CH 98

In the end, Zhou Qingbo accepted Wu Lili’s kindness.

Wu Lili was a straightforward person. After reaching an agreement, she quickly took Zhou Qingbo to meet her grandfather and finalized the deal under the witness of a notary public.

Originally, Zhou Qingbo had planned to make a round trip on the same day. However, things went so smoothly that he canceled his flight ticket and stayed in Shanghai for an additional two days to complete the necessary procedures.

He was alone and had brought very few belongings. But within just a few hours, he transformed from a solitary individual into a not-so-small “millionaire.” Although the “millionaire” label might have some exaggeration, Zhou Qingbo felt that these past two days had been like a magical reality.

“To be honest, I still feel a bit dizzy now.” Zhou Qingbo lay on the large bed, holding up his phone and speaking to Pei You on the other end of the screen. “If we were at home, I’d let you pinch me to see if I’m dreaming.”

It was already 9:30 in the evening. Pei You had finished work and was at home. In the video, he wore light-colored casual clothing, reclining against a soft headboard, and adjusted the bedside lamp to be a bit brighter.

“You’re lucky.” Hearing Zhou Qingbo recount the events, Pei You couldn’t help but sigh. “If you hadn’t reached out to help her first, none of this would have happened.”

“That’s true.” Zhou Qingbo said somewhat gloomily, “When I met the old man today, he told me that this store was something he built through his own efforts. He hadn’t planned to sell it, even if he were to go abroad. It’s just that when he heard about my situation from Wu Lili, he changed his mind at the last minute.”

“He must think you’re worth entrusting.” Pei You adjusted his sitting position and smiled. “This shows that you’re a good person, good enough to earn the approval of this elderly man.”

The lighting in the video was dim, and Pei You was wrapped in a thin blanket. He seemed to have already taken a shower, with his soft hair falling down and making him appear particularly gentle.

His voice carried a touch of exhaustion from work, but it didn’t sound disheartened. Zhou Qingbo blinked his eyes and felt that after a whole day of unpredictability, his heart had unknowingly found peace in Pei You’s soothing words and demeanor.

Unconsciously, he had been comforted by Pei You. So, he smiled and couldn’t help but poke the screen.

“Speaking of which, I also went to look at the store today. It’s a decent place, not too far from your office.” Zhou Qingbo said, “The store has two floors in total. I’m thinking of turning the first floor into a bar and using the second floor as a private space, a place to rest and take a break.”

Zhou Qingbo had already visited the property and could tell that Wu Lili’s grandfather had taken good care of it. While the house was somewhat aged, the interior structure hadn’t deteriorated significantly, and a bit of renovation and reinforcement would be sufficient.

When signing the contract earlier that day, Wu Lili’s grandfather had requested Zhou Qingbo not to sell the store unless absolutely necessary. He clearly cherished this place and hoped that Zhou Qingbo would honor it. Zhou Qingbo had promised to do so and had even extended an open invitation for the old man to visit whenever he wished.

“For the bar on the first floor, I’ve already contacted a design company through Brother Qiang to come up with plans. As for the second floor, I’m not planning to make any major changes for now.” Zhou Qingbo explained, “In case the old man wants to come back and visit in his later years, there should be a place he can recall.”

Perhaps that was the reason the old man entrusted him with the house, Pei You speculated. Zhou Qingbo was never hesitant to show kindness and compassion, even though he believed that his actions were merely effortless gestures. But for the girl awaiting rescue and the elderly man, even a simple gesture like that held great significance.

“Come to think of it, it’s almost like destiny.” Pei You chuckled. “They were planning to go abroad, and you happened to be going to Shanghai at the same time. Your kindness is repaid, and the old man’s long-held wish is fulfilled. Just as you said, it’s like fate arranged this coincidental outcome.”

Initially a pragmatic individual, Pei You had slowly started to believe in fate due to his long time spent with Zhou Qingbo.

Speaking of coincidences, Zhou Qingbo suddenly remembered something he had long forgotten. Rolling over, he laid on the hotel’s bed and burst into spontaneous laughter.

“What’s so funny?” Pei You looked at him in confusion. “Did you remember something amusing?”

“Well…” Zhou Qingbo pursed his lips, giggled a couple of times, and then squinted his eyes, holding back his laughter as he said, “I just remembered something from when we first met.”

Back then, they were practically strangers. Although they were set up for a blind date, they hadn’t exchanged many words during their brief encounter. Pei You truly had no idea what Zhou Qingbo found amusing, and he could only look at him with bewilderment.

“Do you know why I was suddenly dragged into that blind date?” Zhou Qingbo asked.

“I have no idea.” Pei You shook his head and guessed, “Because you were of marriageable age?”

“It was because I was having an unlucky streak at the time.” Zhou Qingbo suppressed his laughter and said, “I went to see a fortune teller, and the fortune teller said that I had some bad luck in my fate. He said that the only way to turn things around was to be in a relationship. So, Ge Xing set me up on a blind date and introduced me to you.”

Pei You truly didn’t know about this particular detail. He laughed helplessly and shook his head.

“You encountered a con artist.” The atheist Pei remarked, “There’s no such mystical thing.”

“That’s what I thought too.” Zhou Qingbo turned over again, propped his hand under his head, and held his phone up, saying, “But thinking about it now, it seems like what he said might have some truth to it.”

“In reality, I did meet you shortly after.” Zhou Qingbo said, “And ever since I met you, everything has been smooth sailing for me. I haven’t faced any more bad luck.”

When he thought about it carefully, it hadn’t been too long since he had met Pei You.

Perhaps it was because of the experiences he had during this period, but when Zhou Qingbo recalled their initial meeting, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of distance as if it were from another world.

The version of himself and even Pei You from their first encounter seemed shrouded in a veil of unfamiliarity in his memory. While they couldn’t be said to be entirely different, there was a distinct feeling of dissimilarity compared to now.

The awkwardness and unease from that first meeting seemed to be imprinted in his memory. At that time, Zhou Qingbo probably couldn’t have imagined that he would one day spend late nights on seemingly pointless phone calls with this conservative and “rigid” Pei You.

The sense of temporal disconnection seemed to have divided his life into two halves, separated by Pei You. It was as if there were two distinct parts to his life, on either side of the Pei You divide.

Zhou Qingbo suddenly felt a hint of separation anxiety. He looked at Pei You in the video and was suddenly tempted to get up and fly back to Beijing.

“Pei You,” Zhou Qingbo suddenly said, “do you miss me?”

It had only been two days since they parted ways, so saying “miss” now sounded overly cheesy and more like flirting. However, Pei You seriously contemplated for a moment and actually gave a sincere answer.

“It’s alright,” Pei You honestly said, “I don’t miss you that much.”

Zhou Qingbo: “…”

What’s going on? Zhou Qingbo wondered in shock. He had been away for two days, how was it that he already felt so insignificant to Pei You?

Being overly straightforward didn’t seem to be a good thing, as the romantic and dreamy atmosphere that Zhou Qingbo had built up a moment ago was shattered by Pei You’s response. He couldn’t help but roll off the bed and sit up, annoyed. He adjusted his phone and was about to discuss with Pei You about his emotionally scarred state when he saw Pei You smiling on the other end of the video, tapping the screen.

“Maybe it’s because this time is different from before,” Pei You said. “Because this time we’re apart to prepare for being together in the future. So, I feel like I’m looking forward to it more than missing you.”

Zhou Qingbo: “…”

Zhou Qingbo’s sense of grievance was suddenly dispelled by Pei You’s words. A bit of sweetness lingered in his expression. Before he could muster up a complaining look, a smile emerged on his face. The emotions he was trying to conjure up sort of hung in the air, but ultimately, Zhou Qingbo couldn’t maintain his poker face and burst into laughter.

“You really…” Zhou Qingbo paused, a mix of helplessness and pride in his gaze, and half seriously, half playfully, he glared at Pei You and added, “have me all figured out.”