Giving You a Chance

Seeing this, Meng Ke took the menu and flipped through the pages with her fingertips. "I'll order, then. I know this place."

"Sure, sure, you order." Shen Jingchuan readily agreed, then added, "Don't try to save me money. I have to thank you properly today."

Meng Ke looked up and smiled at him, her eyes curving, then quickly ordered two hot dishes, one cold dish, and a mushroom soup. When she was done, she looked up and asked him:

"Is there anything else you want?"

"That's only a few dishes. It's too little. Add two more." Shen Jingchuan waved a hand.

"Can the two of us eat that much?"

Meng Ke raised an eyebrow. "As I recall, you don't eat that much, and I've been on a diet lately, so I can't eat much either. This is enough. Any more would be a waste."

She closed the menu and handed it to the server, asking for less salt before turning back to chat with him.

After they had talked about a couple of amusing things from high school, Shen Jingchuan remembered something. "How about a drink? I couldn't have done it without your help today. I have to offer you a proper toast."

"Who drinks in the middle of the day? I have to go back to the shop this afternoon."

Meng Ke smiled and shook her head. "Tea is fine. I appreciate the thought."

"All right, then. You have tea, and I'll have a drink."

Shen Jingchuan couldn't persuade her, so he ordered two bottles of cold beer instead. He poured himself a glass and raised it to clink against her teacup. "Really, Meng Ke, thank you so much for your help today."

He tipped his head back and drank half the glass. The cold beer slid down his throat, and some of his awkwardness faded instead. As the alcohol slowly took effect, he looked up at the person across from him again. Her features were still as gentle as he remembered, but his state of mind was completely different.

In the past, he would have rehearsed in his head for ages just to say a couple more words to her. He had always felt that, coming from an ordinary family, he was like a drab little sparrow standing beside her, utterly unworthy of her.

But today was different. He had casually taken out a piece of rough stone he considered the worst of the lot, and it had sold for more than five hundred thousand. There were more stones of better quality in the space, as well as that head-sized piece of jadeite rough. Today, he had merely been testing the waters.

More importantly, he could truly feel that Meng Ke treated him very well. Not only had she refused to take a single cent in commission, but she had also looked out for him at every turn, without the slightest airs of a wealthy young lady.

Wine gave a coward courage, and that bit of confidence mingled with the alcohol and slowly swelled in his heart.

Meng Ke cradled her teacup and took a sip, then suddenly spoke with a smile:

"Come to think of it, it's been so many years since graduation, and I haven't heard any of our classmates say you've had a girlfriend. You're tall, you look quite sharp, your grades were good, and you don't have any of those messy bad habits. How come you've stayed single? Are your standards too high?"

Her tone held a touch of teasing between old classmates, but to Shen Jingchuan, it was like a match striking with a scritch, setting alight all the feelings he had bottled up for years.

Shen Jingchuan's fingers tightened around his glass. After two seconds of silence, he suddenly raised the remaining half glass of beer and tipped his head back, downing it all.

The cold beer made him choke, and his Adam's apple bobbed. He set down the glass and looked up at Meng Ke, a hint of the resolve to smash his cooking pots and sink his boats in his eyes.

"You asked me just now why I never got a girlfriend..." His voice was a little tight. "Meng Ke, there's something I've kept bottled up for years. I've never dared tell you."

Meng Ke was taken aback by how serious he had suddenly become, but then she smiled, her eyes curving.

"Oh? So serious? What is it? Go on."

"Actually, the person I've liked since high school is you."

After saying it, Shen Jingchuan felt as though a thousand-pound burden had lifted from his shoulders, and he relaxed a little. But his nerves immediately tightened again. He lowered his eyes, too afraid to look at her face, and stared at his glass as though awaiting a final verdict.

"Right up until now. Seven whole years, and it's never changed."

The private room fell silent in an instant.

Meng Ke was indeed stunned, but only for a moment. She looked at the man across from her, his head bowed and the tips of his ears bright red, then deliberately spoke at a leisurely pace. "Then why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I..."

Shen Jingchuan's throat felt dry, and he hesitated for a long time before finally forcing the words out. "I thought I wasn't good enough for you. Your family is so well-off, and you're beautiful. I'm just a kid from an ordinary family. I was afraid that if I told you, we wouldn't even be able to stay friends."

"You never even asked me. How did you know I wouldn't say yes?"

Shen Jingchuan jerked his head up and met her clear, bright eyes. Instead, he panicked at once and hurriedly lowered his head again, his cheeks burning.

Another silence followed.

Shen Jingchuan clenched his hands, steeled himself, and looked up again, his voice carrying a note of cautious inquiry.

"Then... if I tell you now, is it too late?"

Seeing him so nervous he didn't know what to do with himself, Meng Ke nearly failed to hold back her laughter. She deliberately put on a stern face. "It's too late."

With a thud, Shen Jingchuan's heart sank straight to the bottom, and all the strength seemed to drain from his body. His head drooped, and his voice dropped a full octave.

"...All right. Then can you promise me one thing? Can we still be good classmates from now on? Don't ignore me or cut off contact with me."

He was rambling incoherently, his mind already a blank. All he could think was that he mustn't lose even this little connection they had.

"What are you doing?"

Looking at his dejected face, Meng Ke finally couldn't resist a secret curl of her lips. She deliberately put on an angry tone. "Are you trying to cling to me?"

"No, no, no!"

Shen Jingchuan hurriedly waved his hands, so anxious he began to stammer. "I just don't want... don't want our relationship as classmates all these years to end just like that. I'd feel awful."

Seeing him so flustered, Meng Ke also felt she had gone a little too far teasing him. She gave a light cough, and the words came out.

"All right, look at you, so pitiful. I'll give you a chance to pursue me."

Shen Jingchuan jerked his head up, his eyes wide and round. As though he hadn't heard her clearly, he stared at her in a daze. "You... what did you just say?"

"I won't say it twice."

His stare made Meng Ke a little embarrassed. She picked up her bag and stood, the tips of her ears turning light pink. "I still have to go back and mind the shop. I'm leaving first."

Her steps were a little quicker than usual. When she reached the door of the private room, she stopped without turning around, secretly grumbling to herself that he was far too slow on the uptake and not decisive in the least. How could he make the girl be the first to relent? Yet she couldn't suppress the smile on her lips, no matter how she tried.

Shen Jingchuan was left sitting alone in his chair, unable to come to his senses for a long time. The words "give you a chance to pursue me" played over and over in his mind. That was right, those were the words.