Chapter 8: Isn't it upright?
As the afterglow and night alternate, the street lights are brighter than the sky.
During the rush hour, traffic is surging and more and more people are coming to the leisure area.
When Yan Nian regained his composure, he saw an old lady sitting at the other end of the bench, fanning herself with a palm-leaf fan and smiling at the children across the street.
Yan Nian got up and hailed a taxi on the side of the road, and told the driver the address of a shopping mall near his home, "Shidai Jiaxiang".
Then, out of Yan Nian's sight, the black SUV parked on the side of the road turned on the starting light and turned into another lane after she got in.
After arriving at the mall, the driver handed over the payment QR code.
Yan Nian turned off his phone and took out his wallet: "I'll just use cash."
"Okay!" The driver put the payment code in place and saw from the rearview mirror that she had quite a bit of cash in her wallet. He smiled and said, "People use cash less these days, so watch your bag when you go out."
Yan Nian handed him the money, said thank you, opened the car door and got out.
It was already past eight o'clock when Yan Nian walked back home. He entered the password to unlock the door and opened it. The light in the living room was on.
Yan Nian changed her shoes at the entrance and went in. Xu Yiqing was standing on the balcony with his back to her.
The white gauze curtains beside the floor-to-ceiling windows were drawn, and an iPad was placed on the lounge chair at the right foot.
Hearing the noise, Xu Yiqing slowly turned around with a cup of coffee in his hand.
Across the bright and spacious living room, he examined Yan Nian from head to toe as he entered the room.
Xu Yiqing is a senior accountant who strives for perfection in everything she does. Even though she's dressed in a gentle beige home suit, her neatly cropped hair and sharp gaze convey a sense of decisiveness and commanding presence in the workplace. Whether at home or at work, she's as dominant as ever.
Yan Nian habitually avoided her gaze.
Xu Yiqing bent down slightly and placed the coffee on the casual table. When he looked up again, his eyes were much gentler: "Why is your phone turned off?"
The tone was unabashedly strong.
Yan Nian stood by the sofa in the living room and replied, "It's out of battery. I didn't bring my charger."
She usually doesn't use her phone much, so it's not like it's out of battery. But today was her first day at work, and she spent a lot of time on her phone. Xu Yiqing didn't ask much, just smiled and said, "Stop standing there, wash your hands and eat! Auntie has been gone for a long time!"
The white Chloe dress was bought for her by Xu Yiqing. It made her look a little mature. She had no freedom to wear whatever she wanted during work hours.
Yan Nian couldn't wait to go back to the bedroom, put down her bag, and change into loose clothes.
After washing his hands in the bedroom, Xu Yiqing came out with the cooked soup. There were only two sets of bowls and chopsticks on the dining table.
Yan Nian looked towards the master bedroom and asked, "Where's Dad?"
Xu Yiqing served the soup: "Your father has something to do at school, so he won't be home for dinner."
Yan's father is a professor at the School of Finance.
With fewer people at home, Yan Nian couldn't eat after a few bites. He put down his chopsticks slowly and stirred the soup in the bowl with a spoon.
Xu Yiqing asked some questions about work, and Yan Nian answered truthfully.
It's basically a question-and-answer format, with no chat elements involved.
His words and deeds all urged her to work hard at Boya.
Over the years, she and her parents have been in Lingyun City. Because her grandmother is old and alone in Lindu, her parents decided to move their work back to Lindu to make it easier to take care of the elderly.
Her father had been thinking about coming back since she graduated from high school, but he postponed it because of her.
It took a long time from the time she graduated to the time her parents completed the work procedures.
In fact, the elderly don't want to live with them at all.
Although she was truly returning home, Yan Nian felt that their family was like one where outsiders could not offend anyone. Her father Yan Qilin's social engagements were scheduled until next month.
Xu Yiqing's job also involves social engagements every now and then, and it's not much better.
Yan Nian was a little annoyed and just focused on responding.
Xu Yiqing said, "Your father and I carefully selected this job. You don't like interacting with people, so this is just what you want."
Yan Nian didn't say anything.
"If you had listened to your mother, you and I would be in the same company now."
When talking about this matter again after many years, Yan Nian still believes that his choice was right.
Even Xu Yiqing scolded her for being useless and disobedient at that time.
Perhaps remembering some bad things from the past, Xu Yiqing paused for a moment and sighed softly: "Forget it, it's been so long since we graduated, let's not talk about this."
Yan Nian listened with one ear and out with the other, knowing that she had more to say.
Xu Yiqing added chicken soup to her bowl with a slightly flattering tone, "Niannian, we just moved back from Lingyun. Mom hopes you'll get to know the environment better and make more friends instead of staying stuck at home all day. Your brother Ma Xiao is having a birthday party this Saturday, and they've specially invited you to go. I've already accepted on your behalf."
Yan Nian paused while holding the spoon, staring at the oil droplets on the soup.
Ma Xiao is the son of Uncle Ma, who is Xu Yiqing's college classmate.
Uncle Ma also deserves some credit for the job they have today. Xu Yiqing and Yan Qilin are not familiar with Jay Chou.
Uncle Ma and Zhou Ji have a deep friendship.
After Xu Yiqing returned to Lindu, he encountered a bottleneck at work. After a few rounds of invitations to dinner, he ended up going to Uncle Ma's place and made connections to invite Jay Chou to have dinner together.
Yan Nian doesn't care about these things. She just does whatever her parents say.
But when she saw Zhou Ruen today, she remembered the past.
In addition, Xu Yiqing's behavior made her feel that she was really a person who had no say in the matter and could only rely on her parents' connections.
Yan Nian couldn't hold back his emotions and asked, "Isn't it too late for you to let me make friends now?"
Her tone was light, as gentle as a feather. When facing Xu Yiqing, even her angry words were gentle.
He was afraid that her rebellious heart would touch a certain point in Xu Yiqing, causing an uncontrollable outburst like what happened back then.
Then she was labeled as 'disobedient' and 'useless'.
But no matter how gentle the words were, they still sounded like ice thorns in Xu Yiqing's ears.
Xu Yiqing was stunned, with his mouth slightly open, unable to utter a word for a long time.
Yan Nian felt that he was in a bad mood today, and he had the thought of giving up: "I'm not interested in parties."
Xu Yiqing put down his bowl and chopsticks heavily: "Then don't go anywhere."
Yan Nian found it difficult to swallow the food, so he put down his spoon, lowered his eyes and said nothing.
Xu Yiqing felt a little regretful after she finished speaking. She took a deep breath to adjust her mentality and said apologetically, "Mom didn't mean anything else. I forgot that you are already 25 years old and have started working. You have grown up a long time ago. If you don't want to go, then don't go!"
Yan Nian always felt a strong sense of guilt when she softened. She had given so much for her and shouldn't lose her temper with her.
Yan Nian lowered his head: "I'm sorry."
There was a long silence. Everyone had their own thoughts, and this heavy dinner ended hastily.
Yan Nian returned to the bedroom, relaxed his shoulders as if relieved, and sat on the edge of the bed in a daze for a while.
I grabbed my change of clothes, went into the bathroom, took a shower, dried my hair, and lay down on the bed.
I took out my phone from my bag and turned it on. More than 20 messages popped up in the work group.
Yan Nian opened WeChat and saw a meeting notice for tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock posted by Gu Pingping in the group.
The message was sent an hour ago, but she was the only one who hadn't replied.
Gu Pingping tagged her in the group and sent her a private message.
Yan Nian replied in the group that he had received the message, and then replied to Gu Pingping.
As soon as the message was sent, Zhou Ran, who had not been active for a day, spoke in the group.
Zhou Ran: [Gu Pingping, if you don't respond to work-related messages within half an hour, your salary for that day will be deducted.]
Yan Nian: “…”
Gu Pingping immediately jumped out: [Okay, I promise it won’t happen again.]
Zhou Ran: [What's your guarantee? Your life?]
Gu Pingping: [Mr. Zhou, your words are very sincere. From now on, I will definitely supervise and ensure that everything is done properly.]
Yan Nian felt puzzled.
Was he using her as an example? Was he trying to prove that he was a good leader who was rigorous and upright in his work?
After thinking about it, Yan Nian realized that he was a leader after all. He typed a response: "Sorry, I will definitely cooperate actively in the future."
Apart from Gu Pingping's emoticon package, Zhou Ran did not reply again.
Yan Nian stared at the screen for a while, set the alarm clock, turned off the lights and went to sleep.
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