After the seven or eight people divided up the meat and dispersed, Zhou Dafu sought out the man who had taken out the dried rat earlier.
The man was named Wang Quan, an elementary school teacher with an only daughter named Wang Xiaohui. She was a rather introverted, shy girl, delicate and pretty, and a college student with a scholarly air about her.
Zhou Dafu had taken a liking to Wang Xiaohui before the extreme heat arrived. Now his son, Zhou Junming, urgently needed a sweet, unsullied girl like her to save him.
So he approached Wang Quan to discuss a marriage between their children and see what Wang Quan thought.
Wang Quan knew Zhou Junming. When the extreme heat first arrived, the young man often played guitar and sang on his balcony, which had prompted his daughter, Wang Xiaohui, to ask around about him.
He really had considered a marriage between their families back then, but after learning about Zhou Junming and Zhao Yunqiu while collecting water a while ago, he had abandoned the idea entirely.
Zhou Junming was now completely bewitched by Zhao Yunqiu. His daughter, Wang Xiaohui, would certainly suffer if she married him.
The affair between those two had caused such a scandal that his daughter had even had a long, hard cry at home.
Wang Quan wanted to refuse outright, but he and Zhou Dafu were now in the same boat. They saw each other all the time and still had things to do together, so he could not afford to sour their relationship too much.
So he left some room for negotiation, saying only that he would go home and ask his daughter, Wang Xiaohui, what she thought.
Zhou Dafu naturally had no objections. It was only right to ask the child what she thought.
He also needed to go home and work on persuading his son, Zhou Junming, some more.
Zhou Junming was easily swayed. Lately, Zhou Dafu had kept a close watch on him, refusing to let him go out and trying to persuade him all day long. He was already beginning to come around.
On top of that, his mother wept in front of him every day, and his heart leaned increasingly toward his parents.
Thinking of how good his parents had always been to him and how hard raising him had been, he increasingly felt that his father had a point.
He had also heard his friends say before that the best way to get over a relationship was to start a new one.
Just as his father had said, Zhao Yunqiu was the first woman he had ever been with. He had no idea what being with other women was like, so naturally, he only fell deeper.
Zhao Yunqiu was a widow and naturally had her ways of seducing men. He was still too young. Perhaps if he got himself a proper girlfriend, he would forget Zhao Yunqiu.
That way, his parents would no longer have to worry and suffer so much over him.
Zhou Dafu's efforts at persuasion were very successful. Zhou Junming was now willingly waiting for his father to find him a proper girlfriend.
All that remained was for Wang Quan and Wang Xiaohui to agree.
Although Wang Quan was against it, he was no match for his daughter, whose heart had already flown to the young man's side.
When Wang Quan went home and told Wang Xiaohui what had happened and what he thought, to his surprise, she seemed completely bewitched. She begged him to go over and arrange the match, determined to be with Zhou Junming.
Even though the affair between Zhou Junming and Zhao Yunqiu had turned so ugly, Wang Xiaohui did not care. Zhou Junming was exactly her type.
She was confident she could win Zhou Junming's heart back.
Wang Quan had no choice. His daughter resorted to tears, tantrums, and threats to hang herself, forcing him to agree to the marriage.
Once both sets of parents had settled the matter, they arranged a formal meeting between Zhou Junming and Wang Xiaohui.
Zhou Junming went to Wang Xiaohui's home with the food his parents had prepared for him.
Wang Quan and his wife also gave the young people plenty of time alone together.
Wang Xiaohui was deeply attracted to Zhou Junming's handsome looks and artistic talent.
Zhou Junming was also captivated by the novelty of Wang Xiaohui's innocent shyness mixed with her bold attempts to flirt with him.
At their first formal meeting, the two chatted happily and were both very pleased with each other. The marriage arrangement was officially settled.
In times like these, there was no need for so many formalities. After discussing it, the two families held a meal together as an engagement ceremony for the pair. From then on, they were engaged.
That made their relationship official and proper.
Zhou Junming's mother deliberately spread the news of his engagement to Wang Xiaohui, and soon the entire building knew.
Strangely, Zhao Yunqiu reacted very calmly. She neither cried nor made a scene, as though Zhou Junming's affairs had nothing to do with her.
While the entire building discussed this love triangle, Jiang Ci was thinking about something else.
That night, she had clearly overheard those people saying they would deal with the two Zhang brothers on the seventh floor the following evening.
She had even set out a stool and prepared sunflower seeds, just waiting for those two brothers on the seventh floor to get what was coming to them. Yet several days had passed without a single stir.
And she still often ran into Li Weiwei heading downstairs to see her boyfriend.
What exactly was going on?
Could those people have been so useless that the Zhang brothers killed them instead?
Jiang Ci really could not figure out what had happened. Oh well, if she could not figure it out, she would stop thinking about it.
Her thoughts turned instead to what she should eat today.
In weather this hot, cold liangpi and cold noodles would do.
She would make a fruit slushie too.
After telling Ms. Wen that she would handle the cooking, she went to prepare the food.
It was already mid-December, with only twenty-odd days left until the New Year.
Time really flew. The extreme heat had already lasted four months.
Today was another water collection day.
That evening, Jiang Ci and Si Beichen went to collect water together and happened to line up right behind Li Weiwei and Zhang Shuai.
This time, Li Weiwei acted rather evasive when she saw Jiang Ci, keeping Zhang Shuai occupied with nonstop chatter.
Zhang Shuai, however, took the initiative to greet Si Beichen when he saw him and Jiang Ci. "Hey, bro, here to collect water?"
Si Beichen finally understood how Jiang Ci had felt last time.
He pretended not to hear and turned to talk to Jiang Ci.
Thinking Si Beichen had forgotten who he was, Zhang Shuai patted him on the shoulder with easy familiarity.
"Bro, don't you remember me? We live in the same building. My girlfriend, Li Weiwei, is even your girlfriend's neighbor."
Jiang Ci's expression faltered. Since when had she become her brother's girlfriend? How come she didn't know...
Si Beichen could no longer pretend not to hear. He felt this man really could not take a hint and said impatiently, "I don't know you."
Zhang Shuai persisted in striking up a conversation with Si Beichen. "We'll know each other after a little chat. One more friend means one more path open to you."
Si Beichen remained unmoved and merely reiterated coldly, "We don't know each other."
Zhang Shuai was getting impatient too. He felt Si Beichen really was refusing to give him any face. He had taken the initiative to talk to him, yet the man acted as though he knew nothing about social niceties.
He could not help grumbling, "What's with the attitude? Tch."
With that, he put an arm around Li Weiwei and took a step forward.
The more Zhang Shuai thought about it, the angrier he became, and he could no longer be bothered to talk to Si Beichen. He had intended to befriend the man on account of his money, but the man did not know what was good for him.
If the man had not been genuinely rich, why would he have bothered sucking up only to be snubbed? Just wait. Sooner or later, he would make him pay!
At the thought that he would definitely find an opportunity to deal with Si Beichen later, his mood instantly improved considerably.