Chapter 17 : The Girls’ Hangout

Liu Sisi had a bellyful of words she wanted to complain to Tang Zhen about.

But the next second… she saw Chi Yuqin’s car pull up steadily in front of her.

The window rolled down, the back door opened, and Tang Zhen was sitting inside.
Liu Sisi was stunned.
The desire to complain was instantly swallowed back down.
She winked wildly at Tang Zhen, her gaze as clear as day— ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’

Tang Zhen winked back at her— ‘I did remind you.’

Chi Yuqin watched the two of them, their little movements.
‘Are they treating me like I’m invisible?’

Liu Sisi was more than just a little bit smarter than Tang Zhen.
She quickly got into the car and immediately gave Chi Yuqin a compliment—

“Director Chi, you’ve gone to so much trouble!”

Chi Yuqin didn’t speak, just nodded in the rearview mirror, as if in silent agreement.

Liu Sisi didn’t care if Chi Yuqin had an icy face.
Her entire attention was now on the genuine leather seat beneath her.

She thought to herself— a good car is different, even the seats are so comfortable!

Liu Sisi first glanced at Chi Yuqin in the driver’s seat, then turned and pulled Tang Zhen’s arm, leaning her face close to Tang Zhen’s ear, whispering in an excited yet suppressed voice—

“A beautiful car really does go with a beautiful woman!”
Liu Sisi wrung her hands.
“Can I post this on my Moments to show off?”

“Just keep it to yourself.”

As soon as Tang Zhen finished speaking… the light turned red.

She told Liu Sisi to keep it to herself, but she herself couldn’t help but glance at the person in the driver’s seat—

Tang Zhen seemed to have never looked at this person so carefully before.
She would always lower her head for one reason or another.
This was the first time she had looked at Chi Yuqin so openly.

Chi Yuqin was leaning back in her seat… in a very relaxed state.
Her hand, casually raised, would sometimes rest on the steering wheel, sometimes against her temple.
The collar of her light white shirt was pressed with a few faint wrinkles.

She was really beautiful.
Her relaxed state made her features soften, shedding their usual sharpness.
Chi Yuqin’s eyes and brows were incredibly gentle, a complete contrast to her previous sternness.

Tang Zhen had never thought a woman’s face could be so captivating.

Her gaze gradually moved downward, landing on Chi Yuqin’s nose, her philtrum, and finally, her lips.

Chi Yuqin’s lips were very thin, with a pale color that, after a slight purse, was tinged with a light pink…

Tang Zhen was mesmerized, wanting to look more, but the rearview mirror trapped her gaze.
She couldn’t help but straighten her back, raising her line of sight, her downward-moving gaze… unrestrained in the rearview mirror.

She saw Chi Yuqin’s long, slender neck, extending down to her collar—

A straight collarbone.

Unexpectedly, Tang Zhen felt thirsty.

Her heart felt as if it had been brushed by a feather, very light, very itchy.

For the sixty-second red light, Tang Zhen stared at Chi Yuqin for a full sixty seconds.

And in those sixty seconds, Chi Yuqin’s eyes glanced back and forth in the rearview mirror at least three times, each time meeting Tang Zhen’s gaze.

But the person who was mesmerized was completely unaware.

Perhaps this was the biggest difference between the male gaze and the female gaze.
If it were the former, it would be highly suggestive of harassment.
But with the latter…

Chi Yuqin couldn’t say she cared, but she wasn’t repulsed either.
She just thought this little girl was a bit silly.

If it weren’t for the green light, she probably would have let her look a little longer.

“Ahem—”

A light cough instantly pulled Tang Zhen back from her daydream to reality.

Her eyes met Chi Yuqin’s.
Tang Zhen blushed from her face to the roots of her neck.
Even her small ears… looked like they had been thrown into a pot and cooked like crabs.

She quickly lowered her head, not daring to look around anymore.

Liu Sisi next to her still didn’t know anything, still whispering in her ear—

“Why is your face so red?”

“Ah? I… I…”

“It must be too hot. You’re facing the sun.”

Chi Yuqin suddenly interjected.

Liu Sisi was stunned.
If she hadn’t seen Chi Yuqin’s mouth move, she would have thought there was something wrong with her ears.
And was she seeing things?
Why did it seem like Chi Yuqin was smiling???

This girl was a complete contrast to Tang Zhen, a total imp.

Chi Yuqin thought for a moment and asked—

“What were you guys going to eat?”

“Skewers.”

“Not eating Huaiyang cuisine?”

“I want to… but it’s a bit expensive…”

“What if I’m treating?”

Tang Zhen: “…..”

Liu Sisi: “???”

Chi Yuqin looked up at the two of them in the rearview mirror— “If you don’t want to, then forget it.”

“We’ll eat!”
Liu Sisi quickly replied.

Tang Zhen next to her quickly pulled her.

“What are you pulling me for? It’s over six hundred for a meal!”
Liu Sisi leaned close to Tang Zhen’s ear.
“Are you stupid? It’s free food. She’s not short on money~”

Oh, for crying out loud…

Tang Zhen wanted to get out of the car.

Chi Yuqin didn’t go to the new Huaiyang restaurant across from the hospital.
She drove the two of them to a slightly more remote private kitchen.

A standalone building, quaint and elegant.

Before they even entered, the tune of a Jiangnan landscape was already playing.
Even the waiters spoke with a hint of a soft southern accent.

Chi Yuqin was a regular here.
As soon as she came in, someone greeted her.
They didn’t even have to queue and were directly shown to a private room on the third floor.

The waiter brought hot towels and then tea, speaking in an authentic Jiangsu dialect as he asked Chi Yuqin— “The usual?”

Chi Yuqin didn’t speak in dialect, replying in Mandarin— “Bring the menu. We’ll change it up today.”

“Alright!”

After a short while, the waiter came with the menu. “You can order first. When you’re ready, press the bell, and I’ll come.”

With that, the waiter left.

The private room was large, but the decor was very tasteful.
All wooden furniture, Roman columns, Catholic church-style stained glass windows, a Chinese-style chandelier on the ceiling with the texture of jade-green glass.
On the four walls hung a few old posters from the Republic of China era, with women in cheongsams leaning against the banks of the Qinhuai River, holding either a cigarette or a rouge box.

Tang Zhen looked at the old phonograph on the cabinet next to her, suddenly feeling like she was in a Republic of China drama.
She took a small sip of tea.
It was Biluochun.

Old Man Tang always loved to drink this.
But this cup today seemed a little different from what Old Man Tang drank.
This cup was more soothing to the throat.
It was probably a matter of quality.
Old Man Tang had said the best was the special grade, with a silvery green hue, tender and full of buds, but unfortunately, it was too expensive.
Three to four thousand yuan, just for that small sip, was too extravagant.

“This place is much grander than that restaurant across from the hospital!”

Liu Sisi flipped through the menu—

“The dishes haven’t even been served yet, but I can already tell they’ll be delicious.”

“Huaiyang cuisine is all pretty much the same. As long as the ingredients are fresh enough and the chef’s skills are seasoned enough.”

Chi Yuqin was telling the truth.
The chef at this restaurant was an authentic old Jiangsu native.
The first time she came to this restaurant to eat, she was only eight years old.
Back then, this place was just a small shop of fifteen square meters, with only a family of three working inside.

“Are you from Jiangsu?”

“My mother is.”

“What a coincidence! My great-grandmother is too! We’re practically family!”

Although Liu Sisi’s attempt to claim kinship was a bit of a stretch, it did manage to break the ice.

After ordering the food and chatting for a while, the dishes were soon served.

Not only the cooking, but the knife skills and presentation were all extremely exquisite.
Tang Zhen held her chopsticks, hesitant.
She was a little reluctant to move them, as if one move would destroy a Jiangnan landscape painting.

In the end, Tang Zhen didn’t take the initiative to touch any of the dishes.
Instead, she watched Chi Yuqin and Liu Sisi, following their lead, eating whichever dish they ate first.

She was from the north and preferred stronger flavors, but she could get used to the salty and savory taste of Huaiyang cuisine.
Of course, that plate of boiled shredded dried tofu was an exception… it was simply too bland.

As they ate and talked, they somehow started talking about Liu Renzong.

Liu Sisi, having been treated to a meal, was hesitant and couldn’t say anything coherent.

Instead, it was Chi Yuqin who, seeing her struggle, took the initiative to speak. “Did Liu Renzong curse me again? Or did he stir up gender antagonism again? Or both?”

“Uh… this…”

Not only did Liu Sisi find it difficult, but Tang Zhen also broke out in a sweat for her.

“Let him curse. If Liu Renzong didn’t curse me one day, it wouldn’t be very like him. Besides… didn’t you curse him too?”

“That’s what I’m saying! When it comes to being broad-minded, it’s still Director Chi. Old Man Liu’s awareness is way off!”

Liu Sisi stood up to pour tea, using tea as a substitute for wine… and drank it down in one gulp.

Chi Yuqin didn’t mention this again, occasionally taking a few bites of the boiled shredded tofu and a few sips of tea.

It was Tang Zhen who took this to heart.
She couldn’t see through Chi Yuqin, didn’t know if she was really that big-hearted or just putting on a brave face.
But no matter which it was, she herself felt genuinely uncomfortable.

When they were almost done eating, Chi Yuqin went to the restroom and paid the bill on the way.

When she came back, she heard Liu Sisi’s cheerful laughter coming from the private room—

“Hey, that handsome little guy was looking at you the whole time when he came in just now!”

“Don’t talk nonsense. He was just here to deliver towels.”

“Who’s talking nonsense? You’re really not self-aware of your own beauty at all. He didn’t even glance at me.”

Tang Zhen was teased by Liu Sisi until she blushed.
Seeing her like this, Liu Sisi couldn’t help but pinch her cheek—

“So innocent, blushing just from a few words. You’ve never been in a relationship, have you~”

“None of your business.”

“No way! You really haven’t?”

“…”

Liu Sisi had really guessed right.
Tang Zhen was already in college, but Old Man Tang would still frown when he saw her wearing high heels, saying what’s a little kid doing wearing high heels like an adult.
Wu Zhen would always laugh at him— ‘She’s already a twenty-year-old girl, and you still call her a kid?’
Old Tang would glare— ‘Never mind twenty, even if she’s eighty, she’s still a kid to me!’

However, the reason Tang Zhen didn’t date wasn’t because her parents wouldn’t let her.
It was mainly because she herself… had endless books to study every day, how could she have time for love?

People always said that not dating in college was a waste.
In Tang Zhen’s opinion, that was complete nonsense.
Not getting a degree… that was a real waste of college.

Liu Sisi’s expression was as if she had seen a magical creature, repeatedly exclaiming in wonder—

“Tsk, tsk, tsk… you’re a little white flower of the world~”

“As if you have so much experience.”

“If I were as pretty as you, never mind dating, I’d get married seventeen or eighteen times!”

The more she talked, the more ridiculous it got.
Tang Zhen couldn’t out-talk her, so she simply ignored her.

“Hey, where are you going?”

“To the restroom.”

As soon as she pushed open the door to the private room, Tang Zhen saw Chi Yuqin smoking by the window.

Chi Yuqin’s arm was bent and resting on the lattice window frame, a cigarette between her fingers.
The scarlet flame flickered at her fingertips, and a faint smoke drifted from her face.
She looked at Tang Zhen and gave a slight nod.

“Something wrong?”

“I… I’m going to the restroom.”

“Straight ahead and turn right.”

“Okay, thank you.”

Tang Zhen passed by Chi Yuqin’s side.
The faint smell of tobacco and the clean scent from her body mixed into another indescribable smell that wafted into Tang Zhen’s nose.

It wasn’t choking.

Unexpectedly… it smelled good.

In the restroom, Tang Zhen splashed her face with water.
Her face turned red again for no reason.

The second time today.

Tang Zhen took two dry paper towels and, while wiping her hands, thought— it’s normal for a woman to blush at another woman, right?
After all, Chi Yuqin was so beautiful.

Everyone has a love for beauty.

And she was not only beautiful but also so capable.

Unfortunately, at this time, Tang Zhen’s understanding of matters of the heart was only half-baked.
Otherwise, she would have understood how absurd this thought was.
There were many beautiful and capable people in the world, but the one who could make you blush and your heart race was only that one, and could only be that one.

By the time she came back, Chi Yuqin had finished her cigarette, and Liu Sisi had also come out of the private room.

Chi Yuqin drove the two of them to the subway station before driving away.

Liu Sisi watched the car speed away and hooked her arm around Tang Zhen’s shoulder, patting it—

“Do you think Chi Yuqin likes girls?”

Tang Zhen’s heart skipped a beat.