Chapter 24: Twenty Four: Haha, he turned out to be an intimate old friend, no wonder.

Although Su MiaoEr had fled without fighting, what happened just now was a wake-up call to Ji XiaoYu. When he was at home, everything was fine, but what about when he wasn’t home, what if a thief came again? Like tonight, if he hadn’t happened to be on guard here, the little white egg would have been stolen by that damn Persian cat.

Ji XiaoYu was so worried that he tossed and turned all night and didn’t sleep well. Finally, he made up his mind. No matter where he went in the future, he would take the little white egg with him as much as possible, let the thieves try to take advantage of that.

He was already halfway through the incubation process, so in five months the chick would come out of the shell, jiayou!

Fortunately, the next day was a rest day and he wasn’t on duty, so Ji XiaoYu slept until noon. After getting up, he puts the little white egg into the canvas bag, and then added the money that Cheng YuTang gave him yesterday. He then went to HongSheng with the bag on his back, to eat a combined breakfast and lunch there. After eating, he asked Liang ShaoGang about a driving school and then ran to a driving school nearest to HongSheng, to sign up, pay, and make an arrangement for the class time.

Cheng YuTang had given him a total of 6900 yuan, so after registration was completed, there was still 900 left over. Ji XiaoYu secretly planned not to give it back to Cheng Zong at first, keeping it for himself and waiting for the first month’s salary, when he would be reimbursed and could then pay Cheng YuTang back.

After all, he had no money on hand and he was panicking inside. It was currently October 20th. HongSheng only paid wages on the 8th of every month, so he was going to have to last for nearly three weeks. It was inconvenient not to have any money on him; he couldn’t even ride the bus. Yesterday, when Cheng YuTang gave him the money, he also didn’t say exactly when to pay him back, so it shouldn’t be a big problem to drag out paying him back for a few days.

After registering, he returned to HongSheng and Ji XiaoYu went to Fang DaXing to report on the driving lessons. Probably someone had already informed him because Fang DaXing didn’t object, though he was obviously not very happy, complaining that he didn’t do a good job after he arrived and that he had to clean up his mess from causing trouble. Ji XiaoYu was imagining the beautiful scene of driving in his future, completely ignoring the team leader’s complaints.

Because Ji XiaoYu’s driving lessons were scheduled for each morning, Fang DaXing had to rearrange his schedule to every afternoon from 2pm to 10pm. This shift was good and Ji XiaoYu was very satisfied.

So from the next day on, Ji XiaoYu went to work while learning to drive – with his own little white egg coming along with him.

In late October, autumn swung in with a few rain storms and cold weather. The security department issued a new seasonal uniform coat. Ji XiaoYu usually put the little white egg in his pants pocket. The little white egg was small in size, so it couldn’t be seen beneath the hem of his coat. When he walked around, he felt the little white egg closely attached to himself, which made him feel extra at ease.

Time passed by quickly. On November 8th, Ji XiaoYu finally received a 4500 yuan paycheck for his first month of entering HongSheng, plus nearly 600 yuan of overtime. The 6000 yuan cost of the driving lessons was also block reimbursed at the same time. In this moment, he was almost so happy he could dance. Oh, papa, it wasn’t easy, but he finally got a little money!

Wages and reimbursement were directly credited to an individual’s personal bank account. Ji XiaoYu had learned this lesson the last time. He didn’t cash in all the money though, he took 7500 yuan out. Six hundred yuan was kept to deal with daily expenses and he was going to look for an opportunity to return the remaining 6900 yuan lump sum to Cheng YuTang.

From that night of the “drinking disorder” incident until now, a full 20 days, Cheng YuTang had not looked for him even once. The two had met a handful of times, but a word had never passed between them. Although Ji XiaoYu had seen Cheng YuTang from a distance a few times in the parking garage after work, the honorable president had always come and gone, not waiting for him to come over and say hello before he got in the car and left.

At first, Ji XiaoYu didn’t think anything was strange. But as the number of times increased, he gradually started to feel that something was wrong. Why did Cheng Zong seem to be trying avoid him deliberately?

Later, after reflecting on it, he decided it must have been the kick he inflicted with his foot that night. Cheng YuTang was holding a grudge.

Ugh, no way, he was just a little security guard and the other was a big president. After he was kicked, he just alienated him, because it would be bad to fire him. So Ji XiaoYu’s mood fell for a few days and then he tried to cheer himself up.

Now that he had money on hand, he just wanted to take a moment to return the money to the other party.

The question was, how to pay him back?

Ji XiaoYu thought it over. In his own capacity, it wasn’t possible to run directly to the top floor to find a certain someone, so he decided to try his luck in the restaurant the next day at lunch.

The next day, around noon, Cheng YuTang in the top-level office received an inquiry from the front desk conveyed by his secretary, saying that a person named Han QingShi was in the lobby, claiming to be Cheng Zong’s old classmate. He wanted to come and visit, so she asked if he wanted to see him.

Upon hearing this, Cheng YuTang frowned. He wanted to say no, but suddenly a thought popped up inside and he changed his mind, telling the secretary inform the front desk to let him by.

Ten minutes later, Han QingShi came and he could see that he had meticulously dressed himself up. He was wearing a slim silver-gray upscale suit, plus his skin had been well-maintained. He looked better than last time too. He carried the aura of the handsome boy from 10 years ago. As soon as he entered the door, he stretched out his right hand and approached directly, saying with enthusiasm, “Cheng Zong, long time no see!”

Cheng YuTang got up and shook his hand, then released it immediately, “Why did you suddenly come to Ning City?”

Han QingShi smiled, saying, “I’ve already completed that project in Xing Cheng and its progress is stable now, so I wanted to come to Ning City to see if there’s any possibility of expanding in the market.”

Cheng YuTang raised an eyebrow, “Well then, I’d like to congratulate you.”

“It’s all thanks to your help last year. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to take care of it so quickly.” Han QingShi wore an expression of gratitude, “But rest assured, YuTang, I’m not going to compete with HongSheng for a market share in Ning City. As long as I can pick up a little bit outside the sphere of HongSheng’s influence, I’ll be satisfied.”

Cheng YuTang replied indifferently, “It doesn’t matter, the market is open, we all compete fairly. How much of a share you can take reflects your own ability. It’s no problem to me.”

Han QingShi was instantly overjoyed. “YuTang, I always knew you were a generous person, our years of friendship as classmates wasn’t in vain!”

Cheng YuTang gave a little smile, noncommittal.

Han QingShi immediately raised his arm and looked at his watch, saying, “It’s just about twelve o’clock, you should take off work, I just came to treat you. How about Ning Cheng Spring and Autumn? I heard that it’s one of the most upscale restaurants in Ning City. Let’s just go there and eat.”

Cheng YuTang shook his head, “Forget it, it’s a waste of time to go all the way over there. I have a meeting that starts at one-thirty. Why not have a light meal at HongSheng’s restaurant, yes?”

Han QingShi stared at him without blinking and then said with a smile, “Alright, you’re the host, you have the final say, we can eat whatever you want.”

“Good, let’s go.” Cheng YuTang stepped around the desk and took the lead to head out.

……

During the duration of the driving lessons, Ji XiaoYu only went to class until 12pm every day. It was almost 1pm every time he got back to HongSheng, so he had never come across Cheng YuTang in the canteen. Since he had to pay him back today, he specially left class 40 minutes early and arrived at the canteen just at 12pm.

He waited for a few minutes in the aisle of the canteen and then saw Cheng YuTang walking over. He couldn’t help but rush forward to greet him with a happy heart, “Cheng Zong, you’re here, I got paid yesterday, so I can pay you back today. Let me treat you to a meal, by the way!” As long as you don’t order dishes that are too expensive……

This was a hard decision for him to make. It cost money to treat him to a meal, so, of course, he felt pain, but Cheng YuTang had lent him the money first and let him go learn to drive. So if he didn’t say this, it would be unspeakable.

He had prepared a budget of 200 yuan for this meal. Last time, the A package that Cheng YuTang ordered in the Western dining area was 180 yuan, so this time, he could order another one. He didn’t want steak himself, so he would order a 10 yuan order of french fries, the cheapest.

When the meal was over, if there was still food in the canteen, he would go over there and eat another meal. If it was all gone, then he’d endure it and come back later in the evening……

Cheng YuTang could see that he was being generous but didn’t know what kind of selfish calculation had gone on beneath the surface. The light in his eyes condensed and it felt as if his heart were stirred up by a little invisible paw, setting off undulating waves of emotion.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

He hadn’t seen him in almost 20 days, because that’s how it had turned out after he became busy. He had thought he didn’t care about him, but now that didn’t seem to be the case.

“Hey, YuTang, this is…….?”

Han QingShi, who was a few steps behind, stepped forward and glanced at Ji XiaoYu casually, then his gaze returned to Cheng YuTang.

YuTang? This was the first time Ji XiaoYu heard someone call Cheng YuTang that way, with an obvious intimacy that was different from others, so he couldn’t help but look at this strange man with his eyes open wide.

He looked about the same age as Cheng YuTang. He was a few centimeters shorter than Ji XiaoYu, looking like he was about 175cm. His looks were a little bit skewed towards a feminine or androgynous appearance, with a few points into the bookish beauty stat, but at the same time, there was a very inharmonious shrewdness to him.

Ji XiaoYu’s first instinct was that he didn’t like this man — especially not liking the way he looked at Cheng YuTang. It’s as if he has a very special relationship with Cheng YuTang and Ji XiaoYu was just an irrelevant passerby.

Cheng YuTang asked in a quiet voice, “He’s Ji XiaoYu, don’t you know him?”

“I don’t, this is the first time I’ve seen him. Why, is there a problem?” Han QingShi asked with a smile.

Just now he was thinking to himself, Who is this chicken drizzle, since he’s appearing in HongSheng’s restaurant? He must be an employee under Cheng YuTang. And this kid is so young, looks like he’s at most 20 years old. Although his face looks good, he has an unimaginably naive aura. Everything he’s wearing is cheap too. He even has some oil stains on his sleeves. Definitely not going to turn out to be an important figure in HongSheng, so there’s no need to pay attention to him.

But hmm, he seemed to have heard this name before, but he just couldn’t remember when at the moment.

Cheng YuTang said, “No problem.”

“So what should we eat?” Han QingShi took a look around and said, “YuTang, how about Japanese?”

“Okay.”

So it turns out Cheng YuTang was originally coming to eat with this man…… Ji XiaoYu suddenly felt dull. He didn’t want to talk about it, so he turned around to leave.

(Originally posted at tailor31415.wordpress.com, please read there)

“Wait, let’s eat together.”

Ji XiaoYu looked down at his wrist that was being held in a large hand and then he looked at Cheng YuTang and the unfamiliar expression on his face. There was a little irritation in his heart and, with a little force, he broke his hand free. His tone was stern and rude, “I didn’t say I would be treating two people to dinner.”

Cheng YuTang didn’t seem to care about the resistance he had just displayed. His lips seemed to have risen into a very small curve. “It’s okay, I’ll treat for this meal, you can invite me alone another day, how about that?”

Ji XiaoYu wasn’t happy inside and he wanted to say no, but if he refused, he would seem to be really petty, plus Cheng Zong was treating so why not freeload, so he raised his head and said, “Alright.”

Cheng YuTang turned to Han QingShi and asked, “Do you mind if we eat with another person?”

Han QingShi of course minded and he didn’t understand why Cheng YuTang was accommodating this unruly, unreasonable kid who didn’t understand the rules of life. But with a proper smile on his face, he also agreed, “Of course I don’t mind, the more the merrier.”

So this strange trio went to the Japanese dining area together.

After they sat down, the waiter immediately served tea and held out a menu. He respectfully asked, “Cheng Zong, what would you like to eat?”

Cheng YuTang replied, “Ask these two for choices first.”

Han QingShi took the lead in taking the menu. After turning a few pages, he skillfully ordered several dishes, “A plate of Arctic sashimi, a plate of sweet shrimp sushi and squid sushi, and Shirayaki-style eel rolls – YuTang, these are all the things you loved to eat in the past, if I remember correctly?”

Cheng YuTang nodded slightly, “That’s right.”

Ji XiaoYu couldn’t keep from sneering in his heart, haha, he turned out to be an intimate old friend, no wonder.

When Han QingShi finished his turn, Ji XiaoYu was dazzled looking at the colorful menu. His concept of Japanese cuisine was limited to common snacks such as kimbap and takoyaki. Most of the rest, he’d never eaten, so he had no idea what to order.

Whatever, he would just blindly point at random things. He couldn’t show shyness in front of this surname Han anyway!

So, Ji XiaoYu pointed at the menu like a general indicating a path, asking for more than ten dishes in one breath. For some reason, the portions of each dish in the pictures were pitifully small; one wasn’t enough for him to fill up. Since it was Cheng Zong’s treat, he didn’t act polite.

When Han QingShi heard this, the corner of his mouth curled, which mountain ditch was this little kid drilled out of? I’ve never seen a person like this before. Such a hideous mess, he’s not afraid of stuffing himself to death.

After ordering, Ji XiaoYu also pretended to be polite, “Cheng Zong, what do you think?”

“That’s it.” Cheng YuTang said, “Go ahead,” to the waiter and the waiter immediately went to the kitchen to place an order.

Han QingShi decided to ignore this unsightly kid. After taking a sip of tea, he said with feeling, “YuTang, in a flash, it’s been fifteen years since we graduated from secondary school. It’s really like ‘time flows like a river, unceasing day and night’.”

(t/n: to someone uneducated, this would sound like nonsense: The deceased is like a husband, staying up late)

Cheng YuTang’s eyebrows twitched slightly, “It really was fast.”

Ji XiaoYu didn’t know what ‘husband’ could mean, but he felt a bit sour inside. This man and Cheng YuTang have actually met each other so long ago. What was he doing 15 years ago? Probably running all over the mountain like a little chick, with a bare-naked butt…….

Han QingShi continued, “YuTang, you’re not in the class chat group so you probably don’t know. The other day, the old class monitor said in the chat group that he was going to hold a 15th anniversary class reunion. The location is in Ning City and all the alumni are called to participate. Everyone is too embarrassed to bother you, but since I’m a bit closer to you, they asked me to please ask you. On the 5th anniversary, you were abroad and not in contact. On the 10th anniversary, you had just taken over the HongSheng Group and were too busy, so you didn’t come to the second alumni gathering. This time, I would appreciate it if you attend, eh? Otherwise, I won’t be able to explain it to everyone.”

Unapologetically, Cheng YuTang asked, not intending to agree, “When will the classmates hold it?”

Han QingShi could hear the act, so he smiled and said, “On the night of December 31st, New Year’s Eve. What that means is that everyone will bring family members. If you don’t have a family, find a way to bring a companion. It’s not comfortable to be the only solo person. I’m still single now. I’ve heard that you are also a bachelor. Why don’t we just go as we used to for badminton doubles, making a temporary pair, how about it?”

After thinking for a while, Cheng YuTang said, “Alright, I’ll try my best to take time to attend. I may bring someone with me.”

“Yeah?” A touch of disappointment flashed in Han Qing’s eyes. He quickly quipped, “No way, when did you get into an arrangement? Is the lover someone famous, do I know him?”

Cheng YuTang replied indifferently, “Not necessarily. If you go, you’ll find out.”

Han QingShi had to drop it. “Fine, I’ll wait and see.”

The two old classmates were talking on their own, treating the third person at the table as if he were air. Don’t even mention Ji XiaoYu’s awkwardness and unhappiness, he was just regretting that he had just promised to eat this meal and felt like he was suffering a punishment.

Fortunately, the waiter came over to serve the dishes and the two stopped talking. Otherwise, he was afraid that he wouldn’t have been able to endure without flipping the table.

All kinds of exquisite dishes were quickly set out. The waiter also brought two bottles of sake, the bottle looked very beautiful and the wine smelled very fragrant too. Ji XiaoYu was a little greedy and was about to pour himself a cup, but then Cheng YuTang took away the bottle. “You’re too bad at holding your liquor. Don’t drink.”

Han QingShi frowned. There was a strange feeling in his heart.

Ji XiaoYu was mad, what’s this, afraid I’ll would get drunk and offend the old friend surnamed Han?

Hmph, if I can’t drink, then I won’t drink; I definitely don’t cherish it!

Ji XiaoYu fueled his appetite with his anger, opening his belly wide to eat.

By the end of the last dish, more than half of the dishes had been wiped out by him. It could be estimated that the things filling his stomach were worth at least 400 yuan. His heart was finally a little more settled.

Cheng YuTang checked his watch and said, “Sorry, it’s almost time, I have to go get ready for the meeting.”

Han QingShi said benevolently, “Yes, you’re busy, I’ll come back when I’m free. Anyway, I’ve moved to Ning City, so it’ll be easy to meet later.”

“That’s fine. Is your car in the parking garage? I’ll walk you down.”

Han QingShi didn’t expect this kind of treatment, so he couldn’t keep from joyfully replying, “Sure, thanks!”

Ji XiaoYu was about to go to the parking garage, so he was forced to follow and walk along behind them.

When the elevator arrived at the parking lot area A, Ji XiaoYu first went out and accidentally ran into Fang DaXing in front of him. The other habitually started ordering him around as soon as he saw him, “Perfect timing. There was a car leaking oil just now, No. 244 in D area. There’s a huge puddle in the parking spot. You go fetch water to rinse the floor.”

Han QingShi behind him heard it clearly and he couldn’t help but feel relieved inside. Turns out that this kid just does odds and ends in the parking garage. Just now I was really worried in vain.

—

Footnotes:

1. time flows like a river, unceasing day and night (逝者如斯夫，不舍昼夜): a quote from Confucian Analects Book IX, Part 2

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JXY grows his skills day by day~