Chi Shuo froze for two seconds, then dashed to the bathroom to brush her teeth, wash her face, and comb her hair. Finally, seeing her reflection looking less disastrous, she breathed a sigh of relief.
He Lindi leaned against the bathroom door, arms crossed, watching Chi Shuo wipe her face with a tissue. Smiling, she said, “Is it really that bad?” She added, “It’s not like I haven’t seen what you look like before.”
Chi Shuo didn’t turn around. She could see He Lindi in the mirror. She snorted and retorted, “There’s plenty you haven’t seen.” She gave an example, “Like me showering, have you seen that?”
“…” He Lindi touched her inexplicably warming face. “If you wanted me to see, I definitely would.”
Chi Shuo tossed the tissue in the trash, turned, and walked slowly towards He Lindi. The few steps felt like a long journey before she was standing before He Lindi, looking up at the woman who was a few centimeters taller than her. She narrowed her eyes slightly. “When did you get back?”
“A few hours ago.” After answering, He Lindi leaned forward, hugging Chi Shuo. Without waiting for a response, she nuzzled Chi Shuo’s hair and softly added, “Finally back.”
Chi Shuo’s lips curved into a smile. She hummed in agreement. The scent of He Lindi’s perfume, the same one she wore, filled her nose. Their scents mingled, inseparable, just like their embrace.
The hug that started at the bathroom door continued all the way to the sofa. Still not letting go, Chi Shuo chuckled. “How much longer are you going to hug me?”
“Until you’ve paid back everything you owe me from the past ten days.”
Chi Shuo asked again, “Do you want to rest a bit more? You just got back a few hours ago, it was practically the middle of the night.”
“Later.” He Lindi tilted her head and kissed Chi Shuo’s cheek. “My period just ended, and yours is coming soon, so let’s be good these next few days.”
“…” Chi Shuo was speechless.
He Lindi laughed. “And I’m still waiting for you to apologize for doubting my waist.”
He Lindi finally went to the bedroom to sleep, obediently. Chi Shuo went into the kitchen to start cooking. While waiting, she logged into her Weibo side account and posted an update: 【Updating in the next two days.】
Chi Shuo’s drawing skills had improved considerably. He Lindi, her teacher, had already seen her recent drawings and declared she had nothing more to teach her. This praise greatly pleased Chi Shuo.
The two pictures she announced on Weibo were drawn during her boring days at home over the New Year holiday. The subjects were still her and He Lindi. After all, that account was now just a record of their relationship, though they didn’t use words; they used their drawings.
This seemed pretty good to Chi Shuo; she was quite content with it.
Her notification bar was a sea of red, and her private messages were piling up. Since Weibo removed the “read” function, Chi Shuo would open some messages to take a look. Most were just saying “So sweet!” Some also asked if she took drawing commissions. Although her initial goal in learning to draw was for a side hustle to earn money, she’d been busy with work and didn’t have the time, replying to each message saying she wasn’t taking commissions at the moment.
After a period of inactivity on the account, people messaged again asking if she was taking commissions for profile pictures or illustrations. Chi Shuo scrolled through them, thought for a bit, and replied to a follower: 【Yes.】
Chi Shuo felt optimistic about her side hustle’s prospects, not because she wanted to earn a lot of money, surpassing her current salary. After all, Xinyue’s salary and benefits were already good; her side hustle wasn’t likely to surpass that.
Just earning enough for snacks and bubble tea would already be pretty good.
He Lindi slept for quite a while. It was 9 PM before she slowly woke up. Chi Shuo, initially drawing at her desk, only noticed when she heard a soft call.
He Lindi’s eyes were still hazy, not yet fully adjusted. Chi Shuo put down her pen, walked to the bedside, and softly asked, “What’s wrong?”
He Lindi’s voice was already quite girlish, and coupled with her pure looks, it wasn’t surprising if she was mistaken for a university student. But at this moment, Chi Shuo felt like she was looking at He Lindi from seven or eight years ago.
He Lindi reached out, hugged Chi Shuo’s waist, and said, “Shuo Shuo Jie Jie.”
Chi Shuo chuckled. She placed a hand on He Lindi’s head and continued softly, “Did you have a nightmare?”
“No.” High school student He Lindi shook her head, nuzzling Chi Shuo’s waist, making her feel a bit ticklish. “I just suddenly realized… I’m back.”
“Yes.”
“You’re back at work.”
He Lindi: “…”
He Lindi released her arms: “You should get back to work.”
Chi Shuo took her hand and squeezed it gently. “Time to get up and eat.”
“Carry me.”
Chi Shuo thought she misheard: “What?”
He Lindi’s face flushed slightly. She shook her head: “Nothing.”
She pulled back the covers, intending to get out of bed and put on her slippers. But just as her foot touched the slipper, Chi Shuo hugged her. Lowering her voice slightly, she said, “I heard you.”
He Lindi swallowed, then heard Chi Shuo say, “But carrying you is a bit… difficult.”
He Lindi raised an eyebrow, about to ask if Chi Shuo thought she was too heavy, when she heard Chi Shuo continue, “So… why don’t you step on my feet and walk over?”
He Lindi: ???
He Lindi suspected she was still half-asleep, but she could clearly perceive everything around her.
It wasn’t far from the bedroom to the dining table, just ten or so steps. But Chi Shuo felt like the distance had never been so short.
He Lindi’s weight rested entirely on her. He Lindi’s feet lightly stepped on the tops of her shoes, and Chi Shuo carefully walked her over, step by step.
He Lindi sat down, her chin resting in her hand, a puzzled look on her face. “When did you learn such a flirtatious move?”
Chi Shuo put on an innocent face. “This isn’t flirtatious! This is just another way of carrying you over.”
Carrying her bridal style truly wasn’t possible.
He Lindi reluctantly accepted this explanation. She raised an eyebrow, waiting for Chi Shuo to bring the warmed-up food from the kitchen.
After a while, He Lindi was still eating. Chi Shuo sat on the sofa watching TV.
A TV drama episode finished, and the commercials started. Chi Shuo stared at the screen. “That’s Shen Qu’s commercial.” She asked, “How is she doing now?”
He Lindi replied, “She’s okay.” She thought for a moment. “Much better than I expected. She’s actively cooperating with the doctor’s treatment.”
Chi Shuo nodded. Shen Qu in the commercial still looked happy and cheerful.
Chi Shuo thought for a moment and said, “I took on a drawing commission this afternoon, a profile picture. I’ll finish it in the next two days.”
“How much do you charge per portrait?”
“55 yuan for a headshot.” Chi Shuo said, “I looked at market prices and felt that was the most appropriate.”
He Lindi placed her chopsticks on the table and asked with a smile, “Guess how much I used to charge, just for a headshot?”
“100?”
“No.”
“110.”
Double Chi Shuo’s price: “Quite a lot.”
“My family wasn’t giving me an allowance back then, I had to rely on myself.” He Lindi recalled the past and sat down on the sofa. “It was around the time I broke up with Ding Miaoran. To fight back against my family, I handled money matters myself.”
That was six years ago. 110 yuan for a portrait back then was indeed expensive.
Chi Shuo remembered an important question: “Wasn’t Ding Miaoran also in the country you just visited?”
“Yes.”
“I even went to see her.”
Chi Shuo felt a surge of jealousy: “Oh.”
He Lindi sniffled. “Something smells sour.”
Chi Shuo snorted lightly and stood up. “Wash the dishes yourself.”
Chi Shuo went back to her workstation, since tomorrow was a workday, and time would be tight after work. It was better to finish the drawing tonight and submit it since there was still time.
The client was a girl. Judging from the picture she sent, she was young, at most twenty-four, and looked quite pretty and delicate, easy to draw.
Chi Shuo just needed to adjust a few details and could submit it. It took about ten minutes. She sent the finished picture to the girl, whose WeChat ID was “Ping Ping”: 【Anything else that needs to be changed?】
Ping Ping replied instantly: 【No! It’s perfect!】
Chi Shuo sent her payment QR code: “30 yuan remaining balance.”
“Thank you.”
After that, there was no further reply. Chi Shuo waited a few minutes, wanting to send another message to check, only to discover she had been deleted. The message she sent now had a prominent red exclamation mark beside it.
Chi Shuo: …
Her first commission, and she got scammed. Chi Shuo’s mood was somewhat complicated. She touched her face and left the bedroom.
He Lindi saw her come out and was surprised. “Finished already?”
Chi Shuo shook her head, sighing. “Got scammed.”
“Didn’t get the final payment?”
“Mm-hmm.”
He Lindi sat beside her: “Aren’t you going to block her?”
“It’s fine.”
“Just a lesson learned.”
Chi Shuo wasn’t usually petty, but this incident made her question life. After showering, she hugged He Lindi and drifted off to sleep.
Returning to work after half a month was somewhat difficult. Chi Shuo struggled to get out of bed.
He Lindi was the same. They were both still sleepy in the taxi, catching up on some rest in the car.
At 9:50 AM, they arrived at the office building. The elevators were packed; the sight made Chi Shuo’s head spin, but she still got in with He Lindi.
In the crowded elevator, Chi Shuo and He Lindi stood in a corner. Chi Shuo stood with her back to the others and the security camera, shielding He Lindi.
He Lindi chuckled softly. “I’m not a child.” She pulled down Chi Shuo’s beret, blocking the gazes of others, then lowered her head slightly. To outsiders, it looked like they were whispering.
But He Lindi added another action. She kissed Chi Shuo’s chin. “Shuo Shuo Jie Jie, have a good workday.”
Damn.
What was this feeling of sneaking around?
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