Fifteen minutes later, Chen Shuhua arrived.
Cheng Yan went out to bring her in, then introduced the two to each other.
Chen Shuhua had her hair pinned up with a hair stick, wearing a tailored, fitted business suit. She smiled gently at Zhu Jingran.
“Nice to meet you.”
Facing such a gentle Chen Shuhua, Zhu Jingran’s voice couldn’t help but soften a little too. “Likewise.”
Cheng Yan handed her a menu. “See what you want to eat.”
Their two bowls of claypot noodles had just been served, still steaming hot, richly colored, and smelling very fragrant.
Chen Shuhua glanced at it and said, “I’ll have the same as you.”
Cheng Yan nodded and called back towards the kitchen, “Boss, one more claypot noodle, add an egg.”
“Coming right up! Mild spicy or medium spicy?”
Cheng Yan glanced at Chen Shuhua and answered, “Mild spicy.”
“Want to order anything else?” Cheng Yan asked, looking at Chen Shuhua’s listless face.
Chen Shuhua shook her head. “Just a bowl of noodles is enough.”
Cheng Yan didn’t push further. Across from her, Zhu Jingran had already dug in during their exchange.
Thinking it over, she pushed her bowl of noodles towards Chen Shuhua. “Are you hungry? If so, eat mine first. I asked the boss for mild spicy, and it just came—I haven’t touched it yet.”
Chen Shuhua pushed it back. “You eat. I’ll wait just a bit longer.”
Cheng Yan’s gaze swept over her face, which looked even more drained than the last time they’d met. Her tone turned a bit firmer. “Eat it. I’ll wait.”
Looking at the bowl of noodles pushed before her, a touch stirred in Chen Shuhua’s heart. Her eyes reddened slightly.
She composed herself, forcibly suppressing the ache, and looked up with a gentle smile. “Okay.”
Zhu Jingran quietly put away her surreptitious observing glances, keeping her eyes on her own food and minding her own business.
After the meal, Cheng Yan pushed down Chen Shuhua’s hand reaching for the bill, scanned to pay in one smooth motion, and pulled Chen Shuhua outside.
A steaming hot meal had somewhat nourished Chen Shuhua’s complexion, making her look less haggard than when she’d first arrived.
She said to Zhu Jingran, “I’ve always heard Junior had a very good friend. Finally got to meet you today.”
Zhu Jingran cast a glance at the nearby Cheng Yan—You never mentioned you had a senior you were so close to, either?
She smiled brightly. “I’ve only just been back for a few days. Isn’t it just fate that we got to meet today?”
Then, looking at the two of them, she very tactfully said, “Well then, you two have a good chat. I’ll head back first. Let’s catch up another day when we’re free.”
Chen Shuhua glanced at Cheng Yan. “Let me drive you.”
Zhu Jingran waved her hand. “No need, no need. It’s only a few minutes’ walk.”
As soon as she finished speaking, her phone rang.
Zhu Jingran answered, “Grandma, is there a reason you’re calling?”
Grandma Zhu said, “I was looking for you. A car broke down a few dozen meters in front of our shop. I saw it and pointed them towards our shop. Hurry back, business is here.”
Zhu Jingran started walking back quickly while saying, “Alright, tell them to wait for me for a few minutes. I’m heading back now.”
She hung up and said to the two, “No more chatting, something came up at the shop. I’m off!”
Chen Shuhua was already holding her car keys, unlocking the vehicle. She said, “Let me drive you back. It’ll be faster.”
Cheng Yan also said, “Get in. You don’t want to keep your client waiting too long.”
Walking here in ten minutes was nothing, but waiting idly by the roadside for ten minutes would feel very long.
Zhu Jingran didn’t stand on ceremony this time. Getting into the back seat, she fastened her seatbelt and sighed in exasperation. “My grandma must’ve been worried seeing I hadn’t opened for business in the few days since I got back. She’s drumming up business for me.”
While giving Chen Shuhua directions, Cheng Yan laughed. “Grandma’s afraid you’ll live off your savings and end up broke.”
Zhu Jingran, “Looking down on me?”
Cheng Yan smiled, “I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare.”
Chen Shuhua focused on driving, listening to the two banter in her ear. She glanced now and then at the Cheng Yan beside her, watching her laugh brightly and slyly.
This relaxed, comfortable Cheng Yan who bantered with people was very unfamiliar to her.
Heavy matters weighed on her, making it hard to breathe. Yet on this ordinary evening, she had glimpsed another side of Cheng Yan and had even been introduced to her best friend. Thinking of it this way, Chen Shuhua felt life wasn’t so exhausting after all.
“Here we are.”
Cheng Yan got out of the car with Zhu Jingran, saying, “You’re the only one at your shop right now, and Grandma’s getting on in years. If you need a hand with anything, I can help.”
“Senior, can you wait for just a little while? If it’s just a broken-down car, we’ll be done here soon.”
Chen Shuhua also turned off the car and got out. The night breeze blew, and her expression was tender. “No problem. Go on. I’ll wait for you.”
Zhu Jingran went back and fetched her general-purpose toolbox. Cheng Yan grabbed a set of coveralls and followed her as she walked ahead.
A black Maybach was parked by the roadside. Getting closer, Cheng Yan thought this car looked a bit familiar.
When they rounded the back of the car and saw who was standing next to the front hood, even the usually composed Cheng Yan couldn’t help but be surprised.
What kind of luck was this? How was she running into her so frequently lately?
Seeing Zhu Jingran arrive, Grandma Zhu called out in her strong voice, “Ranran, come take a look quickly! Fix it for them, don’t keep them waiting.”
“Yanyan came too? This kid, making you work for her again!”
Cheng Yan withdrew her gaze from the exchange of glances and looked at Grandma Zhu. “I’m just lending a hand. It’s no trouble, Grandma.”
Zhu Jingran smiled at Jun Jianqing in the wheelchair and quietly asked the approaching driver about the situation. They exchanged a few words, and she roughly knew what the problem was.
She took the coveralls from Cheng Yan and put them on, donned her cap, and ducked straight under the car chassis. Her movements were crisp and efficient as she started working.
Cheng Yan walked over to Jun Jianqing’s side.
Jun Jianqing only just noticed she was holding something in her hand, like a sprig of a plant. “What’s this?”
Cheng Yan opened her palm, revealing a small cluster of green. “Summer’s almost here. Mosquitoes and bugs are plentiful in the evening. On the way here, I plucked a sprig of mosquito repellent plant from the shop entrance. It can keep mosquitoes away.”
Jun Jianqing understood now.
She looked at Cheng Yan, who had deliberately come over, the depths of her eyes filling with faint traces of a smile.
“Many thanks… Yanyan?”
Under the dusk sky, the sunset glow had faded, leaving the heavens a gradient of deep and shallow indigo.
Cheng Yan’s fingers curled up involuntarily. Her ears also felt a bit itchy.
She licked her lips, her voice very low, as if afraid someone might overhear. “I came with good intentions to help Aunt Jun repel mosquitoes, and here you are teasing me.”
Jun Jianqing lifted her eyes, looking at her from below, able to dimly make out her constantly fluttering lashes, like butterflies poised to take flight.
“How could that be?” Her tone was very gentle, naturally explaining the logic. “I saw that old lady just now address you like that. I thought it was a rather nice form of address.”
Cheng Yan said, “That’s an elder.”
Jun Jianqing countered, “Am I not?”
She sighed softly, “You address me as ‘Aunt Jun,’ and if I then call you by your full name, that would be overly distant.”
“Yanyan. This is just right.”
She smiled lightly, her manner gentle, yet brooking no argument.
