43. Bad Values
If Hao Shengnan hadn't been urging Lingling to come to KTV to celebrate, she would have definitely refused to come. The sign of a person getting old is that they stop listening to new singers. Looking at the TV screen scrolling through the childish "Shamatte" looks of Jay Chou, Stefanie Sun, and Mayday, Lingling felt that in the eyes of the children, she was probably so old that even death would be considered a happy funeral. In the small KTV box, there were only Hao Shengnan and Lingling. When they were tired of singing, they collapsed on the sofa and chatted. "Ling'er, to be honest, your sanitary napkin commercial was really cool this time. It's a pity that you only entered the advertising industry this year with your literary talent. You were wasted in that small, crappy state-owned enterprise in the past few years. Otherwise, you would have come up with so many hit copywritings! Oh, if only I could have a good opportunity to escape from my crappy unit. I'll take the photos and you can help me with the pictures and text, and we can make a photo album together." Shengnan praised Lingling, but also sighed at his own fate. "Didn't Longjia introduce you to a professional photography job some time ago? I heard it pays well." When this was mentioned, Shengnan said indignantly: "I went for an interview, and they would definitely take me in for Longjia's sake. But my skills are just for fun to them, and my ideals and enthusiasm are just talk for getting into bed with them. They are a bunch of pretentious people. Even if the judge closes his eyes and sentences them, not a single one will be wronged! I'd better continue to work in my small bank within the system. My colleagues are all reserved and simple. It's a heinous crime to slack off at the grassroots level or complain about the leaders. The bad intentions within the system are really kindergarten-level outside the system - simple, clumsy, and ignorant." Ling Ling sympathized and said, "Yes, you have internal friction within the system, while we have internal competition outside the system. Those shrewd people in our company really have their own agendas, and I can't deal with them, so my strategy is to be honest to the end. If you cheat, I'll be honest; if you act foolishly, I'll be honest; no matter how maneuverable you are, it won't affect my honesty." After Ling Ling finished speaking, the two of them burst into laughter. Sheng Nan thought of Yu Chuanbei again. She really had high hopes for him and Ling Ling, so she advised her, "But when it comes to love, I advise you not to be so honest to the end. Can't you be a little roundabout and try to please Yu Chuanbei?" Ling Ling rolled her eyes in anger and said, "I will never pay attention to him again. He actually dared to force a kiss on me!" "Forced kiss?! Yu Chuanbei is amazing! I really was right!" Sheng Nan was so surprised that her eyes almost fell to the ground. Ling Ling frowned, looked at her with disdain and said, "You...
If Hao Shengnan hadn't kept urging Ling Ling to come to KTV to celebrate, she would definitely not have come.
The first sign of a person getting old is when he stops listening to songs by new singers.
Watching the naive "Shamatte" looks of Jay Chou, Stefanie Sun, and Mayday scrolling on the TV screen, Ling Ling felt that in the eyes of the children, she was probably so old that even her death would be considered a happy funeral.
There were only Hao Shengnan and Ling Ling in the small KTV box. When they were tired of singing, they collapsed on the sofa and chatted.
"Ling'er, seriously, your sanitary napkin advertisement is so cool this time. With your literary talent, it's a pity that you only entered the advertising industry this year. The past few years were wasted by that small, crappy state-owned enterprise, otherwise you would have come up with so many popular copywritings! Oh, if only I could have a good opportunity to jump out of that crappy unit of mine. I'll take the photos and you can help me with the text, and we'll make a photo album together." Sheng Nan praised Ling Ling and also sighed at his own fate.
"Didn't Longjia introduce you to a professional photography job a while ago? I heard it pays well."
When this matter was mentioned, Shengnan said indignantly: "I went for an interview, and they would definitely take me in for Longjia's sake. But my skills are just a hobby to them, and my ideals and enthusiasm are just sex talk to them. They are a bunch of pretentious people. Even if the judge closes his eyes and makes a judgment, not a single one of them will be wronged!"
I'd rather stick with my small, institutionalized bank. My colleagues are all reserved and simple. Slacking off at the grassroots level or complaining about a leader is considered a heinous crime. Those evil intentions within the system are kindergarten-level outside the system—naive, clumsy, and ignorant.
Ling Ling sympathized, saying, "Yes, you have internal friction within the system, while we have internal competition outside the system. Those cunning people in our company are truly scheming, and I can't handle them. So my strategy is to be honest to the end. If you cheat, I'll be honest; if you act foolishly, I'll be honest; no matter how maneuverable you are, it won't affect my honesty."
After Ling Ling finished speaking, the two of them burst into laughter.
Shengnan thought of Yu Chuanbei again. She was really optimistic about him and Lingling, so she advised her again, "But when it comes to love, I advise you not to be so stubborn. Can't you be a little more roundabout and try to please Yu Chuanbei?"
Ling Lingqi rolled his eyes and said, "I will never talk to him again. He actually dared to kiss me!"
"Forced kiss?! Yu Chuanbei is so awesome! I really wasn't wrong!" Sheng Nan was so surprised that his eyes almost fell to the ground.
Ling Ling frowned, looked at her with disdain and said, "What kind of values are you talking about? This is a blatant violation!"
Sheng Nan also taunted her with a look of despair. "Grandma Ling, it's obviously you who have a problem with your values. You're so stubborn, and you have a virgin complex, and your mind is full of garbage. Let me tell you, if a man and a woman really want to be together for a long time, things like first night, the date for getting the marriage certificate, and what to wear to the wedding are not the most important things. They're not even as important as whether you both like to turn off the lights."
Ling Ling remained unconvinced. "But isn't life made up of countless firsts? This isn't your first marriage, and you're standing at the other end of the red carpet again, watching me gracefully walk towards you. You must not feel joy or excitement, but only a mixture of emotions, having experienced so much! The same is true in love. If two people's experiences are out of sync, it can greatly affect the relationship. And if two people have relatively simple sexual experiences, it means they are both willing to stick to it and have similar values, making them more likely to be together for a long time. This is all a process of mutual confirmation and endorsement."
Hao Shengnan insisted, "Who said Yu Chuanbei didn't stick to his guns? I think anyone who has the patience to pursue someone as eccentric as you must be incredibly persistent. Is what he said true or false? You're such a clear-headed girl, so you should judge for yourself based on your interactions with him. But when the three of us met, he didn't confess. I think he was innocent."
Seeing that Shengnan had become a die-hard Yu Chuanbei fan, Ling Ling said disdainfully, "Tsk, isn't it because he's so handsome that you're so tolerant of her that you even accepted a forced kiss? You're being hypocritical, and you'll suffer the consequences in your future relationships."
"So what? If he's handsome and I like him, forcing a kiss on me will only make our relationship warmer; if he's ugly, it's indecent! An adult man who doesn't have an objective judgment of his own appearance and charm and can't make the right behavioral choices is an idiot! At least my view on love gives my love a future; what about your love? It was strangled to death in its cradle by you. It's so delicate and smooth, how could you bear to do that to it!" Sheng Nan shook his hands and climbed up her neck like the Nine Yin White Bone Claw. She got goose bumps all over her body and slapped her claws away.
Seeing her unmoved, Sheng Nan couldn't help but ask, "Lingling, our parents are dead or divorced, and we are each other's only family in this world. Tell me the truth, do you not like men at all? Otherwise, with a male body of Yu Chuanbei's level, it is impossible for you not to be moved! When you were kissed by force, didn't you feel the pheromones splashing and the hormones exploding?"
"No, but I'm pretty sure I like men."
"Just don't like Yu Chuanbei?"
“…That’s not… hard to explain.”
"I don't understand."
Now, Hao Shengnan wasn't the only one confused. Ling Ling also began to reflect on herself: Was she really wrong? Was there really a time difference in her understanding of him?
*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ling Ling felt that the person she should thank most for the success of the Qinshuang sanitary napkin advertisement was Lu Chong. So she took advantage of her lunch break to go to the maternity and baby chain store near her company to buy a small gift for his newborn baby.
It was the first time in her life that she stepped into a maternity and baby store. She was amazed at how modern civilization, logistics, and materials science had developed to such an extent. There were so many ways to raise a child that even wet wipes had heaters.
The heater is fun, but you can't buy such a useless toy for Lu Chong's baby. If there are elderly people in his family who take care of the child, they will probably be criticized and told that the world is no longer the same as it used to be.
She was picking without any idea when she suddenly heard a familiar voice. The voice went into her ear canal and struck her heart dully and comfortably.
She turned around in surprise and saw Yu Chuanbei swiping his phone and showing the salesperson pictures of what he wanted to buy.
Yu Chuanbei felt someone looking at him, raised his eyebrows, and saw her as well.
The salesperson told him that he would go to the warehouse to pick it up and asked him to wait for ten minutes. He nodded politely and walked towards Ling Ling.
She was inexplicably flustered and picked up a purple velvet handbag in front of her, pretending to study it.
"What are you doing..." Yu Chuanbei asked her a little confused.
Ling Ling used her clumsy acting skills to pretend to be calm and composed, "Oh, I'm picking out gifts for a colleague who has helped me a lot recently. His baby was just born not long ago."
"A female colleague?"
"No, it's a male colleague."
"So what you're holding now is a breast pump."
Hearing Yu Chuanbei's overly polite reminder, Ling Ling suddenly felt that the fine velvet bag in her hand was like charcoal fresh from the wok, burning her hands so hot that they were about to peel off. She quickly put it back on the shelf, the burning sensation in her hands burning all the way to her ears.
Yu Chuanbei found Ling Ling's embarrassing appearance extremely cute.
But besides being embarrassed, she was obviously also angry. She turned around with her cheeks puffed up and wanted to escape.
Yu Chuanbei took two quick steps to catch up with her and said quickly, "My third sister, Yu Jingxi, lives in the ground floor above this row of shops. She's on maternity leave at home. I've been very busy lately and haven't had time to visit her, so I took a special leave today to come here. I've been to this store before, so I'll take you to the toy section."
"Oh, thank you." Ling Ling answered stiffly. She was still thinking about the words she had just threatened Hao Shengnan a few days ago that she would never talk to Yu Chuanbei again, but she still followed him.
Yu Chuanbei asked: "Do you have any budget or ideas for the gifts you buy for your colleagues?"
Ling Ling looked at the rows of large gift boxes and said, "He's a very kind person. He certainly doesn't expect anything in return for helping me, so I don't want to burden him with anything too expensive. Just a gift worth a hundred or two hundred yuan will be fine. His commute is long and crowded, so I can't buy him something this big and extravagant that will bother him."
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