47 Chapter Forty-Six (Two chapters combined)
◎Shall we go upstairs? ◎
From childhood to adulthood, Yu Jinyang had almost never seen her shed a tear.
When she was little, she pulled out her dad's valve stem and was carried home by him and scolded, but she didn't cry; she saved someone but was besieged by unscrupulous reporters who wanted her to reveal her bottom-ranked grades in Xiaohua City, but she didn't cry either; she almost missed getting into Tanzhong High School in the high school entrance exam, and everyone was worried for her, but she just smiled and said carefree, "Meow Meow, you need to get used to life without me soon."
He had always thought she had a strong heart. That time she was brought to tears by Liang Mei, to be honest, he found it more intriguing than pitying. It was like seeing Li Yingqiao crying her eyes out after pulling an SSR card in a gacha game—he'd never seen anything like it.
Ever since he met Zhu Xiaoliang in Mad Harbor and was carried in her princess carry, he couldn't help but secretly compete with her. Although he was afraid of her fists, he always gave in to her on the surface.
In elementary school, he outperformed her academically; she went to Xiancheng No. 2 Middle School, while he went to Experimental Middle School. He thought he had finally left her behind and could no longer compete with her. Then Liang Mei suddenly approached him again with a fish fry project, and clearly, Li Yingqiao became the most expensive fish once more.
Like Liang Mei, he was curious to see how many more surprises she could offer. But he had actually said something quite ironic to Liang Mei: "I think you're likely to lose. Li Yingqiao isn't cut out for studying."
Liang Mei smiled and told him, "Then you wait and see, I will definitely win."
He couldn't understand why Liang Mei was so certain and trusting of him. Just like when he was kidnapped during the high school entrance exam, he himself went through a lot of thought, but still sent her the only SOS message.
But Zhu Xiaoliang knew best about her and Liang Mei's relationship. He'd heard them arguing fiercely in the kitchen several times before the college entrance exam, commenting that it was exactly like Teacher Tan's. Even on her deathbed, they were still arguing. Liang Mei still regrets it, but she hasn't changed.
That night, at the entrance of the farmers' market in the drizzling rain, Liang Mei watched as Li Yingqiao's large tears fell one after another onto her hand. To say it was new to Liang Mei was also new to her, but her heart was as hard as stone. She asked Li Yingqiao, "Right here, I asked you a question, do you remember?"
"You asked me what kind of person I want to become in the future." She stopped biting, but looked at me with teary eyes.
“Yes, you said you wanted to change the world,” Liang Mei said, holding up the letter torn in half. “Then what is this? Do you think they’ll be moved?”
"..."
“Isn’t this just the weak groveling before the strong, waiting for their sympathy and charity? Isn’t this another form of surrender? Is this what I taught you? What would that make me? If you think that Zhu Xiaoliang and I sent you to prestigious universities with this kind of purpose, then you are insulting us!” Liang Mei paused, not saying anything more hurtful, and finally said, “If you just want to prove me wrong, then study hard outside, make a name for yourself, and don’t let me look down on you.”
After Liang Mei left, Li Yingqiao vented all her anger on him. Wiping away her tears, she walked to the streetlight and shouted at him, "Did you hear that? You have to make a name for yourself out there, or I'll look down on you."
Every time she and Liang Mei argued, he was the one who suffered. Yu Jinyang was also confused at the time. He had been preparing two words of comfort, but they were immediately shattered by this sentence. Like a dumpling skin that had been overcooked and broken, only a droopy dumpling skin was left floating on the surface of the soup, while the filling sank to the bottom of the pot. Suddenly, he had nothing to say.
In the ten years that Li Yingqiao was competing with Liang Mei, wasn't he also competing with her? Although he had been unusually honest and admitted that he had given in to her when they argued at the barbecue stand that day, even now, he was still competing with her.
He simply wanted to see her admit defeat, to hear her confess that Yu Jinyang was very attractive to her, and that she didn't just want to flirt with him and be his lover, but her heart kept him firmly outside.
The night breeze along the riverbank carried a shimmering, oily moon. Through the interplay of light and shadow, the distant mountain ridges pressed against the rippling river surface, resembling a small boat that refused to dock.
Sun Taihe listened intently and summarized the essence, acting as the class representative for the other two. He was the first to ask, "So, the master and apprentice haven't seen each other for ten years? Two stubborn mules?"
“We don’t know.” Gao Dian finished his skewers and smacked his lips as he said, “Anyway, when we were sophomores, Teacher Liang and Zhu Xiaoliang went to G Province to teach in a rural area. Li Yingqiao hasn’t been in contact with us much since then, so we probably won’t have a chance to see her.”
Sun Taihe's back pressed against the plastic stool of the barbecue stall, seemingly making a "creaking" sound on purpose. He turned to stare at Yu Jinyang with a gossipy expression: "Then what are you and Li Yingqiao?"
Yu Jinyang glanced at him and said frankly, "Just ordinary friends, what else could we be?"
Gao Dian was stunned, his brows furrowing slightly, a look of dissatisfaction on his face towards the class representative: "What are you asking? Isn't their relationship obvious enough? Besides, that's not the point. Shouldn't the point be how we can persuade Li Yingqiao to go see Teacher Liang?"
"Mind your own business." Sun Taihe raised his hand to stop him from speaking, and then glanced questioningly at Yu Jinyang next to him.
Yu Jinyang, annoyed by the stares, laughed out loud: "We're really just ordinary friends."
Gao Dian slapped his forehead, his eyes widening as he said, "Phoenix Legends, you know the relationship between Phoenix Legends, right? It's like one of them is always singing and the other is always saying 'Yay! Yay! Yay! Yay!'—that kind of unconditional agreement. They've been like that since they were little, there's no spark between them. Qiao likes the kind of relationship that makes her feel a little conquering."
Yu Jinyang didn't say a word, but Pan Xiaoliang believed it, and Wu Juan believed it too. Only Sun Taihe smiled and didn't believe it, leaving behind a meaningful remark to end the day's gathering: "Then you don't really understand your Little Meow Meow."
Just as Yu Jinyang was about to say, "Stop talking nonsense," he turned around and found Wu Juan staring at him.
He slightly turned his head away, picked up his phone, and said, "It's over."
***
Li Yingqiao spent the entire day in a flurry of meetings with the merchants in the scenic area. She didn't even have lunch; she gathered everyone in the meeting room immediately after returning from Li Lianfeng's place. The scenic area had long been poorly managed, leaving the merchants with no recourse and a constant stream of complaints. Finally, a person in charge arrived, and they rushed over, chattering away with Li Yingqiao about even the smallest matters all day long.
"Manager Li, you be the judge. Why can't I hang my clothes to dry in front of my own shop? Every time you say the manager is coming to inspect, you make me put all the clothes I just washed inside and hide them. Well, now I've forgotten about them, and my underwear is getting moldy in the closet. I don't care, you have to wash them clean."
"Our store entrance has been blocked by the thugs next door. We applied for a scenic area sign, but it hasn't been resolved for so long. Manager Li, it's not that I'm trying to make things difficult for you, but when you're recruiting tenants, can you at least do some background checks? Big cities do background checks when they recruit people. Don't let these petty thugs in, okay?"
"Who are you cursing? I'm just running my shop here honestly, who am I bothering? Did I shit in your doorstep or into your bowl? You old geezer, if I'm a hooligan, then what are you? At least I don't hit women. Clean up your own mess first, or I'll call the police to arrest you."
"When will the rent be reduced? If it remains this high, we won't renew our lease next year. We really can't stay in business. Manager Li, you're also surnamed Li, and you're related to Secretary Li, right? Your words carry weight. Could you talk to him? The environment is really terrible right now. Could you lower the rent a bit, or ask Mr. Li's side of the government for some subsidies?"
"..."
After Li Yingqiao finished dealing with all these messy matters and the merchants dispersed, she learned what had happened in the office at noon.
Immediately afterwards, the deputy general manager of the scenic area called her into his office, while Zhuang Ding stood to the side with a livid face. Li Yingqiao was exhausted both physically and mentally from being tormented by the merchants. She hadn't eaten lunch and was so hungry that she was dizzy. When she saw the pale-faced person opposite her, she lost her appetite.
"What's wrong? Juan'er and Xiao Liang got into trouble again?" she asked with a smile, only to suddenly remember that Wu Juan and Pan Xiaoliang had gossiped with her about the relationship between Vice President Wang Wenxiang and Zhuang Ding Ge before. It seemed to be an open secret in the scenic area of Xiaohua City.
Wang Wenxiang told him to go out first, then smiled and asked Li Yingqiao to sit down, saying, "There's something I want to talk to you about."
Wang Wenxiang was in her early forties, with short, neat hair that didn't betray her age at all. Her expression remained unreadable, but she spoke bluntly: "I understand that your department is short-staffed, but Wu Juan and Pan Xiaoliang are being far too arrogant, openly assaulting other employees. As their leader, I hope you will restrain their behavior."
“Then fire them both,” Li Yingqiao said with a forced smile. “I’ve put up with them for a long time too.”
"..."
"You can't open the shop, and you can't hire anyone. Are their salaries really that high? Who would want to do this dirty and tiring work for three thousand a month? Those shop owners are difficult to deal with and love to cause trouble. Just now, someone brought a pile of rotten, smelly clothes to us to wash. Every time before, wasn't Juan'er and Xiao Liang the ones who had to shamelessly clean up the mess? Do you really think they want to do it? Besides, is it their fault? How about we check the surveillance footage and post it online so everyone can judge who's right and who's wrong? It'll get some attention, no matter what. We don't care."
This was a threat against her. Wang Wenxiang's face darkened. She asked, "Then what do you want?"
Li Yingqiao laughed out loud: "I didn't do anything wrong, you're the one who invited me in. Since you've asked, can I ask Juan'er for an extra quarterly bonus? She's been doing really well lately, diligently replying to messages on the official WeChat account, and netizens are praising her for being cute. As for Pan Xiaoliang, let's just punish him by making him stay home for three days."
"..."
In fact, Wang Wenxiang had wanted to get rid of this person for a long time and had been looking for an opportunity to talk things out with him. Unexpectedly, he came to her to complain at noon today. She was already tired of dealing with his entanglements with other male colleagues in the company every day, so she agreed to help him deal with it one last time. She was also extremely annoyed. Li Yingqiao's attitude left Wang Wenxiang at a loss.
Li Yingqiao has only been with the company for a short time. She is very efficient and has a special aura that is hard to understand. Just when you think she is only weighing the pros and cons, you will find that she is actually quite sincere. When you are moved by her sincerity, you will find that she is genuinely weighing the pros and cons.
Wang Wenxiang didn't want to mess with this person. The attitude of the Li family grandfather and grandson towards her was also ambiguous. When Li Yingqiao first joined the company, Li Lianfeng called her and told her not to have a conflict with Li Yingqiao because she was not easy to deal with. But the old man wanted to try anything, even if it was a desperate measure.
Li Boqing doesn't come often, and Li Lianfeng holds a government position but can't interfere too much. Wang Wenxiang basically handles the affairs of the scenic area. Since Li Yingqiao came, with his decisive and ruthless style of doing things, Wang Wenxiang feels like she's been given wings. Between two evils, she chooses the lesser one. She knows all too well whose head should be taken out in this matter.
"Why don't you ask him to apologize to your friend?" Wang Wenxiang asked curiously.
"It's pointless. Even if you force him to apologize, he won't be sincere. Does someone like him really think he's wrong? No way. Why make my friend feel disgusted again? It's true that you should compensate my friend some money."
The next day, a thunderous sound suddenly erupted from Xiaohuacheng's office.
The farmhand was fired because his expense reports were found to be falsified. The others weren't stupid; why investigate now of all times? It was simply a matter of the two women not reaching an agreement, and Wang Wenxiang didn't want to offend Li Yingqiao. So, the farmhand became Wang Wenxiang's pledge of allegiance to Li Yingqiao. So, of all things to climb, why climb into the bed of your female boss?
While everyone else in the office was enjoying the gossip, Wang Wenxiang received a call from Li Lianfeng. She thought that they had gotten wind of it so quickly, and that the grandfather and grandson were not so easily fooled. So she leaned back in her chair and thought for a moment before answering the phone after it had rung for ten seconds.
Li Lianfeng's voice, like a slippery eel, suddenly burst from the microphone: "Is the old man really going to sell the scenic area?"
Wang Wenxiang was taken aback, then said calmly, "I haven't heard of it."
"Sister Wenxiang, you're not keeping this from me either, are you?" Li Lianfeng chuckled.
"What are you talking about? What could I possibly be hiding from you? I really haven't heard of this."
"Alright then." Seeing that he couldn't get any information out of him, Li Lianfeng sighed softly and gave another ambiguous laugh. "What have you been busy with lately?"
Wang Wenxiang didn't have the habit of flirting with him in the office. "What else could I be busy with? I'll hang up now if there's nothing else."
Li Lianfeng quickly added, "Sister, wait a minute. Grandpa really didn't say anything to you?"
Wang Wenxiang: "Really, I haven't received any messages."
"People from Beijing have arrived. Several leaders from the Culture and Tourism Bureau have come out tonight," Li Lianfeng said in a low voice before hanging up the phone.
***
The digital platform, jointly maintained with Factory T, has finally been officially launched thanks to Sister Hu's tireless efforts. After that, tickets can be booked uniformly, and the scenic area guides and AI tour guides can all be upgraded. Pan Xiaoliang has also become "Factory Liang Pan," and now he and other departments are constantly saying, "Let's align our granularity first."
Li Yingqiao complained that his dancing was out of sync, so she told him to stop nitpicking about "graininess." Pan Xiaoliang was extremely indignant and grabbed Sun Taihe to start dancing. And believe it or not, even though Yu Jinyang wasn't on camera, Wu Juan's backstage was still buzzing with excitement—
One troublemaker commented, "One of you three dances really well."
One netizen, prone to internal strife, commented, "I haven't done anything wrong recently, so why did I have to come across this post?"
A netizen with a fluffy face commented: "Pan Xiaolian, Gao Diandian, I really don't have time to mess around with you guys!"
One netizen who isn't picky about food said, "We must resolutely say no to bad temptations."
A netizen who loves to catch jokes but is picky said: "Go for it! (Forget about Dian Dian and Xiao Lian, the handsome new guy next to them is okay)."
Wu Juan immediately tagged Sun Taihe's social media account in the comments section.
When Sun Taihe opened his social media account, he thought he was being cyberbullied, but all he found were random comments.
"Sisters, this guy is handsome, let's go!"
Hang yourself. I checked my private messages, and there were zero messages.
He couldn't help but complain to Yu Jinyang, "You know what, these days girls are all talk and no action. It's like they spend too much time online. I thought they were all like hungry wolves. If you even glance at them once you're all dressed up and ready to go out, they'll punch you to death."
Just then, Yu Jinyang had changed Tiantong's shoes and was about to take her out for a swim when Tiantong heard her brother say that on the other end of the phone. The next second, she imitated him and said, "I'll stab you to death."
Yu Jinyang immediately hung up the phone, pinching her cheek: "Tang Shutian, do you want to get beaten up?"
The ice cream cone covered its face: "Ah, you can't hit the baby."
Yu Jinyang burst out laughing, pulled her into his arms, nestled her against his neck, and, with her hands supporting the back of her head, surrendered, saying, "Okay, okay."
In less than two months, the Xiaohuacheng Scenic Area has gradually gained some fame on local social media platforms. In addition to the crazy ape-man videos, many art students from local art academies have also posted their sketches of the ape-man online. Li Yingqiao casually scrolls through social media and sees various figures like Gao Dian and Pan Xiaoliang, some so abstract that they are not even recognizable as human figures, as well as the pretty and charming Wu Juan and Miao Jia.
Li Yingqiao forwarded the message to Zhao Pingnan, an unofficial orangutan who had rushed back to Qingyi for a blind date.
Zhao Pingnan replied: "There are two more, they'll be back in the team soon."
The innocent dung beetle hops around, asking, "Anyone you like?"
Zhao Pingnan: "It's hard to explain. They're all just random passersby, not even as pleasing to the eye as those few from Xiaohua City."
The innocent dung beetle hopped around like a cha-cha: "Then come back, Little Painting City welcomes you."
Zhao Pingnan: "Is Yu Jinyang possessing you?"
The innocent dung beetle hops on the cha-cha: "It's been a long time since we've been in touch."
Zhao Pingnan: "Tch, it's all thanks to you snapping your fingers."
Li Yingqiao glanced at her chat history with Yu Jinyang, stopping at the message from a while ago where she had asked him to send her a bank account number. She had said that if he sent her the account number, Wang Wenxiang would settle his choreography fees. Yu Jinyang hadn't replied at all, not even a single word. Li Yingqiao checked the time and realized that almost half a month had passed.
She took a screenshot and sent it to Zhao Pingnan.
Zhao Pingnan replied directly, "Oh, the little dog's got a temper."
Li Yingqiao suddenly remembered something. She abruptly jumped up from the sofa and dialed Li Lianfeng's number. The other end was noisy; he was indeed entertaining clients again. She heard a low voice say, "Li Yingqiao?"
Li Yingqiao hummed in agreement. "When are you going to give me the disability certificate? You should have given it to me last week."
Unable to contain his anger, Li Lianfeng gritted his teeth and could only lower his voice, saying, "Come to my office tomorrow to pick it up. Li Yingqiao, you've gone too far with this. I was just about to look for you, and you're already pressuring me. Let me tell you—"
"Li Lianfeng, it's not your place to lecture me."
"You're not pretending anymore, are you? You were trying to fool me by calling me Brother Lianfeng before, weren't you? Li Yingqiao, I'm warning you, I can only cover for you this once. If you do this again, don't blame me for turning my back on you."
Li Yingqiao ignored him, hung up the phone, and sent Yu Jinyang a WeChat message: "I'll come to your studio tomorrow."
Hearing the busy tone on the other end of the phone, Li Lianfeng was so angry that the veins on his temples throbbed. He took off his glasses, grabbed a glass of baijiu from the table, and took a big gulp, but it didn't quell his anger. The thought of what had happened still made him shudder.
This Li Yingqiao is incredibly audacious; he dares to mess with someone like that, actually delivering a whole box of cash to their doorstep as a bribe. But he doubts whether the money is real; it's most likely a honey trap.
But the old leader was furious. Without saying a word, he immediately called him, his voice cracking with anger, saying that he had lived an honest life, and now, on his deathbed, they were trying to smear him! Li Lianfeng was terrified and quickly said, "Really, no, it's a misunderstanding. Please don't worry. I'll help you explain things to her."
The old leader didn't care about any of that. He only knew he was about to retire and wouldn't allow any slander to be leveled against him. If it had been someone else, he probably would have gotten away with it. So Li Lianfeng thought Li Yingqiao was really cunning. He knew without a doubt that she must have been putting on airs and stirring things up, saying, "Oh, so it wasn't you who had the problem."
With a single, seemingly innocuous remark, she forced this soon-to-retire leader to conduct a thorough investigation to protect himself. Within two days, the disability certificate was delivered to Li Lianfeng's office; whether he granted it or not was entirely up to him. But he dared not refuse; Li Yingqiao was truly a scoundrel, and her methods were utterly despicable.
Yu Renjie himself was honest, but even having a son made him pretend to be a gentleman. Li Yingqiao, on the other hand, had been rumored to be mischievous and eccentric since childhood, and she grew up to be even more uncanny, yet she was also extremely beautiful. If it were anyone else, he wouldn't cover for her; they could do whatever they wanted with her.
Li Lianfeng grew angrier the more he thought about it, and sullenly downed another glass of baijiu. Just as he put the glass down, a cigarette was handed to him by the person next to him. Zhang Zongxie, on the other hand, looked at him politely and said, "Shall we have a talk?"
The scene seemed strangely familiar to him; two months ago, he seemed to have offered Yu Jinyang a cigarette in the same way.
***
After Li Yingqiao finished showering, she found that Yu Jinyang had called her. She was wrapped in a bath towel and curling her hair with a towel. She called back immediately, and this time he answered quickly. Yu Jinyang's clear and crisp voice echoed in the bathroom: "Busy?"
Li Yingqiao turned on the speakerphone and said, "I was just taking a shower."
There was a two-second pause before the other person said, "Oh. I just wanted to ask, what do you want to see me about tomorrow?"
Li Yingqiao slowly curled her hair, wringing out the water, and said in a drawn-out voice, "Can't I contact you right now if I don't have anything to do?"
A soft laugh came from the other end: "I'm flattered. I thought you'd be very busy these days."
Li Yingqiao put a rolled-up towel on her head: "You're the one who's busy. Why didn't you send me your bank card number?"
Yu Jinyang's voice sounded quite innocent: "I sent it to Pan Xiaoliang. Didn't you tell me to contact him about my job?"
Li Yingqiao: "...Then why didn't you tell me?"
Yu Jinyang: "Li Yingqiao, are you bothered that I don't reply to your messages?"
Li Yingqiao: "..."
Yu Jinyang still smiled: "See, you're speechless again."
After he finished speaking, before Li Yingqiao could reply, he added, "I'm still playing ball with someone at Xiaohua City. If you're not busy after you take a shower, you can come downstairs and chat for a bit."
When Li Yingqiao changed his clothes and came downstairs, he found out that he and Sun Taihe were playing basketball at Xiaohua City. The two of them carried a basketball and walked out from another alley on Chuanming Street. When they were young, they thought Xiaohua City was huge. They would run around there for a whole afternoon and be as tired as oxen, but they could never get enough of playing there.
Looking back now, I realize that Xiaohua City is really small. There is one Chuanming Street and five intersecting alleys running through it. When we were kids, we would walk in groups like a string of candied hawthorns in the alleys and we didn’t feel crowded at all.
Now, with two grown men squeezing into the alley, the entire alley seemed narrow and cramped. Looking at Yu Jinyang, his bone structure was getting better with age; he had a very handsome and rugged mature man's appearance. When he was a child, he never imagined Yu Jinyang would grow up to be this type.
Li Yingqiao first gave Yu Jinyang a familiar "meow," then turned to look at Sun Taihe and smiled generously, saying "hi~."
"Hi~" Sun Taihe was even more arrogant, and was extremely familiar with everyone. He pulled Yu Jinyang behind him and said, "Can we come up and sit down? We're so thirsty."
Yu Jinyang didn't dare stand too close. He had just finished playing ball and was covered in sweat. He stopped three steps away from her.
These are all things he's been trained for since childhood. Sun Taihe, of course, doesn't have these nerves. Not only does he stand close by, but he also wants to go upstairs to get a drink of water. Yu Jinyang pulls him back, saying, "I'm not thirsty."
Li Yingqiao smiled and said, "It's alright. Would you like some water? I'll go upstairs and get it for you."
After everyone turned and went upstairs, Sun Taihe turned to Yu Jinyang and sighed, "No, is this all the treatment you get?"
Yu Jinyang didn't think so: "Is this treatment not good enough? I used to not have water to drink after playing ball."
After Li Yingqiao came down, Sun Taihe took the water, patted Yu Jinyang on the shoulder with a "you'd better watch yourself" look, and turned to leave. Li Yingqiao and the others walked quite a distance before he smiled and asked, "Want to come up and sit for a bit? I have something to show you."
Yu Jinyang choked on his water, stopping halfway through unscrewing the bottle cap: "I can't look at Taihe?"
Li Yingqiao thought for a moment and said, "If you want him to see it, that's fine too. Do you want to?"
Yu Jinyang: "..."
Li Yingqiao turned and ran in another direction, making a gesture as if to wave: "Then my name is Taihe—"
Before she could finish speaking, he grabbed her wrist. His warm palm held her wrist tightly, not allowing her to break free, nor would she. The warmth of his body sent a slight shiver down her spine and raised goosebumps. She looked up at him, staring directly into his eyes. Yu Jinyang held his breath, carefully lifting his cheek, afraid his breath would hit her, but his eyes remained fixed intently on her.
"Do you want to go upstairs? Yu Jinyang, I'm asking you." Li Yingqiao asked.
[Author's Note]
Please remember this woman who posted 7,000 words. [doge emoji]
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