The fact that He Lindi had asked for her WeChat ID long ago stirred up huge waves in Chi Shuo’s usually calm life.
The waves crashed, one after another, pulling Chi Shuo under, leaving her breathless.
She stared at the friend request verification on her phone, wanting to open it yet also wanting to continue pretending she hadn’t seen it. Finally, gritting her teeth, she continued working as if unaware, feeling somewhat dazed, relying on energy drinks to feel slightly better.
She had thought today’s workday would end like usual, just waiting for 6:30 PM. But around 4 PM, her supervisor called Chi Shuo into the office and assigned her a new task—go to Qiyu again with He Xiuqi for a work handover.
Qiyu Company was more experienced than Xinyue in offline platforms. Going there in person showed more sincerity, and since signing documents was involved, it was even more necessary for Chi Shuo and her colleague to go.
He Xiuqi was very happy about this. He hadn’t been at the company long and usually just sat in the office with few tasks, feeling a bit bored. Going to Qiyu was like having an outing during work hours, and without getting his pay docked.
Chi Shuo knew his thoughts because he trusted her enough to tell her all about it on the way there.
The sun outside was intensely bright. This time, when He Xiuqi offered to hold the umbrella again, Chi Shuo refused, holding it herself on the side.
“Xiao Chi Jie, we’ll be at Qiyu’s entrance in about ten minutes,” He Xiuqi announced from the car, playing the role of timekeeper again.
He turned his head from the passenger seat as he spoke, a constant grin on his face, making no attempt to hide his happiness.
Chi Shuo rubbed her eyes and nodded. “Okay, I’ll message the contact person at Qiyu.”
He Xiuqi looked straight ahead, thought for a moment, and asked, “Will we finish later than usual? Should we have dinner together then?”
Chi Shuo’s seating angle allowed her to see his profile. He Xiuqi had a defined jawline, a high nose bridge, and long eyelashes… no wonder he was popular at the company. With looks like that, he wouldn’t have lacked pursuers in school either.
“Let’s see how it goes. If we finish really late, then we’ll definitely eat together.” Chi Shuo neither refused nor agreed, giving a somewhat official answer. “If it’s still relatively early, we can do it another day. I need to go home and cook.”
He Xiuqi turned his head to look at her, responding with a cheerful grin, “Okay dokey.”
Chi Shuo shifted her gaze away, looked out the window, thought for a few seconds, and asked, “He Xiuqi, have you added He Lindi on WeChat?”
He Xiuqi paused, then shook his head. “No…” His tone held a hint of disappointment. “I sent her a friend request before, but she never accepted.”
Chi Shuo paused, looked at his expression, and pressed further, “Does she maybe not know who you are?”
He Xiuqi scratched the back of his head, looking somewhat puzzled. “Oh right, I don’t know if she knows it’s me.” His eyes suddenly lit up. “Do you think if I wrote my name, she’d accept?”
Chi Shuo didn’t know how to answer again, slowly nodding. “Maybe.”
He Xiuqi’s expression instantly brightened. He immediately picked up his phone and started tapping away, unable to suppress his anticipation even while pressing his lips together.
Chi Shuo clutched her own phone, looking at the friend request that had been sitting there for almost a day. Finally, she tapped accept.
Just as she accepted, the driver reminded them, “We’re here.”
Chi Shuo pushed aside her thoughts, got out of the car with He Xiuqi, and started working.
The new business venture was quite challenging, requiring consideration of many factors like safety, order, etc. If anything went wrong, the consequences would be dire. Thus, Xinyue had sent Chi Shuo again to learn from Qiyu’s experience.
Thanks to discussions with colleagues these past few days, Chi Shuo knew, even without being on-site, what problems her company was currently facing. She spent over an hour in Qiyu’s office talking with their contact person, going through three glasses of water before finally finishing.
Leaving the office building, Chi Shuo let out a breath. Her head was full of information. If she hadn’t gotten used to being busy lately, she might have felt overwhelmed.
He Xiuqi was responsible for taking notes, which was why he had come along. His handwriting was neat and fast. Chi Shuo remembered a colleague once asking him how he did it, and he said it was because he used to copy a lot of homework.
Chi Shuo: …
But that wasn’t the focus. It was almost 7 PM now, a bit later than usual work hours.
Chi Shuo stopped walking and said to He Xiuqi, “Thanks for your hard work.” She continued, “It’s getting late. I’ll bring the documents to the company tomorrow. We’ll see if there’s a chance after dinner.”
He Xiuqi rubbed the back of his neck, nodding listlessly. He had thought this trip would be easier, but it turned out to be more tiring than the last one.
“Then how are you getting back, Xiao Chi Jie?” He Xiuqi asked again.
Chi Shuo glanced at the traffic flowing on the road. “Don’t know yet.”
“Then I’ll take a taxi back first.” After saying this, He Xiuqi took out his phone, which he hadn’t looked at for a long time. The next second, Chi Shuo heard his joyful exclamation, “Teacher He accepted!”
Chi Shuo didn’t react immediately. “What?”
“I sent her another friend request in the car, specifying my name. I just checked, and she accepted.” His joy was evident, making no effort to hide his happiness. “Thanks, Xiao Chi Jie. If you hadn’t suggested she might not know it was me, I wouldn’t have been able to add her today.”
Chi Shuo forced a smile. “You’re welcome.” She paused. “Then I’ll take the subway back myself.”
“Okay.” He Xiuqi nodded, then looked down at his phone, his fingertips tapping away on the keyboard.
Chi Shuo: “…”
She turned around and walked towards the subway entrance.
Having missed the evening rush hour, the subway wasn’t too crowded. Chi Shuo even managed to get a seat.
Only after sitting down did Chi Shuo take her phone out of her bag. It had stayed there while she was talking with the contact person at Qiyu.
Thinking about He Xiuqi’s reaction just now made her feel a bit… unhappy.
What was she unhappy about? Chi Shuo thought carefully but couldn’t find an answer. She just felt a tightness in her chest, feeling like she had become a wingman.
Assuming He Xiuqi actually managed to pursue He Lindi successfully.
Chi Shuo recalled He Xiuqi’s profile she had observed closely today. His handsome, youthful aura seemed quite compatible with He Lindi.
Chi Shuo immediately thought of Xia Zhou and Yue Ke’s relationship. Dating younger guys did seem to be a popular trend lately. So, might He Lindi have had similar thoughts?
Chi Shuo’s mind was a chaotic mess. Finally, she unlocked her phone.
The next second, He Lindi’s ID caught her eye. She hadn’t had time to change He Lindi’s nickname yet.
Under the “Didi Wei” entry, there were three chat messages. Chi Shuo’s eyes seemed to activate a blocking function, seeing only this entry.
The latest message was “Dare to not show up and see what happens?” Chi Shuo’s eyelid twitched as she read it.
The subway moved quickly. Chi Shuo felt like she could hear the friction of the wheels on the tracks.
Her heartbeat began to quicken too. Chi Shuo pressed her lips together tightly and tapped open the messages He Lindi had sent.
— Finally willing to accept?
— Come out tonight.
— Dare to not show up and see what happens?
