With Aunt Qian in the house, almost nothing could be hidden from He Yuan.
If not for the fact that Aunt Luo’s husband was deaf and mute and also honest and simple by nature, He Yuan would have already asked them to leave.
When they went to work the next day, Secretary Lin was clearly in a slightly better mood than usual. He Yuan guessed it was because of the move.
After work, the two returned to Yuelan Yunting. Seeing how happy she looked, He Yuan couldn’t help but say, “Secretary Lin, shall I take you to Building Three?”
Lin Yue shook her head and reminded him, “Thank you, President He, but there’s no need to trouble you. My friend is coming to help me, and besides, the staff over there all recognize you.”
He Yuan: “…”
“Alright then, I’ll have someone else drive you.”
“That’s not necessary either,” Lin Yue quickly refused. “The roads here are easy to walk, and I can carry these two suitcases just fine. My friend just called and said she’s already outside. We can take a taxi ourselves. I’ve troubled you these past two days—thank you, President He.”
He Yuan: “…”
There was no reason left to keep her.
He pressed his thin lips together and could only nod. He had originally wanted to ask her to stay for dinner, but since her friend was already waiting outside, that possibility was gone.
Even after Lin Yue said goodbye, he stood there for more than ten seconds, as if he hadn’t quite processed it.
Seeing this, Aunt Qian reminded him, “Sir?”
Only then did He Yuan come back to his senses. “I’ll go upstairs first. I still have things to take care of.”
Watching his retreating figure, Aunt Qian suddenly had a realization, her expression lighting up in understanding.
Oh dear—she slapped her thigh in frustration. How had she only realized it now? Even if the sir couldn’t say it himself, she could have come up with a hundred excuses to keep Lin Yue for dinner.
But then she thought again—Secretary Lin would be coming over every day anyway. There would be plenty of opportunities.
It had to be said, Aunt Qian was quite perceptive.
She had been working for the He family since He Yuan was in high school. After he returned to the country, his mother assigned her to take care of his daily life. She liked the He family’s atmosphere and had stayed for many years.
The kind of person no one could lure away.
Meanwhile, Lin Yue, still on the road, had no idea that Aunt Qian was already “eyeing” her.
Qin Yan knew Lin Yue was frugal and had suggested taking the bus, but Lin Yue refused immediately. Her friend was helping her move and carrying such heavy luggage—taking a bus that kept stopping and starting, especially since Qin Yan got motion sickness, was something she couldn’t accept.
The apartment was naturally close to the company, so they quickly arrived at Building Three.
She lived on the 11th floor, Room 1101.
Seeing the number, Qin Yan couldn’t help but laugh. “No wonder your blind dates are always so weird—just look at this number. I’m not being superstitious, okay?”
Lin Yue took out her key and opened the door. “Superstition isn’t good. I’m going to manage both my career and my personal life.”
Qin Yan laughed. The moment the door opened, her mouth fell slightly open, and her eyes showed clear surprise.
“Wow, as expected of a big company. This counts as a one-bedroom, right? Why is it so cheap? There’s even a small balcony?”
Lin Yue also froze for a moment. She had always known Hengxing was famous for good accommodation and meals, but she hadn’t expected it to be this good.
The apartment was under 60 square meters. It looked small, but the layout was well-organized. Right at the entrance was a shoe cabinet with a full-length mirror built into it. Further inside, on either side, were the bathroom and the kitchen, with staggered doorways. Next to the bathroom was the bedroom connected to the living room. Next to the kitchen was a small dining area that could seat at most two people. At the very end was a tiny balcony where you could almost bump into someone just by turning around. Beside the balcony, connected to the living room, was a small space for a washing machine and drying clothes.
The monthly rent was 3,000 yuan, and Lin Yue was already very satisfied.
In fact, she felt a bit excited. What did it feel like to have a place of her own? It felt incredibly wonderful.
Although the apartment was already clean, Lin Yue still pulled Qin Yan along to wipe down all the cabinets. They finished tidying up quickly, and it only took about an hour to organize everything from her suitcases.
Qin Yan looked around with satisfaction. “Hmm, it just needs a bit of decoration and some plants. When you have a day off or get off work early, you can go to that wholesale market we visited before. Don’t you love flowers?”
Lin Yue nodded. She liked flowers—more precisely, she loved the art of flower arranging. She enjoyed the process of placing fresh flowers into different containers. However, flowers from shops were expensive, and she never bought them.
After all, flower arranging was a dream, and she still had to survive in reality.
As Lin Yue’s close friend, Qin Yan understood her dreams well—but dreams could only remain dreams.
By the time they finished, the sky had just begun to darken.
Lin Yue took Qin Yan downstairs for dinner and to familiarize herself with the surroundings. Since it was an employee apartment developed by the company, it was naturally close to the workplace. And since He Yuan also lived in the city center, Lin Yue was pleasantly surprised to realize she could sleep a little longer in the mornings.
The two found a small restaurant on the back street of Building Three and sat down. To thank Qin Yan, Lin Yue ordered her favorite crayfish and got two cans of beer.
As they ate and chatted, the conversation eventually turned to Qing Jing.
Qin Yan sighed. “I might move out too. A colleague of mine also thinks her place is too far, so we’re considering renting together.”
Lin Yue said, “That works. It’s your decision.”
Qin Yan added, “Actually, Qing Jing wasn’t like this before. I don’t know how she became like this.”
Lin Yue smiled slightly. “ Qin Yan, people hope everyone lives well—but not better than themselves. If someone does better, it becomes a problem. Some things I didn’t say were just to save her some face. Back when we were job hunting together, she clearly had no intention of applying to Hengxing, but after I mentioned it, she showed up at the same interview as me. I can’t help but think she submitted her resume overnight.”
Qin Yan said, “I suspected that too, but I didn’t want to affect our friendship, so I didn’t dare to guess.”
Lin Yue replied, “Exactly. Everything leaves traces. We treated her as a friend, but she treated us like fools.”
“To hell with being fools. Come on, cheers.”
Lin Yue clinked her beer can against Qin Yan’s. “Cheers. A brand new beginning—starting this year, let’s not be fools anymore.”
Lin Yue was someone with real emotions. Although she appeared calm when it came to Qing Jing, breaking off a friendship for the first time in her life still left her feeling uncomfortable.
At the beginning, she had even wondered if she had done something wrong.
Fortunately, she was able to wake up in time and not let it trouble her any further.