“Come on,” she said, raising her teacup, “let’s have one!”
Lin Shengmiao chuckled and asked her, "What are you toasting?"
Xu Xingyan smiled clearly, "A toast to all those years, to our magnificent and beautiful journey."
The teacups gently touched, producing a crisp sound, much like the joyful laughter of girls in their late teens, under the camphor tree, talking about their future.
...
"Won't you come up and sit for a while?"
After dinner, chatting, and taking a walk... Lin Shengmiao, acting as the driver, drove to Xu Xingyan's apartment building, and then found himself in a perplexing situation.
Finally, she reluctantly declined the other person's suggestion, "...It's too late, let's do it another time."
In this regard, Lin Shengmiao, who grew up in a remote town, has her own insistence and sense of ritual. She believes that it is very abrupt and disrespectful to enter someone's home on the first night of their reunion!
Xu Xingyan wouldn't let her off the hook. She unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to ask, "So when is the next time?"
Lin Shengmiao got out of the car and opened the door for her. "When are you free?"
Xu Xingyan sat motionless in the car, looking up at her, "Tomorrow!"
Lin Shengmiao suddenly felt as if she had been soaked in a jar of sugar, so sweet it was almost cloying, and even her voice became sweet, "Okay, see you tomorrow then."
“Then drive your car away,” Xu Xingyan persisted, pushing her luck, “Come pick me up again tomorrow.”
“Okay,” Lin Shengmiao squatted down and coaxed, “You can have whatever you want, but it’s too late now, Miss Xu should go upstairs to sleep.”
Xu Xingyan got out of the car and walked up to her, bending down to straighten her clothes, revealing the watch on her wrist.
"We haven't seen each other for ten years."
"Six hours have passed since 3 p.m.
Lin Shengmiao, puzzled, replied, "Yes."
Xu Xingyan looked up, "But you haven't given me a hug yet."
Miss Xu's eyes reddened with grievance.
It's hard to describe Lin Shengmiao's feelings at this moment. Her heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys felt like they were being squeezed by an invisible hand, and she was so aching that she almost choked up. No one in this world could hold back their tears when facing such a beloved person.
"I'm sorry," Lin Shengmiao said, pulling the girl who had been waiting for him into his arms. He felt like he had committed a terrible crime.
Xu Xingyan sniffed and whispered in her arms, "I'm not happy."
Lin Shengmiao was at a loss and cautiously asked, "Then... how can I cheer up?"
“I want to eat crystal shrimp dumplings tomorrow morning,” Xu Xingyan said, closing her eyes and emphasizing her words, “from the one in the north of the city, and also a cup of hot, sweet soy milk.”
"I'll buy it tomorrow!" Lin Shengmiao said quickly.
"You have to get there very early to queue up, otherwise you won't be able to buy any!"
"good."
"Also, watch out for those elderly folks, they might cut in line!"
"clear."
"If they still have red bean cake when we go, we'll have one too; otherwise, it's fine."
Lin Shengmiao suppressed a laugh: "I'm sure I can buy it!"
“Then…” Xu Xingyan took a step back, stepped out of her arms, her eyes still glistening with tears, but she had already smiled, “See you tomorrow morning.”
"Okay, see you tomorrow morning!" Lin Shengmiao nodded emphatically, then watched her enter the elevator.
...
The phone, left on the driver's seat, rang quietly; it was a message from Luo Jing sent right at the last minute.
Have you finished dinner? How are you? Is Yan Yan in a good mood? Be mindful of the time; Yan Yan can't stay up late, she should be in bed by 10 pm.
After a long while, Lin Shengmiao slowly replied: 【Read and confirmed, no need to trouble yourself.】
Poor Miss Luo, she was restless all day, worrying herself sick over other people's dates only to be rejected in return, and almost got a high blood pressure late at night from the stress.
--------------------
Author's Note:
Miss Xu is feeling super soft and wronged today~
Chapter 14 I'm Going to Bring Someone With Me
Perhaps due to living abroad for too long, Lin Shengmiao greatly underestimated the fighting power of the elderly, almost causing him to suffer a major setback in his life.
The next morning, when she stood at the entrance of the breakfast shop at six o'clock sharp, she saw a long queue already formed outside the door. Not daring to dawdle, Lin Shengmiao quickly stepped forward, outrunning three elderly women carrying lunch boxes, and managed to secure her position amidst the encirclement.
When it was her turn, the red bean cake she had so confidently promised was gone, and there were only two servings left of the crystal shrimp dumplings that Xu Xingyan had specifically asked for. Lin Shengmiao breathed a sigh of relief and was about to say she would take both when she was verbally attacked by the old lady behind her. The gist of her argument was: "You're such a skinny young lady, why are you buying two servings? Do you know how hard it is for us old folks to come out and queue up so early in the morning..."
Lin Shengmiao kept her eyes down, seemingly oblivious to everything, thinking to herself, "Does your hardship mean my hardship? We're all going out in this freezing weather, who's more noble than whom?"
There are many polite and well-mannered old ladies in Nancheng, but Lin Shengmiao's luck was probably not so good today. She happened to run into an unreasonable one who seemed to be getting angry when Lin Shengmiao ignored her words.
Seeing that something was wrong, Lin Shengmiao quickly and nimbly dodged, paid the bill in a few seconds, and then hurriedly left the scene with the soy milk and shrimp dumplings. He was steady and skillful, and when he finally returned to the car, both he and the food were safe and sound, and not a single drop of soy milk was spilled.
"Hahahaha..." Xu Xingyan, biting her chopsticks, almost burst out laughing after hearing her story. "How about it, Senior Lin? Didn't you say you could definitely buy it? Where's my red bean cake? Is it only smart people who can see it?"
"Alright, stop joking... The old lady behind me in line today practically glared at me so hard she pierced my back. I had to withstand so much pressure to buy this for you! Eat it while it's hot, it won't taste good if it gets cold."
Xu Xingyan took a sip of sweet soy milk and looked at her with a smile in her eyes, "After gaining a deeper understanding of the daily lives of ordinary people, what are your thoughts, Translator Lin?"
Lin Shengmiao still finds it funny when she thinks about it now. Under Xu Xingyan's gaze, she sat up straight and said seriously, "It's much more tiring than participating in a university debate competition!"
Xu Xingyan placed a shrimp dumpling dipped in vinegar into her bowl and said with a grin, "This is a tip for your hard work."
"Wow!" Lin Shengmiao chuckled. "That's an expensive fee."
Outside the window, the sun shone brightly for days; the weather was perfect, and even the early winter morning breeze felt intoxicating.
...
Xu Xingyan patiently rearranged the flower buckets filled with fresh flowers at the entrance of the florist to ensure that, visually, the flowers were vibrant and prominent, and would not overshadow the main flowers.
Looking around, Xu Xingyan reached out and touched the delicate, slightly cool petals of the fresh-cut flowers. Satisfied, she put away her scissors and turned to look at the person standing at the cashier doing free labor. The person was completely unaware that he was being closely watched, and was still petting the cat while chatting casually with Xiao Tang, looking quite content.
Xu Xingyan quietly walked over and discovered that it was Xiao Tang chattering away to Lin Shengmiao, who hadn't been following the news for several days, telling her about a highly discussed social event that had happened yesterday.
Xiao Tang, being new to the workforce, was easily swayed by public opinion. At that moment, filled with righteous indignation, he joined the first batch of media outlets to launch a fierce attack on one side.
Xu Xingyan glanced at her phone screen and said, "I saw this news this morning. From the few media reports I've seen so far, I haven't seen any first-hand, unprocessed information. Moreover, many mainstream media outlets haven't gotten involved yet, so let's wait and see."
"Ah..." Xiao Tang's high spirits were abruptly cut short. She then carefully looked at the names of several news agencies and, as expected, none of them were the well-known official media outlets. She was immediately disappointed and said in annoyance, "I didn't even notice. How did you figure it out, Sister Yan?"
Hearing the young girl's words, Lin Shengmiao caught Xu Xingyan's gaze and said helplessly in a gentle voice, "The main thing is that you are still young. After you have been deceived a few times and become more vigilant, when you see these things, your first reaction will be to think proactively instead of blindly following. It's like work experience; you will accumulate it slowly."
"..." This explanation did not comfort Xiao Tang at all.
Xu Xingyan had no choice but to explain again: "First of all, we need to be aware of whether the article itself is inflammatory. Secondly, we should pay attention to the publication time. The biggest problem with some online media is that in order to chase traffic, they often release information that has not been fully verified in order to be timely. They have long forgotten the principle that 'timeliness should be based on authenticity'."
Lin Shengmiao continued, "Moreover, even if it is later proven to be fake news, most of these media outlets will not come forward to apologize. The impact of its spread has already been caused. Isn't there an old saying in our country? 'It takes only a mouth to spread rumors, but it takes a lot of legwork to refute them.' The clarification is always slower than the rumor-mongers."
Xu Xingyan focused on pruning the flowers in the vase on the table, then glanced at the dazed Xiao Tang. "Actually, it's not just these online media outlets; you also need to verify the messages released by official media accounts. You can't just believe everything you hear, because... you're not sure if the person operating the account behind it is one of those so-called 'temporary workers.'"
Lin Shengmiao stretched and smiled: "It's a bit better in China because of the 'Great Firewall,' but overseas it's truly a chaotic mess, and it's hard to tell the truth from falsehood in information sources..."
“Yes,” Xu Xingyan smiled, “that’s why I have a lot of confidence in our country.”
Lin Shengmiao looked at her and said, "The road is winding, but the future is bright."
Xu Xingyan met her gaze, feeling incredibly calm and peaceful: "Rumors stop with the wise."
Lin Shengmiao smiled and replied in unison, "We should strive to be strong."
Xiao Tang stood to the side, feeling dizzy, as if she had just attended a morning political education class, her soul having been cleansed. She exchanged a glance with Paopao, who was also slumped over the table, equally bewildered, and they felt a deep sense of empathy.
...
When Luo Jing called, Xu Xingyan's takeout had just arrived.
Unlike Miss Luo, Xu Xingyan is not too particular about food. She only cooks soup or stir-fries herself very occasionally. Most of the time, she relies on ordering takeout or cooking wontons, dumplings, glutinous rice balls, etc. As long as she is full, she is fine.
However, even so, Ms. Xu's understanding of takeout and being full is definitely slightly different from other people's understanding.
After saying goodbye to the delivery guy, Xiao Tang happily carried the takeout box with the logo of a nearby five-star hotel to the table. Whenever she ate like this, she had an urge to work for her boss until she died. Her gratitude to the senior who introduced her to the job was like a never-ending river.
"Hey, sis..."
Upon hearing this, Lin Shengmiao, who was rinsing the dishes with hot water, immediately perked up her ears.
Luo Jing was completely unaware: "Tonight, that kid Ji Heng has organized a gathering. Yao Yan, Sister Si Ning, Sister Yun, and the others are all there. Apparently, he's bringing his girlfriend out to meet everyone. It looks quite formal. If you have time to go, just reply to him in the group chat."
Xu Xingyan has never liked checking group messages, and Luo Jing knows this habit of hers. So whenever she sees a necessary message, she will call to remind her. Over time, this has spoiled Xu Xingyan so much that she has not only not changed, but has become even worse.
“Xiao Heng,” Xu Xingyan thought for a moment, “I was wondering why I hadn’t heard from him lately. Turns out he’s been dating.”
On the other end of the phone, Luo Jing chuckled, "No, I heard that Uncle Ji sent him to the army for two months of training and he was just released recently. I ran into Yao Yan the day before yesterday, and he told me that the kid was drinking and crying with a few of them all night long."
“That would be so unfair,” Xu Xingyan said. “Okay, I understand. I’ll reply to him later.”
"Is there anything I can help you with?" Lin Shengmiao asked after she hung up the phone.
"It's a younger guy from our circle who said he wanted to have dinner with us tonight and bring his girlfriend along."
Xu Xingyan paused, then added, "Our two families are quite close. His father is my aunt's capable subordinate, and his mother is Luo Jing's doctoral supervisor. Usually, we have to give him some face, so... we have to change our plans for tonight. We can't go to that trendy restaurant."
"Oh, I see. Then I should definitely go. Are you driving there? I'll return your car keys to you in a bit. Also, I need to cancel the movie tickets for tonight, but only one ticket. I'm quite interested in that movie; it'll be good for passing the time."
Lin Shengmiao was very magnanimous and even asked, "According to the custom in your circle, should we bring a gift or something? How about I accompany you to the mall to pick something out?"
Xu Xingyan started laughing from her second sentence, and couldn't help but retort as she heard the rest: "Do you think this is like a sister-in-law in feudal society meeting her brother's wife, where she has to take a hairpin off her head as a gift, and you expect the girl to work hard and give birth to a big, fat son as soon as possible? So in your mind, I'm just a feudal remnant? The Qing Dynasty has been gone for hundreds of years!"
By the end, Lin Shengmiao was amused by her own words. Just as she was about to say a few words to move on, she saw Xu Xingyan dial a number and automatically switch to the tone of a caring older sister.
"Hey, Xiao Heng? Hmm... I saw your message... When did you start dating? You've kept it a secret pretty well... Hmm, you have to go, whether you have time or not. This is the first girl you've introduced to us. By the way, which club did you book? I'm bringing a friend over too... No, no, not from the same circle, just a personal friend... Hehehe, he's a promising young man, but not a gentleman... Okay, see you tonight, bye-bye."
Lin Shengmiao immediately shut up.
Xu Xingyan turned to look at her, adopting the haughty demeanor of a young lady from a feudal society, and said, "Driver Lin, your work isn't finished yet, don't even think about slacking off!"
Lin Shengmiao didn't speak, and instead looked down at her phone.