Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Dai Heng Xin Gets Chummy

Grandpa Zhao stood at the roadside with a palm-leaf fan in hand, clearly planning to walk Dai Heng Xin out for a stretch.

In the village, everyone followed the same unspoken rule: once you passed Ying Chun’s convenience store, you were “out.” Picking someone up, seeing someone off—people almost always used the store as the boundary.

Xiao Ying Chun fought down the urge to scratch her head and forced a wide grin. “Grandpa Zhao, I stepped out for something. I just got back.”

Dai Heng Xin glanced at her, smiling, then turned to Zhao Ji Ping. “Grandpa, I’ll buy a few things and head out. Why don’t you go home first?”

Zhao Ji Ping looked Xiao Ying Chun up and down, then nodded with a chuckle. “Alright. Be careful on the road. I’ll head back…”

The second Grandpa Zhao left, Dai Heng Xin’s “buying a few things” became extremely selective.

He grabbed a bottle of water, set it on the counter, and asked casually, “I didn’t eat enough earlier. Any recommendations?”

Xiao Ying Chun pointed at the instant noodles. “Buy a pack and cook it at home?”

Dai Heng Xin laughed. “That has no nutrition. Have you eaten it?” He leaned in slightly, voice warm. “How about I treat you to a meal?”

Xiao Ying Chun got it. He wasn’t here for water. He was here for her—interested, or at least curious.

Honestly, anyone would be curious after what had happened lately.

Avoiding it wouldn’t solve anything. Sooner or later, she’d have to face it.

She nodded. “I haven’t eaten either. Let’s go.”

Dai Heng Xin blinked like he couldn’t believe his luck—then immediately remembered to pay for the water.

They walked shoulder to shoulder toward the village exit. Along the way, they ran into neighbors heading home from work. When people saw Xiao Ying Chun walking with a tall, handsome stranger, they lit up with greetings and barely contained gossip.

“Ying Chun!”

“Back already?”

“Oho—who’s this?”

Xiao Ying Chun’s ears burned. She couldn’t exactly explain, so she smiled until her face hurt and returned greetings one by one.

Once they finally reached the main road, she asked, “What do you want to eat?”

Dai Heng Xin scanned the street like he was scouting. “I’ll get the car. Wan Da Plaza?”

“Sure.”

He drove a Mercedes-Benz GLS. When he opened the door for her with effortless courtesy, Xiao Ying Chun couldn’t help blurting, “That’s a really nice car.”

Dai Heng Xin smiled, all polite confidence. “If you want one, you can buy it anytime.”

Just two gold ingots had brought Xiao Ying Chun 1.6 million. He wasn’t wrong.

She went quiet anyway.

Maybe he sensed it. Maybe he simply knew when to back off. He eased into a different tone, as if it had never been said. “So—what do you feel like?”

Xiao Ying Chun thought for a moment. “Hotpot.”

So Dai Heng Xin took her to Hai Di Lao.

There was a reason he could run a pawnshop. He had a way of talking that never felt pushy—light jokes, easy timing, an instinct for when to press and when to retreat. Xiao Ying Chun’s earlier awkwardness and wariness gradually loosened.

Early on, he said plainly, “I did ask my grandfather about you. But I didn’t say… anything sensitive. I just told him I’d met you twice before.”

That, at least, made sense of Grandpa Zhao’s behavior.

Sure enough, Dai Heng Xin added with a faintly helpless grin, “I think Grandpa misunderstood. He thought I was interested, so he insisted on walking me all the way to the store.”

The honesty disarmed her more than smooth talk ever could.

Over bubbling broth and rising steam, Dai Heng Xin talked about college, about classmates scrambling for jobs, about how hard it was to find work even with a degree.

“Back then my uncle talked me into this major,” he said, half amused, half bitter. “Said it would be good. I believed him. Then I graduated and realized how hard it is.”

He ticked it off on his fingers. “Jobs in my field don’t pay much. Jobs outside my field—I don’t know enough, and they still pick and choose. So… I started my own shop.”

Xiao Ying Chun’s curiosity got the better of her. “You studied cultural relic appraisal, but there are plenty of relics you legally can’t take. What do you do if someone brings that in?”

Dai Heng Xin smiled as if she’d asked something innocent. “If it’s that kind of thing, I tell them straight: take it back. I act like they never came.”

The important part sat unspoken between them: he wouldn’t call the police.

Xiao Ying Chun watched him carefully, then asked, “On those appraisal shows, every category has its own specialist. Running a pawnshop, you can’t demand people bring you only what you’re good at. What if it’s something you don’t know?”

Dai Heng Xin’s grin widened. “Then I call in backup.”

“Backup?”

“My uncle,” he said, like it was the simplest answer in the world.

Xiao Ying Chun laughed despite herself. So it wasn’t only med students who “called in backup.” Archaeology and appraisal had their own version of it too.

Through all of it, Dai Heng Xin never once asked where her gold came from. He didn’t circle her like a predator sniffing blood. He only brought up what his grandfather had already mentioned.

“I heard your parents passed last year,” he said gently. “And your aunt’s been causing trouble. Do you need help?”

Xiao Ying Chun blinked. “You’re a pawnshop boss. You can handle that?”

Dai Heng Xin shrugged. “Who doesn’t have friends? I have a senior in the city—really well-known lawyer. He runs a law firm. If you need it, I can set up a meeting.”

His offer felt real, not performative. Xiao Ying Chun thanked him sincerely, then shook her head. “Not yet. If I need it, I’ll contact you.”

Dai Heng Xin didn’t miss the opening. “Then add me on WeChat?”

She didn’t refuse.

He was Grandpa Zhao’s grandson. If he wanted to know her situation, it wouldn’t be hard. Better to be open than evasive.

The meal ended up being neither quite lunch nor quite dinner. Afterward, he drove her home again.

At the door, Xiao Ying Chun hesitated, then finally said, “I still have some things. Tomorrow I’ll bring them to your shop. Can you help me take a look?”

Dai Heng Xin’s eyes lit up like she’d handed him a gift. “Of course. What time?”

“Noon?”

“No problem,” he said quickly. “I’ll be there at noon. And I’ll treat you to lunch.”

Xiao Ying Chun studied his expression, suspicion tugging at her. Was he getting ideas?

By the time she opened up the store again, Dai Heng Xin had already left. She had barely stepped inside when a familiar voice called out from behind her.

“Little Ying Chun, I think I just saw someone bring you back?”

Grandpa Zhao—Zhao Ji Ping—stood there with a grin that clearly meant something.

Xiao Ying Chun decided there was no point pretending. “It was Dai Heng Xin. He treated me to a meal.”

“Ooooh.” Grandpa Zhao stretched the sound out, delighted. “My grandson graduated from a top school. Handsome, good at business—very good!”

“Mm-hm,” Xiao Ying Chun said, already turning on the lights and fan. “Very good.”

It took her an embarrassing amount of nodding to finally send Grandpa Zhao away.

When she turned back, she saw the empty snack shelves and groaned silently. She called Uncle Liang at once and asked him to deliver more small-pack snacks tomorrow.

And the heat—God, the heat. The fan was just pushing hot air around like a joke.

She needed an air conditioner.

Xiao Ying Chun placed an order on JD.com. Not long after, someone called to confirm the installation time.

She hung up and started to tally the day’s numbers—only for the door to swing open again.

A woman marched in with the righteous fury of someone owed the world. “Ying Chun! Those people you owe for goods chased me all the way to my house. Why aren’t you paying your debt?”

Xiao Ying Chun looked up and met a familiar face.

Aunt Ge Chun Yu.