NOVEL NEXT Chapter 104.3: This Is Santorini (3)
Two days later, Ji Fanyin received not just Zhang Ning’s present, but Li Mingyue’s international package and a huge living person―Cheng Lin.
It was almost ludicrous, how the first miss of the Cheng Family was sitting on a bench in front of her house, looking after her packages with a bored look on her face. When she finally arrived on bike, Cheng Lin stood up and stomped her feet impatiently. “Why didn’t you pick up my calls?”
Ji Fanyin whipped out her phone and took a look. With a guilty look on her face, she muttered, “It’s out of battery.”
Cheng Lin wasn’t surprised at all. She harrumphed coldly before saying, “Happy birthday.”
“Thanks!” Ji Fanyin opened the door, and the two of them slipped into a pair of slippers and spent some time toiling to drag the delivery packages into the house.
“These are all presents for you? So many?” asked Cheng Lin as she settled down on the carpet. She casually picked up a delivery receipt lying on the ground and glanced at it, only to exclaim with a shrill voice, “Bai Zhou?!”
“Bai Zhou?” Ji Fanyin was confused. “I haven’t been in contact with him.”
Cheng Lin picked up the delivery receipt and sneered, “Why am I not surprised at all? I was still wondering why Bai Zhou would appear in Li Xiaoxing and Ji Xinxin’s engagement ceremony…”
She took out her key and asked, “Why don’t I open it for you?”
“Alright. Be careful of your fingers,” Ji Fanyin said as she stood up and headed for the kitchen.
She already knew that the gift from Bai Zhou wasn’t intended for her.
Cheng Lin decisively slit the tape, tore open the cardboard box, and carefully took out the item inside. It was a model of a place. “This island looks familiar. I think I’ve seen it before on my traveling apps…”
Ji Fanyin returned with two cups of water. She settled down beside Cheng Lin to examine the model. Then, she let out a sigh and said, “It’s Santorini.”
“Looks not bad. But why is he giving this to you?” Cheng Lin looked at the island model from various angles.
It was a scaled down model of Santorini and its buildings and natural scenery. The details were made with a delicate touch, making it an exquisite art piece. It came with a small postcard that contained the words ‘Happy Birthday’ that was signed off by Bai Zhou.
Ji Fanyin picked up the postcard and flipped it to its front, revealing the scenery of Santorini’s sunrise. She immediately recognized the familiar angle.
That was the sunrise from Bai Zhou’s secret hideout that he had shared with the other ‘Ji Fanyin’ during their Greece trip. They had previously made an agreement to visit Greece and watch the sunrise from the secret hideout every year.
… though the other ‘Ji Fanyin’ has never intended to hold her end of the promise.
Cheng Lin glanced at the postcard and remarked, “This postcard has quite an interesting texture. Is this impasto or what?”
“… It’s oil painting. It was hand painted,” Ji Fanyin said as she flipped the postcard back down.
She was feeling a little distressed. She didn’t know how she should deal with the model.
Should I accept it on behalf of the other ‘Ji Fanyin’, or should I reject it and send it back to Bai Zhou?
While she was deep in thought, she caught sight of the delivery slip Cheng Lin had previously pushed to the side in her peripheral vision. To her astonishment, she noticed that while the sender was indeed Bai Zhou, the package wasn’t sent from China.
It was a local delivery from within the United Kingdoms.
Frowning, Ji Fanyin took out her phone and scrolled through her contact list. She soon found Bai Zhou’s name. There was a moment of hesitation, but she eventually decided to press the ‘Call’ button.
When the call finally went through, Ji Fanyin unconfidently asked, “Are you near my house right now”
There was a brief moment of silence before the young man on the other side of the call answered, “I’m not.”
Ji Fanyin walked to the window, pulled open her curtains, and looked out on the streets. With a sweeping glance, she quickly spotted a black Benz and Bai Zhou leaning next to it.
That very moment, they met eyes.
“… Sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you,” Bai Zhou apologized hoarsely. He opened his car door. “I’ll leave right now.”