Chapter 11
Are you Xu Que's girlfriend?
In the office.
When Xu came in, Jiang Fengyi still had half a cup of flower tea left in her glass, and had only eaten a small portion of the fruit.
Upon seeing the person who had arrived, Jiang Fengyi was stuffing fruit pulp into her mouth.
"Don't prepare so much next time, we won't be able to finish it."
As she spoke, she naturally pushed the remaining fruit slices towards Xu Que. The two were used to this way of getting along at home, sharing any leftover food with each other.
Xu took the fork from Jiang Fengyi and began to eat, bite by bite.
She leaned against the desk, eating as she spoke, "I just heard some gossip, about you."
"I heard? Who told you that?" Jiang Fengyi asked curiously, and immediately guessed, "You heard it from Xiao He, right? Lately, you two have been getting together to gossip whenever you have free time."
"Weren't you just questioning whether Xiao He was a huge fan of mine?"
Xu brushed it off vaguely: "Oh dear, it's all a misunderstanding. First, tell me if this gossip is true or false?"
She pressed for an answer, as if it were very important to her.
"I heard that the second young lady of the Zhao family also fell in love with you at first sight."
After asking the question, Xu slowed down the movement of the fruit fork in his hand, and focused on observing the expression of the person in front of him.
"also?"
Jiang Fengyi pinpointed the flaw in her words and raised an eyebrow slightly: "Then tell me, besides her, who else has fallen in love with me at first sight?"
Xu avoided her eyes: "Everyone says it's just gossip, whether it's true or not is uncertain, I don't remember."
Jiang Fengyi assumed that she and He Shuyi had talked too much and couldn't remember the names.
At this moment, however, Xu was thinking about the words he had used to deal with He Shuyi.
On my very first day meeting President Jiang, I fell in love with her at first sight.
Is it really just something used to deceive others?
Xu listened to her own heartbeat and suddenly felt a little uncertain.
In matters of the heart, Xu was a bit slow to react, but the palpitations she felt when facing Jiang Fengyi were something she had never experienced before.
Moreover, was my entry into Jiang Fengyi's office really just to tell her gossip about her? Or was it just an excuse she used to see me?
Even Xu himself couldn't tell the difference.
Seeing that she had been standing there motionless for a while, Jiang Fengyi asked, "Why do you look so preoccupied? Are you unhappy at work?"
"No, I'm too full. I'll rest for a while before eating again."
"If you can't finish it, then don't eat it."
"No, we can't waste it."
"Fine, whatever you want."
Jiang Fengyi stood up: "You can stay here. I'm going to inspect the marketing department."
Xu, holding the fruit box, turned around and said, "I'll go out too. What kind of employee rests alone in the boss's office?"
Jiang Fengyi curled the corners of her lips and teased, "Are you an ordinary employee?"
"It seems you're more comfortable as an assistant than as a partner."
The person preparing to leave muttered under their breath, "No, I'm adapting well to both identities."
*
The head behind the computer was furtive, and during work breaks, the eyes would occasionally dart towards the tightly closed office door.
Finally, the closed door was opened again.
Xu went in alone, but came out with President Jiang, carrying an extra box that was clearly a gift from President Jiang.
The two stood at the office door, reluctantly talking for a long time before finally parting ways.
He Shuyi covered her mouth. Was it a bit too extravagant to have this for afternoon tea?
She had just received a piece of candy and watched Xu return to his workstation with a smile on her face.
Xu, who was being stared at, rubbed his arms and said, "Your smile is creepy."
"Keep it up, I have high hopes for you and President Jiang."
Leaving behind this ambiguous statement, she stopped looking at Xu Que and began to concentrate on her work.
The weekend arrived quickly.
Xu planned to take a break these two days to go back and see the director and the children.
"Do you have any plans for the weekend? I'd like to go back to the orphanage."
Jiang Fengyi postponed the unimportant dinner, saying, "I'm free anyway, I'll go back with you."
Saturday morning,
Before setting off, Xu carried the cardboard boxes she had packed the night before into her car, which was almost completely filled with them.
Xu drove the car to the vicinity of Jiang Fengyi's house, and then got out of the car carrying the cooked breakfast.
Jiang Fengyi had just gotten up and washed when she heard her doorbell ring. Xu had reminded her last night that she would be leaving early today, but this was far too early.
Jiang Fengyi, with a toothbrush in her mouth, quickly ran to open the door.
"Didn't you already register my fingerprints? You can just come in next time."
Xu arrived at the restaurant with practiced ease and put down the breakfast he was holding.
"Wouldn't you be startled if you came out of your house after brushing your teeth and suddenly found yourself with an extra person?"
Xu opened the lid, and the oatmeal porridge, which had just been cooked, was still steaming. She had added milk while cooking it, and a rich milky aroma wafted out as soon as she opened the lid.
"Come and eat after you've finished washing up."
Jiang Fengyi sat at the dining table with a bowl of porridge that Xu Que had ladled out in front of her. The porridge was at the perfect temperature, soft, sweet, and had a slight grainy texture from the oats.
After breakfast, she followed Xu downstairs.
The car was parked not far away, but Xu walked around to the side and opened the passenger door.
"There's a lot of stuff in the car, please don't mind."
Jiang Fengyi looked back.
"Is this considered a little too much?"
The back seat, meant for seating, was neatly stacked with cardboard boxes, and there was also a lot of stuff piled up under the seats. In short, every available space was utilized.
"Can't I put it in the trunk?"
"The trunk is full too."
Jiang Fengyi, who was probably imagining something, said: "Xu Que, tell me honestly, do you also work part-time selling goods on weekends?"
Xu, as if suddenly enlightened, earnestly discussed with her: "Would driving a Didi (ride-hailing service) earn more than a freight truck?"
Jiang Fengyi was speechless: "I don't know, this is outside my area of knowledge."
Saturday was a sunny day.
The further the car drove into the suburbs, the more open the view became on both sides of the road. With no buildings to block the view, the rising sun shone through the car windows, casting golden patches of light on the two people.
Xu glanced at Jiang Fengyi by chance and saw that her face was shrouded in a holy glow.
Her heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Jiang Fengyi got up too early and started to feel sleepy after getting into the car. The warm sunshine made her fall asleep without realizing it.
After Jiang Fengyi woke up from her nap, the car had been parked for an unknown amount of time. The glaring sunlight was blocked by the shade of the trees overhead, and the chirping of cicadas could be faintly heard from the trees.
Xu, who was in the driver's seat, was nowhere to be seen. Jiang Fengyi looked around and noticed that some of the cardboard boxes in the car were also missing.
She straightened her messy hair and opened the car door.
Before I had walked more than a few steps, I saw several five- or six-year-old children running toward me.
"Sister, you're awake!"
Xiao Hua, holding Yuan Yuan's hand, looked curiously at Jiang Fengyi, the beautiful older sister brought back by Sister Xu Que.
Strangers rarely visit the orphanage. Several children surrounded her, chatting away.
"Sister Xu Que asked us to watch over you and said to call her when you wake up."
"Sister, you're so beautiful!"
"Sister, your hair is so long!"
Xiao Hua explained sweetly, "Shan Shan runs fast and has already gone to inform Sister Xu Que."
Jiang Fengyi smiled and patted the girl's head: "You're so good. What's your name?"
“My name is Xiaohua,” she said, pulling over another little girl with rosy cheeks who was half a head shorter than her. “Her name is Yuanyuan.”
A little girl with a cleft lip and two braids next to her spoke up: "Sister, my name is Xiaoyu!" Her voice was a little unclear, but Jiang Fengyi listened patiently.
Yuanyuan looked up at Jiang Fengyi and slowly took out the candy that Xu Que had just given her from her pocket.
"Sister, have some candy."
An'an, who was being led by Xiaohua, always seemed a step behind the other children. She pushed the hand holding the candy towards Jiang Fengyi and tilted her head to look at him.
The child asked innocently, "Sister, are you the girlfriend that Sister Xu Que brought back?"
Jiang Fengyi chuckled: "You even know what a girlfriend is?"
"I learned this from watching TV dramas with Aunt Fufu. The pretty older sister she brings home is usually her girlfriend."
Xiao Hua asked curiously, "Are you and Sister Xu Que back to meet your parents?"
“Yes, that’s how it’s always portrayed in TV dramas.” Xiaoyu straightened her clothes and said proudly, “Then we are Xu Que’s parents.”
Yuanyuan was very logical: "You've got it backwards. We're younger, so it should be Sister Xu Que who's our parent."
The little boy started arguing about who was whose parent.
Jiang Feng pinched Yuan Yuan's chubby little face, unwrapped the candy in Yuan Yuan's hand and stuffed it into her mouth: "I'm not Xu Que's girlfriend, just an ordinary friend."
Yuanyuan puffed out her little face, frowned, twisted the candy wrapper between her fingers, and was worried. Why was it different from what Sister Xu Que had said?
"Sister, I have candy too!"
Shanshan had already run back, thinking that Jiang Fengyi wanted some candy, and generously shared her candy with the pretty older sister.
Xu pulled Jiang Fengyi from the group of children and spoke to the few little ones who barely reached her waist.
"Keep your candy for yourselves, I'll only eat the candy I give you."
"Why?" Shan Shan asked her, "Will the candy you give me be sweeter?"
"Of course, I saved the sweetest candy for my sister."
Xiao Hua pouted: "Sister Xu Que, you should save that for fooling three or four-year-olds."
Several children were already surrounding Jiang Fengyi, but now Xu came over, followed by a line of children.
The children gathered together and started chattering incessantly.
The two of them seemed to have become kindergarten teachers, leading the entire class of children. Xu, however, was driven crazy by the noise, so she grabbed Jiang Fengyi and ran away.
Seeing this, the children thought that Sister Xu wanted to play a chasing game with them, and they giggled and chased after her. The little legs showed great potential, and they followed closely behind.
Xiaohua and Yuanyuan were a step behind, following at the very end.
A group of people started playing wildly in the yard.
Jiang Fengyi ran forward, and felt a surge of heat from the wrist that someone had grabbed, making her skin burn.
After taking the kids out for a walk, Xu finally had time to unload all the cardboard boxes from the car.
Jiang Fengyi wanted to lend a hand, but she pulled her aside to sit down.
"Take a break and catch your breath."
Jiang Fengyi sits in the office all year round and doesn't get much exercise. After running a few laps, her lip color has faded considerably.
"for you."
Xu clenched his fist and handed it to her.
What is it?
She flipped her palm upwards, revealing a pink candy in her hand.
"I just said I'd give you the candy."
Having just finished exercising, Xu took off her T-shirt because she felt hot, revealing a workwear vest underneath. The muscle definition in her arms became apparent whenever she moved cardboard boxes.
The beauty of strength is embodied in her; after putting down the cardboard box, those smooth lines disappear back into her skin.
The sweetness spread in her mouth. Jiang Fengyi sat under the shade of a tree, enjoying the breeze, and watched Xu carry cardboard boxes back and forth.
What's inside?
"A gift for the children."
Xu answered with a smile.
"I bought it with the money you transferred to me last time."
Jiang Fengyi was stunned. She realized that a few cold numbers on her phone could be exchanged for so many gifts that her child had been looking forward to.
It turns out that Xu worked hard to earn money in order to support the children here.
Xu placed the last exquisitely packaged gift box, unlike the others with their simple packaging, into Jiang Fengyi's hands.
"This is a gift for you."
Under the blazing sun,
Xu Que's temples were slightly damp, and the gentle breeze carrying her unique plant scent brought her closer to Jiang Fengyi.
One was sitting with their head tilted back, while the other was standing with their back bent.
The gift box in their hands became the bond connecting the two.
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