Chapter 204: Turn your head

Xia Chenggang's phone call lasted nearly half an hour; when he returned, the leftover food on the dining table had been cleared away. He rubbed his face, suppressing the anxiety and panic inside him, not showing it.

On the living room TV, a comedy sketch was playing; Xia Xi and Xia Xuan leaned together, the sisters sharing an orange, their laughter clear. Xia Chenggang, however, grew increasingly irritable, had no mind to smoke, took out a cigarette from the pack, then broke it, and asked: "Where's Mom?"

Xia Xi glanced at him, pointing toward the bedroom: "She said she's tired, going to rest first."

Xia Chenggang hunched his back and silently returned to the bedroom.

After he left, Xia Xi furrowed her brows, a strange feeling welling up she couldn't quite describe; she nudged Xia Xuan's arm: "Don't you feel Dad's been acting strange lately? He's distracted whenever he comes back, and quite impatient."

Xia Xuan also didn't much like her father, nodding in agreement, wrinkling her nose, she said: "You're rarely home, so you might not know—since Dad partnered with Uncle Yao to open a food processing plant, he's hardly ever around, sometimes not even coming back at night. Mom calls him, and he says he's resting in the plant's dormitory. That plant isn't big; can it really be that busy?"

In the bedroom, Xia Chenggang sat with legs spread on the sofa, head bowed, his hands constantly scratching the hair at the back of his head; the sound of water came from the bathroom.

Su Jinru took a bath, put on a date-red two-piece pajama set, and on the side hand-washed her underwear, hung it up, lifted the covers and got into bed; the mattress emitted a faint creak. Seeing her husband sitting there motionless, she paused slightly in applying face cream and asked concernedly: "Chenggang, are you feeling unwell somewhere?"

Xia Chenggang lifted his head, rubbed his rough palm over his face: "No, just taking a nap."

He also went to take a shower, then walked a few laps around the room; when he sat on the bed, he held a document, not showing it to Su Jinru, and putting his arm around her shoulder he said softly: "I bought an insurance policy, naming you as the beneficiary. We're both getting older; the eldest has married, the third is in poor health, the second is opinionated and may not stay in Qianlin. Mother is advanced in age; who knows when… I want to give you more security. In short, it's for your benefit. As you know, I have few relatives; the person I care about most is you…"

He spouted a bunch of vague talk; Su Jinru, having drunk wine and feeling drowsy, didn't quite grasp it, only knowing he'd bought an insurance policy, then seeing him pull out a few pages of paper and thrust a pen into her hand: "Just sign here; you don't need to worry about anything else."

Su Jinru's head felt heavy; she strained to keep her eyes open, trying to make out the words on the paper. Xia Chenggang flicked his wrist, flipping it over, and pointed a finger at the lower right corner of the last page: "Just sign here."

Out of trust in her husband, Su Jinru gripped the pen tightly and wrote her name.

Unfortunately, she didn't notice her husband's tense, somewhat distorted face, nor that his clenched fist was trembling.

"I'll go put things away."

Xia Chenggang held the signed document and hurried out.

He had gotten what he wanted; his first reaction wasn't excitement but a greater panic. After that wave of panic subsided came disbelief—he turned the document over and over, unable to believe that Peishan Grand Hotel had so easily fallen into his hands.

Finally came excitement, like seawater washing over his head, excitement so extreme it felt like he couldn't breathe.

Xia Chenggang hid the document, splashed cold water on his face to quickly calm himself, then returned to the bedroom where Su Jinru was already lying down, half-asleep.

Xia Chenggang turned off the light, lay down on the bed, and remained sleepless for a long time.

Suddenly, Su Jinru turned over in the dark and spoke, startling him: "How are the profits from the processing plant?"

Fortunately the bedroom was pitch black, so nothing could be seen; Xia Chenggang caught his breath and said: "It's not as profitable at first, but keeping basic operations running is no problem."

"Mm, don't overwork yourself."

Su Jinru mumbled something half-asleep, then fell completely asleep.

After the Lantern Festival, on the seventeenth day of the first lunar month, Xia Xi set out alone on her journey back to school.

Zhou Du and Liang Yuan had already graduated; Liang Yuan found a sales job in Nancheng and started work after her vacation ended. Zhou Du was still a layabout—his family was well-off, he didn't need to earn money to support the household, so he lived as he pleased. Today he might be at a photography studio, tomorrow a clothing model. His face is handsome, his figure good, a walking clothes rack; most styles suit him, and Xia Xi thought modeling suited him well—he might even cross over into stardom someday.

For Xia Xi, the future wasn't unclear either. Her senior year had only this semester left; her fifth year would mainly be an internship, and she'd already obtained the required certifications. According to Professor Li Zongyu, her recommendation for graduate school was also a sure thing.

Everything was moving toward a better direction.

Before the weather changes, there are always some omens, more or less; often life's catastrophes lurk beneath the water's surface, and before they break through, no one knows whether it's a ferocious beast or a reef.

Xia Xi arrived in Nancheng after four in the afternoon, declined Xu Yanfeng's offer to pick her up, and took a taxi back to school.

Her roommate had arrived earlier, the bed already made up; she took the bedding from the closet and spread it out, then received Zhou Du's call.

"Miss, have you arrived at school?" Zhou Du's voice was languid, sounding half-asleep, "I'll bring you something."

Xia Xi knelt on the bed, smoothing the wrinkles out of the sheets: "You won't be coming to our school, will you?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Wait, I'm heading down now."

Xia Xi climbed down the ladder, slipped on her short boots, grabbed the jacket from the back of a chair, and rushed out; still on the phone, she asked as she went downstairs: "Where are you?"

Zhou Du rarely came to the Nan Da campus; usually when he had something to discuss with Xia Xi they'd meet off-campus. He couldn't even say what this place was, looked around, and gave a landmark: "There's a large stone slab nearby inscribed with 'Virtue bears all things'."

"I know that." Xia Xi hung up, took the shortcut beside the artificial lake, and ran over.

A grove of fir trees remained verdant even in the first lunar month; Zhou Du lounged on a public wooden bench, unafraid of the cold, wearing a Klein blue shirt over a black denim jacket, plus ripped jeans, with his hands clasped behind his head.

Beside him lay a pile of gift bags.

Xia Xi approached on tiptoe and gave his shoulder a hard slap.

"Whoa!" Zhou Du's body jolted; there wasn't a breath of wind, the sun felt pleasant on his face, he was about to doze off, then suddenly being woken up, of course he'd be startled: "How did you get here so fast?"

"Nonsense." Xia Xi laughed, "You said you'd bring me something, so of course I ran fast."

Zhou Du turned his face, chin jerking upward: "It's all yours."

"What is it." Xia Xi said, reaching into the paper bag—there were edibles and useful things, all sorts.

Zhou Du stood up and stretched: "Lately I've been working at an advertising studio; various partner companies' PR departments have sent a heap of gift boxes, containing everything, more than I can use, so I brought some for you; Liang Yuan's share I gave her a couple days ago."

Xia Xi didn't stand on ceremony, taking everything: "Thanks, you're truly like a brother to me."

Zhou Du recalled something, his eyes dimming briefly: "How have you been lately?"

"Which aspect do you mean?" Xia Xi asked, then answered herself: "Everything's fine."

"That's good." Zhou Du nodded.

Xia Xi opened a box of toffee, peeled the wrapper and popped a piece in her mouth; it had a filling, and when she bit down, rich chocolate flowed to her tongue. She offered one: "Want one?"

"If I loved eating this stuff, would I still be giving it to you?" Zhou Du snorted, smirked at the corner of his mouth, and tapped her head: "Just keep it for yourself and eat it slowly."

"Hey, are you free tonight? Invite Liang Yuan; I'll treat you two to dinner—it feels like ages since we've all eaten together."

"You haven't seen your boyfriend all winter break, just arrived in Nancheng—don't you need to go eat with him?"

Xia Xi finished chewing the candy in her mouth, then peeled another: "Xu Yanfeng has to meet a foreign partner this afternoon; I don't know how late he'll be busy."

"Is… is that so?" Zhou Du also didn't know why he could see the person Xia Xi mentioned; he blinked hard, and sure enough it was Xu Yanfeng, appearing as if from nowhere, standing straight and tall beside a fir tree, his features deep-set, in the afterglow of sunset exuding a wintry chill.

Zhou Du had his hands in his pockets, kindly reminding: "Xia Xi, turn your head around."