“Sorry, Miss Tang, today I have work with the young lady and……”
“Oh, right, Su Ling, Zhi Xian has already gone home. She said she prepared a surprise for you too.”
The girl in the red dress spoke to Su Ling, who was seated behind the desk, cutting off the secretary’s words.
“Really?!”
Su Ling immediately unlocked her phone and saw several messages pinned at the top of her VX.
Venerable Yuan Zhi: Ling Ling! I’m already on my way home!
Venerable Yuan Zhi: When do you get off work?
Venerable Yuan Zhi: I brought you a gift!
Then followed a cute Crayon Shin-chan Kiss Emoji.
Seeing this, just as Tang Jin’er said, Su Ling quickly typed back a reply.
Ling: I’m off work now!
“Well, Secretary Wang, let’s call it a day for today. I’m heading home first, you should finish work and go home soon too!”
With that, the black-haired girl hugged her phone excitedly and rushed out without looking back.
“Hmph~”
Tang Jin’er crossed her arms, looking up at Secretary Wang with a face full of scheming satisfaction.
The secretary watched her young lady dash away like the wind, her poker face cracking just a little.
“Now, you can finish work and come eat ramen with me, right?!”
Tang Jin’er asked triumphantly once again.
The secretary sighed helplessly.
“Miss Tang, I think I’ve clearly refused you before, why are you still…”
“You did refuse me, but that doesn’t stop me from chasing you, those are two different things.”
Tang Jin’er raised a slender finger and shook it.
“Besides, we had already planned to eat ramen this time, it was just interrupted by that Gu Huaishan guy. What, Secretary Wang, you’re not thinking of backing out, are you?”
The secretary sighed deeply again.
“I kind of want to back out…”
“All right, all right, just think of it as unwinding after work. After a whole day of work, you have to treat yourself to something, right?”
“Trust me, that ramen is really delicious! After eating it, your whole mood will definitely improve!”
The girl clasped her hands behind her back, leaned forward slightly, fluttered her long eyelashes, and lifted the corners of her mouth into a playful smile, revealing a glimpse of pearly teeth, her lower lip glistening with a moist sheen.
Looking at that earnest, infectious smile, somehow Secretary Wang nodded involuntarily…
***
In Su Ling’s kitchen, Venerable Yuan Zhi stood at the cutting board wearing an adorable Little Bunny apron, her golden ponytail swaying gently with each chop.
(“But Su Ling has only been in C City for just over two months, right?”)
(“So then, what exactly made her fall in love with you?”)
With the steady “tap tap” of the knife, neatly cut potatoes began piling up to the girl’s right.
What Jin’er said makes sense—I realize I’ve never really asked Ling how she came to like me…
Her movements gradually slowed as her thoughts wandered.
In the two months before being locked away, my interactions with Ling seemed fairly normal, right? I don’t think I did anything that would leave a deeply lasting impression on her…
So how did she come to like me? And why does she like me so much?
“Zhi Xian~ I’m home!”
Startled by the sudden greeting behind her, Venerable Yuan Zhi’s shoulder twitched and the blade veered—
“Ah!”
A sharp pain shot through the tip of her left index finger as bright red blood instantly welled from the wound.
“Zhi Xian! Are you okay?”
Su Ling heard the cry of pain and didn’t even have time to change her shoes before dashing over from the entrance.
“I’m sorry, Zhi Xian! It’s all my fault! I’ll disinfect and bandage it right now!”
Seeing the slender cut on the blonde girl’s hand bleeding, Su Ling’s lips paled slightly, her voice choked with obvious emotion and trembling, and she immediately turned to rummage through the first aid kit.
“Sorry, Zhi Xian… It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have spoken so loudly when I came in and scared you…”
Having found the first aid kit, Su Ling took Venerable Yuan Zhi’s small hand gently, her eyes reddening as she apologized again.
“It’s nothing, Ling Ling, it’s not your fault.”
Venerable Yuan Zhi shook her head.
“I was just distracted while cutting, so that’s why I cut myself when you called me…”
“Well, I’m at fault too!”
“If it hurts, you have to tell me.”
Su Ling replied stubbornly, then carefully wiped the wound with iodine, her gaze focused as if she were tending to the most precious jewel in the world rather than a hand.
Seeing Su Ling so serious, Venerable Yuan Zhi was momentarily stunned.
Whatever… Since Ling likes me so much, why does it matter if I don’t know the reason?
Maybe it’s because I’m naturally beautiful, smart, and cute—just the kind of girl that someone like Ling would like.
The optimistic Venerable Yuan Zhi happily watched as the girl stuck on a bandage, momentarily pushing the questions from her mind.
“Oh right, Ling Ling, I have a gift for you!”
After leaving the kitchen and ordering takeout together, Venerable Yuan Zhi suddenly slapped her forehead, then ran into the bedroom with quick footsteps to fetch a small gift box no bigger than her palm.
“Open it quickly!”
She stretched out her right hand, a bright smile spreading across her lips.
Su Ling took the small box and, under the blonde girl’s expectant gaze, opened it quietly.
Inside the simple gift box lay a dark navy silk scrunchie, smooth and cool to the touch, its color like the serene night sky, softly shimmering under the living room’s ceiling light.
“What do you think? Pretty color, right? When Jin’er and I were leaving the beauty salon today, I spotted it at once.”
“I thought it would suit you perfectly, so I bought it as a gift.”
“Look, I have the same one too, but it’s pink!”
The excited blonde girl chatted animatedly, then turned her head to show Su Ling the pink scrunchie tying up her ponytail.
“How about it, Ling Ling? Do you like this gift?”
Looking at the hopeful face of the blonde girl, Su Ling felt a little dazed.
(Here, A Qing, this is the gift I gave you!)
(How do you like this hairpin? I saw it at the mall yesterday and thought it would suit you perfectly, so I bought it as a gift.)
(Look, I have the same one too, it’s a Little Bunny!)
(So, A Qing, do you like this gift?)
Tears welled slowly in Su Ling’s eyes. Through her gradually blurred vision, the image of the blonde tomboy holding a cat hairpin in her memory merged with the delicate girl before her.
“Mm, thank you, Zhi Xian. I really like your gift.”
The black-haired girl choked on her words, replying just as she had all those years ago.
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