Chapter 6
The employees hired in the store were all young boys and girls. The manager is also young, named Zhang Yang, he was a guy in his twenties who especially liked baking and coffee. He had learned a lot from Ji Ting. Seeing his stability, Ji Ting promoted him to be the manager. When Ji Ting wasn’t in the store, he would be in charge.
He managed Xiao Zhou, Xiao Wan, and a few other girls quite well.
After the store closed at around ten o’clock at night, Ji Ting ordered lobster to be brought to the store to treat them and also to hold a meeting.
Xiao Wan reported to Ji Ting about an incident that happened tonight. A mother brought her child to drink coffee and ordered a cake. The child was restless and spilled the coffee. Before they could react, the child’s mother scolded her, pulling her arm, causing the child to cry loudly, disturbing other customers.
Ji Ting frowned. “How did you handle it?”
“I went over and picked up the child. The mother was very angry, and she was about to hit the child. I gave the little girl some candy to calm her down.”
“The manager heard the commotion and came out. He replaced the mother’s coffee and cake, and she calmed down a bit.”
“Later, the mother told Xiao Zhou that she rarely gets a chance to relax and has to bring her child with her. She was already in a bad mood, and the child wasn’t behaving.” Xiao Wan spat out the shrimp shell she was chewing on. “Sister Ting, did we handle it correctly?”
Ji Ting relaxed her eyebrows. She drank some cola and praised, “You did very well. We always need to stay calm to deal with any situation.”
“But I feel so sorry for the little girl.”
Ji Ting listened as Xiao Wan said, “The mother is also very distressed. She wants to relax but can’t do it alone, having to bring her child along. Maybe she spends all 24 hours with her child. She really wants some time to herself, to do her own thing, but she can’t. That’s why she gets emotional.”
Xiao Wan paused, blinked, and said, “That seems to make sense. If the little girl’s father was with this mother, she would have someone to help her.”
Ji Ting nodded.
After finishing the meeting and eating the lobster, they returned to the apartment. It was almost midnight. Ji Ting finished showering but wasn’t ready to sleep yet. She sat on the sofa with her tablet, playing old movies.
She leaned back on the sofa, lost in thought.
Her phone flashed, and it was a message from Lu Hai.
Lu Hai: [Are you asleep?]
Late at night, Ji Ting still replied: [Just finished showering. Are you still working overtime?]
Lu Hai: [Got some last-minute feedback from a client, had to revise the design draft.]
Ji Ting: [Oh.]
Lu Hai: [What about you? What are you doing?]
Ji Ting: [Daydreaming and watching movies.]
Lu Hai: [Are you daydreaming while watching movies, or watching movies while daydreaming?]
Ji Ting: [Is there a difference?]
Lu Hai: [Of course. Daydreaming while watching a movie means you’re not really watching it. But watching a movie while daydreaming means you’re already immersed in it. The movie is very captivating.]
Ji Ting smiled.
Lu Hai: [Mind a video? I have something to show you.]
Ji Ting asked, [What is it?]
After asking, Lu Hai started a video call. Ji Ting’s curiosity was piqued, so she answered.
The screen flashed, revealing a black and white cat, staring at the camera with its legs folded obediently. Ji Ting was charmed and said, “Is this your cat?”
“Friend’s cat, staying with me. Cute, right?” Lu Hai replied.
“Very cute. What breed is it?”
“Bicolor cat.”
“Mmm, so adorable.”
Ji Ting focused on the cat.
Suddenly, her phone rang at this moment, and there was an incoming call from Tan Yucheng. She had to switch out
She hesitated for a moment but answered.
His voice was somewhat lazy as he asked, “Still awake?”
Ji Ting replied, “I just picked up.”
Tan Yucheng chuckled on the other end. “Then the online world is missing you.”
Ji Ting was about to agree but then realized she was still on the video call. She responded, “I’m not going. Busy with something else.”
“What are you busy with?”
“Video call.”
Tan Yucheng raised an eyebrow on his end. After a few seconds, he understood her meaning. “Okay, go ahead with your video call. Don’t stay up too late.”
“Okay.”
After finishing the call, Ji Ting switched back to the video call. The bicolor cat was stretching lazily, its body stretched out, looking especially cute. Ji Ting stared blankly, contemplating whether she should also get a cat as a companion.
On the other end, Lu Hai was drawing. Seeing her return, he asked, “You had a phone call just now?”
Ji Ting responded with an “Mmm.”
“So late, who was calling you?” Lu Hai asked softly.
Ji Ting smiled and replied, “A friend.”
Lu Hai just acknowledged with an “Oh.”
After ending the video call, Ji Ting received a WeChat message from Meng Jia.
Meng Jia: [Do you play “Punk Thugs”?]
Ji Ting: [Occasionally.]
Meng Jia: [I registered an account today, played a bit, and found it a bit violent. How can you dare to play this?]
Ji Ting: [That’s how games are.]
Meng Jia: [I want to learn. Can you teach me?]
Ji Ting: [I’m busy these days. How about next time?]
Meng Jia: [He plays, I want to accompany him.]
Ji Ting paused for a moment, holding her phone, then replied to Meng Jia, [Why don’t you ask him to teach you?]
Meng Jia: [I’ll give it a try.]
Ji Ting agreed.
Glancing at the time, realizing it was late and the movie wasn’t finished yet, Ji Ting turned off the TV, put down the remote, and headed to her room.
The next day, she went to the branch store, signed the final contract, and picked up the contract. She contacted Lu Hai, intending to hand over the design of the branch store to him. Lu Hai immediately replied, “I’ll make sure to handle it for you.”
Ji Ting chuckled, “Thank you for your help.”
Lu Hai took the opportunity to invite her for a drink in the evening, mentioning that a friend of his had opened a cocktail bar.
Ji Ting thought for a moment holding her phone, then agreed.
In the afternoon, feeling a bit tired at the store, Ji Ting sat by the sofa with a cup of coffee, lazily flipping through a book, while casually scrolling through her social media feed. Two posts below was from Meng Jia.
Meng Jia posted a photo taken in the Yanchun Intelligent Co., Ltd, also Tan Yucheng’s company. At the photo, Tan Yucheng was standing, leaning on the table, and talking to his colleagues with a pen between his fingers. His profile was sharp, and there was a hint of playfulness in his speech.
A comment below said: Meng Jia, have you infiltrated his company?
Meng Jia replied: Of course.
Meng Jia added: I’m waiting for him to finish work.
Yu Xi replied to Meng Jia: Miss, it’s good you don’t need to earn money. With leisure and wealth, Tan Yucheng will be yours sooner or later.
Meng Jia laughed heartily and responded to Yu Xi: Thank you for your auspicious words. He’s so hard to pursue, I have to put in a lot of effort.
Yu Xi replied to Meng Jia: Keep it up. I’m counting on you to get rich.
Meng Jia replied to Yu Xi: Hmm? Hmm? Hmm?
Yu Xi didn’t reply to Meng Jia immediately.
She sent a message to Ji Ting, [If Meng Jia knew we were betting, she would definitely make her own bet.]
Ji Ting smiled, [Hmm, sounds like something she would do.]
Yu Xi: [Hope she’s ambitious enough to help me get rich.]
Ji Ting looked at the message, smiled, and didn’t reply.
In the evening, around eight o’clock, Ji Ting returned to her apartment first. She had been preparing light meals for customers at the store in the evening, with some salad and dressing on her clothes, which still had that smell, sticky.
Since she had to go out, she needed to change her clothes.
She took a shower, and blow-dried her hair. It had been a long time since she used a curling iron. She curled her hair a bit, then went into the room to pick out her outfit.
Hanging in the closet was a strapless dress she hadn’t had the chance to wear much since she bought it not long ago. Ji Ting hesitated for a moment, then decided to wear it.
It took her a bit effort with the zipper behind her.
With her hair curled, she felt a bit more radiant, a word that rarely described her.
After putting on makeup and grabbing a suitable purse, she turned and left, feeling like she had dressed up nicely, and her mood seemed a bit better.
She went downstairs.
Lu Hai’s car pulled up, flashing its lights. Ji Ting bent down and got in.
Lu Hai couldn’t take his eyes off her. Ji Ting fastened her seatbelt and looked at him, “Let’s go.”
Lu Hai suddenly came to his senses, placing his hand on the steering wheel. “Ji Ting, you look beautiful tonight.”
Ji Ting smiled, “Do I? It’s a new dress, just trying it out.”
“It looks great. It suits you well.” Lu Hai drove off, feeling his heart beating faster as they passed by the neon lights.
Ji Ting had long, fair legs, and a slender waist. Her figure was usually hidden under her everyday clothes, but with a little dressing up, it was revealed.
Lu Hai subconsciously adjusted his shirt. He was wearing a light-colored shirt, and unsure if it matched her.
The car’s air conditioning was quite cool.
Ji Ting reached out to adjust it higher.
Lu Hai realized and said, “I’ll do it, I’ll do it.”
He adjusted the temperature up by two degrees for Ji Ting.
Ji Ting smiled and leaned back in her seat.
Soon, they arrived at the cocktail bar that Lu Hai mentioned. It had just opened, so there weren’t many people. When Ji Ting got out of the car, her phone rang. She glanced at it and saw it was Tan Yucheng calling.
She paused and answered the call.
Tan Yucheng’s voice came from the other end, “Where are you?”
Ji Ting glanced at Lu Hai and replied, “Outside.”
Tan Yucheng, smoking on the other end, listened and said, “Out with him again?”
Ji Ting stayed quiet for a second before replying, “Hmm.”
“Okay, go ahead.”
After hanging up, Ji Ting and Lu Hai entered the cocktail bar. Lu Hai had reserved a small two-person bar counter. Ji Ting sat down, and Lu Hai sat opposite her, asking, “What would you like to drink?”
Ji Ting glanced at the menu sign and said, “Long Island Iced Tea.”
Lu Hai signaled the waiter and said, “One Long Island Iced Tea and one of Xuandong.”
After the waiter left, he looked at Ji Ting and asked, “Do you often come to bars?”
As the lights dimmed behind them, a singer on stage began to sing a folk song. In the dim light, Ji Ting felt a bit distracted.
She tapped on her phone and replied to Lu Hai, saying, “Mostly with friends and classmates.”
“I heard aunt said you have many classmates in Li City?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s nice. I don’t have many friends here. I used to study design at Binhai University.”
Ji Ting put down her phone and looked up, saying, “Binhai’s design school is top-notch. You must have done well.”
Lu Hai smiled, “Your school isn’t bad either.”
Ji Ting chuckled, “Not as good as Beijing University.”
“How many points difference?”
Ji Ting hesitated for a moment before replying, “About ten points.”
Lu Hai nodded, and soon, two drinks were served. Ji Ting took a sip, feeling the coolness alleviate the heat. Lu Hai, on the other hand, felt relaxed. He felt like he was getting closer to Ji Ting. Being able to come to the cocktail bar together and have a drink felt like they could talk more openly. Before, it was just meals or watching movies, and video calls with her.
He always felt like something was missing.
That’s why he invited her to the cocktail bar. And seeing her agree made him really happy.
The cocktail bar gradually filled up, and a folk singer was covering the once-popular song “Maybe”: “Maybe the southern sun shines on the northern wind, maybe time is blown away, disappearing without a trace…”
The low, melodious voice was very pleasant to listen to.
The lighting changed as well, and Ji Ting seemed to be a sight to behold there; many people passing by would glance at her.
A group of people arrived at the table in front, and as they sat down, Tan Yucheng undid the top button of his shirt and began to peruse the drinks menu on the table. Chen Fei sat beside Tan Yucheng and caught sight of the beautiful woman at the small bar.
He immediately nudged Tan Yucheng’s arm, “Brother Tan, is that Ji Ting?”
Tan Yucheng ordered a drink and looked over.
In the midst of the crowd, Ji Ting was leaning against the high table, wearing a pair of delicate black high heels. Her fitted skirt reached just above her thighs, showcasing her fair and slender legs. She held a tall glass, and her curly hair cascading over her shoulders, while lazily listened to the conversation across from her.
Tan Yucheng raised an eyebrow when he saw Lu Hai.
Curiously, Chen Fei asked, “Is that Ji Ting’s boyfriend?”
Tan Yucheng withdrew his gaze, closed the menu, and ordered a ‘Long Island’ from the waiter. Chen Fei then ordered a ‘Love Brain Freeze’ and looked back at Tan Yucheng. Tan Yucheng leaned back and pulled out his phone to reply, “More or less.”
“More or less? So, it’s almost there?”
Chen Fei was Tan Yucheng’s college classmate and a senior executive of the company. During college, he had also met Ji Ting and knew that she was Tan Yucheng’s classmate and good friend.
“I suppose so.”
Tan Yucheng replied casually, while his slender fingers tapping on the phone.
Chen Fei shrugged, “I wonder if Ji Ting will soon be ending her single life.”
This time, Tan Yucheng didn’t reply.