TPIL - 13

In the pouring rain, the hand holding the umbrella trembled slightly from the shock. Qi Xiaochuan hated rainy days, and he despised all unnecessary troubles even more. But when he heard her voice and saw her arm raised in the crowd, a smile that couldn’t fully emerge despite standing on tiptoes—every distracting thought vanished in that instant. He simply gazed at her.

Luo Andi said, “I’m here!”

Her small, pale face resembled the perpetually serene moon. For a moment, it was as if the entire world dimmed, and he could only see the moon.

She tried to move outward, but the dense crowd made it especially difficult, like a butterfly trapped by thick foliage, struggling in the dappled sunlight. He didn’t like this situation, and without thinking, he stepped forward, forcefully squeezing through the throng, grabbing her wrist, and pulling her out with force.

Around them, some people cast disapproving glares, which Qi Xiaochuan fiercely countered with his own icy stare. It didn’t matter; he never cared about the opinions of unrelated people. Luo Andi stumbled out awkwardly and collided under his umbrella.

She looked up happily at him: “Xiaoxiao, what are you doing here?”

For no reason, he wanted to avert his gaze, hesitating before offering a vague excuse: “I happened to pass by the subway station and thought… so I just came down to take a look.”

“What a coincidence,” Luo Andi’s smile made it even harder for him to continue.

When getting into the car, the secretary was already inside, flipping through a stack of documents. She wasn’t surprised by Qi Xiaochuan suddenly getting out and back in, merely raising her head indifferently. However, she was taken aback upon seeing Luo Andi.

“Aren’t you...” She was astonished, glancing at her boss, then feigned sudden realization, though she said nothing, her mind wasn’t blank either. “Oh! Ah!”

“Whatever is in your mind right now, wash it away with toilet cleaner and flush it down the toilet immediately.” Without looking up, Qi Xiaochuan fiddled with his phone, sharing the address of Luo Andi’s residence with the driver, then coldly asked the newly arrived passenger, “Have you had dinner? Though I still have work today, you can try our company cafeteria.”

“I ate at the store,” Luo Andi smiled, slightly opening her handbag and generously sharing, “Today is my day off, so I went to the library. Do you want to see the book I borrowed? Although there are quite a few words.” First, she took out a large handmade book, but ultimately showed him a copy of Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex , the first volume of two. Saying “quite a few words” was certainly not an understatement.

Qi Xiaochuan replied, “Alright.”

This response was clearly the correct answer, as Luo Andi looked very pleased. Satisfied, she continued, “Though I don’t plan to eat, I am a bit curious... Can I check out your company?”

Before the words “of course” could leave his mouth, the secretary beat him to it, responding enthusiastically: “Sure, great! Our snack area has a super delicious mochi that rivals the cheesecake at your store. You must try it!”

Luo Andi laughed, saying, “Is that so? I’m looking forward to it.”

“I remember you’re surnamed Luo? Little Ruo mentioned it. She usually takes over your shift, right?”

“Yes, did you become good friends with Little Ruo?”

“Hahaha, we’ve only exchanged a few words. Don’t tell my girlfriend, okay?”

“That won’t do.”

They chatted animatedly. If an uninformed person were to come by, it would seem like the secretary and Luo Andi were old acquaintances. In contrast, Qi Xiaochuan, who sat beside them absentmindedly reading The Second Sex , ruined the scenery. If this were a drama, the director would surely yell “cut” and kick him out.

As the car arrived at the office building entrance, Qi Xiaochuan got out first and walked ahead without a care.

Luo Andi seemed to want to say something to him but couldn’t keep up with his pace, so she had to jog up and grab hold of his sleeve.

He turned around abruptly, only to be met with her worried expression. Such an expression appeared on her face often enough that he frowned just at the sight of it.

The secretary chuckled, teasing lightly while subtly coming to his rescue: “Why walk so fast? The boss is too eager to work overtime.”

Qi Xiaochuan paid no heed, speaking only to himself: “Then take her to eat something. I’ll go downstairs first.” As he entered the elevator, he pressed the floor button for them. Since his office was on a lower floor, he left first. Before leaving, he nodded at them, his mood unreadable. Holding his bag and the book he had just received from her, he remained utterly uninteresting.

After the elevator doors closed and continued upward, the secretary pulled out her phone and noticed a new message. Qi Xiaochuan texted: “Don’t let her stay out too late; have the driver take her home. I can take a taxi.”

She showed it to Luo Andi, who smiled, her somewhat youthful face exclaiming, “That’s wonderful. Thank him for me.” The secretary responded, unable to suppress her curiosity as she examined her.

The woman before her exuded subtlety. Whether her workplace or usual attire, it wasn’t improper, but it certainly wasn’t luxurious. Yet, traces of being accustomed to receiving care were evident in her demeanor. She spoke with clear enunciation, appropriate tone, and beneath her gentle smile lay an indescribable air. She interacted with anyone with just the right amount of warmth, generous with conversation yet revealed not a hint of submission. Her composure reached such a degree that it appeared noble—perhaps an inappropriate metaphor, but akin to a princess fallen on hard times.

While he thought this, she stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, turning sideways with a smile, saying to him, “You can see the sea from here.”

By the time Qi Xiaochuan finished work, it was already eleven o’clock. He prepared to go home but saw Luo Andi at the lobby.

She was sitting on a chair by the indoor plants, her back facing him, so he only realized she was dozing off when he approached. Whether asleep or awake, Luo Andi never slouched; her poise was perpetually graceful, a stark contrast to Qi Xiaochuan, who could fall asleep anywhere when exhausted.

In fact, later on, he occasionally thought of her.

When he overslept on the bus loop or endured a night of back pain on a park bench, he remembered how Luo Andi had an extravagant princess bed since birth, frequently replaced. She once casually invited him to sit on it. He almost slipped away but somehow couldn’t resist her.

He lay on her grand bed. It was probably the softest thing he’d ever touched. He felt as if he were sinking in. The temperature inside, with the air conditioning on, was perfect, and the humidifier maintained ideal humidity—so comfortable, so comfortable. His tense nerves weren’t relaxed, just submerged.

Waking after two hours of deep sleep, Qi Xiaochuan felt like dying.

At that time, Luo Andi wasn’t in the room. She was downstairs playing ball with other friends, tree shadows falling on her.

Back to the present, he walked over, unsure whether to speak or touch her, hesitating on how to wake her gently when Luo Andi opened her eyes just in time.

As if she hadn’t been asleep at all, her eyes were clear and bright, her voice cheerful and refreshing: “Xiaoxiao, you’re off work?”

“Why haven’t you gone home?” he said, completely unaware of how harsh his tone was. “Let’s go. I’ll take you.”

However, Luo Andi didn’t mind at all and said, “Shall we grab a drink?”

“What?” In Qi Xiaochuan’s mind, Luo Andi differed little from that young girl over a decade ago. Thus, upon hearing this suggestion, his first reaction wasn’t refusal.

So they half-heartedly agreed to go to a nearby quiet bar.

Upon entering, Qi Xiaochuan sat with a guardian-like mindset, his lines full of paternal concern: “Drink a glass of lemon water and go home!”

“Alright,” Luo Andi asked the bartender kindly, “Do you have any lemon-flavored drinks? Jack Daniel’s? Sounds delicious. Then, please bring us two glasses.”

Qi Xiaochuan requested extra ice: “Do you like drinking?”

“Mmm... just okay. What about you, Xiaoxiao?” she asked.

“Not particularly, nor do I understand the point of socializing through drinking. When encountering such people, regardless of client status, I usually slip away because effort is futile anyway.” Contrary to his vehement dissatisfaction, he drank rather decisively, without uttering a single superfluous sigh.

“Is that so?” Luo Andi looked at him, smiling sweetly, “Such a Xiaoxiao, I really like.”

Just one glass was enough to slightly intoxicate him, giving him the illusion of returning to middle school, feeling neither happy nor merciful as he mercilessly retorted: “What else do you like?”

“What else?”

“Yeah. Surely you have other things you like?”

As she recalled, she said, “There are a few... I like handicrafts, reading, taking naps until I wake naturally, and family...”

He suddenly sneered, saying nothing, but his attitude was sufficiently nasty. However, when she turned back, she was astonished to find that he was already drunk after just one glass.

Luo Andi laughed, reaching out to poke his face. Usually untouchable, he hadn’t fallen asleep, just furrowed his brow more than usual, dodging her hand, saying, “I knew it.”

He managed to get home with all limbs intact, shame making him a bit unpleasant, so he threw himself into work even more intensely.

Qi Xiaochuan deliberately chose a day when Luo Andi was on duty to visit the craft store. No need to wonder how he knew the shop’s schedule; money could resolve many things.

He originally intended to apologize.

Pushing open the door, the first person to greet him wasn’t a store employee but Zhong Shiwei. Zhong Shiwei glared at him, partly due to personal animosity, partly because Qi Xiaochuan remarked upon entering, “Does your store accept scrap now? Why is there a broken-down iron horse outside?”

“Are you blind?” Zhong Shiwei, always blunt, retorted, “That’s my motorcycle.”

Luo Andi was busy registering customers, so she couldn’t spare attention for them. They waited as a group of female middle school students in uniform entered, chatting and laughing, accidentally bumping into the retro Harley mirror on Zhong Shiwei’s motorcycle. The girl at the front brushed past Qi Xiaochuan, her backpack hitting his arm, but instead rolled her eyes: “Tsk!”

“This is truly...” Qi Xiaochuan swallowed his curse halfway.

Zhong Shiwei snorted, “A bunch of brats. I hate middle schoolers the most.”

Luo Andi finally turned to them, floating over with hands clasped, greeting, “Xiaoxiao! Shiwei! Did you come to see me today?”

The previous moment, both wore unhappy faces, but this second, those expressions vanished.

“Sorry!” However, Luo Andi ruthlessly dropped a bomb, defining their pretense as useless effort. “I need to take customers to make cute glass lamps now, so sorry, sorry!” As she repeated apologies, she slightly squinted her eyes, looking incredibly adorable—so much so that even a diamond in her hand could seemingly be squeezed into water.

The two facing her were evidently ensnared by this magic, losing their ability to complain as if talking in a dream.

“I’ll go now,” she waved.

“Wait a moment.” Qi Xiaochuan was the first to speak, “I’ve wanted a glass lamp for a long time. Can I join too?”

“What?” Zhong Shiwei roared, his eyes burning not with admiration but with disdain, filled with thoughts of “how dare you pull this trick.”

“But…” Luo Andi glanced back secretly, then leaned closer, lowering her voice, “They’re still middle schoolers; sometimes they might disturb group members.”

If you’re a man, you should brave a hundred floors; if you don’t, you’re not a real man. Zhong Shiwei had already stepped forward confidently, answering, “No problem! Completely fine! I also want a cute glass lamp!”