Chapter 9
Qiu Dan stood there watching him go downstairs. He casually held his coat in his hand, walked down the steps, and quickly disappeared from view. After Qiu Dan watched him leave, she finally closed the door.
Previously, Xiao Xi had thought about bringing these two children together. Xiao Xi had always liked Ji Ting, but after probing into the thoughts of both children, neither of them had any such intentions.
So she had to give up. Qiu Dan quite liked Tan Yucheng, but this child seemed too wild and not easy to control. As a mother, she had to think long-term.
She felt Ji Ting would be at a disadvantage no matter who she ended up with, especially with Tan Yucheng, so she decided against it.
Fortunately, Xiao Xi learned that Tan Yucheng didn’t have those intentions towards Ji Ting either, so she didn’t continue to push the two together.
Now, Ji Ting and Lu Hai are getting along well, which satisfies Qiu Dan.
During dinner that night, Lu Hai sent her a message asking where she was. She said she was eating at home. Lu Hai mentioned he was nearby and offered to pick her up after dinner. She was about to tell Lu Hai that she had her own car, but he sent her a location pin, showing he was indeed nearby. Lu Hai also mentioned he needed to see her that night, and Ji Ting agreed.
However, she later got distracted while eating, which caused her to forget. As a result, when Lu Hai arrived, she was still cooling off on the balcony.
A white car drove out of the alley.
The shadows of trees slid across the car. There was still some sweat in Lu Hai’s palms. Just meeting Ji Ting’s mother downstairs hurriedly made him a bit nervous. But then he thought of the man standing on the balcony.
Lu Hai wiped his sweaty palms and looked at Ji Ting. “Is that Mr. Tan?”
Mr. Tan.
Those two words caught him off guard.
Ji Ting nodded. “Yes.”
The light and shadow outside swept past. Lu Hai looked somewhat uncertain. He gripped the steering wheel and smiled, “Looks like you’re more than just classmates?”
Ji Ting listened, smiled, and replied, “We’re just classmates, maybe a bit more because our parents know each other.”
“Would you call that childhood sweethearts then?” Lu Hai continued, watching Ji Ting as they approached a traffic light.
After a quiet moment meeting Lu Hai’s gaze, Ji Ting replied calmly, “I don’t think so. We only met in high school, and our parents got closer due to parent-teacher meetings.”
“I see.” Lu Hai relaxed a bit. “You both attend Nan’an No. 1 High School?”
Ji Ting hummed an affirmative.
The sweat in Lu Hai’s palms dried up, making him feel more comfortable. Ji Ting’s calm responses indicated that maybe there wasn’t much between her and Mr. Tan, as Mr. Tan had said—they hadn’t been together, and despite knowing each other for so long, nothing significant had happened. This implied that there probably wouldn’t be any new changes in the future.
He glanced at Ji Ting and smiled.
Ji Ting met his gaze and smiled back.
The high-rise buildings in Li City rushed past beside them, and shadows of trees swaying. The white sedan circled around and entered an underground parking lot of a shopping center. Ji Ting looked at Lu Hai, “Are you here to shop?”
Lu Hai said as he reversed the car, “Yeah.”
Ji Ting responded with an “oh,” unbuckled her seatbelt, and grabbed her small bag casually. Lu Hai put away the car keys and walked with her towards the elevator, which was below the specialty store on the third floor.
Lu Hai entered one of the women’s clothing stores.
Ji Ting glanced up and saw that it was the same store she had just avoided. She didn’t follow him in. Lu Hai came out carrying a shopping bag and said, “Ready to go?”
“Yeah.”
The two of them arrived at an outdoor camping store on the fourth floor.
Although the weather was a bit hot and humid in the evening, there were still many people around. The place was well-decorated, and there was a faint smell of milk tea in the air. Lu Hai said, “Online reviews say their milk tea is really good. I brought you here to try it out. Let’s taste it together.”
Ji Ting nodded in agreement and sat down. Looking up, she could see the moon in the sky, and indeed, the environment was very pleasant.
Lu Hai sat down opposite her and ordered a milk tea combo.
Ji Ting said, “Don’t order too much, I just ate.”
Lu Hai looked at her and said, “Okay.”
While waiting for their order to arrive, Lu Hai reached for a bag beside him and handed it to Ji Ting, saying, “Here’s a skirt for you.”
Ji Ting paused for a moment, looking at the shopping bag, then raised her eyes.
Lu Hai was earnestly looking at her. “I didn’t manage to protect you last night, I’m really sorry. I didn’t even notice your situation during that awkward moment.”
Ji Ting was slightly stunned for a moment. After a pause, she said, “It’s okay, it’s not your fault.”
Lu Hai still pushed the shopping bag towards her. “Take it.”
Ji Ting hesitated as she glanced at the bag. Mainly because she had some reservations about skirts from this brand. She looked at Lu Hai’s sincere gaze, hesitated for a moment, and said, “Really, there’s no need. I already have plenty of skirts. Even if one gets ruined, I have many more in the closet.”
“But the one you wore last night looked really good on you.”
Ji Ting paused.
Thinking about how to respond.
Just then, their milk tea arrived along with a whole set of snacks, filling up the table. After the waiter left, Lu Hai still held out the bag towards her. Ji Ting glanced at it and decided to take it. She smiled and said, “Thank you.”
Lu Hai sighed with relief and poured her some milk tea.
Ji Ting placed the bag aside and tried the milk tea.
Lu Hai asked her, “Is it good?”
“It’s quite good.”
“That’s good then.”
The people around were chatting, and Ji Ting occasionally listened to their conversations amidst the noise. Lu Hai refilled her milk tea and asked, “Will drinking too much keep you from sleeping?”
Ji Ting snapped out of her thoughts and asked, “Does it affect you?”
Lu Hai smiled, “Occasionally.”
“Then drink less.”
“It’s okay, I don’t always have trouble sleeping.”
Ji Ting nodded in acknowledgment. As she sipped her milk tea and casually checked her phone, there was a message in her classmates’ group chat.
Tan Yucheng was chatting with Long Kong in the group. His tone was casual as he answered a few questions from Long Kong. Other people chimed in occasionally, discussing plans to dine at his restaurant and reminding him to give them a discount.
Tan Yucheng replied: [Okay, 20% off.]
Feng Yingying: [Why not 50% off?]
Tan Yucheng: [Should I just give you the restaurant?]
Feng Yingying blushed instantly, stammered, and didn’t say anything further. Everyone burst into laughter, teasing Feng Yingying if she wanted to be a boss’s wife. Meng Jia jumped in and said, [Bah, Feng Yingying, do you dare?]
Feng Yingying immediately pleaded, [I don’t dare, I don’t dare.]
This caused another round of laughter among the others.
Long Kong suddenly got excited and organized tonight’s gathering for classmates who could reach Li City within half an hour, seizing the day instead of postponing it, to go to “market” for supper. Meng Jia protested in the group chat: [No way, I’m in Hong Kong tonight.]
Long Kong replied: [Next time then.]
Meng Jia: [Ah!!]
Long Kong then mentioned @Ji Ting: [What about you?]
Ji Ting was looking at the chat box when she was unexpectedly mentioned. Holding her milk tea cup, she glanced at Lu Hai and then looked down to reply: [I have something to do tonight. You guys go ahead.]
Long Kong: [What a coincidence, that’s a shame. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen you.]
Ji Ting: [Didn’t we just see each other not long ago?]
Long Kong: [Can’t we meet now?]
Ji Ting: [.]
Everyone in the group laughed, and after a while, the group chat quieted down. No one spoke again, as they probably all went to his shop.
That night, Ji Ting got home at around 11 o’clock. She took a moment to message Ji Lindong, letting him know she was home. Ji Lindong, likely still drunk, replied with a big smiley face and “Goodnight, my precious daughter.”
Ji Ting smiled and replied, “Goodnight, take care of Mom.”
Ji Lindong: “OK.”
Ji Ting noticed the shopping bag on the coffee table. She reached in and took out a dress identical to the one that had been torn. She sighed, folded the dress back up, and put it back in the bag.
She then took it to her room and put it in her wardrobe.
It would probably end up at the bottom of the drawer.
Two days later, on Sunday, Ji Ting was behind the counter making a cappuccino for a customer. The door opened, and Yu Xi entered, pulling a man with glasses to a seat. Yu Xi smiled and waved at Ji Ting.
Ji Ting smiled back from behind the counter.
The man with glasses looked quite honest, with regular features, holding Yu Xi’s small bag as he was pulled to the seat. Ji Ting turned around to make two cups of coffee and prepared two servings of cake, then brought them over and placed them in front of them.
Yu Xi immediately said, “This is my best friend, Ji Ting. Ji Ting, his name is Zhu Zhan, as in ‘fortune teller.’”
“Hello, Ji Ting,” Zhu Zhan immediately looked up and responded, with a very proper voice.
Ji Ting smiled, “Hello, try my coffee.”
“Okay.” Zhu Zhan nodded.
Yu Xi pulled Ji Ting to sit next to her and leaned in, “How is he?”
Since they were all there, Ji Ting couldn’t stare directly at Zhu Zhan, so she just glanced at him a few times, “He looks fine.”
Zhu Zhan was wearing a T-shirt and jeans, very simple, and his features were regular. He wasn’t extremely handsome nor particularly eye-catching, but he had a very gentle demeanor.
“I think it’s okay. I was just joking with him to see if he’d come find me, and he actually did,” Yu Xi whispered in her ear. “His family runs a ceramics factory, and he helps his dad manage it. The only problem I see is being in a long-distance relationship—if it’s not him coming here, it’s me going there.”
Ji Ting held her coffee cup and murmured softly, “That’s also a problem.”
Yu Xi nodded, “Right? If I really liked this person, maybe it wouldn’t be a problem.”
Ji Ting glanced at her, “If you really liked him, would you give up your current job for him?”
Yu Xi blinked, hesitated, and said, “I guess not.”
Ji Ting chuckled softly, “Then that’s not it.”
“To be honest, when I met him, I thought he was okay. Definitely better than a lot of my colleagues,” Yu Xi looked towards Zhu Zhan.
When Zhu Zhan noticed her gaze, he seemed a bit shy but raised his hand to turn her fork around silently, making it easier for Yu Xi to pick up some food—an unspoken gesture of thoughtfulness.
Ji Ting sat silently watching.
Yu Xi smiled warmly and thanked Zhu Zhan.
She told Zhu Zhan, “Try my best friend’s coffee.”
Zhu Zhan nodded obediently, took a sip, and furrowed his brow slightly.
It was clearly not the kind he drank regularly.
Ji Ting was just about to ask if they should get another cup for him, when Yu Xi pressed her arm, smiled and leaned closer, saying, “No need to change. Let him try it. If I end up drinking it often in the future, and he can’t get used to it, how will we be together?”
Ji Ting hesitated.
She whispered to Yu Xi, “Are you already thinking about being together?”
Yu Xi glanced at Ji Ting provocatively, “Why not? Isn’t blind dating all about getting straight to the point?”
Ji Ting paused.
At that moment, a customer arrived and asked for Ji Ting to make a cappuccino. Yu Xi eased off Ji Ting, who then asked her to handle Zhu Zhan on her own and went behind the counter to prepare the coffee.
The aroma of coffee wafted out. Ji Ting turned to do latte art, and as she glanced up inadvertently, she saw Yu Xi smiling warmly and chatting with Zhu Zhan, radiant and full of anticipation for the future.
Ji Ting remained quiet for a few seconds, then lowered her head to finish the latte art.
Yu Xi’s attitude towards blind dates was different from hers.
Yu Xi was fully committed.
While she occasionally drifted off and didn’t think too much about it.
In the evening, Ji Ting’s dress brushed against the cake, smearing a fairly large area. She wiped off some cream, endured until after ten o’clock when she closed the shop, and the first thing she did upon returning to her apartment was take a shower.
After drying her hair, leaving it loose, with time still on her hands, she sat cross-legged on the carpet, took out her phone, and opened Punk Thugs to complete some tasks.
Checking her friends list, none of them were online. Tan Yucheng’s profile was at the top. Opening his profile, she saw he had been active these past few days, eliminating quite a number of opponents. The map had already changed, and they were no longer in the same area.
Meng Jia had also registered an account, listed below her friends. Her online times varied, but there were a few overlaps with Tan Yucheng. However, her progress and map were still in the beginner’s zone.
Meng Jia used to only play puzzle games.
Recently, however, due to Tan Yucheng, she had started playing such violent games.
Ji Ting focused on her tasks for a while.
At that moment, the doorbell rang. Ji Ting looked up, held her phone, and walked to the door. Tan Yucheng’s profile icon lit up in her list, and he sent a message: [Open the door.]