CHAPTER 5

On the last workday of the week, the office was restless. At the planning department meeting, Wen Wan roughly finalized the advertising proposal for the coming week, then announced the meeting was adjourned. Everyone returned to their desks, just waiting for the day to end.

The company primarily produced rice crackers, cakes, and other snack foods, integrating research, production, and sales with its own factory below. A few years ago, it had been selected for the national key leading enterprise list and underwent a wave of expansion hiring. Wen Wan had caught that wave, luck was one factor, but her capability was nothing to scoff at either. She quickly rose to the position of planning department manager.

The boss had started out running a small workshop, building everything from scratch, and the management team was now well along in years. According to reliable sources, the position of deputy manager in the marketing department would open up by the end of the year, and she was competing for it against the sales department manager.

The sales department manager was a veteran. Wen Wan, being new to the company, was at a disadvantage. But at the start of the year, the boss's youngest son, who had been studying abroad, came back and was now the general manager of the marketing department, reshuffling the balance of power.

When quitting time arrived, Wen Wan packed up her things and headed out with her bag. Through the glass door, she caught sight of someone at the elevator, a man in a high-quality plaid suit, hands in his pockets, tall and lean, with a decently handsome face.

A sense of dread hit her. Wen Wan turned to make a run for it, but the man seemed to sense something and looked back, his eyes lighting up.

"Wen Wan." He raised his right hand halfway in greeting, quickly pulling the other hand out of his trouser pocket, and stopped a few steps away.

"Manager." Wen Wan steeled herself and walked over, a composed smile on her face, sneaking a glance at the elevator as she went.

The light wasn't on, clearly, he was waiting there specifically for her.

Catching the subtle shift in her gaze, he reached out and pressed the button, stating his purpose directly. "In two days, it should be your birthday."

"Ah?" Wen Wan played dumb. "How did you know?"

"The marketing department has your file," he said plainly.

In the workplace, that was clear enough, he was keeping an eye on her.

"That day is a Monday."

Wen Wan had initially planned to use work as an excuse, but she was afraid this kid might pull some clueless, overly direct surprise that would embarrass her in front of everyone.

She switched tactics, blinking innocently. "So will the boss give me the day off?"

"Where do you want to go?" He looked at her.

Sure enough, he was one step ahead.

Wen Wan thought for a moment. "Probably just sleep in at home." She felt she had a solid argument. "My friends are coming to see me this weekend to celebrate my birthday, two days of partying. Monday is perfect for resting up."

"Then I can't be that generous," he said.

Wen Wan was puzzled. He smiled. "Because then I wouldn't get to see you."

Her mouth twitched, and she cursed him silently.

A few young women from the department came out laughing and chatting. The elevator arrived, and Wen Wan quickly called them over, pulling them inside with her.

The elevator went down two floors, and once it was full, it didn't stop again until the ground floor. Wen Wan needed to go to B1 to get her car, but luckily there were other people in the elevator, so she didn't have to say anything more to him.

She opened her phone. In the group chat, Xie Shuyu was going off, saying Zuo Ye and Xu Huiyin were treating her like dirt and she was furious.

Roughly piecing together what had happened, Wen Wan covered her mouth and laughed silently. In the sealed elevator car, it felt like a window had opened, letting her breathe freely.

"Going to pick up your friends?" As they exited the elevator, Fu Mingwei spoke to her unprompted.

Wen Wan nodded, not wanting to say much, but before leaving, she couldn't help asking, "So the boss really won't give me the day off?"

She was caught between a rock and a hard place. She was afraid that if she came to the office on Monday, she'd be buried in flowers and cakes. But even if Fu Mingwei approved her leave, refusing his invitation would still leave her owing him a favor.

Weighing the lesser of two evils, she couldn't embarrass herself in front of the whole company and fuel the rumors, so she had to choose the latter.

It wasn't that Wen Wan was overly confident, though a little confidence never hurt, but she dared not underestimate Fu Mingwei's confidence.

Fu Mingwei leaned his arm against his car door, watching her with interest. Wen Wan met his gaze for two seconds, and a sudden wave of irritation rose in her.

What was this? She wasn't playing games with him. Couldn't he see how torn she was? Or was he dead set on using his position to push her around?

"So what if I take leave? Which article of the Labor Law says I can't? The general manager's title is so lofty, truly impressive." Wen Wan dropped those words and turned to walk away.

Her sudden shift in attitude caught him off guard. Fu Mingwei called out "Wen Wan" and strode forward.

She ignored him, got in her car, and drove off, passing right by him without so much as a glance.

The tricky part of this whole situation was that Fu Mingwei hadn't openly pursued her, so she couldn't just call him out and tell him to drop it.

Besides, Fu Mingwei was her direct superior and the boss's son.

As the car pulled onto the main road, the sunset was stunning, like boiling molten lava. The central business district was packed with towering high-rises, their endless steel-glass facades reflecting the changing seasons, forming a dazzling, intricate kaleidoscope. It was breathtaking at first glance, but after a while, it inevitably grew tiresome.

Wen Wan flipped down the sun visor, checked her makeup in the mirror, replayed the underground parking lot scene, and slammed the steering wheel hard.

Damn it! Could Fu Mingwei possibly think she was playing hard to get?

......

By the time Xie Shuyu and the other two arrived at the station, the sky had gone completely dark. Wen Wan touched up her makeup and waited for them at the exit.

The four of them met up, with Zuo Ye and Xu Huiyin taking turns hugging Wen Wan. When it came to Xie Shuyu's turn, the two of them froze, standing face to face, unsure of what to do.

Long time no see, how have you been?

Or... I've missed you.

Neither was said.

"You're here," Wen Wan said.

"You're here," Xie Shuyu nodded.

Ninety days had indeed made things awkward. Standing there stiffly was a bit embarrassing, so Xie Shuyu pulled her hands out of her pockets, wiped them on her clothes, and extended one toward Wen Wan.

Wen Wan was stunned for a few seconds, then switched the shopping bag from her right hand to her left, clasped Xie Shuyu's hand, and strictly following etiquette, maintained appropriate pressure, shook their arms up and down three times, all while gazing deeply into the other's eyes.

Mutual respect, perfect politeness, courteous reciprocity, Wen Wan released her hand and distributed the bottled water from the plastic bag to everyone.

Zuo Ye held her water, first dragging Xu Huiyin out to scold her, saying, "Look at them, it's been this long and she still remembers what flavor water I like to drink." Then she quickly squeezed between Xie Shuyu and Wen Wan. "Not bad, this vibe, diplomatic relations between two nations, friendly negotiations. Anyone would think you two were in the Great Hall of the People."

"What about me?" Xie Shuyu twisted open the cap. Wen Wan had bought her sugar-free tea with a jasmine fragrance.

After swallowing a few mouthfuls of cold tea, she turned her head, what a coincidence, Wen Wan was looking at her too.

Their gazes met, then quickly separated. Xie Shuyu lowered her head and screwed the cap back on.

Zuo Ye laughed and pointed at them with her hand. "Both of you have guilty consciences."

"What guilt?" Xie Shuyu responded reflexively, trying to hide her unease.

"No guilt?" Zuo Ye said. "If there's no guilt, then why can't you even hug?"

Xie Shuyu put the water into her bag. "Who says I don't dare."

"Then hug her," Zuo Ye said, habitually picking a fight.

And Xie Shuyu, of all people, couldn't stand being provoked. "Fine, I'll hug."

They had just shaken hands, standing face to face. Xie Shuyu swung her canvas bag behind her shoulder, opened her arms, and with a firm smack, hugged Wen Wan.

"Whoa!" Zuo Ye and Xu Huiyin whooped and hollered.

Xie Shuyu was both annoyed and amused. These two.

The station exit was a river of people, countless welcomes and reunions happening all at once. This hug was utterly unremarkable, and so boldness overcame shyness, and they lingered in each other's arms a little longer.

Xie Shuyu's cheek pressed against Wen Wan's hair, cool to the touch, and a familiar fragrance invaded her nose. It was the scent she had known since childhood, since the very first time they met: a faint sandalwood mixed with floral and fruity notes, unchanged all these years.

The woody scent felt almost tangible, the signature of old houses and old furniture, mellow and warm. The floral notes were light, elusive, impossible to deliberately capture... and the fruity sweetness instantly pulled her back to the summer after second grade.

Xie Shuyu was briefly lost in a daze.

Cicadas chirped noisily, the afternoon air was muggy and hot. Under the old camphor tree at the entrance of the neighborhood, Wen Wan had approached her on her own, extended her right hand, the warm candy smell on her breath, and asked, "Do you want some?"

That day she had run away from home. She hadn't done well on the final math exam and had argued with her mom. The weather was so hot, her body felt sticky, tears had dried and re-wetted her face, her skin felt tight and uncomfortable.

Wen Wan had sat close beside her, cupped her face with both hands, pinched the left cheek, pinched the right cheek, rubbed continuously with her palms, and even opened her mouth and took a bite, saying, "It's salty."

In her memory, the Wen Wan she met that first time was like an angel, with light, snow-white wings, radiating a holy, gentle glow.

She had kissed her cheek and given her a candy, green apple flavored.

It seemed there was a strange resonance. When the hug came without warning, Wen Wan instinctively wrapped her arms around the other's waist, and at the same moment, they both thought of their first meeting.

That had just been an ordinary day in her life, an ordinary afternoon, not worth remembering, but because of Xie Shuyu, it had been carved again and again ever since, frame by frame, like water droplets from the eaves, over time wearing a deep imprint into her heart.

The candy had melted from the heat, the wrapper sticky and dirty. She had been about to throw it away when she saw a kid crying under the tree, so she handed it over.

That kid hadn't minded. She stuck out half her tongue and licked it earnestly, eyelashes still holding tears, nose red, cheeks like cotton candy, so soft, so squishy...

So delicious.

And then she said "thank you" to her.

The memory was fragmented and long, thoughts vast, transcending time and space, but in reality, the hug lasted only three or five seconds.

They released each other, both stepping back as if afraid to be slow, pulling to a safe distance.

The two had cooperated perfectly, hugging when told to, without a hint of reluctance. Zuo Ye, in turn, found it less interesting, and rubbed her stomach. "I'm hungry."

Wen Wan sighed with relief. "There's a good Chinese restaurant. I've already booked a table."

She walked ahead, leading them to pick up the car. "Chinese food should be fine, right? That way all four of us can get dishes we like." Actually, she had originally wanted hotpot, but she was worried about the garlic smell.

Zuo Ye and Xu Huiyin agreed, saying they hadn't had rice in a long time. Xie Shuyu walked behind with both hands in her pockets, her gaze instinctively following.

Wen Wan was wearing a white shirt today, with a loose lake-blue blazer over it, a gray mid-length pleated skirt below, slender straight calves, and moderate heels. She walked with a steady, unhurried stride.

She was beautiful, and her clothes were beautiful too, from head to toe, absolutely stunning in every way.

She must have been exhausted, busy as well, she hadn't even taken off her work badge since getting off.

Refined, gorgeous, Wen Wan's polished urban professional aura stretched the distance between them even wider. Xie Shuyu lost count of how many times she'd thought it, they really had grown up, each becoming their own different person.

"Xie Shuyu!" Wen Wan suddenly turned around, perhaps the hug had given her courage.

Snapping back to reality, a habit formed over years, Xie Shuyu trotted over to Wen Wan's side, her eyes asking the question.

Wen Wan grabbed her wrist through her sleeve, "You said you didn't bring your toiletries, was that on purpose? You didn't want to see me, but A-Yin had already bought the train tickets in advance, so you couldn't refuse."

Dazed for two seconds, Xie Shuyu shook her head frantically, "I didn't, it wasn't on purpose, I really forgot to pack."

Afraid of being misunderstood, she poured out her true feelings one after another, "It's just that I wanted to see you so badly, I was so nervous that I forgot things left and right. I missed you so much, how could I not want to see you..."

Wen Wan's heels clicked softly, like a nimble little deer, satisfied with this answer, "It's fine, stay at my place, I have everything at home."

There wasn't really anything to emphasize about this, when they were kids, they often slept over at each other's houses, lying in the same bed, and hugging and kissing were common occurrences. But that was all before Wen Wan started dating.

"What about Yezi and the others?" Xie Shuyu asked a pointless question.

"Getting a hotel room, duh," Wen Wan said.

A hotel room.

Xie Shuyu pressed her lips together, putting on a serious face.

Wen Wan pulled her along for a stretch, "Actually, I really missed you. When I saw you walking toward me from afar, I was so happy."

Her heart inexplicably quickened, Xie Shuyu's fingers went numb, her voice trembling, "Actually, I missed you too, you..."

The car was parked across the street. As they crossed, a car honked, and Wen Wan frowned, "What?"

"Watch the red light," Xie Shuyu tugged at her sleeve, "I said I'm happy too."

Wen Wan suddenly lifted her face, "You said you missed me, I heard you. You said it first, you said it from the very beginning."

"Huh?" Xie Shuyu was confused, when had she said that!

BACK | TABLE OF CONTENTS | NEXT