Shu Chi’s question was hesitant, and when she looked down at Ding Ya, her gaze wasn’t even on the other girl’s face. It seemed like the answer she wanted was hidden inside Ding Ya’s phone.
But Ding Ya didn’t give it to her this time. She smiled at Shu Chi and said, “I’ll tell you later.”
She turned and walked over to her colleagues to discuss the next steps.
After Shu Chi’s shoot wrapped up that evening, the liaising departments from both companies decided to have dinner together. They took the collaborating team to the mall downstairs from their office for Korean barbecue.
Ding Ya sat with the contacts from Wellpond’s side.
The other woman was a bit older than her, but Ding Ya didn’t call her “Sister,” she just used her name. Ding Ya’s department head hadn’t expected Jing Yuqi to come personally.
Jing Yuqi’s education level was a bit higher than Shu Chi’s; she had at least finished senior high. She clearly had a slight edge over Shu Chi in academics too, having passed the adult college entrance exam on her first try—unlike Shu Chi, who took it three times. She also had a sharp nose for business. In the early days, pulling in orders was all on her. Handling this kind of collaboration was a piece of cake. If the person originally in charge hadn’t had a family emergency, there would have been no need for Jing Yuqi to manage it personally.
After all, just last weekend, she was all over the internet for tearing into a scumbag. The heat hadn’t died down yet; it was like a soap opera. The other woman had apologized, and the scumbag himself had groveled before trying to turn the tables, claiming Jing Yuqi had something going on with her business partner.
So the boss simply brought her partner along to do business.
Ying Qixin sat next to Ding Ya, glanced at her boss chatting with Jing Yuqi, and felt a bit awkward. “Why isn’t the boss sitting at her own table?”
Their company’s team-building events had never been this down-to-earth. Even the last time they went to Haidilao, they all sat separately.
If it weren’t mandatory for all department supervisors to attend this time, Ying Qixin wouldn’t have come at all.
Ding Ya whispered back, “How would I know? Look at how our director’s beaming.”
The supervisor, a woman in her thirties, looked kindly compared to the two bosses from the partner company, mostly because she’d put on a bit of weight lately, making her smile seem a generation older.
Ying Qixin’s scalp tingled. Grilling meat with the partner company’s bosses made her tremble like a quail; she wanted nothing more than to glue herself to Ding Ya.
Ding Ya, however, was perfectly natural. She even struck up a conversation with the girl on her left. “Youyou, do you like pork belly? Is it okay if I put this plate next to you?”
This barbecue place was on the pricier side, and it wasn’t the weekend, so the crowd was manageable.
Ding Ya took a piece of pastry to eat and didn’t even bother with the meat.
The girl beside her replied, “Where did you get that? From the fruit area?”
After Ding Ya nodded, the other girl got up and left.
Ying Qixin tagged along.
Jing Yuqi was chatting with Ding Ya’s supervisor, Sister Sen. Both of them had kids, and they were chatting and drinking as they went, looking for all the world like old acquaintances.
Ding Ya didn’t speak either. She looked at her phone while eating her cake.
Sitting across from her was Shu Chi, who had been on a phone call and only now returned.
Jing Yuqi waved her over. “Over here! Sit next to me.”
Ding Ya wasn’t surprised at all; Jing Yuqi had deliberately saved that seat earlier. She greeted her naturally. “Boss Shu.”
Shu Chi glanced at her and nodded.
She had taken off her jacket, revealing a loose hoodie. The blue color didn’t make her look any paler, but her skin was quite nice.
Jing Yuqi slid a bottle of juice directly towards her. “No alcohol if you’re driving. Who was calling that took so long?”
Shu Chi had gone off to take a call as soon as they arrived and only came back after everyone had started eating.
Jing Yuqi’s tone carried the familiarity of years of acquaintance. Ding Ya thought to herself: Just how close are these two?
I see Shu Chi treats Jing Yuqi pretty well. Could it be she likes her?
But if she liked her, she wouldn’t be able to just watch Jing Yuqi get boyfriend after boyfriend.
Is it a case of love too shy to speak, or is she afraid her business partner would end up splitting the partnership?
Ding Ya smiled sweetly, the cream in her mouth almost reaching the depths of her heart. She squinted her eyes, looking in Shu Chi’s eyes like a little cat.
From the corner of her eye, Jing Yuqi caught Shu Chi’s gaze and raised an eyebrow, becoming even more convinced that there was something going on between these two.
Shu Chi said, “It was my sister. Something going on at home.”
She didn’t specify which sister, but from her expression, Jing Yuqi could guess it was the second one.
Jing Yuqi’s family wasn’t that populous. Her relationship with her parents had eased in the past couple of years, no longer featuring the major fights every three days and minor squabbles every two days of her adolescence.
Shu Chi had a big family, and there wasn’t any visible fighting, so you could say their relationship was okay too.
Except the favoritism towards sons was a bit excessive. The one saving grace was that the adopted younger brother wasn’t too greedy.
Jing Yuqi just said “Oh,” and urged, “Hurry up, grill the meat. You must be tired after shooting all day.”
Jing Yuqi’s model friend, Mu Ling, rested her chin on her hand and looked at Shu Chi. “Boss Shu, are you coming to the second spot later?”
Ding Ya pretended to eat her cake but listened very carefully.
Shu Chi: “No.”
Her next sentence was a question. “There’s a second spot?”
Mu Ling clicked her tongue twice. “That was a subconscious rejection, wasn’t it? Sister Qi, look at her.”
Jing Yuqi: “She’s just like that.”
With that, Jing Yuqi went back to drinking with Ding Ya’s department head. Ding Ya wasn’t a stranger to dinners between work colleagues and collaborators, but she’d never met anyone as bold as Jing Yuqi, who lived life like a martial world wanderer.
Ying Qixin and the girl beside her still hadn’t returned. Shu Chi pulled her gaze back and looked at Ding Ya across the table.
The meat on the grill sizzled. Ding Ya flipped a slice of bacon and added some chicken wings. She heard Shu Chi ask her, “How old are you?”
Ding Ya looked exceptionally demure at first glance. She licked her lips and looked up with a smile. “Guess?”
She thought: Didn’t I already say last time? She really didn’t listen at all. Is she really that indifferent?
How discouraging.
Shu Chi: “How many years since you graduated?”
Ding Ya: “Three.”
Shu Chi thought: That doesn’t match. If she were that person, she would have graduated four years ago.
Shu Chi: “Twenty-five?”
Ding Ya shook her head slightly. She bit her plastic fork, a smear of leftover cream on her lip, which was eventually swept away without a trace.
“Twenty-six.”
Shu Chi gave an “Oh” and thought the age could match after all.
As she placed a saury pike onto the grill, she suddenly remembered that information from a single network cable was never accurate.
I could lie to her.
So why couldn’t she lie to me?
Jing Yuqi had opened a beer for Shu Chi. Shu Chi had taken off her jacket when she came in, and the fleece hoodie she wore underneath made her neck look long and elegant.
Ding Ya stole a couple of glances, thinking of the faceless selfie this person had sent her back then.
It was so androgynous you couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman.
Shu Chi asked, “Are you a local?”
She deftly picked up a piece of cooked beef, and somehow, also picked up the large shrimp Ding Ya had placed down with unerring accuracy.
Ding Ya held her tongs. “No.”
She put more food on the grill. Just then, Ying Qixin returned and gave Ding Ya another piece of cake.
She glanced at Shu Chi several times. When she saw her this morning, she thought she was mistaken. It was only when Ding Ya mentioned it at lunch that Ying Qixin realized it really was the person who delivered the dog.
Ying Qixin: “Boss Shu, you were the one who delivered the dog to Ding Ya that day, right?”
She felt that the two bosses of Wellpond were quite down-to-earth. Compared to Jing Yuqi’s intimidating, overly familiar demeanor, she’d rather talk to Shu Chi.
After all, everyone was sitting here now, and not talking was just awkward.
Shu Chi gave a sound of affirmation.
Ying Qixin: “What were you two just talking about?”
Ding Ya: “Boss Shu was asking where I’m from.”
Shu Chi: “So where are you from?”
Ying Qixin: “She’s from Commerce Gate, very close to Bramble City.”
Shu Chi’s heart gave another thump. Fortunately, her facial expressions were never very rich, so at most, one could only detect a slight pause in her meat-grilling motion.
But Ding Ya noticed it.
While eating, Ying Qixin asked Ding Ya, “Are you going home for New Year’s Day?”
This time, Ding Ya snatched the beef Shu Chi was about to take. She answered her colleague’s question nonchalantly, “No, my mom just left this morning. I want to lie at home for three days.”
Ying Qixin: “Will we really get three days off?”
Ding Ya: “I hope so…”
Halfway through the barbecue, the atmosphere improved considerably, reaching its peak when Jing Yuqi was asked about the internet-famous love and hate saga that had topped the trending charts over the weekend.
She laughed and said, “He’s already an ex, I can always find another one. I, your sister, will forever love eighteen-year-old boys.”
Shu Chi was unfazed, and Mu Ling directly toasted Jing Yuqi.
Ding Ya watched with wide eyes as the very demure-seeming contact sister sitting next to her also started drinking heavily. Only Shu Chi across from her was drinking a soft drink, like an escapee from the company’s drinking culture.
Jing Yuqi: “Hey, your company seems to have a lot of girls too. Do any of these have boyfriends?”
Flushed from drinking, her newly done manicure looked ready to scratch at a door any second. Her tipsy gaze swept over the row of girls opposite her.
Shu Chi: “Are you drunk?”
Jing Yuqi nudged her with an elbow. “Isn’t this just a routine annoying question?”
Shu Chi: “This isn’t a mixer, don’t scare them.”
Ding Ya’s supervisor, Sister Sen, was a little tipsy too, but still had some sense left and was spouting social pleasantries.
Jing Yuqi propped her chin on her hand and listened to Sister Sen’s introductions. She let out an “Oh.”
“All have boyfriends.”
“Good, date a few when you’re young to know what’s good.”
Shu Chi, poker-faced, took Jing Yuqi’s wine glass away and apologized to the row of girls on Ding Ya’s side. “Sorry, she’s had too much to drink.”
Jing Yuqi looked at Ding Ya. “Was she the one who delivered your dog a few days ago?”
Ding Ya smiled sweetly and murmured “Yes.” Shu Chi’s mouth twitched. “Is there a problem?”
Just then, Sister Sen’s husband came to pick her up. Once the supervisor left, a few other colleagues from the same department, now full, also prepared to leave.
Ying Qixin glanced at Ding Ya and pointed to her phone. “My boyfriend’s here.”
Ding Ya said a quick goodbye.
She wasn’t full yet.
With most people gone, it was even more convenient for Jing Yuqi to speak without restraint.
Jing Yuqi: “That little dog was originally kept for her by someone else, but she refused to take it. You two are quite fated.”
She said it as if Ding Ya was just picking up leftovers.
Ding Ya: “I love it a lot. I’ve wanted a dog for a long time but could never find one I liked.”
She even picked up her phone to show Jing Yuqi her lock screen. “Sister, look. This is a dog from a game I used to play. It looks so much like the one Shu Chi gave me.”
It was clearly just Shu Chi helping deliver a dog for someone, but the way Ding Ya said it made it sound like there was a history between her and Shu Chi.
Jing Yuqi didn’t notice. She shook her head and stared at Ding Ya’s lock screen for a long time, then clicked her tongue. “I feel like I’ve seen this thing somewhere before…”
The next second, she slapped her own face hard enough to leave a red mark. “Shu Chi, is this at your place? Like a photo or something? So blurry it looks like a patinated antique hung on the wall.”
Shu Chi instinctively wanted to deny it. She even felt a bit awkward now, not daring to look at Ding Ya.
Shu Chi: “Stop talking nonsense.”
But Jing Yuqi persisted relentlessly, “Little Ding, how old are you anyway? I remember Shu Chi saying this game is quite old, ha, I don’t get it, but this person has been addicted to it like a net addict.”
Mu Ling, who was drinking, thought Jing Yuqi was acting a bit strange today. Normally, she shouldn’t be sharing so much of Shu Chi’s private matters with a collaborator.
After a few glances, she realized Jing Yuqi was doing it on purpose and it dawned on her.
Her gaze swept back and forth between Shu Chi and Ding Ya, and she added, “You wouldn’t guess it, but you two have so much in common, even liking the same dog from a game.”
Ding Ya tucked her fallen hair behind her ear while reaching out with her tongs to pick up some grilled meat. She collided right into Shu Chi’s tongs, which were being used to cover up her embarrassment.
Shu Chi yielded, but Ding Ya seemed to find it fun, chasing after her tongs relentlessly.
Ding Ya: “Sister, we’re so fated.”
Ding Ya had touched up her makeup before leaving work. Ying Qixin had said her contacts were too big, a bit exaggerated.
But they were just right. At this time, from this angle, it would make her look just like those heavily filtered photos she posted on Meitu Xiu Xiu.
Jing Yuqi egged them on. “Yeah! You two should add each other on WeChat. Anyway, from now until the product launch, we’ll need deep cooperation, there might be more things to come up.”
Mu Ling chimed in too.
Ding Ya said with a smile, “We’ve already added each other on WeChat.”
Jing Yuqi burst into a dramatic “Oh ho!”, tears almost welling up in her eyes. The gratified look she gave was like that of Shu Chi’s eighty-year-old mother.
Shu Chi, this expert in rejection, surprisingly didn’t refute it, but instead made a sound of agreement.
Jing Yuqi felt there was no need for her to stay any longer. She raised her chin at Mu Ling. “Ling-er, let’s go to the bar and see if there are any fresh young guys. Shu Chi’s not coming anyway.”
Shu Chi: “Then I’ll also head back…”
Jing Yuqi: “You send the girl home, it’s past nine already.”
Past nine is considered very late? Shu Chi thought.
Jing Yuqi’s matchmaker intentions were almost overflowing. Shu Chi glanced at Ding Ya, but the other girl seemed completely oblivious, still focused intently on eating the grilled meat.
She had drunk half her orange juice, the lipstick stain on the straw glaringly obvious under the light.
Shu Chi saw her partner off, then hesitated for a moment before asking, “Then… shall I drive you home?”
Ding Ya nodded and countered, “Would you like to come up to my place for a bit?”
