TSDT - 55

It was a rare occurrence in Zebian, several consecutive days of clear winter weather.

With the good weather, Weihe Law Firm welcomed new colleagues. The receptionist was replaced by a cute and friendly young woman, a far cry from the type Director Hu had previously chosen. However, Director Hu was currently having troubles at home, busy both accompanying his wife and appeasing others, so he didn’t have the spare energy to worry about whether the “little flower” at the firm was to his liking.

When Jiang Ying went to the finance department to get reimbursed, she was surprisingly not glared at by Xiao Pan. She returned to her office and told Xiao Man, who laughed at her, saying that after a few days off work, Jiang Ying was already out of touch with the world.

“She’s already dating the guy from the marketing department of the company next door.”

Jiang Ying was shocked: “...I’ve only been away for four days???”

Xiao Man said, “Modern people pursue efficiency in life, and love is no exception. If one doesn’t work out, just switch to another. All roads lead to Rome. This way everyone is happy.”

Jiang Ying shrugged, speechless.

It was just that she had innocently suffered many glares.

She had been so busy recently that she didn’t even dare to turn off her phone after a breakup and running away. Now that things had settled down, Jiang Ying entered a period of leisure again, spending her days reading papers, playing games, slacking off at work, and replying to WeChat messages instantly. Meng Jingshu, seeing her abundant energy, was very keen on exploiting her.

He exploited her day and night, to the point where she didn’t even get out of bed on Friday. Jiang Ying was full of resentment. He himself was still very busy, so how could he be so energetic?

Before leaving, Meng Jingshu came to her bedside and kissed her, asking in a low voice, “Are you really not going to work today, hmm?”

She was feeling lightheaded from the refreshing aftershave and the subtle men’s cologne, lying flat and letting him kiss her: “...No.”

“Then come pick me up after work tonight.”

“...Don’t want to go out, want to stay home all day.”

“No, you have to come pick me up. Little kids don’t go home by themselves.”

“...” Mr. Meng’s ‘acting cute’ skills were getting more and more refined.

Jiang Ying pulled up the quilt. “We’ll see.”

Meng Jingshu patted her butt through the quilt. Jiang Ying symbolically kicked her feet to show dissatisfaction. She was already wrapped up like a cylinder, so she didn’t know how he managed to hit her precisely every time.

He chuckled and instructed, “Don’t sleep too long, remember to get up and eat something.”

“Mm...”

Jiang Ying heard him but paid no mind, curling up with her small blanket, then covering herself with his large quilt, his scent filling her nostrils, and slept soundly.

They had returned to live in this small apartment. Although they had a spat before, Jiang Ying was finally able to let go of her grievances and open up to Meng Jingshu. But she was still a tiny bit, just a tiny bit, petty. The thought of Fu Xuan having stayed in that house made her uncomfortable, and she didn’t want to go back there.

She hadn’t mentioned this to Meng Jingshu, but he seemed to understand, and consciously moved his belongings over again, perfectly content to squeeze into this humble little house with her. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, very particular about his food and clothing, but he was incredibly accommodating to her.

So... she still had to pick him up tonight...

She slept unaware of the time, until the delivery person’s call woke her up. Meng Jingshu, afraid she’d be lazy and starve, ordered food for her before the lunch rush.

It was eel rice and salad.

Jiang Ying asked him gleefully, “How did you know I wanted to eat this?”

A few minutes later he replied, “Someone ate their fill last night and still stared at the menu outside the Japanese restaurant.”

Jiang Ying: [grinning][grinning][grinning]

At this time, Xu Jiahong, who was as idle as Jiang Ying, had just reported to his new job this week and hadn’t officially started working yet, so he would chat with her from time to time.

In fact, when he first saw Meng Jingshu’s WeChat Moments and learned that the two of them were together, he had a lot of complaints. He felt he had been deceived and directly accused Jiang Ying of being dishonest: “Liar! And I even kindly tried to set you up, and you still called me an idiot!”

The woman in love was full of bravado and showed no shame: “So what if I lied to you? At most, I’ll treat you to a meal.”

Later, he just said sourly, “Never mind, never mind. I’m just a little emotional. It’s not easy to be together after so many years. You two should cherish it well, it’s not in vain that I arranged so many shady deals for you back then.”

Jiang Ying knew he still had regrets about Huang Yanfei, but people’s destinies are different, and you can’t force things.

“Of course, I still have to treat you to a meal, and it has to be back in Nanqing for the whole class.”

“...”

This time, he sent a WeChat message about a serious matter. He said that he had spent the past few days familiarizing himself with the business of his new unit and, after some thought, felt that he had been abroad for too long and lacked understanding of the domestic situation. He wondered if he should pursue a part-time postgraduate degree and asked Jiang Ying how Ze University was.

Jiang Ying said directly that Ze University’s program in that area was not very good and suggested he consider other schools.

She sent a voice message directly: “Actually, I also have this plan. I looked into it before, and the University of Political Science and Law is pretty good. And they offer many majors, which should meet your needs.”

Xu Jiahong received the message, checked it himself, and probably thought it was good. He replied, “I think it’s good. We can register in a while, do you want to go together? We can continue to be postgraduate classmates.”

Jiang Ying: “Different fields are like different mountains, who’s going to be your classmate?”

But speaking of postgraduate studies...

She still felt a little uncomfortable. Even though the changes back then didn’t really alter her future plans, she still managed to get into a good company through her own efforts, and things had been relatively smooth until now. But thinking about it, it was still very annoying...

If they had just kept quiet and not bothered her, that would have been fine, she wouldn’t have wasted energy on unimportant people. But, they actually came looking for trouble themselves, causing her and her boyfriend to quarrel, then finding someone online to sublet and shamelessly backing out, and even spending thousands of yuan to go to a deserted island to watch the rain...

This account had to be settled.

________________________________________

Jiang Ying woke up again, and it was already dark outside.

This time, it was Meng Jingshu’s call that woke her up. As soon as he heard her drowsy, nasal voice, he knew she was still in bed.

He paused and asked, “Did you really sleep all day?”

“Mm...” She was half-asleep. “Played some games, watched some videos, and then got sleepy again.”

He was helpless: “Miss Jiang, I get off work in fifteen minutes.”

She struggled: “Are you not working overtime today?”

Then she heard him sigh.

________________________________________

The subway station entrance was bustling, with people hurrying along, heads bowed. Amidst them, a girl stood still.

She was wearing a simple black hoodie and light-colored jeans, with a pink fluffy little rabbit bag slung across her body. Her long hair was tied in a bun, and a thick scarf covered half her face, revealing only a pair of dark, bright eyes.

She looked like a student in every way.

Jiang Ying had just exited the station and was about to go upstairs to Xufeng to pick someone up from work. But before she had walked a few steps, her phone vibrated, and she answered it.

Meng Jingshu hadn’t even spoken yet, but he chuckled first: “What are you wearing?”

“...You can see me again!”

“Turn around.” His voice, lowered by laughter, made Jiang Ying’s ears tingle.

She was startled, looked back, and indeed saw him standing tall, a playful, faint smile at the corner of his lips, waiting for her.

He looked less like a promising young talent and more like a dissolute young master.

Ah, how could he get more handsome after so many years?

Jiang Ying unconsciously smiled and jogged over to hug him, and he steadily caught her.

She was wearing flat white sneakers today, making her appear even shorter beside him, looking tiny.

Meng Jingshu’s nose brushed against the small bun on top of her head and said, “Why are you like a child?”

Jiang Ying poked his chest: “Didn’t you rush me? So I just grabbed whatever I could wear.”

She tilted her head slightly to look at him, her face bare, probably due to a good night’s sleep, her fair skin showing a natural blush. When she smiled, her eyes were bright and watery, and her cheeks glowed.

She was vibrant and full of life, like a little sun, and she hadn’t changed at all.

He suddenly recalled the night of the graduation banquet after the college entrance exam, when she invited him outside the KTV and said a few words:

“Actually, studying sometimes is quite boring, but you always seem to have a lot of things to play with, and many friends... Although you often sneak out of school, play games late at night, and get criticized, you study very hard, your grades are excellent, and you even won awards in competitions. I especially admire you for that, you can do whatever you set your mind to. Sometimes when I see you, I feel that studying is also quite fun, and these past three years have been really good...”

He found it amusing; what was there to admire? He just did whatever he wanted, it was nothing special.

On the contrary, she usually seemed a bit slow, but when she was a thankless disciplinary committee member, she was surprisingly capable of gaining everyone’s respect. She was proactive and optimistic, loved by teachers and classmates, had a ton of miscellaneous tasks, and still aced her exams. She didn’t know that before she even showed interest in him, several boys were eager to pursue her... Now, thinking about it, it felt a little unpleasant.

You watch the scenery from the bridge, and the person watching the scenery watches you from the building.

He lowered his head and kissed her, saying openly, “Beautiful.”

At the same time, he secretly reflected, should he be more restrained at night? Usually, if she didn’t get enough sleep, she’d be grumbling sleepily in the afternoon. It was better for her to be lively like this.

Then he heard her say triumphantly, “Don’t I look especially small, especially young? Do you feel old? When you kiss me, don’t you feel like a middle-aged pervert harming a minor?”

“........................................”

“Jiang Ying,” he released his arm from around her, and said coolly, “Do you know why I’m waiting for you here?”

Jiang Ying blinked: “Why?”

“Because you don’t know which way the parking lot is.”

“Oh... so it’s not downstairs...”

He asked again, “Why don’t you know where the parking lot is?”

“...?”

“Because you’ve never come to pick me up from work.”

“...”

Speaking of which, Jiang Ying did feel a little ashamed. She coaxingly hugged Meng Jingshu’s arm and said with a smile, “Shushu, don’t be angry, I’ll treat you to dinner!”

“...”

At that moment, someone passed by, looking at them with a complicated expression, embarrassed but having to say hello: “Mr. Meng...”

Meng Jingshu, however, was unfazed, calmly acknowledging with an “Mm.”

After the person left, Jiang Ying asked, “Your colleague?”

“Mm.”

“Sigh...” They shouldn’t be flirting downstairs at his company.

________________________________________

They went to David and his wife’s private restaurant for dinner, again because there was no wait.

As they entered, David saw their clasped hands and happily exclaimed, “Hey! Long time no see! You two look a bit different from before!”

Meng Jingshu smiled and said, “Let me reintroduce you, this is Jiang Ying, my...”

He paused for two seconds and used the word fiancée.

Jiang Ying’s face instantly flushed. She wanted to retort but felt it would be a bit affected, so she was choked and couldn’t speak.

And David happily cheered, “Cool!”

Today was a Guizhou cuisine special. They ordered sour fish soup, the reddish-orange, viscous broth bubbling, and a unique aroma permeated the misty air.

The blush on Jiang Ying’s face lingered for a long time. She remained silent, quietly holding her hands, seemingly waiting for the fish slices to cook long enough.

Until David brought drinks, giving her a pot of beautiful floral tea, and said in broken Chinese, “Sweet tea for this lady who has fallen into sweet cuteness.”

Jiang Ying pursed her lips and thanked him.

However, what he gave Meng Jingshu was... iced beer!

She questioned, “You’re drinking, who’s driving?”

He said, “You are.”

She now deeply suspected that Meng Jingshu letting her get familiar with his car was actually to develop her chauffeur function.

“Then I want to drink too, what should I do?”

He was easy to talk to, “Call a designated driver?”

But today, she inexplicably felt like it was their first date, and she really didn’t want to be disturbed by others.

“Then I’ll drive...”

He smiled as he gazed at her.

Jiang Ying’s face grew warm again. She asked, “Why do you suddenly want to drink?”

He said, “I feel very happy that you didn’t deny it.”

Jiang Ying stopped looking at him and focused on eating the fish. After eating a few pieces, it was a bit spicy, so she took a sip of the floral tea to relieve it.

After drinking, she couldn’t help but smile.

It was truly sweet.