Chapter 43: Meeting Again
Only after everything was settled did He Xiaolan feel freed from the quagmire. On Friday, she called Ms. Zhang Xinrong and told her that she would not return to Tianjin this weekend and wanted to have a good rest at home.
"Do you two have time to come and have dinner with me on Saturday?" He Xiaolan sent a message to Hua Hudie and Qin Tiantian while waiting for the subway. Not long after, there was a noise in the dark subway corridor. The subway brought a cold wind towards He Xiaolan. As soon as she stepped into the car, she saw a familiar figure, Ge Lin.
It had been almost a month since Ge Lin caused a scene at Qin Tiantian's school, and she hadn't seen her since. He Xiaolan walked to her side with some joy and took the initiative to greet her.
"Ge Lin, where are you going?"
Ge Lin was looking down at her phone. When she heard He Xiaolan's voice, she quickly raised her head, then felt a little embarrassed and unconsciously took a few steps back, "Sister Xiaolan, you just got off work."
The original familiarity between them was shattered by a love farce. He Xiaolan felt that there was nothing to be embarrassed about. After all, life is so long, and this is just a small disgusting episode. So she generously invited Ge Lin to get off the bus with her halfway and find a place to sit down and chat.
Ge Lin felt embarrassed to refuse, so they transferred to Shichahai. Though somewhat desolate in winter, the expansive waters of the lake rekindled their bond. They passed the Fire God Temple, a small temple bustling with incense during the day, now deserted. "Back then... when Zhang Haiming and I were together, I came here to draw lots. I drew a bad one, and I was quite skeptical, but it actually worked."
They walked to Yaer Li Ji to eat hot pot. It was still too cold outside in winter, and the hot pot warmed people's mood.
"Are you separated from him now?"
"When I got home that day, I packed up and left. I really felt that the relationship I had spent the previous ten years with was not worth it. I just never figured it out. Leaving someone is not a big deal." Ge Lin said as she started to put meat into the pot. She still took care of others as before.
"It's good that you're separated. You're so young and you'll have plenty of opportunities in the future. Anyone who doesn't make mistakes in his life and corrects them when he realizes them is a good child."
Ge Lin moved to a youth hostel near Panjiayuan, which was essentially shared housing, costing 44 yuan a day. She'd been looking for a job during that time, sending out her resume but receiving few interview offers. She even nearly got scammed. Finally, she had no choice but to work as a real estate agent at Lianjia, earning a basic salary that at least provided her with a basic living.
"Why don't you go home? Wouldn't it be nice to go home and take the civil service exam?"
"I'm also studying now, but the competition is too fierce. To be honest, for my major, I can only take the three-option exam. There are few positions and many applicants, so I don't know how I'll fare." Ge Lin's glasses were fogged up, blurring her vision and making it difficult for her to see her future.
He Xiaolan couldn't say "Actually, you don't have to resign", because those were just excuses. There was no point in making amends afterwards, just like Ge Lin telling He Xiaolan that she felt particularly sorry for Qin Tiantian, it was useless.
The two chatted about some recent gossip while eating, and finally parted ways at the subway station. Before getting off the train, Ge Lin stuffed the doll she had received as a gift for shopping into He Xiaolan's hand and said, "This is my birthday present for Yueyue next year. I wish she will become more and more beautiful."
He Xiaolan watched Ge Lin's fleeting figure, a wave of bitterness surging into her eyes. When Ge Lin first joined the company, she was very fearless. Whether she was criticized or praised, she always smiled and didn't take it seriously. She always told He Xiaolan that her wish was to see the cherry blossoms in Tokyo in the spring because her favorite TV series was "It Started with a Kiss", but her boyfriend Naoki Irie didn't treat her well.
After her mood came back to normal, He Xiaolan replied to the messages of Qin Tiantian and Hua Hudie, and made an appointment to go to Wangfu Zhonghuan to eat at Zhilefang on Saturday night. The place was chosen by Qin Tiantian. She said, "I want to eat something greasy and heavy right now."
Qin Tiantian was waiting for He Xiaolan at the Wangfujing subway entrance. When they met, she looked her up and down and asked, "Why have you lost so much weight?"
"How can I not lose weight? This week has made me want to pull out my intestines and hang myself." The two of them walked hand in hand towards Hua Hudie's beauty salon.
"Can't Wang Qingwei take care of his family affairs himself? You two are married, not sold to his family as long-term laborers." Qin Tiantian had some complaints about Wang Qingwei, feeling that Wang Qingwei had thrown away all his family responsibilities because he was "busy at work."
"I still rely on him to bring money home. At least I can still go home from get off work, but it's a bit difficult for him to go home from get off work now. I heard him say the other day that this company wants to break a person into three pieces and use them."
All companies are desperately trying to "reduce costs and increase efficiency," and He Xiaolan's company is no exception. Before Yang Fan was there, there were two interns, but now none of them have been officially hired. Only Li Lingyue, He Xiaolan, and Moli are left. It's kind of funny how two generals lead one soldier. One day, the three of them joked about giving Moli a team leader's title, so that the entire HR department would be in charge.
"How are things going in Italy? Do your parents know about it?"
"Of course I don't know. I plan to call them when I get there. It's a headache to find a house. The security there is average right now. It seems like I can't find a suitable place after searching everywhere."
"Finding a house depends on fate. Don't worry. Work hasn't started there yet."
"The work is fine. I can do it in China. Speaking of which, you know Qian Helin and Hua Hudie are divorced but they're still working at the shop. I came here to get a facial two days ago, and the atmosphere between them was really, really weird."
When they arrived at the beauty salon, only Hua Hudie was there. "Where's Qian Helin?" He Xiaolan glanced at the office on the other side. The door was open and there was no one there.
"I've asked him to go to the Industry and Commerce Bureau. Someone reported it, saying the store was making false advertising." Hua Hudie grabbed a handful of snacks from the table and pushed them to He Xiaolan and Qin Tiantian. "You know, people nowadays are pretty boring. We're on a healing program, and they're accusing us of inducing consumption. I can't figure out what the connection is between these words."
"I hope nothing happened when you two went to get the divorce certificate that day. I've been so busy these days that I didn't have time to ask you."
"What could happen? Not filing for divorce is already saving his face."
Hua Hudie got angry when she thought about what happened on the day they got the marriage certificate. She went back to her parents' house and cried and made a fuss, and finally persuaded her parents to give up on the idea of divorce. As a result, the next day when they went to get the divorce certificate, Qian Helin took his parents and Hua Hudie's parents to the Civil Affairs Bureau, and there was a huge crowd of people.
Qian Helin said that there had to be a sense of ceremony. When they got the marriage certificate, there were six of them together, and now that they have separated, there have to be six of them together.
Hua Hudie glanced outside the door and found that Qian Helin had not come back yet. She closed the door and continued to talk quietly about the outrageous matter of the two people's divorce certificate.
"I married him because I believed his lies. I bet you won't be able to guess what he did at the Civil Affairs Bureau."
As soon as Huadie said this, He Xiaolan and Qin Tiantian's curiosity reached its peak. They all looked at Huadie eagerly, like kittens waiting for their meal. "Don't keep us in suspense, just tell us quickly." The impatient He Xiaolan couldn't wait even a second for the puzzle to be solved, not to mention that a minute had already passed.
"You won't believe me even if I tell you this. I'm convinced. I'll never pass by that door again in my lifetime. I'll be embarrassed for the rest of my life."
At the scene of the divorce, Qian Helin took out the gift he had carefully prepared from his bag, a golden, pure gold, hollow gold bra with an extremely high gram weight.
"Let me tell you, the entire Civil Affairs Bureau was stunned. The staff who processed the certificates were definitely professionally trained. I guess their thighs were bruised from pinching, but they didn't even laugh. Several couples who were getting divorced came in with sad faces and left with bright smiles."
He Xiaolan and Qin Tiantian were laughing so hard that they were lying on the table and couldn't lift their heads. "Did you accept it? Take it out and let us see it. I have never seen a pure gold bra before."
"Accept my shit. I wanted to find a place to kill myself. It's embarrassing enough at home, but it's even more embarrassing when I go out."
"Why did he give you that?"
"He said that I would never forget him in my life and that he would give me an unforgettable gift."
As the three were talking, Qian Helin, with a sad face, knocked on the door and walked in, "Mr. Song, everything has been made clear with the Industrial and Commercial Bureau. Is there anything else?"
He Xiaolan and Qin Tiantian turned around and saw Qian Helin, and they could no longer hold back their laughter. Their laughter filled the entire beauty salon, with no sign of stopping.
"What are you laughing at?" Qian Helin was a little confused, but he probably guessed what was going on. Hua Hudie was annoyed when she saw him. "I have to leave early tonight. Please wait until all the guests leave and lock the door."
"Okay, Mr. Song."
"With the two of you in this state now, wouldn't you develop feelings for each other from spending so much time together?" He Xiaolan took a sip of water to calm her sore throat from laughing.
"Once he has handed over everything to the new store manager, he won't need to be here anymore. Tell me, was I blind at the time, Xiaolan? Do you think Wang Qingwei could do such a thing?"
"Wang Qingwei has no money, and even if he had money he wouldn't be willing to buy it. Let alone a gold one, he would have to grit his teeth to ask him to buy me a cloth one."
"Forget it, Teacher Qin, there's no need to ask. You definitely won't look for a fool based on your standards for a boyfriend. I feel like I owe him in my previous life."
Qin Tiantian took the strawberries off the cake and put them on Hua Hudie's plate, saying like she was coaxing a child, "Don't be angry, don't be angry, we won't play with fools anymore."
He Xiaolan glanced at Qin Tiantian and said, "Guess who I met yesterday."
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