Group Chat: Count 1234 Before Pooping (5)
Shen Qingtang: There’s an amazing Sichuan restaurant on Gold Street. Who’s coming tonight?
Ji Nian: Can I bring my dad?
Gu Xiuyuan: Who else do you want to bring?
Lu Jinghuai: Boyfriend.
Gu Xiuyuan: Piss off…
He Xiang: That place is hard to get a table at, but—
Shen Qingtang: You have connections?
He Xiang: Gu Xiuyuan has a black card.
Gu Xiuyuan: ?
In the end, Gu Xiuyuan splurged and had his assistant call to reserve a private room.
Ji Nian didn’t actually bring her dad. After work, Lu Jinghuai was waiting for her at the entrance.
The car door opened, and she flopped inside, limbs splayed, her curly hair tousled as she stared blankly at the ceiling with her jade-green eyes.
Sighing yellow chick.jpg
Lu Jinghuai reached over and gently removed her glasses, rubbing her head sympathetically. "You reek of work fatigue."
Ji Nian gave a half-hearted smirk.
Who doesn’t smell like work after a shift?
She wrapped an arm around Lu Jinghuai, burying her face against him and taking a deep breath.
He carried a faint scent of cologne, mixed with a hint of jasmine. If she remembered correctly, there was a shop south of the research institute with potted jasmine outside—when the wind blew, the whole street smelled like it.
“Hm? Did you get sticky rice chicken?”
The best thing on that street was the sticky rice chicken hidden in an alley. The owner made it authentically, and Ji Nian had fallen in love with it after one try. Too bad he only made it sporadically, depending on his mood.
Lu Jinghuai blinked. “Do I smell like it?”
Ji Nian leaned over and rummaged around him, quickly finding the familiar takeout bag.
“It’s still warm. We can share it with everyone later.” Lu Jinghuai chuckled, handing her the bag so she could check the portions.
Ji Nian happily started dividing them up in advance.
Dinner rush meant parking took a while. By the time Ji Nian and Lu Jinghuai arrived, Shen Qingtang and He Xiang had already been seated for some time.
After graduation, both had joined Ji Corporation, though they worked on different floors and only ran into each other occasionally.
Shen Qingtang had even waited for He Xiang in the parking lot after work so they could go together.
“Ah, our Professor Ji has arrived.”
Shen Qingtang smiled, tucking a strand of her newly curled, deep brown hair behind her ear. With her light makeup, she looked every bit the polished corporate professional—though anyone who knew her well knew she was still the same cosplay-loving otaku who’d camp out overnight for conventions.
“I’m exhausted. When’s Gu Xiuyuan getting here?”
Ji Nian waved lazily in Gu Xiuyuan’s general direction before plopping down next to Shen Qingtang, resting her head on her shoulder with a yawn.
“You pulled another all-nighter, didn’t you? Look at those dark circles.”
Ji Nian groaned. “What choice do I have? Lately, I’ve been using cushion foundation to cover them up before going home so my dad won’t notice—”
She suddenly cut herself off, her jade-green eyes darting toward He Xiang.
Almost forgot—there was a ‘traitor’ here who obeyed her dad’s every word.
Noticing her stare, He Xiang—who’d been inspecting the sticky rice chicken—looked up and smirked.
“I can be bribed.”
He Xiang was arguably the one who’d changed the most out of their group.
At last year’s high school reunion, he’d been the talk of the night.
Who would’ve guessed that the man sitting across from Ji Nian now—unbuttoned blazer, rolled-up sleeves, exuding an air of restrained authority—had once been the quiet, brooding top student?
Even Lu Jinghuai, the foreigner, looked like he belonged to a different generation next to him.
Ji Nian still wanted to ask: Ji Tingzhou, what did you do to our poor He Xiang?
With an internal sigh, she dug into her coat pocket and pulled out a small jar, sliding it across the table.
“Will this do? Newly developed. Works like a charm.”
Shen Qingtang peered curiously at the container now in He Xiang’s hands.
“Is it skincare?”
Lu Jinghuai, the only one in the know, just smiled silently.
When He Xiang also turned to Ji Nian for an explanation, she finally dropped the mystery.
With a grin, she declared: “This is magic.”
“Apply it to your butt, and in three days, you’ll have a pink butt crack.”
“………”
He Xiang wasn’t sure he wanted to keep holding it.
What the hell would he do with a pink butt crack?
Before the silence could stretch, Shen Qingtang’s phone rang.
She answered casually, but her expression quickly darkened.
“Got it. We’ll head over now.”
Hanging up, she stood abruptly. “Gu Xiuyuan got into a car accident on the way here.”
The mood instantly sobered.
“How bad is it? Is he at the hospital?” Ji Nian snapped awake.
“Not serious. Their car got sideswiped by a truck at a red light. Luckily, the driver’s used to oversteering.”
Just a twisted ankle.
Typical Gu Xiuyuan—after confirming he was fine at the hospital, he’d gone straight home. His assistant only called Shen Qingtang because he was still worried.
They keyed in the passcode to Gu Xiuyuan’s apartment like it was second nature.
The minimalist foyer was marred by a single, glaringly out-of-place doormat that read: ‘CEO, you’re finally off work.’ Ji Nian had gifted it last year and forbade him from throwing it out, so the mat had stubbornly survived in its post for a full year.
“My poor CEO, what rotten luck.”
They found Gu Xiuyuan trying to adjust his elevated leg when they walked in.
He gave them a deadpan look.
Hadn’t he texted that he couldn’t make it?
Who ratted him out?
Traitors everywhere.
“CEO, we brought takeout. There’s non-spicy options. Want some?” Shen Qingtang asked after checking his leg.
Thank He Xiang for his unwavering policy against food waste.
Before Gu Xiuyuan could answer, Ji Nian had already ordered Lu Jinghuai and He Xiang to set up a makeshift dining area.
Lu Jinghuai even dug out an apron from the kitchen and asked, with faux sincerity, if Gu Xiuyuan needed a bib.
Gu Xiuyuan retaliated by stealing the cherry-glazed pork from his bowl.
Lu Jinghuai turned puppy eyes on Ji Nian, his silver-gray gaze shimmering.
Ji Nian gave him her portion.
Gu Xiuyuan couldn’t bear to watch.
At least He Xiang had some decency. He pulled out a mysterious jar—his ‘pricey’ bribe—and offered to share it to soothe Gu Xiuyuan’s wounded pride.
Gu Xiuyuan took it, inspecting the label.
“Does it help with leg injuries?”
He Xiang replied solemnly: “It turns your butt crack pink. Prevents pigmentation from lying down too long.”
Gu Xiuyuan: ???
What kind of psycho wants a pink butt crack???
