CHAPTER 90: CHAPTER 89: UNEXPECTED

The next day, Zhou Huaiyi used a series of urgent phone calls to summon Kang Xuan, who was diligently practicing the piano at home.

Under the warm sunlight, Kang stood in front of Zhou Huaiyi wearing a cotton coat and skinny pants, with a long scarf around her neck, clenching her fists and gritting her teeth: "If you don’t have anything important to say, I’ll kill you!"

Zhou Huaiyi: "..."

Then, Zhou Huaiyi rode an electric bike to lead her to the mall, and finally said: "I’m going to Yi City in a few days..." She scratched her head, a bit shy, "Qi Chen has an endorsement event there, and I have to go."

Kang Xuan took a big sip of her bubble tea and glanced over: "So today you’re here to?"

Zhou Huaiyi smiled innocently: "Buy clothes."

Kang Xuan: "6666."

Zhou Huaiyi: "......"

Wuxun is originally a small city, so the malls aren’t that big. The two of them went around twice but didn’t find a single suitable and nice piece of clothing.

Finally, the always impatient Old Kang student waved his hand, sat on a bench, and said: "I’m not shopping anymore! Go look on Taobao yourself!"

"So tiring." Zhou Huaiyi said, feeling hopeless, "Forget it, I won’t buy it. I’ll treat you to snacks and afternoon tea."

Kang Xuan immediately jumped off the bench: "I want a large matcha Frappuccino and a Black Forest cake, thank you."

Zhou Huaiyi gave her a sideways look, contemptuously muttering: "You really know how to eat."

,

It was Saturday, and Starbucks was busier than usual. Kang Xuan found a seat to rest while Zhou Huaiyi lined up to order alone.

Feeling bored, she scrolled through Weibo a couple of times, only to discover that yesterday, Xiang Qichen had, after a long time, updated a personal Weibo with just a selfie in a costume in the desert.

Judging by the look of it, he seemed to be in a good mood.

With a tap, Zhou Huaiyi instinctively saved it. Before she could exit, she heard a "ding" and a text notification popped up at the top of the screen.

From an unknown number.

Zhou Huaiyi opened it: [How have you been lately? Can we meet up?]

The message left Zhou Huaiyi a bit puzzled. She looked closely at the number, indeed not recognizing it.

So... it must have been sent by mistake?

It was just her turn in line, and the cashier’s sweet call brought Zhou Huaiyi back to reality.

Zhou Huaiyi paused, then quickly put away her phone and stepped forward to order: "One extra-large matcha Frappuccino and a large hot Americano, and a Black Forest cake, please. Thank you."

After getting the items and returning to her seat, Zhou Huaiyi showed that number to Kang Xuan: "Do you know this number?"

Kang Xuan took a bite of cake, stared at it for a few seconds, shook her head: "Nope, why?"

Zhou Huaiyi: "They sent a message, saying something about meeting up..."

Kang Xuan nonchalantly: "Probably sent to the wrong person?"

Zhou Huaiyi: "Probably."

——

That night, after a routine chat with her dad in the living room, Zhou Huaiyi retreated back to her room to watch some TV shows.

The clock on the bookshelf ticked away, and when the hour hand pointed precisely at twelve, her phone, which was playing a TV show, suddenly switched and vibrated loudly, indicating an incoming call.

In the dead of night, Zhou Huaiyi was so startled she almost lost her soul: "Shit!"

She cursed quietly, flipped the phone over to see an unfamiliar number shown on the call screen, looking somewhat familiar yet also unfamiliar.

After some pondering, she simply hung it up.

But not five seconds later, it started ringing non-stop again. Zhou Huaiyi frowned and answered it, pausing for a moment before saying: "Hello?"

"Hello, Zhou Huaiyi." The male voice on the other end was a bit hoarse, "It’s me."