IMH - 7

This late surge of heat and sunshine in September was called the “Indian summer” by the people of the capital.

Fortunately, the air conditioning in the office provided a refreshing coolness.

Shen Shen had gone abroad on a business trip. He shouldn’t have forgotten to buy a handbag for his girlfriend. He thought he could buy it after returning home, but the airport duty-free shop didn’t have the one she wanted.

After being scolded by Ji Ran while twisting his ear, Shen Shen rubbed his ear and sneaked into the conference room where Cheng Xiaonan usually stayed, feeling wronged: “Nan Ge, ask my godfather to bring back a handbag for Ji Ran when he returns from abroad, okay?”

“Hmm.”

“No, Nan Ge, what are you doing?” Shen Shen was puzzled; it was the first time he saw Cheng Xiaonan looking into a mirror during work hours.

The mirror was borrowed from somewhere, with a severe plastic frame that clearly wasn’t Cheng Xiaonan’s style.

His older brother placed the mirror on the conference table and stared at it with a serious expression.

“Did you get acne?”

Shen Shen leaned over and saw Cheng Xiaonan’s clean face in the mirror, “There’s no acne. I’ve never seen you get even half a pimple during puberty. What’s there to look at with your enviable skin?”

Cheng Xiaonan turned his head, pondered for a moment, and asked Shen Shen: “Compared to high school, have I changed a lot?”

Shen Shen didn’t immediately understand which aspect Cheng Xiaonan was referring to. Without much thought, he instinctively replied: “A lot.”

In Shen Shen’s view, Cheng Xiaonan had indeed changed quite a bit.

He and Cheng Xiaonan were high school classmates. At the beginning of their freshman year, their relationship wasn’t great, and they didn’t talk much.

Because Cheng Xiaonan always had a cold face, making him seem unapproachable.

Later, during military training, Shen Shen suffered from heatstroke, and the person standing next to him, Cheng Xiaonan, was assigned to take him to the infirmary.

At that time, everyone was still unfamiliar. Shen Shen thought Cheng Xiaonan would return to the military training after taking him to the infirmary.

Unexpectedly, a few minutes later, he returned, carrying a bag of green bean ice cream and tossing it to him, saying, “The canteen’s green bean soup isn’t ready yet. Eating this might help.”

Shen Shen was deeply moved, thinking Cheng Xiaonan was a good friend, and from then on, he followed Cheng Xiaonan like a shadow.

Initially, both he and Cheng Xiaonan were academic underachievers.

But later, Cheng Xiaonan voluntarily repeated his senior year, worked hard, and became an academic star.

“Would people who knew me before not recognize me now?” Cheng Xiaonan frowned as he asked.

“Oh, you’re talking about appearance. I thought you were talking about grades. In terms of appearance, there hasn’t been much change.”

Shen Shen pulled out a chair next to Cheng Xiaonan and sat down, “But it’s normal whether or not they recognize you. A few days ago, when Ji Ran and I went to the mall to pick out engagement rings, we met a junior high school classmate. She mentioned her name, and I couldn’t recall who she was until she told me her school and class, confirming she hadn’t mistaken me.”

Cheng Xiaonan furrowed his brows.

Of course, he had encountered such situations.

In school, there were many students in one class, and not everyone was familiar. After several years since graduation, some people were really hard to remember.

But how could that be compared to his situation?

He had at least been Yu Qian’s boyfriend, although their acquaintance lasted only six months before she suddenly went abroad.

Every time they met, Yu Qian acted as if she didn’t know who he was.

Was he so insignificant in her eyes?

While Cheng Xiaonan was lost in thought, Ji Ran somehow appeared in the conference room, sitting next to Shen Shen, watching him peel an apple for her.

Eating apples couldn’t shut them up. Individually, they were chatterboxes, and together, they were unbearably noisy.

Cheng Xiaonan suddenly narrowed his eyes.

In the past, when these two friends argued, Ji Ran said women liked mature and steady men. Now, thinking about it, this statement seemed unreliable.

If they liked mature and steady men, why did she end up with someone like Shen Shen?

Cheng Xiaonan twirled a pen in his hand and chuckled cynically, realizing he was somewhat “grasping at straws.”

Perhaps Yu Qian’s return had unsettled him a bit.

Shen Shen, munching on an apple, turned his head and saw Cheng Xiaonan getting up to leave: “Nan Ge, it’s so sunny outside, where are you going?”

“To communicate feelings.”

“Arguing with Grandpa again? Don’t argue anymore. I’m counting on my godfather to bring back the handbag for me.”

Shen Shen swallowed the apple hastily, reminded him once more, then remembered something and spoke up, “By the way, Nan Ge, why do I feel like you’ve been practicing various languages lately? Did Grandpa give you another challenge?”

His father hadn’t given him any challenges, but...

Cheng Xiaonan couldn’t possibly say he was contacting all his overseas friends just to impress Yu Qian, right?

Without turning his head, he left with a detached expression.

When Yu Qian was retouching her makeup in the dressing room, two models who had just arrived chatted casually without reservation.

One said the boss’s girlfriend came again. When she met her in the restroom, the boss was outside in the corridor, holding her bag, looking very affectionate.

The other model said, of course they were affectionate, they were high school classmates. They heard they got together in their senior year and were planning to get married this year.

“From uniforms to wedding dresses, so envious!” Someone nearby chimed in.

Yu Qian suddenly opened her eyes, startling the makeup artist: “Hey, Teacher Yu, don’t open your eyes, the eyeshadow isn’t finished yet.”

“Sorry, continue.” Yu Qian closed her eyes again.

The dressing room was well air-conditioned, and the assistant said she would go back to the company to fetch something, draping an air-conditioned blanket over her before leaving, not forgetting to ask if she wanted coffee brought back, very considerately.

Today’s shoot went smoothly, and they collaborated well with the photography team. The little brother setting up the scene also had a cute personality, blushing after a few jokes.

There shouldn’t be anything to worry about.

Yu Qian took a deep breath but felt like going to the smoking room for a cigarette.

The moment she opened the door to the smoking room, she suddenly remembered those lung-shaped ashtrays, paused her action, released the door handle, and turned back.

Her smoking habit started the day she sorted through her mother’s belongings.

She never thought about quitting smoking, just as she never planned anything for her life.

But the department leader who put those “lungs” in the smoking room was very effective, making her nauseous enough to not want to smoke at all.

Yu Qian turned around, and just as she looked back, she saw Cheng Xiaonan walking from a distance.

Behind him was the long corridor of the shooting base, sunlight streaming in from the windows, making Yu Qian squint from the bright light.

She lowered her gaze to relieve the discomfort in her eyes.

Then, as usual during each encounter, pretending to be strangers, she stepped aside to make way for Cheng Xiaonan.

But when she looked up again, Cheng Xiaonan was standing in front of her, staring directly at her.

Yu Qian showed no expression: “President Cheng, you’re blocking the way.”

“Let’s chat.”

Yu Qian truly didn’t think they had anything to talk about. Wouldn’t it be better to pretend they didn’t know each other like the previous encounters? Why suddenly start a conversation?

Before she could think of a response, Cheng Xiaonan, as usual, threw out a topic: “Are you adapting well at ‘Eleven’?”

“Fine.”

Actually, there was another prickly sentence she wanted to say: it would be better if no one blocked her way, but she ultimately didn’t say it.

It was at this moment that Yu Qian suddenly realized that it wasn’t necessarily her intention to pretend to be strangers.

They had been apart for seven years, and the familiarity from the past had become insignificant over the long years. They were no longer in a relationship where they could bicker with each other.

Cheng Xiaonan looked quite relaxed, and the seriousness in his eyes when he stared at her was exactly the same as before.

He said: “You’re done with work? If you’re free, let’s have dinner together?”

Before Yu Qian could respond, her work assistant ran over from behind Cheng Xiaonan, waving at Yu Qian: “Qian, I’ve been looking for you for a while!”

The assistant probably didn’t expect the man facing away from her to be Cheng Xiaonan. Seeing him turn around, she panicked and walked awkwardly: “Pr-president Cheng, are you discussing something? Then... I’ll wait inside first…”

Cheng Xiaonan raised his hand slightly: “You go ahead.”

“Oh.”

The assistant, carrying a large bag, struggled to pull out a box and handed it to Yu Qian: “This is leftover from what the company purchased a few days ago. Each office can claim one. I thought you might need it, so I asked the boss for one.”

The boss the assistant referred to was Shen Shen.

She originally wanted to say “President Shen,” but considering Yu Qian’s personality, she might not know who President Shen was, so she said “boss” instead, distinguishing it from the “President Cheng” in front of her.

It also made President Cheng aware that she hadn’t taken company property privately.

And strangely, President Cheng rarely showed up, and the employees definitely knew President Shen better.

Only Yu Qian was an exception.

The assistant strategically retreated, leaving space for them: “You two talk first, I’ll wait downstairs in the car.”

After the assistant left, Yu Qian weighed the box in her hand and began opening it while asking: “What did you just say?”

“Inviting you to dinner.”

“What’s the reason?”

Cheng Xiaonan smiled: “Welcome party?”

Yu Qian initially thought having dinner was fine, intending to mention that it would be better to remain strangers afterward, but before she could speak, she had already opened the box.

Due to work reasons, she didn’t have long nails. The moment her thumb pressed into the edge of the box, she already felt the stickiness on her fingertip.

Opening the box, Yu Qian glanced down at the “lung” ashtray in her hand.

Great, vivid red and realistic.

Then she looked at the sticky liquid on her fingers...

All the frustration from being disgusted by this thing for several days rushed to her mind.

Which department leader was this inhumane?!

Yu Qian took a deep breath, then quickly spoke when she looked up again: “If President Cheng is arranging a welcome event, the schedule should be sent to the assistant, not directly to me. I have things to do, see you later.”

With that, she picked up her “lung” ashtray, walked around Cheng Xiaonan, and left.