Jiang Tong didn't have a chance to check his phone until he stepped out of the hotel.
"When are you free this weekend? Your colleagues want to organize a little farewell for your resignation." This was from the manager of the restaurant where he worked part-time.
"I’ve reviewed your essay. I’m available on November 3rd from 3:00 to 4:00 PM, November 5th from 9:00 to 10:00 AM, and November 8th from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM. We can meet to discuss it in detail. Please reply as soon as possible." This was from Pei Jing.
"Grandmother is in Hong Kong this week, so I have to spend all my free time with her. I might not be able to see you. When are you free next week?"
"Why aren't you replying? Are you in class?"
"You shouldn't have class right now... Are you mad because I didn't tell you in advance?"
"Grandmother's visit was sudden. I wanted to squeeze out some time, but the application paperwork is just so tedious... Can we try to be understanding of each other?"
"..."
This was Xiao Fengtai, an adolescent boy with an overly dramatic inner monologue.
Jiang Tong felt both exasperated and amused. Xiao Zhizhong was stern and cold, and Mrs. Xiao was a dagger hidden behind a smile; yet these two formidable figures had raised a Xiao Fengtai who was all bark and no bite. Despite his arrogant front, he was actually more innocent than an average teenager from the mainland.
If Mrs. Xiao saw the messages her precious grandson was sending, she would probably be so disgusted she’d lose all interest in bribery and just have him bundled up and thrown into the Pacific to feed the sharks.
"I was just in a meeting," he replied. "The signal in the building is quite poor."
"Oh." Although Xiao Fengtai replied instantly, the subtext between the lines was clearly: *This young master is still angry, you'd better hurry up and coax me.*
"Come to my place next Friday night? I have something to tell you in person."
Xiao Fengtai’s attention was easily diverted. "Did something happen?"
Next Sunday was his birthday.
Xiao Fengtai hadn't told Jiang Tong; the latter had seen it on his student ID while helping him pack his schoolbag.
Jiang Tong played it mysterious: "It’s not certain yet. I’ll tell you once it is."
For such an annual milestone, especially one marking his transition into adulthood, the Xiao family would surely celebrate grandly for Xiao Fengtai. Jiang Tong knew that if he asked, Xiao Fengtai would ditch everyone else without hesitation to come find him. But he didn't want to get in the way.
Jiang Tong was five minutes late for his afternoon lecture. He hunched his shoulders and slipped into a seat in the back row. A classmate greeted him, then let out a low gasp when he saw the logo on the paper bag Jiang Tong had casually placed on the desk.
"Which junior girl gave you that?" He reached out, intending to open it. "That’s pretty lavish. I’ll make the call for you—just give in to her."
Jiang Tong calmly tucked the paper bag into his backpack. "It was a gift from a street survey I did a few days ago. I’m just using the bag to carry my lunchbox—are you that eager to help me wash my leftovers?"
The classmate grumbled and turned away, his face full of avoidance. Jiang Tong smiled to himself, opened his laptop, and focused on the lecture.
He was lying. There was no lunchbox in the paper bag. Instead, it held a beautifully packaged rectangular wooden case. Inside, cushioned by black velvet and secured with a dark blue silk ribbon, was a fountain pen—a classic model from a brand frequently seen in advertisements.
After leaving the hotel, Jiang Tong should have gone straight back to campus to prepare for his afternoon class. Instead, he had taken a detour to the mall and swiped his card to buy the gift.
A single small pen had consumed nearly two months of his part-time earnings and the savings he had scraped together by pinching pennies. Jiang Tong had picked out the style long ago and had originally planned to buy it after his final paycheck arrived this weekend. Though he had remained composed in front of Mrs. Xiao, he had still been provoked. He felt a desperate need to do something; he wanted to prove his worth to the absent Mrs. Xiao. He needed to convince himself, from the very depths of his soul, that he had never intended to cling to the Xiao family or use this relationship to make his own life easier.
