Chapter 30

Two years ago, Huo Cheng co-founded a company called Jinshi Technology with old classmates from A University. Earlier this year they launched a short video app, and over the past few months it's blown up among young people.

Like their main user base, Jinshi Technology's employees are mostly young. Huo Cheng, not even thirty, is already considered one of the older ones at the company.

Jinshi Technology employees generally describe Huo Cheng as:

Capable, driven, a rough straight-guy vibe.

He never wears makeup, never uses skincare products. Buzz cut. Even though he wears suits every day, it's not for looks - just to keep things simple.

But his height and looks are too outstanding, so a Love Variety Show picked him.

The Production Team kept sending people to pitch him, and to promote his company, Huo Cheng finally agreed to film the show.

Because of joining The Red and Blue Signal, their Boss Huo has changed a lot.

His wardrobe isn't just black, gray, and blue suits anymore - he's started wearing casual clothes, picked up some fashion sense.

He even started wearing cologne.

But they all get it - they heard normal people need makeup on camera. Huo Cheng represents their company's image on a Love Variety Show, so naturally his overall look needs to lean toward what young people find attractive.

Love shows need handsome guys, right?

But what they never expected was that Boss Huo would actually learn to cook - just for this Love Variety Show!

Keep in mind their Boss Huo is famously straight-laced - no romance, no tenderness, rough and careless has always been one of his biggest labels!

'Boss Huo is really going all out for our company.' A manager stood at the back door of some restaurant, watching Huo Cheng with a ladle, sighing.

Really tough on their boss.

Looking at his over-1.9-meter frame, white shirt, suit pants, wok in hand - it reminded him of a saying that wasn't quite appropriate but fit perfectly: the Eastern Palace empress flipping flatbread.

No matter how you looked at it, awkward. No matter how you looked at it, mismatched.

Huo Cheng's partner Zhou Ming said: 'You really think he's doing this for our company?'

Everyone turned to look at him.

Zhou Ming said: 'Old tree blooming.'

'Boss Huo's dating?'

'Boss Huo actually likes one of the guests on the show? Who? Who's got that kind of charm to capture our boss so fast!'

'I thought Boss Huo only had eyes for work - that workaholic who loves overtime!'

'Last month at our company meeting, who was it that sternly lectured all us single dogs about focusing on careers while we're young, not getting into romance?'

Huo Cheng is learning very seriously.

He's the type who acts on ideas immediately - always had strong execution.

Of the eight of them, only Zhai Xingchen can cook, which means whoever learns to cook gets more chances to interact with him.

He doesn't need to learn everything - one thing a day is enough.

The chef wiped sweat from his head: 'You... you don't need to stir-fry that hard.'

This guy's grip is way too strong.

Huo Cheng does have a lot of strength.

Thinking this is for Zhai Xingchen, he's even more fired up.

At six PM, Hu Ying arrived at Zhongwu Academy's south gate right on time.

Zhai Xingchen hadn't even walked out the gate when he saw Hu Ying.

Because Hu Ying had attracted a crowd of classmates filming her.

Looks like it's causing a scene.

Although The Red and Blue Signal had done a few Live Streaming sessions, it hadn't officially aired on TV yet, so most people hadn't seen the show. Normally, no one recognized Zhai Xingchen at the Dance School, but suddenly seeing this scene made him hesitate.

But Hu Ying spotted him from afar and excitedly waved.

Zhai Xingchen had to walk over.

The reason Hu Ying attracted so many people filming, besides her rich-pretty-girl aura, was mainly the two follow-shot cameramen with her.

As soon as Zhai Xingchen arrived, the surrounding classmates all pointed their phones at him too.

They walked out together. Hu Ying said: 'You gotta get used to it slowly. Once our show airs, you'll know today's nothing! Looking like this, you're destined to be a big star, a great dancer!'

Zhai Xingchen laughed out loud, his nervousness fading.

Today's date plan was arranged by Zhai Xingchen himself. Considering he needed to give the Production Team usable material, after dinner he took Hu Ying to the underground mall near the Dance School for over two hours.

Just as Hu Ying had thought, going out with Zhai Xingchen was completely different from going out with a rich handsome guy - Zhai Xingchen took her to do things twenty-something students would do: shooting hoops, VR, browsing bookstores, sitting on chairs at the snack street listening to folk singers, eating candied hawthorns, drinking milk tea.

Hu Ying was super excited, even bought two glowing rabbit ears to wear on her head.

'Have you never been to a place like this before?'

Hu Ying excitedly said: 'No!'

'Didn't you say you often come shopping around the Dance School?'

'That was me just showing how down-to-earth I am. Honestly, I'm usually super busy, and even when I have time to shop I go to places like Huajiang.'

Huajiang Tower is South City's most famous high-end shopping mall, South City's CBD.

'Do you know whose Huajiang is?' Hu Ying asked.

'Whose?'

'Pei Xu's family. They used his stepfather Zhou Jiangbai and his mom Pei Huahong's names. Pei Huahong is now the chairman of Huajiang Group.' Hu Ying said as she stopped at a claw machine.

'You want to play?'

'I've never played this.' Hu Ying said, pulling out her phone. 'Today let's just play to our hearts' content.'

The claw machine sat at the mall entrance, right next to two escalators going up. Hu Ying looked at the row of machines and finally chose the one with the most pink dolls.

'You really like pink.' Zhai Xingchen said.

'Yeah, I like pink stuff. You're pretty pink too.'

Zhai Xingchen froze for a second, then realized what Hu Ying meant and immediately kicked her.

Hu Ying dodged, grinning, and scanned the code with her phone.

First time playing, naturally unsuccessful. But she had no patience - three failures and she'd get heated, six failures and she wanted to kick the machine.

Zhai Xingchen said: 'Want me to try?'

'Have you played before?'

Zhai Xingchen said: 'No. My first time too.'

Hu Ying took the milk tea from his hand and let Zhai Xingchen try.

Zhai Xingchen looked around and spotted a plush rabbit he really liked.

Who knew Zhai Xingchen would grab the doll on his first try.

Not only was Hu Ying excited, Zhai Xingchen was too.

It really was his first time.

When the doll reached the top, both their hearts were in their throats.

When Zhai Xingchen finally got the pink rabbit out, Hu Ying couldn't help throwing both arms up: 'YES!'

Milk tea splashed everywhere from her hand.

'Give it to me, so I can show off when I get back.' Hu Ying said.

Zhai Xingchen gave her the rabbit.

Hu Ying couldn't put it down: 'So cute.'

Zhai Xingchen tried a few more times but his luck ran out, couldn't grab any more. Hu Ying tried a few times too, also failed.

In the end, the two of them left the underground mall with one rabbit.

Outside it was already completely dark. Zhai Xingchen checked the time and asked: 'Should we head back soon?'

'Walk around a bit more.' the cameraman said, 'Give us more footage to edit.'

Hu Ying smiled: 'Let's go walk by the sea then.'

They walked down the road behind Zhongwu, through a dark, run-down path, and reached the Beach outside Zhongwu's sports field.

This was the favorite spot for Zhongwu couples, and now in the deep night, couples sat in twos and threes under the moonlight.

They had the cameraman with them, so they couldn't go where the couples were, and kept walking west.

'Can we walk along this coastline all the way to the Red and Blue Cabin?' Hu Ying asked.

'We can, but I don't think you could handle it, it's pretty far.' Zhai Xingchen said.

'Don't underestimate me. When I graduated high school, after our last dinner with some classmates, we were supposed to cab back to school, but none of us wanted to part, so we walked, from South City North all the way to South City East, across almost half the city, two hours.'

Zhai Xingchen asked: 'Are you still in touch with that classmate?'

Hu Ying turned to look at him, her smile carrying a hint of shyness and sadness.

'Your first love?'

Hu Ying shook her head.

Zhai Xingchen turned to the cameraman: 'This part can't air.'

'It's fine if it airs.' Hu Ying said, 'Not first love, the first person I liked, also one of my best friends. Counts as a crush.'

Hu Ying smiled as she spoke, one hand holding the pink rabbit, the other running through her hair: 'He's abroad with his girlfriend now, just graduated, about to get married. A perfect match, she's also a rich pretty girl, they're really in love. He even asked me to be his best man.'

Zhai Xingchen nodded.

Hu Ying asked: 'What's that look on your face?'

'The kind that feels sorry for you.'

Hu Ying shook her head: 'That feeling's long past. Seeing him now, it's purely friendship. But back then, as a teenager, I really loved him. My whole life everyone's always chased me - the only time I was heartbroken over someone I couldn't have.'

Hu Ying held up one finger, her expression more serious than ever: 'The only time.'

'Have you ever had a crush? Someone you liked but couldn't have?' Hu Ying asked.

Zhai Xingchen shook his head.

Hu Ying laughed to herself, staring at him with deep eyes: 'Right, you're a little chick.'

Zhai Xingchen laughed quietly.

Zhai Xingchen's laugh was gentle, calm, clearly touched by what Hu Ying just said and trying to comfort her. In the darkness they couldn't see each other's faces. Hu Ying suddenly got serious, sincerely: 'You're so lucky, Xingchen. I hope you never cry because of loving someone, never know what that taste is like.'

'I hope you never do either.' Zhai Xingchen said.

Then they looked at each other for a while, and finally laughed at the same time.

'Oh god, we're being so dramatic.' Hu Ying shouted.

Zhai Xingchen burst out laughing.

A bright, clean laugh, somewhere between boy and man, lean and tall, carrying a nice clean scent.

For a moment, Hu Ying felt a long-lost youthful flutter, like being suddenly pulled back to her youth by Zhai Xingchen's fresh green aura.

Zhai Xingchen was exactly the kind of boy everyone in school would secretly crush on.

Gentle, clean, a person like moonlight, a heart like a whole gem.