Truthfully, Shen NingXin didn’t believe in things like amulets.
This was because she tried them many times before and none of them worked. They weren’t successful, protecting nothing.
It was simply a false, mental assurance.
Thus, after so many failures, she stopped believing in them and never gave another look at these things.
But she never expected for Qiu YiBai to buy her one.
The amulet was round, with tassels hanging from the bottom. As she got closer, she could smell a faint sandalwood scent, and a strong general was engraved on it.
It was said to represent good health, peace, and joy.
“. . . . . .”
Shen NingXin flipped the amulet over and saw those exact words on the back.
No wonder Qiu YiBai said it so confidently. It turned out to be carved on it.
For some reason, Shen NingXin wanted to laugh after realizing this.
But when the corners of her mouth raised, not only did she not laugh, she instead felt a lump in her throat and fell silent.
“Why aren’t you thanking me?” Seeing her stand there without speaking for a while, Qiu YiBai was taken aback, then moved closer, seeming to observe her expression. “You don’t like it?”
“No.” Afraid she’d misunderstand, Shen NingXin hurriedly shook her head. “I like it.”
“Good, as long as you like it,” Qiu YiBai replied, the corners of her mouth raising inadvertently, and she said, “You can try putting it next to your pillow tonight. It definitely will work.”
It definitely will work.
How absolute this sentence was.
Hearing her words, Shen NingXin paused, then raised her head, and she read a strong confidence and determination from the bottom of Qiu YiBai’s eyes.
It was like she was telling her, “I’ve already cast magic on this amulet, it’s amazing.”
“Use it all you want, it’s incredibly effective!”
Childish and cute.
Yet it made people unconsciously want to believe in her words.
So after a while, Shen NingXin nodded gently.
A smile also finally appeared on her lips, and she thanked her sincerely.
In that case, I’ll try it again.
She secretly thought in her heart.
After all, this person’s well wishes were hidden inside. It’s a very meaningful small thing, and it just might work.
It’s . . . magic cast by our crybaby.
—
Reality proved that Qiu YiBai’s amulet indeed worked.
Shen NingXin placed the amulet next to her pillow before going to sleep, and she didn’t dream at all that night.
When she woke up, she felt refreshed.
She didn’t even oppose to having to go back to work right after the trip.
Shen NingXin smiled from the bottom of her heart, reaching her hand out to stroke the amulet a few times to express her gratitude, then finally got up to wash up and eat.
She quickly finished everything and went downstairs to catch the bus.
The previous bus probably just left since Shen NingXin stood in front of the bus sign and waited for a long time without seeing one come. She then played on her phone for a while.
She opened WeChat to look at the state of the group chat, checked to see if there were any notices from Zhao Jie, and looked at what work must be done today.
After doing all that, she exited and clicked on Qiu YiBai’s Weibo.
This person posted an enormous amount of updates during the trip, the majority about how beautiful the scenery was.
The contents were almost the same. For some of the posts, Shen NingXin didn’t have the opportunity to read through them and only had a rough look.
Taking advantage of this time, she could finally go through each one again.
Thinking like this, Shen NingXin quickly scrolled to the Weibo where Qiu YiBai was horse riding that day, then slowly moved her finger upward as she browsed.
As though looking at jokes, she was amused by the posts.
While she looked through, the bus finally arrived.
She also happened to scroll through to the last post.
Unlike the previous posts, there wasn’t a photo attached, and there were also fewer words than usual. It seemed quite serious.
Shen NingXin was curious about what exactly she posted, so she looked as she waited in line to get on the bus.
She then noticed that Qiu YiBai posted this Weibo after they got on the bus yesterday morning.
At that time, Qiu YiBai seemed angry, and afraid that she’d upset her again, Shen NingXin subconsciously didn’t dare look at her.
Thus, she didn’t notice when she posted this.
The content was simple, just one sentence—
“I caused Shen NingXin to have a nightmare all night. I feel guilty. I’ll never tell her ghost stories again.”
That was all. It wasn’t followed by any emoticons, but Shen NingXin was surprisingly able to read a crying mood from these words.
She also finally realized that Qiu YiBai wasn’t mad at her during that time.
But rather mad at herself . . .
An unidentifiable feeling spread out from the bottom of her heart. Shen NingXin was a little dazed, where even the steps she took felt airy.
She got on the bus, still immersed in her thoughts. She walked straight to the back, and just as she was about to find a seat, she raised her eyes and saw Qiu YiBai.
Shen NingXin: “???”
Thinking she saw wrong, she hurriedly rubbed her eyes and looked again, and she indeed found that person sitting upright in the backseat with her arms crossed.
Her expression was probably too fierce since despite there being empty seats next to her, no one dared to sit there.
This was too pitiful.
Afraid she’d think too much about this, Shen NingXin hurriedly walked up and sat next to her, then opened her mouth and greeted, “Good morning, President Qiu.”
As soon as her voice fell, Qiu YiBai immediately raised her head.
It seemed like she had been waiting for a long time, and finally, someone came!
But after seeing that the person was Shen NingXin, she lightly coughed and normalized her expression before grabbing her briefcase and scooting in.
She coldly said, “Sit.”
“Yes.” Shen NingXin didn’t know whether to laugh or cry and hurriedly sat down.
She then asked out of curiosity, “President Qiu, why’d you suddenly think of riding the bus today?”
Qiu YiBai glanced at her, “Is it weird?”
Shen NingXin: Of course it’s weird ah. Where’s your Maserati?
Afraid that Qiu YiBai would be upset if she was too straightforward, Shen NingXin thought for a while, then hurriedly shook her head. “No, it’s not weird.”
“I’m just a little curious as to why you had the pleasure for this today.”
Pleasure, she deliberately chose to say it nicely.
Sure enough, as soon as she finished speaking, Qiu YiBai gently raised the corners of her mouth.
But she still kept a serious look on her face and told her that it’s now a fast-paced society, where people were busy working all day long and few slow down to appreciate the beauty around them.
However, she was different. No matter how busy she was with work, she would never forget to occasionally listen to the sounds of nature.
Qiu YiBai probably was holding it all in before Shen NingXin came and sat down, for she actually talked the entire way.
Shen NingXin listened for a long time, and in the end, she was brainwashed and agreed with her opinion.
Afterward, they finally arrived at their stop.
The two got off the bus one after another. Since Qiu YiBai still had something to do, she told Shen NingXin to not wait for her and go up first.
Shen NingXin nodded in response and quickly walked to the elevator. As she was waiting, she happened to scroll onto Qiu YiBai’s homepage.
She then discovered that a new post was added at some point!
Shen NingXin checked the time, and it was around when she just got on the bus.
Looking at the content, she discovered that everything Qiu YiBai said to her on the bus was actually nonsense.
It turned out the real reason was that some unknown person drew on her car door.
Looking at the photo, it seemed to be taken in an underground garage. Although the image wasn’t all that clear, Shen NingXin could still tell that a big tortoise was drawn on the door.
The drawing style was somewhere between wild and realistic and seemed to be created by the hands of some rowdy kid.
Upon looking closer, there were also words next to the tortoise: an arrow leading to “I am”.
I am a big tortoise? (TL/N: b*stard)
This was too cruel!
No wonder Qiu YiBai looked so furious this morning on the bus.
Shen NingXin exited the photo and looked at the text written above. Sure enough, she discovered that Qiu YiBai typed out a series of crying emoticons, and her tone was more fierce than before—
“Who drew this tortoise on my car! When I return, I’m going to examine the security footage!”
“Don’t let me catch you!”
She wrote tortoise. (TL/N: the tortoise written on the car door was the derogative version, but QYB wrote it as literally “tortoise”)
How elegant.
Shen NingXin shook her head, feeling sympathetic yet wanting to laugh.
—
All day long, Shen NingXin found Qiu YiBai to be unhappy.
For one, because she was out on the trip for a few days, much of her work was delayed, so now she had a lot of things to do.
The other reason probably had to do with the car.
Even Shen NingXin felt bad looking at it, not to mention someone as prideful as Qiu YiBai.
She definitely received quite the shock to wake up in the morning and see such an ugly thing drawn on her car.
Shen NingXin sighed. Although she wanted to help her, there was nowhere to start, so she could only leave her be.
Besides, she was overloaded with work today, leaving no time to think about other things.
Time slowly passed in this way until it was close to the end of work.
Recently, there was an incredible amount of orders given to Zhao Jie, making the numbers assigned to Shen NingXin also increase. Time was tight and the task was heavy, forcing her to decide to work overtime tonight.
“Don’t pressure yourself too much,” Zhao Jie told her before leaving, “You can work on the rest a little after going home.”
It sounded like Shen NingXin didn’t need to be in a rush, but she was actually implying that she must everything tonight.
Shen NingXin didn’t say anything, only smiling and telling Zhao Jie goodbye. When she left, Shen NingXin hurriedly began typing again.
She kept on rushing and working during this period, unaware of who even left.
It wasn’t until past seven in the evening did she finally finish.
Shen NingXin took a deep breath, and thinking she should still be able to catch the bus, she quickly packed up her things to leave.
When she looked up, she discovered that Qiu YiBai was also packing her things up.
It was really late now, and there was no one left in the office except for the two of them.
Seeing that Qiu YiBai was also going to leave, Shen NingXin took the initiative and asked her if she wanted to go together.
After all, this person didn’t drive today, so taking the bus together worked out.
As soon as she finished speaking, Qiu YiBai nodded and agreed.
She also looked like she wanted to talk to someone.
Shen NingXin smiled, turned off the office light for her, then walked out side by side with her.
She also sighed internally, thinking how this crybaby seemed to be more honest these days.
“. . . . . .”
When the two reached the bus stop, the bus happened to arrive.
There weren’t many people on the bus. Shen NingXin and Qiu YiBai found seats near the back and sat down next to each other, then they both looked out the window.
The sky was basically completely dark.
The street lights were lit outside, and although none of them were exactly bright, together they were enough to light up the entire city, allowing people to enjoy the beauty that only existed at night.
There were students running happily on their way home as they carried their backpacks, office workers walking side by side on their way to a good meal, and small vendors pushing their trolleys on the side of the road with a smile on their faces.
Fried chicken, milk tea, hair salon, convenience store . . .
It was a night full of energy.
As Shen NingXin observed, she suddenly grew hungry.
There were also strange emotions rising in her heart, as though telling her to not go home and instead, hurry and become part of this noisy and happy atmosphere.
To have fun and enjoy life.
When she realized this, Shen NingXin paused. Just as she was thinking about asking Meng Yao and the others to come out for a meal, Qiu YiBai suddenly turned to look at her.
The two made eye contact.
Shen NingXIn was taken aback, only halfway through the message she was about to send.
Before she could say anything, Qiu YiBai opened her mouth.
Her tone was lighter than usual, and she asked her embarrassedly, “Did you have a nightmare last night?”
She seemed to feel a little guilty.
But it had nothing to do with her at all.
Shen NingXin hurriedly shook her head and responded, “No, no.”
“Thanks to President Qiu’s amulet.”
As soon as her voice fell, much of the nervousness in Qiu YiBai’s eyes disappeared.
Her expression also wasn’t serious like before, and she happily nodded. “That’s good then. I told you it definitely would work.”
“It’ll also work today,” she said, “Shen NingXin, you’ll definitely have a nice dream tonight, too.”
There was a gentleness in her voice that she didn’t even notice.
Hearing her words, Shen NingXin paused, her heart immediately warming up. She felt as though all the exhaustion from today dissipated because of these caring words.
She nodded and thanked Qiu YiBai. When she was about to say something again, she glanced up and found that the bus was almost at her community entrance.
She’ll have to say goodbye to Qiu YiBai soon.
“You should sit over there now.” Qiu YiBai had quite good manners, immediately telling Shen NingXin to go out upon noticing. “Hurry up, otherwise it won’t be good once the bus stops.” (TL/N: About getting off in time, I assume.)
As soon as her voice fell, Qiu YiBai raised her eyes and found that Shen NingXin was still sitting in place, not moving. She couldn’t help but be a little curious. “Why aren’t you moving? You don’t want to go home anymore?”
It was originally a joke.
But she never thought that as soon as her voice fell, Shen NingXin would actually nod.
Qiu YiBai was taken aback and continued to ask, “Then, what do you . . .”
This time, before she finished speaking, she heard Shen NingXin say this.
Her tone seemed to carry a feeling of happiness as she asked, “President Qiu, is there anything you have to do soon?”
“If not, I want to treat you to a meal,” she said, “Don’t I still owe you a favor?”
What did she remember, wanting to invite her to dinner now?
Qiu YiBai raised a brow, and fearing that she’d be wasting her money, she wanted to refuse but was stopped by Shen NingXin’s smile.
After thinking for a moment in silence, she nodded in the end.
—
Shen NingXin took Qiu YiBai to a nearby restaurant.
It was a place that had been in business for over 10 years. What they offered were essentially all home-cooked dishes. They looked ordinary, but what stood out were their quality ingredients, large quantities, and good taste.
Shen NingXin used to come here often with Meng Yao and the others. This was almost used as a place to relieve exhaustion.
In addition, they were all home-cooked dishes, giving her the feeling of home.
Afraid that Qiu YiBai might have dietary restrictions, Shen NingXin asked before ordering.
After finding out that this person only didn’t eat coriander, she went ahead and ordered.
After ordering the food, she glanced at Qiu YiBai, and seeing that she still seemed to be in low spirits, Shen NingXin ordered some alcohol for her.
This place was close to where they both lived, and Qiu YiBai didn’t drive today, so it didn’t matter if she drank a little.
Besides, although this person often turned into a crybaby after drinking, she seemed quite happy.
Being happy was all that mattered. There was no reason to care so much.
“. . . . . .”
The two chatted casually, and the dishes soon arrived.
Qiu YiBai didn’t know how to cook, and because of how busy she was with work and business dinners, she actually hadn’t eaten home-cooked food for a long time.
She picked up her chopsticks and casually took a few bites. She felt as though everything tasted good, and combined with the alcohol, she soon was in a happy mood.
Even the little green tortoise swimming around in the fish tank by the register looked pleasing to the eyes.
She also spoke more than usual, sharing with Shen NingXin interesting things from the trip two days ago.
Qiu YiBai: “You definitely don’t know . . .”
Shen NingXin: I know.
Qiu YiBai: “That flower, it’s incredibly beautiful, you didn’t see it.”
Shen NingXin: I saw it on your Weibo.
Qiu YiBai: “Do you know why I didn’t drive today? It’s because . . .”
Shen NingXin hurriedly stopped her. “President Qiu, let’s eat, let’s eat.”
It was quite harmonious between the person and the drunk.
As they were eating, drinking, and chatting, more than an hour passed.
Shen NingXin glanced at the time, and thinking that it was quite late now, she hurriedly went to the register to settle the bill and called for Qiu YiBai to start leaving.
This person drank quite a bit at the restaurant and was completely drunk at this moment. Qiu YiBai glanced at Shen NingXin, who was following behind her, and for some reason, her safety awareness suddenly heightened, and she began to speed up her pace.
Shen NingXin was actually unable to catch up to her.
“President Qiu, slow down!” Afraid she’d get lost, Shen NingXin hurriedly chased after her. But not only did she not catch up to her, she also ended up tripping on a rock and twisting her ankle.
It wasn’t a light twist, making her subconsciously yell out in pain and slowing the steps she took.
She briefly examined it, and just as she worried about how to continue catching up, she raised her eyes and found that Qiu YiBai actually stopped.
She even took the initiative to walk back, lift her clothes, and squat down, asking her, “Did you fall?”
She obviously looked drunk just moments ago, but now she didn’t at all.
Shen NingXin paused for a moment before shaking her head. “I didn’t fall, I just twisted my ankle.”
As soon as her voice fell, Qiu YiBai asked, “Does it hurt?”
“It’s okay,” Shen NingXin shook her head, then directed her, “It’s just that President Qiu, you have to walk slower, otherwise I can’t keep up with you.”
After speaking, Qiu YiBai tried making sense of what she said for a while.
Afterward, unclear in what way she understood her words, she suddenly stood up.
After that, she stretched out a hand in Shen NingXin’s direction.
Pointing at her back, she very cooly said to her, “Climb up, I’ll carry you!”
How could Shen NingXin dare to!
“It’s fine, it’s fine.” As soon as Qiu YiBai’s words fell, she immediately shook her head. “I can just walk normally. It actually doesn’t even hurt that much, it’s fine . . .”
Before she could finish speaking, Qiu YiBai only saw it as her unwilling to cooperate and directly reached out to pull her up.
With an unhappy tone, she told her righteously, “I’m not happy today, don’t refuse me.”
When she said “don’t”, she subconsciously made an arc with her hand and sniffled.
As soon as Shen NingXin saw her sniff, she didn’t dare say anything for fear that she’d cry.
Before she had the chance to refuse, this person was already carrying her.
This was her first time finding out how much strength Qiu YiBai had. Those slender wrists and back were actually capable of holding her weight.
Shen NingXin didn’t dare move on her and could only repeatedly tell her, “President Qiu, take it slowly ah, take it slowly ah . . .”
“Stop making a fuss.” Qiu YiBai gave her an unhappy look, still walking speedily.
Just like that, she walked to the intersection ahead. The alley near there happened to be a shortcut, reaching Shen NingXin’s home after a turn.
Seeing this, Shen NingXin quickly pointed. “President Qiu, let’s just go this way.”
It somehow felt as though she was commanding a horse.
Hearing her words, Qiu YiBai nodded and carried her toward the alley. But just when she reached the entrance, she abruptly stopped.
As though suddenly remembering something, she retreated along the same path after some moments of silence.
Shen NingXin couldn’t understand what she was doing and quickly called her to stop, “No, no, it’s the long way if you go there, President Qiu.”
“I know,” Qiu YiBai answered and continued to move forward without looking back.
Shen NingXin thought she didn’t understand and quickly explained it to her again, saying how you’d waste a lot of energy if you took that path, so you should go back quickly.
She repeated the same thing again, and perhaps it was too much, Qiu YiBai became irritated.
“I said I know.” She was upset, frowning heavily, making herself seem like an old lady. “Stop talking.”
“It’s so dark over there, it’s not walkable,” she then said, “Didn’t somebody say they were afraid of the dark? Did you forget after a meal?”
How clear her thinking was today!
So clear that Shen NingXin was shocked in place. A blush even grew on her face, and her skin that made contact with Qiu YiBai started to become hot.
She did indeed forget, for that was just an excuse she made in order to pair up and walk with Qiu YiBai that time.
She, as the person who made up the lie, had forgotten, but Qiu YiBai actually remembered for her.
No one had ever cared about her so much.
Shen NingXin was a little stunned, her cheeks becoming hotter after a moment.
The heat probably even spread to Qiu YiBai, who was in front of her. This person paused and soon discovered her strangeness, immediately asking, “Shen NingXin, what’s wrong?”
“Why is your heart beating so fast and your body also so hot? Could you possibly . . .”
Shen NingXin suddenly panicked when she heard her words. “No, no, it’s nothing.”
Qiu YiBai turned her head and glanced at her. “. . . have a fever?”
Shen NingXin: “. . . . . .”
Truthfully, Shen NingXin didn’t believe in things like amulets.
This was because she tried them many times before and none of them worked. They weren’t successful, protecting nothing.
It was simply a false, mental assurance.
Thus, after so many failures, she stopped believing in them and never gave another look at these things.
But she never expected for Qiu YiBai to buy her one.
The amulet was round, with tassels hanging from the bottom. As she got closer, she could smell a faint sandalwood scent, and a strong general was engraved on it.
It was said to represent good health, peace, and joy.
“. . . . . .”
Shen NingXin flipped the amulet over and saw those exact words on the back.
No wonder Qiu YiBai said it so confidently. It turned out to be carved on it.
For some reason, Shen NingXin wanted to laugh after realizing this.
But when the corners of her mouth raised, not only did she not laugh, she instead felt a lump in her throat and fell silent.
“Why aren’t you thanking me?” Seeing her stand there without speaking for a while, Qiu YiBai was taken aback, then moved closer, seeming to observe her expression. “You don’t like it?”
“No.” Afraid she’d misunderstand, Shen NingXin hurriedly shook her head. “I like it.”
“Good, as long as you like it,” Qiu YiBai replied, the corners of her mouth raising inadvertently, and she said, “You can try putting it next to your pillow tonight. It definitely will work.”
It definitely will work.
How absolute this sentence was.
Hearing her words, Shen NingXin paused, then raised her head, and she read a strong confidence and determination from the bottom of Qiu YiBai’s eyes.
It was like she was telling her, “I’ve already cast magic on this amulet, it’s amazing.”
“Use it all you want, it’s incredibly effective!”
Childish and cute.
Yet it made people unconsciously want to believe in her words.
So after a while, Shen NingXin nodded gently.
A smile also finally appeared on her lips, and she thanked her sincerely.
In that case, I’ll try it again.
She secretly thought in her heart.
After all, this person’s well wishes were hidden inside. It’s a very meaningful small thing, and it just might work.
It’s . . . magic cast by our crybaby.
—
Reality proved that Qiu YiBai’s amulet indeed worked.
Shen NingXin placed the amulet next to her pillow before going to sleep, and she didn’t dream at all that night.
When she woke up, she felt refreshed.
She didn’t even oppose to having to go back to work right after the trip.
Shen NingXin smiled from the bottom of her heart, reaching her hand out to stroke the amulet a few times to express her gratitude, then finally got up to wash up and eat.
She quickly finished everything and went downstairs to catch the bus.
The previous bus probably just left since Shen NingXin stood in front of the bus sign and waited for a long time without seeing one come. She then played on her phone for a while.
She opened WeChat to look at the state of the group chat, checked to see if there were any notices from Zhao Jie, and looked at what work must be done today.
After doing all that, she exited and clicked on Qiu YiBai’s Weibo.
This person posted an enormous amount of updates during the trip, the majority about how beautiful the scenery was.
The contents were almost the same. For some of the posts, Shen NingXin didn’t have the opportunity to read through them and only had a rough look.
Taking advantage of this time, she could finally go through each one again.
Thinking like this, Shen NingXin quickly scrolled to the Weibo where Qiu YiBai was horse riding that day, then slowly moved her finger upward as she browsed.
As though looking at jokes, she was amused by the posts.
While she looked through, the bus finally arrived.
She also happened to scroll through to the last post.
Unlike the previous posts, there wasn’t a photo attached, and there were also fewer words than usual. It seemed quite serious.
Shen NingXin was curious about what exactly she posted, so she looked as she waited in line to get on the bus.
She then noticed that Qiu YiBai posted this Weibo after they got on the bus yesterday morning.
At that time, Qiu YiBai seemed angry, and afraid that she’d upset her again, Shen NingXin subconsciously didn’t dare look at her.
Thus, she didn’t notice when she posted this.
The content was simple, just one sentence—
“I caused Shen NingXin to have a nightmare all night. I feel guilty. I’ll never tell her ghost stories again.”
That was all. It wasn’t followed by any emoticons, but Shen NingXin was surprisingly able to read a crying mood from these words.
She also finally realized that Qiu YiBai wasn’t mad at her during that time.
But rather mad at herself . . .
An unidentifiable feeling spread out from the bottom of her heart. Shen NingXin was a little dazed, where even the steps she took felt airy.
She got on the bus, still immersed in her thoughts. She walked straight to the back, and just as she was about to find a seat, she raised her eyes and saw Qiu YiBai.
Shen NingXin: “???”
Thinking she saw wrong, she hurriedly rubbed her eyes and looked again, and she indeed found that person sitting upright in the backseat with her arms crossed.
Her expression was probably too fierce since despite there being empty seats next to her, no one dared to sit there.
This was too pitiful.
Afraid she’d think too much about this, Shen NingXin hurriedly walked up and sat next to her, then opened her mouth and greeted, “Good morning, President Qiu.”
As soon as her voice fell, Qiu YiBai immediately raised her head.
It seemed like she had been waiting for a long time, and finally, someone came!
But after seeing that the person was Shen NingXin, she lightly coughed and normalized her expression before grabbing her briefcase and scooting in.
She coldly said, “Sit.”
“Yes.” Shen NingXin didn’t know whether to laugh or cry and hurriedly sat down.
She then asked out of curiosity, “President Qiu, why’d you suddenly think of riding the bus today?”
Qiu YiBai glanced at her, “Is it weird?”
Shen NingXin: Of course it’s weird ah. Where’s your Maserati?
Afraid that Qiu YiBai would be upset if she was too straightforward, Shen NingXin thought for a while, then hurriedly shook her head. “No, it’s not weird.”
“I’m just a little curious as to why you had the pleasure for this today.”
Pleasure, she deliberately chose to say it nicely.
Sure enough, as soon as she finished speaking, Qiu YiBai gently raised the corners of her mouth.
But she still kept a serious look on her face and told her that it’s now a fast-paced society, where people were busy working all day long and few slow down to appreciate the beauty around them.
However, she was different. No matter how busy she was with work, she would never forget to occasionally listen to the sounds of nature.
Qiu YiBai probably was holding it all in before Shen NingXin came and sat down, for she actually talked the entire way.
Shen NingXin listened for a long time, and in the end, she was brainwashed and agreed with her opinion.
Afterward, they finally arrived at their stop.
The two got off the bus one after another. Since Qiu YiBai still had something to do, she told Shen NingXin to not wait for her and go up first.
Shen NingXin nodded in response and quickly walked to the elevator. As she was waiting, she happened to scroll onto Qiu YiBai’s homepage.
She then discovered that a new post was added at some point!
Shen NingXin checked the time, and it was around when she just got on the bus.
Looking at the content, she discovered that everything Qiu YiBai said to her on the bus was actually nonsense.
It turned out the real reason was that some unknown person drew on her car door.
Looking at the photo, it seemed to be taken in an underground garage. Although the image wasn’t all that clear, Shen NingXin could still tell that a big tortoise was drawn on the door.
The drawing style was somewhere between wild and realistic and seemed to be created by the hands of some rowdy kid.
Upon looking closer, there were also words next to the tortoise: an arrow leading to “I am”.
I am a big tortoise? (TL/N: b*stard)
This was too cruel!
No wonder Qiu YiBai looked so furious this morning on the bus.
Shen NingXin exited the photo and looked at the text written above. Sure enough, she discovered that Qiu YiBai typed out a series of crying emoticons, and her tone was more fierce than before—
“Who drew this tortoise on my car! When I return, I’m going to examine the security footage!”
“Don’t let me catch you!”
She wrote tortoise. (TL/N: the tortoise written on the car door was the derogative version, but QYB wrote it as literally “tortoise”)
How elegant.
Shen NingXin shook her head, feeling sympathetic yet wanting to laugh.
—
All day long, Shen NingXin found Qiu YiBai to be unhappy.
For one, because she was out on the trip for a few days, much of her work was delayed, so now she had a lot of things to do.
The other reason probably had to do with the car.
Even Shen NingXin felt bad looking at it, not to mention someone as prideful as Qiu YiBai.
She definitely received quite the shock to wake up in the morning and see such an ugly thing drawn on her car.
Shen NingXin sighed. Although she wanted to help her, there was nowhere to start, so she could only leave her be.
Besides, she was overloaded with work today, leaving no time to think about other things.
Time slowly passed in this way until it was close to the end of work.
Recently, there was an incredible amount of orders given to Zhao Jie, making the numbers assigned to Shen NingXin also increase. Time was tight and the task was heavy, forcing her to decide to work overtime tonight.
“Don’t pressure yourself too much,” Zhao Jie told her before leaving, “You can work on the rest a little after going home.”
It sounded like Shen NingXin didn’t need to be in a rush, but she was actually implying that she must everything tonight.
Shen NingXin didn’t say anything, only smiling and telling Zhao Jie goodbye. When she left, Shen NingXin hurriedly began typing again.
She kept on rushing and working during this period, unaware of who even left.
It wasn’t until past seven in the evening did she finally finish.
Shen NingXin took a deep breath, and thinking she should still be able to catch the bus, she quickly packed up her things to leave.
When she looked up, she discovered that Qiu YiBai was also packing her things up.
It was really late now, and there was no one left in the office except for the two of them.
Seeing that Qiu YiBai was also going to leave, Shen NingXin took the initiative and asked her if she wanted to go together.
After all, this person didn’t drive today, so taking the bus together worked out.
As soon as she finished speaking, Qiu YiBai nodded and agreed.
She also looked like she wanted to talk to someone.
Shen NingXin smiled, turned off the office light for her, then walked out side by side with her.
She also sighed internally, thinking how this crybaby seemed to be more honest these days.
“. . . . . .”
When the two reached the bus stop, the bus happened to arrive.
There weren’t many people on the bus. Shen NingXin and Qiu YiBai found seats near the back and sat down next to each other, then they both looked out the window.
The sky was basically completely dark.
The street lights were lit outside, and although none of them were exactly bright, together they were enough to light up the entire city, allowing people to enjoy the beauty that only existed at night.
There were students running happily on their way home as they carried their backpacks, office workers walking side by side on their way to a good meal, and small vendors pushing their trolleys on the side of the road with a smile on their faces.
Fried chicken, milk tea, hair salon, convenience store . . .
It was a night full of energy.
As Shen NingXin observed, she suddenly grew hungry.
There were also strange emotions rising in her heart, as though telling her to not go home and instead, hurry and become part of this noisy and happy atmosphere.
To have fun and enjoy life.
When she realized this, Shen NingXin paused. Just as she was thinking about asking Meng Yao and the others to come out for a meal, Qiu YiBai suddenly turned to look at her.
The two made eye contact.
Shen NingXIn was taken aback, only halfway through the message she was about to send.
Before she could say anything, Qiu YiBai opened her mouth.
Her tone was lighter than usual, and she asked her embarrassedly, “Did you have a nightmare last night?”
She seemed to feel a little guilty.
But it had nothing to do with her at all.
Shen NingXin hurriedly shook her head and responded, “No, no.”
“Thanks to President Qiu’s amulet.”
As soon as her voice fell, much of the nervousness in Qiu YiBai’s eyes disappeared.
Her expression also wasn’t serious like before, and she happily nodded. “That’s good then. I told you it definitely would work.”
“It’ll also work today,” she said, “Shen NingXin, you’ll definitely have a nice dream tonight, too.”
There was a gentleness in her voice that she didn’t even notice.
Hearing her words, Shen NingXin paused, her heart immediately warming up. She felt as though all the exhaustion from today dissipated because of these caring words.
She nodded and thanked Qiu YiBai. When she was about to say something again, she glanced up and found that the bus was almost at her community entrance.
She’ll have to say goodbye to Qiu YiBai soon.
“You should sit over there now.” Qiu YiBai had quite good manners, immediately telling Shen NingXin to go out upon noticing. “Hurry up, otherwise it won’t be good once the bus stops.” (TL/N: About getting off in time, I assume.)
As soon as her voice fell, Qiu YiBai raised her eyes and found that Shen NingXin was still sitting in place, not moving. She couldn’t help but be a little curious. “Why aren’t you moving? You don’t want to go home anymore?”
It was originally a joke.
But she never thought that as soon as her voice fell, Shen NingXin would actually nod.
Qiu YiBai was taken aback and continued to ask, “Then, what do you . . .”
This time, before she finished speaking, she heard Shen NingXin say this.
Her tone seemed to carry a feeling of happiness as she asked, “President Qiu, is there anything you have to do soon?”
“If not, I want to treat you to a meal,” she said, “Don’t I still owe you a favor?”
What did she remember, wanting to invite her to dinner now?
Qiu YiBai raised a brow, and fearing that she’d be wasting her money, she wanted to refuse but was stopped by Shen NingXin’s smile.
After thinking for a moment in silence, she nodded in the end.
—
Shen NingXin took Qiu YiBai to a nearby restaurant.
It was a place that had been in business for over 10 years. What they offered were essentially all home-cooked dishes. They looked ordinary, but what stood out were their quality ingredients, large quantities, and good taste.
Shen NingXin used to come here often with Meng Yao and the others. This was almost used as a place to relieve exhaustion.
In addition, they were all home-cooked dishes, giving her the feeling of home.
Afraid that Qiu YiBai might have dietary restrictions, Shen NingXin asked before ordering.
After finding out that this person only didn’t eat coriander, she went ahead and ordered.
After ordering the food, she glanced at Qiu YiBai, and seeing that she still seemed to be in low spirits, Shen NingXin ordered some alcohol for her.
This place was close to where they both lived, and Qiu YiBai didn’t drive today, so it didn’t matter if she drank a little.
Besides, although this person often turned into a crybaby after drinking, she seemed quite happy.
Being happy was all that mattered. There was no reason to care so much.
“. . . . . .”
The two chatted casually, and the dishes soon arrived.
Qiu YiBai didn’t know how to cook, and because of how busy she was with work and business dinners, she actually hadn’t eaten home-cooked food for a long time.
She picked up her chopsticks and casually took a few bites. She felt as though everything tasted good, and combined with the alcohol, she soon was in a happy mood.
Even the little green tortoise swimming around in the fish tank by the register looked pleasing to the eyes.
She also spoke more than usual, sharing with Shen NingXin interesting things from the trip two days ago.
Qiu YiBai: “You definitely don’t know . . .”
Shen NingXin: I know.
Qiu YiBai: “That flower, it’s incredibly beautiful, you didn’t see it.”
Shen NingXin: I saw it on your Weibo.
Qiu YiBai: “Do you know why I didn’t drive today? It’s because . . .”
Shen NingXin hurriedly stopped her. “President Qiu, let’s eat, let’s eat.”
It was quite harmonious between the person and the drunk.
As they were eating, drinking, and chatting, more than an hour passed.
Shen NingXin glanced at the time, and thinking that it was quite late now, she hurriedly went to the register to settle the bill and called for Qiu YiBai to start leaving.
This person drank quite a bit at the restaurant and was completely drunk at this moment. Qiu YiBai glanced at Shen NingXin, who was following behind her, and for some reason, her safety awareness suddenly heightened, and she began to speed up her pace.
Shen NingXin was actually unable to catch up to her.
“President Qiu, slow down!” Afraid she’d get lost, Shen NingXin hurriedly chased after her. But not only did she not catch up to her, she also ended up tripping on a rock and twisting her ankle.
It wasn’t a light twist, making her subconsciously yell out in pain and slowing the steps she took.
She briefly examined it, and just as she worried about how to continue catching up, she raised her eyes and found that Qiu YiBai actually stopped.
She even took the initiative to walk back, lift her clothes, and squat down, asking her, “Did you fall?”
She obviously looked drunk just moments ago, but now she didn’t at all.
Shen NingXin paused for a moment before shaking her head. “I didn’t fall, I just twisted my ankle.”
As soon as her voice fell, Qiu YiBai asked, “Does it hurt?”
“It’s okay,” Shen NingXin shook her head, then directed her, “It’s just that President Qiu, you have to walk slower, otherwise I can’t keep up with you.”
After speaking, Qiu YiBai tried making sense of what she said for a while.
Afterward, unclear in what way she understood her words, she suddenly stood up.
After that, she stretched out a hand in Shen NingXin’s direction.
Pointing at her back, she very cooly said to her, “Climb up, I’ll carry you!”
How could Shen NingXin dare to!
“It’s fine, it’s fine.” As soon as Qiu YiBai’s words fell, she immediately shook her head. “I can just walk normally. It actually doesn’t even hurt that much, it’s fine . . .”
Before she could finish speaking, Qiu YiBai only saw it as her unwilling to cooperate and directly reached out to pull her up.
With an unhappy tone, she told her righteously, “I’m not happy today, don’t refuse me.”
When she said “don’t”, she subconsciously made an arc with her hand and sniffled.
As soon as Shen NingXin saw her sniff, she didn’t dare say anything for fear that she’d cry.
Before she had the chance to refuse, this person was already carrying her.
This was her first time finding out how much strength Qiu YiBai had. Those slender wrists and back were actually capable of holding her weight.
Shen NingXin didn’t dare move on her and could only repeatedly tell her, “President Qiu, take it slowly ah, take it slowly ah . . .”
“Stop making a fuss.” Qiu YiBai gave her an unhappy look, still walking speedily.
Just like that, she walked to the intersection ahead. The alley near there happened to be a shortcut, reaching Shen NingXin’s home after a turn.
Seeing this, Shen NingXin quickly pointed. “President Qiu, let’s just go this way.”
It somehow felt as though she was commanding a horse.
Hearing her words, Qiu YiBai nodded and carried her toward the alley. But just when she reached the entrance, she abruptly stopped.
As though suddenly remembering something, she retreated along the same path after some moments of silence.
Shen NingXin couldn’t understand what she was doing and quickly called her to stop, “No, no, it’s the long way if you go there, President Qiu.”
“I know,” Qiu YiBai answered and continued to move forward without looking back.
Shen NingXin thought she didn’t understand and quickly explained it to her again, saying how you’d waste a lot of energy if you took that path, so you should go back quickly.
She repeated the same thing again, and perhaps it was too much, Qiu YiBai became irritated.
“I said I know.” She was upset, frowning heavily, making herself seem like an old lady. “Stop talking.”
“It’s so dark over there, it’s not walkable,” she then said, “Didn’t somebody say they were afraid of the dark? Did you forget after a meal?”
How clear her thinking was today!
So clear that Shen NingXin was shocked in place. A blush even grew on her face, and her skin that made contact with Qiu YiBai started to become hot.
She did indeed forget, for that was just an excuse she made in order to pair up and walk with Qiu YiBai that time.
She, as the person who made up the lie, had forgotten, but Qiu YiBai actually remembered for her.
No one had ever cared about her so much.
Shen NingXin was a little stunned, her cheeks becoming hotter after a moment.
The heat probably even spread to Qiu YiBai, who was in front of her. This person paused and soon discovered her strangeness, immediately asking, “Shen NingXin, what’s wrong?”
“Why is your heart beating so fast and your body also so hot? Could you possibly . . .”
Shen NingXin suddenly panicked when she heard her words. “No, no, it’s nothing.”
Qiu YiBai turned her head and glanced at her. “. . . have a fever?”
Shen NingXin: “. . . . . .”
