12 Pick me up

"Who says she has bad taste in men?"

Song Zhi was full of confidence, waiting for Song Chiyu to suffer a setback.

While waiting for the video call to connect, she didn't forget to comfort the anxious Li Li beside her: "Third Aunt, didn't you say that Xiaoyu and her husband went back to their hometown? I'm just making a video call, why are you in such a hurry to stop me?"

"I'm worried you'll tire Xiaoyu out." Actually, Song Chiyu's attitude these past few days had made Li Li a little suspicious. Although there were photos, she and Qi Yanzhou were never in them, and whenever she mentioned wanting to see Qi Yanzhou, Song Chiyu would always find an excuse to decline. But Li Li didn't want her relatives and friends to laugh at her, so she hadn't investigated further.

Song Zhi's actions forced her to confront the situation as well.

The moment the video call connected, Li Li saw the familiar street scene behind her and understood everything. She wished she could disappear into a crack in the ground. That brat! If she was going to pretend, she should have gone all the way and not let anyone find out! If everyone thought she was lying and bragging, how could she ever face her relatives and friends again!

Seeing Li Li's evasive expression, Song Zhi was even more certain of his plan. He deliberately moved his phone closer to the others so that everyone could see it clearly. "Xiaoyu, where's your husband? Let us see him!"

Everyone in the living room turned to look at Song Chiyu on the screen.

Even though she was prepared, Song Chiyu was still taken aback by the scene and naturally raised the camera to point at Qi Yanzhou next to her: "Why are you in such a hurry? I wanted to say hello to everyone."

The man on the screen stared blankly at the camera without saying a word, but the crowd on the other side of the screen was already in an uproar. Song Zhi's father snatched the phone: "Which university does your nephew-in-law work at? What's his major? Your little cousin is taking the college entrance exam next year, but his grades aren't very good. Could you help him out?"

Following Song Chiyu, her second uncle snatched the phone away again: "I heard your niece's husband is a professor? He must have a lot of influence at the university, right? Could you help my sister find a job and arrange one for me?"

"You and my sister can arrange jobs later, brother-in-law. You and Xiaoyu are getting married, so you'll need to buy a house, right? Come to me for the loan application—"

Qi Yanzhou didn't hear a word clearly, "What?"

Song Chiyu pressed the receiver, "I'm saying hello to you."

"I think I heard something about asking me to help..."

"You misheard me." Song Chiyu interrupted immediately, not wanting to cause him any trouble.

"Son-in-law!" The moment she saw his face appear on the screen, Li Li was so excited that tears almost welled up in her eyes. "Weren't you and Xiaoyu in Anxi? Why are you home today?"

Qi Yanzhou heard clearly this time, "I have too many things to do at home, and I didn't want to tire Xiaoyu out, so I came back early."

"It has to be you—" Otherwise, where would she put her old face?

"Impossible—" Song Zhi would believe Song Chiyu if she only wanted a handsome guy, but she absolutely couldn't believe that a man who was handsome, had a good job, and was also family-oriented: "Song Chiyu, where did you find this guy?"

"What do you mean by spending money? What do you mean by hiring her?" Li Li waved her hand and shouted, "How rude! Doesn't your sister deserve such a good treatment?"

“She deserves it, of course she deserves it,” Song Zhi said irritably. “Xiaoyu certainly deserves someone this good, but not the best of the best!”

Amidst the cacophony of shouts, Song Chiyu abruptly ended the video call.

"I'm sorry, you must have found this amusing."

"No." Qi Yanzhou said, carrying shopping bags and gifts, "Didn't you marry me to make Auntie happy? As long as Auntie is happy, that's all that matters."

"Where are your family members?" Song Chiyu asked. "Do they have any objections to me not going back?"

"Besides my brother and my dad, no one knows I'm married."

It seems she doesn't have high hopes for this marriage.

Song Chiyu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

The two walked silently along the tree-lined path on their way back. The path was covered with petals blown down by the wind. She felt something in front of her, and when she looked up, she saw a hand with distinct knuckles lift a bouquet of flowers from behind that was about to touch her head.

She tilted her head back, and his cool and handsome face was illuminated by the warm light of the lamp. Clusters of cherry blossoms rested on his shoulder, adding a touch of soft pink to his otherwise plain black coat.

The two of them looked at each other in silence.

It wasn't until an evening breeze blew a petal off his shoulder that she snapped out of her daze, turned her head, and looked ahead.

"What's wrong?" Qi Yanzhou asked.

"A flower got in my eye," Song Chiyu said, pretending to rub her eyes.

"Would you like me to blow on it for you?" He leaned down, believing him.

When Song Chiyu saw his face suddenly loom closer, she quickly turned her head away to avoid it, saying, "No need, there aren't any left."

He didn't press the matter, saying, "That's good."

I'm home.

Song Chiyu was determined not to let him interfere, but while she was busy frying the broth, he still came in to help, washing and chopping vegetables, so that what should have been an hour's meal was served in less than half an hour.

Song Chiyu asked, "Teacher Qi, are you so hungry you can't stand it anymore?"

Given his upbringing, even if he were hungry, he certainly wouldn't rush her; he would just come in and quickly resolve the problem.

Qi Yanzhou couldn't help but smile: "Do I look that hungry?"

Song Chiyu nodded.

His smile deepened as he picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks and asked, "Aren't you hungry?"

Song Chiyu carefully assessed the symptoms: "A little, but it's okay."

I can still bear it for another half hour.

Qi Yanzhou licked his lips, seemingly wanting to say something but then hesitated, and said, "Mm."

"Do you want to eat now?" She stood up. "The food should be ready. I'll go check."

“Alright,” he said, grasping her wrist firmly. “Don’t worry about me, just take care of yourself.”

Song Chiyu immediately realized something and slowly sat back down.

This person came back because he was worried about her.

She muttered under her breath, "I'm not a child anymore."

"What?"

"It's okay for me to be home alone."

Seeing that she had finally come to her senses, Qi Yanzhou put down his chopsticks: "I know, but I'm still a little worried."

Song Chiyu bit her chopsticks and did not answer.

After a while, she brought him a framed photo from the room, containing the pages she had spent the afternoon restoring. He glanced at it indifferently, "You made this?"

"Okay, here you go." Song Chiyu belatedly realized how much trouble she had caused him. She stayed in his name. If nothing happened to her, all would be well, but if something did happen, even if he wasn't criminally responsible, his conscience wouldn't be at ease, especially for someone with such a strong sense of responsibility like him.

"Thank you." He took it and placed it beside him.

After the meal, Song Chiyu told him to leave, but he stayed to clean the kitchen before leaving. Song Chiyu stood on the balcony and watched him leave. His slender figure was as upright as ever, but he didn't look back at her even once until he got into the car.

She genuinely felt that it would be wonderful to spend her life with someone like that.

Polite, tactful, and responsible.

Who says she has bad taste in men?

She has a good eye for these things.

Song Chiyu closed the window with a smug look on her face, and just as she turned to leave, the person sitting in the car looked up at her. Qi Yanzhou held the photo frame she had given him, his eyebrows curving gently, and placed it on the passenger seat next to him.

**

Shortly after the Spring Festival, with the excavation of Shang Dynasty cultural sites, the work in each restoration room has become increasingly busy, especially the metal restoration room, because the metal artifacts unearthed so far are mainly bronze and gold artifacts, with bronze artifacts being the most numerous.

Just then, Ms. Zhou, the teacher in the ancient book restoration room, reached retirement age. Everyone speculated about who would take over her work and position after she left. Song Chiyu was considered one of the best in their group, and many people thought it should be her. Only Song Chiyu felt that it shouldn't be her at all. There were quite a few teachers in the institute with more experience than her. Her only advantage might be her academic qualifications, but in terms of skills and experience, she was far behind.

However, to everyone's surprise, after Professor Zhou retired, the institute found a young woman to take over her position. The young woman had worked at the institute for less than two years. During her internship, at least half of the institute's staff had been her teachers. At that time, she was mentored by Song Chiyu in the ancient book restoration room, but now she had become Song Chiyu's supervisor, and the entire ancient book restoration room would work under her guidance.

The young girl had just finished in the ancient book restoration room when Song Chiyu was transferred to the metalware restoration room.

Although no one said anything explicitly, it was clear to everyone that this was to prevent Song Chiyu from forming cliques and making things difficult for the young girl, which would hinder her management. The people in the ancient book restoration room all spoke up for Song Chiyu, and Song Chiyu herself found it absurd and laughable. Because of this, even if she didn't mean anything by it, she would still be interpreted as petty and lacking in a sense of the bigger picture.

This wasn't what bothered Song Chiyu the most; rather, it was that after arriving at the metal repair room, she would inevitably have to deal with Xie Yunjin.

Although Xie Yunjin didn't say anything, Song Chiyu felt it was quite a hassle just from him coming every few days.

All Song Chiyu could do was try to avoid dealing with Xie Yunjin, but some clueless people actually used the guise of a dinner party to try and match her up with Xie Yunjin.

When she found out, Xie Yunjin had already received a call from her colleagues in the metal repair room saying that she was drunk and they were on their way to pick her up.

She didn't know who to scold for a moment.

Xie Yunjin actually had the nerve to come and pick her up.

The colleagues were all smug, and the most enthusiastic of them said, "Don't think we can't see that you and Teacher Xie still like each other."

Song Chiyu leaned against the back of the chair next to her, staring coldly at the other person, but the alcohol in her body largely masked the emotions on her face.

The older sister could tell she was unhappy, but she didn't care. She even accused her of being a traitor who didn't appreciate kindness: "You think I'm meddling in other people's business? You young people think face is the most important thing. You think that the person who backs down first will hurt their self-esteem. But once you miss someone, you'll know that self-esteem is worthless in front of the right person."

Song Chiyu couldn't explain it to her, and it was difficult for her to explain.

She just didn't expect that her bad mood and drinking a few extra drinks would give others an opportunity to match her up with Xie Yunjin.

Fortunately, she is no longer alone.

She took out her phone, her eyes glazed with drunkenness, and found Qi Yanzhou's WeChat: "Teacher Qi, are you busy right now? I need to ask you for a favor."

It had been almost half a month since she last contacted Qi Yanzhou, and he still replied quickly, "Miss Song, what is it?"

Song Chiyu succinctly described the ins and outs of the matter, and concluded by asking, "Is it convenient for you to come over now?"

"Convenient"—he always seemed unassuming yet trustworthy, asking only the address: "Send me the address."