Water and Fire~Chapter 67.2: Forgot to Submit the Weekly Report

 

Chapter 67.2: Forgot to Submit the Weekly Report

Another winter had arrived. Last winter, she was working on the Jialeyuan project. And at this time the winter before last, she was working on Hanhai Home Textiles IPO.

At this time the winter before last, she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks on the bustling sidewalk during the morning rush hour.

She quickly pulled her phone from her coat pocket, pulled up a group chat, and searched through the oldest chat logs.

It was the group chat they had been using to celebrate Ren Yan's birthday. The earliest entry had been posted yesterday of that year.

Yesterday was Ren Yan's birthday.

Chu Qianmiao stood stunned on the sidewalk, as people hurried back and forth on their way to work, brushing past her shoulders. Everyone else was busy with their lives, but she was the only one standing still.

She put her phone away, looked up, and walked forward again.

No way, she thought. He hadn't flown to Shanghai just to see her for his birthday. Otherwise, he wouldn't have left without even seeing her.

She strode forward, her smile growing louder as she walked.

At that moment, she felt a bit like Rika Akagi from the final episode of Tokyo Love Story. Facing someone she once loved but couldn't be with, she smiled brightly upon reunion, and turned and strode forward upon farewell. Though tears welled up in her eyes, she could ultimately say she loved and said goodbye with ease.

That day, Chu Qianmiao felt strangely downcast, as if she had forgotten something.

After dinner, she went down to the first-floor café, where Tan Shen had arranged to meet her for a one-on-one financial tutorial with Teacher A Shen.

After the tutorial, she and Tan Shen took the elevator back to their room. Before entering, Tan Shen asked, "Qian Miao, how about I take you out to visit Shanghai's special attractions tomorrow?"

Chu Qianmiao's eyes lit up, and she rubbed her hands together and asked, "Is the White Horse Club included in the special attractions program?"

Tan Shen: "What kind of place is that?"

Chu Qianmiao: "A place where a bunch of muscular young men can play games with their shirts off with their sisters."

Tan Shen: "..."

He was furious. He didn't care that she was standing in the hallway. He unbuttoned his suit and pulled his shirttail out of his trousers, revealing his abs and a hint of waistline. He even slapped his belly, making a loud noise, for Chu Qianmiao to see. "What's the matter? I don't have a game for muscles, and I can't do it. So you have to go find them?"

Chu Qianmiao smiled, holding her forehead with her hand. A business person's bout of chuunibyou* was truly unbearable to watch.

*eighth-grader syndrome,” is a Japanese slang term describing a phase—usually in early teens—where someone believes they have hidden powers, a special destiny, or an unusually deep understanding of the world

After laughing, she politely declined Tan Shen's offer. "Even if there's a white horse where you're taking me tomorrow, I can't go. I have an appointment."

Tan Shen looked disappointed, but he quickly perked up. "Do you really have a date? Forget it, whether it's true or not. If you don't like it, I won't force you." After a pause, he leaned down, his hands against the wall, and asked Chu Qianmiao, "Do you think my offensive is too intense? Okay, I'll slow down and change trains on the high-speed train, but I can't go any slower. If I chase you at the speed of a green train, I might have to wait until I'm eighty."

The hem of his shirt was pulled out, revealing his disheveled appearance, giving him a somewhat unruly and handsome air.

Chu Qianmiao was amused by his words and his expression. She felt as if she had returned to their carefree college days with him.

A door opened in the hallway. Li Tang strolled out.

Chu Qianmiao turned to look at her, startled. It turned out everyone lived on the same floor.

Li Tang glanced at Chu Qianmiao, then at Tan Shen, who was casually leaning against her wall. She laughed, "You couldn't hold back in the hallway?"

She then said to Tan Shen, "I'm going to have a date tomorrow, so don't try to compete with me for her."

The next day, Li Tang held Chu Qianmiao close to her.

They were taken to a popular restaurant with a minimum per-person bill of 1,000 yuan. Despite the high prices, the place was packed. Li Tang had made a reservation long in advance to finally get a table.

As Chu Qianmiao ate, she didn't think the food was particularly good; the meatballs weren't even any better than the chuanchuanxiang restaurants in the alleys. But people still flocked there. It's fair to say they didn't come here to eat, but rather to show off their respectability.

Throughout the meal, Li Tang didn't chat much with Chu Qianmiao. When they were almost done, she wiped her lips with a napkin, went to the bathroom to touch up her makeup, and only then did she return to engage in a proper conversation.

Chu Qianmiao thought she was truly an elegant woman; she excelled at the rule of not talking while eating or sleeping.

Li Tang's red lips curved slightly, and she smiled at her before saying, "Did you know? Ren Yan came over yesterday. We had coffee together, and then he left. He must have been pretty tired, coming and going so quickly."

A thought flashed through Chu Qianmiao's mind.

Luckily, she hadn't thought too much about it yesterday morning.

She gave Li Tang a calm smile.

Li Tang raised her eyebrows slightly. She'd expected to see a look of jealousy or surprise on Chu Qianmiao's face, but neither of those appeared.

Chu Qianmiao answered Li Tang calmly, "Mr. Ren came all the way here to have coffee with you. Congratulations, Senior Li Tang! You finally got what you wanted."

Li Tang observed Chu Qianmiao for a moment, then smiled. "Am I mistaken? You don't even look jealous or surprised. Didn't you tell me yourself that you liked him?"

Chu Qianmiao remained calm, "I used to like him, that's true. But since it's clear there's no possibility between him and me, why would I continue to like him? Who can keep dwelling on something that's impossible?" After a pause, she said to Li Tang, "We always have to move on, don't we?"

Li Tang was stunned. Then she frowned slightly, a wry smile playing on her lips.

"He taught you that."

This time, it was Chu Qianmiao's turn to be stunned. Then she smiled. "If I still need him to teach me such a simple truth, my life would be in vain."

Li Tang looked at Chu Qianmiao, her gaze darkening. So, he was talking to her; she had lived in vain.

"You're playing hard to get by playing hard to get." Li Tang's question became increasingly blunt and direct.

Chu Qianmiao chuckled. "What I said just now wasn't in vain, but you, Senior Li Tang, listened in vain. I say, we must always look forward. If we're looking forward, why bother playing hard to get with things behind us?"

She didn't want to dwell on such a trivial topic with Li Tang any longer.

She took the initiative to ask, sparking other topics. "Tan Shen said he and you both came to Shanghai to compete for the same project. I wonder who has a better chance of winning."

Li Tang smiled, a cool and beautiful smile. "It should be him. After all, I'm here for other reasons." She looked at Chu Qianmiao meaningfully.

After a pause, she said, "Tan Shen is the workaholic of our company now. He works so hard every day." She raised her chin at Chu Qianmiao and smiled, "He's doing this for you. He treats you so well. Don't let him down."

Chu Qianmiao smiled down, then shook her head. When she looked up again, her smile was still on her lips, and Li Tang detected a hint of mockery in it.

"Senior, if I treat you very well, will you give me your house, your property, and your jewelry?" Chu Qianmiao suddenly asked.

Li Tang smiled back, but didn't answer.

"To deny it yourself would be inelegant, but remaining silent means you won't do it, right?" Chu Qianmiao paused, then continued, "Then all my kindness to you would be in vain. You're betraying me, aren't you? Do you think this constitutes moral blackmail?"

Li Tang raised an eyebrow. She knew what Chu Qianmiao was waiting for.

"Senior Li Tang, Tan Shen treats me well, and I appreciate it, and I will repay him. But if he treats me well and I reject him, you'll think I've betrayed him. Then you'd be just like me in the previous example, morally blackmailing others."

Li Tang clasped her hands on the table, maintaining a smile as she gazed at Chu Qianmiao. She looked defensive, ready to attack.

Chu Qianmiao decided to go all out and be unceremonious. Li Tang's subtle, subtle air of superiority made her uncomfortable throughout the meal.

"Senior Li Tang, whether I accept Tan Shen or not, I have nothing to do with President Ren. So there's no need to tie me to Tan Shen with moral standards. My childhood friend has a piece of advice for you to share. The best way to be yourself is to just be yourself and not judge others."

Li Tang looked at her for a moment, then jokingly said, "I underestimated you before. You're really good with your mouth."

Chu Qianmiao smiled brightly. "Of course, I'm not easy to deal with."

Li Tang shrugged, then suddenly laughed. "Next time, it's your turn to treat me."

Chu Qianmiao said, "Then please don't choose a fancy place. With my current salary, I don't want to show off just for the sake of appearances."

If I fall into your trap and compete with you in elegance, I might lose. But if I stay true to myself, I'll have no problem defeating you.

It was already afternoon when they returned to the hotel. Chu Qianmiao logged into her online class to study when her phone suddenly rang. It was a message.

She looked down. The message was from Ren Yan.

It was only three words, but surprisingly, it had two punctuation marks.

"Where's the weekly report?"