Count On Me, My Sweetie

The cold, autumn rain was falling, making the air damp and chilly.

Finally, it trickled to a stop, leaving a thick layer of dark clouds hanging ominously in the sky over J City.

Standing under the shade of a maple tree, Zoe Xu folded her umbrella and tucked it under her arm. Then she took a deep breath, scratched her afro wig, and dashed across the road to the cafe.

She pushed open the door and the shell wind chime jingled, announcing her arrival. As Zoe Xu took in the place, she realized that the interior decoration was simple but elegant. The linen sofa and the white floor was shining. Everything was posh and understated, unlike her water-stained sneakers.

Nancy Li was right. 'You can't buy class and style with money.'

Zoe Xu shook her head and adjusted her uncomfortable push-up bra. She scanned the cafe and found her blind date sitting at a small table near the window, just as Nancy Li had described.

The man had his back to her. He wore a simple white shirt and he looked elegant. A copy of the latest financial newspaper was in his hand and he looked around from time to time. It was clear that he was waiting for someone.

Zoe Xu took a deep breath and strode over to him with an ingratiating smile plastered on her face. She tried her best to look annoying.

"Hello, sir. I'm Nancy Li,"

announced Zoe Xu, stretching out her fair hand to the man, who slowly raised his head from the newspaper to look at her. His eyes were as clear as a mountain stream.

He looked at her up and down, but there was no sign of creepiness in his eyes.

His gaze was natural and magnificent.

Zoe Xu instantly liked him. A moment later, she wished she could find a hole in the floor in which to bury herself!

'Wade Su?

Didn't Nancy Li say that the date her family had arranged for her was a nouveau riche, who pretend to be a painter?' she wondered. How could it be Wade Su, the legendary student who had graduated from her school?

If Zoe Xu had known that her friend's blind date was Wade Su, she would have never agreed to go on the blind date on behalf of Nancy Li even if she threatened to kill her!

Zoe Xu had especially bought a wig, a fat gold chain, and painted an ugly mole on the corner of her mouth to wreck this date.

She couldn't believe she was standing there in her crazy disguise in front of this man, who used to be the school hunk.

She was in a daze for a long time.

She pouted, looking like she was about to burst into tears, but fortunately, her heavy, smoky makeup and foundation covered her emotions, only revealing a fake smile and her white teeth.

"Miss Li, have a seat,"

said Wade Su politely. There was only a momentary flicker of surprise in his eyes, exposing his true emotions for a second before his face returned to the calm and composed expression he held before.

There seemed to be nothing in the world that could move him.

The same couldn't be said for Zoe Xu.

Who was Wade Su? He was like a god in her school.

It was said that Wade Xu was could achieve anything he set his mind to.

What was most impressive about him was that he was probably the only student to have received so many job offers from major enterprises before graduation. However, he chose to go a different way and established his own construction company.

Three years had passed and he had achieved so much in the professional world. He had acquired a merger with the most famous real estate enterprise in J City and was about to develop land in a suburb.

On the outside, he looked pleasant and harmless, but it was hard to tell what new schemes were going on inside his head.

Zoe Xu gathered up the courage to reach out and shake his hand. She was mortified about having to go through this date with him but she pacified herself thinking they would never meet again in the future. Today, she was here on a mission. According to the agreement, she needed to frighten him away.

"Mr. Su, have you been waiting for a long time? I was stuck in a traffic jam on the way here."

Wade Su stared at Zoe Xu with his dark eyes as if he wanted to see through her soul.

He had been sitting here for twenty minutes, and had noticed that this girl, with the freaky appearance, had been hesitating outside the cafe for a long time. Now she was giving him funny excuses.

"No hurry."

But he didn't expose her. The simple two words seemed to declare a judgment.

Zoe Xu was stunned. He didn't run away despite her horrible appearance. No wonder he was the school hunk, he could maintain his cool in any situation.

'But even though I appreciate you, I must scare you away today. I'm sorry, ' she thought to herself.

Zoe Xu took a deep breath and called the waitress.

"Hello!" A young waitress handed the menu to Zoe Xu with a smile. "What would you like to drink?"

Zoe Xu swallowed and trembled with nervousness. She patted the waitress on the buttock and smiled weirdly, "Wow, you are so fair. Can I have your phone number?"

On the other side, Wade Su calmly regarded Zoe Xu.

He was a good audience.

The waitress had faced this situation many times and wasn't unnerved. She glanced at Zoe Xu and said, "I'm sorry. This is a cafe. The bar you need won't open until six o'clock in the afternoon. Turn left at the street corner."

"Oh, thank you, thank you..."

Her first way to ruin the blind date was to pretend to be gay, but to no avail.

The waitress didn't react as Zoe Xu expected, leaving her disappointed. She tugged at her short skirt feeling embarrassed and said bluntly, "Then give me the most expensive drink here. I want the really fancy cold drink with edible gold leaves in it like on TV!"

As she spoke, she glanced at Wade Su meaningfully.

This was her second way to ruin the blind date; she would pretend to be a gold digger.

The waitress looked at Zoe Xu up and down as if she was looking at an idiot.

"How about a strawberry pie?"

Wade Su continued to speak in English. He spoke so fast that Zoe Xu didn't catch half of it.

The waitress nodded and left.

Zoe Xu was confused for a while. Seeing that both her attempts failed, she scratched her forehead with her index finger thinking of another strategy. When Wade Su was not paying attention, she lifted up her dress, revealing the note on her leg.

The third way was to be fussy.

Faking a cough, she drew his attention. "I know you are from a good family. After marriage, not only should my name be written on your villa's property ownership certificate, but also my parents' names, and my uncle's and aunt's names. Although I am headstrong, you are a male chauvinist if you can't accept it. Although I am not beautiful, you're shallow for judging people by their appearance if you refuse me!"

Zoe Xu was reading from the speech she had written down from the Internet this morning and carried with her. After her spirited monologue, all Wade Su replied was with an indifferent "Oh."

He even didn't object.

Zoe Xu was speechless! None of her tricks were working on him.

The next move!

She pretended to hold her forehead with her hand and lifted up her dress again to consult her note for more ideas.

She thought her movements were covert, but they had been seen by him.

He had only agreed to this blind date to get it over with, but he didn't expect the girl to react like this.

A cordial farewell was on the tip of his tongue. He even stood up slightly, but when she was peeping at her note, he slowly sat back down.

The two of them didn't seem to agree with this blind date. That was just perfect! He didn't need to say anything and he could watch the fun for free.

Why not?

Wade Su picked up his coffee and took a sip. The mellow bitterness spread on his tongue.

There was a smile on his face, which was more sincere than before.

"How old are you, Miss Li?"

"Twenty-one." Zoe Xu didn't notice the subtle change in his expression as she didn't raise her head.

"So you are going to graduate."

"Yes, you are right. I have been busy with my internship recently, and I have to help with the blind... Umm...never mind. Let's talk about your sexual orientation!"

"Please go ahead."

"You are the most eligible bachelor of J City, but you have been single for so many years. Are you gay?"

Zoe subconsciously glanced at the lower part of Wade's body. When she realized what she had done, her pretty face immediately flushed.

Wade was not in a hurry to answer.

He drummed the wooden table with his clean, long fingers from time to time as if he was seriously thinking about the answer.

His sexy posture distracted Zoe.

It was said that a man with long fingers was also very capable in bed. If he was really gay...

"Do I come across as gay to you?"

A deep voice rang in her ears as melodious as the violin playing in the background in the cafe.

Suddenly aware of the dirty thoughts running in her mind about him, Zoe blushed. "Mr. Su, you are a handsome man. Ha-ha!"

she answered perfunctorily and he let it pass, not wanting to expose her.

Zoe was seriously regretting her decision to help Nancy.

Here she was, sitting in front of the god she once worshiped, purposely ruining her own image, and he looked unaffected. She just couldn't figure him out. This perplexing situation made Zoe retreat.

'Hurry up and finish your original conversation, and then leave as soon as possible, ' Zoe told herself.

Wiping off the sweat on her palms, Zoe leaned on the table. Resting her chin in her hand, she pretended to be stupid and didn't notice that the wig on her head had slipped.

"Since you are 26 years old this year, and you don't have a girlfriend, how do you satisfy your sexual needs? Are you incapable of performing in bed? My parents only have one child. I plan to have many children in the future. We may not be suitable..."

While preparing these lines for Zoe, Nancy had repeatedly reminded her that the most important thing was to be aggressive and make the other party retreat.

Wade looked at him and asked with interest, "Do you like children?"

"Uh..." Why did his reactions always throw her off?

"A boy or a girl?"

'Wade, that's not what you should be focusing on! Okay?' she cried to herself in exasperation.

Just then, the waitress brought the coffee and strawberry pie, which saved Zoe from answering the question.

Staring at the strawberry pie, Zoe's stomach growled but she pretended to be arrogant.

"Is this the most expensive thing here? It's too cheap. I don't want it," she declared.

"It's not good to waste food," he remarked.

Wade didn't persuade her anymore. He pulled the plate of strawberry pie in front of him and dug into a piece with his fork.

The strawberry juice dripped down the soft pie and a sweet milky fragrance filled Zoe's nostrils.

She licked their lips subconsciously.

A handsome man and delicious food were so close to her but she couldn't touch either. How could she continue to stay here?

She tapped the table and said, "I like muscular men, like boxers or wrestlers. I'm not satisfied with you. Tell me, what do you think of this blind date?"

Wade slowly put down his fork and said, "Well, I think..."

"Ah! What are you doing? I want to talk to your manager!"

The woman's screams at the next table easily drowned out Wade's answer. When Zoe pulled her attention back to Wade, he was leaning back in his chair with a polite smile on his face.

"What do you think, Miss Li?"

"What? I didn't hear you clearly, Mr. Su. Can you say it again?"

Zoe subconsciously leaned in closer to listen to him. Unexpectedly, her wig, which had loosened due to frequent adjustments, slipped right off her head and fell on the table.

Everything seemed to freeze at that moment. Zoe was stunned. She cowered reflexively and covered her head. She looked like a frightened rabbit.

After seeing everything, Wade gazed at her and said, "Miss Li, since you have asked me so many questions, may I ask you one too?"

"What?"

"Name."

"Zoe... Nancy Li."

Wade's sharp eyes saw right through her.

Zoe felt too ashamed to continue sitting there. She was wondering how to get out of this dilemma when suddenly her phone rang.

"They say oh my god I see the way you shine..." The ringtone of her phone was loud and clear.

Wade's eyes fell on the phone, which continued blaring the absurd song on loop, and the corners of his mouth lifted ever so slightly.

"Very special."

Zoe didn't know if he was talking about the ringtone or her.

She hurriedly ran to the other side of the cafe to answer the phone. "Zoe, are you done? We had agreed to have a meal together. I have already ordered all the dishes!" Nancy bombarded her.

"I have something to ask you! Why is your blind date Wade?"

"Who is Wade?" Nancy asked, pretending to be innocent. "Oh, I don't have time to talk to you in detail. Just find a way to get rid of him. The food is getting cold."

Zoe heard her chewing from the other end of the phone and swallowed. Looking back at Wade, she made up her mind and quickly left the cafe.

Her ultimate strategy for ruining the blind date was to leave mid-way without an explanation.

After waiting for a while in the cafe, Wade found that Zoe had not come back. He looked out of the French window and saw her thin figure standing on the curb and flagging down a taxi.

The girl left without even saying goodbye.

Looking out of the window at the girl whose clothes were flying in the wind, Wade smiled slowly.

The blind date had not been boring after all.

To Zoe, however, this date was worse than being scolded by a teacher or getting no living expenses from her mother. It was more horrible than failing in an examination!

Even though Zoe had left the cafe, Wade's words-"a boy or a girl"-echoed in her ears.

'If I ever gave birth to his child, it would be as good-looking as Wade. But Wade's personality is so scary that it would terrify people.

Well, that will never happen so I need not worry about it.'

Shaking her head, Zoe changed out of her crazy outfit, and went back to the school. She rode the bike that she had borrowed from her senior and went to the library, the dormitory, and the canteen, but she didn't find Nancy anywhere.

She was determined to interrogate Nancy and warn her.

But Nancy had already read Zoe's mind. She had set up a banquet to express her gratitude to Zoe.

Zoe couldn't resist the temptation of delicious food. In addition to that, she was persuaded by Nancy's hard and soft tactics and finally forgave her.

"This won't happen again." Zoe took a bite of the roast mutton, which was so soft and delicious that she squinted her eyes with pleasure like a cat.

"I saw your disguise for the blind date. Don't worry. He won't like you unless he is blind,"

Nancy said excitedly as Zoe nodded approvingly. Taking the "water" from Nancy's hand, Zoe gulped it down. Her world suddenly started floating.

"Wow, this bottle of water was produced in 1982, wasn't it? It doesn't taste good..."

"Oh, I gave you liquor to avoid your nagging."

Bang! Zoe and Nancy fell down together.

With Nancy lying by her side, Zoe realized how bad it was to make friends carelessly.

Zoe's home was in the development zone of J City, which was located in the suburb. It was an hour's drive from the school. When there was no class on weekends, she would catch a taxi on Saturday morning to go visit her mother.

But thanks to Nancy's sneaky trick, Zoe did not wake up until three o'clock in the afternoon. She tossed a few random things in her bag and took the train home. It was almost half past four when she arrived.

A neighbor, who was over fifty years old, was sitting downstairs with her grandson on a stone chair under a tree. She was waving a cattail leaf fan and enjoying the gentle breeze when she saw a breathless Zoe. She nodded and greeted, "Zoe, you're back!" She then instructed her grandson to greet Zoe.

Zoe like children. She had always hoped to have a cute young brother or sister, who she could pamper and bully in equal parts.

However, she was the second child in her family, and she was the only who always got bullied.

Zoe dragged her heavy suitcase up the stairs. Every time she returned home, she would complain about her parents' choice to live on a higher floor. 'Why couldn't they buy the first-floor apartment?' she thought.

She was almost on the fifth floor and victory was in sight but she needed to stop to rest.

Behind her, she heard hurried footsteps approaching.

Zoe turned around and saw that it was the young man, who lived opposite her apartment.

Zoe had seen the boy with wounds on his face and mud on his body many times. He was walking with his head lowered. He looked depressed today.

The young man glanced at Zoe indifferently through his untidy long hair. His thin, long eyebrows revealed no expression. Turning sideways to avoid her, he continued up the stairs.

'Pretending not to know me, huh?' thought Zoe.

"Hello,"

greeted Zoe with her hands on her waist.

Hearing this, the young man slowly turned around and looked at her. His eyes were gloomy.

"We are neighbors. I'm Zoe Xu.

Don't you remember me?" she asked noting his blank expression. The young man shook his head.

Anyone in her place would have been embarrassed but not Zoe.

Since she was a child, she had been bullied by her brother, Oscar Xu, and that made her develop a thick skin.

"Well, it doesn't matter if you don't know me. Help me move my luggage. We will get to know each other in the future.

Look at me! I'm so tired! As neighbors we should help each other, shouldn't we?"

The young man seemed to be persuaded by her and moved a little. When Zoe was about to express her gratitude, he left without looking back.

Zoe stood still.

What just happened?

He ignored her!

'That naughty boy!' she fumed inside.

"Hello?"

Perhaps it was because the young man's indifferent eyes were too hurtful for her self-esteem, but Zoe rushed upstairs carrying her luggage only to find that he was in front of the door, looking for his key.

Zoe made a face at his back. When she opened the security door to her apartment and entered the room, she realized that there was no movement behind her.

Turning around, she found that the young man was sitting on the floor hugging his knees, leaning against the security door.

It was a very cold day.

After hesitating for a while, Zoe couldn't help asking, "Boy, have you forgotten your key?"

'Such an introverted and lonely guy.'

Fortunately, Zoe didn't hold grudges. She was a sunny, optimistic, helpful person. Waving her hand in front of the young man, she offered, "Do you want me to borrow my phone to call your dad or mom?"

The young man slowly raised his head and looked at her. After thinking for a moment, he stood up and asked, "Can you give me some money?"

Zoe didn't hear it wrong. He didn't want to borrow money. He was asking for her money.

How could he try to rob her in broad daylight?

Zoe was so scared that she retreated into her room and began closing the door. The young man probably understood what she was worried about, so he held the door with one hand and said, "I just want to buy a meal."

"I don't have money, but I can cook," offered Zoe.

The young man frowned.

Half an hour later

Looking at the third empty bowl in front of the young man, Zoe was dumbfounded.

"You..."

"Do you have more?" he asked, holding out the empty bowl to Zoe again.

Zoe was speechless. She emptied the remnants of the egg fried rice in the pot into the bowl and put it in front of the young man. Sitting down across him, she rested her chin on her left hand and looked at him. "Haven't you eaten for a few days?"

"Two days."

When Zoe heard his answer, she couldn't help feeling sad, but suddenly she recalled something and slapped the table angrily. "How can you lie at such a young age? I remember that your mother used to wait for you in the corridor every day for a meal!"

The young man finished his fried rice and stated brusquely, "It's none of your business."

Picking up his schoolbag, he staggered out of the door.

'What an ungrateful boy!' she thought irritably.

She limped out to catch up with him without putting on her slippers. Grabbing his hood, she yelled, "Hey! I was kind enough to help you!"

The young man turned to look at her nonchalantly with his beautiful eyes.

Zoe was shocked by his gaze. She put down her hand awkwardly and said, "You have to tell me your name, okay?" Zoe was worried about the awkward boy. After a pause, when he refused to cooperate with her, she said reluctantly, "Look, you have eaten so much of my rice."

She looked at the young man in anticipation. The latter felt uncomfortable with her unwavering gaze and finally replied, "Rory Jiang."

Zoe realized that he had a clear and unique voice.

If he moved the hair off his forehead, he would look very handsome.

She could tell judging from his voice and his slender fingers.

Zoe watched him as he threw his schoolbag at the door, turned around, and headed downstairs. She shook her head helplessly.

"Nowadays, children are becoming more and more rebellious."

She decided to tell his mom about this when she met her next time.

Zoe's mother ran a restaurant on the snack street in the city center and usually returned home at night. After the emotionally draining date with Wade, Zoe was not in the mood to stay up for her mom, so she went to bed early.

Over the weekend, she washed her clothes and helped her mother at her restaurant. Then she went back to school.

Zoe was in a daze until Wednesday. She didn't have classes in the afternoon, so she decided to nap. She was dreaming about part-time jobs to make money when she opened her eyes and found a black figure standing at the head of the bed.

Zoe screamed and sat up. She held the quilt tightly to her chest and realized that it was Nancy, who was looking at her sympathetically.

"What's wrong?" Zoe asked uneasily.

"I'm sorry. I have some bad news for you," said Nancy.

When her friend said she had good news, it might not always be good, but if she claimed to have bad news, it was one hundred percent bad!

Zoe immediately covered her ears and said, "No, I don't want to hear it."

However, her hands were forcefully removed by Nancy. "Wade is blind."

Zoe asked calmly, "Which Wade? Who is Wade? I don't care if he is blind or not."

Scratching her head, Zoe rubbed her temple and was about to plop back on the bed but was stopped by Nancy, who held her in her arms, and thrust the phone in front of Zoe.

Zoe glanced sleepily at the short message on the screen. It was an invitation to a wedding and Wade was asking Nancy to go with him.

"That's a good thing,"

mumbled Zoe. But as soon as the words left her mouth, she was scared out of her wits because she noticed the name of the sender.

"Wa...Wa...Wade?"

she yelled.

"Why are you so excited?" Nancy quizzed. Zoe slapped Nancy and said, "Tell me what happened!"

"That's why I said he was blind. Why didn't he tell his family that he didn't like you after your date? He didn't contact me that night. So I thought that matter was over."

"What should we do now? Is he inviting you to a wedding?"

Nancy shook her head and said, "Not me. It's you he's inviting."

Zoe was petrified now.

She didn't intend to go to the wedding, but she couldn't bear Nancy's whining anymore. Besides, Zoe had met Wade once, so she couldn't let Nancy go to the wedding. It would be a disaster!

In the end, Zoe was bribed into accepting Wade's invite for a month's dinner.

Going by her previous experience with Wade, Zoe learned that even when she acted like a demon in front of him, Wade didn't even bat an eyelid, which proved to her that he had infinite patience but that might not be the case for his parents.

Zoe gritted her teeth and agreed to make a fool of herself in front of Wade once again.

She had an appointment at nine o'clock the next morning at the gate of the campus. She didn't dare to dress outrageously this time as she had to maintain her image in front of her schoolmates. She chose to wear jeans and a simple T-shirt.

Her wig had been exposed but the frightening makeup was essential, especially the terrifying mole on her face.