Big Surprise

Just hearing Fu Nanzhi's voice, Shen Yi couldn't help but smile, teasing her,

"That's pretty lame, only one day and you can't take it anymore."

"I can't help it, I can't live without you~"

Fu Nanzhi elongated her words with a playful lilt, and although it was clearly a deliberate attempt to be cute, it didn't come off as annoying at all. Instead, she seemed utterly endearing.

"A whole day is so long."

"I thought about you while I was working, walking, eating, even sleeping. I just couldn't stop thinking about you."

"That must be hard, no wonder they say time feels like years when you're waiting for something."

Every word Fu Nanzhi said was a testament to the same idea: longing, longing, and more longing.

Shen Yi wasn't an idiot; he knew this was her way of saying she wanted to see him. He couldn't ignore it, so he playfully replied,

"Wow, our Nanzhi is so smart now, using idioms like a pro."

"Hehe."

No matter what Shen Yi said, as long as she heard his voice, Fu Nanzhi would be overjoyed.

Shen Yi didn't even need to think to know that Fu Nanzhi must be grinning like a fool on the other end of the phone, so he simply said:

"Tell me, do you want to have dinner together tonight?"

"I approve."

To his surprise, Fu Nanzhi refuted,

"Wrong, it's now."

Shen Yi was a bit surprised and asked in a dubious manner,

"Now? Aren't you working in the afternoon?"

He pulled the phone away from his ear to check the time, realizing it was almost 11 a.m., which was also lunchtime.

"I won't tell you, it's a secret~"

Shen Yi pretended to be angry, deepening his voice to tease,

"Oh, so now you have secrets from me."

"Ah, it's a surprise, you'll know when the time comes."

Even though she knew Shen Yi was joking, Fu Nanzhi couldn't help but let slip a little bit of information.

"A surprise? Then I won't ask."

Shen Yi didn't want to ruin their little fun, so he stopped the conversation and instead asked,

"Have you decided where we should eat?"

"Hmm......"

Fu Nanzhi pouted and thought for a moment, her eyes lighting up as she exclaimed,

"Got it! Let's go to that Cantonese place I recently discovered. There were so many people queuing up outside the last time I passed by."

Shen Yi considered it; while Cantonese dishes weren't necessarily bland, they certainly weren't very spicy, which suited Fu Nanzhi perfectly. He nodded and replied,

"Alright, I'll follow your lead."

"Yay, I'll come pick you up now."

Fu Nanzhi cheered happily and suggested.

"No, just send me the location, and we'll both go straight there. Traffic gets terrible around noon, and we'd waste twice the time trying to pick each other up."

Being a well-established couple, they didn't need to follow that kind of formality. Shen Yi turned down the idea of Fu Nanzhi coming to pick him up, as it was both time-consuming and troublesome.

"Oh...."

"Then it's settled, let's head out now!"

After confirming the plan with her, Shen Yi said goodbye and hung up the phone.

Putting the phone down, he glanced downstairs but saw no one—Shu Yunyi couldn't still be there.

He needed to go to Fu Nanzhi's place first, and Shu Yunyi would have to wait.

Having just made up his mind, Shen Yi immediately felt the difficulty of his situation. He was stretched thin, trying to balance both sides, but inevitably, he had to let one down. Fortunately, the two hadn't recognized each other yet, and there was still a significant information gap between them. Shen Yi knew about her memories, but Shu Yunyi didn't know about his. There was still some room to maneuver, so he didn't have to rush off to see her.

He sighed, realizing that he had to grit his teeth and make it work. Gathering his spirits, Shen Yi headed off to meet Fu Nanzhi.

As he stepped out of the apartment complex, waiting for the ride-hailing car, Shen Yi felt a strange emptiness in his heart, as if he had forgotten something.

When the car arrived, he shook off his thoughts and got in.

……

After alighting, Shen Yi looked up at the sign—Red Pavilion Restaurant.

Walking in, Fu Nanzhi was already there, having booked room number six.

As soon as he entered, Fu Nanzhi was flipping through the thick menu, and upon seeing Shen Yi, she beamed with joy,

"Honey~ you're here."

"Yeah, how's the selection going?"

Shen Yi pulled out a chair and sat beside her.

Fu Nanzhi immediately pushed the menu towards him,

"I've picked most of the dishes, take a look and see if there's anything else you'd like to add."

Shen Yi glanced through it quickly and closed the menu,

"That's plenty, enough for the two of us."

Then, he lightly tapped her forehead and teased,

"You know, you're famous for your big eyes but a small stomach. If we order too much, you'll just end up leaving it for me to finish. I'm basically your leftover dumpster, huh?"

This was actually a reference to their past, where they would always overeat, which over time would inevitably lead to weight gain.

Fu Nanzhi giggled and leaned closer, her hands sneaking over to feel Shen Yi's abs, which were so firm it almost made her drool.

It was hard to tell if she was hungry or just couldn't resist his physique. She murmured next to Shen Yi's ear,

"Honey, you really need to keep exercising, it feels so good to touch."

Shen Yi gave her a sideways glance and picked up his chopsticks, lightly tapping her hand,

"We're eating; can you behave for a moment?"

Fu Nanzhi immediately straightened up, pretending to be well-behaved, but her act didn't last long before she reverted to her old ways.

Soon, dishes started arriving, and the two chatted while eating.

Shen Yi picked up a piece of preserved meat and placed it into Fu Nanzhi's bowl, then asked her,

"You mentioned a surprise earlier, care to share?"

Fu Nanzhi, her mouth greasy from eating, looked up with a beaming smile,

"Of course! There's a big surprise and a small one. Which one do you want to hear first?"

Seeing her enthusiasm, Shen Yi was intrigued and replied,

"Oh? Well, I’ll go big first. I like the big one. Big first."

Fu Nanzhi blushed, clearly misinterpreting his words, and muttered under her breath,

"Tch."

"The big surprise is that I took leave~"

Then she held up her delicate fingers and began counting,

"I have one day off this week, one day of compensatory leave, and Sun Consultant covered half a day for me."

Shen Yi realized, following her explanation,

"No wonder you're free at noon; you've basically taken a vacation."

Fu Nanzhi waved her hand,

"Hold on, let me finish."

"This adds up to two and a half days. The half-day is our private time, and the next two days are perfect for visiting your parents back in Gusu Province, so they can get to know me again."

Shen Yi nodded, as this was something they had previously agreed upon.

Gusu Province wasn't too far from Jingyuan City, just a three-hour drive, and two days were more than enough for the round trip.

"We'll leave first thing tomorrow, what do you say?"

Fu Nanzhi finished and turned to seek Shen Yi's opinion.

"Sounds perfect; I couldn't find a single flaw in your plan."

As he praised her, Shen Yi pulled out a napkin to wipe the grease from her lips.

"Hehehe..."

Fu Nanzhi pouted, thoroughly enjoying Shen Yi's affection.

"Now that the big surprise is out of the way, what about the small one?"

Shen Yi asked.

At this point, Fu Youjia started teasing him, shaking her head and tilting it towards Shen Yi, tapping her smooth cheek with her finger.

It was clear what she was hinting at—no kiss, no answer.