not make things difficult for a bodyguard.
The car remained exceptionally quiet throughout the journey. Only Cheng Liu occasionally glanced at her boyfriend, who was apparently still angry.
When the traffic light ahead turned red, Cheng Liu stepped on the brake.
She quickly glanced at the long, beautiful hand resting naturally beside him.
She wanted to touch it.
However, she had once heard a business partner say that when a girlfriend was angry, you could not casually put your hands all over her.
The same principle probably applied to boyfriends.
Forget it.
She should coax him properly first.
Cheng Liu drove smoothly into Wenxing Residential Community and stopped outside Building Five.
Her phone vibrated. She took it out and saw a message from her executive assistant informing her that the meeting was about to begin.
She replied before turning towards her boyfriend, who had already pushed open the car door.
“I’ll pick you up at eight tonight for dinner at Guyu Bistro.”
Cheng Liu had reserved a private dining room for the entire day.
Originally, she had done so to give herself complete flexibility, allowing her to arrive or leave whenever she wished.
It seemed the money had not been wasted.
She still had time to return home, shower, and change into clean clothes.
Ji Chaozhou suddenly stopped and leaned back into the car.
His anger had disappeared that quickly?
Cheng Liu looked at her boyfriend’s beautiful face as he turned towards her, and her heart filled with delight.
Before she could speak, however, she watched helplessly as he took the lilies of the valley she had left inside the car.
“…”
Why had he become even angrier?
He would not even let her keep the flowers anymore.
Watching her boyfriend’s figure disappear into the building, Cheng Liu remained seated in the car and sighed.
She had failed to appreciate him properly before. It was only natural that he would be unhappy now.
Holding her phone, she looked at the WeChat account her boyfriend had just added.
He had changed both his profile picture and his username.
A few days earlier, his profile picture had been a side-profile selfie. Now, it depicted a glass vessel filled with pale-yellow liquid, resembling a perfume bottle.
His WeChat name consisted of only one character:
**Zhou.**
Cheng Liu thought for a long time but could not remember what her boyfriend’s previous WeChat name had been.
She vaguely recalled that it had been an English name.
Was it Jerry or Tom?
Cheng Liu opened the contact notes. After some thought, she decided not to type the name “Wang Haiyang.”
Looking at him now, she felt that name did not suit her boyfriend at all.
Besides, it sounded far too distant!
In the end, she entered three characters into the contact notes:
**Boyfriend.**
A moment later, Cheng Liu turned the car around and drove towards her own residence.
It was only a matter of coaxing her boyfriend.
She would definitely succeed.
Was he not merely angry because she had failed to contact him for so long?
Starting today, Cheng Liu guaranteed that she would accompany her boyfriend every single day for the foreseeable future!
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