Xu Chacha shuddered, threw down the straw from her mouth, and looked up in a flustered manner, as if she had been caught by her parents sneaking a snack after school.
Jiang Shu wasn't lying to her; Wen Mubai really was standing at the door.
She wasn't just standing there; she was looking in their direction. Standing next to her was Jiang Panpan, who was much shorter than her.
Jiang Panpan's expression was much more nuanced than Wen Mubai's; she covered her mouth with one hand, looking heartbroken.
Xu Chacha was able to discern what she wanted to say through her excellent facial expression reading skills.
"Is my cabbage going to be eaten by pigs again?"
In Jiang Panpan's eyes, anyone who has any feelings for Xu Chacha is the "pig" she talks about, regardless of height, weight, or qualifications.
She was one of Xu Chacha's earliest "fans," and a die-hard, brainless one at that. So she believed that no one was good enough for Xu Chacha, and that she was a saint who was destined to live a lonely life.
Feng Zhuang, who was sitting opposite Xu Chacha, also saw Wen Mubai. After so many years, when he saw that face again, he still reflexively shrank his neck.
He still can't forget that embarrassing thing that happened when he was a child, and today both of the parties involved are here.
He saw Wen Mubai glance at him indifferently, then raise his hand and beckon to Xu Chacha without any emotion.
The slightly open mouth shape looks like it should be.
"come out."
Chapter 43 Naughty
Xu Chacha was even more panicked this time than last time. After all, last time she could turn off her phone and pretend she wasn't there, but this time she was waiting right at the door. Unless a crack suddenly appeared under her feet so she could hide inside.
What to do, what to do, those three words filled her mind as she walked out.
Wen Mubai won't scold her, will he? She didn't want to come in the first place. Would she believe her if she said she was just there to make up the numbers?
Ugh, why did she have to see it of all times!
Finally, she stood in front of Wen Mubai with legs that seemed to no longer belong to her. Before the two could even exchange a word, Jiang Panpan came over and hugged her tightly.
The kind of hug that requires you to stand on tiptoe.
"Waaaaah, my darling Chacha, why are you so big? I even wanted to make you into a doll and put you in my bedroom to look at every day."
"Sister Panpan, your words are a bit scary." Xu Chacha had never gotten used to her way of expressing affection.
The things about eating children, becoming a saint and dying alone, turning you into a doll—it's like something out of a movie about a deranged killer.
"Your sister likes you." Jiang Panpan chuckled and pinched her cheek, then quickly changed her expression like a Peking Opera mask, "So you were secretly going on a blind date inside just now?"
Perhaps a gust of wind blew by, and Xu Chacha shivered. She turned to look at Wen Mubai.
The other person's expression was okay, but not very good either.
She always wore that cold mask in front of outsiders, but she rarely showed such an expression to them.
But when she spoke, Xu Chacha found that her tone wasn't as cold as she had imagined: "What are you doing in there?"
"Afternoon tea," Xu Chacha replied cautiously.
Jiang Panpan: "Do you think the sisters can't see clearly? Four men and four women sitting in a row, and they even met at a coffee shop with half-price couple's meals. This is like the sisters' heads being ripped off for you."
Xu Chacha certainly didn't intend to take her head. "My roommates couldn't get enough people together, so they dragged me over. They had a social event, and I had afternoon tea. That's definitely the right thing to do."
"Really not?" Jiang Panpan squinted and moved closer to her. "You're not tempted by any of those handsome young men?"
Xu Chacha shook her head frantically, seemingly responding to Jiang Panpan, but her eyes were fixed on Wen Mubai.
Seeing that she was shaking her head, Wen Mubai raised his hand and patted Jiang Panpan on the back, "Stop teasing the child."
Jiang Panpan said "Oh" and then said, "If you don't have one, you don't have one. Why are you looking at me like we're going to eat you up?"
"..." Xu Chacha really wanted to nod in agreement with Jiang Panpan's words.
Especially Wen Mubai, he looked even scarier than the head teacher who caught her playing on her phone at the back door.
If Feng Zhuang heard this, he would definitely say: "It's clearly me who wants to eat!"
"Is that Zhuangzhuang the guy across from you? You've been in contact all the time, are you that close?"
"It's him, no, no, we're not familiar with each other!"
"Um?"
"It is Zhuangzhuang, but we haven't been in contact. We don't have a good relationship and we're not close at all!"
Wen Mubai covered his lips and chuckled softly; his exposed eyes softened considerably when they curved upwards.
Xu Chacha also breathed a sigh of relief.
"How much longer do you have? Since we've run into each other by chance, let me take you to see the sisters' studio." Jiang Panpan stood on tiptoe and grabbed her neck.
"I don't know about them, but I can end this now." Xu Chacha sent a message in the dormitory group on her phone, saying that she had to leave first.
Zhu Zhu was outwardly chatting and laughing with the boy opposite her, but her hand under the table quickly sent a message: "Did your parents yell at you?"
Xu Chacha: ...
Xu Chacha: Focus on wooing your handsome guy.
"My bag is still inside, I'll go get it," Xu Chacha said, turning to Wen Mubai.
"Let's go together." Wen Mubai walked ahead of her, but instead of going to a seat after entering the room, he went to the counter first.
They came out today to buy afternoon tea for some of the studio's employees. Wen Mubai casually ordered a few items, and only bought his own cup at the end.
"Another large iced Americano, please."
"We recommend you pair this with a medium-sized caramel macchiato to get our couple's set meal, which is half price and a great deal."
Xu Chacha was leaning against the side, chatting with three women on her phone using emojis, completely unaware of what Wen Mubai was buying. But suddenly, he hooked her finger that was hanging by her side.
"Would you like a caramel macchiato?"
"Oh? I'll take it." She never refused Wen Mubai's offer to feed her.
"Change it. The caramel macchiato should be hot, with milk but no sugar."
Before lowering her head to send out another round of emojis, Xu Chacha suddenly realized something.
Half-price couple's package?
Why did you ask her?
Before she could come up with anything, the cup of coffee was handed to her. "Here you go."
"Okay, sure."
Xu Chacha scrutinized Wen Mubai's expression, which was no different from usual, and pouted, resignedly accepting the cup of drink as a routine feeding.
She gulped down a mouthful, and wow, even the half-price caramel macchiato smelled delicious.
Jiang Panpan leaned over the glass display case filled with desserts, carefully selecting them and spending lavishly, practically sweeping up half of the stock.
Besides desserts and drinks, this cafe also offers savory snacks. Jiang Panpan carried a plate to Su Qing and her friends' table and put the plate down.
"Eat more, it's on me." She smiled and looked at the four boys in the opposite seat, lingering on Feng Zhuang's face for a while before moving away. "Have a good chat, little beauties. I'll take Xu Chacha with me now."
"You are..." The male student from B University, whose eyes were slightly open, looked at Jiang Panpan with a hint of admiration.
"Yes, it's the stylist Jiang who's favored by countless celebrities." Jiang Panpan has always been thick-skinned and never felt ashamed to praise herself. "I have something to do today, so I won't chat with you guys any longer. See you next time, little brother."
After saying that, Jiang Panpan picked up Xu Chacha's bag and went to the counter to meet the two of them.
Feng Zhuang couldn't help but turn his head to look at them. Wen Mubai, the tallest of them, stood upright in place, not looking down at his phone, but listening to Xu Chacha's words.
Xu Chacha's smile was bright and cheerful, a stark contrast to her earlier agonizing state of feigning politeness while sitting in front of him. She radiated happiness from head to toe.
Although they were far apart, he could imagine how softly Xu Chacha was speaking in a coquettish tone.
This was the first time he had ever been so jealous of a woman, jealous that she could attract all of Xu Chacha's attention just by standing there doing nothing.
...
Wen Mubai's studio was a joint venture with Jiang Panpan. Xu Chacha only found out after asking that they had started thinking about it right after they graduated.
At that time, she thought Wen Mubai would stay abroad forever.
Although they are both partners and equals in terms of status, Jiang Panpan still prefers to listen to Wen Mubai more and lets her make decisions on important matters.
"I'm still more used to being an employee." Jiang Panpan sipped her banana milkshake nonchalantly. "My boss gives me a task, and I do it. Being a cog in the machine is much easier than making the decisions."
After graduating, Jiang Panpan worked as an intern in a styling team. She was mentored by her teacher, and it was really tough at first. She couldn't take clients on her own and could only receive a share of her teacher's earnings and a fixed salary of two thousand yuan.
After years of hard work, she slowly began to make a name for herself. She was lucky enough to connect with a second-tier actress who wasn't famous yet. A red carpet look made her stand out, and her value skyrocketed.
Now, the people lining up to have their hair styled are all wealthy socialites and A-list actresses; one business opening can feed them for months.
So even though Jiang Panpan isn't the type of person who can save money, she still managed to accumulate quite a bit while working in this lucrative industry, enough to keep her and Wen Mubai busy with their ventures.
"Come on, my darlings, Mr. Wen is treating you to afternoon tea." Jiang Panpan carried two large bags of things and placed them on the table in the conference room.
Their studio is small, with only one meeting room, which is occasionally used for birthday celebrations and lunch gatherings. After all, there are only a dozen or so people in the entire studio, so it's just enough for them.
Jiang Panpan often complained to Wen Mubai about the exorbitant housing prices in the city center, which caused their rent to remain high.
"Hi." Someone patted Xu Chacha on the shoulder, and she turned her head.
“We’re in the same club, don’t you remember me, junior?” The girl pointed to herself. “We even added each other on WeChat.”
Since she had already said that, Xu Chacha could only reply, "Yes, I know you. Hello, senior. You're still as beautiful as ever."
They keep saying how beautiful she is, but they don't even remember her name.
"By the way, junior," the girl lowered her voice and moved closer, "could you do me a favor?"
"What kind of help is it?" Xu Chacha tilted her head to look at her.
"I'm currently preparing for my graduation project, and I'd like to find a model to help me take a couple of photos. You have a great figure and are good-looking, could you help me out? It won't be too much trouble. As for the salary, we can sit down and discuss it slowly."
Looking out from the conference room, Wen Mubai could clearly see the two figures separated by a layer of glass. The intern's face was close to Xu Chacha's, who was listening attentively with her head slightly turned. It seemed that if they weren't careful, they would bump into each other.
"This..." Xu Chacha didn't really want to.
Once she opened the door, many people would definitely come looking for her. She was originally someone who hated trouble, and if Lang Shu and Hua Jing hadn't been old acquaintances, she probably would have retired from the entertainment industry long ago.
But before she could come up with a good way to refuse, someone pulled her arm from behind.