doppelseitiges Klebeband

Kapitel 1

【text】

Ladylike Nature

Author: Fresh Orange

Zhang Jingzhi (revised)

At 5:55 PM, Zhang Jingzhi sat blankly at her desk, her right hand unconsciously clicking the mouse.

Which man should she have dinner with tonight? This question has been bothering her all afternoon. Should she go to two places at once? First, tell the "Power Bureau" that she's working overtime tonight, then go see the "Commerce Bureau," and then have dinner with the "Power Bureau"?

Then she thought, "No way, what if I give myself away?" This city is too small. Last weekend, while shopping, she bumped into an elementary school classmate four times: once on the street, once in a shopping mall, once in a restaurant, and the most embarrassing time was even in the restroom. The most frustrating thing was that she'd forgotten his name! So she could only nod insincerely, smile, and ramble on about missing him, then we lamented the fleeting nature of time. When they met again in the restroom, even the older girl was at a loss for words and asked Zhang Jingzhi, "You're going to the restroom too?"

What do you mean I need to go to the toilet? Who can eat all the time without excreting? Zhang Jingzhi thought to herself. Of course, she couldn't say such a thing out loud, so she could only put on an awkward smile and nod and say "Mmm".

Upon entering the house, Zhang Jingzhi began rummaging through drawers and cabinets looking for her elementary school graduation photo. After searching for a while, she finally found her classmate's picture. Then, she let out a loud scream, startling her grandmother, who rushed out of the kitchen with a knife. Seeing her daughter staring blankly at the table, the grandmother repeatedly asked, "What's wrong? What's wrong?"

After a long pause, Zhang Jingzhi muttered resentfully, "How did she, a little girl with yellow hair, transform into such a beauty?"

Zhang Jingzhi shook her head, quickly bringing her thoughts back to the question of who she would have dinner with that evening.

Both men were introduced to her by colleagues. The first one was from the Commerce Bureau. She met him a few times but didn't feel anything special. He wasn't bad-looking, but he wasn't particularly attractive either—a total no-go. It wasn't worth keeping, but it felt wasteful to throw him away. Then another colleague introduced her to this one from the Power Bureau. Logically, she shouldn't have gone to meet him before breaking up with the first one, but Zhang Jingzhi felt that blind dates were like winning the lottery—who knew if she'd hit the jackpot! So she went, and regretted it as soon as she got back. Another no-go!

So reality presented itself, and two dilemmas were presented to her. Zhang Jingzhi went home to discuss it with her parents, wanting to hear their opinions. After explaining the situation, she asked them, "Which one is better?"

The elderly couple looked at each other, but neither of them spoke for a long time.

“That guy from the Commerce Bureau isn’t handsome enough,” Zhang Jingzhi said.

“What’s the use of a man being so handsome? Are you going to eat him for his good looks, or chew on his good looks?” the old lady said.

“That guy from the power company is a bit short; I can’t even wear high heels next to him!” Zhang Jingzhi added.

"For men, anything over 1.7 meters is not considered short," the old man said.

Zhang Jingzhi suddenly realized that her lack of ideas was not her fault; it was inherited from her parents!

She was still worrying about who to have dinner with that night when a shout of "Comrade!" brought her back to reality. When she looked up, she was startled to see a middle-aged man outside the glass, his face pressed against the glass so hard it was almost distorted.

"What is it?" Zhang Jingzhi asked with a smile.

"Give me this draft!" the man outside said, handing in a draft.

Zhang Jingzhi took it and saw that it clearly stated that the payment should be made by ICBC. This person just went into any bank he could find and brought it here.

“This isn’t a draft from us; you need to send it to ICBC.” Zhang Jingzhi handed it out again casually.

"Isn't this a bank? Why won't you accept it?" the man asked.

Zhang Jingzhi suppressed her impatience and forced a smile, saying, "This draft is from ICBC. Just turn right when you go out."

The man muttered as he left, and Zhang Jingzhi rolled her eyes at him, muttering, "He's sick, he can't even tell the difference between a bank and a bank."

Xiao Wang, sitting across from me, peeked out from behind the monitor and said with a smile, "Sister, don't take your anger out on others, or the director will catch you! Your bonus will be gone. What's wrong? Still conflicted? Which one did you choose?"

"Get lost! Stop talking to me, someone will deal with you! Did you buy your girlfriend the bag she wanted?" Zhang Jingzhi asked.

Xiao Wang's smiling face immediately turned bitter as he said, "Damn it, eight thousand for a bag? She doesn't want a bag! She wants me to sell myself!"

Zhang Jingzhi chuckled, then glanced at the director coming in from outside and quickly put on a serious face.

After struggling with the decision all afternoon, Zhang Jingzhi finally decided to try and have her cake and eat it too. But tonight, she turned down the call from the power company. She came out from behind the counter, avoided her colleagues, and made a call in a corner of the lobby. She cheered herself up, "Don't be nervous, don't be nervous. It's no big deal to lie. Just pretend I'm really working overtime!"

Just as I was muttering to myself, the call connected.

"Hello, this is Zhang Jingzhi. I have to work overtime tonight, so we can't have dinner together." Zhang Jingzhi pinched her throat, trying her best to make her voice sound sweet and gentle.

"It's okay, I'll wait for you to finish," the understanding voice on the other end of the phone said.

"Oh? No need, no need to wait for me. Let's eat another day. I'll be working late." Zhang Jingzhi quickly declined.

"Then I'll pick you up tonight, and then we'll go out for dinner."

Zhang Jingzhi was so nervous that she stammered a little. Should she let him take the call? Wouldn't that give her away? "Ah? No, no, no need."

"No, it's too dangerous for a girl to go alone. I'll come pick you up. Just call me when you're ready."

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Jingzhi was so angry that she wanted to slap herself.

"Damn it!" she cursed. When she looked up, she saw a strange man sitting on the chair next to her staring at her in surprise. She realized that her voice had been a bit loud, blushed, and quickly lowered her head and went back behind the counter.

Throughout dinner, Zhang Jingzhi was preoccupied with how to get back to her workplace to "work overtime." She didn't pay any attention to what the "Bureau of Commerce" was saying, and her mind wasn't on the "Bureau of Commerce" sitting across from her.

"What's wrong? You look so listless," the Commerce Bureau asked with concern.

"Huh?" Zhang Jingzhi looked up and saw the "Business Bureau" looking at her with concern. The "Business Bureau" didn't mind her distraction and patiently repeated it.

"Oh, it's nothing. I just had a lot of work to do at work today, so I'm a bit tired," Zhang Jingzhi explained.

"Then I'll take you home early. You should get some rest if you're tired," the Commerce Bureau said considerately, getting up to pay the bill.

"Oh my god!" Zhang Jingzhi groaned inwardly. He was going to take me home again. My home was on the north side of the street, and my workplace was on the south side. He was going to take me home, and then I would sneak back on my own. Was I crazy?

Zhang Jingzhi kicked the table leg in frustration, but she kicked it too hard, making her wince in pain. As she got up to leave, she was so focused on looking down at her feet that she bumped into someone coming from the opposite direction. "Damn it!" Zhang Jingzhi blurted out.

The man had just said "I'm sorry" when he heard Zhang Jingzhi's "Damn it!" and was stunned, staring straight at Zhang Jingzhi.

Zhang Jingzhi looked up and felt that the man looked somewhat familiar. Just then, the "Commerce Bureau" came over after settling the bill. Seeing Zhang Jingzhi and a tall man standing face to face in a daze, they didn't know what had happened and hurriedly asked, "What's wrong? What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, I just bumped into something by accident," Zhang Jingzhi said softly again. "Let's go." She pulled the "Business Bureau" towards the door, and when they were almost there, she couldn't help but look back. The man was still standing there watching her, with a smile on his face.

Zhang Jingzhi turned around in a daze, and just as she was about to leave, she suddenly remembered that this man was the one who had overheard her making a phone call in the lobby that afternoon.

After getting out of the car at the gate of the compound, Zhang Jingzhi said gently to the "Commercial Bureau" staff, "Thank you for bringing me back. You can go back now."

“You go in first, I’ll wait for you to go in before I leave,” the Commerce Bureau said.

“No, you should get in the car first. I’ll watch you go,” Zhang Jingzhi insisted with a smile.

The Commerce Bureau finally gave in to Zhang Jingzhi and got into the car and left.

Watching the "Commercial Bureau" car disappear around the street corner, Zhang Jingzhi quickly hailed a taxi. "Driver, to South Street!" Zhang Jingzhi ordered, leaning back in the seat. "It's really tiring," she thought. "It's not easy to juggle two relationships! Who was it that said, 'Juggling two relationships is a skill'?"

In the whistling wind, Zhang Jingzhi stood at the entrance of her workplace and dialed the number for the "Power Bureau".

"Hey, I'm off work," Zhang Jingzhi said...

Zhang Jingzhi (revised)

On Monday at work, Zhang Jingzhi kept sneezing. After her twenty-eighth sneeze, Xiao Wang across from her couldn't bear to watch any longer and asked, "Hey beautiful, what's wrong with you? Who thought this of you? I'm not going to let you off the hook!"

"I've caught a cold," Zhang Jingzhi sniffed and said in a muffled voice. She had caught a cold since returning home on Friday night, and she figured it must have been from being out in the wind near her workplace.

"How are those two chicken ribs?" Xiao Wang asked.

"It's still the same, I haven't decided which one to choose yet," Zhang Jingzhi said.

"Hang in there, beautiful lady! You can't give up so easily. You have to keep going on blind dates! The next one will definitely be a big chicken leg!" Xiao Wang joked.

Zhang Jingzhi pulled out a tissue, blew her nose hard, and thought, "Chicken leg, huh?! These two chicken ribs are exhausting." Just as she was fretting about it, the phone rang.

Zhang Jingzhi picked up the phone and said in standard Mandarin, "Hello!"

"Hello, could you please find Zhang Jingzhi?" a female voice said.

"That's me."

"Zhang Jingzhi! It's me!" The woman's voice suddenly rose eight octaves, startling Zhang Jingzhi so much that she quickly took the phone away from her ear. Her nose started running again, and in her haste, she grabbed a tissue.

"Did you recognize me? It's me, Jiang Xiaoruo!"

Jiang Xiaoruo, Zhang Jingzhi searched her mind for a long time before realizing that Jiang Xiaoruo was the elementary school classmate she had met four times on the street that day!

"I can hear it," Zhang Jingzhi said hastily, trying to avoid further tormenting her ears with her high decibels. "Is there something you need, Xiaoruo?"

"It's nothing serious. Are you free tonight? Let's get together. I have a few friends who want to hang out together," Jiang Xiaoruo said cheerfully, speaking very quickly, almost like a machine gun.

"I," Zhang Jingzhi was about to find an excuse to decline when Jiang Xiaoruo interrupted her.

"What do you mean 'what ...

Before Zhang Jingzhi could even process the "gunfire," the phone rang and the call ended abruptly.

Am I supposed to go to karaoke looking like this? "Ah—Achoo!" Another loud sneeze erupted.

After getting off work in the evening, Zhang Jingzhi ate dinner at home and quickly got ready. Although she wasn't sneezing much anymore, she still had a runny nose. She put on her dress, did her makeup, and was about to go out when her grandmother came out of the kitchen. Seeing Zhang Jingzhi dressed so lightly, she asked, "Where are you going in such cold weather, wearing so little?"

“My classmate invited me,” Zhang Jingzhi said.

"A man?" the old lady asked.

“Mother!” Zhang Jingzhi replied, then opened the door and went out.

The old lady muttered from behind, "This child, how can he talk like that? He doesn't call a woman a woman, he calls her 'mother'."

Pushing open the door to the "Night Pearl" private room, deafening singing assaulted her senses, nearly knocking her over. She strained her eyes, trying to find Jiang Xiaoruo in the dim yet dazzling lights. Inside, a dozen or so men and women were gathered, a handsome young man and a beautiful woman belting out songs face-to-face. Just then, Jiang Xiaoruo's shrill voice rang out. Following the sound, Zhang Jingzhi saw Jiang Xiaoruo, sporting a head of short, ramen-noodle-like hair, stand up and wave vigorously at her.

"My friend—Zhang Jingzhi!" Jiang Xiaoruo called out. The men and women around her nodded and smiled at Zhang Jingzhi. Zhang Jingzhi sat down next to Jiang Xiaoruo and began to quietly observe the people around her. Sitting on the other side of Jiang Xiaoruo was a man in his twenties, quite handsome. He seemed to be quite close to Jiang Xiaoruo. Zhang Jingzhi suddenly remembered Jiang Xiaoruo's deskmate from childhood, who was very close to Jiang Xiaoruo. The classmates often joked about the two of them. What was that boy's name again? She forgot. She only remembered that he always seemed to have a cold that never got better, and his nose was always running. Several times, Zhang Jingzhi wanted to ask him what his snot tasted like!

"If a person becomes beautiful, even their friends become beautiful too," Zhang Jingzhi thought.

Zhang Jingzhi then looked to the side, and when she saw the fifth person, she felt her heart skip two beats, and then start pounding like a drum. In that instant, Zhang Jingzhi finally saw the "chicken leg" she had been searching for.

This was an exceptionally handsome guy, who looked a lot like a Hong Kong male celebrity—Daniel Wu. Zhang Jingzhi only saw most of his profile, but she knew that she was completely captivated by him tonight.

Zhang Jingzhi took out a tissue from her bag, wiped her nose which was about to run, patted Jiang Xiaoruo, and asked, "Are these all your friends?"

Jiang Xiaoruo was craning her neck to argue with a younger sister near the door when she felt Zhang Jingzhi pat her and turned back.

"What's wrong, sister?" Jiang Xiaoruo asked.

Although Zhang Jingzhi wanted to maintain her ladylike image, she knew that speaking softly wouldn't solve the problem in such a noisy environment, so she raised her voice and asked, "Where did you get so many friends from!"

Jiang Xiaoru grinned at Zhang Jingzhi and said proudly, "These are all my brothers and sisters!"

Zhang Jingzhi thought to herself, "I don't care who they are. The most important thing now is to figure out how to strike up a conversation with that handsome guy." Before that, she could only learn about him through Jiang Xiaoruo. Knowing Zhang Jingzhi's temperament, she would never show any interest in him. She had a strong sense of female pride, and she felt it would be incredibly undignified to openly flirt with him, even though she desperately wanted to get close to him right away. To Zhang Jingzhi, the handsome guy was like a cake covered in cream; she longed to take a bite, but her feminine reserve made her cower like a mouse hovering beside the cake, only able to express her longing with her eyes.

Jiang Xiaoruo couldn't understand Zhang Jingzhi's feelings at all. She sat there, swaying her head, which looked like a "ramen noodle," to the music, occasionally shouting out a few lyrics along with others, and then swaying back to her ecstatic state.