Just as Huang Feng was about to speak, she heard someone call her name. Looking up, her eyes lit up. "Bro! What are you doing here?"
Xu Su looked up as well, but the next second, her entire body went rigid as she saw the person walking in from the shop's entrance.
The man was in his twenties and dressed formally, looking somewhat out of place in a milk tea shop filled with high school students.
'Even though he's more than ten years younger, I recognized him instantly. Isn't that Huang Chao, Zhou Mochen's assistant of many years?'
'Huang Feng's brother is Huang Chao? Chang City is so big, why can't I seem to avoid the people around Zhou Mochen?'
'Based on the timeline, Huang Chao should already be working for Zhou Mochen at this point. If Huang Chao is here, then Zhou Mochen...'
In a flash, a thousand thoughts raced through Xu Su's mind. She gripped the edge of the table, desperately suppressing the urge to bolt. Her eyes darted behind Huang Chao, and only when she didn't see that familiar figure did she slowly let out a breath, breaking out in a cold sweat from the scare.
"Why'd you cut your hair like this? I almost didn't recognize you." Huang Chao walked over and reached out to touch his little sister's new hairstyle as he asked.
There was a ten-year age gap between Huang Feng and her brother, but they seemed to have a great relationship. She put on a pitiful expression. "It's all for the sake of studying hard. Bro, are you here for milk tea too?"
"I was running an errand nearby and popped in to grab a drink. Don't you have military training today? What are you doing here?"
"The military training doesn't officially start until tomorrow. We came out this afternoon to get haircuts."
As Xu Su listened to the siblings talk, she began to relax a little and gazed out the window. Her eyes scanned across one spot, and her gaze suddenly tightened.
'What did I just see?'
A familiar black Land Rover was parked on the road just outside the shop, the driver's side directly facing the glass window where Xu Su was sitting.
'Is that Zhou Mochen's car?'
'Huang Chao drove it here. It must have been Huang Chao who drove it here.'
Xu Su chanted silently to herself. 'Even though it's Zhou Mochen's car, it's perfectly normal for his assistant, Huang Chao, to drive it when running errands.'
Then, as if to shatter her self-deception, the driver's side window of the black Land Rover slowly rolled down, revealing a striking face. A pair of dark eyes met Xu Su's gaze directly.
'It's Zhou Mochen! A Zhou Mochen who's more than ten years younger!'
'Why am I seeing Zhou Mochen now! Didn't we first meet after the Xu Family moved?'
'That's right. In my past life, I didn't know Huang Feng, and I certainly never came here for milk tea. Of course I wouldn't have run into Zhou Mochen here.'
'I was so focused on moving into the school dorms before my family moves next year to hide from Zhou Mochen. I never expected to meet him ahead of schedule.'
In the span of a few breaths, a million thoughts flashed through Xu Su's mind. She didn't know what her expression looked like right now, but she could guess it definitely wasn't the look of someone seeing a stranger.
She tried desperately to control her gaze, stiffly attempting to look away, only to see Zhou Mochen open his car door and start walking toward the milk tea shop.
Xu Su lowered her head, brought the milk tea in her hand to her lips, and took a sip, trying to steady her nerves.
'Thankfully, I cut my hair short. With my hair this short, I refuse to believe a guy like Zhou Mochen, who's into long hair, would even give me a second glance.'
Xu Su sensed the students, who had been chatting in small groups, suddenly fall silent for a moment, and she knew Zhou Mochen had entered.
After all, the man's presence was truly powerful. Having been by his side for so many years, Xu Su had seen countless people, even when they didn't need anything from him, unconsciously watch his expression before acting.
And that imposing aura only grew stronger with age.
GULP.
Xu Su heard Huang Feng suddenly gulp beside her, and then, in her peripheral vision, she saw someone sit down across from her.
Xu Su didn't look up. She kept her head down, took another sip of milk tea, and placed the cup on the table in front of her, staring at it intently as if she were afraid someone might steal this one-yuan cup of milk tea.
Suddenly, a pair of hands appeared in her field of vision on the other side of the long, narrow table. The skin was smooth and fair, the fingers long and straight with well-defined knuckles—so beautiful it was breathtaking.
They were the kind of hands that even the most demanding hand aficionado couldn't find a single flaw with.
Xu Su was very familiar with the owner of these hands, and her entire body went rigid once more.
After a moment of silence, the milk tea shop grew lively again. Amidst the noise, Xu Su felt like she was sitting on pins and needles. 'Did my expression just now give something away? Why did he sit right across from me?'
In the midst of her tension, Huang Chao's voice sounded: "Mr. Zhou, your lemonade."
Although Huang Chao was puzzled as to why his boss, who hadn't planned on getting out of the car, had suddenly appeared in the shop and sat down with his little sister and her high school friends, his strong professionalism kept him from showing it.
He respectfully presented the freshly-shaken lemonade he'd paid extra for. Seeing that his boss had no intention of getting up to leave, he hesitated for a moment before choosing to sit down beside him.
And so the scene was set: Huang Chao and Zhou Mochen sat on one side of the table, facing Xu Su, Huang Feng, and Qian Jia on the other.
Sensing the strangely awkward atmosphere, and noticing his little sister frantically making faces at him, Huang Chao cleared his throat and was the first to break the silence. "Mr. Zhou, this is my little sister. She's a new freshman at City No.1 High School, and these are her classmates."
Huang Feng had a naturally lively personality. Although she had been momentarily stunned by Zhou Mochen's appearance, she returned to her usual self upon hearing her brother's introduction. She looked boldly at her brother's boss and exclaimed in amazement, "Bro, your boss looks way younger than you!"
"Ah! Right, let me introduce you to my new friends."
She hooked an arm around Xu Su's neck, leaned in close, and said with a grin, "This is Xu Su, the top scorer on the high school entrance exam from Kang County. She's in my class."
Then she pulled Qian Jia from her other side and continued, "This is Qian Jia, also in our class. Oh, and the three of us are roommates, too."
As Huang Feng pulled the still-bowed-headed Xu Su closer, the corner of Xu Su's mouth couldn't help but twitch. She had to admire Huang Feng's youthful bluntness. Then, she heard that familiar voice.
"I'm twenty-one. I am indeed younger than your brother."
Zhou Mochen's voice was cool and clear, tinged with a sense of detachment. He really didn't seem like the type of person who would have the patience to answer such a trivial question.
Xu Su glanced up, a little curious. 'As I recall, Zhou Mochen isn't the patient type, not even with his assistant's sister.'
It wasn't just Xu Su who was curious; Huang Chao was also utterly astonished. 'Do I really have that much influence?'
As she looked up, she happened to meet Zhou Mochen's gaze again. This time, her eyes held steady. After all, having lived for thirty years, she knew how to pretend she didn't know someone.
Xu Su looked away awkwardly, perfectly playing the part of a well-behaved girl meeting a stranger for the first time.
Seeing the girl look away, Zhou Mochen's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. He took a sip of his lemonade to compose himself, ignored Huang Feng's chattering to the side, and asked the girl opposite him, "Xu Su? Do you know me?"