Chapter 136: An Elegant Flattery

"I am such a fool..."

Li Xin muttered to himself, a wry, self-deprecating smile on his face. He flipped through his phone book, searching for a specific contact. Soon, he found the target.

Old Zhou.

The same Old Zhou who had invited him for tea and breakfast back in Gaoyou City.

Just as he was about to hang up on Wang Xiaoqian to call Old Zhou, Li Xin hesitated. It was already 10:30 PM; at Old Zhou’s age, he was likely already asleep. Wouldn't it be rude and abrupt to call him now?

A sin, a grave sin indeed.

However, the situation was urgent, and he couldn't suppress his desire to get to the bottom of the matter immediately. After long deliberation, he decided to send a text message instead. He carefully weighed his words before hitting send, consoling himself with the thought that Old Zhou would see it as soon as he woke up in the morning.

He then returned to the call screen. Wang Xiaoqian was still wailing, continuing her verbal assault on Li Xin.

"My dear lady, that's enough, isn't it?" Li Xin said softly, feigning cheerfulness to divert her attention.

As expected, Wang Xiaoqian stopped and let out an incoherent sniffle. "No, I'm too upset. You have to say something nice to coax me."

"Uh..." Li Xin’s face darkened with frustration. Isn't this ridiculous? Since when had he ever said such things? After a moment of thought, he opened a search engine on his computer and began reciting what he found.

"Ah—"

The sudden outburst made Wang Xiaoqian shriek, followed by a stream of curses.

Li Xin felt awkward, but he had to bite the bullet and continue. "Xiaoqian, do you know?"

"Know what?"

"You are actually like the moon in the sky, or the twinkling stars. It’s just a pity that I am not a poet; otherwise, I would certainly write ten thousand beautiful poems to describe your beauty and tell of your elegance."

"Often, you are so beautiful, as beautiful as a lyrical poem. Your entire being is filled with pure emotion and youth, leaving me with countless impressions. The deepest among them, however, are your eyes—clear as a mountain lake, bright, transparent, and crystalline. And those long, thick eyelashes; every time they flutter, it feels like an inquiry, a gesture of concern, a greeting."

On the other end of the line, the sobbing gradually faded, and the tirade came to an end. In its place came a quiet, peaceful atmosphere, accompanied by increasingly heavy breathing and the faint, audible sound of her swallowing hard. It seemed Wang Xiaoqian was truly moved by Li Xin's flattery, lost in the enjoyment of it.

Flattery has always been seen as repulsive and something to be scorned, but truthfully, it feels fantastic. It leaves one feeling inexplicably excited, confident, satisfied, and fulfilled. It’s no wonder most people in this world love to be flattered—there is, in fact, a reason for it.

Li Xin blinked in embarrassment. This was certainly not his style, but it seemed worth it just to make her happy.

"I’ve already started my life over anyway; what’s wrong with being a multifaceted, unconventional person?"

As Li Xin comforted himself with this thought, his mood instantly expanded. He stopped looking at the computer screen. His limited vocabulary began to effortlessly weave into sentences, ready to be spoken at any moment.

"Wang Xiaoqian, you are a heroine known to everyone in Gaoyou City, helping the poor and doing good deeds. In everyone's eyes, you are an untouchable, strong woman. But do you know? To me, you are actually simple, gentle, and lovely."

"We haven't spent much time together, but you’ve shown me so many shining qualities. You are like a cloud, always drifting softly before my eyes; you are like a blade of grass, slender and withered yet possessing a persistent, brave heart reaching upward; you are like a mother, caring for others' affairs even when it’s a burden to yourself."

"Your delicate, beautiful face is always rippling with a smile as lovely as spring. In those large, bright eyes of yours, I can always capture your tranquility, your passion, your intelligence, and your sensitivity."

"I cannot say more for now. But I swear on my personal honor that everything I’ve said comes from the heart, judged from the perspectives of a friend, a man, and a stranger. Of course, there are many virtues of yours I haven't mentioned, but no one is perfect; the point is whether your strengths outweigh your weaknesses."

"Clearly, your excellence and your virtues shine so brightly that they cover all your flaws."

"Wang Xiaoqian, you are a very good girl. No matter what happens, as your friend, I will stand behind you and support you. Everyone at the pharmacy will support you, too. Having spent a few days together, I’m sure you’ve become quite familiar with them by now."

After saying it all in one breath, Li Xin let out a long sigh and sat blankly on the sofa, his mouth dry. Seeing the water bottles from the leaders' visit earlier that day sitting on the table, he didn't care; he picked one up and gulped it down. It wasn't enough, so he grabbed another. Soon, he had finished three bottles.

Only then did he feel much better, and it occurred to him that he was still on the phone.

He hadn't heard Wang Xiaoqian speak for a long time.

Did she hang up? He looked at his phone—it wasn't hung up, but there was no sound on the other end.

Li Xin gave a self-deprecating laugh. He didn't disturb her, instead leaning back against the sofa to think. It seemed that in his twenty-seven years of life, he had never said so much at once. He was certain he had never even spoken like this to Lin Guo, the girlfriend he had been with for three years.

He didn't understand praise or flirting; Lin Guo had often complained with annoyance that he was a man devoid of romantic flair.

But today, everything had changed.

Having become a superman, he had broken unprecedented records. Such a sequence of beautiful, poetic rhetoric was something he would never have imagined himself capable of. Looking back now, he even forgot exactly what he had said.

But one thing was beyond doubt: it was real.

Everything had come from the bottom of his heart, a sincere and honest assessment. Just as he had said, it was a summary drawn from many perspectives. When a person's merits outweigh their flaws, they are nearly perfect.

For about five minutes, the phone screen flickered, lighting up and dimming, but Wang Xiaoqian remained silent. Li Xin thought to himself that perhaps he had overdone the flattery.

"Heh, I’ll give her some time to collect herself. After all, I don't know what happened to her." Shaking his head with a bitter smile, Li Xin relaxed his furrowed brows and let out another long sigh.

Just as he was about to hang up, a voice finally came from the other side.

"Thank you."

It was a very brief reply, followed immediately by the cold, mechanical sound of the call ending. Wang Xiaoqian's eccentricity left Li Xin completely bewildered.

"That quirky girl," Li Xin chuckled. He decided not to play games and get some proper rest so he would have more energy for the next day.

There wasn't much going on in "Journey" for the moment; those masked figures were likely still circling the spot where he had disappeared, doing something strange. With the CF finals coming up in the next few days, Li Xin needed to focus his energy there. After all, he was being paid a high salary.

With that, he washed up and lay down on the bed, falling asleep almost immediately.

Meanwhile, in a small courtyard house in Wujiang City, Wang Xiaoqian rushed out of her room in a flurry, spoke a few quick words to Wang Huiyan, jumped into her Ferrari F458, and vanished into the night with a roar of the engine.