Chapter 13
“Hahaha…”
Xu Qingtang didn’t respond, but the troupe leader was the first to burst into laughter. “The other things are manageable, but that last one is really asking for a lot.”
Gu Yizhi pursed her lips and smiled. “What do you think, Tangtang?”
Xu Qingtang: “…I think so too.”
The meal finally ended with the troupe leader needing to pick up his daughter from school. Before leaving, he took out two art exhibition tickets and said, “An old friend gave these to me a couple of days ago. I’m not really interested, and it’s a shame to let them go to waste. You two can go check it out if you have time.”
Xu Qingtang found the tickets a bit familiar.
Before she could refuse, Gu Yizhi had already accepted them with a smile. “Alright.”
The troupe leader added, “Okay, I’ll be off then. By the way, Yizhi, you’ve been drinking, so don’t drive later. Qingtang, I remember you can drive. You can take Yizhi home later.”
Xu Qingtang, once again being completely managed: …
After leaving the restaurant, Xu Qingtang remained silent. It seemed Gu Yizhi had known all along that she was still single. Her exaggerated words from the afternoon at the theater echoed in her ears. The more vivid the memory, the more embarrassing it was, so she quickened her pace.
Gu Yizhi said, amused, “Are you in a hurry?”
“…A little.”
Gu Yizhi: “Do you have something to do tonight?”
The word “still” was a bit of a killer. Xu Qingtang immediately understood what Gu Yizhi was referring to. She was silent for a moment, then said, “Yes.”
Gu Yizhi had a sudden realization. “A date?”
Xu Qingtang remained silent, but her expression was nonchalant. “A secret crush.”
Gu Yizhi smiled without saying a word. Xu Qingtang had learned her lesson: the more you say, the more mistakes you make. So, she didn’t reveal any more information.
When they reached the car, Xu Qingtang was surprised to see someone in the driver’s seat. She looked at Gu Yizhi, puzzled.
Gu Yizhi opened the back door, gesturing for her to get in, and then said, “Designated driver. Let’s go, I’ll take you home first.”
Downstairs from her apartment, Gu Yizhi offered to walk her up. As they stepped out of the elevator, Xu Qingtang looked at Gu Yizhi thoughtfully. The latter smiled gently. “I’ll be heading back now.”
This was a bit unexpected.
Xu Qingtang had thought she would find an excuse to come in for a bit, and then do a bit more… It seemed she had overcomplicated things.
“Goodbye.”
The next day, Xu Qingtang suddenly received a call from Gu Yizhi. The other party said she had lost her earring and asked for her help in finding it. Xu Qingtang said, “Alright, I’ll look for it on my way back.”
After the performance, Xu Qingtang was on her way home from the theater. She hadn’t held out much hope, but she was still surprised when she saw the sparkling earring in the corridor outside her door. Then, she became a little suspicious—could it really be such a coincidence?
She bent down to pick it up and didn’t forget to call Gu Yizhi back. The other party answered quickly. Xu Qingtang said, “Is there an ‘X’ on the back of your earring?”
Gu Yizhi: “Yes. Did you find it?”
Xu Qingtang nodded. “I found it.”
“Then could I trouble you to bring it over?”
Her tone was polite, but Xu Qingtang frowned slightly. “Can’t you get it yourself?”
“I’m at work. Is that okay?”
Perhaps it was because of the phone, but Gu Yizhi’s voice had a lazy quality, and the upward lilt sounded a bit like she was pouting. Xu Qingtang’s ears tingled slightly. After a moment’s thought, she said, “Okay.”
Downstairs at Zhishang, Xu Qingtang got out of the car and saw a woman in professional attire at the entrance, smiling very gently at her. “Miss Xu, is that you?”
Xu Qingtang nodded. “Yes.”
The woman said, “Alright, please come with me.”
Gu Yizhi had said someone would be waiting for her at the entrance, so Xu Qingtang followed her. The elevator went all the way up. The woman didn’t speak, leading Xu Qingtang to an office door. After knocking, she said, “Miss Xu, you can go in.”
As soon as Xu Qingtang entered, she saw Gu Yizhi behind the desk, dressed in a smart, well-fitting suit, her dark, slightly curly long hair cascading down her back. She looked up slightly, her eyes deep. “You’re here quickly.”
Xu Qingtang took a small, transparent, sealed plastic bag from her purse and placed it on the desk. Her eyes glanced at an A4 paper on the side, where the word “For Rent” took up almost half the page.
Xu Qingtang didn’t say anything, just, “Here you go. I can’t guarantee it’s not damaged.”
Gu Yizhi took it. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going.”
Xu Qingtang glanced at the clock on the wall. It was almost five in the evening. She thought about asking Tang Gui out for dinner later.
“Alright.”
As she turned to leave, Gu Yizhi called her name softly again. Xu Qingtang hesitated for a few seconds, then said, “Could you please not call me that?”
“You don’t like it?”
Xu Qingtang said, “I’m not used to it.”
It sounded overly intimate. She and Gu Yizhi were far from being that familiar.
Gu Yizhi looked good-tempered. “Then what would you like me to call you? Baby?”
“…”
Xu Qingtang almost coughed up a mouthful of old blood.
“Your colleague just called me Miss Xu. I think that’s fine. Let’s stick with that.”
It sounded distant and polite.
Gu Yizhi smiled noncommittally and asked, “Have you found a place to live?”
Xu Qingtang subconsciously glanced at the desk, wondering what Gu Yizhi would say next. She nodded. “I have.”
Then, she added, “My secret crush is renting it to me.”
“I see,” a slight smile appeared on Gu Yizhi’s cool face. “Then I wish you a smooth move.”
Xu Qingtang left quickly. After she was gone, the woman who had led her up entered the office. Gu Yizhi picked up the rental information and asked, “Is it not printed clearly enough?”
The secretary glanced at it and replied, “Perhaps Miss Xu didn’t notice.”
*
In the end, Xu Qingtang didn’t get to have dinner with Tang Gui. In the evening, she went to a social event with her department supervisor. When she returned, she told her excitedly, “Qingtang, good news, good news, good news!”
Xu Qingtang was watching performances of old opera masters on her tablet. She paused the video and asked, “What’s up?”
Tang Gui said, “The Dragon Boat Festival is coming up, right? Our company is holding a lottery. Do you know what the grand prize is?”
Xu Qingtang: “What?”
“An apartment in Fengju!”
Xu Qingtang was shocked. “An apartment???”
Tang Gui laughed. “Of course, they’re not giving away a whole apartment for free. There’s no such good thing. It’s 120 square meters, only a thousand yuan a month, and water, electricity, and property fees are all waived!!!”
That was indeed very attractive.
“This prize can be transferred if you don’t need it yourself,” Tang Gui began to fantasize. “If I win, I’ll transfer it to you. Aren’t you looking for a place?”
Tang Gui added, “I’m very confident in my handwriting.”
Xu Qingtang caught the key point. “Handwriting?”
“Yeah, everyone writes a character, and we’ll see whose handwriting our CEO likes.”
Xu Qingtang summarized, “Sounds like it’s rigged.”
But to Xu Qingtang’s surprise, a day later, Tang Gui really did call, her voice bubbling with joy. “Qingtang, I won!”
Then, Tang Gui gave her a contact number and an address. Xu Qingtang felt it was very strange and couldn’t help but ask, “The person signing the contract with me doesn’t have the surname Gu, right?”
Tang Gui denied it. “No, it’s Zhang.”
Xu Qingtang was relieved and quickly added the person’s contact information. The other party arranged to meet her at the Fengju apartment in two days and said that if she had no objections, they could sign the contract directly.
Two days later, Xu Qingtang arrived at the apartment and met the person in charge, who was dressed in a prim and proper professional suit. Xu Qingtang found her very familiar and took a few extra glances, soon recognizing her as the woman she had met at Zhishang.
The other party showed her around the apartment and asked with a smile, “Miss Xu, would you like to sign the contract now?”
Xu Qingtang was also quite satisfied with the apartment. After looking over the contract, she nodded. “Okay.”
After signing, the other party divided the contract into two copies, handed one to Xu Qingtang, and said gently, “Miss Xu, someone will be coming to pick something up later. I hope you don’t mind.”
Xu Qingtang was slightly taken aback. “Isn’t this apartment yours?”
The other party shook her head. “I’m just the agent. Don’t worry, without your permission, no one will disturb you privately during the rental period after today. Here are the keys. Goodbye.”
A strange thought inexplicably arose in Xu Qingtang’s mind.
As she was looking around the living room, wondering when to move her things in, she suddenly heard a sound at the door. Xu Qingtang turned her head and saw Gu Yizhi walking in on high heels…
Gu? Yi? Zhi?
Xu Qingtang finally knew what was strange.
Their eyes met.
“Miss Xu,” Gu Yizhi’s long eyebrows raised slightly, her tone slow and deliberate. “So you have a secret crush on me.”
Xu Qingtang: …
*
Author’s Note:
Xu Qingtang: My specialty is speedrunning social death.
