Chapter 66

 

Ji Runze skilfully parked the bike in front of the shop. Ming Xi nimbly hopped out of the back seat, patted Ji Runze’s shoulder familiarly, indicating that she would go grab a seat first.

She walked briskly toward Liang Jiancheng. He remained where he was, and only when she reached him did he smile and say, “Ming Xi, you’re pretty good at picking places. This shop is packed—I’ve been waiting a while and still haven’t gotten an empty table.”

Even though their relationship had already grown close, hearing him say that still made Ming Xi feel a little embarrassed. She had arrived exactly on time, after all… clearly, he was the one who had come too early.

“It’s fine! Come with me…” After parking the bike, Ji Runze led Ming Xi and Liang Jiancheng inside with an easy familiarity. The shop was nearly full, yet he moved with confidence, as if returning to his own restaurant. He deftly unfolded a small round table that had been tucked against the wall, then brought over three plastic stools and sets of bowls and chopsticks, ushering them to sit down.

Ming Xi looked surprised and whispered to Ji Runze, “Will the boss agree to this?”

Ji Runze scratched his head and grinned sheepishly. “…I think it should be fine, because this place is run by my family.”

What?! If Ming Xi had been mildly surprised before, she was now staring wide-eyed. She glanced toward the auntie standing by the cashier, smiling warmly at her and Ji Runze, and only then noticed how similar the woman’s face and smile were to his.

“Hello, Auntie…” Always polite, Ming Xi instinctively greeted her upon realizing she was Ji Runze’s mother.

“Sit down quickly. It’s rare for Xiao Ze to bring friends over. You can order first—I’ll have the kitchen send out a few of our specialty snacks.”

Ming Xi was even more embarrassed now. She had only meant to ask Ji Runze to recommend a late-night place and treat him to a meal. Instead, he had brought her to his family’s congee shop—how could she possibly feel comfortable with that?

There was no way Ji Runze would let her pay tonight.

Ji Runze was straightforward and honest, especially after they got to know each other. Walking beside Ming Xi, he spoke openly and cheerfully: “Ming Xi, why are you being so polite with me? And with Brother Liang here today too, I’m really happy you both came. Look at how good business is at our place—treating you to one meal won’t bankrupt us. Let me tell you something—my parents…”

Lowering his voice conspiratorially, he leaned in closer. Ming Xi laughed, her cheeks flushing slightly. What he whispered was—”My parents are incredibly hospitable. If you try to pay later, they’ll be thinking about it all night.”

Liang Jiancheng observed the entire interaction between Ming Xi and Ji Runze, as well as Ming Xi’s smiling reactions. He silently sat in the seat Ji Runze had arranged for him. To say he was in a truly pleasant mood tonight was a stretch.

Even though the food at the late-night snack place Ming Xi had chosen suited his taste perfectly.

After Ji Runze and Ming Xi sat down, Ming Xi still had hint of shyness from meeting her friend’s mother. She explained to Liang Jiancheng that the shop belonged to Ji Runze’s family. Liang Jiancheng nodded, then asked, “Is Boss Ji’s ancestral home in Guangzhou?”

As Ji Runze handed out bowls and chopsticks, he replied, “My grandparents are from Guangzhou, but they came to Haigang to make a living a long time ago. So I’m basically a local. I don’t even speak much Cantonese—just a few simple phrases.”

Really? Ming Xi actually knew quite a bit of Cantonese. She immediately joked with him in Cantonese for a few lines.

Ji Runze responded somewhat awkwardly, his delivery not very fluent.

“Wow, Ming Xi, how do you know so much Cantonese!” Ji Runze exclaimed.

Ming Xi smiled and said, “I learned from watching Hong Kong dramas. Don’t you watch Hong Kong dramas?” Indeed, she had a strong aptitude for languages; over the past year, she’d come to understand most of the local dialect and could manage everyday conversations.

Ji Runze replied, “I do, but I watch the Mandarin-dubbed versions.”

The two chatted back and forth, instantly enlivening the atmosphere at the table.

“Then thank you for hosting us tonight, Boss Ji,” Liang Jiancheng said. Since Ming Xi wasn’t paying, it was only right for him to express his thanks.

Ji Runze waved it off quickly, “Brother Liang, don’t be so polite. I’ve already called you Brother Liang, you can just call me Xiao Ji.” Although Ji Runze didn’t know Liang Jiancheng’s exact age, but having come straight from a high-end dinner, dressed in a crisp, tailored suit, Liang Jiancheng didn’t look old—though he certainly looked like an older brother.

“I’m not being polite. Titles are simple. I just worry some people might be sensitive about them,” Liang Jiancheng explained.

Ji Runze, being a graduate of Peking University, was quick-witted and sharp. He smiled and said, “I’m Ming Xi’s friend. Like Ming Xi, I’m pretty simple and don’t care much about these things.”

Liang Jiancheng nodded and didn’t say anything more.

At this moment, Ji Runze’s mother personally brought over a pot of Pu’er tea and three cups.

Ming Xi was indeed thirsty. She poured herself a cup of tea and drank it down in one gulp. Then, with a warm smile, she poured tea for Liang Jiancheng and Ji Runze, saying as she poured, “I feel like I’ve used up everything I was supposed to say for the week today.”

“Me too!” Ji Runze happily echoed, “Ming Xi, I really didn’t expect your comprehension to be so strong. A lot of what I said were just conceptual ideas—you not only understood them, you kept up with my thinking.”

Being praised was naturally pleasant, especially by a top student from Peking University.

“Really? I think it’s alright…”

Ming Xi rarely showed a shy expression, and her usually clean and refreshing face suddenly appeared especially gentle and charming.

Liang Jiancheng’s gaze was calm as he picked up his teacup and took a small sip. The tea had been steeped too long—thin in flavor, with the aroma gone and a bitter aftertaste.

He wasn’t intentionally picky about tea; as someone accustomed to drinking good tea, he could easily distinguish between good and bad tea. However, even if it was hard to swallow, he wouldn’t easily frown.

Yet after setting the cup down, he did frown—and his expression tightened.

This was because Ming Xi had turned her head and deliberately told him, “I’ve been at Brother Ze’s place all day today and haven’t gone back yet.”

This explanation was worse than no explanation at all.

Ming Xi secretly found it amusing, thinking smugly that Liang Jiancheng might be jealous. If so, then later, when he ate shrimp dumplings, would he even need to dip them in vinegar?

The corners of Ming Xi’s lips lifted slightly, a quiet, private happiness rising in her heart. Someone like her—ambitious, a little shrewd, and not yet having realized those ambitions—could still feel a distinctly immoral yet undeniably real satisfaction from being able to influence the emotions of a high-status man.

“Liang Jiancheng, how did your dinner go today?” Ming Xi asked.

Liang Jiancheng replied very briefly, “Smoothly.”

With Ji Runze sitting beside them, Liang Jiancheng spoke far less than usual—whether answering Ming Xi’s questions or starting conversations himself.

Ji Runze, however, was unusually talkative tonight. After all, this was his family’s shop.

His mother was equally enthusiastic, bringing out another basket of shrimp dumplings as soon as they were finished.

Ming Xi felt both touched and grateful, and joked lightly with Ji Runze, “If I grew up in your family, there’s no way I’d be as skinny as you.”

Ji Runze was delighted and replied, “Then come eat here more often. My parents would definitely fatten you up until you’re fair and chubby.”

What was supposed to be a normal conversation suddenly took on a slightly ambiguous meaning…

Ming Xi lowered her head slightly, not daring to look at Liang Jiancheng. She wondered if it was just her own guilty conscience twisting Ji Runze’s words.

Liang Jiancheng: “…” No, she hadn’t misinterpreted it. This Beida graduate was simply far too cunning.

Liang Jiancheng had already eaten earlier and had no appetite at all. Even though the Cantonese congee shop was excellent, he could barely force himself to take a bite.

Unfortunately, Ji Runze’s parents treated them as though they were entertaining a future daughter-in-law. Every snack and side dish in the shop was brought out—if they tried something and liked it, another portion immediately followed. If Ming Xi were the future daughter-in-law, then what was he? The chauffeur that came along with her?

Enough already…

Ming Xi couldn’t eat anymore either, and after eating half of it, she was practically slumped over the table, so full she could barely breathe.

“There’s still so much left…”

“It’s fine, take it back for Cai Ni.” Ji Runze said, mentioning Ming Xi’s best friend more naturally than Liang Jiancheng ever did.

“Then I’ll thank you on Cai Ni’s behalf.” Ming Xi no longer pretended to be polite.

“Don’t mention it. Next time bring Cai Ni, Dezi, and Junjun too.” Ji Runze suggested.

“You know what, once you tell them your family runs a restaurant, they’ll definitely come.” Ming Xi replied with a smile.

Ji Runze then looked at Liang Jiancheng and said, “Brother Liang, you come often too.”

Liang Jiancheng responded with impeccable manners, finding a reason with ease: “If someone brings me, I’ll definitely come.”

Hearing this, Ming Xi felt a mix of emotions—a tightness in her heart, a twinge of sourness, followed by a sweetness she couldn’t quite define. She and Liang Jiancheng weren’t officially anything, yet there was already a feeling that resembled being in love.

In the end, Ming Xi came empty-handed, but when she left, she not only carried the shrimp dumplings and shumai she had packed to take home, but also took the insights and knowledge that Ji Runze had shared with her.

“Bye…”

“Bye.”

On the drive back, Liang Jiancheng behaved as usual. If Ming Xi had sensed hints of jealousy while they were at Ji Runze’s parents’ shop, now, behind the wheel, Liang Jiancheng seemed far more concerned with her career plans at Haiou Company.

He had heard her entire conversation with Ji Runze.

Speaking from the standpoint of someone driven by interests and profits, Liang Jiancheng momentarily abandoned his role as a rival boss and said to her, “Ming Xi, I’m not speaking to you as a competitor of Haiou, but as a friend. Even if you have the capacity and energy right now, you don’t really understand He Yuan yet. Haiou is still your first foreign trade platform. Whether out of caution or personal development, don’t create too many ‘surprises’ for Haiou. A boss will only ever complain that an employee’s value hasn’t been fully squeezed out—never be grateful for how much profit that employee has already brought in.”

Liang Jiancheng, from a boss’s perspective, reminded Ming Xi, a passionate and driven career woman.

However, Ming Xi felt that Liang Jiancheng had misunderstood her intentions and explained, “What I learned with Brother Ze today isn’t to use at Haiou; I just wanted to learn more.” She truly hadn’t planned to apply any of it there—though maybe it could work for the summer quilt business she ran with Dezi.

“Alright, I’ll be careful. Thank you for the guidance, Boss Liang,” Ming Xi said in an exaggerated tone.

“What guidance could Boss Liang possibly give? Boss Liang doesn’t even have an employee as outstanding as Boss Ming…” Liang Jiancheng replied, sounding even more theatrical than she did.

Ming Xi couldn’t help laughing. She stopped bickering with him, though—the apartment was already coming into view.

Liang Jiancheng slowly parked the car on the side of the road. As Ming Xi unbuckled her seatbelt and prepared to get out, Liang Jiancheng’s grateful voice drifted from the driver’s seat: “Thank you, Boss Ming. for choosing a place with flavors I like tonight.”

Ming Xi: …

She’d thought he wouldn’t care—or wouldn’t acknowledge it at all, considering how little he’d eaten.

“I was really full today. I honestly couldn’t eat much,” Liang Jiancheng explained.

Ming Xi gave a soft “Oh.” Then he really shouldn’t have come out at all.

“I’m going up now, goodnight.” Ming Xi said goodbye.

“Goodnight… wait.” His long, well-defined fingers left the steering wheel as he reached into the storage compartment and took out a small box with English packaging, handing it to her. “This apartment faces the street—it might be noisy. These are earplugs. They’ll help block out the sound.”

Seeing that it wasn’t anything expensive, Ming Xi didn’t stand on ceremony and accepted it.

“Sweet dreams,” Liang Jiancheng said. When his voice softened, his tone grew gentler by several degrees.

Holding the small box in her palm, Ming Xi tilted her head and blinked. “Sweet dreams.”

—

The next day, Ming Xi sat at her desk and carefully designed a Christmas e-card using the software Ji Runze had recommended. She planned to send holiday greetings to her clients before Christmas arrived.

He Yuan called her into his office and instructed her on something: “Ming Xi, get your passport sorted out as soon as possible.”

Passport?

Ming Xi: “I already have it.”

Although she didn’t know when she might go abroad for an exhibition, having worked in foreign trade for so long, Ming Xi, who always liked to prepare in advance, naturally applied for her passport while she had the time. These days, getting a passport wasn’t difficult; the real headache was visas.

As the daughter of a debtor on the blacklist, she worried that visa applications for major countries might not go through.

Ming Xi had asked Sister CC about this issue a while ago and also contacted people at the embassy. She learned that visa requirements vary from country to country. Sister CC told her that U.S. visas were currently the hardest to obtain—when CC had gone to the States before, she’d even arranged a fake boyfriend.

“Why a fake boyfriend?” Ming Xi asked curiously.

“We’re women, especially pretty women. The visa officer probably thinks that if we have a stable relationship back home, we’re less likely to overstay abroad and not come back,” Sister CC said.

Ming Xi: …

Sister CC was unmarried and childless, with fairly progressive views. When the topic came up, she sighed resentfully, “Look at us—we’re capable, we look good, but somehow in this society it feels like women have to become accessories to men.”

Ming Xi patted her shoulder, “Don’t worry, as long as we don’t objectify ourselves, no one gets to define us.”

Sister CC shrugged.

After finishing the creative Christmas e-card, Ming Xi felt quite satisfied with it and decided to send one to Brother Jiangliu.

She logged into QQ (OICQ was renamed QQ after October due to legal disputes) and sent the e-card to “Smiling Without Talking.”

He wasn’t online, so there was no response.

Unexpectedly, several messages popped up in the “Zhongjin Handsome Guys and Beautiful Girls Chat Group” she had been added to before, all gossip about Liang Jiancheng, the boss of Xinghai upstairs.

[Mr. Liang’s new girlfriend has been exposed!] This was the first group message.

It wasn’t intentional presumption, but when Ming Xi saw this message, her heart tightened. She’d been spending a lot of time with Liang Jiancheng lately, so her first instinct was that someone had found out.

Nervously, she kept reading—only to realize once again that sometimes the things people fear most, find most amusing, or feel most awkward about were nothing more than products of their own imagination.

She didn’t even need to read carefully to know that the “new girlfriend” being exposed had absolutely nothing to do with her.

Especially after seeing the descriptions.

The employee sharing this gossip seemed very knowledgeable about fashion brands. There was hardly any mention of the woman’s looks; instead, they rattled off the brands of her clothes, shoes, and even bags.

Burberry coat, Balenciaga shoes, and an LV bag…

…none of which Ming Xi owned.

[Where did you see them?] someone asked in the group chat.

The gossip-sharer typed the name of a tennis club and confidently dropped their “evidence”: [I recently started dating a tennis coach, and I just happened to bump into them!]

When someone speaks with enough certainty, people tend to believe it.

Ming Xi believed it too. Liang Jiancheng had probably gone to play tennis that day. In the afternoon, she’d run into him in the elevator—he hadn’t been wearing office clothes, but sportswear, as if he’d come straight back after playing.

Ming Xi leaned back in her office chair, tilting her head back. If she could be honest, she felt a little uncomfortable.

But what bothered her more than the rumor of Liang Jiancheng having a new girlfriend was the fact that before she’d even finished reading the chat, she’d felt a flash of panic—as if she’d been caught doing something she shouldn’t. That was what made her uncomfortable.

She stopped thinking about it, reached out, and lightly tapped her own forehead as a warning to herself—

Don’t let this happen again.

Blinking twice, she took a deep breath and prepared to focus on work. Just then, Dezi sent her a message to her phone—

“Boss Ming, guess how many summer quilts we just finalized! Thirty thousand!”

Perfect timing.

It completely soothed her lingering awkwardness.

Ming Xi picked up the water on her desk and drank most of it in one gulp. On QQ, Ji Runze, who had become her friend, probably guessed she was about to get off work and sent her a message: “Ming Xi, are you free tonight? Want to go see ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ together?”

The movie had exploded in popularity back in October. Now it was already late November and it was about to leave theaters. Ming Xi actually hadn’t seen it yet.

“Okay,” she agreed.

Thinking of something, she also sent Ji Runze a copy of the Christmas card she had made: “How is it, Teacher Ji? This apprentice is not bad, right?”

“Not bad at all—this is basically the textbook case of a student doing so well that the teacher starves,” Ji Runze replied humorously.

Once they’d grown familiar with each other, they clicked easily in both temperament and personality. However, Ji Runze would soon be leaving Haigang.

When they’d talked about Alibaba before, he’d told her that the company had already approved his application. If Ji Runze chose to work for this startup company, which had been established for less than a year, it would not only mean he had to close his computer shop, but he would also have to leave Haigang.

Because the company was in Hangzhou.

He wasn’t sure whether he should go and was very hesitant.

Ming Xi suspected that Ji Runze might ask for her advice that evening.

Her advice would naturally be to support him in doing what he truly wanted—only that way would he avoid wasting his youth and talent.

Perhaps they were temporarily confused, but each of them was moving towards their own ideals, each following their own predetermined path in life.

An occasional intersection didn’t mean they were meant to walk the same road.

If she’d ever thought otherwise before, it only meant she still wasn’t mature enough.

It’s okay, just don’t let it happen again!

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