"Next week, come over and have dinner with Uncle Zhou to meet his daughter," Song Wanqin excitedly said over the phone, "The young girl is beautiful, gentle, and well-mannered. She just graduated from England..."
"Mom, I don't have time," Pei Hao abruptly interrupted Song Wanqin, his tone carrying a hint of resistance, "Could you stop worrying about this in the future?"
It wasn't a good idea for Pei Hao to say that, as it touched a nerve with Song Wanqin.
Her son was handsome, optimistic, hardworking, and had a good background. There was no reason to reject anyone. However, he was in his twenties and had never been known to be interested in any girl.
At first, Song Wanqin thought that perhaps her son had high standards, but later, no matter how outstanding the girls she and the old man introduced him to were, he remained uninterested and apathetic.
The old man said that it's good for boys to establish themselves before starting a family, but she couldn't shake off her unease.
Ever since Pei Hao returned to X City for work from Y City, he seemed different. The enthusiasm he used to have was gone, and his eyes were always filled with a inexplicable sorrow.
"I'm not worried about it, who's worried? You're not a child anymore, it's time to consider finding someone!" Song Wanqin switched to a motherly tone, "Having someone by your side will prevent you from feeling lonely."
Pei Hao knew that if he didn't hang up, his mom could keep talking for an hour, so he cut it short, "Alright, Mom, I have things to do. We'll talk next time."
"You..." Song Wanqin's voice abruptly stopped on the phone.
After hanging up, Pei Hao walked onto the balcony and lit a cigarette.
When did he start smoking? It seemed like it was after Mo Xi left him.
He often woke up in the middle of the night, drenched in cold sweat, reaching out for the person who should be there but only feeling cold air. Then his heart sank deep into the ground.
Then came another sleepless night, standing on the balcony, smoking a cigarette, reminiscing about everything related to that person.
The scent of the smoke gradually filled the air, much like the scent of that person. At first, it was sweet, but it gradually turned bitter, seeping into his very core.
Inhaling and exhaling, it felt like all the anguish, the vexation, and the boundless yearning could be expelled with each breath.
Pei Hao often stood like this for the entire night until dawn broke, and a few pedestrians appeared on the street. Only then did he snap out of his trance-like state.
That person really wasn't coming back.
And it's not like he hadn't tried.
Pei Hao was willing to go to any lengths to find someone. Even when Mo Xi deleted his WeChat, he found ways to check his recent status through other people's phones. He even used a VPN to secretly follow Mo Xi's Facebook and see his new circle of friends.
After not too much time, Pei Hao pinpointed the city and school where Mo Xi was studying.
And it's not like he hadn't gone there.
During vacations, Pei Hao would fly over to steal a few glances at him. He didn't want to seem like a stalker, so he just stood not far from the school gate, watching quietly.
Sometimes he got lucky and saw him several times in a day. That person was still the same, oblivious and even in winter not dressing warmly enough, making his nose red. So Pei Hao managed to get Mo Xi's new address from Da Bai and sent him clothes and scarves under Da Bai's name.
Sometimes luck wasn't on his side, and he wouldn't see him for several days. Pei Hao didn't know if he was sick and couldn't attend class or if he was out with friends. He could only grudgingly take another dozen-hour flight back to his own country.
People who didn't know might think he had a lover in the United States, someone he was particularly fond of.
But he had never approached Mo Xi first. In his midnight reveries, he always heard Mo Xi's resolute words from their last meeting, "Then I'll leave again, until you give up."
While Pei Hao was avoiding Mo Xi, Mo Xi avoided him and even went to the United States. Where else could Pei Hao force him to go? Maybe if he showed up again, Mo Xi would escape to Africa next time.
Not disturbing Mo Xi was the only thing he could do for him now.
When Pei Hao returned to X City, the old man had already arranged things, planning for him to learn for a few years before taking over the company. In this lifetime, Pei Yi Xin hadn't really paused to enjoy life. He wanted to take Song Wanqin around to see the world while he could still move around.
In old age, fame, wealth, and power were no longer as important, while the things he hadn't had the chance to do when he was young, the worlds he hadn't seen, kept coming to mind.
So when Pei Hao had just returned to his father's company, he had to get involved in various projects big and small, and he personally had to meet every important client. For a long time, he was so busy that he couldn't find his bearings.
He joked with his old man, saying, "Dad, if I calculate my hourly wage, it's almost the same as a construction worker's, and I can't even take a day off."
Pei Yi Xin knocked on his head and said, "When I started the company, I didn't even have the hourly wage of a construction worker. Young people need to endure hardships, don't expect overnight success."
Soon after, Pei Hao was sent to the hospital by people from Jin Yu. When he woke up in the hospital, he heard that the old man had snatched a major client from the Jin family.
At that time, the two companies were discussing whether or not to collaborate. But Jin Yu's move was like a slap in the face to the Pei family, nullifying the mutual benefits and synergy, and it seemed as if the Jin family had let out a fart.
At that time, the old man in Jin Yu's family was already on the brink, and the shareholders within the company were all plotting their own schemes.
Considering Jin Yu's calculating nature, he wouldn't have been unaware that cooperating with the Pei family was more beneficial than detrimental at this point. Him making such an impulsive move left everyone astonished.
Back then, Pei Hao had a hard time concealing Mo Xi's involvement in this matter. Otherwise, once their relationship was exposed, his father would definitely try everything to prevent them from being together.
However, now he didn't need to think about those things because Mo Xi didn't want anything to do with him.
Every night before going to sleep, Pei Hao's routine was to use a VPN to check Mo Xi's Facebook.
God knows how grateful he was that Facebook didn't have a browsing history feature.
Otherwise, he would lose the only way he could glimpse into Mo Xi's life in a foreign land, which was one of the few sources of happiness left in his life.
But recently, a foreign man started leaving frequent comments on Mo Xi's Facebook, making Pei Hao uneasy.
There wasn't much information on the man's profile, only a few photos and details that indicated he was a Caucasian American working in the city where Mo Xi was.
In terms of appearance, Pei Hao felt that he was completely unworthy of Mo Xi. His eyes, although large, lacked luster. Xiao Xi said he liked bright eyes and white teeth; his nose, although straight, was too straight and lacked softness; his mouth had thin lips, too thin and unyielding...
In his heart, Pei Hao silently criticized this foreign man whom he had never met from every angle, confirming that Mo Xi wouldn't like him, before turning off his phone and lying in bed.
However, as he tossed and turned in bed, he couldn't fall asleep for a long time, and all he could think about was what he would do if one day Mo Xi truly found someone else.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the ocean, Mo Xi's life was also thrown into chaos by the sudden appearance of this foreign friend.
During the first semester of Mo Xi's study abroad, there was a course that required an internship in a company. The professor introduced Mo Xi's group to a medium-sized company, and Shane was the assistant manager of this company.
The first time they met, Shane was dressed in a sharp suit, leading their group on a tour of the company's facilities.
As the only Asian person in the group, Mo Xi received special attention from Shane. Shane often asked him for his opinions on projects during the internship.
There was no way around it; having a face that clearly stood out from the others made him easy to notice.
On the day the internship ended, Shane actively asked Mo Xi for his contact information. From that day on, he frequently initiated conversations with Mo Xi on social media.
Mo Xi always felt that this assistant manager was more outgoing, so he didn't think much of it. Until one day, a classmate from the group told Mo Xi, "During our internship, we all felt like Shane had a thing for you. He would often look at you and smile. Are you guys still in touch?"
It was then that Mo Xi remembered to ask, "Did he get your contact information?"
The classmates all shook their heads, saying no.
Mo Xi had a moment of sudden realization and pulled out his Facebook profile again. He rarely posted photos, but there were comments from Shane under each one.
After thinking about it carefully, he remembered that Shane had invited him to go hiking and such, but at that time, Mo Xi had turned him down because he was too busy.
Even after knowing all of this, Mo Xi didn't feel that his life was any different, because, after Pei Hao, he hadn't encountered anyone who could make his heart race.