Chapter 33 is his car.
As the autumn wind blows and day turns into night, the temperature drops again and again at certain times, and the oppressive summer heat completely dissipates. In the blink of an eye, it's November.
Shen Mengqing received the interview results from Santong in mid-October, and as she expected, she passed the interview for the position.
However, HR said they wanted her to try out for half a month before finalizing the decision. Shen Mengqing was a little angry about this sudden condition, and HR apologized, explaining that it was a sudden suggestion from the chairman and there was nothing she could do to negotiate.
Finally, Shen Mengqing reached an agreement with Santong, giving her a month to handle the matters on Yusheng's side, and then she would go for a trial period of one week.
After all, according to rumors, the layoff list was just announced at the end of November. The HR of Santong must have noticed that she had interviewed them. Such things are always transparent in the industry. If she takes two weeks off, Liang Jun will definitely use it as an excuse to fire her.
She had to find a way to get through this month safely, and she couldn't let any option cut off her escape route.
Despite her busy schedule, she still managed to find a day to invite Hao Qisi out for dinner, paying out of her own pocket to show her care for her cousin.
Hao Qisi chose a buffet restaurant. He complained every day that the school cafeteria food wasn't good enough, and his dormitory was far from the subway, plus taxis were expensive, so he could hardly find any opportunities to eat out. He could only rely on his cousin. This buffet restaurant was near his school, and a taxi ride wouldn't cost much. He could also eat all kinds of dishes at once, which suited him perfectly.
Shen Mengqing left work on time. She walked to the roadside downstairs in the office building. Her ride-hailing car was still a few minutes away. She wrapped the scarf around her neck tighter, regretting that she should have come out later and stayed in the lobby to keep warm for a while.
She put her hands in her coat pockets and gazed into the distance in the direction the ride-hailing car was coming from, hoping the red light would turn green soon in the cold wind.
Unexpectedly, after two green lights, the ride-hailing car still hadn't arrived. The route on the map showed a red line. Amidst the frozen, congested traffic, she saw a black car emerge from the underground parking lot of their office building, accelerate into another lane, and speed away.
It was Yu Xin's car.
The wind made her face stiff, and she lost all her senses.
It's been a while since I've seen Yu Xin.
It seemed that even now, seeing his car, it was no different from the thousands of other cars passing by on the road.
However, they were all travelers on their way without stopping.
As long as he doesn't appear, their lives can remain completely separate, with each person quickly entering and quickly leaving without any news from the other disturbing them.
Shen Mengqing felt no emotional fluctuation. Everyone is an adult with their own responsibilities. During the days of losing contact, perhaps he, like himself, was busy with real life.
Isn't this the kind of relationship she wants? Only in this way can they end things cleanly and without leaving any harm behind.
The roar of the ride-hailing car's horn abruptly pulled Shen Mengqing back to reality. She snapped out of her reverie, opened the door, and got into the car.
It was rush hour, and the windshield was filled with a long strip of bright red car taillights. Shen Mengqing, sitting in the back seat, took out his phone and sent a message to Hao Qisi, saying that he would be late and that Hao Qisi could eat first if he was hungry.
Hao Qisi quickly replied that it was okay, she could take her time, since he was still playing basketball with his classmates anyway.
Forty minutes later, Shen Mengqing finally arrived at her destination.
Hao Qisi arrived a few minutes ago and was sitting on a chair at the store entrance waiting for her.
After paying, Shen Mengqing and Hao Qisi went inside, found an empty seat, put their bags down, and immediately went to get their food.
She had a small appetite, but she only took two or three plates. Hao Qisi only finished his selection after she had finished one plate.
"Doesn't your school allow you to eat?" Shen Mengqing joked.
Hao Qisi forked a piece of steak and put it in his mouth, saying as he chewed, "You have no idea how badly the people serving food in the cafeteria shake their hands. Besides, the dishes are nowhere near as good as my mom's cooking. I can't stand them."
She nodded and asked, "Does Third Aunt want to open a restaurant by taking over the shop?"
“Yes, it’s convenient to open one right at the entrance of our community. She asked someone who rents out empty shops, and it’s three thousand yuan a month, but the deposit has to be held for several months. The initial investment for opening a shop is a bit high, so she’s a little hesitant. After all, my tuition and living expenses in college are quite high. It might be better if I find a part-time job,” Hao Qisi said.
Third Aunt's cooking skills are excellent, the best among Hao Meng's four sisters. Shen Mengqing learned her cooking skills from Third Aunt. She thought about it and realized that Third Aunt doesn't have a stable job and works temporary jobs everywhere. It would be great if she could open a shop.
Shen Mengqing said to Hao Qisi, "I support you finding a part-time job as long as it doesn't interfere with your studies. But you can also study hard and try to get a school scholarship."
"I've looked into this too, and it does cost a lot of money. I'm already studying hard," Hao Qisi said earnestly.
He wasn't exactly a natural at studying; he only got into an average second-tier university, unlike students like Shen Mengqing who graduated from a 985 university. But he had one advantage: he never gave up easily. For the sake of scholarships, Hao Qisi was willing to study hard.
Shen Mengqing was somewhat gratified. She put down her chopsticks and said with a smile, "You've grown up a lot. You even know how to be considerate of your mother now. I still remember how stubborn you were when you were little. Your mother would lift your ear and hit you, but you wouldn't listen to her. You know what, you've been eating poorly at school these past few months, so you've gotten thinner and more handsome."
"Oh my." Hao Qisi was a little overwhelmed by Shen Mengqing's praise, and his face turned red, but his skin was too dark to show the redness. "Keep it down, I'm almost the most handsome guy in our department."
Shen Mengqing rolled her eyes: "Come on, you still need to go to the gym to work out."
Hao Qisi immediately perked up: "I go there every day."
"Okay, okay." Afraid that he would show off his barely visible muscles at any moment, Shen Mengqing changed the subject and asked, "Do you have a lot of classes every week now? Do you call your mom every day?"
"There are quite a lot of courses. The first two years of university have the most courses, and then the schedule will be more relaxed so that we can go out for internships. I haven't been in touch with my mom much by phone lately. She's at the hospital with your mom."
As soon as he said this, Hao Qisi choked on the food he had just swallowed, unable to swallow it down.
"Hospital?" Shen Mengqing was taken aback.
Hao Qisi hurriedly drank a few sips of the beverage in her cup, coughed a few times to catch her breath, and said, "No, sis, you misheard."
Shen Mengqing's expression turned cold: "Do you think I'm a kindergarten kid? If you don't tell the truth, I won't take you out to eat anymore."
"..."
Oh no, oh no! His mother told him to keep his mouth shut, but he still let it slip.
Hao Qisi rubbed his hands together and said with an embarrassed smile, "Sis, I'm telling you this, but you absolutely mustn't tell anyone that I told you."
"Speak." Shen Mengqing crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.
Hao Qisi swallowed hard and said, "It's nothing serious. My mom told me that my second aunt's thyroid nodules worsened during her physical exam, and the doctor recommended a minor surgery. She had it done successfully a couple of days ago and is still recovering in the hospital. She should be able to be discharged in a few days."
Shen Mengqing's heart sank. Hao Meng had been suffering from thyroid nodules for several years and had regular check-ups every year, but unexpectedly it had worsened and he had surgery without telling her.
She muttered sullenly, "This is nothing serious?"
"It's really okay now. My mom said everything is going well and everything went smoothly." Hao Qisi didn't know how to comfort her.
Shen Mengqing sighed, "I think I should go back."
Since that's the case, let's bring forward the trial period at Santong.
“Okay.” Hao Qisi continued eating. “If I were you, I would also choose to go back.”
"Then don't let it slip that I'm going back this time." Shen Mengqing glared at Hao Qisi. "If my mom finds out later, she'll definitely try to persuade me."
Hao Qisi immediately extended his hand: "I swear, I will never tell."
Shen Mengqing slapped his hand away and said, "You'd better be."
After eating for a while, Hao Qisi suddenly glanced at Shen Mengqing and asked, "Sis, have you and Yu Xin made up yet?"
Shen Mengqing almost choked, cleared his throat and said, "You're just a kid, don't meddle in adults' business."
"What kind of adult thing is this? I argue with my friends too. It's not like only adults have this kind of problem." Hao Qisi muttered to himself, speechless. "You can't even tell me this, and I've been running around doing things for you two."
Shen Mengqing said, "I didn't ask you for help."
"But I did it for you," Hao Qisi said, feeling very aggrieved.
"Okay, okay. We've made up, alright?" Shen Mengqing said.
Hao Qisi: "Then all my efforts for you guys will have been worthwhile. I think Brother Yu Xin is a really good person and a friend worth getting to know better."
Shen Mengqing snorted coldly: "Tch, you're just afraid you won't be able to hitch a ride on his Rolls-Royce in the future, aren't you? You even take pictures of his car and post them on your WeChat Moments, how vain are you."
"Damn, how did you see that? Did I accidentally click the wrong block group?" Hao Qisi immediately took out his phone and clicked on the previous post to confirm.
Thank goodness, I just forgot to include Shen Mengqing in the group. Otherwise, if his mother had seen it, she might have broken his legs.
He put away his phone and said, "I'm not being vain. This is something that people in my social class never see. I've never even seen it on my social media. I'm just showing them around."
"Okay, anyway, you have to remember that everything you get is through your own hard work. Don't let the glitz and glamour blind you, especially in the North City."
After Shen Mengqing finished speaking, he felt that he had been too preachy, so he put aside his solemn and serious attitude and casually said, "In short, you just need to study hard now."
Hao Qisi said, "Yes, yes, but sis, what does Brother Yu Xin do for a living? How come he's so rich?"
"Alcohol..." Shen Mengqing swallowed back the words that had been about to slip out, and said, "He must be a rich second-generation, investing everywhere."
"So you won at the starting line, then I'm not envious anymore," Hao Qisi said.
After finishing the meal, Shen Mengqing called a car for Hao Qisi, saw him off, and then went home herself.
Sitting in the car, she rested her head against the window, letting her mind wander and drift off into a daze.
Her fingers unconsciously swiped across the phone screen, the cursor in the input box jumping around in the darkness. When her thoughts came back to her, Shen Mengqing finally saw that the screen showed she was editing a text message.
The recipient is Yu Xin's phone number.
Shen Mengqing paused, then quickly swiped the screen a few times to exit the interface.
Her heart started racing for no reason, so she took a deep breath to calm her agitated emotions.
Luckily, we hadn't added each other as friends, so the message wouldn't show that the other party was typing.
It seems she misunderstood; she shouldn't have let him meet Hao Qisi by some twist of fate. Before she even realized it, Yu Xin had already infiltrated the cracks in her life.
Just then, her phone rang unexpectedly, startling her.
After recognizing the number on the screen that she had just seen, Shen Mengqing's mind went blank for a moment. After answering the call, she said directly, "I dialed the wrong number."
"?"
Yu Xin was almost dumbfounded. After a moment of silence, he said in a deep voice, "It was me who made the call."
"Ah." Shen Mengqing finally realized, "I..."
Yu Xin chuckled softly, but Shen Mengqing keenly sensed that his tone was a bit heavy, as if he had something on his mind.
He said, "You want to call me?"
"No," Shen Mengqing denied quickly.
Yu Xin didn't press her for answers, but instead asked, "Where are you?"
Shen Mengqing bit her lower lip, her eyes fixed on the boundless darkness outside the window, and said:
"I am in Chu City."
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Author's Note: It's that awkward phase again, sob sob [please]
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