Inside He Lindi’s sedan.
Zeng Guai sat in the passenger seat, while Chi Shuo and Xia Zhou were in the back. However, only Chi Shuo was quiet.
Heavy rain pounded on the car windows and roof, drop after drop, dense and relentless.
But this didn’t dampen the atmosphere inside the car at all. The other three, besides Chi Shuo, seemed to be chatting happily.
He Lindi held the steering wheel up front. Chi Shuo sat behind her, unable to see her face, but hearing her voice clearly, amplifying it automatically in her mind.
“Didi, that bearded photographer from your company hasn’t come down to our office lately. Did his confession to Xiao Cheng fail?” Zeng Guai started gossiping again.
He Lindi’s voice held a hint of laughter. “I think maybe? Q Ge has been asking people to go drinking with him at night recently.” Her tone paused noticeably. “So it was because his confession failed? I didn’t even know.”
Xia Zhou chimed in cheerfully from beside Chi Shuo, “Well, now you know.”
“Ah, yes.”
Chi Shuo: “…”
She had always known He Lindi was highly sociable, both in high school and university. After all, Chi Shuo had witnessed so much along the way. But being present in this scene of their cheerful conversation still made Chi Shuo feel extremely unnatural.
She knew it was because she wasn’t used to it. She had grown accustomed to being a background character in He Lindi’s world. Suddenly participating was impossible, but more importantly, she didn’t want to participate.
Chi Shuo believed there was still distance between her and He Lindi, and she was actively trying to maintain or even increase that distance.
The three of them lived in different places, not even along the same route. Waiting at a red light, Chi Shuo saw pedestrians outside, every single one holding an umbrella. Taxis and ride-shares were already hard to come by. Having someone drive them was extremely fortunate.
He Lindi dropped Xia Zhou off at her apartment complex first, then took Zeng Guai to her destination.
The rain continued to fall. The car grew quiet. The scenery outside was blurry due to the rain. Chi Shuo’s phone navigation was still on; she was only five or six hundred meters from home now, almost there.
After two minutes, Chi Shuo cleared her throat in her seat. Looking outside, she tried to make her voice sound natural. “Thanks.”
After speaking, she expected He Lindi’s “You’re welcome” or “No problem,” but a minute passed, and she was only two hundred meters from her apartment entrance, yet still received no reply.
Chi Shuo pressed her lips together, averted her gaze, and said again, “And thank you for the medicine this afternoon too.”
She wasn’t sitting properly, otherwise she could have seen He Lindi’s expression in the rearview mirror. Now, everything was blocked by the seat.
A few more seconds passed, and Chi Shuo finally got He Lindi’s answer: “You can pay me back next time.”
Chi Shuo thought she misheard, her eyes showing confusion. “What?”
There was one last red light ahead. He Lindi stopped the car. Her hands remained on the steering wheel, but she turned her head slightly to the side, looking at Chi Shuo, and asked, “Do you have a driver’s license?”
Chi Shuo hesitated but still nodded. “Yes.”
“After your period is over this time, if it’s still raining, you can drive me back, right?” He Lindi turned her gaze forward again, sitting up straight.
Chi Shuo was stunned. “Then how do I get back?”
“Figure it out yourself.”
“…Fine.”
He Lindi’s tone lifted slightly. Chi Shuo could clearly hear her soft chuckle. “Got a problem?”
Chi Shuo shook her head, only realizing after shaking it that He Lindi couldn’t see her gesture. “No.”
When she got out of the car, the rain outside was heavy and dense again. Chi Shuo quickly opened her umbrella but still got the cuffs of her pants splashed by raindrops bouncing off the ground.
He Lindi didn’t exchange any more words with her. The car quickly disappeared from sight. Chi Shuo quietly exhaled, turned, and walked away under her umbrella.
Over the next three days, Chi Shuo never thought her luck could be so good. Starting the day after He Lindi drove her home, the weather turned from rainy to sunny.
Heat rose steaming from the ground, and the air felt like boiling water for a barbecue, unbearable after just a moment. Chi Shuo still used her umbrella, but now for sun protection.
Time passed extremely quickly. Chi Shuo spent the weekend lounging at home for two days, then faced work again.
During the morning meeting, the supervisor assigned a new task, requiring her and another colleague to visit a company in Yun Cheng today. This company collaborated with Xinyue, but some details needed to be handled by their department.
Chi Shuo’s period pain was over, so going out was no problem. She quickly gathered the documents with her colleague, grabbed her bag, and took the elevator down.
The company they were visiting was called Qiyu. Their business scope involved managing schedules for many artists, handling venue setup, hosts, etc. Chi Shuo needed to coordinate the specific event flow for an A-list actress with them.
Her colleague was a guy named He Xiuqi, only twenty-two years old, newer to Xinyue than Chi Shuo. He was nice, and Chi Shuo chatted and laughed with him all the way from the start.
Qiyu was quite far from their office building, a forty-minute drive. It was almost 10:30 AM when they arrived. Passing a supermarket, Chi Shuo stopped to buy milk and bread.
Due to her irregular weekend schedule, she had woken up late this morning, missing her usual breakfast time. Now was a good chance to catch up.
The sun was no longer gentle. Chi Shuo sat on a bench by the roadside. He Xiuqi held the umbrella for her with one hand, holding a carton of milk Chi Shuo had bought him in the other.
“Xiao Chi Jie, why are you so afraid of the sun?” He Xiuqi asked the question he’d been wanting to ask while drinking his milk.
Chi Shuo thought for a moment, smiled, and replied, “Forgot.”
Eating in this environment couldn’t possibly be slow and deliberate. Chi Shuo quickly filled her stomach and followed He Xiuqi into the office building where Qiyu was located.
The work handover didn’t involve much content, but filling in the details took time. It was around 1 PM when the two of them started their journey back.
In the car, Chi Shuo received a call from Xia Zhou.
Thinking it was something urgent, Chi Shuo answered quickly, but the content made her vision darken: “Shuo Shuo, can you bring us back some milk tea from downstairs when you come?”
“How many cups?”
“Three.”
“I’m not having any.”
“One is for Didi.”
Chi Shuo went “Huh?” “How did you guys end up hanging out with her again?”
“Bored. Called her down to play Landlord.” (Dou Dizhu, a popular Chinese card game)
“…”
What kind of friends were these!
Chi Shuo hung up. He Xiuqi looked at her expression and asked with concern, “Is something wrong?”
Chi Shuo shook her head. “No… Just need to bring back three cups of milk tea.”
He Xiuqi looked relieved. “I thought it was something urgent.”
Although bewildered and feeling like she’d been set up, Chi Shuo still obediently bought three cups of milk tea downstairs. However, He Xiuqi was the one carrying them; he had proactively offered to help, and Chi Shuo hadn’t had time to refuse.
The elevator quickly reached the 25th floor. Chi Shuo composed her expression and walked into Xinyue.
It was lunchtime, so the office was relatively quiet, but the break room wasn’t necessarily. Xia Zhou and the others would only play Landlord there.
Chi Shuo curved her lips slightly at He Xiuqi and thanked him softly, “I can take them now.”
He Xiuqi shook his head, his voice also low but firm. “I’ll help you carry them over.”
He walked towards the break room himself, Chi Shuo following behind him.
The break room had a coffee machine, a fridge, and plenty of snacks. If Chi Shuo didn’t eat bread outside in the morning, she would refuel here.
There were several small round tables inside. Upon entering, they saw He Lindi and the other two sitting at the innermost table.
Zeng Guai waved and called out, “Shuo Shuo, over here.”
He Lindi was leaning back in her chair with her eyes closed. Hearing Zeng Guai’s voice, she slowly opened her eyes and watched Chi Shuo approach.
He Xiuqi placed the bag on the table. Xia Zhou raised an eyebrow and asked, “Xiao Qi, why are you carrying it in?”
He Xiuqi rubbed the back of his head, looking a bit shy. “I’m happy to help Xiao Chi Jie.”
He didn’t linger, grabbed a canned drink from the fridge, and left.
Chi Shuo pulled out a chair and sat down. “15 yuan per cup. WeChat and Alipay transfers accepted.”
“I’ll buy you back next time.”
Chi Shuo snorted and picked up the playing cards on the table. She tried her best to ignore He Lindi, her gaze never landing on her.
He Lindi slowly inserted the straw into her milk tea cup, her tone casual. “Happy?” She raised the corner of her lip at Chi Shuo. “Chi Shuo, are you happy?”
