Actually, Lin Xuehe, although a bit picky and particular, did not seem that hard to get along with.
Wen Ya bit on her straw and pondered seriously.
Troublesome as he might be, he had not really done anything inconsiderate.
Well of course, being taciturn was probably natural, so it could not be forced.
Thinking of this, Wen Ya decided to correct her attitude and interact with him more warmly, trying her best to let him, even while alone far from home, feel a sense of family-like warmth.
Unfortunately, Mr. Lin was discharged from the hospital after only three days.
She let go of the straw and sighed faintly.
What a pity.
If Lin Xuehe knew she thought that, he would probably be furious.
Once Lin Xuehe was discharged, Wen Ya shifted the focus of her work back to the renovation project. The two of them returned to meeting only once every few days, a distant kind of pleasant familiarity.
On the other hand, Wen Ya and Duan Ming’an ran into each other frequently.
So frequently that she felt as if her destined romance had arrived.
After meeting so often, they gradually exchanged all kinds of contact information. Their conversations beyond work grew more and more frequent, and the more they chatted, the more they clicked. Even after meals, they would pull out their phones to chat for a while.
After supervising Father Wen while he washed the dishes, Mother Wen returned to the living room and saw her daughter squatting on a chair in a sloppy two-year-old pajama set, clutching her phone and smiling in a silly, lovestruck way.
Wen Ya’s thumb was tapping wildly on the screen, almost as fast as typing on a keyboard.
Wen Chuntian: Really? As much as I want? You won’t dislike me if I eat a lot? [drooling]
Sales President Duan: Haha, if you eat more that’s even better.
Wen Chuntian: Okay!
Sales President Duan: [snickering]
Sales President Duan: Then tomorrow evening at six. See you at Xian Yike. [big laugh]
Wen Ya: Alright. [cute]
Happily putting down her phone, Wen Ya held her face in both hands. President Duan was good in every way, except his stickers were a bit outdated, and now they were even influencing her style… hehehe, but tomorrow, that should count as a date…
“Tsk tsk tsk, you’re smiling like a pervert.” Mother Wen walked over and poked her forehead. “Look at the state you’re in.”
Wen Ya cheerfully struck a pose. “Mom, what do you think, the most beautiful girl in the whole neighborhood?”
Mother Wen glanced at her loose, baggy pajamas with disdain. “Most beautiful in the neighborhood? You’re at the bottom of the neighborhood.”
“Hey, hey, hey. That’s not what you said last time!” Wen Ya protested. “With my current value, I’m at least in the top hundred of our city.”
“…Do you have a fever?”
Wen Ya’s excitement could not be put into words, so she simply turned and headed back to her room, asking as she walked, “Mom, where did you put my curling iron last time?”
“I feel like my hair really needs some styling lately…”
Mother Wen froze. The next second she stomped her foot and rushed toward the kitchen. “Old Wen, this is serious. That silly girl has something going on!”
A burst of clattering sounds came from the kitchen. The spatula Father Wen was holding slipped into the sink, striking a ceramic bowl and splashing foam everywhere.
Chaos broke out, lively and noisy.
The next evening, Wen Ya left the house early and arrived fifteen minutes ahead of time, sitting down at the seat she had reserved.
Outside the window, the sky was filled with glowing clouds, beautiful like a painting.
Wen Ya poked at her phone screen. This seat was not chosen well, it was too far inside and the sunset could hardly be seen. With that, how much poetic romance would their date lose…
Just as her thoughts wandered, a tall, slender figure walked past, dressed sharply in a white shirt and suit pants, his presence imposing.
And then… he walked right past her.
“Ah, Mr. Lin.”
Lin Xuehe turned back, only then noticing Wen Ya’s face.
It was obvious that the girl who had met him several times before had dressed up carefully this time. Her curled hair was not simply tied up or left loose as usual. Part of it was braided, giving her a soft and fresh look. Her makeup was slightly heavier than usual, making her already delicate features appear even more radiant.
A ladylike white dress, and she was even wearing a bracelet.
His gaze swept over her from head to toe. His thin lips moved slightly. “Not bad. A complete transformation.”
Under the scrutiny of his eyes, Wen Ya felt as though she had nowhere to hide. She fidgeted slightly, then relaxed and arranged a polite smile. “Thank you. Are you here for dinner too, Mr. Lin?”
Lin Xuehe did not nod. He raised his hand to check the time. “I have something to discuss. I’ll go in first.”
“Oh, alright.” Wen Ya quickly replied, watching as he entered the private room at the very back before sitting down again.
Having to discuss work even on a day off, that was really not easy.
She looked at the time as well. Five minutes left. It seemed she had arrived too early after all.
At business banquets, the culture of drinking and toasting runs deep, and refusing a toast is difficult.
But Lin Xuehe only drank one symbolic glass, and with a cold expression that seemed untouchable, he refused the rest. His colleagues could not help but admire him.
By the time the dishes had gone cold and the others had drunk their fill, the serious business had been discussed and settled.
“President Lin, please take good care of us in the future.”
The other party extended a hand. Lin Xuehe revealed his first smile of the evening, reaching out to shake it, his voice calm and cool. “Happy cooperation.”
With their goals achieved, they parted amicably.
“President Lin, I’ve been busy lately so I haven’t had the chance to chat with you. How are you finding life after returning to the country?” The man, with graying hair and already past fifty, looked at him with a smile. “I heard you were hospitalized but I couldn’t visit. Sorry about that.”
Lin Xuehe shook his head. “You’re too polite, General Manager. I’ll need your guidance in the future.”
“Hahaha, that’s only natural.” The man picked up his briefcase. “President Lin is young and capable. We should look after each other from now on. I won’t keep you longer. I still need to pick up my troublesome son. His tutoring class should be ending.”
The general manager was a straightforward, practical man. Lin Xuehe got along well with him and nodded immediately.
“See you at the company on Monday.”
“Alright.”
As he passed by the seat where Wen Ya had been sitting earlier, someone else had already taken the table. Lin Xuehe raised his hand and checked the time again.
Seven o’clock, neither early nor late.
She had eaten quite quickly.
Lin Xuehe had barely touched his food during the business dinner and was feeling somewhat hungry, so he decided to find a nearby noodle shop and have a simple bowl of noodles.
He was still taking medicine and his appetite had not been good. Recently his meals had all been light and plain. Once he was about sixty percent full, he would stop eating, just enough to maintain his daily needs. He had even lost several pounds.
He did not see a suitable shop in the building, so he searched on his phone and found a small, elegant restaurant about three hundred meters away. He planned to walk over and take a look. Just as he stepped out of the building and was about to cross the street, a dark figure suddenly rushed toward him.
“He’s a thief! Everyone please help!”
The voice sounded familiar. Lin Xuehe’s eyelids moved slightly. In a split second he lifted his leg and kicked the unlucky thief, who happened to run past him, straight to the ground.
“Ow!” The thief, wearing a black mask, cried out miserably and curled up in pain.
Wen Ya, who had chased him down an entire street, ran over drenched in sweat. She staggered to a stop, panting heavily and unable to speak.
It was not that passersby were indifferent and refused to help. People simply needed time to react. At first she had been too embarrassed to shout loudly. By the time the distance kept growing, she finally called out for help. After Lin Xuehe knocked the thief down, the enthusiastic crowd quickly surrounded him.
“C-call the police.”
Wen Ya clutched her chest. Damn it, she was exhausted.
Lin Xuehe glanced at her and dialed 110.
“In broad daylight, tsk tsk, such nerve, daring to steal like this.”
“So young yet lazy. Just wait to eat prison food!”
“Young man, no matter what you do, you shouldn’t steal or rob!”
All kinds of voices rose around them. Ignoring the thief’s pleas for mercy, the crowd continued discussing the matter.
By the time they finished giving their statements and came out, half an hour had already passed. Wen Ya held her bag and looked completely drained. She walked under a streetlight and turned around, meeting the face of the man who had helped catch the thief yet still looked as cold as ever.
Embarrassed, she scratched her bangs and managed to say, “My hair part split down the middle again.”
Lin Xuehe looked down at her forehead from above and, out of humanitarian spirit, cooperated with the conversation. “It looks like it did.”
After that came another long silence. A conversation like this was already quite forced.
“Ah, this is so annoying!”
Wen Ya gave up on maintaining composure.
Lin Xuehe watched quietly as she stomped around in frustration without saying a word.
How could she be so unlucky? First her date stood her up, then her wallet got stolen. On top of that, she happened to notice it and chased the thief down an entire street. Now her toes, soles, ankles, heels, calves, thighs, arms, and stomach all hurt. And she had to embarrass herself in front of Lin Xuehe too.
What was the meaning of a life like this? It was suffocating.
After nearly stomping the uneven, cracked pavement tiles flat, she pushed her long hair back and let out a long breath.
Then she felt completely dejected.
She wrapped her arms around the streetlight pole and turned to look sideways at Lin Xuehe, whose expression was cool and distant.
Tall and slender, his skin looked pale under the streetlight, like someone who rarely saw the sun. A shadow fell along the bridge of his nose, and his lips were thin.
At least at a difficult time like this, there was a handsome man to look at.
Wen Ya slumped her shoulders and pressed her cheek against the lamp post, muttering softly, “Mr. Lin, why would someone invite a girl out to dinner, then get busy with something and just forget about the appointment?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never asked anyone out.”
Never asked anyone out?! Wen Ya stared with wide eyes in disbelief.
Before she could continue expressing her shock, Lin Xuehe calmly lifted his chin. “Compared to that, since we ran into each other, let’s confirm a few renovation details again.”
Unbelievable.
She was already this upset and he still wanted to talk about work!
“However,” Lin Xuehe changed the subject, “I’m going to eat noodles first. Do you want to wait outside, or come along?”
Crack.
A faint sound like something breaking through the soil seemed to come from her heart.
Wen Ya’s eyes lit up. The corners of her mouth lifted, revealing neat white teeth, and even the dimples she rarely showed appeared.
“I’ll come with you!”
She had not eaten yet.
She was starving.