— Let’s review: what were your favorite childhood snacks?
— What are the reasons for Xinghua Food’s decline in recent years?
— It is reported that a safety issue erupted at Xinghua Food’s largest processing plant, already causing five deaths and eighteen hospitalizations…
— Should veteran enterprises stick to existing markets or seek transformation? As the head of the family, what choice will she make?
“What are you looking at?” Today was a weekend. The two had come out to relax. Zhu Jingran’s head leaned in, looking at the news page on her phone screen. “Xinghua Food?”
“That lollipop and spicy strips we used to eat all the time as kids? Right! And the bread we used to buy every morning at the snack shop, paired with that little carton of milk—wasn’t that brand Xinghua?”
Cheng Yan nodded.
In elementary school, Cheng Yan had also loved eating snacks.
Every week she had a specific allowance from her parents, money which she used to buy snacks at the little shop with Zhu Jingran.
Reminiscing triggered Zhu Jingran’s cravings. She was someone who really loved munching on small snacks. “It’s just that I feel like I haven’t seen them in recent years.”
Whenever she went grocery shopping, she’d looked for them multiple times but couldn’t find them.
Exiting the news page, Cheng Yan said, “They stopped producing them several years ago.”
Zhu Jingran was disappointed. “Ah, they made really good stuff. When I eat other brands, it’s just not the same flavor.”
“Seriously, I truly don’t understand what some businesses are doing. They make something delicious, sell it for a couple of years, then it’s gone—ask and you hear they stopped making it. Meanwhile, those horrible and expensive things keep churning out new flavors, upgrading from version 1.0 to 5.0 on the shelves, consistently awful-tasting. Don’t they do any market research? I’m so fed up.”
Zhu Jingran’s grudge ran deep. When she was little, her disposable pocket money was low, so buying favorites required careful budgeting. Now grown up with financial freedom, the things she wanted to eat were gone, leaving only the unpalatable stuff standing on the shelves.
“Those bosses must have water in their brains,” she judged indignantly.
Cheng Yan didn’t chime in, even though she’d once had similar thoughts.
She said, “Perhaps the bosses see things from a different perspective than we do.”
Zhu Jingran snorted. “In any case, they’re the ones who abandoned the market. So is this Xinghua Food about to go bankrupt or something?”
Cheng Yan sighed in exasperation. “How is that possible? It’s a veteran enterprise. Judging an enterprise to be failing based on some ambiguous news is way too rash.”
Zhu Jingran crossed her arms and looked at her. “Then why are you looking so worried? Even if it crashes, this company has nothing to do with you.”
Did Cheng Yan think Zhu Jingran wouldn’t notice the worried hue on her face?
Cheng Yan was slightly taken aback, touching her own face.
She looked worried?
No longer dwelling on this, she dropped her hand and sighed softly. “I have a friend, connected to this enterprise.”
Zhu Jingran sat down beside her. “If you’re very worried about your friend, go find her.”
Cheng Yan shook her head. “I couldn’t reach her.”
Zhu Jingran cupped her chin, watching her. “Alright then. Don’t think about it for now. Let me take you back. We’ll have dinner together, then I’ll take you back to school.”
Cheng Yan glanced at her flashy motorcycle and said, “Let me drive you instead.”
She and Zhu Jingran had gotten their driver’s licenses together; they’d tested for both C1 and D licenses.
Tossing a helmet to Zhu Jingran, Cheng Yan swung a long leg over the bike. Her amber eyes looked at her, signaling her to follow.
Zhu Jingran whistled. “Cool!”
Excitedly, she climbed onto the back seat, wrapping her arms around Cheng Yan’s waist. She exclaimed, “Let’s go!”
Cheng Yan drove far more aggressively than she did.
On the Coastal Highway, the motorcycle sped all the way, howling past. The speed was so fast it felt as if they’d fly out the next second, sending adrenaline surging.
Arriving in front of Zhu Jingran’s shop, Cheng Yan took off her helmet, ran a hand from front to back through her hair, and asked, tilting her head, “Eat out, or order delivery?”
The excitement hadn’t faded from Zhu Jingran’s face. Looking at Cheng Yan, her eyes shone.
“Sis, your skills are still this amazing, just as brilliant as before!”
Cheng Yan scoffed. “What ‘before’? It was just last year.”
Zhu Jingran giggled, watching Cheng Yan familiarly enter the shop to find water.
Many upon seeing Zhu Jingran for the first time would think she was probably a girl who knew how to have fun, who liked excitement.
But what they didn’t know was that her friend—the always seemingly well-behaved Cheng Yan—was the truly reckless one who courted danger.
When it came to motorcycles, Zhu Jingran had been the guide sparking Cheng Yan’s interest.
But no one expected that as soon as Cheng Yan got her license upon turning eighteen, she went straight to underground racing.
That summer after the college entrance exams, she spent two whole months at the underground racing circuit. As a newcomer, Cheng Yan was always at the very bottom. But a week later, half a month later, that situation was overturned.
Relying on a disregard for life and exceptional skill, she repeatedly claimed the championship.
It was only later, when Cheng Yan treated the visiting Zhu Jingran to a meal with a wad of cash, that she found out.
At the time, Zhu Jingran’s only feeling was: so thrilling, sis!
Later, Zhu Jingran even went to watch one of her races, truly experiencing firsthand that life-or-death, death-defying sensation.
Just when Zhu Jingran thought Cheng Yan would delve deeper into the path of racing, once the summer ended and university started, the other party bid the underground racing circuit farewell.
She still remembered her phone call with Cheng Yan back then—
“Why quit? Of course, I wanted to experience the feeling of earning money. Now school’s starting, so naturally I should go to school.”
“…If you were short on money, with a title like City Top Scorer, couldn’t you do other things? Tutoring is also pretty lucrative, right?”
“Didn’t want to, too boring,” Cheng Yan said on the other end of the phone.
Zhu Jingran was silent for a long time, then said, “I get it now. Earning money was trivial. You just wanted thrills, wanted to gamble with your life.”
She seemed to understand why Cheng Yan did this. After that, she never asked such questions again.
Eighteen years old, the first step into adulthood.
Cheng Yan got her driver’s license and went off to race cars.
In that time of starting everything anew, she chose to leave her life to fate.
Fortune had favored her. She got injured, but never suffered a life-threatening wound.
Once the deadline she had set for herself was up, she turned around, transforming back into that well-behaved model student of the past.
Cheng Yan had never discussed these things with her, but as a good friend of so many years, Zhu Jingran just understood.
She followed behind Cheng Yan, watching her tilt her head back and drink water.
When she drank too fast, a thin trickle of water spilled from the corner of her mouth, sliding down her long neck and past her bobbing throat, looking utterly sexy and mesmerizing.
Those hands holding the bottle, too, were slender and pale. When she exerted strength, veins tensed on the back of her hand, suggestive and captivating to many a sapphic gaze.
Just the sight of Cheng Yan drinking water had attracted several girls asking for her contact info.
“They all say you’re a goody-two-shoes. How would they know our good girl is actually the wildest one of all?”
Thinking of a certain someone’s past evaluation of Cheng Yan, Zhu Jingran huffed indignantly, “A complete drama queen, and yet that lot is blind, just lapping up your act.”
Hearing this sudden sour note, Cheng Yan glanced at her. “Who upset you now?”
Zhu Jingran laughed heartily. “No one upset me.”
She was just thinking of a certain someone who had also once asked Cheng Yan for her contact info.
Cheng Yan ignored her.
Usually Zhu Jingran was fine, but whenever she thought of a certain unattainable white moonlight, she became a bit unhinged. Cheng Yan was used to it.
“So, eat out or delivery? Made up your mind yet?”
Zhu Jingran reined in her smile, finally back to normal. “Let’s eat out. That place we always used to go.”
Cheng Yan, “Okay.”
The shop Zhu Jingran mentioned was a noodle house. Their claypot noodles were top-notch; the two had frequented it often back in high school.
It wasn’t far from here, just a few minutes’ walk, so the two simply walked over.
Entering, they ordered their usual signature noodles. Cheng Yan added an egg. While waiting for their food, she received a call from Chen Shuhua.
“Junior, I was busy earlier and missed your call. Is something the matter?” Chen Shuhua’s voice held concern.
Cheng Yan’s heart softened. Staring at the grain of the tabletop, she said, “Nothing. It’s just, I messaged you and you didn’t reply. I wanted to call and see what you were up to.”
Chen Shuhua breathed a sigh of relief. “My phone was on silent for a while back there.”
Cheng Yan hummed in acknowledgment. “No worries, don’t be concerned.”
“Okay.”
It seemed time to hang up.
Cheng Yan thought again of those news articles. Holding the phone, she asked, “Have you eaten dinner yet?”
“Not yet, just about to…” Chen Shuhua started, then paused, switching tracks. “Did you eat yet?”
Cheng Yan said, “Just ordered, haven’t eaten yet.”
Chen Shuhua asked softly, “Can I come find you?”
“…” Cheng Yan hesitated, glancing at Zhu Jingran.
Seeing her expression, Zhu Jingran readily nodded, signaling it was fine.
Cheng Yan said, “I’m with a friend right now. If you’re willing, Senior, come on over.”
Chen Shuhua was a bit happy. “Great. I’ll be there soon.”
She hung up. Cheng Yan sent her the location on WeChat.
Zhu Jingran asked, “Who was it?”
Cheng Yan, “A friend I’m on pretty good terms with.”
Zhu Jingran asked abruptly, “Likes you?”
Cheng Yan didn’t deny it in front of her. “Mm.”
Zhu Jingran said, “Sounds like someone with a very gentle personality.”
Cheng Yan raised an eyebrow slightly.
Zhu Jingran rolled her eyes at her. “Baby, you think I don’t know you? If she weren’t gentle, you wouldn’t have a good impression of her, okay?”
To some extent, Cheng Yan was a person with a strong desire for control when it came to relationships.
This desire for control drove her to seek a dominant position in any romantic relationship. If the love interest was too assertive, that wouldn’t work; it would just turn into a tug-of-war.
Besides, this girl was also domineering as hell.
When they were little, they rescued an injured bird together. Birds don’t understand human nature; their instinct only tells them to cling to whoever treats them well. Both of them tended the bird carefully, so naturally the injured bird was close to both of them.
But Zhu Jingran soon noticed that Cheng Yan stopped feeding it. When asked, she said, ‘Don’t you still feed it?’
Belatedly, Zhu Jingran realized the possessiveness beneath her well-behaved exterior.
Wanting exclusive attention.
A person this domineering, if matched with another assertive personality, Zhu Jingran couldn’t imagine how glorious that picture would be.
“Don’t look at me like that.” As if knowing what Zhu Jingran was inwardly grumbling about, Cheng Yan shrugged. “I’ve changed a lot already.”
Zhu Jingran remained skeptical. “Really?”
Then, as if remembering something, she asked, “Since you have a good impression of this senior, who was that person we ran into at the airport a few days ago?”
Cheng Yan repeated, “An elder.”
