Strategic Sincerity

The night grew deeper, and the road near the entrance of Shen University was nearly deserted. Under the streetlights, a row of tall trees cast long, dark shadows that perfectly concealed the black car.

Inside the car, Chu Ran meticulously buttoned Ye Nanzhi’s shirt one by one, tying her collar into a perfect bow. After smoothing out her messy long hair, Chu Ran pressed a gentle kiss onto her forehead.

“Let’s go. We’re going home.”

In the passenger seat, Paixing let out a soft mumble as it woke up, meowing as if searching for Ye Nanzhi. Seeing that Ye Nanzhi continued to stare out the window in silence, Chu Ran displayed a rare bit of kindness toward the cat.

“She seems angry; why don’t you help me coax her?”

Chu Ran’s comment only made things worse. Ye Nanzhi’s soft fists began to rain down on Chu Ran’s shoulder like falling petals. Since she couldn’t escape Chu Ran’s grasp anyway and had already been taken advantage of, she felt she had nothing left to fear.

She began to vent her long-suppressed emotions without restraint.

“You knew I’d be angry! You knew, yet you deliberately did those things in front of Huanhuan! It hurt, do you know that!”

Despite the pummeling, Chu Ran didn’t strike back. Instead of getting angry, she let out a small chuckle. “How about next time, I go a little lighter?”

Ye Nanzhi: “…”

The blows landed even harder.

“Chu Ran, if I speak to you again tonight, I’m a pig!”

“A what?”

Ye Nanzhi: “…”

“You are!”

Ye Nanzhi was a woman of her word. She sat alone in the back seat, clutching Paixing’s carrier. No matter how much Chu Ran tried to start a conversation, she kept her face turned toward the window, offering not a single syllable in response.

“It’s too late for grilled fish; let’s order something else. What do you want to eat, Zhizhi?”

“Zhizhi? Look, the moon is quite bright tonight!”

“The mushrooms Professor Song gave us are very fresh. What variety were they again?”

“Zhizhi…”

Ye Nanzhi didn’t make a sound until the car came to a complete stop. She got out on her own and walked toward the elevator hall without looking back. Seeing this, Chu Ran hurried to catch up and managed to grab her arm.

“Zhizhi.” Chu Ran’s face returned to its warm, gentle mask as she spoke softly. “There aren’t many vegetables left in the fridge. Why don’t we take a stroll through the supermarket together? You used to say that no matter what conflict happens at home, it can be resolved if we just go to the supermarket together.”

That was a belief held by Ye Nanzhi back when she was still an undergraduate. In her heart, every time her father made her mother angry, there was a foolproof method: her father would send her to her mother to say she wanted to go to the supermarket.

At that point, her father would “voluntarily” step forward, offering to act as the manual laborer and the mobile wallet. At the supermarket entrance was a flower shop; her father would sneak out while her mother was shopping to buy a bouquet of her favorite daisies. Usually, by then, her mother’s anger would have vanished.

So, since she was very young, Ye Nanzhi always thought the supermarket was a magical place. It wasn’t until she grew up that she realized the magic wasn’t in the store, but in the love her parents shared.

“No! I don’t want to go to the supermarket with you!” The long-silent Ye Nanzhi finally spoke, yet her eyes still refused to meet Chu Ran’s. “Buy whatever you want to eat yourself!”

She turned toward the elevator with Paixing on her back, but after a few steps, she doubled back. Chu Ran thought she had changed her mind, but the girl was only returning to take the cold takeout containers that Chu Ran was holding—the ones they hadn’t had time to eat.

Then, she entered the elevator without looking back. Before the elevator had even ascended two floors, a message from Chu Ran arrived on her phone.

[The takeout is cold; don’t eat it. I’ll make you something hot. Wait for me.]

Hmph. What was wrong with cold food? A quick spin in the microwave would fix it. Why did she have to interfere!

Stepping out of the elevator, Ye Nanzhi’s fingerprint successfully unlocked Chu Ran’s door. The first thing she did upon entering was release Paixing from the bag. Suddenly findind itself in a strange place, the little fellow was extremely cautious, refusing to leave the carrier at first. Only after determining the environment was safe did it slowly poke its head out.

With its tail held high, Paixing looked left and right, sniffing everything with intense curiosity.

“Paixing, I’m sorry you have to stay here with me for the night.” Ye Nanzhi rubbed the little guy’s furry head, trying to comfort both the cat and herself. “But don’t worry, I will definitely take you away from here as fast as I can!”

Paixing didn’t seem to understand, focused instead on scouting the surroundings. It sniffed its way across the room until it reached the door of the small room. Finding something interesting, the cat used its head to nudge the door, but it didn’t budge. Frustrated, it began scratching at the door panel, turning back to meow at Ye Nanzhi.

“What, Chu Ran bullies me and now you’re going to go against me too?”

In this apartment, the most restricted area was that small room. Chu Ran had said it was just a storage room without a bed. Whether there was a bed or not, Ye Nanzhi didn’t know. She only knew that Chu Ran often brought out items from it—brand new things that didn’t fit Chu Ran’s size.

Without exception, they were old styles from two years ago. They were things Chu Ran had prepared for another woman.

Once, Chu Ran had offered to let Ye Nanzhi go inside to look for herself, but she had refused. She had zero interest in the memories Chu Ran shared with someone else.

“Is that a place you can just enter whenever you want!” Ye Nanzhi scolded Paixing. “Don’t you know you shouldn’t look at things that aren’t yours? How can an outsider just go rummaging through someone else’s house!”

Suddenly scolded, Paixing drooped its head and stopped making a fuss. Dejected, it ignored Ye Nanzhi and curled into a ball in a far corner.

Ye Nanzhi rubbed her temples. What was she doing, losing her temper at a cat for no reason? Composing herself, she stood up, scooped her portion of the takeout into a bowl, and tossed it into the microwave.

Meanwhile, at the supermarket, Chu Ran was facing a dilemma. In the past, the soft, sweet rabbit had always been the most gentle and considerate person, never getting angry or losing her temper. Now, the little rabbit was ignoring her. For a moment, she was at a loss.

Left with no choice, Chu Ran pulled out her phone and typed into the search engine: How to coax a girl when she’s angry.

A webpage popped up. The strategies were categorized, and they looked quite legitimate. Chu Ran read through them one by one.

[First, listen to her feelings and let her vent her emotions.]

The little rabbit had just hammered on her for a while, but there was no sign of improvement. This one was useless.

[Second, express concern and show that you care deeply about her feelings.]

This seemed to make some sense. Chu Ran continued reading:

[Third, give her some time and space to cool down.]

Currently… one was at home and one was out. That probably counted as cooling down.

[Finally: Drop all pride, take the initiative to apologize, and focus on being genuine.]

Apologize… apologize… It just said to apologize, but how exactly should she say it? It didn’t explain clearly!

Since she happened to be in the furniture section, a full-length mirror was right in front of her. Chu Ran walked up to it, studied her reflection, and began practicing.

“Zhizhi, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have made you angry.”

It felt… not quite right.

“Zhizhi, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have treated you like that in front of Student Li Huan.”

That also seemed to miss the mark…

“Zhizhi, I…” Before Chu Ran could finish, her ringtone interrupted her rehearsal. It was Secretary Zhang, one of Chu Changbai’s subordinates.

The voice on the phone was as professional as ever. “Eldest Miss. As the end of the year approaches, the Chairman asked me to inquire about your schedule for the Lunar New Year period.”

“Oh, I haven’t decided yet,” Chu Ran said truthfully.

“Eldest Miss, you haven’t celebrated the New Year at home for a long time. The Chairman misses you and hopes the whole family can have a good gathering this year. What do you think?”

“We’ll see.” Chu Ran suddenly remembered something. “Actually, Secretary Zhang, there’s something I want to ask you privately.”

“Please speak, Eldest Miss.”

“I remember a while ago, you went home late because of a business dinner and your wife had a fight with you.”

“Oh, I’ve embarrassed myself in front of you. My wife just has a bit of a temper, but her heart is in the right place.” Secretary Zhang’s voice was steady.

“That’s true.” Chu Ran changed the subject. “But how did you end up coaxing her back to a good mood?”

The simple question startled the man on the other end, causing him to cough repeatedly. After a moment, he suppressed his surprise.

“Eldest Miss, do you know what the most important part of an apology is?” Having seen through Chu Ran’s thoughts, Secretary Zhang offered his wisdom: “It’s finding the right medicine for the symptoms!”

Back at the apartment, when Chu Ran arrived home, she found Ye Nanzhi’s pillow and a thin blanket laid out on the sofa.

It looked like she was being relegated to separate quarters! Chu Ran felt a pang of worry; she had to coax the little rabbit back immediately. In the kitchen, Ye Nanzhi had just taken the heated takeout out of the microwave.

Chu Ran approached and snatched the bowl from her hand.

“Don’t eat this.” Chu Ran handed over a meal from Lee Kum Kee she had picked up downstairs. “Here, eat this.”

Ye Nanzhi didn’t even open the bag Chu Ran held, refusing even to look at it. Did she think a single meal could win her over? She wasn’t that spineless.

“This.” Chu Ran took the opportunity to grab the spicy malatang. “Give this to me. I happen to want to revisit the flavors of the North.”

With that, Chu Ran used her chopsticks to put a mouthful into her mouth. Ye Nanzhi tried to stop her, but it was too late. Chu Ran couldn’t handle spicy food; even a little bit of heat would make her skin flush. There were plenty of chilies in that takeout, and as she watched, Chu Ran’s face immediately changed color.

Ye Nanzhi turned her head away, acting stubborn. “You can’t eat spicy food, yet you insisted on stealing mine!”

Hearing this, Chu Ran ate several more pieces of green vegetables from the malatang. Suddenly, large beads of sweat began to seep from Chu Ran’s skin.

“You—” Ye Nanzhi finally couldn’t watch anymore and pulled out a tissue to hand it over. “The more I talk, the more stubborn you get! Why act tough if you can’t handle the spice!”

Enduring the heat on her face, Chu Ran smiled at her. “What, are you worried seeing me suffer?”

Ye Nanzhi threw the tissue forward, deciding it was a waste of time to care about her. “Suit yourself!”

Chu Ran picked up the fallen tissue, cradling it in her palm like a treasure.

“Zhizhi,” Chu Ran called out.

“What!” Ye Nanzhi snapped.

“I was wrong. Please don’t be angry.” Chu Ran recalled what Secretary Zhang had told her: The first point of an apology is to find the crux of the problem. This is the core content of an apology. In reality, the core reason the other person is angry isn’t necessarily what you did wrong, but that you ignored their feelings.

As her thoughts settled, Chu Ran continued. “I was wrong. I shouldn’t have forced you, and I certainly shouldn’t have threatened you. You have every right to be angry with me because I ignored your feelings. I apologize to you.”

Ye Nanzhi turned her face away. She felt she should check the lunar calendar to see what kind of day it was; the iceberg had actually developed some sense.

Seeing that Ye Nanzhi hadn’t interrupted her, Chu Ran realized Secretary Zhang’s words were indeed effective. She moved on to the second point he had taught her: proactively suggest a punishment. Set a “flag” for yourself; if you repeat the mistake, a series of punishments will follow. These measures must be serious enough to show the other person how important they are to you.

She gently took Ye Nanzhi’s hand. “If I ever do this again, Zhizhi can buy me a hundred chilies and make me eat them all at once, okay?”

“Pfft, I’m not as childish as you.”

“Zhizhi, you’re finally talking to me.” Chu Ran shifted her body to sit next to Ye Nanzhi, their shoulders touching.

This time, Ye Nanzhi didn’t move away. She deliberately cleared her throat. “Then, since you ate my dinner, what am I supposed to eat?”

Chu Ran quickly opened the Lee Kum Kee bag, which was filled with all the dishes Ye Nanzhi had enjoyed last time. Seeing Ye Nanzhi finally pick up her chopsticks, Chu Ran breathed a sigh of relief.

But then she remembered Secretary Zhang’s final piece of advice: Don’t think it’s over yet. The last and most important part of an apology is the “icing on the cake.”

Right then, the doorbell rang.

“Who would it be at this hour?”

“I don’t know!” Chu Ran leaned on the table, resting her chin in her hand. “The spice is making me feel miserable; would it be too much trouble for Zhizhi to go check?”

Ye Nanzhi opened the door to find a man in his forties. Behind him, thousands upon thousands of roses filled the entire hallway.

“Are you Miss Ye Nanzhi?” He handed her a slip. “Your delivery has arrived; please sign for it.”

“Mine?” Ye Nanzhi looked at the order. The name of the person who placed it was a single character: Chu.

Before she could react, Chu Ran appeared behind her and signed the receipt for her.

The delivery man smiled and said, “Thank you for your business.” For a moment, only Chu Ran, Ye Nanzhi, and a floor full of red roses remained in the hallway. The flowers were fresh and delicate, with water droplets still clinging to the petals.

“Do you like them?”

“What a waste.” Ye Nanzhi shook her head. “Such beautiful flowers, used only for an apology.”

“Who said they were for an apology?” In an unobserved moment, Chu Ran quietly wrapped her arm around Ye Nanzhi’s waist. “Zhizhi, Merry Christmas.”