Chapter 25
Ji Ting’s ears turned even hotter. She placed the perfume back into the box, where there was a small white card describing its fragrance: faint and pleasant. Xiao Wan bent over and used her hand as a fan, waving it over the card, saying, “It really smells so good. Brother Tan Yucheng, has such good taste.”
Ji Ting smiled faintly and put away the box.
At noon, when there weren’t many people around, Zhang Yang came to work. The newly recruited apprentice was also quite good. Ji Ting slept fairly well last night, but she still felt a bit tired today, so she went to the rest area to catch up on sleep.
Around two-thirty, she came out of the lounge. Just then, the shop door was pushed open, and a customer entered. It was Zhu Zhan, wearing glasses and carrying a suitcase. He adjusted his glasses and looked at Ji Ting.
Ji Ting was slightly stunned, feeling more alert now. She asked, “You’re here in Li City?”
Zhu Zhan nodded, looking a bit weary. He asked, “Can I sit down?”
Ji Ting came to her senses and nodded, saying, “Feel free to sit. What would you like to drink?”
“Would plain water be okay? Never mind, I’ll have coffee,” Zhu Zhan said, picking a chair and sitting down. Xiao Zhou saw him and widened his eyes, leaning closer to Ji Ting and saying, “Isn’t this Sister Xixi’s boyfriend?”
Ji Ting asked Xiao Zhou to make coffee. Glancing at the list, she replied, “He’s not anymore.”
Xiao Zhou exclaimed, “Ah!”
After the coffee was served, Ji Ting brought it over to Zhu Zhan. His face looked pale, indicating he hadn’t slept well. He took the cup, thanked her. Ji Ting didn’t want to engage further but Zhu Zhan stopped her.
“Ji Ting, can you help me contact Yu Xi?”
Ji Ting turned to look at him. “Have you called her?”
“I called her, but she didn’t answer. I went to her company, but she didn’t come out. There’s security at her hotel, so I couldn’t get in,” Zhu Zhan explained.
Ji Ting raised an eyebrow, quietly observing Zhu Zhan. His demeanor seemed sincere, and the pain in his eyes was evident.
She said, “If she doesn’t want to see you, then go back. There’s no use in looking for me.”
“Ji Ting, please help me. Let her hear my explanation,” Zhu Zhan pleaded, gripping the cup tightly and looking at Ji Ting with anxious eyes.
Ji Ting narrowed her eyes.
She pulled up a chair and sat opposite him, saying, “I believe you’ve already tried to explain to her. Whether she listens or not is up to her.”
“I can’t help you.”
Zhu Zhan gripped the cup tightly. He looked at Ji Ting and said, “You have to help me, Ji Ting. Just call her and let me talk to her. I’ll explain everything to her.”
Ji Ting leaned back in her chair, her hands resting on the table.
She raised an eyebrow and asked, “I want to ask you, have you met with other women?”
Zhu Zhan was taken aback, and he fell silent immediately.
Ji Ting’s voice was soft but firm, “Then that’s it. You’ve already made your decision. So why come to her now? Why explain yourself? Didn’t she tell you from the beginning not to meet with other women? She won’t accept you meeting with other women. Did she ever say that to you?”
Zhu Zhan’s face turned somewhat pale. He wiped his face and said, “I just met with her, I didn’t promise anyone anything. My parents have been pressuring me, and I also wanted to come to Li City. But now that I’m here, what can I do?”
Ji Ting pursed her lips.
She said, “You haven’t tried hard enough; you’re just backing down.”
“Where do you place her?”
Zhu Zhan paused as he wiped his face, then looked at Ji Ting. “How can I try harder? I’ve considered many possibilities, but I have properties and houses in Nan’an. I came to Li City with nothing. I can’t give her a future.”
Ji Ting felt a chill in her fingertips.
It seemed she could also understand his slight helplessness, but she felt that this shouldn’t be the outcome.
She said, “Zhu Zhan, from the moment you went on blind dates with other women, you cut off all possibilities between you two. You didn’t give your relationship any chance. You ended it all with your own hands.”
Zhu Zhan stared at Ji Ting in a daze.
Perhaps at this moment, he realized that he might have truly lost Yu Xi.
He thought meeting and explaining would be enough. He thought coming to Li City to see her once would be enough. He thought as long as he made her understand his difficulties, it would be okay. But he didn’t realize that such actions were akin to betrayal. He went to her hotel, and she was there at the time, but she refused to come out. He booked a suite at her hotel, but the service staff were not Yu Xi.
Later, the next day, Yu Xi went on vacation.
He had no choice but to come find Ji Ting.
Zhu Zhan fell into silence.
Ji Ting stood up, left his table, and went to work at the counter.
Xiao Zhou heard their conversation, pursed her lips, and couldn’t be bothered to deal with Zhu Zhan anymore.
Not long after, the coffee had gone cold. Zhu Zhan stood up, grabbed his suitcase, and left the cafe. As the door closed behind him, Xiao Zhou pursed her lips even more and made a slight clicking sound.
Ji Ting took out her phone from the counter and found Yu Xi’s contact, sending a message.
Ji Ting: What are you up to?
Yu Xi: Soaking in a hot spring.
Ji Ting: That sounds nice.
Yu Xi: Of course, rewarding myself with a complete makeover.
Ji Ting chuckled and replied, “Enjoy yourself then, have fun.”
After sending this message, Ji Ting felt relieved. Glancing around the shop, noticing that it’s not too busy, she left it to Zhang Yang and took the car keys to drive to another branch to check on the renovation progress.
The renovation at the branch was progressing quite quickly. The entire cultural community was rushing to prepare for the New Year’s Eve activities, and every store was pushing forward with their schedules.
Ji Ting saw Lu Hai’s signature on the progress report. He had been diligently following up on the progress of this branch, showing great responsibility.
Ji Ting smiled faintly, took out her phone, snapped a photo, and sent it to Lu Hai with a message: “Thank you.”
Lu Hai replied promptly: “You’re welcome. It’s my duty.”
Ji Ting didn’t respond further.
She casually edited the photo and posted it on her Moments (social media):
Ji Ting: Progress bar at 78%
[Image attached].
The renovation of the branch for the New Year’s Eve celebration was completed, and Ji Ting was now doing some early promotion. After posting on her Moments, Ji Ting treated the renovation workers to dinner. They preferred places like roadside stalls with a lively atmosphere, where they could eat heartily. Ji Ting accompanied them and packed some food for Zhang Yang and the others.
Past around 10 PM, the Sunset closed.
Ji Ting was the last to leave. After tidying up, she returned to her apartment. She unpacked the perfume box from “Pure Scent Imprint” and placed it on the vanity in her bedroom. Then she took her pajamas and went to take a shower.
In a soft camisole pajama, the kiss marks from last night on her neck were revealed after being washed away by water. She sat on the sofa with a glass of water in hand, lazily leaning back. She casually picked up her phone and opened WeChat.
The Moments post from the afternoon had received a lot of likes and comments.
Many people also asked when she would open for business, promising to come and support. Ji Ting replied one by one. When she looked back, even that black profile picture had liked her post, and the name “Tan” was impossible to ignore.
He rarely liked anyone’s posts, so this was quite unusual.
Long Kong was the first to notice: “@Tan, let’s go celebrate New Year’s Eve there together.”
Feng Yingying added: “I want to join the New Year’s Eve celebration too.”
Yu Xi chimed in: “Count me in, count me in.”
Meng Jia commented: “…Then I’ll go too. @Tan”
Now everyone was mentioning him in their comments.
Ji Ting felt her face inexplicably warm as she wondered why they were all interacting in her Moments. Just then, her phone buzzed with a new message, and she opened it to read:
Tan: Where are you?
Ji Ting: At the apartment, you?
Tan: At the office.
Tan: Start a video call.
Ji Ting was briefly taken aback. Before she could react, the other party’s video call came through. She quickly reached for a phone stand from under the counter, placed it on the sofa arm, and then set her phone on it, tapping the green button.
The screen lit up with the video feed.
He first revealed his Adam’s apple and collarbone. He was in the office. Tan Yucheng pushed his phone forward slightly and looked up. Ji Ting seemed to meet his gaze through the phone screen. It was much darker on her side compared to his.
Ji Ting asked, “Are you still working overtime?”
Tan Yucheng looked at her for a few seconds, then glanced at the keyboard in front of him. With his slender fingers resting on the keys, he replied, “Yeah. Did you go to the branch today?”
Ji Ting glanced at his profile. The contours of his face were exceptionally refined. The lighting on his side was bright but quiet, with a large floor-to-ceiling window behind him.
Ji Ting lazily leaned back in her chair and replied, “The renovation is almost finished.”
“Are you coming for New Year’s Eve?” she asked.
Tan Yucheng continued typing quietly. He scoffed lightly, “Aren’t you all calling for me?”
Ji Ting chuckled softly.
She also thought about those messages tagging him under her Moments, it seemed like he had a deeper connection with her. Only she understood the subtle emotions within herself.
In the dim light, Ji Ting’s laughter was soft but pleasant. Her beautiful features carried a hint of misty allure. Tan Yucheng listened to her laugh, glanced again at the woman on his phone, and loosened his tie.
Faintly, the image of him holding her down last night surfaced in her mind.
Ji Ting leaned back in her chair, watching him absentmindedly through the camera. She observed him casually loosening his tie.
With a soft voice, she asked, “Did you meet clients again today?”
“Yeah,” he replied softly.
Ji Ting murmured, “You seem really busy.”
A slight smile tugged at the corner of Tan Yucheng’s lips. “Not as busy as you.”
Ji Ting blinked. “I’m not busy at all. I’m at home now, and you’re still at the office.”
On Tan Yucheng’s end, the keyboard seemed to pause. He picked up a cigarette, held it in his mouth without lighting it, and took some files from the side, flipping through them. With a lazy, and husky voice muffled by the cigarette, he said, “Almost done with the busy period.”
Ji Ting murmured in acknowledgment.
Meanwhile, her tablet pinged twice with WeChat notifications. Ji Ting picked up the tablet, and the message was from Qiu Dan.
Mother: Have you not yet approved Mu Yang’s friend request?
Ji Ting paused, then replied on the tablet: Not yet, Mom. I haven’t decided yet.
Mother: Are you still worried?
Ji Ting responded: Yeah, what if things are still the same?
Mother: You should always give it a try, right? I think you don’t have any issues with Yucheng. Is it because Mu Yang isn’t handsome enough?
Ji Ting felt a bit helpless and replied, “It’s not about looks.”
“Whose messaging?” Tan Yucheng’s voice came lazily through the phone, still husky with the cigarette in his mouth.
Ji Ting paused, looked up, and saw Tan Yucheng still flipping through files, holding a pen in one hand, while signing without looking up.
Feeling a bit uneasy for no apparent reason, Ji Ting replied, “It’s from my mom.”
After hearing that, Tan Yucheng glanced over at her with a raised eyebrow. Meanwhile, Ji Ting received another message from Qiu Dan. It was a voice message this time. Ji Ting hesitated to open it.
Her fingertip hovered over the screen in silence for a few seconds.
Tan Yucheng watched as she stared motionless at the tablet. He closed the pen cap, preparing to speak, when the office door was pushed open.
Chen Fei entered, carrying a laptop, and shouted as he came in, “Brother Tan, that guy made us change it again. I’m so damn…”
Ji Ting heard it too.
She looked up.
Tan Yucheng glanced at her through the phone and said, “I’ll hang up first. You should get some sleep.”
Ji Ting nodded. “Okay.”
Tan Yucheng looked at her for a few seconds, then raised his hand to end the video call. Just before he completely disconnected, Chen Fei on the other end froze for a moment, then exclaimed, “Is that sister Ting? Brother Tan, you’re video chatting with sister Ting in the middle of the night…”
“A few matters…”
The call ended abruptly.
Ji Ting heard Chen Fei’s words, feeling a warmth in her ears, but she needed to respond to Qiu Dan’s message.
She played the voice message, where Qiu Dan said, “Mu Yang is indeed a bit inferior to Yucheng. You should find someone who looks a bit better. You know the landlord of our supermarket, right? Her son returned from studying abroad and is now in investment banking. He’s quite good-looking. He visited our store a few times, and the landlord even asked me for your photo, showing interest. I hesitated before because I wasn’t sure about these prominent families in Li City and didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable. But thinking now, the landlord’s son really is quiet…”
Ji Ting replied to Qiu Dan, “Mom, it really isn’t about looks.”
It’s just not that person.
Qiu Dan replied, “It’s okay, it’s good to get to know him. It’s late now, you should sleep early, don’t stay up late, it’s bad for your health.”
Ji Ting glanced at the time.
It was indeed almost midnight. She replied, “You too, sleep early. What about Dad?”
“Your dad is still at the supermarket, doing the accounts. I’m heading back home to take a shower.”
“Have you showered yet?”
“Getting ready.”
“Hurry up then.” Ji Ting heard that Qiu Dan hadn’t showered yet and immediately urged her to go. Qiu Dan responded affirmatively, and the mother and daughter’s WeChat chat quieted down.
As it quieted down, Ji Ting yawned, grabbed the nearby cushion, hugged it against her chest, leaned back in the chair, picked up the remote, turned on the projector, and casually chose a movie to watch.
The next day, she woke up.
She slept in late, partly due to the weather turning cold. Ji Ting was a bit reluctant to get out of bed, her long hair cascading over her shoulders as she lay there, half-awake. She reached out to grab her phone to check the time.
There was a WeChat message.
It showed “Tan”.
Ji Ting slid her fingertip to open it.
Tan: On a business trip, back in three days.
Ji Ting was slightly stunned, quietly staring at the message sent a little after six in the morning. For some reason, a smile crept onto her lips. She composed a reply.
Ji Ting: Where are you going?
Tan: Beijing.
Tan: Are you awake?
Ji Ting: Yeah, where are you now?
Tan: Getting ready to board the plane.
Ji Ting: Alright, have a safe trip.
After sending this message, Ji Ting set down her phone, laid back down for a moment, then finally got up. He hadn’t replied yet, probably already on the plane. Ji Ting freshened up, changed clothes, and headed downstairs.
The shop was already bustling. Breakfast ordered by Ji Ting had arrived, and she put on an apron before sitting down to eat at a table. Zhang Yang was busy making coffee, and Ji Ting asked, “Where’s part-time Xiao Yan?”
Zhang Yang replied while handling a cup, “He’s at an interview at Zhuoyue today. He said he’ll come over later tonight.”
Ji Ting acknowledged with an “oh.” She had ordered rice noodle rolls with a side of soup.
Xiao Wan smelled the food and came over. Ji Ting smiled and handed over the remaining soup to her. Xiao Wan took it gratefully, saying, “Thank you, sister Ting.”
Ji Ting wiped her mouth, put on her mask, and went to help Zhang Yang.
Today was particularly busy because there was a large takeout order of twenty-eight cups early in the morning, placed by a law firm in the Zhonghua Building. The freshly baked croissants had also sold out quickly.
As Zhang Yang packed the orders, he mentioned, “By the way, Sister Ting, it seems the company Xiao Yan is interviewing with is Superior Times.”
Ji Ting paused momentarily while finishing packing the croissant bags. “Oh, Xiao Yan is studying programming?”
“Yeah, that’s right. Do you think the one interviewing him today might be Brother Tan?”
“He’s on a business trip,” Ji Ting shook her head.
“Oh,” Zhang Yang nodded.
Xiao Wan finished her soup, put on her hat, and leaned over. “Wow, it would be so great to work at Tan Yucheng’s company. You could see him every day.”
“Half of the workplace’s pains would disappear,” Zhang Yang scoffed. “You’re such a fan. What if he’s actually cold and stern at work?”