Fan Xue would be lying if she said she wasn’t moved by Zhou Bingyan’s straightforward confession.
But she wanted to treat this matter with care—after all, it was a major life decision.
She looked up at him. “Can I think about it?”
“Of course.”
Zhou Bingyan handed her his business card. “My number’s on here. Give me a call when you’ve made up your mind.”
Fan Xue said, “Regardless of my decision, I’ll let you know.”
Zhou Bingyan smiled and nodded. “Alright.”
“Do you have to go back to work this afternoon?” Fan Xue asked.
Zhou Bingyan replied, “No, I took the day off. I just had to run back to the hospital earlier because something came up.”
“How about I take you all around this afternoon? We can take a boat out on the river. I know this great place on the water that serves amazing food.”
“Do you still like fish?”
Fan Xue nodded. “Love it.”
“Then would you like to go?” Zhou Bingyan didn’t mention that he’d already arranged for a boat in advance—he wanted to hear her thoughts first.
Fan Xue answered without hesitation. “Yes!”
“Great, let’s go.”
Seeing that Fan Xue had finished all her desserts, Zhou Bingyan stood up.
Fan Xue glanced out the window. “But Siyang and Zhiqiu haven’t come back yet.”
“They’re nearby. If we step outside, we should be able to spot them. Or we can look around—they won’t be hard to find.”
Zhou Bingyan knew Han Siyang well enough to guess she was probably hiding somewhere, keeping an eye on their progress.
“It’s too far—I can’t see what they’re saying.”
Just as Zhou Bingyan had predicted, Han Siyang had claimed she was just taking a walk nearby with Ye Zhiqiu, but as soon as they’d left the restaurant, she’d found a big tree and been spying on Zhou Bingyan and Fan Xue from behind it.
Ye Zhiqiu looked on helplessly, standing to the side and enduring the odd looks from passersby.
“Oh! They’re standing up—looks like they’re leaving.”
Han Siyang straightened up, glanced back, and grabbed Ye Zhiqiu’s hand. “Zhiqiu, hurry, let’s head back.”
“See? There they are.”
Zhou Bingyan and Fan Xue exited the restaurant. He tilted his chin slightly in Han Siyang’s direction, and Fan Xue spotted Han Siyang and Ye Zhiqiu running over toward them.
“Little Fatty Zhou says he’s taking us on a river cruise!” Fan Xue said excitedly.
Even though she and Zhou Bingyan hadn’t seen each other in years, and he’d confessed his feelings right off the bat—which had made her a little uncomfortable at first—his directness and sincerity gradually made her feel like they were back in childhood, playing together. It felt comfortable and easy.
She’d never felt that way with Han Li. With him, she’d always been careful, running every word through her head several times before speaking, terrified of saying something wrong and making him dislike her.
And yet, even so, he’d still been unsatisfied with her, always quick to lecture her.
Lately, she often found herself thinking back to those days, wondering what had possessed her to be so self-effacing.
Just the memory of it made her feel utterly wronged.
While Fan Xue wasn’t paying attention, Han Siyang winked at Zhou Bingyan and gave him a thumbs-up.
No wonder he’d been so picky with everyone else—turns out he already had his heart set on someone.
She’d wondered why he’d agreed so readily when she offered to set him up, while family members had to beg and plead for ages just to get him to go on a blind date.
Zhou Bingyan averted his gaze from Han Siyang, turning his face away—but not before she caught sight of his reddening ears.
Han Siyang fought back a laugh. She was genuinely happy to see Zhou Bingyan and Fan Xue getting along so well.
It meant there was a real chance Fan Xue would become her cousin-in-law one day.
If Ye Zhiqiu hadn’t married so early, she’d actually considered introducing her to Zhou Bingyan. Good thing she hadn’t played matchmaker with the wrong pairing.
They arrived at the riverbank, and Zhou Bingyan led them onto the boat. Fan Xue and Ye Zhiqiu had no idea what to expect, but Han Siyang knew exactly what was going on and couldn’t help teasing him. “Second Cousin, you planned this all along, didn’t you? Booking the boat in advance.”
She pointed to a large passenger boat nearby and explained to Fan Xue, “These small boats need to be reserved ahead of time. Those big ones don’t.”
Fan Xue looked at Zhou Bingyan. He cleared his throat twice to cover his embarrassment. “Those big passenger boats don’t give you as much freedom.”
Though the boat wasn’t large, the cabin was clean and tidy, with fruit laid out—clearly something Zhou Bingyan had arranged.
The little boat drifted slowly along the river, giving Fan Xue and the others a chance to enjoy the scenery on both banks.
Once they left the city, the views became even more beautiful. Fan Xue stepped out of the cabin and stood at the bow, ready to recite a poem from the legendary Poet Immortal.
But the moment she opened her mouth, the river wind rushed in and filled it.
She quickly pulled her trench coat tighter and turned up the collar.
Zhou Bingyan came out behind her, took off his cashmere scarf from around his neck, and wrapped it around Fan Xue’s.
It really was cold, so she didn’t stand on ceremony. She buried most of her face into the scarf, leaving only her big eyes visible.
The scent of laundry powder mixed with Zhou Bingyan’s own subtle fragrance filled her breath—surprisingly pleasant.
“This wind is even harsher than the northwest wind in winter back in the capital!”
The northern wind hit your face like an icy blade, but this river wind carried a heavy, damp chill.
Fan Xue had originally planned to channel her inner artistic young woman, but the river breeze had blown away all her romantic notions.
She couldn’t take it anymore and quickly retreated back into the cabin.
Han Siyang and Ye Zhiqiu sat together, eating oranges.
“See, Zhiqiu? I told you—she’d be back in no time.”
Han Siyang handed Fan Xue a peeled orange. Fan Xue took it, split it in half, and popped an entire half into her mouth. “Oh, you knew that, did you?”
“Of course!”
Han Siyang tilted her chin toward Fan Xue. “Xue’er, that scarf looks really nice on you.”
“Doesn’t it, Second Cousin?”
With one remark, she teased them both, making Zhou Bingyan and Fan Xue’s faces flush. Fan Xue gave Han Siyang a gentle push. “Stop it.”
“Alright, alright.” Han Siyang knew when to quit.
After that, she took on the role of tour guide, introducing Fan Xue and Ye Zhiqiu to the surrounding sights and local culture.
Occasionally, Zhou Bingyan would chime in with a few additional details.
After more than two hours, they finally arrived at the little fishermen’s eatery Zhou Bingyan had mentioned.
It had no sign at all—just a simple, modest fishing boat.
Once aboard, the owner showed them what he’d caught that day and let them choose.
Zhou Bingyan picked a little of everything, and the owner’s wife prepared the meal.
Both Ye Zhiqiu and Fan Xue had grown up in the north, so they didn’t eat this kind of freshwater fare very often.
Fan Xue, however, had fallen in love with squirrel-style mandarin fish after trying it at a restaurant once and never forgot it. Usually, she could only afford braised carp, crucian carp soup, and the occasional shrimp, crab, or river snail.
Ye Zhiqiu also enjoyed good food, but she wasn’t picky—as long as it wasn’t bad, she was happy.
Unless she had to meet a specific weight target in a short time, she never dieted; she just made sure to eat slowly and chew thoroughly.
“Mmm, so good~”
