Near Beining University’s park.
"Nianhua, I know I was blinded by foolishness before and hurt Cheng Hao’s feelings, but I really need to find him. I have something very important to discuss," Zou Yaru explained anxiously as soon as she sat down.
Xu Nianhua sighed inwardly. She had anticipated this scene, just not so soon.
"Nianhua, I don’t know anyone in Beining, you’ll help me, right?" Zou Yaru looked at Xu Nianhua in silence, feeling extra nervous, fearing Xu Nianhua might disagree.
"Have you divorced Gu Junhe?" Xu Nianhua countered instead of answering.
Zou Yaru paused, the mention of Gu Junhe instantly irritating her; through gritted teeth, she said, "I will, I definitely will divorce him."
So they hadn’t divorced yet.
Xu Nianhua added this thought in her mind and carefully phrased her question, "Do Junhe and your parents know you’re in Beining?"
Zou Yaru didn’t respond to her question, but pressed her lips together and said, "I need to see Cheng Hao."
Xu Nianhua sighed and said, "I don’t know where he is either."
"But you can contact him, right?" Zou Yaru’s eyes, filled with hope, were fixed on her.
"I can try," Xu Nianhua said as she guided Zou Yaru to a phone booth and made a call to Pei Yicheng.
The call was quickly connected.
Pei Yicheng’s deep voice came through the phone, his busyness evident even before he said anything else. The moment the call connected, Xu Nianhua also heard him conversing with someone else.
Anxious not to disrupt Pei Yicheng’s work, Xu Nianhua rushed her words, "Yicheng, Zou Yaru is here, right now at our university’s gate. She wants to see Cheng Hao."
Xu Nianhua’s words were concise and went straight to the point.
"Who is there?" Pei Yicheng recognized Xu Nianhua’s voice, but was preoccupied listening to it and didn’t catch what she said.
A brief silence followed on the phone.
Zou Yaru, tense, stood by, her eyes unwaveringly fixed on the phone Xu Nianhua held.
Cheng Hao’s figure appeared in a restaurant’s private room near Beining University.
"Cheng Hao, I finally found you," Zou Yaru said upon entering the private room, her nerves on edge, worried Cheng Hao might not want to see her.
The moment she saw Cheng Hao, Zou Yaru flung herself into his arms, sobbing, her grievances and regrets seemingly spilling out all at once.
Xu Nianhua discreetly shifted her gaze away. When she saw Pei Yicheng standing behind Cheng Hao, her eyes instantly lit up; she quickly walked to the door and whispered, "Yicheng, what brings you here?"
"To see you," Pei Yicheng said, rubbing her head. "Hungry? Should I order something to eat?"
"Sure," Xu Nianhua’s eyes sparkled again as she followed Pei Yicheng out of the private room, leaving it to Cheng Hao and Zou Yaru.
After all, matters of the heart were theirs alone to resolve, and outsiders like them couldn’t intercede.
"Manager, one plate of soy beef, one plate of pearl meatballs, and two bottles of orange soda," Pei Yicheng ordered directly. These two dishes were snack-like.
It was still a bit early for lunch.
"Do you think Cheng Hao will..."
Xu Nianhua hadn’t finished speaking when Pei Yicheng cut her off, "He won’t."
"Ah..." Xu Nianhua thought, she hadn’t finished her sentence yet.
Pei Yicheng explained, "Haozi’s character is such that once he lets go, he never looks back."