TGSS - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Making It Official

When Chu He stepped out of the police station with her arms crossed, it was already very late. The winter night sky showed not a single faint star. She cupped her hands around her mouth and breathed out, and the warm breath fogged her glasses. She casually took off her glasses, and because her prescription was not strong, she recognized Liang Zhouyi standing far off under a streetlight at a glance.

She had her coat draped over her arm, and when she saw Chu He come out her expression seemed to relax a little, and she walked quickly toward Chu He.

"I'm freezing to death." Chu He stamped her feet and quickly shook out her coat and threw it on. Her delicate, pale face had no color at all. Without warning she thrust her hand inside Liang Zhouyi's collar, making Liang Zhouyi shudder and break out in goosebumps. Looking at Chu He's childish behavior, she rolled her eyes speechlessly.

"Wow wow wow! You actually know how to roll your eyes!" Chu He rubbed her hands together as if she had witnessed something earth-shattering.

Liang Zhouyi sighed. "People who can't roll their eyes are dead."

"There's not much difference between you putting on a dead person's face every day..." Chu He teased casually, but she saw Liang Zhouyi's figure seem to freeze for a moment, then return to normal.

"You should head back soon," Liang Zhouyi advised, looking at the slightly trembling Chu He.

"Aren't you coming with me?"

"I'm waiting for my mother." Liang Zhouyi said, glancing at the still brightly lit entrance.

"What are you waiting for? Your mom is completely on that man's side now. You'd be crazy to wait for her. Come with me!"

Liang Zhouyi tried hard to pull her hand free. In the night, her face looked very gentle, and she gave a rare smile. "Thank you, Chu He."

This smile, free of any impurity and different from the polite courtesy she occasionally showed colleagues, was like ripples spreading across clean, clear lake water, so pure that Chu He was stunned on the spot.

"But this is my family matter. I will handle it myself." Liang Zhouyi continued, her voice soft but persuasive.

Chu He's hand loosened unconsciously, sliding slowly down along her arm, and just as it was about to fall away empty, she gripped tightly again.

Liang Zhouyi looked at her in astonishment, but was yanked hard and pulled away. Chu He clasped her wrist tightly and strode forward, her long brown curls swaying slightly with her steps, a few strands lifted by the wind, revealing her clear, sharp jawline.

As if all her strength had been drained, Liang Zhouyi obediently let herself be pulled along, almost having to jog to keep up with Chu He. At last she could not help asking, slightly out of breath, "Where are you going so fast?"

"To eat, of course." Chu He turned her head and broke into a radiant smile, her tone matter-of-fact. "I'm starving to death."

Liang Zhouyi clutched the ring tightly in her pocket, while her other hand was held tightly by Chu He. Where their skin touched, warmth gradually grew. Suddenly her heart began to pound violently, jolting her chest until she could hardly breathe. It was a hand she could have easily shaken off, yet she could no longer summon any will to resist. Maybe she was just too tired.

There were no malls or restaurants nearby. Chu He pulled Liang Zhouyi along for a long time, turning through several pitch-black alleys before finding a few barbecue stalls. She could not suppress the delight in her heart. They must have been walking for fifteen minutes, right? She had scraped through another day's Daily Mission. As expected of her!

"You really want to eat this?" Liang Zhouyi looked up and down at the roadside stall where Chu He had stopped. The barbecue shop had put up a crude canopy, the owner had set out plastic stools and stainless steel folding round tables by the road, and the crowd around them was a mixed bunch of office workers off the night shift and street loafers, a real motley crew.

"Why not? Sit." Chu He pulled out a few tissues and wiped both Liang Zhouyi's stool and her own until they shone.

Liang Zhouyi's temples throbbed twice. "I don't have much appetite. You eat."

"What are you afraid of? If the sky falls, I'll hold it up." Chu He scanned the QR code and half crouched beside Liang Zhouyi, swiping her phone screen for her to see.

Liang Zhouyi leaned her head toward Chu He and swiped casually through the page, somewhat surprised that Chu He's tastes were almost identical to her own. A vague idea made her palms sweat slightly. She did not dare think too much and forced it down.

"I tell you, you and Tan Qing are like two steamed buns. At the critical moment you still have to rely on me. Was I handsome today?" As she spoke, Chu He tied up her hair, revealing her slender neck, its distinct lines unexpectedly sexy.

Liang Zhouyi instinctively looked away, her throat a little dry. She gave a soft laugh. "Of course not as brave as you." At least when Chu He had dashed out she had truly stunned her. As if remembering something, Liang Zhouyi took the sapphire ring from her pocket. "I got your ring back for you."

Upon hearing that, Chu He hurriedly leaned over to look, saying with some regret, "This ring cost me quite a lot. To have it ruined like this, what bad luck."

Liang Zhouyi did not quite follow her logic. "How is it ruined? I checked, it wasn't even chipped." It couldn't be because it got a little of Gao Mingchen's blood on it, could it?

"How about this, don't you all like to use that Xianyu app? Help me sell it, I'll give you a commission?" Chu He said seriously, propping her chin on her hand.

Liang Zhouyi took a deep breath before she was made to laugh by this sudden nonsense. She grabbed the ring. "If you find it troublesome, I'll just list it for you. No commission needed."

Chu He widened her eyes slightly, her tone rather casual. "That won't do. How can I let you work for nothing."

"Didn't you say we are friends? For such a small thing there's no need to be so calculating." Liang Zhouyi said lightly.

"Oh. So our Zhou Yi is finally willing to make us official."

Made awkward by the teasing in Chu He's tone, Liang Zhouyi's ears turned red. She tried hard to keep a straight face and turned her head away, ignoring her.

Chu He laughed. After a good while she asked with some worry, "Will your mom come looking for you where you live?"

"No." Liang Zhouyi's tone was certain. "She has no idea where I live."

That really surprised Chu He. She asked, "She doesn't know where you live but she knows your company?"

A thick mockery appeared in Liang Zhouyi's eyes. "She knows the company because she needs that information to set me up on dates." As for where she lived, her mother did not care at all.

Chu He knew when to stop and did not press further, but Liang Zhouyi's mother really was strange. It was hard to say whether she cared. She was not entirely indifferent to Liang Zhouyi's lifelong affairs, but beyond that there seemed to be no sign of any real concern.

Soon the barbecue Chu He had ordered arrived. She focused on tackling the pile of skewers, eating at great speed, clearly starving, until the corners of her mouth were shiny with oil. She asked Liang Zhouyi with meat still in her mouth, "Why aren't you eating?"

"I'm not hungry." Liang Zhouyi took a few perfunctory bites and then quietly stared at Chu He. So much had happened these past few days, she really was in no mood to be as carefree as Chu He. Xu Lu had already sent several sarcastic messages on WeChat, and even Chen Xinluo's attitude toward her could not be called good. She suspected that if it were not for Chu He, she would have been told to pack up and leave.

"Liang Zhouyi, did you sign up for the team building this weekend?" Chu He asked abruptly, putting down the bamboo skewer in her hand.

"No." Although she did not understand why Chu He suddenly brought it up, she had never been interested in events with so many people.

Chu He saw her resistance and put on a mysterious look. "Didn't you see what President Qin said in the group? Team building is about communication and integration, about making friends outside the office. He was just short of saying outright that too few people have signed up."

"I'm not going." Liang Zhouyi was very resistant.

"Go, go, go. You stay cooped up at home all day, you'll get sick from it. The scenery on the mountain is really nice. Climbing up and having tea brewed around a brazier has quite an atmosphere too." Chu He tried hard to persuade her.

Not understanding why Chu He was so insistent on dragging her to the team building, Liang Zhouyi finally gave a perfunctory nod. Besides, she was never good at refusing others, especially someone like Chu He.

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