Chapter 39: Did you bring protection?

The person currently on the phone was one of Director Li’s students and also Qing Hang’s colleague.

Li Yu and he were both invited by Zhou Heng, and they arrived late.

Cheng Wanyue wasn’t interested in playing mind games in front of her rival. She put on her sunglasses and went over to say hello.

Qing Hang was also straightforward and didn’t deliberately avoid suspicion. He carried over a lounge chair and placed it in the shade, waiting for Cheng Wanyue to sit down before going to help light the charcoal.

Zhou Heng had made three calls yesterday to invite Li Yu out. Her shining moments were all in the research lab and various forums and lectures. Although she wasn’t completely out of place at such entertaining gatherings, there indeed wasn’t much for her to do.

Barbecue didn’t have fixed formulas; it all depended on life experience. Li Yu had severe cleanliness obsessions. The skewers inevitably got some ash on them, and just looking at them made her lose her appetite.

Director Li’s student probably didn’t want to keep talking about work and used drinking water as an excuse to walk a few steps aside. Now, only Zhou Heng was left shuttling between Li Yu and others.

However, Cheng Wanyue, who also wasn’t doing anything, seemed to have a certain charm. Both acquaintances and strangers would chat with her. Something very ordinary, when told by her, became interesting.

Qing Hang found a spot to start grilling. He picked a large plate of ingredients but specifically left out lamb.

Li Yu noticed him casually handing Cheng Wanyue a small fan. Cheng Wanyue then put down her phone, chatting with Meng Qi while playing with the small fan, not even glancing over here more than necessary.

She had seen some girls who were desperate for love, lowering themselves endlessly due to lack of security, demanding their partners cut ties with opposite-sex friends out of fear of losing them. They wanted to show off sweetness in public places and would throw tantrums, sulk, or leave if the other party showed any non-cooperation, expecting to be comforted.

Seemingly in a dominant position in the relationship, they were actually humble as dust.

Li Yu had just noticed that Qing Hang wanted to hold Cheng Wanyue’s hand, but Cheng Wanyue avoided it.

“It’s still a bit hot today. We can come again during the National Day holiday,” Meng Qi eyed the small fan in Cheng Wanyue’s hand. “Wanyue, call your brother then.”

Cheng Wanyue had many things planned for October, but the most important one was Cheng Yuzhou and Zhou Yu’s wedding. “We’re going back to Nanjing at the beginning of October for the wedding. Cheng Yanqing will be busy, and I’ll be the bridesmaid, so I might not have time.”

“A classmate’s wedding?”

“No, it’s my second uncle’s son.”

Xu Qian chimed in, “You’re on your brother’s side. How are you the bridesmaid?”

Cheng Wanyue replied, “There’s no rule against it. My sister-in-law and I grew up together. Her parents have passed away, so I’m her bridesmaid, representing her family.”

“Will you return to Nanjing before National Day?”

“I’ll go back after watching the flag-raising ceremony.”

Meng Qi tried to dissuade Cheng Wanyue from this idea. On National Day, Tiananmen Square would be more crowded than other popular tourist spots, requiring queuing since the early morning.

Cheng Wanyue’s grandfather had been a soldier. Since she came to Beijing, she naturally wanted to see it.

Cheng Yanqing should be fine, but Qing Hang might not be. He didn’t have holidays.

Surrounded by people, Cheng Wanyue leaned back and turned her head to watch him prepare her favorite grilled eggplant.

“I went there in my sophomore year. Watching it live feels different,” Zhou Heng brought over two plates of peanuts and edamame, standing just to her left. “When I have time, I’ll write you a guide.”

Cheng Wanyue smiled. “Thanks.”

Li Yu hadn’t spoken the entire time. Zhou Heng noticed she was already bored and wanted to leave early. “Qing Hang, none of us know what our senior sister can’t eat. You handle grilling for her.”

“No need, I’m not hungry,” Li Yu got up to go to the restroom.

She received a call and had to rush back to school.

Zhou Heng patted Qing Hang’s shoulder. “Don’t you also have something to do? Why don’t you take Senior Sister’s car back?”

Li Yu didn’t beat around the bush. “Zhou Heng, excuse us for a moment.”

“Alright, you two talk. I’ll go get some fruit,” Zhou Heng immediately understood and took another colleague with him when he left.

The area around the barbecue grill was filled with heavy smoke and high temperatures. Li Yu watched Qing Hang skillfully brush oil and sprinkle seasoning with his surgical hands, feeling as if she had never truly understood him.

During their school years, he hardly attended classmates’ gatherings, spending all his spare time in the library and laboratory. He published three high-impact papers as an undergraduate. She and he came from different family backgrounds, but their lives were quite similar.

She disliked being misunderstood. “Zhou Heng didn’t tell me that you would be here, let alone that she would be too.”

Qing Hang knew what she meant. “Cheng Wanyue has a reason to be angry. She wouldn’t be mad at me for no reason. Senior Sister, don’t think badly of her.”

“It’s obvious that she is very likable,” Li Yu merely disliked her but hadn’t reached the point of hatred—she rarely hated anyone. “The jade pendant incident was indeed my fault, and I reflected on it afterward. We are just fellow senior and junior. I don’t have the right to keep your valuable items, but it’s not entirely my fault either.”

She was very focused when working, often forgetting to eat.

“Since you’ve already reconciled, I won’t explain further.”

Li Yu arrived the latest and left the earliest.

Cheng Wanyue smelled the aroma and wanted to try grilling herself, so she picked up a marinated chicken wing. This semi-finished product only needed to be cooked thoroughly, and the taste wouldn’t be bad.

Zhou Heng came over to teach her. Qing Hang was distracted for a moment, and the sausage got burnt.

He thought, he could teach her better than Zhou Heng.

Cheng Wanyue touched the brush, and her hands became greasy. Zhou Heng prepared to get paper towels, but Qing Hang stood up first.

Qing Hang took two wet wipes and, in front of Zhou Heng, held Cheng Wanyue’s hand to carefully wipe off the grease.

Xu Qian knocked over a plate of grilled skewers and called Zhou Heng over to help clean up. Zhou Heng looked at Qing Hang, wanting to say something but was dragged away by Xu Qian before he could.

“Do you have a problem? Why call someone you don’t know? Isn’t that awkward?”

Zhou Heng sighed helplessly. “Senior Sister Li’s father is the director of neurosurgery, who is also Qing Hang’s superior. Neither of them are proactive types. Director Li asked me to find an opportunity to push them together.”

Xu Qian smirked. “You sure meddle a lot.”

...

Cheng Wanyue sat in Qing Hang’s previous spot, imitating him quite well. Qing Hang stood beside her, fanning her.

She picked a beef skewer that looked good and shook it. “Try what I grilled.”

“I’ll try what you grilled,” Qing Hang bent down, about to bite, but she suddenly pulled it away.

When he tried again, she hid the skewer behind her back.

“What did you talk about with your senior sister?” Cheng Wanyue was far away but not blind. Before leaving, Li Yu only spoke with Qing Hang.

Qing Hang also asked her, “Who was the man outside your door when I came to get my phone?”

“He came to get his helmet.”

“Why was his helmet with you?”

“I rode in his car and forgot to return it. I really don’t know his name,” Cheng Wanyue only remembered Chi Yue’s face. “There are many handsome men. Do I have to know every one of them?”

Her knee hit the chair, and she checked to see if her clothes were dirty.

Zhou Heng suddenly strode over. “Wanyue, I have something to tell you.”

The sun was blinding, and Cheng Wanyue couldn’t clearly see Zhou Heng’s expression, but she could tell Qing Hang’s expression was off.

Qing Hang grabbed her wrist. “I’ll speak first.”

Before Zhou Heng could react, Cheng Wanyue was pulled away by Qing Hang.

“Don’t interfere,” Xu Qian stopped Zhou Heng. “Wanyue has a good personality, comes from a privileged background, is beautiful, and has an amazing figure. She and Qing Hang are a perfect match. I wish I could buy a lock tonight to bind them together!”

Zhou Heng felt不甘. Meng Qi helped him arrange this outing with Cheng Wanyue, so he had to try.

“I met her first.”

“They are from the same hometown and knew each other in high school,” Xu Qian angrily stomped on his foot. “Can’t you see that I like you, or that Wanyue likes Qing Hang?”

Zhou Heng froze, standing stiffly under the scorching sun for a long while.

Unexpectedly, a sunshower started, and the raindrops were warm. Xu Qian pulled the dazed Zhou Heng under the sunshade, knocking over the table with the grilled skewers. Though Zhou Heng hadn’t fully come to his senses, he instinctively protected her.

The rain stopped in less than ten minutes.

A rainbow appeared on the horizon. Everyone was under the sunshades, but Qing Hang and Cheng Wanyue were nowhere to be seen.

They were drenched in the deserted area.

At the start of the rain, Qing Hang had thought to take Cheng Wanyue to shelter. After running about fifty meters, she found a cat under a tree. By the time he retrieved the cat from the bushes, they were both soaked.

By the lakeside, there was a pink little house, locked, probably just for guests to take photos as a backdrop.

They stood under the eaves. After the rainbow disappeared on the horizon, raindrops continued to fall, and the cat ran away.

Cheng Wanyue hooked her little finger with Qing Hang’s. “I don’t want to go back to eat barbecue.”

Though she didn’t eat a single bite.

“Did you bring a condom?” she tiptoed and whispered in his ear.

Qing Hang covered her mouth. Although his expression didn’t change, the way he looked at her wasn’t as calm as before.

His short hair was still dripping, and there were many water streaks on his casually wiped glasses, but he could still clearly see his reflection in her eyes.

“Who would carry that around?”

“Then go buy some...”

Her mumbled words were blocked in her throat. The next second, the hand that tried to reach under his shirt was twisted behind her back, and his kisses transitioned from cautious probing to greedy demanding.

The rainwater evaporated under the sun, making it humid and stuffy.