When He Lindi said those words, she looked somewhat pitiful. In that instant, Chi Shuo felt like a scumbag.
Before she could answer, He Lindi had already pulled her hand away, buried her face in the pillow, and sighed several times.
Chi Shuo pursed her lips, watching her, and replied honestly, “It wasn’t easy.” She sat down on the bed again. “It was that I had to give up liking you.”
“I liked you for two years, from the start of high school until almost the end of my second year. During those two years, my heart seemed to constantly flutter for you. Han Yu said, looking back now, I was like a devoted fan.”
“I felt the same way. Back then, I’d record any little habit of yours I noticed. But it was all long-distance observation. Later, the desire to be friends with you grew stronger, so I wrote that guide, or maybe not a guide, just a diary recording your preferences.”
“But…”
Chi Shuo lowered her eyelashes. “You were too far away from me then. You were surrounded by people, by flowers and applause, while I could only hide in the corner and secretly watch you. I didn’t even dare send you flowers, or say ‘You’re amazing’ to your face when the school recognized you.”
He Lindi had already lifted her head. Looking at Chi Shuo’s expression, she immediately sat up, hugged Chi Shuo, and apologized, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought that up.”
“It’s okay.” Chi Shuo rested her chin on He Lindi’s shoulder. “Just thinking back to that time, the first person I felt helpless for was myself. If I had been a little braver then, maybe we wouldn’t have taken so long to become acquainted.”
He Lindi started taking the blame. “No, if I had been more proactive, we wouldn’t have waited so long to get to know each other.”
Chi Shuo chuckled. “Let’s get back to the topic, don’t get sidetracked.”
“Go ahead.”
“So, it wasn’t easy, it’s just that I was disappointed in myself for too long, so I had to make a choice.”
The hotel curtains were drawn, not a sliver of light seeping through. The two embraced in the lamplit room.
He Lindi hugged her tighter. “I’m not trying to settle old scores, I just…”
Chi Shuo finished her sentence, “You just wanted to act cute.”
He Lindi blushed and let go of her. “Let’s get up.”
After dinner, Mr. Lin called them into a small hotel room for a meeting, assigning tasks to everyone.
Mingjing Company’s main business was similar to Xiyu’s—video platform and live streaming. The company hadn’t been around long, but they invested heavily, and with their plentiful resources and excellent service, they quickly rose to prominence in China, far surpassing other startups from the same period.
The collaboration they were discussing was essentially this: if Xinyue wanted to host events in Beijing, Mingjing would be responsible for the live streaming.
Chi Shuo’s task wasn’t overly complicated, but it was somewhat demanding—she had to come up with a way to advertise Mingjing Company, in the form of a comic, within 24 hours. During this time, she didn’t need to participate in any external meetings; she just needed to focus on drawing. If Mr. Lin approved of her work, she would then discuss it with Mingjing’s marketing department.
Xinyue had a bigger name, so the collaboration itself wasn’t difficult. The tricky part was that Mingjing’s representative wanted to gain an advantage from the start—the comic would ultimately be displayed on the opening screen of Xinyue’s app and the homepage of their official website.
It was basically free advertising for them.
That night, back at the hotel, Chi Shuo racked her brain, trying to figure out what to draw.
Her iPad lay before her, but she just held the pen, not knowing where to begin.
He Lindi felt bad for her and wanted to offer some comfort, but Chi Shuo had already requested some alone time to think. So, He Lindi sat to the side, wearing headphones and watching a movie.
“Mingjing…” Chi Shuo pondered the name, sitting on the bed and talking to herself. “Using bronze as a mirror allows one to straighten their clothes. Using history as a mirror allows one to understand the rise and fall of nations…” (A famous quote from the Book of Tang)
He Lindi lowered the volume on her headphones slightly. Not wanting to disturb Chi Shuo’s train of thought, even her head-turning was done gently. Seeing Chi Shuo muttering to herself, He Lindi exhaled, opened her phone, and sent a WeChat message to Lin Xinyue. 【Cousin, if my girlfriend can’t come up with anything this time, just wait for me to tell Auntie.】
He Lindi’s father had two older sisters and a younger sister, giving her cousins of various surnames. Lin Xinyue was her cousin on her father’s side.
Lin Xinyue replied instantly: 【Hey, Chi Shuo’s smart, how could she not come up with something?】
He then sent another message. 【If she can’t, I’ll tell your dad she’s incompetent.】
He Lindi frowned. 【You should retract that.】
Lin Xinyue immediately retracted the message. 【Don’t worry, trust her. Even without your connection, Chi Shuo is a very capable employee in my eyes. Just look at how she handled the Xiang Qingya situation last year. She’s meticulous, insightful, and observant. No need to worry.】
He Lindi was amused by his long string of praises for Chi Shuo. 【Alright then.】
After sending the message, she sensed Chi Shuo staring at her, realizing Chi Shuo had turned around and was watching her at some point. He Lindi quickly locked her phone. “What’s wrong?”
“Just had a flash of inspiration.” Chi Shuo frowned. “But I lost it.”
He Lindi sighed at her words and asked, “Want to try taking a shower? Maybe inspiration will strike again.”
Chi Shuo nodded. “Good idea.” She immediately pulled back the covers, got out of bed, retrieved her pajamas from her suitcase, and quickly went into the bathroom.
The sound of water came from the bathroom. He Lindi took off her headphones, swallowed unconsciously, then got out of bed to pour herself a glass of water, trying to suppress her somewhat inappropriate thoughts.
The wall between the bathroom and the bedroom was frosted glass. Although she couldn’t see a clear image, there were still outlines. He Lindi glanced over, then quickly averted her gaze.
She put her headphones back on, opened her music app, browsed for a bit, then selected and started playing the Great Compassion Mantra.
When Chi Shuo emerged from the bathroom, she saw He Lindi’s vacant expression, no emotion on her face, as if she were undergoing some kind of baptism.
Chi Shuo used her own towel to wipe the remaining water from her body, but some still lingered—for instance, water from her hair trickled down her neck, along her back, onto her collarbones…
He Lindi simply closed her eyes, but her ears still caught Chi Shuo’s voice. “What are you listening to? You look like you’re about to face a firing squad.”
He Lindi cleared her throat and showed Chi Shuo her phone screen, which earned a burst of laughter from Chi Shuo. “Huh? The Great Compassion Mantra?”
Chi Shuo was surprised. “I used to listen to it too,” she said, sitting on the edge of the bed and drying her hair. “When Shen Qu angered me, I’d listen to calm myself down. It was somewhat effective.”
He Lindi nodded, saying nothing. Chi Shuo leaned closer, asking curiously, “What about you, Didi Mei Mei? Why are you listening to it?”
He Lindi tilted her head back slightly. “I’m not telling.”
“Why won’t you look at me?”
He Lindi immediately opened her eyes, then closed them again less than a second later, looking aggrieved. “What are you wearing?!”
Chi Shuo looked down at herself. The neckline wasn’t even slightly low-cut. She couldn’t help chuckling, looking innocent. “What’s wrong with my pajamas?”
He Lindi’s lips moved. “They’re so childish.”
The pajamas were printed with Peppa Pig. Chi Shuo shook her arm. “I even got a temporary tattoo before. I put on a Peppa Pig one.” She lifted her chin. “Peppa Pig on my skin, applause for this cool kid.”
“…” He Lindi took off her headphones and got up to grab the hairdryer. “Dry your hair quickly, or you’ll catch a cold.”
Chi Shuo didn’t move. He Lindi stood beside her. “Should I help you?”
“Okay.” Chi Shuo’s eyes curved into a smile.
Hotel hairdryers were usually small and cheap. Their voices didn’t need to be amplified much for them to hear each other.
He Lindi played with Chi Shuo’s hair, her fingers feeling the dampness clearly. She asked, “So, do you know what to draw now?”
Chi Shuo looked at the two of them in the mirror. “Sort of.”
He Lindi’s eyes lit up. “Really?”
Soon, Chi Shuo’s hair was dry. He Lindi put down the hairdryer, grabbed her pajamas, and entered the bathroom.
Chi Shuo held her pen, staring at her iPad, figuring out the structure, then finally started drawing.
He Lindi came out while Chi Shuo was still drawing. She grew sleepy, but Chi Shuo was still drawing.
On their first night on this business trip, Chi Shuo stayed up late working. It wasn’t until 5 AM that she finally fell asleep. Before closing her eyes, she looked at He Lindi in the warm glow of the bedside lamp, her eyelashes resting peacefully on her cheeks, her sleeping face tranquil. After turning off the light, Chi Shuo pulled He Lindi closer into her arms.
That morning, Chi Shuo took her finished work to show Lin Xinyue. She had made some revisions after waking up.
Lin Xinyue was sitting in the temporary office, frowning at the printed drawings Chi Shuo had brought.
After a while, he asked, “What do you think of your idea?”
“I researched Mingjing Company,” Chi Shuo explained. “The reason they chose that name is because they like the idiom ‘mingjing gaoxuan’ (mingjing – bright mirror, gaoxuan – hung high, meaning justice and fairness).”
“That’s the starting point for my idea.”
“I’m very satisfied with this piece.”
Lin Xinyue had been unusually serious since she entered. Now, he placed the drawings on the table and stared at her. “Let’s set that aside for now.”
His fingers interlocked, fingertips touching. His next words made Chi Shuo’s eyelid twitch.
“I’m going to ask you a realistic question.”
“What would make you break up with He Lindi?”
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