Chapter Fifty-Three: Terms of Exchange

The next morning at work, Yuan Zhong sorted and organized the items she had bought, waiting for Wang Shanshan to check them. If she was right, she'd be handed a list in the afternoon to mail out. Sigh, better prepare for overtime.

She discreetly messaged Chen Yue, asking her to have the courier arrive late today, so they could pick up from other places first, not to delay their pickups.

Wang Shanshan arrived at the office a little after ten, put down her bag, poured herself some coffee, and chatted with a colleague about a newly bought watch, clearly in a good mood.

Then she sat down, sipping coffee and looking at her computer screen. The internal phone rang; she answered and went to the editor-in-chief’s office.

About half an hour later, Wang Shanshan returned to her seat. Yuan Zhong felt she glanced at her, quickly lowered her head, and drank water to cover her anxiety.

Not long after, an email arrived: Wang Shanshan’s next instructions. Yuan Zhong was a little confused—she checked her watch; it wasn’t even lunchtime yet. Why so early?

No matter, not having to work overtime was a blessing. She’d done this task a few times now and was getting the hang of it.

In the meantime, Cong Wenbin came by, his eyes asking if she needed help.

Wang Shanshan smiled from the side, “You’re quite attentive to your girlfriend.”

Yuan Zhong was a bit flustered, explaining, “No, he’s just strong, sometimes helps with heavy stuff.”

Cong Wenbin ignored Wang Shanshan; seeing Yuan Zhong wave him away, he turned and left.

“How’s it going with Seven Nights?” Wang Shanshan, unusually, took the initiative to ask.

“I saw yesterday’s update was fine; I’ll check again later today,” Yuan Zhong replied.

“Okay, just remind them on WeChat, that’s all you need to do,” Wang Shanshan said.

Yuan Zhong nodded, feeling a bit puzzled. What was up with her? Suddenly willing to teach her—had she changed her attitude?

Of course, she didn’t dare ask, and Wang Shanshan naturally wouldn’t explain.

At noon, Chen Yue bounced over and called Yuan Zhong to lunch.

Yuan Zhong put down her work, washed her hands, and took out some smoked fish her mother had made from the office kitchen fridge.

As soon as the lunchbox was opened at the table, Chen Yue unceremoniously grabbed a large piece and took a quick bite: “Delicious!”

“Mm, my mother’s cooking is excellent, especially her smoked fish, though it’s a bit of a hassle to make, so she only does it two or three times a year,” Yuan Zhong shared with the other two colleagues at the table.

Everyone chatted and laughed; the meal was enjoyable.

Yuan Zhong felt that, aside from Wang Shanshan, the rest of the colleagues were nice and easy to get along with.

Dad always said small companies were good—simple relationships. She mostly agreed. The work wasn’t complicated; in her mother’s words, with her level of smarts, she should manage just fine.

Sigh, in her parents’ eyes, she’d never grow up, forever their little girl in need of protection.

That’s why Yuan Zhong loved playing games; in the virtual world, she could be someone else, a wild king, protecting teammates, crushing opponents—so cool and satisfying!

After lunch, Yuan Zhong brewed a cup of coffee and continued filling out shipping forms.

Around two, her work phone received a WeChat message from Qi Leyu: Order me some takeout, I want that soup.

This late and still not had lunch? Yuan Zhong didn’t dare delay and quickly placed the order, marking it urgent.

Fifteen minutes later, Qi Leyu messaged: Food’s here.

Yuan Zhong replied: Good, make sure you eat well, health first.

Soon after, Qi Leyu sent a photo of the delivery slip, which read: Please hurry up, this person is starving to death.

Uh, that was a bit exaggerated. She’d merely told the delivery guy to be quick, guessing the recipient hadn’t eaten properly in a while.

She hurried to clarify: Wasn’t me who said that.

Qi Leyu: Yeah, right!

Yuan Zhong: …

She thought privately, fine, just consider it saving a starving soul.

After finishing her afternoon tasks, Yuan Zhong thought of Miao Shu and messaged Qi Leyu: Have you contacted Lawyer Miao?

There was no reply for quite a while.

Yuan Zhong sent another message, still no response.

As it neared the end of the workday, Yuan Zhong called, but no one answered.

He was alone at home—nothing would have happened, right? Yuan Zhong was a bit worried.

Driving home, she couldn’t stop thinking about it, so at the intersection, she changed lanes, deciding to check on Qi Leyu.

She rang the doorbell for a long time before the door finally opened. Qi Leyu stood at the door with a sullen face.

“Are you… are you okay?” Yuan Zhong asked.

Qi Leyu shot back, “What could possibly be wrong?”

“You’re not replying on WeChat, not answering your phone. It’s a bit worrying,” Yuan Zhong explained.

Qi Leyu ignored her and turned back inside.

Yuan Zhong hesitated about whether to go in—she’d just wanted to check that he was alright, and since he was, that was that.

Thinking it over, she poked her head in and said, “Then I’ll be off. Take care.”

From the study, Qi Leyu called out, “While you’re here, take out the trash on the coffee table.”

All right. Yuan Zhong went in. The coffee table was littered with leftovers; she carefully packed them up, tied the bag, grabbed some wipes from the kitchen, and cleaned up the table.

In the kitchen, she saw the kiwis and oranges she’d bought earlier—none had been eaten these days!

Standing in the study doorway, Yuan Zhong saw Qi Leyu at the computer, fingers flying over the keyboard. There was an empty glass and a packet of biscuits nearby.

“What are you having for dinner?” Yuan Zhong asked.

Qi Leyu didn’t reply.

Yuan Zhong sighed and went into the kitchen.

There were two eggs in the fridge, some ribeye steak in the freezer, and after much searching she found an onion—spoiled and inedible.

She took the beef out to defrost, remembered there was a supermarket at the entrance to the complex, grabbed her bag, and went out to buy two tomatoes.

Coming back in, Qi Leyu emerged with his water glass, looking surprised to see Yuan Zhong, probably recalibrating his timeline.

“You’re still here?” Qi Leyu asked.

“I’ll make you dinner before I go,” Yuan Zhong said, closing the door behind her.

Qi Leyu watched her go into the kitchen, then followed.

“There aren’t many ingredients. I’ll pan-fry the steak and roast some tomatoes to go with it,” Yuan Zhong said.

Qi Leyu said nothing, poured himself some water, and went back to the study.

When the food was ready, Yuan Zhong called him to eat.

Qi Leyu looked at the plate on the table: a steak, roasted tomatoes beside it, a fried egg, and a fist-sized mound of rice with a few black sesame seeds sprinkled on top—she must have found those somewhere.

“Eat while it's hot. It won’t taste good cold,” Yuan Zhong set down the knife and fork, then brought out a small bowl of soup. “This is instant, hope it’ll do.” Then she produced two peeled kiwis and a glass of orange juice.

Just one serving? Qi Leyu looked at Yuan Zhong, who was already putting on her shoes.

“I’ll be off then. Don’t forget to contact Lawyer Miao,” Yuan Zhong reminded him.

“I won’t!” Qi Leyu grabbed a can of beer from the fridge.

Yuan Zhong froze, puzzled. “Why not? He’s a really good lawyer. When I tell him about things, he can analyze a lot.”

Qi Leyu started eating without replying.

Yuan Zhong stood there, then asked, “How about I make the appointment for you?”

Qi Leyu still said nothing, stuffing a big roasted tomato into his mouth, then stabbing the fried egg with his fork.

“So… what do you actually want? I saw your word count from yesterday—if you write that much daily, can you handle it?” Yuan Zhong didn’t have the heart to say that not eating properly and living in chaos wasn’t much of a life.

Qi Leyu mumbled something.

“What?” Yuan Zhong didn’t catch it.

“The egg’s too salty,” Qi Leyu repeated.

“Oh, I’ll use less salt next time,” Yuan Zhong replied out of habit.

Qi Leyu nodded, satisfied.

“But, about the contract—what are you going to do?” Yuan Zhong took off her shoes again and sat down next to him.

He ate in silence, clearly enjoying the meal, which was at least a compliment to her cooking.

After a hearty meal, Qi Leyu’s mood improved a lot.

“Next time, make an extra serving,” Qi Leyu said.

“Weren’t you full?” Yuan Zhong sighed; she’d even cooked extra rice, just in case.

“I’m full, but you should eat with me. Otherwise, I’m eating while you watch—it’s too pitiful.” Qi Leyu reached out and ruffled Yuan Zhong’s hair, noting a stubborn tuft sticking up.

“I eat at home; there’s so much food in my fridge, it’ll spoil if I don’t,” she replied. Some people worried about not having enough to eat; she worried about not being able to finish what she had.

Ah, that kind of hunger—when your mom thinks you’re hungry and brings food every few days… Yuan Zhong regretted ever buying a big refrigerator. Luckily she didn’t gain weight easily—otherwise, what would she do?

Qi Leyu said seriously, “I can help with that.”

Yuan Zhong laughed, then asked, “Can I help you make the appointment with Lawyer Miao? I’ll bring you something delicious tomorrow evening.” She offered a deal.

Qi Leyu looked at his empty plate and finally nodded.

As Yuan Zhong was leaving, Qi Leyu asked, “How did you know the code for the electronic lock?”

If he remembered right, when Yuan Zhong came back the second time, she hadn’t called him to open the door.

Yuan Zhong was a little embarrassed. “I rang the bell, you didn’t answer, so I guessed.”

“Guessed?” Qi Leyu scratched his head. “How did you guess it?”

“It was easy, it’s your birthday,” Yuan Zhong replied.

“Year, month, day, eight digits in total, but the code is six digits—how is that easy?” Qi Leyu was baffled.

Though the woman before him often defied logic—like the time she lost her car in the parking lot—he genuinely wondered how she’d figured out his code.

“Isn’t it?” Yuan Zhong looked genuinely confused. “I guessed it right away.”

Seeing Qi Leyu’s unimpressed look, Yuan Zhong quickly said, “Oh, you should change it later. Next time I’ll ring the bell, I won’t let myself in.”

“Take care, I won’t see you out,” Qi Leyu said, getting ready to close the door.

“Oh, thank you. Did you give my license plate number to the security at the gate? They let me in right away today,” Yuan Zhong remembered suddenly.

Bang! The door closed in her face.

Angry? Why? Yuan Zhong shook her head, mystified.

She arranged a lunch for Qi Leyu and Miao Shu, figuring it would at least remind Qi Leyu to eat properly.

Miao Shu arrived early, since he had plenty of free time. He started playing a game at the restaurant, solo-queuing from Silver up to Gold, watching his rank climb with satisfaction.

When Qi Leyu walked in, he saw Miao Shu, a man alone at a prominent table by the door, rocking side to side, hands in a very familiar gaming posture.

Using your whole body to game—was that necessary? Idiot, Qi Leyu thought. Surely this wasn’t the person Yuan Zhong had arranged for him to meet?

He started to call, but the man swore into his phone and hung up immediately.

Well, it really was that idiot after all.