He Lindi’s words left Chi Shuo unsure how to respond. She stood frozen, meeting He Lindi’s gaze. After several seconds, she managed a soft “Oh.”
“‘Oh’? What does that mean?” He Lindi sat up straight, the fatigue vanishing from her face. She pouted slightly. “You’re not even as tall as me, yet you’re way colder. Chi Shuo, did you not understand what I meant?”
Chi Shuo swallowed, turning her head slightly to look at the streetlight outside instead of He Lindi. Her tone was uncertain as she asked back, “Are you blaming me for not contacting you?”
Seeing her calm demeanor infuriated He Lindi. “You knew, yet you still did that.” She continued, “WeChat, WeChat—it means smilingly sending messages. Which part of that did you manage?”
Chi Shuo turned back to look at her, focusing on the wrong point. “WeChat has that meaning?”
He Lindi lifted her chin slightly. “It means whatever I say it means.”
Chi Shuo chuckled softly. The sound lingered in the car for a moment before fading. He Lindi waved her hand, looking somewhat annoyed. “Forget it, forget it. I ask you what misunderstanding you have, you don’t say. I add you on WeChat, and you don’t send a single message.” She opened the car door herself. “I’m going to eat. Do whatever you want.”
Chi Shuo thought for a moment, then called out to her, “He Lindi.” It felt strange calling her that recently; the name felt unfamiliar on her tongue. “Is that fried rice place still open? My treat, as compensation.”
He Lindi had opened the back door to get the bag. Hearing this, she paused, turned her head back to look at Chi Shuo, her eyes curving into crescents. “Okay.”
Ten minutes later, the two were sitting in a small restaurant.
The place was very clean; they didn’t even need to wipe the tables. Even though it was crowded now, the mixed smells weren’t overpowering; mostly, it just smelled like delicious food.
Quite tempting.
Chi Shuo’s nose twitched. Looking at the small menu in front of her, she said, “I just need one Yuxiang Rou Si over rice.”
He Lindi didn’t even look at the menu, nor did she call anyone over. The owner, a woman, walked over smilingly and addressed He Lindi naturally, “Little He, here for dinner today?”
The owner wore an apron, with slight wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and a wide smile. Her long hair was tied up, looking very capable.
He Lindi’s smile hadn’t faded. She replied, “Yes, Auntie Li. I was busy abroad for half a month and really missed your shredded potatoes with meat.”
Auntie Li looked at her gently and joked, “Next time you go abroad, let me know beforehand. Auntie Li will immediately set up international delivery.” She then glanced at Chi Shuo and asked He Lindi uncertainly, “Is this a friend you brought?”
He Lindi didn’t hesitate at all. “No,” she said. “She’s a colleague.”
There was a difference between friend and colleague, and Chi Shuo understood that clearly.
Auntie Li’s expression didn’t change. She warmly greeted Chi Shuo, “Order whatever you like, don’t be shy!”
Only after Auntie Li went to the kitchen to give the order did Chi Shuo’s tense expression relax slightly.
She had been relaxed, but hearing He Lindi say “colleague” shifted her mood.
She pressed her lips together, poured herself a cup of tea from the pot on the table, but didn’t pour any for He Lindi’s empty cup.
He Lindi didn’t seem to want an explanation either. She picked up her phone, looking at the screen expressionlessly. Chi Shuo didn’t know what she was looking at, but her fingers typed furiously on the screen, her brow slightly furrowed, looking quite busy.
The atmosphere between them turned silent, a stark contrast to the surrounding tables.
Soon, the server brought their food.
There was a reason such an ordinary little restaurant could be so popular. Although it was peak dinner time, the business here seemed much better than others they had seen on the street.
The aroma of the Yuxiang Rou Si over rice wafted towards Chi Shuo the moment it was placed before her, firmly capturing her attention and dominating her thoughts and actions. It made her appetite surge, and she began to enjoy the simple, delicious meal.
He Lindi held her phone with one hand and a spoon with the other, her eyes fixed on the phone screen, barely looking away. Chi Shuo ate a bit, glanced at her, and saw she was still like that. She couldn’t help but speak up, “Colleague He, eating like this, you might choke.”
He Lindi replied faintly, “It’s fine.”
Chi Shuo immediately felt she was being nosy. She picked up her own phone, looked at some jokes, and decided not to spare He Lindi another glance.
But less than two minutes later, He Lindi put her phone down with a slight clatter, the sound crisp and loud in the noisy restaurant.
Chi Shuo remained unmoved, continuing to eat.
He Lindi, however, had already put down her spoon. Looking at Chi Shuo, she asked, “Why are there women in the world who keep liking a cheating scumbag even after being cheated on?”
Chi Shuo lifted her eyes slightly, didn’t answer, and returned her gaze to her phone.
“Remember last time you came upstairs to tell me not to laugh about your blind date? I was on the phone then, right? Don’t know if you heard what I said, but basically, she was clearly cheated on. I thought she wouldn’t have anything to do with that scumbag anymore.”
“But she just messaged me on WeChat, saying they got back together.”
“Makes me so mad, she has no backbone.”
Chi Shuo’s eyelid twitched upon hearing this. Mimicking He Lindi’s earlier “It’s fine,” she said, “Take it easy.”
He Lindi was clearly still fuming. She said, “How can I take it easy? I feel like everything I said was wasted, my own emotions were wasted. How can I take it easy?”
“People in love aren’t that rational.” Chi Shuo put down her spoon, looked into He Lindi’s eyes, the corners of her lips lifting slightly. “When you were in love, I didn’t see you being very rational either.”
The atmosphere shifted quickly. Just moments ago, they were silent; now, it felt like a debate had started.
Hearing this, He Lindi didn’t respond quickly. She blinked her watery eyes, looking sincere, and asked, “You’ve seen me when I was in love?”
Chi Shuo paused, then slowly shook her head. “No.”
“Then how did you reach that conclusion?” He Lindi pressed on.
Chi Shuo took a sip of tea, hadn’t wiped her mouth yet, and replied, “Fine, I’m not rational, okay?” She called the server over. “Check, please.”
He Lindi glanced at her own plate. “I haven’t finished eating.” She then looked at Chi Shuo’s. “You still have some left too.”
Chi Shuo stood up. “I’m done. I’m heading back first.”
“Treating me to dinner as compensation means accompanying me until the end.”
Chi Shuo retorted irritably, “When did the ‘compensation’ (賠 péi) and ‘accompany’ (陪 péi) become the same word?” She smiled again. “He Lindi, we’re just ordinary colleagues.”
He Lindi: “…”
She finally seemed to understand the reason for Chi Shuo’s tone. “You’re angry?”
Chi Shuo ignored her and stood up herself. “What’s there for me to be angry about?”
The server had just said they needed to pay at the counter. Chi Shuo headed towards the checkout to scan the code.
But as she passed He Lindi, He Lindi reached out and grabbed her wrist.
He Lindi was sitting, Chi Shuo was standing. With her wrist held, Chi Shuo stopped in place.
Chi Shuo lowered her head slightly to look at her. “Please let go, I’m going to pay.”
“Will you leave right after paying?”
“Otherwise? Should I stay here and wash dishes?”
He Lindi let out a soft “Oh,” releasing her hand, but her head remained tilted, looking at Chi Shuo, her tone laced with a touch of pity. “Sorry, I was wrong.”
Chi Shuo knew what her apology meant, but she didn’t acknowledge it immediately. She averted her gaze, went to the counter to pay. She had already grabbed her bag when she stood up; she could leave directly without stopping.
While paying, Chi Shuo thought and struggled internally. Finally, after turning around, she didn’t leave directly but chose to sit down opposite He Lindi, who had started eating silently again.
Chi Shuo looked somewhat impatient. “Eat quickly, I have things to do when I get home.”
He Lindi gossiped, “What will you be busy with when you get home?”
“None of your business.”
The meal proceeded with some ups and downs. Chi Shuo hailed a taxi home herself. Only after actually drinking water from her own home did she finally feel relaxed.
He Lindi’s thoughts were both easy and difficult to guess, leaving Chi Shuo somewhat confused. She had no idea what He Lindi would do next.
Like that day she drove He Lindi back. He Lindi’s previous sentence was still forceful and unyielding, yet the next second, she immediately softened, saying “Please.” That scene remained clearest in Chi Shuo’s memory because it had shocked her the most.
And today?
It seemed like just a moment ago she was talking about wanting to be friends with her, but when faced with Auntie Li’s question, her answer was completely different, even though… Chi Shuo knew He Lindi had said it deliberately to anger her.
To anger Chi Shuo for adding her on WeChat but never initiating contact.
Chi Shuo rubbed her head. She knew it; once He Lindi returned, her life wouldn’t be so calm. There would always be significant ripples and fluctuations on the surface of her lake.
But the workdays were very tedious, seemingly copying and pasting the content of the previous day, repetitive and lacking novelty.
However, on Thursday, Chi Shuo received a new task. After the morning meeting ended, her supervisor called her into the office to explain the new assignment.
Right now, she was sitting in her supervisor’s office, writing down important details.
“Next week, our company is hosting another meet & greet. The star this time is Song Qin, whom Chi Shuo met during the Beijing trip. The male lead of the recently exploding Urban Love Chronicle is him. Fortunately, our company had the foresight to predict this drama would blow up. Therefore, we booked his Yun Cheng schedule far in advance.”
“Because Chi Shuo met him before, he should have some impression of you. Xiao Cheng and the others are all on business trips. Your task this time is crucial, perform well.”
“The time is next Saturday. I’ll give you Song Qin’s assistant’s WeChat and phone number later. Arrange things properly.”
Chi Shuo’s pen flew across her notebook. As the supervisor finished his last word, she wrapped up her notes. She nodded heavily. “Okay, I understand.”
The drama Urban Love Chronicle was melodramatic yet stimulating. Coupled with the high visuals of the male and female leads, their sweet yet angsty relationship had dominated recent hot topics. Although the drama’s heavy marketing somewhat repulsed Chi Shuo, she had to admit that this increasingly popular urban emotional drama was highly likely to become the king of 2018 television dramas.
Sitting back at her desk, Chi Shuo felt a headache coming on just searching for information about the drama. There was too much information, and since she hadn’t watched the drama, she needed to carefully filter it.
Her job of recording celebrity schedules had already been handed over to a new intern. For the next week or so, her main focus would be on matters related to Song Qin’s meet & greet.
The venue for the meet & greet was already set at a small arena. Chi Shuo had many things to do: confirm media attendance, determine fan quotas, etc.
This project wasn’t small. Chi Shuo and six other Xinyue employees formed a temporary working group, striving daily to figure out how to make this meet & greet successful.
In the blink of an eye, the work week passed, and it was the weekend.
There was still a week until Song Qin’s meet & greet. Chi Shuo felt somewhat anxious even at home. She truly lacked experience in this area. Although she was working hard, she still worried about making mistakes or encountering unexpected issues.
What if the media asked inappropriate questions? What if a fan forcibly kissed Song Qin? What if Song Qin’s anti-fans infiltrated the event?
Various potential problems swirled in Chi Shuo’s mind, relentlessly plaguing her. Saturday, which should have been a day for sleeping in, was disrupted by nightmares related to work, waking her up early.
Having only slept seven hours, Chi Shuo sat up, stared blankly at the sky outside the window, lay awake for a long time, and finally managed to fall back asleep.
The work difficulty had suddenly increased significantly because there were simply too many factors to consider. Chi Shuo slept until noon this time before waking up.
She checked the time, immediately sobered up, got up to wash and tidy herself, briefly got ready, and went out.
She had been too busy these past two days, with no time during the week to scout the venue. Therefore, she specifically called Xia Zhou and Zeng Guai to accompany her to check out the arena.
It was Saturday, and coincidentally, there was a meet & greet for an 18th-tier celebrity today. Chi Shuo still found remaining tickets when buying online yesterday.
Perhaps this was the entertainment industry’s food chain. For someone like Song Qin, who was already popular and now even more so, having leftover tickets was simply impossible. There would only be scalpers selling tickets at high prices, even creating an auction-like bidding scene.
Spectacular.
“Shuo Shuo, should we go up for autographs?”
The star of this meet & greet wasn’t popular at all. Very few fans attended, and judging by the lackluster expressions of those present, it was reasonable to suspect they were paid attendees.
Right now, the three of them sat together, heads huddled, whispering. Zeng Guai, having rambled about many topics, finally focused on the present moment.
Chi Shuo shook her head, gesturing with her chin towards the front row. “Those are probably the true fans. See, they’re all holding photo books to get signed. Do you have a photo book? If not, should they sign your face?”
Xia Zhou chuckled beside her. “If I signed someone’s face, I’d probably draw a turtle pattern or something.”
Chi Shuo shook hands with her. “Me too.”
Zeng Guai: “Get lost.”
The three sat in their seats. After half an hour, Chi Shuo had thoroughly assessed the small arena and then quietly slipped out, bending low.
Emerging outside, Chi Shuo let out a big sigh of relief and summarized, “The air quality in this venue isn’t great, and the lighting is poor. Needs adjustment.”
Xia Zhou agreed, “Yeah, the lighting is really bad.” She casually asked, “Has the photographer list been finalized for this time?”
As the organizer this time, Xinyue would definitely hire photographers. Not just Xinyue, Song Qin’s studio would also hire other photographers.
Zeng Guai said, “I think I heard someone mention a couple of days ago that our company hired Didi and Q Ge for Song Qin’s meet & greet photos.”
The three walked outside together, descending the stairs slowly.
Xia Zhou wondered, “Have you noticed? Our company really likes hiring Didi.”
Chi Shuo nodded slowly. “Yes, that’s right.” Her words carried more authority. “He Lindi and Q Ge were indeed hired for Song Qin’s meet & greet photos this time. We need to coordinate some details with them.”
Chi Shuo had previously wondered why Xinyue always liked hiring He Lindi from upstairs. A senior colleague working on the Song Qin event told her the answer a couple of days ago—because He Lindi brought her own traffic and was the face of photographers.
Where He Lindi was, there would be attention. That was the effect they wanted.
Thinking about it, it seemed true. Ever since that set of photos taken by a certain station master went viral, He Lindi truly made a name for herself among entertainment industry photographers.
“Ai, thinking about it, I feel Didi is so outstanding.” Xia Zhou sighed with emotion. “And so many people pursue her.”
Zeng Guai’s eyes lit up. “Any gossip?”
Chi Shuo also pricked up her ears, waiting silently for Xia Zhou’s next words.
Xia Zhou glanced around, then leaned closer to them, lowering her voice slightly. “Last night, didn’t you both leave on time? I didn’t, I left a bit late because A Ke said he was coming to pick me up. Then I saw Xiao Qi go upstairs.”
Xiao Qi naturally referred to He Xiuqi. Chi Shuo’s heart suddenly skipped a beat, the sound seemingly amplified many times over.
Zeng Guai grew even more curious, patting Xia Zhou’s shoulder. “And then? What did He Xiuqi do?”
Xia Zhou giggled at this point. “How would I know? I didn’t follow him up. But later on the first floor, I happened to run into Xiao Qi. He had a smile on his face, looking particularly happy.”
The weather was very hot. Chi Shuo held her umbrella but still felt like she was being roasted. Perhaps also due to the weather, she felt extremely agitated at the moment.
So Chi Shuo urged, “Walk faster, it’s too sunny.”
But Xia Zhou’s mouth didn’t stop. “I casually gossiped a bit. You know I’m just a gossipmonger. Xiao Qi didn’t hide anything from me either. He said he went upstairs to find Didi and even gave Didi the gift he had carefully chosen.”
Chi Shuo asked, “What gift?”
“Aiya, how would I know that? It was in a box, I don’t have X-ray vision.”
Chi Shuo lowered her eyelids slightly and replied with an “Oh.”
Zeng Guai frowned slightly, her expression darkening somewhat. “Unexpectedly, He Xiuqi, this kid, actually likes Didi.”
Chi Shuo glanced at the two of them. “Is it that hard to imagine? He gets a bit shy and nervous around He Lindi.”
Xia Zhou widened her eyes. “You actually observed that closely?”
Chi Shuo sighed lightly and shook her head. “No, it was after he told me himself that he likes He Lindi that I started noticing.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she felt the gazes of her two friends, even hotter than the sunlight. “When did you and Xiao Qi get so close?”
Chi Shuo: “…”
Chi Shuo replied helplessly, “We didn’t. I don’t know why he told me either. You know I’m not that familiar with him.”
What was originally planned as a well-thought-out “field inspection” ended up becoming a gossip session. Chi Shuo’s mood was inevitably complicated, but perhaps more than anything… bewildered.
She had thought He Xiuqi’s talk of “pursuing He Lindi” was just superficial, or that he wouldn’t act so quickly. She hadn’t expected that after just a short while, he had already reached the stage of being unable to resist giving He Lindi a gift.
So, He Lindi must have… accepted this gift of unknown contents? Chi Shuo frowned, thinking for a long time.
This news hit her somewhat hard. To be honest, she had often heard news of He Lindi dating others during university, but ever since graduation, He Lindi seemed to have become a desireless nun, not having dated anyone at all.
It wasn’t that no one pursued her, just that she hadn’t dated. The relationship between these two things wasn’t contradictory at all.
But He Xiuqi was young and sunny, the currently popular younger brother type. Chi Shuo didn’t know what He Lindi was thinking, just… what if?
Although curious, she ultimately wouldn’t ask the person involved. Otherwise, the awkwardness of the situation would be unimaginable for Chi Shuo.
However, while her thoughts were rational, her actions were somewhat uncontrolled. Ever since learning He Xiuqi had given He Lindi a gift, Chi Shuo had countless times opened the chat dialogue with He Lindi.
She didn’t know what to send, just felt she could perhaps send something, even work-related matters were acceptable, lest He Lindi settle accounts with her again, blaming her for not giving her a chance to be friends.
Based on their current relationship, they seemed almost like friends already. Chi Shuo didn’t know how to define it.
Chi Shuo sat on the sofa, lightly biting her lip, looking at her phone screen, contemplating the wording for the WeChat message to He Lindi.
A long time passed, the sky had already darkened, before Chi Shuo hesitantly typed out a few words—
Landlord?
