Chapter 22 : Si Xiaolin

The two of them finished their meal.

The rain had stopped.

When Tang Zhen came out after paying the bill, Chi Yuqin was already waiting for her by the car.

Her arms were crossed, her back leaning casually against the car door, her eyes bright, her brows sparse, her figure tall and slender, her flat shoes on the asphalt road.

The air at eleven o’clock at night was filled with a pleasant sense of ease.

Chi Yuqin’s gaze shifted, landing on the person who had just arrived.

“Let’s go, I’ll take you home.”

Without waiting for Tang Zhen’s reply, she pulled open the passenger door and pushed her in, then slammed the door shut with a bang.
She then walked around the front of the car and got into the driver’s seat.

She had returned to her usual serious demeanor.

But what was different this time was that Tang Zhen wasn’t afraid.
She pulled the seatbelt over her shoulder and buckled it obediently.

It might have been because of the recent rain, but the stars, which hadn’t been seen in years, had all come out now, dotting the inky black night sky.

Tang Zhen looked at the stars for a while, her eyes unconsciously drifting to the person in the driver’s seat.

Chi Yuqin’s long, slender fingers would occasionally tap on the steering wheel.
The smooth lines of her forearm muscles led all the way up into her rolled-up sleeves.

She turned her neck slightly, and the beauty line of her neck tensed from top to bottom.
Two buttons on her shirt were casually undone, the collar slightly open—

A very flat sternum, a prominent collarbone…

The deep hollow of her collarbone could hold a pool of spring water.

‘What a magical day,’ Tang Zhen thought.

She had been agonizing over finding a reason to be worried about Chi Yuqin’s surgery, but now, because of this one meal, she was sharing in the joy of this person’s successful surgery.

Even if Chi Yuqin was silent, Tang Zhen didn’t mind.
On the contrary, she was enjoying it, looking at the stars one moment and at Chi Yuqin the next, finding endless joy in both.

****

Today’s journey seemed to have been cut in half.
Tang Zhen felt like she hadn’t been sitting for long before they reached the dark alley entrance.

Tang Zhen collected her thoughts, planning to thank Chi Yuqin and get out of the car as soon as it stopped.

Her hand was already on the seatbelt buckle, the ‘thank you’ on the tip of her tongue, when the rhythm was suddenly broken by two honks of the horn.

Chi Yuqin’s palm rested on the center of the steering wheel.
She looked ahead through the windshield.
Tang Zhen followed her gaze and only then noticed that there was another car parked at the dark alley entrance, and two people were pulling and tugging at each other next to it.
Her eyes widened—

“This is…”

“Get out of the car.”

Meanwhile, Chen Min shook off the hand that was gripping her arm.
Si Xiaolin stumbled back and was about to reach out to grab her again when she was glared at by her.

She quickly walked over to Tang Zhen—

“Off work? Let’s go home together.”

Before she could finish, Chen Min had already linked her arm with Tang Zhen’s and was pulling her away.

Tang Zhen quickly turned her head to say goodbye to Chi Yuqin—

“Thank you for taking me home! I’m leaving now!”

Chen Min’s pace quickened, and in a short while, the two of them disappeared at the end of the alley.

“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

“Shameless, harassing Chen Min again.”

“Are you my jinx or what? If you hadn’t honked, I would have dragged her away.”
Si Xiaolin said irritably, “Do you know how much effort I put into this?”

Chi Yuqin leaned against the car door, looking completely nonchalant—

“Your mouth is the toughest thing about you. If she was willing to go with you, would she have waited for me to honk?”

These two had this kind of encounter every now and then.
Si Xiaolin always said the same thing.
Chi Yuqin’s ears were getting calloused from hearing it.

“Why don’t you just chase after her and cry a little? See if Chen Min will take pity on you and take you in.”

“Forget it.”

Si Xiaolin took a cigarette case from her pocket, took one for herself, and then offered one to Chi Yuqin.

Chi Yuqin didn’t take it.
She was in a good mood today and didn’t feel like smoking.

Si Xiaolin lowered her head to light her cigarette, speaking as she smoked—

“Why are you so kind today? Even giving a colleague a ride home?”

“How did you know she’s my colleague?”

“Wasn’t that the girl we met in the cafeteria last time?”

Si Xiaolin had a good memory and never forgot a face.

If she hadn’t brought it up, Chi Yuqin would have forgotten.
Speaking of which, Tang Zhen had been hiding from her back then.

Seeing Chi Yuqin’s silence, Si Xiaolin’s eyes immediately shifted—

“Hey… something’s not right with you. What’s going on?”

“What what’s going on? As if you’ve never given a colleague a ride home. That little girl who just graduated, right? Was she twenty-two or twenty-three? Does Chen Min know too?”

“Hey, hey, hey—stop, stop!”
Si Xiaolin was afraid of her.
“It has nothing to do with anything. Can you please stop bringing this up? You think I’m not unlucky enough?”

The dark alley had no light.
Chi Yuqin’s eyelids lifted, and she glanced inside—

“They live together?”

“Yeah, what a coincidence, right? The world is round, and Jingbei is just a circle.”

Si Xiaolin took a few puffs and then put out her cigarette.
She patted the car door and said—

“That… Chen Min’s aunt, tomorrow—”

“The appointment is at noon. I’ve said it eight hundred times. Can you please stop being such a bootlicker?”

“That mouth of yours, someone will have to teach you a lesson sooner or later!”

“You don’t have to worry about that. The person who can teach me a lesson is still in their mother’s womb~”

With that, seeing Si Xiaolin still staring like a forlorn wife, Chi Yuqin tapped the back of her head—

“Still looking? They’ve already turned off the lights and gone to bed. Let’s go.”

“Who’s looking? I was just spacing out~ Let’s go, let’s go.”

The two of them got into their respective cars.

Before starting the engine, Chi Yuqin looked up at the dark alley again.

What a coincidence indeed.

****

A dreamless night.
Tang Zhen slept exceptionally well.

The next morning, she woke up before the alarm went off.

After washing up and returning to her room, Chen Min next door also got up.

In the bathroom.

Chen Min squeezed toothpaste onto her toothbrush and put it in her mouth… she hadn’t brushed for long when she heard her phone ringing in her bedroom.
She bit on her toothbrush, her mouth still foamy, and turned to reply to a WeChat message.
When she came out after replying, her washing up speed had clearly increased.

She toasted two sandwiches in the kitchen and turned to knock on Tang Zhen’s door—

“Come have breakfast~”

Tang Zhen had just finished changing.
As soon as she opened the door, the fragrant smell of sandwiches filled the room.

“I’ll take it to go. Otherwise, I’ll miss the subway.”

“Why go so early? Do they pay you more?”
Chen Min was blunt and bossy.
She raised her chin and pointed to the chair opposite her. “Come sit. Eat first, then go.”

Tang Zhen was a little conflicted.
Ever since she started at Renhua, she had gotten up before dawn every day to catch the earliest subway.
She was always the first one to arrive at the office.
On one hand, she felt she shouldn’t break a habit she had worked so hard to establish.
On the other hand, she thought that since she did this every day, having an exception one day didn’t seem like a big deal.

While she was still conflicted, Chen Min’s phone rang again.
This time it was a call.
As soon as she answered, she heard a click from the receiver, followed by a voice—

– I’m here.

– Si Xiaolin, are you smoking?

Chen Min frowned, her tone immediately becoming sharp.

On the other end of the line, Si Xiaolin, leaning against her car, quickly took the cigarette from her mouth, threw it on the ground, and ground it out with the sole of her shoe, while quickly saying—

– Who’s smoking? Can you please not make things up? Get ready and come down quickly. You’re so slow.

Chen Min didn’t even bother with her and hung up the phone directly.

She threw the half-eaten sandwich aside and went to change her clothes.
She had already closed the door… then opened it again.
She said to Tang Zhen—

“Don’t sneak out on your own. Finish your food quickly. We’ll go to Renhua together after you’re done. We have a free driver today.”

Only then did Tang Zhen know that Chen Min was also going to Renhua today.

Under the shade of the trees at the entrance of the building, there were a few small stools with a few large cattail fans on them.
When it cooled down in the evening, this place would be taken over by the old men and women.
They would gossip about everyone, from east to west, south to north.
Even the national leaders weren’t as concerned as they were.

“They’ve left the fans here again. When they can’t find them later, they’ll be shouting all over the place.”
Chen Min quickened her pace and urged Tang Zhen, “Hurry up, hurry up. If we run into them, they’ll never stop nagging.”

Chen Min had taken the day off today and was dressed more casually.
A short knitted sweater on top, and a pair of slim-fitting, hip-hugging jeans on the bottom.
There was a small gap between the sweater and the jeans, revealing a hint of her belly button on her fair skin.
Although she was dressed casually and loosely, there was an inexplicable, heart-tickling charm about her.

Si Xiaolin saw her right away.
When she was far away, her eyes were fixed on her.
When she was close, she would turn her head and pretend to be indifferent, her mouth even making a casual remark—

“So slow, are you a snail?”

“Smoking so early in the morning, do you want to die?”

Si Xiaolin immediately shut her mouth.
She knew Chen Min’s temper too well.
If she said anything else at this point, at best… she would crush the cigarette case in her pocket.
At worst… she could just turn around and leave.

She had come before dawn… just to pick her up.
If she were to be angered away like this, it would be a real loss.
Si Xiaolin could still weigh the pros and cons.

Si Xiaolin ran a hand through her hair and, with a glance, finally saw Tang Zhen behind Chen Min.

Tang Zhen’s style of dress was completely different from Chen Min’s.
It was neither so bright and colorful, nor so unrestrained and swaying.
She was just very ordinary, very simple, very plain, like a blank sheet of paper with no ink on it, a purity that came from her bones.

Si Xiaolin had only met Tang Zhen a few times but had never been formally introduced.

When Chen Min introduced Tang Zhen, it was relatively clear— “Tang Zhen, my roommate, a doctor in Renhua’s cardiac surgery department.”

When it was her turn to introduce Si Xiaolin, it was a bit perfunctory— “Si Xiaolin, a colleague.”

Si Xiaolin was taken aback, her mouth twitching—

“Right, right, a colleague. The kind of colleague who doesn’t go to work… gets her salary and attendance bonus deducted, and runs to your building before dawn just to wait for you.”

Chen Min didn’t speak and got into the car.

Si Xiaolin, on the other hand, had a resentful look in her eyes, following her.

Tang Zhen looked at the two of them.
They seemed to be at odds, but not really at odds.
Especially the way Si Xiaolin looked at Chen Min…

It was very much like… very much like…

A young couple having a lover’s quarrel!

The phrase popped into her head unexpectedly, and Tang Zhen was also stunned for a moment.

But looking at the two of them again, she felt that this description couldn’t be more fitting.