Chapter 1124 - Xia Ruya Is in Harbor City?
Chapter 1124: Xia Ruya Is in Harbor City?
In order to celebrate Wen Xinya’s outstanding achievement of attaining a high score of 703 in the final examinations, Old Mr. Wen booked a banquet in Han Palace and invited some of his close friends and relatives.
Since it was not a formal occasion, it would be inappropriate to throw an over-the-top banquet and invite too many guests, for it would seem too high profile. It might even ruin Wen Xinya’s reputation. Hence, they decided to keep it low profile.
However, Old Mr. Wen kept to his word and threw an extravagant traditional Chinese banquet which she got to witness for the first time.
Old Mr. Wen was expressing his respect and satisfaction with her.
There were still three more days to go until school reopened. Hence, Wen Xinya decided to take some time out of her schedule to meet Zhong Rufeng.
Due to the fact that there was a huge misunderstanding previously which caused her to be mistaken as Zhong Rufeng’s girlfriend, she decided to meet him at a teahouse that she frequently patronized.
Zhong Rufeng placed the brewed tea in front of Wen Xinya.
Wen Xinya grabbed the porcelain teacup which contained curled green tea leaves that floated on the surface of the fragrant, emerald water. It was sweet and refreshing.
“Turns out it’s the rare Biluochun tea leaves!”
Biluochun was Wen Xinya’s favorite tea, which was light in color, fragrant, fresh and refined. The aroma and rich flavor were truly heavenly and amazing.
Zhong Rufeng smiled and said, “Taste it again carefully!”
Wen Xinya did as she was told, after which she remarked with a look of surprise, “It’s mentioned in a handbook about tea leaves written during the Ming Dynasty, that the tea plantation should not be mixed with inferior plants. Instead, they should grow only with cinnamon, plum, magnolia, rose, green pine, and green bamboo. This tea is refreshing, with a touch of elegant and delicate fragrance that lingers in my mouth. It must have been grown with bamboo.”
Zhong Rufeng chuckled and exclaimed, “You’re right!”
Wen Xinya complimented. “Very amazing, indeed.”
The refreshing fragrance resembled Si Yiyan’s scent.
Zhong Rufeng placed a box of tea leaves in front of her and said smilingly, “I went to Harbor City during the summer break and happened to chance upon this box of tea leaves. You’ve always loved Biluochun tea, so it’s the perfect gift for you.”
Biluochun was one of the ten greatest teas in the world, and Zhong Rufeng had put in a lot of effort to get his hands on that box of tea leaves. Hence, he was glad to see how much she liked it.
Wen Xinya frantically refuted. “Biluochun is very rare and expensive. This is too much for a gift.”
Due to environmental changes, superior tea leaves were becoming increasingly rare. Although she was close friends with Zhong Rufeng, she felt that she could not take advantage of him by accepting such a precious gift.
Zhong Rufeng said with a grin, “I happened to get it by chance, so it didn’t take much effort. I’m sure you know how much my grandfather loves tea. I have a penchant for Maojian tea. Besides, we’re close enough to forgo these formalities. We don’t have to be so calculative with each other.”
Zhong Rufeng was a little disappointed by Wen Xinya’s refusal and he only said those words so as to make her accept the tea leaves. After all… he carried a torch for her and did not wish to explicitly point out the fact that they were friends.
Wen Xinya had no reason to turn Zhong Rufeng down since he had already said that. Hence, she accepted it calmly. “Seems like I’m in for a treat.”
She was so candid that she didn’t even thank him.
A little disappointed to see how unperturbed she was, Zhong Rufeng said, “Good that you like it.”
Zhong Rufeng gazed at Wen Xinya and sighed, thinking to himself, She may be eighteen, but she’s still very young.
Having been trained to be a gentleman since a young age, Zhong Rufeng felt that it would be more appropriate to keep his feelings to himself so as to not come off as random.
The aroma of tea filled the air in the tearoom.
Zhong Rufeng said, “School is starting soon for you, isn’t it? I heard that Capital University offers a mandatory four-week military training which has been modified from the previous years and made to strictly follow military-style training. When the time comes, you freshmen are going to have a hard time.”
The university military training was extremely arduous. Seeing how thin and petite Wen Xinya was, Zhong Rufeng could not help but be worried that she might not be able to take it.
Slightly stunned, Wen Xinya exclaimed, “Are you kidding me!?! Doesn’t the training period last for only about two weeks?”
She did not have any complaints, though she was indeed a little spoilt because of how much Si Yiyan and Old Mr. Mo pampered her. Hence, she was rather shocked to hear about the increased duration and change in style.
Zhong Rufeng laughed and said, “You’ll find out when the time comes.”
He could not help her out with the military training, as much as he took sympathy on her. She would still have to rely on herself to get through it.
With a sullen expression, Wen Xinya lamented. “They’re so cruel to implement a complete military-style training! We’ve been pampered and spoiled rotten by our parents. How are we supposed to take the grueling training?”
Unable to stop himself from giving her some tips, Zhong Rufeng said, “If you don’t want to join the training, just apply for medical leave. You should be able to escape it.”
Every year, there were plenty of students who applied for medical leave to escape the training. Although he hoped that Wen Xinya could attend the training because the things that she could learn during the training were invaluable, he was worried that it would be too strenuous for her.
Wen Xinya refuted without hesitation. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attend military training. How could I be absent? Regardless of how tiring it may be, I still have to push through it. If others can do it, I can too.”
In her previous lifetime, she requested Old Mr. Wen to help her be exempted from military training because she was afraid of hardship. Hence, everything she knew about it was based on hearsay from her classmates. She knew that the training was tough but not impossible.
Zhong Rufeng smiled and said, “Yes, you’re right.”
Wen Xinya poured some tea for Zhong Rufeng.
Zhong Rufeng said, “I think I saw Xia Ruya in Harbor City when I was there.”
He could not confirm that the person he saw was Xia Ruya, though it did seem like it. He knew that Xia Ruya was villainous and hence, he decided to remind Wen Xinya about it.
Wen Xinya asked in shock, “Are you sure you got the right person?”
Xia Ruya had gone missing for a long time and even Si Yiyan did not manage to find her whereabouts. It was as if Xia Ruya had vanished into thin air all of a sudden.
Zhong Rufeng frowned and said, “I didn’t catch a clear glimpse, so I can’t be sure. I just wanted to give you a reminder.”
He had initially caught sight of her back view in the hotel. By the time he tried to take a careful look, Xia Ruya was already gone. He had been paying attention to Xia Ruya because of the feud between Wen Xinya and Xia Ruya. Although he did suspect that he had gotten the wrong person, he was still rather certain that it was Xia Ruya whom he had seen.
Wen Xinya pulled a long face, thinking to herself that it was probably Xia Ruya since Zhong Rufeng was not one to spread rumors. “Got it. I’ll send someone to look into this.”
Zhong Rufeng nodded.