Time to Show Our Cards

In early July, Chen Zhi flew to Zhuhai twice and finalized the hardware plan for their first smartphone with Huang Zhang's team. The chip would be Qualcomm's latest flagship platform, the screen a 2K AMOLED exclusively supplied by Samsung, and the overall industrial design handled by Meizu's veteran team.

Huang Zhang had no other flaws besides being incredibly meticulous about product details; he could revise the curve of a back cover twenty times.

But it had to be said, the results yielded by this paranoia were truly competitive.

The moment Chen Zhi got his hands on the prototype, he knew right away that once this thing was released, ninety percent of the phones on the market would have to step aside.

The launch event was scheduled for mid-August in Beijing.

Less than a month away.

But the problem Chen Zhi was currently facing had nothing to do with business.

His mom was calling again.

"Chen Zhi, have you forgotten the way home?"

"Mom, I've been busy lately—"

"Busy, busy, you're busy every day. You're so busy you don't even come home, right? Your dad was just grumbling about you yesterday, saying his son has probably settled down in Beijing and doesn't want us anymore."

"When has my dad ever grumbled about missing me? Doesn't he always find me annoying?"

"That's just your dad being stubborn! He was secretly looking through your childhood photos the night before last. When I caught him, he refused to admit it, claiming he was looking for a receipt tucked in the old photo album. A receipt? Who keeps a receipt next to their son's one-month baby photo?"

Chen Zhi held back a smile.

"Alright, alright, I'll go back this week."

"Really?"

"Really."

Zhang Guifang's tone immediately did a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn: "Then Mom will make you braised pork, and your favorite sweet and sour carp. Oh right, how many days are you staying? Do you want Mom to pick you up at the station?"

"No need to pick me up, I'll head back myself."

"Oh right," Zhang Guifang lowered her voice, "how are things between you and Wanwan lately? Why don't you bring the girl back too? Uncle Lin had drinks with your dad last month, and our two families haven't gotten together in a long time."

Chen Zhi held his phone, his mind racing.

Should he give his parents a heads-up about the fact that he was dating three girlfriends? He would need their help to cover it up when it came time for marriage, so he had to give them some mental preparation now.

"Mom, Wanwan is busy with work lately, she can't make it back."

"Sigh, that girl too, working so tirelessly every day..."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm hanging up now. I'll call you when I arrive."

After hanging up, Chen Zhi stared at the ceiling in a daze for a while.

Now came the problem.

Which girlfriend should he bring home first?

Chen Zhi took out his phone and weighed his options one by one.

First, he asked Lin Wanwan.

After he sent the message, Lin Wanwan instantly replied with a long voice memo, chirping about how she had to fly to Shanghai to record a variety show this week, and had two commercial gigs next week. Sister Su Man had packed her schedule full until the end of August, making her dead tired.

At the end of the voice memo, she added pitifully, "Hubby, I want to go back and see our parents too... Please tell Mom for me that I'll definitely visit once I'm done with work!"

Chen Zhi replied with an "Okay."

He breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.

His parents already knew about Lin Wanwan; his plan this time was to bring one of the other two back.

Next, he asked Li Zhiyi.

"Chen Zhi, I'm staying at school for the summer to help my advisor organize research materials. I might be busy until mid-August."

She added a tiny sticker at the end, a little kitten burying its head in homework.

Since Li Zhiyi couldn't go either.

That left Pei Ningxue.

Chen Zhi leaned back in his chair, pondered his phrasing for a moment, and then sent Pei Ningxue a message.

"I plan to go home this week. Do you want to come along?"

Pei Ningxue's reply came quickly.

"To your home?"

"Yes."

"To meet your parents?"

"Not specifically to meet them, just passing by..."

Pei Ningxue sent a single "Heh."

"Do your parents know about me?"

Chen Zhi hesitated for a moment, finally replying: "Not yet."

"So you plan to bring a woman your parents don't know at all to your home."

"..."

"Chen Zhi, what status do you want me to appear as?"

This question stumped Chen Zhi.

What status? Girlfriend? Fiancee? The company's CFO?

His parents only knew he had a childhood sweetheart girlfriend named Lin Wanwan, and their families were neighbors. If he suddenly brought a strange woman back now, his mom's first reaction would absolutely be, "Did you dump Wanwan, you brat?"

Her second reaction would most likely be to beat him with a rolling pin.

But then again, he had to let his family know about Pei Ningxue's existence sooner or later. Dragging it out would only make things more troublesome.

Chen Zhi took a deep breath and replied.

"My girlfriend. I'll just say you are my girlfriend."

Pei Ningxue was silent for a while.

Then she sent: "What about Lin Wanwan? What will you say when your mom asks?"

"I have my own arrangements."

"You're really something."

Pei Ningxue went silent for another moment.

"Fine, I'll go. What time are we leaving?"

"The morning after tomorrow. We'll drive back."

"Alright, whatever you say."

Departure day was Friday.

Pei Ningxue's driver, Lao Zhao, drove that low-profile black Mercedes S and parked downstairs at Wanliu House early in the morning.

Chen Zhi went downstairs carrying a backpack. When he opened the back door, Pei Ningxue was already sitting inside.

She was dressed very plainly today, wearing a white T-shirt paired with light blue jeans, her hair tied in a low ponytail, and only a thin layer of sunscreen on her face. She looked clean and refreshing, having reined in most of her heiress aura.

"What are you nervous about?" Pei Ningxue glanced at him.

"I'm not nervous."

"If you aren't nervous, can you stop locking and unlocking your phone?"

Chen Zhi silently put his phone into his pocket.

"I was just thinking about how to introduce you to my mom when we get there."

"Didn't you say it already? Just say I'm your girlfriend."

"Sigh." Chen Zhi let out a painful sigh.

Five hours later, the car drove into the urban area of Jiangcheng.

July in Jiangcheng was even hotter than in Beijing. The sun hung viciously overhead, and the heat waves radiating from the ground were visible to the naked eye.

Chen Zhi's hometown was an old residential compound in the eastern part of the city, about a twenty-minute drive away.

"Should we go to the supermarket to buy some things first?" Chen Zhi glanced at his phone.

Pei Ningxue nodded. Spotting a Yonghui Supermarket by the road, she had the car turn into the parking lot.

The two entered the supermarket.

Pei Ningxue pushed the shopping cart while Chen Zhi walked beside her.

"What are you buying?" Pei Ningxue swept her gaze over the shelves.

"Milk, fruit, the tea my dad likes to drink... Oh right, my mom likes to eat cherries."

"Okay."

Pei Ningxue walked straight toward the fruit section, and Chen Zhi followed behind.

She looked very serious while picking fruit, gently squeezing each cherry, discarding the ones that were too soft or too hard.

The two strolled from the fruit section to the snack section, and then to the liquor section. Pei Ningxue grabbed two bottles of baijiu, while Chen Zhi picked up a case of beer and a pack of pure milk.

When the shopping cart was almost full, Chen Zhi suddenly remembered something.

"I forgot my dad's tea."

"Wait for me here, I'll go over to the tea aisle."

Chen Zhi turned and ducked into another aisle.

Pei Ningxue pushed the shopping cart, slowly walked over to the condiment section, and casually picked up a bottle of olive oil.

Right at this moment, at the other end of the same aisle, a woman around fifty years old was picking out soy sauce.

Zhang Guifang was wearing a floral short-sleeved shirt and a pair of sandals. In her hand, she carried a reusable bag that already held a few stalks of green onions and a block of tofu.

She picked up a bottle of soy sauce, checked the price, put it back, and swapped it for one that was two yuan cheaper.

Then, pushing her small shopping cart, she turned the corner of the aisle, ready to head to the checkout counter.

The moment she turned the corner, she caught sight of a familiar back.

Tall and lean, wearing a white T-shirt and black shorts, he was grabbing something from the tea shelf. It was none other than her son.

Zhang Guifang's first reaction was joy.

This brat, he's already arrived, yet he didn't even call home.

She was just about to call out to him when she suddenly noticed something nearby.

In front of the next aisle, a young woman was pushing a shopping cart filled to the brim.

With long hair and fair skin, the way she stood there picking out items made it seem as if all the lights in the supermarket were drawn to her.

Beautiful.

Zhang Guifang had to admit, this girl was truly beautiful.

But she wasn't Lin Wanwan.

She knew Lin Wanwan all too well. She was a girl she had watched grow up, lively, adorable, and sweet-looking. The girl before her had sharper features and a completely different aura. There was a kind of... what was it? Zhang Guifang couldn't quite put it into words, but overall, she just gave off a very expensive vibe.

She hadn't thought much of it at first.

That was until Chen Zhi walked back with the tea and casually strolled right up to the woman, dropping the tea into her shopping cart.

Zhang Guifang stopped in her tracks.

She watched as Chen Zhi leaned down to say something to the woman. The woman turned her head to look at him, her lips moving as she presumably replied.

Then, the two of them pushed the cart forward together.

Walking side by side, very close to each other.

Zhang Guifang's grip on her shopping cart tightened.

She didn't call out to stop them.

Standing in front of the condiment aisle, she watched the backs of her son and the strange woman disappear toward the checkout counters.

It wasn't Lin Wanwan.

So who was it?

A classmate? Impossible. Classmates wouldn't go grocery shopping together and buy a whole cart full of stuff.

A friend? Didn't look like it either. The distance between them as they stood there, friends wouldn't stand that close.

Zhang Guifang thought for a moment, placed the soy sauce into her own small cart, and unhurriedly followed them.

She stood far back behind a pillar near the checkout, watching Chen Zhi and the girl line up to pay.

Chen Zhi took out his phone to scan the code and pay.

The girl stood beside him, helping to bag the groceries.

There was an unspoken tacit understanding between them; without needing to say much, their movements were perfectly coordinated.

Zhang Guifang narrowed her eyes.

They were dating. One hundred percent, they were dating.

A thought suddenly flashed through her mind.

Did this boy break up with Wanwan?

And then find someone new on the outside?

Zhang Guifang almost couldn't hold back from charging right up to them, but she gritted her teeth and controlled herself.

There were too many people in the supermarket. What if she had misunderstood?

Besides, with that girl present, if she asked him to his face, it would be awkward and humiliating for everyone involved.

No, she had to keep her cool. She would wait until they got home to talk about it.