Xie Qin's Silent Exit
Chu Fei asked his mom He Peiling about it and learned that Xie Qin had already settled the bill. But she hadn't signed up for a membership card, customized any other treatments, or said a word—she'd just left straight away.
This left Chu Fei utterly baffled. Had he unintentionally offended her somehow? Had he touched on some taboo of hers? So had he wasted Zhang Lin's good intentions this time?
As he was lost in these swirling thoughts, Li Bing's voice suddenly rang out from the entrance. "Auntie He, Happy New Year! Here's to prosperity!"
"Oh, it's Bingbing! Happy New Year to you too! Wow, you look stunning today!"
"Nah, Auntie He, you're the beautiful one! It's only been a day or so, but you look like you've gotten ten years younger!"
"You sweet-talker! Here, Xiao Fei's over there—go find him."
"Got it, Auntie. You keep busy... Chu Fei!! Happy New Year!"
"..." Chu Fei shot her a speechless glance. "What?"
"Hey! What's with that look? You're the first person I'm giving New Year's greetings to!"
"Yeah? 'Cause I just heard you saying the exact same thing to my mom..."
"Ugh, you're so picky about the details!" Li Bing playfully swatted his arm. "What are you up to today anyway? I tried calling you this morning and it wouldn't go through, and Zhang Qian tried this afternoon too but same deal. She asked me what was going on, so I snuck out from home to come find you."
"Oh, my phone... Right, I left it in the dorm when I changed clothes yesterday." Chu Fei patted his pocket, finally realizing. He'd crashed at the shop last night, so no wonder he hadn't noticed.
"Seriously... Chu Fei, let's hit the beach tonight and have some fun!"
"No way!"
Chu Fei flat-out refused. He was in a foul mood right now, and after barely sleeping last night, he had zero energy for going out.
With that, he stood up. "Mom, I'm beat. Heading back to crash."
"Hey! Chu Fei, you're just gonna ditch me here?"
"Go back wherever you came from. You're a grown woman—do I need to babysit you?"
"You... you're too much! I came all this way just for you... Hey!"
"Bingbing, Xiao Fei just finished a treatment session with a client, and he didn't sleep well last night either—he's exhausted. Once he's rested up, I'll make him apologize to you, okay?"
He Peiling had been watching the whole exchange and hurried over to smooth things over with Li Bing. They couldn't have a fight in the shop on the first day of the New Year, after all!
Li Bing seemed to catch on too, flashing a quick smile. "Sorry, Auntie He. I'm just spoiled and threw a tantrum—didn't mean to disturb you guys. Since Chu Fei's tired, I'll head out. I'll come find him tomorrow."
"Alright."
Back in the dorm, Chu Fei found his phone—and it shocked him. There were over fifty missed calls!
But when he checked, he couldn't help but chuckle wryly. Forty-five were from Li Bing, four from Zhang Qian, and the last one... from Li Ran.
Li Ran's call was actually the earliest, right after midnight.
She still remembered him? Still remembered his New Year's greeting at midnight last year?
He'd be lying if he said it didn't warm his heart a little. But staring at that familiar number on the screen, Chu Fei's fingers trembled slightly. In the end, he never mustered the courage to hit callback...
Why dwell on it when he'd already made his choice? Why couldn't he let go?
What would calling back even accomplish? Could they go back to how things were?
Could he really abandon everything here and head back to Wuhan? Keep scraping by on a measly thousand-plus bucks a month, enduring all the disdain?
No doubt about it—the answer was no.
So Chu Fei let out a deep sigh, tossed the phone aside, and flopped onto the bed. But sleep wouldn't come. A restless fire burned inside him, that pent-up frustration making him itch for release like never before!
"Cousin, it's Shishi!"
A knock at the door—his cousin He Shishi had snuck back in too. The moment he opened it, she threw herself into his arms. "I saw that grumpy look on your face earlier. I was so worried. Cousin, you okay?"
"I'm fine." Chu Fei took a deep breath, then pinched her ass. "Shishi, I'm gonna take a shower. Wanna join?"
"Yeah! I'll wash you!"
He Shishi was always eager to help—growing up in the countryside had made her that way. She took charge of everything as usual, leaving Chu Fei to just stand there while she meticulously scrubbed every inch of him.
Thank god for He Shishi. She gave him the perfect outlet for all that pent-up negativity. Before long, he was thrusting into her soft body, and his gentle cousin—sensing his bad mood—took it all with total patience, not even complaining when he irresponsibly came inside her again...