On the seventh day of Qin Yuhe's business trip, Song Xinya received a call from Tiantianquan.
"Babe, is your husband coming back tomorrow?"
Song Xinya: "Yes."
Tiantianquan: "After your husband comes back, you'll have to spend time with him, right?"
Song Xinya: "I do need to keep him company."
They hadn't seen each other for a week. She couldn't just leave him hanging the moment they reunited to go hang out with someone else.
Tiantianquan: "Then you have to spend some quality time with me today. As your ultimate bestie, this little request isn't too much to ask, is it?"
Song Xinya: "Not at all. Let's have dinner together after work."
Tiantianquan: "OKK."
At 5:00 PM, Song Xinya packed up her things and stood up from her desk.
Chen Siyan asked in surprise, "Ms. Song, the busy little bee who usually treats overtime like a daily routine, is getting off work this early today?"
Song Xinya: "Yep. Mr. Chen, keep up the good work with your overtime, and be a good little fairy boy."
Chen Siyan: "Why are you leaving so early today?"
Song Xinya: "I have a dinner date with my bestie."
Chen Siyan: "Why is that bestie of yours so clingy? Pestering you to eat with her all day long. You're not food; it's not like she'll starve to death without you."
Song Xinya: "She's clinging to me, not you. Why do you seem to have such a big problem with it?"
Chen Siyan: "That's obviously because she's getting in the way of us eating together. Tell me, how long have you been at this company? We haven't had a single meal together. As your good manager and good colleague, is that acceptable?"
Chen Siyan had asked Song Xinya out for meals many times before, and every time it was "next time." Song Xinya felt a bit guilty about it.
It made it seem like she had a problem with him.
Song Xinya: "How about we go get dinner together today?"
Chen Siyan reached out and grabbed his backpack: "Let's go when we say go, the stars in the sky follow the Big Dipper, hey hey, hey hey, we have it all!"
Song Xinya looked at his excited face: "I haven't asked my bestie yet."
Chen Siyan: "Given that the last time you asked, your bestie didn't let me come, I suggest you don't ask this time. Act first, report later. Let's talk after I'm already there."
Once he was already there, he didn't believe the other party could just shoo him away.
Chen Siyan: "Brother Yan has never been a stingy person. For my first time eating with you guys, it's my treat. After dinner, I'll treat you to some fun at a bar."
"A bar, huh..."
Zhao Yinian's voice cut in, her gaze sweeping over Chen Siyan and Song Xinya: "What kind of decent person goes to hang out at a bar?"
Chen Siyan: "What era is this that you still have that kind of mindset? So feudal. Are you a remnant of the Qing Dynasty making a comeback?"
Zhao Yinian: "I was born into a scholarly family. The education I received from a young age is different from yours. I only go to libraries, museums, science centers—places with culture."
Chen Siyan rolled his eyes: "Poser!"
Zhao Yinian: "Maybe to you guys, it's posing, but for me, this is just my daily life."
Chen Siyan: "Not just a poser, but a totally pretentious one."
Zhao Yinian looked at Song Xinya, feigning concern: "Ms. Song, bars are very chaotic. Isn't it inappropriate for you to go to a bar?"
Song Xinya: "It's never the place that's chaotic, it's the people. Chaotic people bring chaos wherever they go. As long as you are clean yourself, any place is pure land."
Chen Siyan: "Just like that famous saying: if your heart is dirty, everything you see is dirty."
Zhao Yinian: "I think you're pretty dirty. I'm talking to Ms. Song, why are you interrupting? You talk so much, you're squeezing all the air out of the room. Standing in the same space as you makes me feel like I can't breathe, like I'm lacking oxygen."
Chen Siyan: "Then when Director Zhao goes home to burn coal tonight, make sure not to ventilate. Remember to inhale plenty of carbon monoxide."
Zhao Yinian: "You're the one inhaling carbon monoxide. Die early and reincarnate early, strive to be a real man in your next life."
Chen Siyan: "Don't worry, Director Zhao. With our relationship, I'll take you with me to the grave. I'll open your coffin, take your bones, boil them into a nourishing soup, taste it and find it a bit bitter, so I'll add sugar and keep boiling."
Zhao Yinian's eyes shot fire as she shouted loudly: "Chen Siyan!"
Chen Siyan flicked the hem of his shirt, pulled off a Pan Zhoudan swagger, and strode toward the door: "Yanyan is going to eat."
Song Xinya also walked toward the door.
Zhao Yinian looked at Song Xinya's back, her eyes full of jealousy. Why would Mr. Qin like her?
Wasn't Song Xinya just a little taller, a little paler, with a slightly smaller face, bigger eyes, a straighter nose, a smaller mouth, bigger breasts, a narrower waist, a perkier butt, and longer legs than her, Zhao Yinian? She wasn't that much better than her.
………
At the entrance of the Western restaurant, Tiantianquan saw Chen Siyan arriving with Song Xinya.
"Babe, we agreed to eat together. Why did you bring the whole family along?"
Song Xinya introduced him: "He is the department manager I told you about, my direct supervisor, Chen Siyan."
Tiantianquan remembered; she had seen his photo before.
Her gaze sized up Chen Siyan's face: "You look better in person than in your photos."
Chen Siyan: "Ever since I was little, people have said I'm not photogenic. My photos turn out average, but I'm actually super handsome in person."
Tiantianquan laughed: "You're pretty vain, aren't you? Tooting your own horn like that."
Chen Siyan: "Am I wrong?"
Tiantianquan: "Your photos make you look old. In person, you actually look really young, like a little brother."
Chen Siyan: "Take out the 'little' and replace it with 'big'."
From Chen Siyan's first sentence, Tiantianquan could tell that this guy was an extrovert—outgoing, able to take a joke, and uninhibited.
Tiantianquan was the same kind of person.
When two uninhibited people got together, things were bound to get fun.
Tiantianquan cast an ambiguous glance at Chen Siyan: "How big is Big Brother?"
Chen Siyan: "If you really want to know, I can take my pants off and prove it to you right now."
Song Xinya: "Cough!"
Tiantianquan: "No need, I'm a decent person."
Chen Siyan: "Who isn't? I'm incredibly decent too."
Compared to the two of them, Song Xinya felt like a simpleton.
The three of them sat at a table by the window.
Chen Siyan gentlemanly handed the menu to the two ladies: "Order whatever you want, Brother Yan is rich."
Tiantianquan: "If you say that, I absolutely have to order all the super expensive dishes I usually can't bear to splurge on."
Chen Siyan: "Order them, order them all. Just thinking about how there are things my little sister can't bear to splurge on makes my heart ache."
Tiantianquan: "It can't be helped. Your little sister is poor, so I have to live frugally."
Chen Siyan: "Tell you what, I happen to have money. In the future, if you ever get a craving and want to eat something delicious, just send me a message. I'll take you out for some good food."
Tiantianquan took out her phone, brought up her QR code, and placed it on the table.
Chen Siyan consciously pulled out his phone and smoothly scanned the code. With a beep, the two successfully added each other as friends.
Watching the two of them go back and forth, Song Xinya felt like a third wheel.
Chen Siyan: "This is my first time at this restaurant. Any recommendations for signature dishes?"
Tiantianquan: "Charcoal-grilled beef tongue. I guarantee that every bite you take will feel like engaging in a beautiful, lingering French kiss."
Chen Siyan: "Then I definitely have to try this dish. It's been a long time since I French kissed."
Tiantianquan: "Me too."
Song Xinya had a premonition that tonight, these two would taste the flavor of a French kiss.
The charcoal-grilled beef tongue was served. Chen Siyan cut a piece and put it in his mouth to chew.
Tiantianquan: "How does it taste?"
Chen Siyan: "It doesn't feel like anything special. The beauty and intimacy of a French kiss can only be experienced with the real deal."
Tiantianquan's eyes held a flirtatious glint: "I like the real deal too."
Song Xinya: "..."
Just as Song Xinya was sitting on pins and needles, feeling exceptionally superfluous and awkward, her phone suddenly chimed, saving her. She hurriedly picked it up and saw a message from Qin Yuhe: [What are you doing?]
Song Xinya: [Being a third wheel.]
Qin Yuhe: [The two-hundred-and-fifty-watt kind?]
Song Xinya: [Those two are the two-hundred-and-fifties, I'm an eight-eight-eight, making a fortune every day.]
Qin Yuhe: [Are you going home right after dinner?]
Song Xinya: [Planning to go to a bar to hang out for a bit.]
She asked him: [Mr. Qin, do you mind me going to a bar?]
Qin Yuhe: [If you're just going to the bar and not doing anything else, I don't mind.]
Song Xinya: [What does 'doing anything else' refer to?]
Qin Yuhe: [Ordering male models, looking for gigolos.]
Song Xinya: [...I won't.]
Qin Yuhe: [And never do it in the future either.]
The gentle and soft voice of a flight attendant sounded in his ear: "Mr. Qin, the plane is about to take off. Please turn off your phone."
This was a flight from Modu to Jingbei.
Qin Yuhe couldn't wait; he was going back a day early to see his wife.
