The afternoon was still a relaxed “slacking off” time. However, Yan Jin’er’s scarf had already been finished, and there was not a single bit of yarn left. Because the length of the scarf depended on how much yarn she used, she ended up using everything.
So now she could only snack while chatting with colleagues, occasionally wandering around the office, and sometimes looking out the window or flipping through newspapers and the like.
She was slacking off very happily.
After finishing her own melon seeds and candies, her mouth felt a bit empty. Yan Jin’er suddenly remembered the bag Wen Qingyu had stuffed into her that morning. She quietly opened it and found candies, pastries, and dried meat. Instantly, she almost started drooling.
Yan Jin’er stingily took out a little dried meat and some candies and pastries to share with her colleagues. Mainly because meat was hard to come by in this era, and dried meat was a very precious snack.
Cheng Yu and the others, unable to refuse, accepted it. They did not ask where it came from, only thinking that Yan Jin’er’s parents must dote on her a lot to even buy dried meat as snacks for her.
Eating the dried meat, Chen Xiaohong felt that having a colleague like Yan Jin’er was truly wonderful. From then on, any gossip she knew, she would share with her.
“Sister Cheng, didn’t you just finish knitting a sweater for your brother-in-law? Who are you knitting this one for now?” Yan Jin’er asked when she saw Cheng Yu starting another sweater—this time blue.
Yan Jin’er felt it was unlikely to be for her father. Her father clearly looked like the type who forgot his daughter once he remarried, and from last time it was obvious he was not good to Cheng Yu either. Cheng Yu was also not the kind of person who blindly obeyed filial piety.
It was even less likely to be for her younger brother—just a little bully who only acted tough at home was not worth it.
“It’s for my mother-in-law. She treats me like her own daughter, so I want to knit her a sweater,” Cheng Yu said, the corners of her lips lifting, her face full of happiness.
The Cheng Yu now was completely different from before. In the past, her eyes were full of exhaustion and disappointment. Now, after being loved, her eyes were full of happiness and hope.
It was really nice—but before being loved by others, one should first love oneself. Self-love was the most important.
Another day of slacking off passed.
At the dinner table, Yan Jin’er said, “Dad, Mom, I made plans with a friend to go out for dinner after work tomorrow and watch a newly released movie.” She spoke with a faint guilty feeling, as if she was about to do something bad.
“If you’ve made plans, then go,” Father Song said without hesitation. “Do you still have money? Let your mom give you five yuan. Go have fun tomorrow.”
The two of them agreed immediately, thinking that it was rare for their daughter to finally make friends, and they could not bear to dampen her mood.
Moreover, they assumed Yan Jin’er’s daily life was just going between home and work, and that her friends were all female colleagues from work. They never once considered that the “friend” she mentioned was a man.
So much so that later on, when Yan Jin’er and Wen Qingyu became partners, Father Song would think of this day and regret agreeing to it every single time.
Yan Jin’er felt a little anticipation for tomorrow’s date. She was not sure whether she was anticipating that person—or the newly released movie.
That night, she even thought about dressing up to impress the other person. She rummaged through her clothes back and forth, but everything looked similar, so she eventually gave up.
In the end, she decided to wear the blue-and-pink floral outfit she had on today. It was prettier, warm, and at a glance it felt cozy.
After all, impressing someone was not only about appearance—she also had inner qualities.
The night before, she even thought she might be too excited to sleep, but instead she slept straight through until morning and even overslept.
After washing up, Yan Jin’er grabbed her breakfast, then pedaled her bicycle so fast it looked like her legs were turning into windmills.
She arrived at the office in the very last minute before work started—and even bumped right into Minister Feng at the entrance. Yan Jin’er could only smile ingratiatingly at him.
Luckily, he only glanced at her and said a sentence about paying attention to her appearance, then let it go.
“Hahaha, did you oversleep today? Your hair isn’t even combed properly.” Chen Xiaohong laughed when she saw Yan Jin’er’s messy hair, thinking that even though she looked a mess, her face still held up—it was actually kind of cute.
The others also could not help laughing.
“Ah… my image,” Yan Jin’er quickly sat down and tried to fix her hair. But it was still a bit frizzy—probably because she had just washed it the night before, slept with it messy, and then rode her bike with wind blowing through it all the way, causing it to puff up.
No wonder people kept staring at her on the way. She had thought it was because they had never seen someone riding a bicycle so fast before.
Yan Jin’er could only wet her hair slightly to press down the frizz.
Perhaps because she was looking forward to something, the workday passed very quickly.
“Jin’er, you’re not leaving yet?”
“Sister Cheng, you all go ahead. I’ll leave a bit later.”
Cheng Yu looked at her and assumed she did not want to run into someone from that morning again.
In reality, Yan Jin’er had already forgotten about it. She just wanted to leave later so she would not run into familiar coworkers and have them discover she was walking out with Wen Qingyu.
Only after everyone had left did Yan Jin’er slowly walk out of the office.
By the time she reached the factory gate, there were only a few people left around.
On the other side, Wen Qingyu looked at the little dumpling slowly walking out of the gate, the corners of his lips curving slightly.
“Have you been waiting long?” Yan Jin’er asked while tilting her head up to look at Wen Qingyu. Suddenly, she felt a wave of jealousy—how was he so tall, almost 1.9 meters? Meanwhile, she was only 1.5 meters, like a child.
“Not long. I only waited a bit,” Wen Qingyu said. Then, noticing her cheerful expression suddenly turn into a puffed-up, grumpy one, he thought she might be hungry. “Are you hungry? Let’s go eat first, then watch the movie. Is that okay?”