Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I figured our connection would end right then and there.

My major required me to spend every day buried in the library, reading books and papers or pouring over rubbings. My future would likely involve more of the same.

I was worlds apart from a business elite who spent his time moving between office buildings and cocktail parties.

Yet, I never expected our third meeting to come so soon.

At the time, I was working as a student assistant in the office. Part of my mandatory duties involved setting up the conference room.

The kind of empty formalism I complained about every day required using a ruler to measure the exact distance from the teacups to the edge of the table.

That day, I was assigned to set up again. Grumbling under my breath, I went around with my ruler, measuring them one by one.

With my ruler in hand, squinting my eyes, bending over, and sticking my rear out, I certainly wasn’t striking a graceful pose.

That was until a soft chuckle came from behind me.

I instinctively looked back.

It was a feeling that’s hard to describe.

The person you thought you’d never see again suddenly appears before you without any warning.

He was wearing a navy blue suit that day, looking a bit more casual and unconstrained than usual.

He leaned slightly against the wooden doorframe, standing tall and lithe like a stalk of hardy green bamboo.

Many years later, this scene remains embedded in my mind like a painting.

If only life could always be like that first meeting.

As it turned out, the guest of honor the conference room was being prepared for today was him.

Or rather, the last time he came to the university to return my lipstick, he really had been passing through.

Xiang Liangzhi and his parents were all in finance, but his grandmother was a graduate of our university’s Chinese Department.

University students from her era were highly esteemed, especially those from a prestigious major at a prestigious university like this.

Xiang Liangzhi’s family background was truly top-tier.

His grandmother’s eightieth birthday was approaching, and she had decided to donate a sum of money to her alma mater. Since the elderly lady had mobility issues, her grandson was sent to handle the communication.

The one giving the money is always the boss, and since the Chinese Department was famously poor, they treated the donor with the utmost importance.

Seeing the faculty leaders treating him with such reverence, even snatching the tea kettle out of my hands, I was happy to be relieved of my duties. I didn’t have to stay for the meeting, so I happily retreated to the office to shred documents.

As I shredded, I thought to myself: I’m just an ordinary girl. Whether I’m curled up in bed reading romance novels or sitting at my computer playing otome games, I have an instinctive flutter of admiration for men who are rich, powerful, and handsome.

What’s more, I had crossed paths with him several times. By some twist of fate, our connection had grown even tighter.

If I didn’t care after the first meeting and felt calm and reflective after the second, by the third, I couldn’t help but harbor a sliver of hope. Maybe he really was my fated match?

Who can say for sure how the Matchmaker God pulls his strings? One link after another-if it wasn’t fate, what was it?

But it wasn’t until the very end that I realized not every encounter between people is a fated blessing.

Some are fated calamities.

I didn’t know that then, though. I just kept daydreaming, unable to control the pink bubbles of infatuation rising inside me.

Suddenly, the shredder whirred, signaling that the bin was full.

I gave the bin a hard tug with both hands.

The recoil sent me tumbling, and the entire bin spilled, scattering paper scraps everywhere.

At that exact moment, the door to the conference room across the hall opened.

The Dean’s hand on the doorknob and Xiang Liangzhi’s raised foot both froze in place.

I sat there in a pile of shredded paper, watching as the corners of Xiang Liangzhi’s mouth slowly curled upward.

My pink bubbles popped and shattered all over the floor.

To my surprise, Xiang Liangzhi walked over and slowly leaned down.

I stared at him blankly until he reached out and plucked a scrap of paper from my head.

My face flushed instantly. I actually thought it was quite romantic.

Until he said, “There’s a lot more.”

Just kill me now, honestly.

Think about it-it’s romantic when a novel’s male lead picks a fallen leaf off the heroine’s head. But if the heroine’s head is covered in leaves, she just looks like she has a problem.

Xiang Liangzhi politely declined their offer to see him out, and the Department Head, sensing we had some history, told me to walk him to the gate.

Naturally, I was more than happy to oblige.

On the way, Xiang Liangzhi spoke up first.

“I didn’t expect you to be from the Chinese Department.”

I nodded. “I am. I study paleography-the study of scripts.”

“It’s very interesting,” I said, blinking at him. “If you tell me one character from your name, I can interpret it for you.”

At that point, I still didn’t know his full name, so I was playing a little trick.

He smiled slightly and took the bait. “Liang.”

I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t fish out his full name, but after a moment’s thought, I said, “In oracle bone script, the character ‘Liang’ represents the shape of a city built along a river, signifying the city’s waterways. Later, it evolved to mean ‘thoroughfare’ or ‘profound.’ Since waterways are vital to a city, ‘Liang’ also carries the meaning of ‘priority’ or ‘importance.’ By the Western Zhou dynasty, it gained the meanings of ‘excellent,’ ‘virtuous,’ and ‘kind.'”

I paused and smiled at him. “In short, it’s an exceptionally good character.”

“Like in ‘virtuous’ or ‘goodness.'”

“And also, ‘On such a fine night as this, to meet such a fine person.'”

I stopped myself immediately after that last line. The implication was far too suggestive.

However, Xiang Liangzhi didn’t seem to mind. He appeared to be reflecting on what I’d said.

He laughed. “It really is interesting. It seems I should donate a bit more to your department.”

Selfishly, I hoped the path to the gate would get longer and longer.

But we reached the end in just a few steps.

Once we arrived at the school gate, there wasn’t much left to say, so I gave him a polite farewell.

Just as I was about to turn back, he suddenly spoke.

“Xiang Liangzhi.”

“My name is Xiang Liangzhi.”

It turned out the heart of this twenty-something girl had been laid bare before his eyes all along.