Her heart seemed to jolt violently. Even she found it strange. She took her phone out of her pocket and realized it was a message from Li Xiulan on WeChat.
Her movements froze, and she slowly sat down in the chair.
Face unlock had already opened the phone. The WeChat icon in the navigation bar showed a red dot, yet He Qi didn’t dare tap it for a long time.
At this time, Li Xiulan messaging her was most likely about the article from yesterday. The more she thought about it, the more nervous she became. Gritting her teeth, He Qi tapped it open.
Three cold messages sat in the chat box.
「I just spent three minutes reading your article. Very disappointed.」
「I don’t understand why you chose children’s literature as your genre, because from your writing, it’s clear you don’t understand what children’s literature is at all.」
「You don’t need to explain your reasons to me. You’re Li Jiajia’s friend, so I won’t delete you, but there’s no need to submit to me again.」
He Qi’s gaze was fixed on the phone screen. Her neck and face burned.
Looking at those blunt, merciless criticisms, she felt a long-lost sense of shame—like being a good student in middle or high school and being publicly criticized by a teacher.
It felt much worse than being scolded by a boss, probably because the other party was Li Jiajia’s aunt, and also because she believed she had some talent in writing.
But Li Jiajia had already warned her—her aunt had a strange temper. And He Qi herself was indeed a complete beginner who had made mistakes.
Fortunately, she was no longer a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old girl. A few harsh sentences wouldn’t be enough to crush her. She steadied her emotions, typed in the chat box: “Sorry, thank you for your time, Teacher Li,” then reread Li Xiulan’s messages one more time.
The other side didn’t seem to have any intention of replying again. He Qi turned off her phone and ate her breakfast somewhat dejectedly.
The entire morning felt off. It was Saturday, so He Qi messaged Zhang Xinyi, asking if she had time to come out—she would treat her to a meal.
Zhang Xinyi agreed, but said she had other plans in the afternoon and might have to leave right after eating, unable to stay long.
He Qi said that was fine—she just wanted to go out, get some air, and change her mood.
They chose a fairly upscale seafood hotpot restaurant. The waiter handed them two menus.
Zhang Xinyi glanced through it and, upon seeing the prices of the seafood dishes, nearly went wide-eyed. She hesitated and only ordered small portions of vegetables and meat.
Since He Qi was treating today, she noticed Zhang Xinyi didn’t want her to spend too much. So she waved her hand decisively and ordered several expensive seafood dishes.
Across the table, Zhang Xinyi listened as He Qi rattled off dish names like a rapid-fire performance, several times wanting to say something but stopping herself.
After ordering so freely, He Qi winked at her. “Just eat without worry. I ordered a lot—if we don’t finish it, that’s the real waste of money.”
The temperature had dropped sharply over the past couple of days, making it perfect weather for hotpot. Both of them were eating until their bodies felt warm all over, taking off their coats.
At the table, the waiter skillfully peeled shrimp for them with a knife and fork.
“Has work been busy recently?” He Qi asked.
At the mention of work, Zhang Xinyi’s whole expression drooped. She chewed her greens bitterly. “Busy. This morning, Sister Tao told me that a booth had a problem and asked me to go check it as soon as possible. I’ll have to go figure it out after lunch.”
He Qi nodded sympathetically. “That’s tough. Eat a little more at lunch then.”
“And you, Sister Qi?” Zhang Xinyi looked at her enviously. “Since you resigned, you must feel much more relaxed.”
Relaxed? If she didn’t go looking for trouble herself, it should be… He Qi thought.
Recalling the morning’s incident, her expression fell, and she raised a brow self-deprecatingly. “It’s okay, I guess. At least it’s a bit more relaxed than working.”
The two chatted while eating. Before they knew it, almost an hour had passed, and the dishes on the table were gone. Zhang Xinyi held her stomach, looking stuffed, while He Qi smiled, eyes slightly curved, and got up to pay.
At the front desk, He Qi paid while Zhang Xinyi put her coat back on, standing awkwardly with her bag, mentally calculating the price of the seafood—it probably equaled almost a month of her salary!
“Don’t feel bad,” He Qi noticed her thoughts and smiled, turning to her. “Spend your boyfriend’s money—let him bleed a little.”
Zhang Xinyi still felt embarrassed. “But your boyfriend’s money is also your money.”
He Qi shared her twisted logic. “A boyfriend’s money isn’t really money. It’s only a husband’s money that’s hard to spend.”
“So does that mean it’s better not to get married?” Zhang Xinyi asked in response.
He Qi had just finished paying, snapped her fingers at her, and said, “Smart.”
The two laughed together, chatting casually again.
After waiting a little on the sofa by the door, Zhang Xinyi’s ride arrived. He Qi watched her leave but didn’t feel like going home either. She wandered the streets casually and finally entered a café.
The café was rather quiet. She chose a window seat and ordered a hot latte, quietly zoning out.
After a while, her phone rang.
He Qi came back to her senses and saw it was a message from Fang Yi.
「Sister, are you in a café?」
Puzzled, she looked around and finally glanced out the window. A young man in a black leather jacket was peeking toward the window from not far away.
Their eyes met, and they recognized each other.
Fang Yi smiled in surprise, waved, and jogged into the café.
He Qi hadn’t expected such a coincidence. Seeing him push the door open, she slowly realized, “You were studying nearby?”
“Yes.” Fang Yi naturally sat opposite He Qi. “It’s the weekend. I just finished eating outside. Didn’t expect to run into you, Sister.”
Truly a coincidence. He Qi pointed to the ordering counter. “Then let me buy you a coffee, to thank you for your help at the bar last time.”
Fang Yi didn’t refuse and readily agreed. He ordered a sea salt caramel latte, then sat back down and asked, “Sister, what brings you here?”
“Also out eating with someone.”
Fang Yi made a round “oh” sound, his eyes moving slightly as if thinking, then cautiously looked at her: “With Jiajia-jie, or… your boyfriend?”
He Qi usually didn’t like people she wasn’t familiar with asking about him, but his guilty expression made her laugh. She answered truthfully: “Neither. Other friends.”
Fang Yi nodded and let the topic drop.
The coffee took a while to arrive, and a short silence fell between them. But Fang Yi clearly wasn’t the type to get embarrassed easily and smoothly started a conversation.
“I just saw outside. You seem a bit down, Sister?”
He Qi looked at him in surprise.
In fact, she naturally had a stern face. When she was blank or expressionless, she often looked unhappy. People often asked her, “Are you upset?”
Most of the time it was just a misunderstanding, which she’d explain with a smile. But coincidentally, today she actually felt a little down.
She looked away faintly, staring at the surface of her coffee. She had wanted to say “nothing,” but somehow the words twisted: “A little.”
Fang Yi asked with concern what was wrong.
He Qi looked down, calm. “It’s the first time I submitted something to a publisher, and the editor rejected it without mercy.”
Before Fang Yi could react, she silently laughed to herself.
This feeling… how to describe it? It was just a rejection. It was her first submission, written in just a few hours. She should’ve been grateful if it had been accepted. It was something she never should have expected from the start.
Yet she had spent the whole morning feeling low over such a small matter and had no one to tell.
If she had told Chen Jin, Li Jiajia, or Zhang Xinyi, she’d likely hear comforting words like, “It’s okay, first time, keep trying.” Li Jiajia might even be more aggressive, shouting about confronting Li Xiulan.
Those comforts were genuine, but because they were too sincere, they made her dwell on her disappointment even more.
Small, insignificant wounds—He Qi didn’t want to show them to close ones. Telling Fang Yi, a stranger, she only wanted a light-hearted consolation and to move on quickly.
Unexpectedly, Fang Yi blinked and seriously asked, “The editor… wasn’t that Aunt Li?”
Just then, her sea salt caramel latte arrived, the rich aroma spreading. Seeing He Qi freeze, Fang Yi added, “Li Le Yi’s mom.”
“How do you know?” He Qi asked.
Fang Yi realized he had guessed correctly, a faint smile of satisfaction on his face.
“Aunt Li is indeed hard to deal with. Even authors who have signed with their publishing house get harsh criticism from her.”
“When I went to visit Li Le Yi in high school, no matter how well-behaved I acted, I couldn’t escape getting scolded alongside him. Several times it nearly made me want to go hide!”
He stopped, unwilling to recall, and sullenly sipped his coffee.
He Qi unexpectedly found a fellow “victim.” Hearing about his similar experiences lifted her spirits instantly.
She smiled unconsciously, watching Fang Yi sip his coffee, and saw milk foam on his upper lip. She reached out and silently pointed.
Fang Yi didn’t realize at first, eyes puzzled, unsure what was wrong.
He Qi grabbed two napkins from the table and handed them to him. “Your mouth, it’s dirty.”
Fang Yi realized, hurriedly wiping it clean.
Finding a common topic, Fang Yi began talking a lot about his experiences with Li Le Yi and his mother. He was amusing, often catching He Qi off guard, making her laugh. She listened, absorbed, losing track of time.
Only after she slowly finished the whole cup of coffee did she realize an hour had passed.
Finishing the topic, He Qi smiled at him: “Thank you. I feel much better now.”
Fang Yi, flattered, said, “After drinking your coffee, of course I have to help lift your spirits. But don’t give up, Sister. Over time you’ll see, Aunt Li’s just sharp-tongued. She’s actually pretty nice.”
He Qi nodded. “Mm, I won’t give up.”
Seeing He Qi about to leave, Fang Yi quickly asked: “Sister, you and Jiajia-jie are classmates, so you’re also from Ningshi?”
He Qi said yes, remembering he was Li Le Yi’s high school classmate. They were indeed fellow townsfolk.
Fang Yi continued: “Will you go back to Ningshi during National Day?”
“Yes, you?”
“I’m going too,” Fang Yi smiled. “Ningshi is small; maybe we’ll run into each other.”
He Qi smiled faintly and agreed, finally standing to leave and pay.
Fang Yi didn’t try to stop her, politely waving goodbye from his seat.
Back home, there wasn’t much to do, but her mood had improved. He Qi settled on the sofa to continue reading the children’s literature magazine from last night. When tired, she’d turn on the TV to catch up on dramas.
Around 7:30, the front door opened. He Qi heard the noise and knew it was Chen Jin. She stayed on the sofa, asking casually if he had eaten.
Chen Jin took off his suit jacket and walked in, tossing it on the sofa armrest, blocking much of her view.
She had to look up. He looked exhausted, probably hadn’t slept well for several days.
She wanted him to go rest, but before she could speak, he leaned down and kissed her.
His skin felt cool, probably from being outside in the wind.
They shared a brief kiss. Chen Jin straightened slightly, voice low and hoarse: “I’ve been too busy lately. National Day gave the team an extra day off. Should I go back to Ningshi with you?”
He Qi refused. “No need. Jiajia will drive me. You should rest at home; you probably still have work from home. I won’t be staying long anyway.”
Chen Jin stared into her eyes for two seconds, said nothing, and bent down to kiss her again.
The kiss deepened, their lips and tongues entangled, breathing heavy. He Qi realized something, turned her head to catch her breath, found the remote, paused the drama, and whispered: “Aren’t you tired?”
“Too early to sleep yet.” He said, reaching under her pajama hem.
He Qi’s whole body heated up. She raised a leg, using her knee to push him, reminding, “Let’s stay in the bedroom.”
Chen Jin picked her up.
“Then let’s go to my room. It’s troublesome to clear the sofa.”