PSMD – Chapter 58

Qiu Yang couldn’t help but feel pathetic. She had spent all of yesterday evening and today thinking that Shen Ningruo feeling a sense of distance between them was a good thing, but as night fell, her resolve began to waver.

After tossing and turning and thinking it over, she still decided to call Shen Ningruo. She hadn’t really planned what to say, unsure of the content, until Shen Ningruo answered. That calm “Hello?” gave her the answer.

Between her and Shen Ningruo, there was now a layer, seemingly there and yet not, transparent, allowing them to clearly see each other.

All that remained in Qiu Yang’s mind was the gentle question Shen Ningruo had asked her that morning. She didn’t care if Shen Ningruo understood, she just blurted out two words and hung up.

She knew why Shen Ningruo wasn’t replying to her messages, and the effect was significant. She did feel uncomfortable because Shen Ningruo not only didn’t reply but also posted on her Moments. So this was what it felt like to be ignored.

She had made the call in the bathroom. After hanging up, she looked up at the mirror.

Perhaps it was because the bathroom light was too bright and warm, but she saw a flush on her face.

Perhaps it was because the bathroom was a confined space, and staying in it for too long made one feel a bit stuffy and hot, even though she had only been in there for about a minute.

The phone on the sink vibrated twice. Qiu Yang lowered her gaze again and tapped on the message notification.

It was from Shen Ningruo, a question.

【Why did you hang up so quickly?】

Qiu Yang stared at the line of text, the dimples beside her lips appearing faintly. She tapped on the screen with her fingertip and pressed send.

【A sheep that runs slowly gets eaten.】

On her end, Shen Ningruo looked at Qiu Yang’s reply, unsure how to respond.

She just felt that Qiu Yang’s simple sentence made her restless, making her want to see Qiu Yang the very next second.

Unfortunately, that was difficult to achieve; Qiu Yang was in Beijing.

Shen Ningruo was still parked outside Qiu Yang’s residential complex. She rolled down the car window completely, letting the wind blow against her face and into her collar.

Her left elbow rested on the window, and she lightly tapped her fingertip against her nose, staring at a distant streetlamp, making it impossible to tell what she was thinking.

Qiu Yang didn’t receive a reply from Shen Ningruo, but she didn’t feel ignored like before. She lowered her eyebrows and eyes, put away her deep smile, and came out of the bathroom.

Qin Tian’s takeout order had just arrived. As soon as Qiu Yang came out, she ran into her picking it up.

“Xiao Qiu Jie,” Qin Tian smiled a little sheepishly. “I bought some braised snacks and drinks. Want some?”

Qiu Yang declined again: “Thanks, but I’m about to wash up.”

Qin Tian looked at her with concern: “Then Xiao Qiu Jie, should we open the window wider?”

Qin Tian said, pointing to her own face: “Your face is a bit red. Are you feeling stuffy?”

The colleague’s concern came suddenly. Qiu Yang’s expression stiffened, and she showed a faint smile: “Maybe.”

“I’ll go open the window more.”

Qin Tian nodded: “Okay.”

There were two chairs and a small coffee table by the window. After Qiu Yang opened the window, she sat down on one of the chairs and opened her Weibo.

The number of followers on her photography blog was still increasing, and the notification bar was all red.

She pinched her temples and opened the unread private messages from people she didn’t follow. Many people had sent messages.

– Hello, Miss. I’m from XX company. Our company has launched a new cat food, which contains chicken…

– Hello, Miss. Your cat is very lovable! Are you interested in making it an internet celebrity cat? To be liked by more people, we can help you promote it.

– Ahhh, Miss, how did you raise your Golden British Shorthair! You raised it so well! It’s so cute! I’ve watched its videos many times, woo woo woo, I love it so much! Miss, can you post more in the future?

Qiu Yang casually opened a few. The private messages she received now roughly fell into the three categories above. Qiu Yang had no intention of replying, and she also remembered how Tao Sixian looked when she came to find her last night.

Heh.

For a few seconds, she actually thought Tao Sixian had come to apologize. She shouldn’t have held even a faint hope for Tao Sixian.

How fake could Tao Sixian be? Qiu Yang had never had a precise answer before.

It wasn’t until Tao Sixian saw the business opportunity in Pingzi and came knocking, even finding a high-sounding excuse, saying she wanted both her and Pingzi to have a better life.

But in fact, during the two years she had been raising Pingzi, Tao Sixian had completely ignored Pingzi, and now she turned around and said she wanted Pingzi to be better off.

Truly hypocritical.

Qiu Yang’s lips were tightly pressed together as she pressed back.

Some things are clear to bystanders but confusing to those involved. She had once been so captivated by the love Tao Sixian acted out that she thought Tao Sixian didn’t have any major problems.

Not paying rent was fine, not doing housework was fine, not raising the cat was fine, not sleeping together was fine, as long as Tao Sixian liked her, as long as Tao Sixian was still that most dazzling ray of light in her life, none of these things mattered.

She was too attached to the warmth Tao Sixian acted out at the time. She thought that seeing her reflection in Tao Sixian’s curved eyes meant she could hold this person’s hand and spend a lifetime together.

In the end, she found out that Tao Sixian didn’t even want to hold her hand.

Qiu Yang’s lips curved into a self-mocking smile, and she locked her phone. She looked out the window, her eyelashes lowered.

Qin Tian was eating her takeout. She occasionally glanced at Qiu Yang and came to a conclusion—that Qiu Yang must have many stories.

Qiu Yang didn’t know that Qin Tian was speculating about what had happened to her. After sitting for a while, she pulled back the covers and lay down.

She was very tired from the long journey today. She was sleepy.

The meeting with Youfei Company on Thursday was scheduled for ten in the morning. Qiu Yang had notified her team early not to be late.

There were many companies in Beijing, and Youfei was one of the younger ones, established only a few years ago. Its scale wasn’t large, but it was very ambitious, which was evident in the negotiations.

They had one round of talks in the morning, and by three in the afternoon, the two companies began the second round.

Qiu Yang was very patient and not in a hurry. She appeared calm and composed. Regarding Youfei Company’s representative’s attempts to lower the terms, she not only disagreed but even slightly raised them.

Just a little, not enough to cause significant losses.

Some people always want a big piece of cake but don’t want to pay much. Where is there such a good thing?

By the time they came out of Youfei Company’s meeting room again, it was already five-thirty. According to the time in Yuncheng, they would have been off work by now.

The cooperation talks weren’t very pleasant because Qiu Yang’s mind worked quickly, and she could deflect every ball the other side threw at her. In the end, Youfei Company, eager to develop, clearly became a bit anxious and agreed to sign the contract at ten o’clock tomorrow morning.

Qiu Yang and her team naturally had no objection. After leaving the office building and losing sight of the Youfei people, Peng Kaimiao gave Qiu Yang a thumbs-up: “Xiao Qiu Jie, you’re amazing.”

“It was alright,” Qiu Yang wasn’t being modest, because she had achieved this with Shen Ningruo’s help.

After Shen Ningruo learned what her business trip was for, she created a document as soon as she got home and started typing, sharing all her negotiation experience with Qiu Yang. It was full of practical information, and Qiu Yang learned a lot.

Even the usually steady Chen Chen couldn’t help but smile and followed Peng Kaimiao’s words: “Xiao Qiu Jie, don’t be modest, you are very capable.”

Qin Tian also echoed: “Yes, yes, I was stunned just listening.”

Qiu Yang listened to their flattery, and it would be false to say she wasn’t happy, because she had indeed completed the task beyond everyone’s expectations.

“Let’s talk about this after signing the contract tomorrow,” Qiu Yang’s mood improved significantly. “Everyone, go back to the hotel and rest. We still have a dinner with Youfei tonight.”

“Okay.”

They hailed a taxi, and Qiu Yang sat in the front passenger seat.

Only then did she unlock her phone. After reporting the progress in the group chat, she opened the conversation with Shen Ningruo.

Shen Ningruo had sent her the document at one in the morning. Qiu Yang looked at the time and was momentarily lost in thought.

She owed Shen Ningruo more and more.

The roads in Beijing were much more congested. Qiu Yang didn’t pay attention to the traffic outside. Her eyelashes fluttered, and then she sent a message to Shen Ningruo: 【The talks were very successful, thank you.】

After arriving at the hotel, Shen Ningruo finally replied: 【Just got off work.】

【You’re welcome.】

Qiu Yang pursed her lips. While Qin Tian was in the bathroom, she sent Shen Ningruo a short voice message.

She still didn’t know what to say, but she just felt that perhaps sending a voice message would make Shen Ningruo feel better.

“My flight is tomorrow night. Do you want to pick me up?”

After hearing Qiu Yang’s voice, a part of Shen Ningruo’s heart seemed to collapse, with bubbles floating everywhere.

Her smile hadn’t stopped since hearing Qiu Yang’s voice message, and it deepened.

She listened to it several times before replying with a voice message: “Of course.”

She hadn’t worked overtime today and was already at home. Yao Yao was also a bit free today and was sitting on the blanket.

“I can’t stand it,” Yao Yao complained. “I should have known not to come here.”

Shen Ningruo raised an eyebrow: “I didn’t beg you to come.”

Yao Yao wasn’t there to play; she had brought her makeup again to do her makeup at Shen Ningruo’s place. She was picking up Yue Chu from work tonight, and she considered it very important.

This was the first time Yue Chu had actively messaged her to pick her up from work.

The first time, you know.

“But speaking of which, I wonder how long I’ll keep having this love-hate relationship with someone surnamed Yue.”

“Can you believe it? We had the cold war a couple of days ago because of a junior. You say she has a junior, fine, but why add ‘you don’t know her’?”

“What if I do know her? I have so many people on my WeChat list.”

“I snapped back, and we haven’t spoken for the past two days, until this afternoon when she asked if I was free to pick her up from work.”

“Is there a misunderstanding between you two?” Shen Ningruo asked.

Yao Yao stopped applying eyeshadow and looked at Shen Ningruo, a bit confused: “I don’t know?”

“No, right? What misunderstanding could there be? Isn’t it just that I’ve been simping for her for so many years?”

“Besides, all those ex-boyfriends of mine, uh, uh…”

Yao Yao paused, smiling awkwardly: “Some were made up by me, and some were hired by me. None of them were real.”

“She wouldn’t be bothered by that, would she?”

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