Many rides at the amusement park were closed at night, but that didn’t matter. The two of them were definitely on a date; whether they played or not was unimportant. Chi Shuo spent a long time seriously acting as a photographer tonight, taking many pictures of He Lindi before they finally returned home.
On the way, Chi Shuo showed He Lindi the photos and asked, “What do you think of my photography skills now?”
“Much improved,” He Lindi replied very formally. “Lots of room for improvement too.”
Chi Shuo: “…”
After showering, Chi Shuo was still mulling it over. She asked He Lindi again, “Do you remember a promise you made to me before?”
He Lindi was lying on the sofa. Hearing this, she paused. “What promise?”
“When I asked when we could go back to Lu Cheng, you said after I’d mastered photography.”
He Lindi asked her back, “Do you think you’ve mastered it now?”
Chi Shuo sat down beside her, gently pinching He Lindi’s face with her still-damp hands. “You dare say I haven’t? Even if you don’t have faith in me, you should have some faith in yourself. You’re my teacher, after all.”
“The master leads the apprentice to the door, but cultivation depends on the individual,” He Lindi replied with the proverb.
Chi Shuo angrily pulled her hands away and started doing the sign language for “I’m Really Quite Good.”
He Lindi asked, “What are you doing?”
“Practicing our department’s performance for the annual party, ‘I’m Really Quite Good’.”
He Lindi couldn’t help stopping her actions. “Don’t do that, it’s too ridiculous.”
Chi Shuo wiped her hair, her tone quite proud. “I came up with it.”
He Lindi gave her a thumbs-up. “My girlfriend is amazing.”
Feeling that wasn’t enough, she propped herself up and kissed Chi Shuo’s moist lips.
Chi Shuo licked the spot and smiled. “Just one?”
He Lindi raised an eyebrow. “If you give me one back, won’t that make two?”
“…Good point.”
The next day was Monday. Chi Shuo had learned her lesson this time. Before the morning meeting, she drank an energy drink. It helped a little; at least when she went up to talk about being responsible for the department’s annual party performance, she wasn’t sleepy at all.
Since it had already been decided in the group chat that everyone would perform “I’m Really Quite Good,” and with the supervisor present, even though some people were still resistant, they didn’t voice any objections. They quietly listened to Chi Shuo’s explanation, watched the shortened tutorial video she had edited, and finally applauded her.
The supervisor smiled, seemingly very satisfied. Chi Shuo’s eyelid couldn’t help twitching; she felt her supervisor might be quite different outside of work.
Before the morning meeting ended, the supervisor gave the department one last reminder: “New regulations are down. No confessions are allowed on the day of the annual party. Violators will be punished.”
Everyone exchanged glances, clearly aware of He Lindi’s incident. Chi Shuo’s feelings were particularly complicated. After the meeting, she left the conference room carrying her notebook.
During the meeting, Chi Shuo had noticed He Xiuqi’s expression. Their relationship hadn’t been bad before, but after the events of the past couple of days, he just gave her a stern look.
Chi Shuo understood. A thick-skinned person like him, suddenly losing face, definitely wouldn’t be magnanimous enough to maintain a smiling appearance.
Life’s rhythm changed with the approaching annual party. Every day after work, Chi Shuo had to practice a segment of “I’m Really Quite Good.”
But while it looked simple, it was a bit difficult to learn. Chi Shuo had always been strong in singing, but her physical coordination was very average.
A week later, Chi Shuo checked everyone’s practice in the supervisor’s office. With the supervisor present, no one dared to slack off; everyone did it seriously.
The supervisor nodded with satisfaction. “Very good, keep it up. Our department will definitely become the company’s silliest and most ridiculous team.”
Chi Shuo and her colleagues: ???
Seeing their confused looks, the supervisor said, “Don’t you know this year’s rules?” She explained, “Mr. Lin said whichever department is the silliest gets the most money.”
“…” No wonder.
After work, Chi Shuo told He Lindi about this. He Lindi couldn’t stop laughing. “Your company…” She paused. “I feel like the phrase ‘Like master, like servant’ applies. Your Boss Lin is quite silly.”
Chi Shuo glanced at her and asked, “Are you… very close with our boss?”
They were already in the underground parking garage, where sounds echoed easily. Afraid of being overheard, Chi Shuo deliberately lowered her voice. “Otherwise, why wouldn’t you charge for so many of our company’s events?”
“Because he helped me out.”
Before Chi Shuo could open the car door, she asked, “Helped you with what?”
“So curious?”
“Yeah.” Chi Shuo opened the car door and got in first.
He Lindi thought for a moment and said, “Maybe it was letting him abuse his power, arranging for you to come learn photography from me.” She recalled again. “Anyway, there were quite a few things.”
Chi Shuo, knowing the truth: “…”
Tonight, they were going to He Lindi’s place in Yunshang Garden. Chi Shuo was driving again.
In the car, He Lindi took a call. Chi Shuo had no intention of eavesdropping, but her ears automatically picked up some of He Lindi’s replies.
“Dad, I don’t really want to go home right now.”
“It’s been busy lately, lots of parties. I have a business trip to Lingcheng in a couple of days.”
“I’ll contact you then.”
He Lindi didn’t chat for long; the call ended quickly.
Chi Shuo pursed her lips and asked, “Going to Lingcheng on business?”
He Lindi turned her head to look at her and answered, “Yes.” Her voice held a hint of melancholy. “Probably for about a week.”
“What for this time?”
“Yu Province’s gala is set there this year. Qi Siqiao’s studio invited me to take photos.”
Chi Shuo nodded, saying nothing more. The car fell silent for a moment, losing the earlier atmosphere.
He Lindi pursed her lips tightly and asked Chi Shuo, “Shuo Shuo, is Shen Qu’s autographed photo still at your place?”
“Still there.”
He Lindi’s expression was somewhat complicated. She looked out the window. “If you’re really still her anti-fan, maybe you should just give it back to me. Out of sight, out of mind.”
Chi Shuo smiled slightly. “It’s fine, I can’t see it now anyway. I don’t even know which book it’s in.”
He Lindi hummed an “Mm.” “That works too.”
On the way back, He Lindi logged into her artist side account. Her follower count had increased by ten thousand, and the reposts and clicks for the pictures she drew last time were quite good.
She read a comment aloud: “Side Account Artist, are you and Next Day Artist really master and apprentice?”
“Next Day” (次日) was Chi Shuo’s side account ID. Chi Shuo had originally wanted to use “Next Month” (次月), a homophone for Chi Shuo (池說), but later felt it would expose her too easily and settled on the current one.
But now she regretted it a little, because the character “日” (rì – day/sun) had too many meanings.
He Lindi didn’t log into this account often; she had only just seen this latest comment.
He Lindi turned her head again to look at Chi Shuo. “Were you asked this too?”
“Yeah.”
“We are indeed master and apprentice.”
He Lindi was rendered speechless by her words. She pressed back, preparing to post something new. “Already slept together, and still master and apprentice?” Her tone was quite sour. “Chi Shuo, you have to take some responsibility for me.”
The light ahead turned red. Chi Shuo stopped the car, her eyes curving. “He Lindi, you have to be responsible for what you say. When did we sleep together? We just shared the same blanket.”
It was quite funny thinking about it. They finally waited until He Lindi’s period was over, only for Chi Shuo’s own period to arrive. The past two days, she had been tormented by cramps, so kissing wasn’t even an option.
This buffer period in their relationship was quite long.
He Lindi’s fingertips tapped incessantly on the keyboard. “I don’t care, I’m going to clarify.”
Chi Shuo played dumb. “Was my ‘master and apprentice’ statement a rumor?”
“Wasn’t it?”
Seeing her getting angry, Chi Shuo smiled. “Fine.”
By the time they arrived at He Lindi’s place, Chi Shuo saw the Weibo post from He Lindi’s side account: Don’t listen to her nonsense, I’m her exclusive DJ.
Chi Shuo: …
This person had clearly forbidden her from using the DJ nickname anymore, yet she was playing with the meme herself.
He Lindi had already gone into the bedroom to get pajamas. Chi Shuo knocked on the door and said, “He Lindi, don’t you feel you’re being a bit hypocritical?”
As soon as she finished speaking, the door opened, and He Lindi appeared before her. She seemed to be still taking off her shirt, not quite finished. Her fair, rounded shoulder caught Chi Shuo’s eye.
“How am I hypocritical?” He Lindi chuckled lightly, leaning against the side, staring into Chi Shuo’s eyes. She continued tugging her clothes downwards. “Tell me? I’m listening.”
