Chapter 24
The mall's buffet restaurant was bustling with activity. Ye Tinglan, as the host, led Li Ye and Yao Yao through the crowd. As soon as they landed and put down their suitcases, they were taken outside to eat. According to the host, this was to welcome them back.
Arriving at her reserved seat, Yao Yao sat down and complained, "Why didn't you find a quiet place? I'm so tired after getting off the plane."
Ye Tinglan glared at Yao Yao, her tone unfriendly. "I'm treating, okay? I just couldn't get any coupons from other restaurants. This place has been open for a while, and I didn't know there would be so many people."
Slightly tired, Li Ye abruptly interrupted the conversation: "It's normal for there to be a lot of people at mealtimes, but Lanlan, your appearance is so different from when I met Aunt Ma before."
Ye Tinglan immediately stood up. "I'll go get the food. What do you guys want to eat at this all-you-can-eat barbecue place?"
Without waiting for a reply, she left after speaking. Yao Yao and Li Ye looked at each other, and Yao Yao gave up, saying, "I'll go get some snacks, desserts, and fruit."
In the end, only Li Ye remained at the table, leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed to rest. When Ye Tinglan returned with the first batch of meat, Li Ye pressed her down and got up to get the dipping sauces. He prepared three bowls of dipping sauces according to the three people's different tastes: one salty and sweet, one coated with sesame sauce, and one with a mixture of chili peppers.
When they returned to their seats, the meat on the baking tray was still freshly placed on it, and the two of them had already started eating. Yao Yao had egg tarts and pizza, and she was very lucky to have encountered freshly baked food.
Li Ye put down the condiment bowl, picked up a slice of pizza and started eating. The crust was so thick, it felt like he was biting into the dough. Luckily, Yao Yao only took three slices.
The cheese on the pizza could only slightly alleviate the choking sensation. After downing half a glass of soda, Li Ye finally regained his senses and used tongs to flip the meat on the baking tray so he could get to the main course quickly.
The ribs sizzled on the grill, and the large scissors cut them into smaller pieces. The first batch of grilled meat was finally cooked. As someone who didn't talk while eating, Li Ye was responsible for grilling the meat and listening in this situation.
"I came back this time to prepare for a move. I've already decided on a location in Beijing and have finalized the details with the studio there," Ye Tinglan said, explaining the purpose of her dinner party today and sharing her new work direction with her close friends.
"So you're going to rent a place to live over there, right? The rent there seems to be quite expensive. Will your voice acting salary be enough?" Yao Yao had been thinking about renting a place ever since she started her journey back, and this was her first thought.
Ye Tinglan hadn't really thought about this. "I told my family that I was going to work in Beijing in the future, and my mom would take some time to go there and buy a new apartment so we wouldn't have to rent."
In an outrageously extravagant move, Li Ye gave the largest piece of freshly grilled beef to the rich family's young lady, while she and Yao Yao each received a skewer of grilled chicken wings.
Yao Yao shared the same view. Skipping over the issue of renting a place, she talked about her career choices: "After coming back this time, I plan to try being a full-time photographer and see how things go in a different direction."
Ye Tinglan was somewhat surprised, "Didn't they say you can work until you're 35 in your line of work? It's still a long way off. Are you going to stay in Shanghai?"
"Where did you see that? I wish I had been working at one of those big companies. And the way you're saying it makes it sound like I was the one who resigned." Yao Yao felt a surge of anger just thinking about it. She took the grilled oysters Li Ye handed her. "Of course I'll stay here. There aren't that many job opportunities back home."
"Then you can stay at my place, so my apartment won't be empty and I won't feel so restricted." Ye Tinglan picked up a juicy grilled sausage. "Set the rent low, and you'll have to pay for the utilities yourself, but..."
“I can’t just renovate it. This isn’t my first time renting a place. Xiao Ye knows I’m very trustworthy when it comes to renting.” Yao Yao skillfully picked up on the familiar landlord’s words, then suddenly pointed to Li Ye, who was focused on eating mushrooms.
Li Ye took a small sip of the soup from the mushroom, then nodded to indicate that Yao Yao was right. After estimating the amount of meat she had eaten earlier, she finished the last mushroom in her bowl, took out a tissue to wipe her mouth clean, and unilaterally declared that she had finished her meal.
“I’m staying here too. When I was traveling before, an animation company replied to me, saying they were sure they wanted to buy the copyright and that the process is underway.” Li Ye thought for a moment and then added, “Also, I need to rent a place. The house I bought before is probably still unfinished, so I’ll have to rent it for a year or six months.”
"Are you really going to rent a villa?" Ye Tinglan asked curiously.
Li Ye shook his head and denied: "No need. This time when I went out to play, I stayed in a homestay with Yao Yao. There are self-built two-story houses and those loft apartments that are popular recently. I have also been to Zeng Yuan's villa before. It is better to avoid stairs in my daily life."
Yao Yao also agreed: "We think a large flat is more suitable. Although we definitely can't afford one here, it doesn't stop us from commenting. Ordinary people don't need those fancy things."
Ye Tinglan, who lives in a villa, buried her head in her meat and didn't say anything. After eating two large pieces of steak, she also declared that she was done eating, leaving Yao Yao alone at the table, looking around blankly and refusing to eat anything.
Li Ye reached out and poked Yao Yao's already bulging belly. "Doesn't your stomach feel anything? You've eaten so much you're stuffed. And the table is all clean. Where did your soul wander off to?"
"It's always like this when we go out for a buffet together. We're so full we don't even realize it, and I have to calculate the portions carefully before getting any meat or vegetables," Ye Tinglan added. "Is working a high-intensity job really this torturous?"
Having lived with Yao Yao for a few days, Li Ye nodded firmly, "Every time I came home from get off work, I saw that she was barely clinging to life, and she was only holding on by sheer willpower."
"Speaking of which, it's been a while since you had a physical exam. It's good to get checked out sooner rather than later. You should take good care of your health while you're still young." Ye Tinglan's words sounded completely out of character.
"Who told you that?"
"My new boyfriend is someone I met through a blind date. He's the son of my mom's best friend in Beijing. He said he was worried about me being alone out there and wanted someone he knew to take care of me." Ye Tinglan was staying at her family's house and couldn't easily turn against him. "Luckily, this new boyfriend is very handsome."
That's probably the main reason they didn't fall out; Li Ye and Yao Yao were thinking the same thing.
After the three of them rested until Yao Yao could walk normally, the welcome dinner came to a complete end, and they drove home together in Ye Tinglan's car.
In the early morning, Li Ye, who was the first to wake up, lay on the very edge of the bed and once again lamented that squeezing three adults into a double bed was really only a last resort, especially when someone was a restless sleeper. He was referring to Ye Tinglan, who occupied 70% of the space, probably because she had been used to freedom since childhood.
Ignoring the two who were still asleep, Li Ye had arranged to meet Zhou Yuan today. They hadn't been able to talk on the phone because of a dinner party on the day he returned. In the end, Zhou Yuan sent him a screen recording of him practicing the piano, but there was no voice message.
Feeling a little uneasy, Li Ye sat down at the dressing table to do her makeup after changing her clothes. Her usual daily makeup, which takes no more than ten minutes, took a full half hour today. She didn't even notice Yao Yao getting up.
Yao Yao watched for a while, then gently patted Li Ye's shoulder and asked in a low voice, "Should we go together or should I help you bring them?"
Li Ye put on her lipstick, packed away her makeup bag, pointed two fingers towards the door, and they went out for breakfast together.
The two quietly left the bedroom. Li Ye put on his backpack and went downstairs with Yao Yao. They quickly found a roadside stall selling jianbing guozi (Chinese crepes), bought one for each of them, and took it to a wonton shop. Finally, Yao Yao took the wontons and jianbing guozi back with her.
Li Ye took a taxi to the place she had agreed upon with Zhou Yuan, which was the location of their new home. She could already guess what surprises awaited her, and she was really looking forward to it.
After getting off the bus, I walked downstairs based on my memory. Some workers were already carrying materials up and down the stairs. There were several layers of cement dust in the elevator, indicating that some people had already started renovations.
The elevator stopped on the ninth floor. Not seeing any workers going in or out, Li Ye breathed a sigh of relief. The doors to both apartments were open. She didn't know where Zhou Yuan was, so she decided to go to his apartment first.
The cement house with water and electricity connected was hardly attractive; it was easy to see everything but also difficult to find people. After walking around, Li Ye confirmed that Zhou Yuan was not there.
Walking through another door, Li Ye arrived at her new home, which had the same cement style. She saw Zhou Yuan on the balcony after turning the corner. He was also carrying a bag. Perhaps hearing the footsteps, Zhou Yuan turned around and saw Li Ye as well.
The designer introduced by Zeng Yuan hadn't started work yet. When Li Ye and Zhou Yuan arrived at the studio, they were greeted by an assistant. Now, the two of them were sitting in the waiting room, holding hot water and looking at each other.
Zhou Yuanxian explained the current situation: "The house was handed over ahead of schedule, the water and electricity are connected, all the certificates and documents are in place, and we can get the certificate ahead of schedule."
Then he opened his backpack, took out two small red notebooks, and held his breath. Inside, one notebook had Zhou Yuan's name on it, and the other had Li Ye's name on it. He closed it and opened it again, and there were still those two names. He felt relieved.
"The day after you came back, you asked me for my ID card because of [illegal activity], why didn't you let me go with you?" Li Ye took out her phone to take pictures of the two little booklets. She liked the red covers more and more as she looked at them, and she wanted to post them on her WeChat Moments.
“One person can handle it; going through the procedures is too troublesome.” Zhou Yuan added, “I heard it’s more convenient than before.”
Li Ye disagreed: "That's also a life experience; you've taken away the feeling of actually getting it."
No surprises?
Li Ye tried to explain the difference to Zhou Yuan: "You mean the surprise brought by the event itself, which I would certainly be happy about. I'm talking about the joy brought by the sense of ritual of obtaining something personally. That's different."
Zhou Yuan seemed to be deep in thought. Li Ye put her book into his backpack. The documents he had lent to Zhou Yuan were returned the next day. It was just that Li Ye was not sensitive enough about this, or rather, not wary of Zhou Yuan enough.
"However, I still like you, Zhou Yuan."
Li Ye stared at the water glass in front of him as he made his confession, and then quickly added, "What I meant was that we'll go rent a place together later and live together for a while afterward."
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Whose heart is beating so loudly?
"Not yet." This is just a response to your confession.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
My heart suddenly started beating so fast!
Zhou Yuan finally came to his senses and slowly put his book back into his bag. His mind was racing. Was living together the real test?
"I'm sorry to have kept you both waiting. Now, let's go to my studio and talk about our ideas."
The designer, who had finally arrived at work, knocked on the door of the waiting room, interrupting the two people's wildly beating hearts and pulling them back to reality.
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