The door to the mahjong room was pushed open, and Mei Ran came in holding a plate of cut watermelon. She was holding a piece herself, already half-eaten.
Mr. Mei Hongyuan's birthday banquet would start in the evening. Right now, he was catching up with a few old friends, while everyone else was in the mahjong room playing tiles. Even Fu Shijin had been invited.
She walked over, her pale yellow gauze dress half-concealing her fair legs, swaying gracefully with each step.
Mei Ran placed the plate on the table and went to stand beside Mei Liangzhi to look at his hand.
"Nice tiles!" She looked them over one by one and stopped him just as he was about to discard a Two Bamboo. "Don't play that one."
Before he could say anything, she had already discarded a Six Bamboo for him.
Mei Liangzhi was too late to stop her. Looking at the Two Bamboo and Four Bamboo sitting side by side in his hand, he asked, "Why?"
Mei Ran shot him a sideways glance. "Three is my lucky number."
Mei Qingyuan chuckled and looked over. "Rǎnran, how old are you this year?"
"Twenty-four," Mei Ran replied. "It just happens to be my Zodiac birth year."
The moment Mei Liangzhi heard the words "Zodiac birth year," a twitch appeared at the corner of his mouth, and a wave of melancholy hit him. Some lucky number—this girl was trying to steer him right into the ditch.
"Twenty-four is a wonderful age, truly the prime of a young woman's life," Mei Qingyuan asked again. "Do you have a boyfriend yet?"
Before Mei Ran could answer, Mei Mengran cut in, "Daddy, why are you asking so many questions? Don't tell me you're thinking of setting Sister Rǎnran up on a date? I heard she hasn't been in a relationship before and has very high standards. The guys you'd introduce, she definitely wouldn't be interested."
She was quite pleased with herself for managing to say so much in front of Fu Shijin, establishing her presence without realizing she had created an awkward atmosphere.
"You're right," Mei Ran nodded in agreement. "My future boyfriend definitely has to be... tall. Tall enough that I have to look up at him."
Her words carried a double meaning, delivered with great finesse. Even Mei Liangzhi couldn't help but mentally give her a thumbs up.
At that moment, Mei Ran was slightly bent over to draw a tile, her collar a bit too low. Fu Shijin was sitting right across from her. With just a slight tilt of his head, that unobstructed view of beauty fell right into his line of sight. The two dazzlingly soft mounds were wrapped in red gauze, appearing as fair and captivating as fine jade. He almost completely lost control, unable to tear his eyes away.
Mei Ran noticed a scorching gaze coming from across the table. She looked up and saw the man looking straight at her. Bewildered, she widened her eyes slightly.
Mei Qingyuan discarded a Nine Wan, and it was Fu Shijin's turn. A bit distracted, he drew a tile and inadvertently glanced across the table. He saw the other person touching her face, picking off a small watermelon seed, then pretending it was nothing as she flicked it into the small dish on the table before turning a slightly embarrassed but radiant smile his way. He froze for a moment and tossed his tile out without much thought.
"Ah!" Mei Mengran cupped her face with both hands, delighted. "Kong on your Three Bamboo!"
The game continued. The moment Mei Ran's fingers touched her drawn tile, a smile slowly bloomed on her face. "Self-draw on Three Bamboo!" She flashed Mei Liangzhi a triumphant wink. "How about that?"
Mei Liangzhi clasped his hands in salute, teasing, "Believe in Xiǎngxiǎng, attain eternal life!"
Mei Ran gave him a few playful punches.
Just then, Mei Qingyuan suddenly let out a surprised "Huh?" He pointed at the tiles in front of Fu Shijin. "Mr. Fu, weren't you waiting for Three Bamboo or Six Bamboo? Why did you just discard Three Bamboo?"
Everyone looked over. Mei Liangzhi clicked his tongue. "He's right! Shijin, what's going on with you?"
The person in question remained utterly calm. "My hand slipped."
Everyone: "..."
After another round, Mei Ran helped Mei Liangzhi win again with a Pure One Suit, directly cleaning out Uncle Mei Qingyuan's remaining chips. He sighed heavily. "The Yangtze's waves behind drive on the waves ahead! Rǎnran, your luck is so strong right now, why don't you help Uncle draw a few tiles too?"
Mei Ran naturally agreed, but unfortunately, they had just barely set the tiles when someone came to say the Old Madame was calling for Mei Qingyuan. She then took over his original seat.
Mei Ran drew a Red Dragon, her heart leaping with joy, and quickly discarded a Six Wan.
Fu Shijin glanced at her, a faint, almost imperceptible smile touching the corner of his eyes. He drew a fairly useless West Wind and casually tossed it out.
"Hey, I win!" Mei Ran pushed her tiles over. "Thirteen Unique Wonders!"
Mei Liangzhi sighed with emotion. "Xiǎngxiǎng, you're on a mission to show everyone here all the big winning hands, huh? Let me calculate... Thirteen Unique Wonders on a discard from another player... eighty-eight doubled score... Shijin," he looked across the table, "you just lost the equivalent of a Ferrari this round."
Mei Ran was shocked. "You guys are playing with stakes *that* high?"
Mei Mengran snorted lightly. "Did you think we were just playing house?"
Fu Shijin gave her a cold glance. When his gaze returned to Mei Ran, a faint smile once again spilled out. "A debt of honor must be paid."
Unaware of these undercurrents, Mei Liangzhi egged her on excitedly. "Xiǎngxiǎng, if you pull off another hand like that, I could trade in my old car!"
Mei Ran: "..."
The tile game lasted until the invited guests began arriving before finally breaking up. Mei Ran was the biggest winner. She had essentially won Mei Liangzhi's salary for the next year. He moaned, "Forget trading in a car, I'm working for free the whole next year," while begging her, "Your brother still needs to save up for a marriage fund, Your Majesty, please be merciful."
Mei Ran was successfully amused and promised to return half a year's worth of his salary.
Once he'd secured this bargain, Mei Liangzhi shook his head seriously and sighed again. "To think that I, a full professor at the renowned A University, having prided myself on maintaining lofty integrity all my life, have now descended to this state."
His tone suddenly shifted. "But Xiǎngxiǎng, you have to keep your word. Everyone heard it! On behalf of your future sister-in-law, I thank you!"
Mei Ran was left speechless.
Mei Mengran watched this scene, her expression gradually darkening, before she turned and walked away without looking back.
Soon, all the invited guests arrived. Mei Ran had changed her clothes and come downstairs. Seeing her father busy socializing, and not being a fan of such occasions herself, she paid her respects to a few senior members of the clan before retreating to a corner.
Mei Mengran wore a full-length pink gown, wrapped up from head to toe, looking vastly different from her usual public appearances. She obediently followed behind the Old Madame, greeting everyone with a sweet smile.
Most of the guests present knew she was only a foster daughter of the Mei family. However, the two words "Mei family" alone were enough for them to extend enough enthusiasm to maintain her dignity.
The evening banquet lasted two hours before ending. After seeing off the guests, Mei Hongyuan was exhausted. After exchanging a few words with his daughter, he went back to his room first.
Mei Ran also returned to her own room. Sitting on the edge of her bed, she blow-dried her hair out of habit, then picked up her phone and pressed a few buttons before remembering it had automatically shut down due to low battery.
Therefore, she had no idea what kind of storm she had stirred up in another, more ephemeral world.
On Weibo, everyone was searching: Who exactly is You Haohao Xiangxiang?
The comments under Mei Mengran's latest Weibo were also dominated by screens of "You Haohao Xiangxiang." Fans figured that since she had private dealings with Fu Shijin, she probably knew something about the identity of this mysterious "You Haohao Xiangxiang," and were clamoring for her to come out and clarify.
Occupying the top hot comment was the same "Soup of Encouragement" who last time claimed to have found a photo of Fu Shijin.
@TooMuchEncouragingSoupIsBadForYou: Considering how thirsting you all are for my god Fu Shijin, I'll reluctantly share a photo I secretly 'borrowed' with you. Friendly reminder: please have tissues and screams ready! [Picture]
Although the photo was only a profile shot and didn't look too clear, fans still shrieked: Ahhh! My god is so handsome! His features are so three-dimensional! With genes this good, my god, I so want to have your baby!
@WhoStoleMyUndies: Is anyone else noticing that his index finger and ring finger are really long? And I heard he's Sino-French mixed-blood, so *that thing* must be pretty impressive, right? [Sly Face] Whoever marries him in the future will definitely be ridiculously happy in *that* department. After all, fitting a 0.5 pen refill into a 0.3 pen tip (you know what I mean).
***
The next day, after lunch, Mei Ran got ready to head to the train station.
Zhou Shen held her hand reluctantly. "Once you leave, who knows when you'll be back next."
"I'll always come back," Mei Ran comforted her.
Zhou Shen nodded with a bitter smile. Remembering something, she added, "Mr. Fu left first thing this morning, and as soon as he was gone, Miss Mengran followed after him. They might even be on the same flight." Her tone held a note of regret. "When will you ever show the same kind of care? Mr. Fu truly is a rare, fine man…"
Old Zhou returned from smoking a cigarette. Seeing his wife still chattering away, worried they might be late, he hurriedly urged, "Miss Rǎn, it's time to go."
Mei Ran nodded and said goodbye to Zhou Shen.
The train was crowded, but Mei Ran smoothly found her seat. The girl sitting next to her was holding a tablet and watching a currently very popular period drama.
A few minutes later, the scenery outside the window began moving backward slowly. Mei Ran was just about to rest for a bit when she suddenly heard a familiar, deep voice.
She jerked her eyes open.
In the blink of an eye, the man had successfully swapped a soft sleeper ticket for the girl's hard seat. The girl looked at him, then back at Mei Ran, her face flushed as she quickly gathered her things and left.
"How did you...?"
Fu Shijin sat down beside her. His long legs occupied the not-so-spacious space, yet this person who should have seemed utterly out of place here appeared completely relaxed and at ease.
He turned his head to look at her, the corner of his mouth lifting in what seemed like a good mood. "I remember you saying, 'August roses-of-sharon bloom, traveling by train one is accompanied by blossoms all along the way.'"