TGSS - Chapter 6
Chapter 6: Hidden Mission
"Liang Zhouyi!" Chu He stood in the aisle with her hands in her pockets, the collar of her shell jacket covering the side of her face. She suddenly shouted, startling Liang Zhouyi into whipping around, only to see a teasing expression on her face, though flecks of light glittered in her curved eyes. "You are really wonderful, I mean it."
Liang Zhouyi turned back mechanically, and even her walk became a little awkward. She tried to act nonchalant but was almost swinging the same arm and leg together.
Chu He ran over quickly and threw an arm around Liang Zhouyi's neck, nearly knocking her off balance. Meeting Liang Zhouyi's unfriendly expression, she smiled. "Since we are already here, keep me company and go shopping."
"No shopping, I need to hurry back to work overtime," Liang Zhouyi said in an extremely serious tone, making it impossible for a moment to tell whether it was a joke or the truth.
Chu He kept her arm around her shoulder and ignored the remark, asking curiously, "When did you notice me today?"
"President Chu, you are so dazzling, it would be hard not to notice you," Liang Zhouyi said perfunctorily. Did that even need noticing? Could Chu He have been any more obvious? As if she would not know it was her, she even sent a WeChat message.
Chu He was amused, smiling brightly, even the corners of her brows relaxing. She held Liang Zhouyi even tighter. "If you put it that way, you will make me shy."
Tsk, Liang Zhouyi twisted her shoulder uncomfortably to shake off the woman's arm, too lazy to bother with her nonsense.
Seeing that Liang Zhouyi was not in high spirits, Chu He did not press and gave in. "Then let's go, I happen to be heading back to the company too, I will give you a ride."
Liang Zhouyi stopped in her tracks and smiled faintly. "I am not going to the company, I am going home to work overtime."
"Home?" Chu He stalled for a moment. It was the first time she had seen someone work overtime without letting anyone notice. "If you work overtime at the company you can at least log the overtime hours and take time off later."
"Then I will go home too." Seeing that Liang Zhouyi was deaf to her advice, Chu He added righteously.
Liang Zhouyi's brow twitched as if she had no choice. "You can go to your own home; you do not need to tell me."
"I mean going to your home," Chu He said as if it were only natural, glancing sideways.
Liang Zhouyi said, "...What are you going to my place for?"
"I even bought you breakfast. It isn't too much for you to treat me to dinner, right?" Chu He narrowed her eyes, smiling like a fox.
But Liang Zhouyi was truly silenced by that line. She fundamentally did not like owing anyone, so although she was very reluctant in her heart, she could not say no, and in the end she agreed against her will.
"Then is it okay if I cook?" Liang Zhouyi seemed to hesitate for a long time before asking.
"Of course," Chu He looked very excited. She herself was a disaster in the kitchen, burning pans and breaking bowls was the norm, so she always retained a bit of reverence for people who could cook.
Liang Zhouyi breathed a sigh of relief. She had just transferred this month's salary to her mother and had very little disposable money left. If she took Chu He out to eat and wasted the ingredients in the fridge, that would be another extra expense.
Chu He wrapped herself in her shell jacket and took the subway home with Liang Zhouyi. Liang Zhouyi's apartment was not far from the subway station; it was just that their company was far from the station, which was why she often commuted by electric scooter.
When she first stepped into Liang Zhouyi's apartment, Chu He's thin lips pressed tightly together. She had roughly known Liang Zhouyi's apartment would not be big, but she had not expected it to be this small. Even the place she rented right after graduation had been quite a bit larger.
At that time she had fought her way up with a do or die resolve, and could be said to have encountered almost no major setbacks. Thinking of this, Chu He's heart sank again, wondering when she would be able to return to her own world.
"You... sit for a bit." Liang Zhouyi found a pair of slippers and placed them by Chu He's feet, her ears a little red as she hurriedly tidied the clutter on the table. She boiled a kettle of hot water and gestured for Chu He to sit on the sofa first.
Chu He's gaze shifted with Liang Zhouyi's tidying to the clothes hanging on the drying rack by the bay window. It was a very lived-in room, and this cramped space was covered with traces of Liang Zhouyi's life.
"What are you looking at?" Liang Zhouyi's voice sounded abruptly. She had finished clearing the clothes from the bed and saw Chu He staring without blinking at the clothes she had hung up, which even included underwear that was not yet dry. She was instantly mortified. Liang Zhouyi truly had not expected that one day she would bring a colleague she was not close to back to her own home.
She was used to living alone, and in three years of living here not a single person had openly sat on the sofa by her bed. Thinking of this, she felt an inexplicable regret and nervousness.
"Just looking around," Chu He tilted her head, looking up somewhat puzzled at the flustered, red-faced Liang Zhouyi. "You look very hot, but the air conditioning is not even on. You cannot have a fever, can you?"
Chu He put down her crossed legs and shuffled in the slippers toward Liang Zhouyi. The overly thin slippers caught on a raised board in the floor, and Chu He lost her balance and pitched forward, her pupils constricting. Before her face could hit the ground, her arm was grabbed by a terrified looking Liang Zhouyi.
The resulting posture made it look as if Liang Zhouyi had her arms through Chu He's armpits, holding her. Chu He could not control her forward momentum and fell toward her, and fortunately Liang Zhouyi caught her in time. Chu He felt her lips brush against a patch of cool skin.
Her brain crashed. Chu He had lived to thirty without experiencing such an awkward and embarrassing scene. She had just... kissed whom, had she kissed herself? Huh?
Ding.
"Congratulations, Host, you have unlocked a Hidden Mission." The System's voice came belatedly.
Hidden Mission? Chu He's expression sharpened and before she could ask the System, she was shoved hard by Liang Zhouyi and landed on the floor on her backside, so painful she sucked in a cold breath.
"Hey, Liang Zhouyi, what are you doing!" Chu He rubbed her backside, hissing as she inhaled, looking in disbelief at Liang Zhouyi whose face was so dark it seemed about to drip. She saw her fingers gripping the chair beside her tightly, while her other hand kept rubbing the half of her cheek that Chu He's lips had brushed.
"Liang Zhouyi!" Chu He was furious, eyes blazing. "No... what do you mean by that?"
Liang Zhouyi walked past Chu He sitting on the ground without looking sideways, and then the sound of rushing water came from the bathroom.
What does she mean? What does she mean!? Chu He gritted her teeth and sat up. She had indeed only brushed Liang Zhouyi's face, she herself did not even feel that disgusted, what was Liang Zhouyi doing acting like that? Chu He felt seriously insulted.
When Liang Zhouyi came back she still looked unwell, her lips a little pale, her eyes looking very tired. She silently stood on tiptoe to take a can of tea leaves from the top of the fridge, picked up the kettle and brewed a cup of tea for Chu He, clearly wanting to let the earlier incident pass.
Chu He snorted coldly at the sight of the brewed black tea and turned away to ignore her.
"Chu He." Liang Zhouyi saw her indignant look, set the cup on the table, and continued to ask, "What do you want to eat? There are still ingredients in my fridge, do you want to take a look first?"
Chu He's long lashes fluttered like butterfly wings, her dark eyes rolled, but she still did not move. She was not going to forgive Liang Zhouyi so easily.
Liang Zhouyi reached out and poked Chu He's shoulder but was immediately dodged. Liang Zhouyi looked at her own finger, caught between laughter and tears. She and the other colleagues had always thought Chu He was a cold and strict strong woman, but now she was seeing a Chu He whose image had completely collapsed.
The terrible gloomy mood receded like a tide. Liang Zhouyi sat beside Chu He, turned her shoulder, and lowered her voice. "Chu He, I was not targeting you on purpose, I just have a bit of... mysophobia."
Mysophobia? Chu He's eyes narrowed, a trace of surprise flashing through them. She turned around, her voice full of doubt. "Really?"
Liang Zhouyi said helplessly, "Really. Then I will go cook."
"Mm." Although Chu He was not so angry anymore, she still wore a cool expression, that fair face looking quite intimidating. She pulled a throw pillow on the sofa into her arms, propped her chin and watched Liang Zhouyi at the doorway.
Space in the apartment was limited, and what was called a kitchen actually had no partition at all, the cooking fumes could drift straight to the bed. She watched Liang Zhouyi open the fridge, skillfully put the vegetables into separate basins, clip her ponytail up with a claw clip, tie on an apron, and start working.
Chu He sat on the sofa with her legs tucked up, propping her chin as she watched the busy woman with deep eyes, feeling a subtle sense of peace in her heart.
In her past life she had never had a truly close friend, everyone was bound by interests, relationships that were solid yet fragile, and she had never thought about dating or finding a partner... even less had she imagined there would be someone busy cooking for her, but, this feeling did not seem bad.
Ding.
Oh right, Chu He was startled awake by the System's reminder and hurriedly asked, "Sys, what did you just mean by Hidden Mission?"
The System let out several dings in Chu He's mind as if complaining about being ignored just now, and after a long while it finally explained, "A Hidden Mission can offset fifteen days of your Life Points."
"How many?!" Chu He was very surprised. Fifteen days! Just... a single kiss could count for fifteen days? It felt as if something inside her had shattered. Oh, it was her sense of propriety. Because she suddenly felt it was a very good deal.
"What are you thinking about?"
Liang Zhouyi set the cooked dishes on the table and went to get bowls and chopsticks to serve Chu He rice. She found a pair of disposable chopsticks in the storage box and handed them to Chu He. Liang Zhouyi had only two sets of tableware in total, one set was at the company with her lunch box, and the other was the set she herself used. She truly had never thought someone else would eat at the same table with her.
Chu He sat opposite Liang Zhouyi, her expression a little strange as she took the disposable chopsticks. She really did carry her mysophobia through to the end. Then was it very excessive of her to insist on coming to her home today and use the breakfast as moral leverage?
The dishes Liang Zhouyi made were very simple, but they looked good. The golden shredded potatoes were cut evenly and fried to a fragrant golden yellow, dotted with a few bright red bird's eye chilies.
Although the green pepper beef strips were frozen, the heat was well controlled so they were also fresh, tender and smooth. Chu He shoveled rice while staring fixedly at the dishes on the table, looking as if she had not had a full meal in a long time.
Liang Zhouyi ladled a bowl of soup for her, afraid Chu He would choke. The woman in front of her wore those black-framed glasses and did not look at all like a twenty-eight-year-old office worker.
Chu He, having eaten and drunk her fill, put down her bowl with a satisfied expression. She licked her lips, her delicate features striking even without makeup, and said casually, "Liang Zhouyi, when are you going to turn that man down?"
As if she had not expected Chu He to still be hung up on this matter, Liang Zhouyi felt a slight discomfort at being offended. "That has nothing to do with you, right?"
Chu He tossed the disposable chopsticks into the trash can, her gaze flickering, making it completely impossible to see what she meant.
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