Chapter 13 (2/2): Closing the Net

After about ten minutes, the woman called again, saying she had arrived at the community gate.

The community had strict entry controls, so the woman called the security to get in.

Cen Yingshuang took the elevator down to the first floor to meet her.

Stepping out, she saw two trucks and a business van.

How much stuff was this?

A woman in business attire got out of the passenger seat of the first truck and respectfully approached Cen Yingshuang.

“Miss Cen, sorry to keep you waiting.”

“N-no,” Cen Yingshuang shook her head in a daze.

Several staff members came out of the business van and started unloading boxes one by one from the trucks.

The huge brand logos on the boxes were unmistakable.

Wasn’t this the brand she represented?

“What’s inside these…”

Cen Yingshuang gestured toward the boxes.

“This year’s Spring/Summer Haute Couture Collection,” the woman said.

“…All of it?”

“Yes, Miss Cen,” the woman emphasized.

“All 70 sets of the Spring/Summer Haute Couture are here.”

Cen Yingshuang’s pupils practically trembled.

What did it mean that He Yuzhou bought out the entire haute couture collection?

Besides, haute couture usually takes a lot of work and time—finely crafted pieces that can take months or even a year to make.

The show had only been a few days ago, and He Yuzhou already got all of it.

Looks like money really can move mountains.

Curious and shocked, she quickly pulled out her phone and messaged He Yuzhou: [Brother Yuzhou, you bought the whole Spring/Summer haute couture collection?]

No immediate reply. He was probably busy.

Cen Yingshuang took a deep breath, controlling her excitement, and led the staff back home.

One box after another was brought inside.

Her duplex was over 300 square meters with a huge living room that suddenly felt cramped.

And they hadn’t even finished moving everything in yet.

Her phone buzzed.

It was He Yuzhou’s WeChat message: [You said you liked it last time, right?]

Just a simple sentence made Cen Yingshuang’s eyes almost pop out.

Did this mean…

She typed in disbelief: [You’re… giving it to me?]

He replied quickly, a single word: [Yes.]

Her mind went blank, shocked into silence.

She had indeed stared intently at the show before.

He had asked if she liked it, and she had said yes.

She never thought he would remember.

But she didn’t like every single set.

She seriously doubted: [You don’t know which one I like, so…]

She saw “He is typing” in the chat.

After about half a minute, He Yuzhou finally replied—

[You can pick the one you like, wear it tonight to see the one you like.]

His answer avoided the question but implied he didn’t know her exact favorite, so he spent big money to buy them all.

Cen Yingshuang’s eye twitched.

Her heart trembled uncontrollably.

This was utterly overwhelming.

Maybe seeing her long silence, He Yuzhou sent another message: [Don’t feel pressured. Just treat this as my birthday gift to you.]

That may be, but this gift was incredibly expensive.

Besides, they barely knew each other; accepting such an extravagant gift felt a bit… uncomfortable.

But since it was already inside her home, He Yuzhou had obviously prepared for this.

Refusing would seem pretentious.

Cen Yingshuang wasn’t one to waste resources.

Since he sincerely gave it, she had no reason not to accept.

Besides, she genuinely liked it.

It felt almost magical—calling him Brother Yuzhou now felt natural.

He was gentle and considerate, even contributing to her confession plan.

Her heart warmed, and she replied boldly: [Brother Yuzhou, thank you! I really like it.] She added a Bi Qi spinning-around happily sticker, giddy to the point of blurriness.

Then she sent: [When is your birthday? I want to prepare a big gift for you too!]

Of course, no gift could be bigger than his.

He Yuzhou replied: [I’ll tell you next time we meet.]

Another “next time.”

He seemed to love saying “next time.”

But this time, that “next time” gave her an odd feeling—it wasn’t so far away.

All the boxes were in the living room, but Cen Yingshuang worried Zhou Yabin would find out.

Zhou Yabin didn’t like her interacting too much with guys.

So she had the staff move the boxes to her walk-in closet instead.

Her closet was huge, but now it was packed full.

She cleared out a wardrobe specifically for hanging these haute couture pieces.

Like opening blind boxes, she unpacked the gift boxes carefully, then hung each piece like precious treasure.

She spent a long time unpacking, sweating profusely, until she finally found her favorite dress—a black and white color-blocked one-shoulder dress with a low neckline and a white camellia flower on the chest.

Simple yet elegant.

The light chiffon fabric was soft and delicate.

She loved this kind of ethereal, princess-like clothing.

After sweating so much, she rushed to shower, then carefully put on the dress.

The chiffon against her skin reminded her of a trickling stream—cool and smooth.

The skirt was a bit long, slightly dragging the floor; paired with heels, it would be perfect.

The more she looked, the more she liked it, snapping several photos.

Just organizing all the haute couture outfits took her an entire afternoon.

She had arranged to meet Jiang Suian at 7 PM.

By 5 PM, she had applied light makeup, put on the dress again, and wore kitten-heeled pumps.

Though she often wore heels for events, she never got used to them—the higher the heel, the more painful.

She sprayed on some perfume from the brand she represented.

Beicheng had cooled down, so she wore a coat over it.

Then she took the nanny car to the reserved restaurant.

It was rush hour, and the traffic was jammed.

She messaged Jiang Suian: [Stuck in traffic, boohoo.]

Two minutes later, Jiang Suian replied: [No worries, no rush, I just left too. Have to stop by the company first.]

Cen Yingshuang asked: [What for?]

Jiang Suian: [My manager wanted to see me.]

She worried: [Are they arranging work for you?]

Jiang Suian: [No, don’t worry. I told him I’m off today.]

Cen Yingshuang sighed with relief: [That’s good [hehe]]

After over twenty minutes of traffic, she finally arrived before 7.

The restaurant was well known, a standalone three-story building brightly lit.

Though it served Cantonese cuisine, the decor leaned European style.

There was a large garden with a swing and a fountain.

Cen Yingshuang walked through the garden into the main hall.

The hall was a Versailles Hall of Mirrors style, with triple-height ceilings and a huge, exaggerated crystal chandelier in the center.

A waiter came forward to greet her.

She took off her coat and gave her name, saying she had booked a private room.

“Right this way, Miss Cen,” the waiter said, leading her forward.

Cen Yingshuang followed, pulling her phone out to message Jiang Suian: [I’m here.]

After sending, she looked up and noticed the restaurant was empty except for the staff.

The hall was deserted; the private room was empty.

It couldn’t be that business was bad; when she booked, it was almost fully reserved, barely available.

Was it still too early to open?

She was puzzled until she glanced ahead and realized she had been here once before with Zhou Yabin and Cen Bowen, but the private room wasn’t in this direction.

“Excuse me, may I ask…”

“Miss Cen, we’ve arrived,” the waiter stood in front of a private room, gently pushing the door open, “Please come in.”

Cen Yingshuang hesitated for two seconds, then slowly stepped inside.

This was the restaurant’s largest private room, more luxuriously and uniquely decorated, elegant with a collision of old money styles from East and West.

“Is this really the place?”

Cen Yingshuang glanced back at the waiter.

“Yes,” he nodded and softly closed the door.

Maybe business was truly slow today, so they upgraded her to the big private room?

She didn’t think further and sat down at the square table in the center.

The room’s lighting was soft, full of atmosphere.

Her phone buzzed; Jiang Suian sent a message: [Almost there.]

Seeing that, her heart raced faster and faster—thump, thump, thump.

She restrained herself, sending the new room number to Jiang Suian.

Excited and nervous, she sat up straight.

Silently, she rehearsed her confession speech over and over.

No one knew how long had passed.

Just as she was repeating her speech for the umpteenth time, there was finally movement at the door.

The doorknob pressed down; the door slowly opened.

Cen Yingshuang took a deep breath, turned toward the door, and instinctively said, “You’re here…”

When she saw who it was, her last word caught in her throat.

The joyful expression on her face seemed paused, replaced by confusion and disbelief, “Yu… Brother Yuzhou?”

He Yuzhou appeared in the doorway.

Still dressed casually in a black knit cardigan and black trousers.

He strolled in leisurely, one hand in his pocket, the other holding a box.

His expression amused, He Yuzhou smiled faintly, teasing, “A few days ago, I saw the same expression on someone else’s face.”

“If she asked who, I’d honestly say Chen Yanli.”

He would tell her how disappointed Chen Yanli was when he saw the person who came to the studio wasn’t her.

But Cen Yingshuang was completely out of the loop now, instinctively asking, “What are you doing here…?”

He Yuzhou slowly approached, still smiling, “You’re here to confess.”

His posture was always easygoing, his speech unhurried, casually giving the answer, “So am I.”