Gu Yining blinked, the haze clearing from her eyes. She stepped forward, forcing Ji Huaqing to retreat.
“Zhou Hui told you to?”
“Mm.”
“How did you phrase it to Zhou Hui? Coming to the bar to grab a girlfriend, or to grab a student?”
The question hit the core, leaving Ji Huaqing no place to hide. Girlfriend or student?
Ji Huaqing was speechless, feeling her face burn. But just a few days ago, she had rejected Gu Yining—and even left Jing City to avoid her.
She hesitated for a moment. Gu Yining opened a bottle of wine and handed it to her. “Teacher, drink?”
Ji Huaqing took it, her heart thundering, and said nonchalantly, “Take a look at Cheng Qingtang’s Moments.”
Gu Yining glanced at her, obediently opened it. There was nothing in it. She handed it to Ji Huaqing. “Blank.”
Only visible for three days.
Blank—and Ji Huaqing’s cheeks burned even brighter. She instinctively opened her own phone. Also blank now.
How was it all gone?
“She deleted it.”
Gu Yining glanced at her again, took a sip of wine. She didn’t speak. Ji Huaqing knew she doubted her words.
Ji Huaqing, like a helpless child, went in and out of Cheng Qingtang’s Moments, still seeing nothing.
Gu Yining was amused. “Don’t you know how to screenshot?”
“I…” Ji Huaqing remembered sending it to Zhou Hui. She followed the conversation and found the photo.
The corner of Ji Huaqing’s mouth lifted. She handed the phone over. “Is this you?”
Gu Yining frowned faintly, her expression indifferent as a trace of memory surfaced.
Ji Huaqing seized the opening: “So that night you were at Ten Li of Jianghuai with her?”
“Which night?”
“The night you came to pick me up.”
The corner of Gu Yining’s mouth lifted bit by bit. She took a sip of wine, the lamp overhead falling on her, showing a hint of coldness, especially in her smile.
“Teacher Ji, I don’t wear my clothes only once.”
Ji Huaqing’s face flushed. She tried to take the phone back, but Gu Yining held onto it, examining the photo closely. She had no memory of it.
Her fingertip tapped, zooming out. The chat screen appeared—their entire conversation laid bare.
Gu Yining nearly couldn’t hold back her laughter. Ji Huaqing realized what happened and snatched the phone back. “Do you have no manners?”
“No manners.” Gu Yining admitted, the curve of her lips impossible to press down. She asked, “Going to the hotel?”
Ji Huaqing clutched the phone, handing her the household registration booklet, then picked up the bottle and took a big gulp herself. Compared to Wangzai milk, it was awful.
“I’ll take you outside—to listen to some music. Since we’re here, no need to rush back.” Sensing her embarrassment, Gu Yining backed off; she didn’t want to pressure her.
She’d pressured once before and waited fifteen years. The lesson had been learned.
Gu Yining took back the booklet, suppressing a laugh. She bowed her head, opened the door—Cheng Qingtang was still waiting outside.
The young lady, having waited at the door all this while, had rage burning to the top of her head. Anger colored her eyes. “Gu Yining, what do you mean?”
“Miss Cheng, I already stated my position. I’m not accepting Qi Luo. You may take her into your own ranks. I won’t lose a whole company because of one person. Even if you concede 100% of the profits, I won’t agree. That’s my bottom line. I said it before.”
“I’m not asking about her. I’m asking about us.” Cheng Qingtang’s gaze swept toward Ji Huaqing.
Gu Yining was bewildered. “What is there between us?”
“Gu Yining, are you playing dumb?” Cheng Qingtang’s eyes were piercing. “I’ve been by your side all this time, and you’re just going to let it pass?”
The hallway light fell across Gu Yining’s pale face with striking appeal.
“By my side?” Gu Yining mulled over the word, finding it a poor fit. She phrased it carefully: “There’s nothing between us. It was all business. As for Qi Luo, on behalf of my company, I formally reject you.”
Her words were cold and merciless, like cold water thrown on Cheng Qingtang.
Qi Luo, returning and seeing this, was too frightened to come near. She decisively slipped away.
Cheng Qingtang turned and left, head held high.
Ji Huaqing watched her retreat. Her eyes deepened. She had an excellent family background. If she couldn’t get it, she turned and left—cutting her losses in time.
And Gu Yining?
“Gu Yining, you’re not as smart as her. She knows when to cut her losses. You don’t.”
“I’m better at cutting losses than she is. Dropping Qi Luo is cutting losses.” Gu Yining flashed a perfect smile and waved the household registration booklet. “Going to the hotel?”
She asked again.
Ji Huaqing said, “Home is fine too.”
Gu Yining said, “Home doesn’t have the right atmosphere.”
Ji Huaqing was speechless. She forced the incident from her mind, pretending it never happened.
Gu Yining turned, leaned against the wall, blocking her path. “Teacher Ji, I’ve never been to a hotel before. How about you teach me how to go?”
“You…” Ji Huaqing wished she could crawl into a hole.
Then she thought—was Gu Yining clarifying something?
Gu Yining went on, “I’ve never kissed before either. They say it’s thrilling.”
She leaned close, her face carrying a smile, a certain lazy beauty about her. She blinked slyly, her nose tracing downward, her red lips pressed together.
Ji Huaqing remained perfectly straight-faced. “Sorry. Neither have I.”
“You haven’t either.” Gu Yining’s tone softened, tinged with a sigh. “How about we try it together—learn as we go?”
Ji Huaqing looked up, her eyelids lifting, her gaze landing on a woman ten paces away. That woman was also beautiful.
Her beauty differed from Cheng Qingtang’s. She skewed pure, younger.
Zhou Hui’s words surfaced in her mind: Her subordinates are all beauties.
The woman hadn’t left, waiting right there. Was she Gu Yining’s subordinate?
Gu Yining had too many choices, too many that dazzled the eye—she could even afford to keep a canary. Ji Huaqing was briefly lost. Then Gu Yining suddenly closed in, her nose brushing Ji Huaqing’s cheek, and she froze, turned to stone.
“Teacher Ji, you’re blushing.”
Ji Huaqing forgot to breathe, her heart pounding wildly. She wanted to push her away, but that woman was watching with hungry eyes.
She held her breath and said, “Let’s go home to learn.”
Her voice was loud enough for that woman to hear.
Go home to learn. She and Gu Yining had a home.
Their names were on the same household registration booklet.
Gu Yining straightened, her fingertip brushing the corner of Ji Huaqing’s lips. Satisfied, she said, “I’ll remember. We’ll go home to learn.”
Ji Huaqing: “?”
Gu Yining turned. Qi Luo was already gone.
This was the busiest hour at the bar. Booths were nearly full—men and women laughing and talking without restraint.
Song Mingyao had left. Gu Yining went to settle the bill. She didn’t stay to listen to music; Ji Huaqing didn’t want to spend the night here, and she didn’t force it.
After paying, they walked out of Ten Li of Jianghuai. The river wind blew, dispersing the faint smell of wine.
In the small hours, the river was a painted scene of lights. Boats came and went, the aroma of snacks drifting by. Gu Yining pulled Ji Huaqing over to eat.
“What do you want?”
“Wontons.”
They walked to a small stall. By coincidence, Xiang Yunlai was there too, still not gone.
Ji Huaqing saw her and marveled quietly: “Brimming with energy.”
Seeing Xiang Yunlai, she thought of the girl student from the plane—equally young and vibrant. She had been taken home by Gu Yining, brought back close to her old life.
What about that girl student?
This subject couldn’t be mentioned, so Ji Huaqing could only press the worry down in her heart.
The stall was run by a middle-aged couple. Business was decent—five or six tables, most of them occupied.
Next door was a snail rice noodle stall. Xiang Yunlai was eating snail rice noodle. Ji Huaqing asked curiously, “What’s that?”
Gu Yining glanced at Xiang Yunlai: “A person. A real, live person.”
Ji Huaqing: “?”
“I’m asking about the food.”
“Snail rice noodles. It’s been a trendy dish in recent years.”
Gu Yining sat at the table, her long legs unable to fit underneath; her cool, elegant air was completely out of place with the surroundings.
The wontons came, piping hot. The vendor thoughtfully provided a little fan to cool them down faster.
Gu Yining used the fan to cool the wontons, letting Ji Huaqing eat first.
Watching her, Ji Huaqing remarked, “Wherever you go, people like you.”
Gu Yining didn’t look up. “Because I have money.”
“Miss Cheng has money too.”
Gu Yining laughed coldly. “My money is mine; her money is her father’s. My money will one day be Ningning’s—hers alone. Miss Cheng has siblings. How can that compare?”
Ji Huaqing pointed at Xiang Yunlai. “What about her?”
“She likes me because I’m pretty.”
Ji Huaqing couldn’t help laughing. Sitting across from her, it felt like old times—Gu Yining was still the chatty, laughing girl.
She teased: “Pretty and rich. Why are you still single?”
“I like being single. Singleness isn’t a crime.” Gu Yining pushed the wontons over, then continued fanning her own, saying matter-of-factly, “I have a daughter. People say I’m a divorcee with a daughter, and I should offer a house as dowry, written in his name.”
“Are you joking?” Ji Huaqing found it hilarious. “Your mother doesn’t know you like women?”
“When she first came home, she didn’t. She used to take me to the matchmaking corner. She’d bring back a pile of handsome men’s photos and adore them. I rejected them all. I said I liked women. She went as blank as a fool—and on top of it, her health was fragile, and she fainted once.” Gu Yining spoke of it casually. “After she woke up, she never managed my affairs again.”
She’d opened the topic. Ji Huaqing’s heart tightened, and she asked, “Have you been well all these years?”
Ji Huaqing had always wanted to ask. But Gu Yining always wore that thin, cold, indifferent mask, and the words died on her tongue.
The summer night wind carried a chill into her heart. The two, long parted, finally opened up.
Gu Yining ate a wonton, meeting Ji Huaqing’s gaze. “Where do you see me as lacking? I started a business—smooth sailing, nothing bad. Even my grandmother said the Gu family ancestors had finally let out some good fortune, and it all went to me.”
She looked a little proud, and at the same time, very well-behaved.
Ji Huaqing chose not to ask further. Even if she did, Gu Yining wouldn’t answer honestly.
They finished the wontons. Gu Yining picked up Ji Huaqing’s phone, opened the green app, tapped the corner, and found “Scan.” “Scan the code—the green one.”
“What’s the blue one next to it?”
“Another payment app. I’ll register one for you later.”
The payment went through, and a message popped up on Gu Yining’s phone.
She glanced at it—a charge notification. She looked at the amount. It seemed to be a cab fare.
Using her money to catch her.
And if they’d gone to the hotel, it would have been her money paying for the room, too.
Nice.
Gu Yining inexplicably liked this feeling.
It was like being a sucker. But she liked it.
They walked toward the main street. Xiang Yunlai followed them. “Are you two girlfriends?”
“Doesn’t it look like it?” Gu Yining shot back, stopping to ask her, “What do you think?”
“It doesn’t.” Xiang Yunlai said, “It doesn’t look like it.”
“Interesting.” Gu Yining suddenly found today’s young women fascinating—and bold. She reached out and took Ji Huaqing’s hand. “How about now?”
“Now it does.” Xiang Yunlai sized them up and said frankly, “I’ve been watching you two for a while. You kept your distance the whole time.”
Gu Yining interlaced her fingers with Ji Huaqing’s and showed it off to Xiang Yunlai. “Your attitude changed all of a sudden. Thinking I’m single now?”
Xiang Yunlai was bold, her gaze hot, making Ji Huaqing’s heart race. She felt today’s young women were bold and passionate. Xiang Yunlai’s eyes were different from Cheng Qingtang’s—no possessiveness in them.
