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Of course, Li Yingqiao eventually returned to Beijing with a phone full of "cat videos". Are there any cats in Houhai who can breakdance?
She didn't know, but there was a "cat" on her phone that could perform all sorts of exciting and quirky little dances.
After her persistent pleading and cajoling, Yu Jinyang finally relented and agreed to give her an SSSSVIP membership.
So, from the moment she got off the high-speed train, her phone was constantly ringing.
I'd never seen Yu Jinyang so impatient before. Perhaps it was because of the long-distance relationship, or perhaps it was because there were so many people in Beijing; in any case, Li Yingqiao would go a short time without checking her phone, and there were at least ten unread messages. She kept changing the nickname in his WeChat contacts, finally deciding to use his own name, because she'd learned this secret from You Xiaofan, though she didn't expose it. Knowing but not saying is one of the few virtues adults possess.
D321: Busy?
D321: In a meeting?
D321: Have you eaten?
D321: Why aren't you replying?
Interspersed in the middle was a dog emoji of "beating up a dung beetle" and a link to a WeChat public account about "how to maintain a long-distance relationship".
D321: ...
D321: Li Yingqiao, what does 1+1 equal? Answer.
D321:3
D321:2
D321:1
D321: Okay, you dropped your phone.
D321: ...? It's really gone?
Finally, there's a meme of a kitten completely frozen in fear, "afraid to speak, lest it ruin its reputation in its later years."
Li Yingqiao knew exactly what he was up to, and laughed so hard she could hardly breathe.
—Li Yingqiao, don't drop your phone.
On their last night before leaving for Beijing, if he could, Yu Jinyang wanted to tear her apart completely. They'd barely finished packing, hadn't even finished tucking the suitcases, when he was pinned down on the tiles after showering. Both of them, breathless and unable to contain themselves, murmured countless times in the steamy air. At one point, he seemed to be slacking off, and Li Yingqiao suspected he was trying to cut corners. He chuckled, then slowly and forcefully moved a couple of times, looking down at her, his voice low and helpless: "Did you hear that? There won't be a next time. I won't be taking any more pictures of you."
I didn't ask you to strip naked and dance. Li Yingqiao didn't really think it was a big deal, but knowing that he had always been shy, she teased him, "Wow, you're going to be famous, that's great, meow. We'll be set for life."
In response, the man suddenly increased his strength and, without a word, lowered his head to silence her with a kiss. Finally, at his wit's end, before going to bed and covering himself with the blanket, he stubbornly poked his head out again, coldly emphasizing, "Li Yingqiao, I'm begging you, please don't drop my phone."
Li Yingqiao lay on the bed laughing so hard she could barely breathe, and tapped his nose with her finger. "Yu Jinyang, is this how you ask for help?"
He wrapped her up in the blanket, buried his head in her shoulder, pressed his forehead against hers, and kissed her ear repeatedly. He couldn't help but laugh out loud, but his words were still cold: "Li Yingqiao, don't push your luck. I've never let you have a taste of sweetness since we were little, have I?"
Li Yingqiao squirmed and tried to avoid the ticklish feeling. Their high-speed train was at 8 AM the next day, and neither of them slept much that night. They didn't actually do anything in bed, just chatted idly. He talked about his life in Chicago, and she talked about Beijing, how she rarely dined with colleagues there. Over the years, she realized that Zhao Pingnan was practically her only friend, and she rarely even saw Fang Yue after graduation. Yu Jinyang initially wanted to ask about Lilith, but then he thought about it and realized she was right. After all, they were colleagues; how could they dare get too close?
Li Yingqiao looked up at him and said seriously, "Actually, meow, you have always been my best friend."
Yu Jinyang then realized that he was the same way. Over the years, there seemed to be a part of him that he couldn't completely open up to people, regardless of gender. He always felt that if he met Li Yingqiao again, she would definitely say, "What's wrong, Miaomiao? Aren't I your best friend?"
Li Yingqiao has always been someone who puts everything first, without question.
We chatted for what felt like an eternity, until the sky turned gray and white, and the soft sounds of wheels turning and footsteps could be heard outside the window. It was another new day in Little Painting City.
Their young, hot chests pressed tightly together, never separating all night. Yu Jinyang finally whispered in her ear, "I will come to Beijing to find you."
"when."
He didn't say.
Li Yingqiao nestled in his arms, poking his abs with her fingers, all the way up to his heart. She clung to his lean waist, which was completely uncovered, and kept asking him when, when, when exactly.
"sleep."
Having whetted his girlfriend's appetite, he closed his eyes without any qualms.
Li Yingqiao pinched the soft flesh on his chest, trying to keep him awake, and she did it with both hands at the same time.
But her expression was very serious, as if she were opening a heavily guarded safe.
...Just playing around with it, anyway, I just play with it all day long.
Yu Jinyang hissed in pain, his eyes closed, and laughed out loud with barely suppressed rage: "Li Yingqiao, believe it or not, I'll kick you down."
She blinked innocently, kissed me, hugged me, and comforted me.
Of course, it's easy to coax someone you've known since childhood. Even though he was both amused and exasperated, he still buried his face in her shoulder and whispered helplessly, "Is it okay now that you miss me the most?"
Finally, of course, he didn't forget to remind her, "Don't drop your phone."
Li Yingqiao teased him with cat pictures, but actually she just didn't want to hear him say things like "you need to eat well and sleep well." Every time he finished saying these things, the atmosphere was very silent. Sometimes there were tears in their eyes, but they could only hold them back. Crying all the time is not good for their health. They are not the same as they used to be when they were seventeen or eighteen.
Over the years, she still didn't like saying goodbye. She never let Shuli see her off at the station. She was used to carrying her luggage by herself and boarding that northward train, rain or shine.
This time was no exception; she still didn't let Shuli see her off. Fourth Brother and Ms. Tang Xiang were also kept at home. There was no elder to see her off, nor the lively farewell of friends. Only Yu Jinyang saw her to the waiting room, watched her get her ticket checked, watched her cross the line. Just like many years ago, in the crowded platform, Li Yingqiao turned back to look at him one last time. The difference from the year she went to university—
Her eyes no longer held any eagerness, any curiosity about the world, or the youthful arrogance of her past: "Yu Miaomiao, I'm going to change the world, don't miss me too much."
She simply stood amidst the constant flow of passengers, calmly turned back, smiled at him, and waved: Okay, I'll take good care of my phone. Remember to think of me.
When was the time she missed him the most? She herself didn't know, so how could he possibly know?
At least not right now.
Li Yingqiao and Xu Quyu had just come out of the conference room when she saw a long string of messages on her phone. She couldn't help but smile. As she entered the elevator, she quickly sent a message back. She saw Xu Quyu waiting for her in the elevator car, holding the door open for her.
Li Yingqiao followed her inside, skillfully pressed the button for her office floor, and then looked up to say thank you to Xu Quyu.
Everything seemed unchanged, but she seemed a little different.
Xu Quyu nodded slightly, said nothing, and his gaze swept over her calmly as always.
As the elevator doors opened, Li Yingqiao, who had stood in the same elevator on this very floor when she returned to headquarters last year, sincerely extended her hand to congratulate her on finally returning to where she belonged. At this moment, Xu Quyu simply gazed indifferently at the woman who had disappeared for over half a year. She was still radiant, still difficult to deal with, and had still offended the veterans in the conference room upon her return. The only difference was the rare ring on her hand, and a newfound radiance in her eyes and brows. Michael had said she was getting married soon.
"Congratulations." Xu Quyu never expected that one day he would be congratulating his female employee on her marriage.
Li Yingqiao subconsciously glanced down at her ring finger and chuckled, "It's still early, but thank you anyway."
Xu Quyu smiled, a rare occurrence. "Michael said your boyfriend is very handsome."
Li Yingqiao said the most shameless thing in his life: "It's alright, the main thing is that he has a good personality, whether he is handsome or not is not important."
Xu Quyu thought so too. She shouldn't lack handsome men around her. The man who stood out must have been handsome, but other aspects were probably what made him the most attractive.
Clearly, only a serious person like Xu Quyu would take this seriously. Li Yingqiao felt guilty after saying it and sent a "kiss" emoji to the person on the other end to show his approval.
But she forgot that before leaving Fengtan, they had made several agreements. Because she loved to tease him on WeChat, Yu Jinyang forbade her from sending kiss emojis on WeChat during this period, as it was quite disturbing. There was only one exception—when she met or spoke to Zhang Zongxie, she had to send him a kiss emoji as compensation.
Before she could react and retract the kiss, the other side responded at lightning speed.
D321: ...
D321: You've only been together a day and you've already talked to and met him? Was he waiting for you at the train station entrance?!
D321: Good, good, good. You 'fell in love' as soon as you got off the train, Li Yingqiao, congratulations!
Li Yingqiao laughed again, clutching her phone. It was her first day without much work. She briefly showed up at the office, watered the cactus, moved it around, and once the setup was mostly done, she went downstairs to chat with the security guard for a bit, getting a general idea of the recent high-level personnel changes at Convey. She didn't make the call until she got back to her apartment with Lilith.
The voice on the other end was predictably cold: "What?"
"Yu Jinyang, my phone didn't fall."
"My sweet baby."
Huh? Li Yingqiao's hand holding the phone suddenly paused, a sudden shiver ran down her spine, and her scalp tingled involuntarily.
I was about to ask him what was wrong with me. The next second, I heard his nonchalant, teasing voice through the receiver, his usual cool tone: "Here, yes, jump over here, good girl, want some more? There's still some cat food in the car."
"..."
Then, with a nonchalant and emotionless tone, he said, "Oh, is there something you need? Gao Dian and I are at Meow Meow Station."
Li Yingqiao burst out laughing again at his seemingly righteous yet subtly seductive behavior.
He, of course, denied it: "I seduced you again? You lousy tyrant, you lousy tyrant!"
"Yu Jinyang, I don't smell bad."
"Oh, the fragrant tyrant, the fragrant tyrant."
Li Yingqiao smiled and changed the subject. If they continued talking, the conversation would probably go beyond what a phone call could resolve. She looked out the window and said, "We can see the moon in Beijing today. Can you see the moon where you are?"
"able."
Li Yingqiao leaned against the window and said, "Then let's watch the moon together."
He finally laughed, knowing what she was talking about: that night he had talked about the moon in Chicago and his hometown he could never return to.
Looking at the clear, round moon outside the window, she suddenly said, "Yu Jinyang, actually, I didn't have conjunctivitis during my senior year of high school."
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