Su Ziceng’s face looked as if it was carved from ice. According to the caretaker, Su Qingzhang had nothing twenty years ago. So where did his wealth come from? Overnight riches in Mo City, where wealth was held by few, was a complicated matter indeed.
Pello was still carrying that toolbox, walking at a steady pace, just in line with Su Ziceng, and he caught every bit of the changes in Su Ziceng’s expression.
What Su Ziceng was thinking at that moment was exactly what Pello was thinking; he, too, wanted to know where Su Qingzhang’s tremendous wealth had come from.
"Pello," Su Ziceng stopped outside a phone booth at the cemetery, thoughtfully staring at the phone booth under the thick snow, "can you help me contact this number?" Her English was not good, and she was eager to contact the Qiao Family’s descendants to understand everything that had happened.
Pello took the note, Ontario, Ice Lake Street, glanced at it briefly, and did not nod immediately, "I can, but Valentine’s Day is approaching, I’d like a gift." The snow fell on his gray coat, not melting.
Yan Wuxu stood a distance away, creating a brief space for their conversation.
In the time it took to flip a page of a book, maybe half a second, "Sure," every year for Valentine’s Day, Su Ziceng would pick gifts for Su Qingzhang, Hang Yishao, even Secretary Wang, and this year’s list would also include Boss Han, one more person like Pello wouldn’t matter.
Following a long-drawn-out dial tone from overseas, and a series of conversations in English later, Pello emerged from the phone booth, making a helpless gesture: "Someone answered, but said the tenants from Z country who used to live there moved out of Ontario five years ago and left no forwarding address."
For such an answer, Su Ziceng was not particularly surprised, after all, it had been over eight years since they moved abroad, and if it was a family migration, they would have been intent on cutting all ties with their homeland.
After returning home, Su Ziceng didn’t tell anyone about what happened at the cemetery; the matters regarding the Qiao Family and Chang Mei had to be set aside for now.
In the following days, Yan Wuxu acted a bit odd, complaining of an upset stomach and constantly making excuses to skip meals. She frequently mentioned needing to prepare for the school term but was always put off by Su Qingzhang with various excuses.
The day before school resumed, the 13th of February on the new calendar, Su Ziceng, following the usual custom, took the ill-feigned Yan Wuxu out to buy Valentine’s Day gifts.
On Zone 3’s luxury street, brand-name chocolates and couple shirts became the hottest items.
Su Ziceng never bought chocolates since Hang Yishao was not fond of sweets. Her Valentine’s gift last year was a pair of rose gold couple rings named Alnis and Venus Ring, unfortunately, Hang Yishao didn’t like them, saying that wearing rings was cumbersome, so she had no idea what to buy this year.
"I want to buy a box of chocolates," Yan Wuxu said, pacing back and forth in front of a confectionery window before finally folding back. Under the neon lights, the chocolate gift boxes were filled with sea shells and star-shaped chocolates in black and white.
"The one with whiskey filling isn’t that sweet," the salesgirl recommended.
Yan Wuxu looked for a while and finally chose a package of dark chocolates with a heart-shaped center filled with sherry.
"Does he like chocolates?" Su Ziceng asked curiously. Yan Wuxu’s new "boyfriend" was quite a mystery. Despite Su Ziceng’s indirect inquiries, Yan kept her lips sealed, revealing nothing.
"It seems like," Yan Wuxu recalled not going downstairs for meals these past few days, but the kitchen always sent up some sweet porridge and cakes, all tasting rather sweet, the servant who delivered them had mentioned these were specially prepared by the master, who also had a preference for such flavors.
"Let’s check out the Armani store, they have nice tie designs," Su Ziceng thought of picking a few suitable ties; it was time for a break in her cold interactions with Hang Yishao, and picking a pretext for an ice-breaking move seemed right.
"Miss Su, are you here to select ties? These are all the latest designs," the sales assistant clearly understood Su Ziceng’s taste, bringing out a few boxes of ties that were the most fashionable designs of the year.
Eventually, she selected ties in stone blue, pale red, and porcelain gray, for Su Qingzhang, Hang Yishao, and Pello, respectively. As for Secretary Wang and Boss Han, Su Ziceng planned to choose some more useful gifts for them. After this time, she had learned the use of giving gifts that hit right at people’s preferences.
"Miss Su has a great taste; this pale red one has been selling well this year; Miss Chang also picked one," the sales assistant happily chimed in.
"No need, take two of the porcelain grey," Su Ziceng puffed her cheeks; sharing a taste with Chang Chi was not something to be proud of.
Yan Wuxu cautiously admired the beautifully packaged ties and then glanced at the small box of chocolates in her hand, feeling somewhat heavy-hearted.
When they returned home, Su Ziceng did not see Su Qingzhang and Chang Mei, even Chang Chi was missing. Su Ziceng felt somewhat displeased, ate something casually, and went upstairs.
Yan Wuxu, left alone, inquired the servants and found out that according to the old custom, Su Qingzhang and Chang Mei had gone out to dine together.
A bit disappointed, Yan Wuxu went upstairs, looking into the corridor and seeing no one else, she quietly entered Su Qingzhang’s room.
Su Qingzhang’s room was decorated only with mundane shades of gray. The outer part was an office-type study, while the inner room was kept squeaky clean, reportedly tidied daily by Chang Mei herself.
Yan Wuxu placed the box of chocolates on his desk and then glanced at the door facing the desk, finally placing the chocolates next to Su Qingzhang’s bed. (To be continued. If you work, you are welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)