Retrato de una dama

【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 Jing

……