Inside the private room, Song Yumian, who had originally been looking down replying to messages, suddenly lifted her head and stared fixedly at Meng Chu.
Meng Chu had been slightly turned to the side, but at that moment she turned back.
Their eyes met directly.
“I think just now, ” Song Yumian said slowly with a puzzled expression, “I heard the words ‘confession’?”
She deliberately emphasized the two words, biting down on them heavily.
Afraid that Meng Chu wouldn’t understand.
But Meng Chu still showed a confused expression. “Did I? How come I didn’t hear it?”
Song Yumian said, “Don’t pretend, don’t pretend. Every time you mention your boyfriend, you avoid the topic with me.”
Meng Chu said softly and clearly, “Okay, I won’t avoid it.”
Song Yumian kept staring at her.
Meng Chu could only say obediently, “Tonight’s dinner was on the guy who’s on a business trip.”
Song Yumian smirked teasingly, “Just now you still pretended it was nothing, so my ‘confession’ wasn’t mistaken, right?”
Meng Chu wanted to explain it wasn’t what she thought.
But the more she thought about it, the more complicated the explanation became.
She wisely kept quiet.
Fortunately, Song Yumian soon said, “So today I just freeloaded dinner and drinks from you two.”
The outfit she was wearing for the blind date was bought by Meng Chu, and the dinner was on the guy who was away on business.
“Never thought that in my lifetime, I’d actually be treated by Chu Chu’s boyfriend,” Song Yumian said with a comforting expression from the bottom of her heart.
This time Meng Chu couldn’t stand it: “Speak properly, don’t exaggerate.”
“Am I exaggerating? Think about it— when I was tall, I already held hands with a guy; my first love even bought you milk tea; and look at how old we are now,” Song Yumian said.
Meng Chu blinked. “Are you saying I’m old now?”
Song Yumian was a little flustered by that.
She quickly explained, “What I mean is, better to be picky than settle, and in the end, the sun will shine through the clouds.”
Meng Chu found her rambling amusing.
“All right, I know what you mean. Stop explaining, or our friendship might break over this,” Meng Chu said slowly.
Just then the waiter came back with dishes, and Song Yumian finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After the waiter left, the two began eating, deliberately skipping over the previous topic.
“How about when your boyfriend returns from his business trip, I’ll treat you both to dinner?” Song Yumian suggested.
Meng Chu thought for a moment: “He’s pretty busy with work; I don’t know when he’ll be back.”
Seeing her say that, Song Yumian didn’t push further.
She just asked, “By the way, are you going home for National Day?”
“Yeah,” Meng Chu nodded. “Finally a long holiday.”
Song Yumian smiled. “I thought you’d stay late at the company again.”
Hearing that, Meng Chu put down her chopsticks and asked seriously, “Am I already at that crazy level?”
“It’s diligence, diligence,” Song Yumian corrected herself immediately.
Meng Chu said, “No matter how hardworking, I still have to go home. I haven’t seen my mom in months.”
Song Yumian: “Tell me about it. Even though home’s close, it’s not worth it to go back just for the weekend. And every time you do, it’s the same old story: work’s hard, might as well get a civil servant job; or ‘Why aren’t you finding a partner yet? At this rate, you’ll become a leftover woman.’”
For parents, although they care about their children’s health and wellbeing, society is inevitably a huge collective.
Everyone must follow certain unspoken rules.
When studying, focus on studying—don’t get distracted, preferably don’t even look at the opposite sex.
But after starting work, it’s best to quickly find someone you like.
To fulfill the marriage and childbearing expectations set by parents.
Although more and more people choose their own lifestyles nowadays, for older parents, a stable family life is still the preferred choice.
“If you don’t want to force yourself, then choose the path you want to take,” Meng Chu said softly. “But there’s nothing wrong with blind dates. What if you actually meet the right person?”
Song Yumian looked up, a playful expression on her face: “So you’re leading by example, huh?”
“I really want to see this ‘right person’ of yours.”
Song Yumian was not about to miss any chance to tease Meng Chu.
Unexpectedly, Meng Chu nodded calmly: “Yeah, personal experience. So you go boldly ahead.”
When it was time to pay the bill, Meng Chu picked up the tab.
Afterwards, the two took a taxi home, with Song Yumian as usual following Meng Chu.
When they arrived home, Song Yumian suddenly said, “Remember to thank your boyfriend who’s on the business trip for dinner.”
“I’m going to shower first,” Song Yumian said, quickly grabbing her clothes and heading to the bathroom.
Meng Chu sat on the sofa and sent a message.
[Thank you for dinner.]
This time, the other side didn’t reply quickly.
Back in her room, just as Meng Chu was about to rest, her phone vibrated.
Cheng Jinyu: [Glad you all had a good time.]
Meng Chu: [She really enjoyed it, said it was the first time.]
But after sending this, Meng Chu immediately retracted the message.
Yet the next moment, a new message from Cheng Jinyu arrived.
This time it was a voice message.
Cheng Jinyu: “First time?”
Meng Chu took a deep breath. The man’s eyes were still sharp.
She originally planned to brush it off, but unexpectedly another voice message came in.
For some reason, Meng Chu felt he was about to say something earth-shattering.
Her finger hesitated before opening it.
“First time your other half treats your friend?” Cheng Jinyu’s deep voice echoed through the room. Though far apart, the quiet space was filled with a faintly ambiguous atmosphere.
Still.
How could he guess so accurately…
She was being vague, yet he immediately pierced through it.
Meng Chu thought her retraction made her look like she was hesitating to speak.
True indeed.
But if she didn’t reply, it made her look even more guilty.
So she decided to recover gracefully and replied openly.
Meng Chu: [Yeah, you guessed right.]
After sending the message, she tossed her phone on the bed and went to the wardrobe to get a change of clothes.
When she returned, sure enough, another message arrived.
Cheng Jinyu: [Hmm, because this is my first time too.]
Huh?
You too?
What do you mean “too”? Can you be clearer?
But Meng Chu smiled faintly, and that thought lingered in her mind.
It was her other half’s first time treating her friend to a meal.
So.
Her thought was, this was also his first time treating the other half’s friends?
That must be it.
So the two of them were exchanging notes on each other’s romantic histories?
Meng Chu’s lips curved slightly.
Who would’ve thought he was also a rookie.
*
The next day, Meng Chu had planned to rest at home.
But Song Yumian’s hospital colleague called her back suddenly, so she was alone at home with nothing to do.
Yesterday she had bought Momo a bunch of snacks, so she planned to take the chance to visit Momo.
Before going, she sent Cheng Jinyu a WeChat message.
Meng Chu: [I’m about to come to your place to see Momo. Bought some things for him yesterday.]
She waited until she got into the car before Cheng Jinyu replied.
Cheng Jinyu: [Gave you the keys so you can come anytime.]
Meng Chu: [Do you have work today too?]
Cheng Jinyu: [Yeah, busy finishing things in Chengdu, then flying to Beijing.]
Meng Chu: [You guys are still pretty busy.]
Meng Chu: [Always flying.]
Cheng Jinyu: [Not too bad.]
Cheng Jinyu: [I’ll try to reduce business trips in the future.]
Meng Chu was just making small talk, but when she read that last message, her finger froze on the screen.
After a long moment, she tapped lightly again.
Meng Chu: [Work comes first.]
After getting off the bus, Meng Chu used the access card Cheng Jinyu had given her last time to open the gate outside the community.
He had given her two cards.
One was for the community and building entrance; the other was for his apartment door.
When she opened the front door and stepped inside, the bright, dazzling sunlight illuminated the entire living room with extraordinary clarity.
Previously, Meng Chu had only come to Cheng Jinyu’s home at night.
Back then it was always night, and every time she came, she looked at the splendid night view along the Huangpu River.
But now, during the day, everything outside was clear and visible.
The vast and majestic river stretched out in the distance like a beautiful necklace, gently winding through Shanghai’s busiest district, called the city’s most beautiful and eye-catching ornament.
Meng Chu couldn’t help but walk over to the window and quietly gaze outside.
After a while, she took out the things she bought yesterday and headed to Momo’s room.
Although Cheng Jinyu wasn’t home, someone came every day to walk Momo.
But Momo wasn’t in the living room now, so it must be in his own room.
When she pushed open the door, she saw Momo lying beside the wooden slide, already lifting his head alertly at the noise by the door.
When he saw a familiar face, Momo jumped up and ran to Meng Chu’s feet.
“Long time no see, Momo,” Meng Chu crouched down and petted his head.
Seeing that Momo didn’t bark like before, she was a bit surprised and asked softly, “Don’t remember me? I’m Chu Chu.”
As soon as she said “Chu Chu,” Momo barked once.
Meng Chu smiled and cupped his cheeks: “I brought you a gift.”
She then sat down on the mat in Momo’s room and took out the snacks she brought, opening one packet and holding it out in front of Momo.
Momo immediately began eating.
“Don’t be impatient. I bought several kinds of snacks, we’ll try them one by one.”
But Meng Chu also remembered Cheng Jinyu’s advice not to feed too many snacks at once.
Instead, she let Momo taste a little of each.
“Do you miss Cheng Jinyu?” After finishing the snacks, Meng Chu looked at Momo sitting obediently in front of her, gazing eagerly.
Momo barked twice.
Meng Chu laughed: “Looks like you know your dad’s name.”
“Okay, shall we call Cheng Jinyu?” Meng Chu said, taking out her phone.
But she remembered that Cheng Jinyu had said earlier he had work today.
So she sent a message first.
Meng Chu: [When are you free for a video call?]
Of course, no immediate reply.
Meng Chu glanced at Momo. “Looks like he’s busy. How about we play for a while first?”
She got up, rummaged through a toy basket, and found a ball Momo liked to play with. Last time she played this throwing game with Momo, he was very happy.
Meng Chu took the ball and phone and headed to the living room.
As she arrived, she suddenly looked down at Momo: “How about we go outside to play?”
She hadn’t taken Momo out in a while.
Momo seemed to understand. He ran back to his room like a flash.
When he came out again, he was holding his leash in his mouth.
Meng Chu was stunned.
She quickly clipped the leash on Momo and grabbed the ball.
The two of them went out together.