Chapter 49
Alright then.
Ji Ting didn’t respond, but she mentally agreed. She put down her phone, looked at Long Kong, and asked, “Do you have any plans for dinner?”
Long Kong, adjusting the photo filter, looked up at her when he heard the question. “Not for now. If you want to eat something, we can go together later.”
In the past, after hiking, they usually had dinner together if it was an afternoon hike, and this time would be no exception.
Ji Ting said, “Let’s wait until next time. Tan Yucheng is nearby and is coming to pick me up.”
Long Kong was momentarily stunned.
He quickly realized that Brother Cheng must have either had something to do or had already made plans with Ji Ting. After a pause, he said, “Alright then, let’s wait until next time.”
Although there was a hint of disappointment.
Ji Ting nodded.
As they watched the sunset blend with the horizon, it was an unparalleled beauty. Long Kong stood beside her, still taking photos with his phone. There were many people at the top of the mountain, all watching the sunset.
But everyone was very quiet.
When the sun was completely gone, the sky grew dim, though a little light remained. The path down the mountain was lit by streetlights. Ji Ting had finished her water. There were no trash bins at the top, so she had to carry the bottle down to the foot of the mountain. Ji Ting held the bottle and walked down the steps with Long Kong. Many people were descending at this time, their footsteps echoing, with some humming in the background.
Long Kong smiled and said, “Quite pleasant.”
Ji Ting also smiled. When they reached the foot of the mountain, they saw a black SUV parked across the street. Tan Yucheng was standing next to the car, holding a cigarette in his mouth, and a girl was talking to him.
He seemed nonchalant and, after saying something, the girl turned and left.
He looked up.
Long Kong waved and smiled. He and Long Kong exchanged a glance and then looked at Ji Ting.
Ji Ting turned to Long Kong and asked, “Are you leaving now? Or do you want to catch a ride with him?”
“No need. My car is parked in the park’s parking lot, just a few steps away.”
Ji Ting nodded and walked towards the black SUV. She entered through the passenger side. Tan Yucheng put out his cigarette, opened the door, and got in. Ji Ting fastened her seatbelt. Tan Yucheng turned the steering wheel, and the SUV slowly backed up. Long Kong happened to be answering a phone call at the foot of the mountain and waved to Ji Ting. Tan Yucheng glanced at Long Kong and then looked away.
The black SUV drove down the slope.
Tan Yucheng held the steering wheel, his voice low and lazy. “What were you two talking about? Talking about the future?”
Ji Ting, who had been looking at the road ahead, was caught off guard by the question. She turned to look at the man beside her, who was turning the steering wheel with one hand and putting his phone into the center console with the other.
Ji Ting felt a bit puzzled and said, “What future? It was just a hike.”
The phone in his hand slipped into the gap in the center console, the screen still displaying the Moments post that Long Kong had just shared, with Ji Ting’s photo prominently featured.
Tan Yucheng didn’t respond.
A few seconds later.
Tan Yucheng turned his head slightly toward Ji Ting with his collar slightly open, and said casually, with a hint of deliberate provocation, “More than friends, but not quite lovers. It’s not like you haven’t done that before.”
Ji Ting, realizing what he meant, glared at him fiercely.
“Are you out of your mind?”
Tan Yucheng gave a faint snort and looked away.
The black SUV blended into the darkness. Ji Ting leaned back in her seat, staring at the man beside her and resisting the urge to kick him. At this time, the streetlights along the road at the foot of the mountain were all lit up, beautifully decorating the park. The black SUV, large and imposing, turned a corner and stopped in front of a row of shops. Tan Yucheng unfastened his seatbelt and looked at her. “Shall we eat at this place?”
Ji Ting pursed her lips, still feeling the residual anger, especially from those words.
She turned to meet his gaze. Her eyes were beautiful but filled with anger. Did this man think she was just anyone? Was that why he made such a remark? Tan Yucheng noticed the anger in her eyes.
He raised an eyebrow, and a few seconds later, leaned over to unfasten her seatbelt. He rested his arm on the center console, looking at her, realizing that his earlier remark had upset her.
He gently put the seat belt back on and said in his voice low, “I apologize for what I said earlier.”
Ji Ting glared at him again before getting out of the car.
Tan Yucheng leaned back, adjusted his somewhat loose tie, and glanced at her as she exited the car. A few seconds later, he tossed the tie onto the center console.
He also got out of the car.
They had been to this private kitchen a few times before. This time, Tan Yucheng had booked a private room for two. The square table was set for just the two of them, sitting across from each other. As soon as he sat down, his phone rang; it was Chen Fei, calling to discuss some matters. Ji Ting took the menu and tapped on the tablet while he continued his call.
Ji Ting ordered several dishes he usually enjoyed.
When she handed the menu to him, Tan Yucheng took it. He slid his long fingers a couple of times to adjust the order, adding a salad for Ji Ting, removing one of his own dishes, and changing her stir-fried beef rice to eel fried rice, then confirmed the menu.
Ji Ting drank corn juice.
When the dishes were almost ready, Chen Fei finally ended the call.
Ji Ting looked at him and said, “Long Kong’s birthday is in a few days. Are you going?”
Tan Yucheng, scooping fried rice into her bowl, glanced up at her and replied, “Yes.”
Ji Ting nodded.
She took the bowl he handed her and began eating with a spoon. The eel and rice were just right. Realizing he had changed the menu, she said, “After Long Kong’s birthday, it’ll be the New Year. The holidays this year shouldn’t be any shorter, right?”
She looked up at him.
Tan Yucheng, while eating and replying to messages, answered, “The holiday is shorter this year.”
Ji Ting immediately knew that it would be only two or three days.
Fu Yan would not be returning to the company in the short term.
His phone, which he had placed aside, buzzed with a WeChat notification, but Tan Yucheng didn’t look at it. He took the salad from the waiter and placed it in front of Ji Ting.
Ji Ting took a piece of apple with a small fork.
The meal was eaten quickly, mainly because he still had to return to the office. Tan Yucheng went to settle the bill, and Ji Ting waited for him. For some reason, seeing him sign the bill reminded her of the last time she was at his apartment, when he signed the bill and casually took her hand.
Those magnificent and dreamlike fireworks.
But in one breath, it was gone.
Ji Ting walked outside and decided to wait for him there.
After a while, Tan Yucheng came out with the car keys and his phone. They both got into the car, and the black SUV drove to the entrance of Sunset. Ji Ting got out, said goodbye, and Tan Yucheng nodded.
Ji Ting walked towards the café and went inside.
The black SUV drove away.
Inside the café, Ji Ting noticed a package on the counter. She recognized it as a collection of Wang Zengqi’s works sent by the bookstore owner and was momentarily stunned, having completely forgotten about it.
“Sister Ting is back? Would you like some coffee?” Xiao Wan, seeing Ji Ting unpacking the package, asked.
Ji Ting smiled and said, “Yes, I’ll have a cup.”
“Okay,” Xiao Wan replied, pouring half of the leftover coffee into a cup for Ji Ting. She placed the coffee beside Ji Ting and asked, “Was it brother Tan Yucheng who dropped you off just now?”
Ji Ting, while unpacking the package, replied with a “Mm.”
Xiao Wan exclaimed a Wow.
In fact, Tan Yucheng’s cars were quite recognizable. The SUV model was well-known, and the car even more so, with its blacked-out look and suit-and-tie style. As for his other cars, Xiao Wan had only seen them briefly.
But the SUV and car were the main ones he drove, especially the suit-and-tie model, which Ji Ting sometimes drove. So Xiao Wan was very familiar with them.
After unpacking the package, which was a complete collection, Ji Ting picked up her phone and saw a message from Fang Yu.
Fang Yu: Are you busy? Have you eaten?
Ji Ting paused, realizing she had forgotten to reply to him in the morning. Setting aside their past, if they were just friends, there would be no issue with Fang Yu. Ji Ting replied: Just finished eating. The Wang Zengqi collection arrived. I’ll send it over to you tomorrow.
Fang Yu: Wow, then I’ll take it without hesitation. I’ll shamelessly accept it.
Ji Ting: Don’t be polite.
Fang Yu: I won’t.
After that, Ji Ting didn’t reply further.
The next afternoon, Ji Ting handed the collection to the delivery guy and returned to the store. Xiao Wan and Xiao Zhou were trying out new desserts and giving feedback to Zhang Yang when the doorbell rang. Ji Ting turned to look.
Shu Xiao walked in holding an egg tart, smiling brightly.
Xiao Wan called out, “Hello, beautiful sister.”
Xiao Zhou coughed and nudged Xiao Wan.
Ji Ting, drinking her coffee, asked, “Is it cold outside?”
“Quite a bit,” Shu Xiao replied, her nose slightly red from the cold. She handed the egg tart to Ji Ting and said, “The egg tarts from the place next to the hotel seem quite good. You should try them.”
Ji Ting said, “We have desserts in the store, you don’t need to bring something every time you come.”
“It’s nothing, just a small gesture.” She handed the egg tart to Xiao Wan.
Xiao Wan took it with a “Hey” and asked, “What would you like to drink, beautiful sister?”
“A cappuccino.”
“Okay.”
Xiao Wan went to make the coffee.
Shu Xiao glanced at Ji Ting and said, “Tingting, I have something I’d like to ask you.”
Ji Ting was surprised, not sure what she wanted to ask. She led Shu Xiao to a seat in the corner behind the bookstore café. Xiao Wan soon brought the cappuccino and placed it in front of Shu Xiao.
Ji Ting leaned back and sipped her coffee.
Shu Xiao looked at Ji Ting, holding her coffee cup with her fingertips, pursed her lips, and said, “Tingting, you know him best. May I ask what he likes these days?”
Ji Ting was stunned.
Shu Xiao released her grip on the coffee cup, her eyes full of anticipation. “I really want to know what he likes now and I want to suit to his tastes. Tingting.”
Ji Ting held her coffee cup and remained silent for a long time.
Shu Xiao unconsciously fidgeted with her coffee cup, continuously looking at Ji Ting. The bracelet on her wrist was vaguely visible, mostly hidden by the white down jacket sleeves.
Ji Ting bit her lip.
After a long pause, she asked, “Do you play games?”
When Meng Jia pursued Tan Yucheng, she started with games, though her skills were lacking. Ji Ting wasn’t trying to make things difficult for Shu Xiao but it seemed like this is one of the few points she could think of.
Shu Xiao paused for a moment.
A few seconds later, she nodded, “I play. I’m into Honor of Kings and PUBG.”
Ji Ting was slightly taken aback.
From her expression, it seemed she was quite skilled. Ji Ting bit her lip and asked softly, “Are you good at it?”
Shu Xiao thought for a moment. “I’m okay. I used to be a reserve professional player.”
Ji Ting looked at Shu Xiao.
She suddenly remembered Meng Jia’s poor gaming skills and thought that, over the years, she had known many women who played games, but only Ji Ting was fairly good, and Tan Yucheng often invited her to play.
Fu Yan and Wen Nanxi were also well-matched in gaming.
It seemed like a fateful reunion.
Ji Ting paused.
She opened her phone, navigated to the Punk Thug game page, and pushed the screen towards Shu Xiao. “This is the game he plays the most. It was developed by his college classmates and is one of the most popular games in the country in recent years.”
Shu Xiao glanced at the game.
She looked at Ji Ting and said, “Tingting, thank you.”
Ji Ting lowered her gaze, took back her phone, and nodded.