IMH - 29

The interview with Yu Qian became much more relaxed.

Yu Qian appeared cool and detached. Although her answers were concise, she didn’t evade questions or make the journalist uncomfortable.

The mock interview successfully concluded. The department head came over to chat with the intern journalist and Cheng Xiaonan. Yu Qian remained seated in the interview room, quietly looking out the window.

Perhaps to create a relaxed and comfortable interview environment, the interview room was decorated in the style of a café and a quiet bar. Behind the high bar stools was a long, narrow high-top table with a coffee machine and beverages.

Sun Yue brewed a cup of coffee for Yu Qian.

Yu Qian asked her if she could leave.

Sun Yue looked hesitant, deliberating for a long time before quietly saying, “CEO Cheng didn’t say, I don’t know...”

Yu Qian was quite easygoing, waving her hand: “Then I’ll wait until he says so, and then leave.”

This room was on the first floor, with soft piano music playing through the central sound system.

It might have been raining a little outside, as a faint, earthy smell of rain, soil, and fallen leaves wafted in through the window.

“I wonder if she’ll have time to come with me to see them next spring when the Chinese violet cress blooms.”

Cheng Xiaonan’s voice suddenly flashed in Yu Qian’s mind. She looked at the sky outside the window, her expression unreadable.

Peter, once drunk, had said, “Yu Qian, you’re actually a coward.”

If this statement were applied to her work or other situations, she would never admit it.

But when it came to relationships, perhaps Peter’s judgment wasn’t wrong.

In matters of emotion.

She was timid.

Because she couldn’t judge what she would truly gain from the emotions she invested.

Her best female friend in high school was her deskmate. Every time a photoshoot ended and she returned to school, she would buy some ice cream or drinks. They would secretly skip physical education or morning exercises, chatting about which teacher in their class was recently “menopausally” short-tempered, and also some fun stories from advertising shoots.

She also had trust in friends, and there was a time when she was young enough that she and other girls would even go to the restroom together.

It was only later that she got caught up in campus bullying, and making friends became much harder for her to open up.

She remembered after transferring to the affiliated high school, a girl came up to her during class break, lowering her voice to ask, “Yu Qian, I heard rumors about your old school, are they true? Someone stole your stuff, and you organized classmates to bully her?”

Yu Qian was silent for a while, then shook her head: “No.”

“But was that classmate really bullied? Why didn’t you stop it then? Why didn’t you step forward in time and tell everyone she didn’t steal anything?” The girl said, while subtly signaling to a few people behind her who pretended not to be listening.

Yu Qian glanced at her, then said nothing more.

Explaining or not explaining, the outcome was the same. She no longer believed in friendship.

One could say the word “friendship” no longer existed in her world from that moment on.

Then, the word that disappeared was “gege” (older brother).

Shortly after she had emerged from those campus shadows, Han Chu sat across from her in a restaurant, frowning at the makeup on her face that she hadn’t had time to remove after a photoshoot, and then at the sports car keys beside her hand.

He said, “Are you just going to continue degrading yourself like this?”

Yu Qian had seen female models who seemed close to her on the surface, but secretly spoke ill of her with more enthusiasm than anyone else.

She had also seen people who were sickeningly sweet when in love, only to hurl insults at each other after breaking up.

She was so pessimistic about relationships that she sometimes even doubted the feelings between Peter and his wife.

She would wonder, if Peter’s wife hadn’t died, would they now be arguing fiercely every day over trivial matters of life?

Would there come a day when Peter would storm out in the wind and snow, leaving his wife and young child at home, to go to a bar alone, order a drink, and complain to the bartender that he didn’t want to go home?

She once told Peter this. Peter didn’t refute anything, only sighed and said, “Yu Qian, you should fall in love once. When you genuinely love someone, you’ll understand.”

“If I truly stormed out one day, I would also buy a bouquet of fresh flowers for my wife when I returned, and then kneel down and apologize to her.”

“Because I love her, even if we argue, I don’t want her to be sad because of it.”

“You’ll understand this feeling when you genuinely fall in love with someone, really.”

Yu Qian had never been in a serious relationship. She only felt something akin to liking for Cheng Xiaonan.

But she also remembered that after one argument with his father, Cheng Xiaonan sat in her sports car, frowning: “Old Cheng’s girlfriends are all vain and materialistic. With Old Cheng’s careless way of dating, they only like him because he’s rich, and they always think about marrying him. They’re crazy.”

“Your dad will really remarry?”

Cheng Xiaonan showed a hint of sarcastic smile: “He won’t. He’s just showing off, trying to prove to my mom that he’s doing well. Actually, he doesn’t like any of them. He’s still thinking about being buried in the same grave as my mom after he dies.”

Yu Qian asked Cheng Xiaonan why he was annoyed. Cheng Xiaonan frowned and said, “I don’t object to him dating. What annoys me is that those women always come around me, buying me things and claiming they like me, wanting to use me to marry into our family. Don’t you think they’re crazy?”

Soon after this incident, Yu Qian saw Cheng Xiaonan’s test paper in her sports car, with Qu Liwen’s signature on it.

And for those few days, Cheng Xiaonan hadn’t contacted her.

Yu Qian texted Cheng Xiaonan, asking him if he deliberately left the test paper in the car.

The person who was usually such a chatterbox didn’t reply to her.

It was as if he was saying, “Look, your mom is one of those women now.”

“Jiejie, let’s end these things here.”

Yu Qian also thought that Cheng Xiaonan might not have intentionally done anything.

She remembered one time, when she went to see Cheng Xiaonan, it was winter. She didn’t drive her convertible sports car; she took a taxi to school.

Cheng Xiaonan texted her, telling her not to wait by the back wall, as that street was windy and too cold.

So she found a cold drink shop near the entrance of the affiliated high school.

In the northern winter, the ground was frozen and the weather was bitter cold.

The cold drink shop served hot milk tea. Soon after school let out, groups of students, wearing matching school uniforms under their down jackets and cotton coats, squeezed in with their backpacks, all appearing to be regulars of the shop.

They shouted at the smiling, kind woman behind the counter: “Auntie, three pearl milk teas and one hot cocoa, please!”

The aunt’s voice was very gentle: “Do you want extra pearls in your pearl milk tea?”

“Yes, yes! Can you add some pearls to the hot cocoa too?”

“Yes, you can.”

“Auntie, you’re the best! Love you! Heart hands~!”

Amidst the lively atmosphere, Yu Qian heard these third-year high school students talking about the college entrance exam—

“My dad said what, that my current score isn’t enough to get into a good medical school? What a joke, who wants to study medicine? I get dizzy at the sight of blood, I definitely don’t want to study medicine.”

“I heard doctors make good money. My mom’s even more ridiculous; she wants me to study accounting. My head hurts just looking at numbers, and math is my worst subject. What was she thinking, making me study accounting?”

“I haven’t decided what to study yet, but my family says I should go to a normal university and become a teacher. You get winter and summer vacations.”

“Don’t, no, being a teacher! Look at our homeroom teacher, she’s only 40 now, but her wrinkles are as deep as a 60-year-old’s.”

“Hahahaha, well, being a doctor isn’t good either. I saw your dad’s even bald, haha.”

“Get lost, your dad’s bald! But now that you mention it, he kinda is, hahahaha...”

...

The shop wasn’t big, and the aroma of milk tea filled the air.

The people around them chatted lively about the college entrance exam and university, their tones filled with an unconscious longing.

Longing for trips after the college entrance exam, longing for falling in love, longing for future lives.

Yu Qian sat among them, feeling out of place.

At most, a few glances would dart her way, a moment of awe, then a hushed whisper to a companion, “Look at that jiejie, she’s so beautiful.”

Then, they would return to their eager discussions, continuing to long.

Cheng Xiaonan wore a long black down jacket, not even his school uniform.

With his backpack slung over one shoulder, he ambled in, also familiarly saying to the shop owner auntie, “Auntie, two hot milk teas, please.”

His ears were a bit red from the wind. He sat down and first clasped his hands together, apologizing: “I really wanted to be in the first wave out. I’d already run out of the classroom, but the homeroom teacher dragged me back.”

“A lecture?”

“Of course not, how could it be a lecture? It’s an commendation for a top student, understand?”

Perhaps sensing Yu Qian’s low spirits, Cheng Xiaonan reached out and waved his hand in front of her: “What’s wrong? Unhappy again?”

Yu Qian shook her head, not speaking.

Cheng Xiaonan “tsk”-ed: “Tell me about it. I’m not an outsider. Tell me, let me see if there’s a way to help you?”

As if he had a solution for all her unhappiness.

Yu Qian gave Cheng Xiaonan an amused look at the time and casually said she was afraid she only had her looks, would become ugly when she got old, and wouldn’t be able to marry.

Cheng Xiaonan was taking off his down jacket. Hearing her words, he suddenly laughed: “Then don’t be afraid. I’ll marry you in the future.”

When he said this, there was a light in his eyes, like the moon reflected in water, bright and captivating.

She tried to pull herself out of her low mood, but when she looked up, she saw that after taking off his down jacket, Cheng Xiaonan had been staring at her, his gaze serious, as if confirming whether she had become a little happier because of his words.

Perhaps finding no change, he thought of a method and said again, “Jiejie, shall I take you to a band concert later?”

“Aren’t you supposed to go home early today?”

“Yeah. Or should I call Old Cheng and say I’ll be back late?”

Yu Qian asked him what excuse he would use to call. He smiled and said he’d tell his future daughter-in-law was unhappy and he needed to stay with her.

At that time, he was only in his third year of high school. If he really said that to his parents, it would be a miracle if his legs weren’t broken.

However, Cheng Xiaonan didn’t go back on his word; he really took her to listen to a “band”—

He took a can of cola from the cold drink cabinet, effortlessly popped the tab open with one hand, and suddenly placed the cola next to her ear.

Yu Qian instinctively tried to dodge, but Cheng Xiaonan gently held her shoulder. He said, “Don’t move, Jiejie. Listen, does it sound like drum beats?”

Carbonated bubbles continuously burst within the aluminum can. The can rested against her ear, and she could clearly hear the crisp, metallic crackling sound.

It was unexpectedly pleasant.

With such a lovely “drum beat” by Yu Qian’s left ear, Cheng Xiaonan leaned into her right ear and quietly sang:

“Whom will I meet, what kind of conversation will we have, The one I love, how far into the future is he, I hear the wind from the subway and the sea of people, I’m queuing, holding my number plate for love.”

The young man’s voice was clean. When Yu Qian turned her head, he put down the cola, picked up the table number plate on the table, and shook it: “My turn for milk tea has come. What about yours? When will it be my turn?”

Behind him was the bustling milk tea shop, the bright lights making one a little dizzy.

Amidst the sweet scent of milk tea, someone called Cheng Xiaonan’s name and asked him, “Yo, Brother Nan, on a date?”

Cheng Xiaonan turned his head, grinning widely and swearing at the person: “Get lost—”

It’s just too hard not to be moved.

Isn’t it?

Yu Qian, however, avoided his question, nudging his leg with the tip of her Martens boot: “Go get the milk tea.”

________________________________________

After the mock interview ended, the company genuinely couldn’t arrange anything to keep Yu Qian longer on short notice. Cheng Xiaonan had no choice but to send Yu Qian back to the hotel with Sun Yue.

Cheng Xiaonan was driving. On the way back, he repeatedly glanced at Yu Qian in the rearview mirror.

But Yu Qian remained quietly looking out at the night scenery, her expression calm.

Cheng Xiaonan felt he had been quite direct, but the person concerned showed no reaction at all.

Instead, Sun Yue, who had been on edge the entire time, seemed to react more than Yu Qian.

After Yu Qian returned to the hotel, Sun Yue quietly tugged on Cheng Xiaonan’s overcoat sleeve, her face full of dread: “CEO Cheng, it’s over. Did Yu Qian find out I helped you trick her? When she got out of the car, she didn’t even say goodbye to me...”

“No, maybe she’s thinking about her straight-A student brother. Don’t guess wildly, act normal,” Cheng Xiaonan said, clearly annoyed.

And he also said he had amnesia from a car accident abroad.

Amnesia and he can remember a childhood neighbor brother, but not a seriously dating ex-boyfriend?

Cheng Xiaonan was genuinely not in a good mood. What vexed him even more was that a few days later, he saw Han Chu in the hotel lobby again.

That day, the weather forecast indicated a strong temperature drop in the Imperial City.

Han Chu came in from outside the hotel, his glasses frosted. When Cheng Xiaonan saw him, he was standing by the door, wiping his glasses.

Cheng Xiaonan didn’t leave, pursing his lips, wanting to see what he was up to again.

However, this time Han Chu didn’t ask Yu Qian to come down. He carried a paper bag to the hotel front desk and said he wanted to leave something at the front desk for Ms. Yu, who was staying in 6602.

Not handing it over in person?

Cheng Xiaonan felt a little gleefully malicious: “Oh, did they argue?”

After Han Chu left, Cheng Xiaonan walked to the front desk and spoke to the staff, saying he lived in 6603, was Ms. Yu’s neighbor, and could help deliver the item to her.

The staff looked at Cheng Xiaonan, hesitating for a moment: “But CEO Cheng, this is against regulations. Many people live in adjacent rooms; we can’t prove that you know Ms. Yu.”

“I don’t know her?”

Cheng Xiaonan had taken too many blows these past few days; he was so angry he laughed, “Check the booking name and credit card number for her room. See if it’s Cheng Xiaonan?”

“Please wait... Yes, the booking information for September is under your name. CEO Cheng, then you can take the item to Ms. Yu.”

The staff, fearing trouble, specifically reminded him, “Please make sure to deliver it.”

Cheng Xiaonan took the bag and glanced inside: “It’s just a shoddy scarf. Do you think I’d embezzle it?”

________________________________________

When Cheng Xiaonan knocked, Yu Qian was practicing yoga in her room.

She had been avoiding him these past few days. Even when she went to the company, she generally avoided the floor where Cheng Xiaonan was located.

But since he was already there, she couldn’t refuse to let him in.

Cheng Xiaonan came in with a paper bag and said sarcastically, “Your considerate childhood friend brought you a thick scarf, worried you’d get cold.”

Yu Qian didn’t take it: “Just put it by the door.”

After all these years, she was no longer fragile, no longer needed anyone’s help, and was strong enough on her own.

Nor would she be unhappy all the time, like she was in the autumn she met Cheng Xiaonan.

She lived her life very disciplined.

Every morning, she would adjust her watch, do yoga in her room during work breaks, and occasionally, on her days off, she would go out alone for a little drink. She smoked but didn’t indulge excessively, and drank but never to excess.

She would also get a SPA or a manicure when feeling troubled.

In her hotel room, she had her own health pot and ceramic teacup, as well as a yoga mat, a vinyl record player, and a high-end imported massage chair.

Even Peter, when he visited, would comment, “Yu Qian, you really know how to enjoy yourself.”

She was best at entertaining herself.

It seemed no one could again insert themselves into her life.

But Cheng Xiaonan, leaning against the entryway, said his second sentence: “I wanted to say this last time I was here. Don’t you feel like this room of yours is missing a male owner?”