The next day, when Yuan Jingcheng showed up for work, his face was swollen like a pig’s head.
Seeing your enemy suffer was as satisfying as getting promoted and striking it rich.
Chen Siyan certainly wasn’t about to pass up the chance to taunt him a little. “Mr. Yuan, that’s quite a distinctive look you’ve got going today. Not only are you wearing purple-and-blue eyeshadow, you’ve also turned your lips into sausages. From a distance, I thought Pigsy had descended upon our company.”
Yuan Jingcheng had been swallowing Chen Siyan’s insults for quite some time. Now, with every inch of his pig-like face throbbing, his mood was already terrible. His anger flared instantly, and he glared at Chen Siyan. “Are you fucking asking to die?”
Song Xinya coughed. “This is a civilized society. Please don’t resort to violence.”
Like a monkey, Chen Siyan hopped sideways and darted behind Song Xinya. “I’m scared, Teacher Song. Protect me!”
Yuan Jingcheng couldn’t stand the asshole any longer. Afraid he would throw up his dinner from the night before if he stayed, he strode away.
Yuan Jingcheng had evidence of the people who had been fired, and he threatened that if they caused trouble again, he would hand it over to the police and have them held criminally responsible.
After beating Yuan Jingcheng up, those people stopped blocking the company entrance.
On the surface, it looked as though the matter had been put to rest.
In reality, they had begun digging for dirt on Yuan Jingcheng…
Song Xinya had made an appointment with a new client and went to meet him at one in the afternoon.
The client was a high school senior repeating his final year.
He had been admitted to a top-tier university during his third year, but he hadn’t been satisfied with the result. He was determined to get into Tsinghua or Peking University, so he had chosen to repeat the year.
When Song Xinya arrived at his address, she discovered that he lived directly across from Tiantianquan’s apartment.
What a coincidence.
Song Xinya knocked on the door. It opened to reveal a young man in a hoodie, a pair of white earphones hanging around his neck.
“Please come in, Teacher Song.”
Song Xinya paused slightly.
She had never met this young man before. How did he know who she was?
When meeting a stranger for the first time, most people would normally ask, “Are you Teacher Song?”
He had identified her without hesitation.
Song Xinya remained standing at the door.
The young man calmly explained, “Teacher Song, I’ve seen you before. You once came to give a speech at my school.”
Song Xinya remembered his high school. She had indeed gone there to give a speech, so his story checked out.
Perhaps noticing her unease, the young man tactfully added, “I was just boiling snail noodles at home. How about I leave the door open? I won’t close it, so the smell can disperse.”
With the door left open, she could leave at any time.
Even so, Song Xinya didn’t let down her guard. The hand she had kept in her pocket dialed Qin Yuhe’s number.
The two of them remained on the phone the entire time.
That way, if anything happened on her end, he would know immediately.
She also had pepper spray in her bag.
The apartment had two bedrooms and a living room, and everything was neatly arranged.
The young man behaved appropriately throughout the lesson Song Xinya gave him.
Nothing unpleasant happened.
When the lesson ended, Song Xinya left the young man’s apartment.
Across the hall, she noticed that the door to Tiantianquan’s apartment was tightly shut.
Tiantianquan had recently gone abroad for further training and had been out of the country ever since.
Korean dramas were extremely popular in China, and many people admired the refined, cool beauty of Korean women. Tiantianquan had gone to Korea, a country famous for cosmetic surgery, to study Korean beauty techniques.
She had been gone for quite a while. Counting the days, Song Xinya figured she would be back soon.
When she got home, Song Xinya made a video call to Tiantianquan.
Perhaps because she had adapted to her surroundings, Tiantianquan’s makeup style had changed dramatically.
China favored a natural, translucent matte look, while Korean women pursued a dewy, glass-skin finish.
Song Xinya stared at Tiantianquan’s gleaming face. “You scared me. I thought Zhu Ganglie had climbed right out of the television.”
Tiantianquan clicked her tongue. “What nonsense are you talking? Your old auntie is much prettier than Zhu Ganglie.”
She touched her face, and her fingers came away covered in a layer of glistening oil.
“Damn, I put on too much. No wonder you said I looked like Zhu Ganglie. I really do.”
She picked up a powder puff and began patting dry powder over her face. “Honestly, I don’t like this kind of makeup either, but what can you do? When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”
“I really don’t understand Korean beauty standards. They love these greasy-looking faces. Walk down the street and take a look—good grief, every single person looks like Zhu Ganglie.”
After powdering her face, Tiantianquan looked at Song Xinya through the screen. “What made you video-call me today?”
Song Xinya said, “I missed my bestie.”
“Your husband’s away on a business trip, so you’ve got nothing to do tonight and finally remembered me.”
“I think of you even when my husband’s home.”
“Tell that to someone who’ll believe it. When your husband is home, you never video-call me. You’re too busy riding him like a rocking horse. You’re practically having the time of your life—how could you possibly remember me?”
“…”
Song Xinya changed the subject. “There’s something I wanted to ask you today.”
“I knew you wouldn’t contact me without a reason. Go on.”
“My client today is your neighbor across the hall.”
Tiantianquan was surprised too. “The neighbor across from me is a high school student!”
“A senior repeating his final year.”
“I always thought he looked young, but I assumed he was in his twenties. I didn’t realize he was only eighteen or nineteen.”
“Are you familiar with him?”
“Not really. I’ve only seen him a few times.”
Song Xinya knew Tiantianquan well. She was usually extremely sociable and could become friends with even the elderly men and women who cleaned the complex.
“Why aren’t you familiar with this particular neighbor?”
“Well, I feel like that boy has a somewhat gloomy air about him, and there have also been a few times…”
She suddenly stopped herself.
Song Xinya sensed there was more to the story and pressed her. “A few times what?”
For once, the shameless Tiantianquan actually looked embarrassed. She shyly tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
“A few times, Chen Siyan and I nearly went all the way, and that boy saw us.”
Song Xinya asked, “What were you and Chen Siyan doing that nearly made you go all the way?”
“Hey, shouldn’t you be more concerned about your little male client?”
“I’ll naturally pay attention to my client. But right now, I’m more interested in finding out what you and Chen Siyan were doing that almost crossed the line.”
“And he caught you at it? Don’t tell me you two were doing that in the hallway.”
“Oh my God, Song Xinya. What kind of person do you think I am?”
“An indecent one.”
“I hereby announce that we’re breaking off our friendship for five seconds.”
“Five, four, three, two, one. Friendship restored.”
“Chen Siyan and I aren’t that shameless. We definitely didn’t do it in the hallway. We were just kissing, hugging, and getting handsy by the entrance.”
“Was your two-bedroom apartment not spacious enough for the two of you? Did you really have to put on a show in the hallway?”
“Doing it by the hallway entrance is exciting~”
