Chapter 29
Ji Ting hesitated for a moment, “Oh.”
She thought for a moment, “Are there any photos? I’d like to see.”
“Yes, take a look. Does he like this type?” Qiu Dan took out her phone, scrolled through it, and handed a photo to Ji Ting.
The moment Ji Ting took it, the first thing that caught her attention was the girl’s eyes—double eyelids, very dark, giving her a sense of familiarity. A few seconds later, she realized it was like Shu Xiao, the eyes felt very similar to Shu Xiao’s.
For a moment, she felt a bit flustered.
But soon she calmed down. She returned the phone to Qiu Dan, who looked at her and asked, “How was it? Will he like her?”
Ji Ting thought for a moment and replied, “He should. There’s a chance.”
Qiu Dan put away her phone, “That’s good then. Xiao Xi can finally be a bit more at ease this time.”
“I’m getting off here. Be careful driving back to the shop,” Ji Ting said with a smile.
“Alright,” Qiu Dan nodded.
She opened the car door, got out, and headed towards the supermarket. After a few seconds, she came back out and called out to Ji Ting to come home for dinner that evening. Ji Ting agreed, then started the car and left the supermarket entrance.
Back at the shop.
Xiao Wan was making coffee for takeout, while the delivery person waited beside a chair. Ji Ting put on an apron to help with packing. She wore a dress with a suit jacket, looking very attractive.
Customers who came in glanced at her more than once.
After Xiao Wan finished the last cup of coffee, she looked at Ji Ting and said, “Sister Ting, you look so beautiful. Did you go on a date last night?”
Ji Ting wiped her hands with a towel and glanced at her, “It was a family dinner last night.”
“Oh right, you had a family gathering with Brother Tan Yucheng’s family. Did Brother Tan Yucheng look particularly impressed?” Xiao Wan asked.
Ji Ting rolled her eyes, “Not really.”
Xiao Wan muttered, “He must be blind.”
Ji Ting smiled and ignored her. The outfit she was wearing wasn’t suitable for work, so she went into the break room to change into her uniform. Her hair was tied up, and she put on a mask. The emerald green dress did indeed make her look fair. Since she wasn’t very hungry for lunch, she didn’t order takeout while Xiao Wan and the others did and they all went into the break room to eat. Ji Ting made herself a cup of coffee and sat down on the sofa.
At this moment, there were no customers in the shop, so it was a bit quiet.
Ji Ting scrolled her fingertips across the screen, checking some apps, when a message came through on WeChat.
A black profile picture flashed.
Tan: Where are you?
Ji Ting hesitated briefly: At the shop.
Tan: Had lunch?
Ji Ting: Not very hungry, just had some bread. How about you?
Tan: Just finished eating.
Tan: Video call.
As soon as the words were spoken, he initiated a video call. Ji Ting was caught off guard and could only press the green button. The screen flashed, revealing bright sunlight on his end. He was sitting on a yellow sofa in a small living room, the room quiet with closed curtains behind him. He had rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt and held his phone, looking into the camera.
From this angle, you could also see his slightly open collar and his sharp Adam’s apple.
Ji Ting instinctively raised her hand to adjust her hair bun and met his gaze. She asked softly, “Is Aunt Xiao and Uncle there?”
Tan Yucheng lowered his eyes and replied, “They’re napping.”
“Oh, aren’t you going to the office today?”
Ji Ting finished adjusting her hair, lowered her arm onto the table where she rested the hand holding the phone. Stray strands of hair fell beside her cheeks. She was dressed in the shop’s uniform: a white shirt with a light green A-line skirt, which he immediately recognized.
Tan Yucheng’s eyebrows lifted slightly. “Taking a few days off.”
Ji Ting responded with another “oh” and murmured softly, “That’s nice.”
Tan Yucheng looked at her. “What’s nice about it?”
Ji Ting glanced at him through the camera, feeling as if there were two phones between them during their gaze. She replied, “Isn’t it nice to rest at home?”
A faint smile tugged at the corners of Tan Yucheng’s lips.
He unwrapped a lollipop from the side and put it in his mouth. The sunlight on his balcony was intense, illuminating the small living room. However, due to the changing position of the sun, it didn’t pour directly into the dining room of his house as it did in the morning when she was there. After he bit off the lollipop, he glanced at his phone and asked, “Did you tell Aunt Qiu that I would like that girl?”
Ji Ting was lost in thought about the sunlight in his house when suddenly he asked this question, leaving her stunned.
She stared blankly at the camera.
Tan Yucheng chewed on the candy, holding the phone and seeming to eye her. “And you? Let me see the photo of that guy. I’ll give you some advice too.”
Ji Ting pursed her lips, her hand resting on her arm, subconsciously gripping her skin tighter.
“Let me see,” he teased, this time looking directly at her as if piercing through.
Ji Ting tightened her fingertips and said, “How do we do this while on video?”
“Let me see,” he insisted.
Ji Ting clenched her teeth slightly. She reached out, opened WeChat, found the chat with Qiu Dan, located the photo, and sent it directly to him. Returning to the video call, she looked into the camera.
Tan Yucheng opened the photo and glanced at it.
A face beaming with an extremely confident smile greeted him. He chewed on the candy, his tongue lingering with sweetness, then lifted his gaze to her again. “Was the person you liked before someone like him?”
Ji Ting was once again taken aback. She looked at the man on the screen and replied, “No.”
Tan Yucheng raised an eyebrow, glanced away, and deleted the photo. His voice lazy, he said, “He’s not right for you. Don’t even consider meeting him once.”
Ji Ting’s heart trembled.
He lifted his gaze to look at her again.
Ji Ting’s lips were a deep red hue; she had lipstick on, and a bit of it had stained the rim of her cup. The natural redness of her lips blended with the lipstick, and her blouse was buttoned up to the top button. Stray strands of hair fell gently on her cheeks as she looked at him.
They locked eyes.
Tan Yucheng cleared his throat, feeling a bit ticklish. He lifted a glass of water to drink and asked her, “You didn’t have lunch. Aren’t you hungry?”
Ji Ting shook her head.
“Is the shop busy?”
“We had a lot of takeout orders in the morning, but it’s quiet now.”
Just as she finished speaking, the sound of a welcoming greeting came from the entrance. Ji Ting looked up, instinctively stood up. The customer walked to the counter and looked at the menu. Ji Ting adjusted her phone beside her coffee cup and said to Tan Yucheng, “I need to attend to the customer first.”
With that, she walked towards the counter, grabbed an apron, put it on, and stood behind the counter, beckoning to the customer.
Her slender figure, dressed in light green uniform, was striking. The skirt draped against her long legs. While light green might not suit other girls, it certainly suited Ji Ting.
The customer ordered a latte and a tiramisu.
Ji Ting took the order, grabbed the milk, and walked to the coffee station. She stood there, bowing her head to start making the coffee. Tan Yucheng shifted his tablet and replied to messages, occasionally glancing at the woman behind the counter making coffee. A customer called out to her, and she turned back, responding with a smile, gentle and attractive. She quickly prepared coffee and dessert for one customer, wiped her hands, and just as she finished, the door opened again. White-collar workers walked in groups, starting to place their orders.
Ji Ting was too busy to mind her phone. She grabbed a cup and started working.
After serving three customers with iced Americanos, Ji Ting cleaned up the fallen ice cubes on the table, wiped them with a cloth. As the door rang again, she looked up. A delivery guy walked in with a meal, checked the order, and asked her, “Are you Ji Ting?”
Ji Ting nodded.
“Here’s your delivery,” the delivery guy confirmed, handing the meal to her. Ji Ting looked puzzled but still reached out to take it. She asked, “Who placed the order?”
“I have no idea,” the delivery guy replied.
After he left, Ji Ting placed the meal on the counter and lifted the delivery receipt with her fingertips. On it was the name “Tan” and next to it, a string of familiar digits—a phone number she knew well.
Ji Ting’s heart skipped a beat as she turned to look at her phone on the table.
The video call had ended; the screen remained on their chat box, showing the call duration, about twenty minutes. She picked up the delivery and placed it on the table.
She opened the meal.
Inside was a serving of broth, specifically the nutritious stew from the private kitchen next to Zhuoyue Times, along with a steaming portion of broccoli and a side of chicken leg and fruit salad.
All of which Ji Ting loved to eat.
At this moment, Ji Ting couldn’t eat a full meal, but these items were just right.
She picked up her phone and sent him a message.
Ji Ting: I’ve received the delivery.
Tan: Hmm.
Ji Ting’s eyes softened as she picked up the spoon and lowered her head to sip the soup. Xiao Wan and the others finished their break and came out. Xiao Wan stretched lazily and immediately asked Ji Ting, “Sister Ting, you haven’t eaten anything. Shall I get you something?”
As Xiao Wan was halfway through her sentence, she noticed the items on Ji Ting’s table and froze.
Xiao Zhou also wiped his mouth and walked out, putting his arm around Xiao Wan’s shoulder. Both of them leaned in to look, and Ji Ting looked up and said, “I’m eating.”
“Wow, Sister Ting, it’s from Yonghe Private Kitchen! Their soup is said to be amazing,” Xiao Wan exclaimed, wiping her mouth.
Ji Ting glanced at the soup and said, “Get a bowl, I’ll serve you some.”
Xiao Wan looked at the small bowl and immediately shook her head. “No, you eat. You need the nutrition.”
Ji Ting smiled and glanced at her. “If you don’t eat now, you might regret it later.”
Xiao Wan swallowed and shook her head decisively. Xiao Zhou nudged her and gestured towards the delivery receipt on the table. Xiao Wan stretched her neck to look and blinked.
“So, it was Brother Tan Yucheng who ordered this for you. Ah, I knew it! How could you bear to order from this private kitchen?” she exclaimed.
Ji Ting sighed helplessly. “How could I not?”
“A bowl of soup costs over 600…” Xiao Wan winked.
Ji Ting decided not to respond to her.
Xiao Wan chuckled and walked with Xiao Zhou to look at the receipts in the shop. Smiling as she tore it, Xiao Wan said, “Brother Tan Yucheng is really good to Sister Ting, handsome and considerate, a perfect man.”
Xiao Zhou grinned, “Absolutely, only Sister Ting gets such care.”
Ji Ting, holding her broccoli, blushed slightly, focusing on eating.
After finishing work in the evening, Ji Ting returned home for dinner. She also brought the gifts from the trunk upstairs. Ji Lindong hadn’t returned, only Qiu Dan was there. The mother and daughter were sorting out the gifts.
Xiao Xi also bought Ji Ting two valuable bags, hidden among the pile of gifts. Inside each bag were earrings and lipstick.
Qiu Dan looked at the two bags and said, “Your Aunt Xiao has always had good taste.”
Ji Ting set down the two bags and said, “I already have plenty of bags. I need to tell Aunt Xiao.”
“You know, she’ll still buy them. The company is preparing for an ¹IPO recently, so she’s quite busy. Tan Hui came here this time to check on the branch’s situation. We’re just one step away.”
Ji Ting nodded.
Qiu Dan continued, “As for that girl, if your Aunt Xiao feels she’s suitable, she’ll arrange for her to work at the branch here in Li City, so that the two can be closer.”
Ji Ting picked up a glass of juice, took a sip, and nodded again.
Qiu Dan sat down on the sofa opposite and looked at her. “Have you asked Yucheng what he thinks of that girl?”
Ji Ting shook her head.
“No,” she replied.
Qiu Dan looked at Ji Ting like this and knew she was clueless after asking. Feeling helpless, she said, “Forget it, never mind him, just focus on yourself.”
Ji Ting locked eyes with Qiu Dan and said, “I told you, give me some more time to consider.”
Qiu Dan replied, “Alright, take your time to think. It’s okay. Besides, the landlord’s son will stay in Li City next, there will be plenty of opportunities.”
Ji Ting breathed a sigh of relief.
Qiu Dan continued to pack up the gifts, there were just too many of them, the cabinet couldn’t fit anymore. As she stuffed them in, she said, “Yucheng will probably have to accompany your Uncle Tan these days. Your Uncle Tan is still young and won’t be handed over to Yucheng temporarily, but he will be prepared in advance to let him get involved first.”
“But from what I see of Yucheng, everything he does seems easy.”
Qiu Dan’s evaluations of him have always been high. As Qiu Dan paused here in her actions, she couldn’t help but think, “It’s a pity this man is too wild and unpredictable. In matters of the heart, women are bound to suffer.”
When looking for a man, it’s better to find someone straightforward and honest.
Ji Ting drank the juice made by Ji Lindong without saying a word, occasionally helping Qiu Dan pass things.
Winter arrived late this year. At the end of December, many people were still wearing short sleeves at noon, including Zhang Yang and his apprentice. Ji Ting, on the other hand, wore long sleeves and pants, occasionally a long skirt.
The end of the month was busy too. The branch shop’s decoration was nearing completion, and they were already ventilating to remove formaldehyde round the clock. Most of the shops in the cultural district had finished their renovations.
The colorful large barrel in the middle was quite beautiful. When the lights were on at night, it became a focal point in the center.
Ji Ting’s coffee shop wasn’t far from there; sitting at the entrance, you could see nearby shops setting up a long island counter for the New Year’s Eve DJ.
In the cultural district, there were various types of shops, each with its own style catering to the young and trendy: coffee shops, desserts, private kitchens, Western and Chinese cuisine, jewelry shops, bookshops, fruit teas and milk teas, instant photo shops, and themed shops, offering a wide range of options.
Ji Ting’s coffee shop was prominently located at the entrance, not large in size, but with the ability to extend outward, especially for the opening and the New Year’s crowd.
She had purchased a large model of a Sunset from a manufacturer, placed directly opposite the shop, accompanied by numerous outdoor tables and chairs. The Sunset model was complemented by oversized umbrellas, which could be retracted behind it in case of rain.
The area needed to be rented separately, beyond the scope of the shop’s lease, so Ji Ting spent money to secure it.
Since its establishment, the cultural district had been actively promoted through various apps, and with young entrepreneurs leveraging the internet, it had already gained considerable popularity. During the renovation period, many people came here to take photos and check-in. Now, it was even more crowded, especially as New Year’s Eve approached on December 31st.
The cultural district had started preparing for crowd control measures.
Ji Ting brought Xiao Wan and Zhang Yang to the main shop, and the branch also hired a manager and staff. The manager and Zhang Yang were good friends who could talk about anything. Several students from Li University were also hired part-time at the branch.
As night fell, Long Kong went to pick up Yu Xi, and Feng Yingying also came unexpectedly, entering the door with Meng Jia, one after the other. Yu Xi brought a lot of food and gifts for Ji Ting, who smiled and accepted them.
Long Kong also brought Ji Ting a very large teddy bear, on which was written “Prosperity in Business.”
Ji Ting smiled and took it, saying, “Have a seat and let’s order some food.”
Yu Xi smiled and happily placed an order. Meng Jia took off her sunglasses and looked at the menu. Feng Yingying had an okay relationship with Ji Ting, but not as close as Yu Xi’s. She was a bit reserved with Meng Jia, and didn’t come to Ji Ting’s shop often. At this moment, she looked around hesitantly. After Yu Xi ordered, she passed the menu to Meng Jia, who then passed it to Long Kong. Long Kong finished ordering and asked Feng Yingying for her choice, and she settled on a cappuccino.
The entrance of the shop was bustling, with nearly every table occupied.
Outside the street, people continued to enter non-stop. Ji Ting leaned against the counter and picked up her phone, opening the conversation with the black avatar.
Ji Ting: How about you?
Tan: Arrived.
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¹IPO stands for Initial Public Offering. It refers to the process by which a private company offers its shares to the public for the first time. This allows the company to raise capital from public investors. It is a significant milestone for a company, as it transitions from being privately owned to becoming a publicly traded entity on a stock exchange.