Yan Jialin took the initiative to take Xu Xingxing on a business trip, and that demonstrated that she had recognized Xu Xingxing’s ability, and that also she had regarded Xu Xingxing as one of her own people. It was actually a big opportunity for Xu Xingxing, and would allow her to develop further in the company.

Xu Xingxing’s eyes flickered, she smiled at Yan Jialin, and thanked her, “Okay, thank you, sister Jialin.”

By the time Xu Xingxing returned to her desk, it was almost time to get off work. She saw that Chen Wnawan was waiting for her. After packing her things, Xu Xingxing and Chen Wanwan left the office together and took a taxi.

“Go to Jiating Plaza,” Chen Wanwan said to the taxi driver.

“Huh?” Xu Xingxing glanced at Chen Wanwan.

Chen Wanwan winked at her, and explained, “Old Zhan just took a look at a shop yesterday. It’s on the commercial street behind Jiating Plaza. I’ll take you to have a look first.”

‘Old Zhan’ was Chen Wanwan’s husband. After Chen Wanwan told him about Xu Xingxing’s idea, he found a suitable place for her within a few days.

Xu Xingxing was touched by this and hurriedly thanked her friend, but Chen Wanwan just gave her a blank look in return.

There were four girls in Xu Xingxing’s university dormitory. One of these girls would always be talking about opening a milk tea shop in the Jiating Plaza at that time. She told them that even though she would be busy, she would still make the time to read a book while enjoying a cup of milk tea.

Xu Xingxing also longed for that kind of life, but it was only a longing after all. She was twenty-two years old when she graduated from college, and she got married soon after that. Now, after such a long time, her dream was about to become a reality. Doing what she wanted with her own money proved to be one of the happiest occasions for Xu Xingxing since her divorce.

Xu Xingxing and Chen Wanwan got out of the taxi and walked along the commercial street to Jiating Plaza. This commercial street was called Heping Street, it was quite long and had been developed seven or eight years ago. Jiating Plaza was not just a commercial plaza, it also included BHK apartments and office buildings. There were many high-rise buildings around as well, with always a crowd of people coming and going.

It was the rush hour in the evening, and there were a lot of people on Heping Street. Chen Wanwan dragged Xu Xingxing to a shop in the middle of the street with great difficulty.

This shop was very small, only 1.5 square metres wide, and it used to sell egg waffles, but was now abandoned. There were some people standing at the door, who were lining up for the grilled gluten and fried chicken shop next to it.

“Please give way,” Chen Wanwan asked politely, and the two walked into the store.

Although the entrance was very narrow, the interior of the store was deep, shaped into a square, with its interior length being about five metres. This place could be used as a counter for the milk tea, with a few high chairs added outside.

“Lao Zhan found out about this from a friend of a friend. The original shop owner owes a lot of debt due to gambling, and so has to sell it,” Chen Wanwan said looking at the shop. “Hey, the decor here is okay. It won’t take too much effort to redecorate.” 

Xu Xingxing’s lips curved slightly at the thought that she would soon have a small shop of her own, and her heart was filled with a sense of satisfaction and stability.   

“Since you are satisfied, let me tell Lao Zhan to go ahead with the deal,” Chen Wanwan led Xu Xingxing out, and spoke as she walked, “Don’t worry about the contract. We’ll look after it.”

“Tell Lao Zhan that I’m sorry to be troubling him,” Xu Xingxing said.     

“Why are you polite?” Chen Wanwan glanced at her friend, and said boldly, “My husband is your husband, except for the fact that you can’t sleep with him, you can use him as you like.”     

The two laughed together at this.     

After inspecting the store, the two chatted about their former college roommates. As soon as the memories flooded back, they decided to eat at a small restaurant at the South Gate of their alma mater, Xia University. They often came to eat there when they were studying. The small restaurant was not big, and there were quite a few students who came to eat at night. The two adults sat in a corner of the small restaurant. After the dishes were served, they clinked glasses filled with beer. After having gotten confirmation of her promotion today, Chen Wanwan seemed to have let go of her recent worries. Coupled with the fact that Xu Xingxing was valued by Yan Jialin, and the small shop she wanted to invest in was also settled, she was extremely relaxed and very happy now. With the beer in her glass still foaming out, Chen Wanwan drank it all in one gulp, put the glass on the table, and let out a heroic “ha”.  

“This cup is to congratulate you on your bright future!”    

As Chen Wanwan’s words flowed, Xu Xingxing also picked up her cup and took a sip. As the taste of malt beer filled her mouth, her eyes became watery with tears. 

“It’s nothing,” Xu Xingxing said with a smile, her voice small and soft.

“Oh, don’t be modest.” Chen Wanwan poured another glass of beer and said, “There are more than 30 people in the translation department, and Sister Jialin chose you. This is the greatest affirmation for you.”

Xu Xingxing gave her friend a slight smile.

“Tonight, we must drink until we get drunk!” Chen Wanwan filled Xu Xingxing’s glass again.

Chen Wanwan was in a good mood, and Xu Xingxing went along with her. She knew her limit, so she controlled her intake and didn’t drink too much. In fact, she had a good alcohol tolerance level, but her skin was prone to turning red quickly, so even with just a little bit of alcohol, she looked like she had drunk a lot.

The two friends drank for half an hour, and the topic of conversation went from college to the present, by which time Chen Wanwan was already a little drunk. She looked at Xu Xingxing and asked, “Now that your job at IO is stable and the business regarding the store has also been settled, are you going to stay in Xiacheng forever? 

Xu Xingxing looked up at Chen Wanwan, whose cheeks were flushed. She smiled first, and after taking a sip of the beer, replied, “I will definitely go back to Huai City. My mother and Xingyuan are still there. Why should I stay here?”    

“Hey, you can’t spend the rest of your life with your mother and younger brother, can you?” Chen Wanwan squinted her eyes, because her head was a little heavy, then smirked and said, “Don’t draw conclusions too early now, maybe you will stay here in the future. What if you will meet your Mr. Right here?”    

“Huh?” Xu Xingxing was stunned for a moment, then she smiled again. Chen Wanwan still had not given up on the idea of ​​not letting her remain single. This plucked a string in Xu Xingxing’s heart, and she looked down at her friend before smiling and finishing the beer in the glass.     

In Chen Wanwan’s eyes, she was good at everything, but even if she was good at everything, how could she meet someone she would fall in love with so easily? Even if she met someone, and they both fell in love with each other, could their marriage really last till the end of their lives?  She and Wang Shunsheng were also very much in love at the beginning. Chen Wanwan had confidence in marriage because she married the right person. And Xu Xingxing was much more pessimistic than her.

Chen Wanwan ended up drunk because her alcohol intake was not very good. Seeing her lie on the table, Xu Xingxing paid the bill, then helped her up and walked out of the small restaurant. Chen Wanwan just called Zhan Liangting, her husband, and asked him to pick her up. He said that he would be there soon and asked her to wait by the side of the road.

Supporting Chen Wanwan, Xu Xingxing stood by the side of the road at the entrance of the small restaurant. Chen Wanwan was petite, but she was quite vigorous when drunk, so Xu Xingxing was struggling to hold onto her.

The wind was a bit cool at night, and it blew on their cheeks, which were heated from the beer. It allowed Xu Xingxing to sober up quite a bit. She pulled up Chen Wanwan, who was chattering drunkenly nonstop— 

“Xing…xing, I don’t want…to let you go back…to Huai City, I just want you…to stay in Xia City, under my nose…under my… nose, so I can protect…you, not let others… bully you. Your family is… honest, that’s why… Wang Shunsheng… bullied you like this. Fuck…fuck that…Wang Shunsheng, if I see… him… I’ll kick him to death… Damn it!” 

Xu Xingxing: “…” 

There were students coming and going all around them, and Chen Wanwan, who had drunk without much control, was chattering away in a loud voice. As soon as she said the last sentence, it elicited a low laugh from many people around.

Xu Xingxing blushed slightly, but she didn’t feel embarrassed. She looked down at Chen Wanwan who was too drunk to keep her eyes open but still continued scolding Wang Shunsheng, and her heart felt as if she had been scalded by hot wine, it was heated warm.

 “Men…” Chen Wanwan sighed, and finally said, “There are no good things.”

Just as she finished her last sentence, a black Passat parked beside the two of them, and a man got out of the car. It was Zhan Liangting.

Chen Wanwan was a face-con, so her husband was naturally good-looking. Zhan Liangting had thick eyebrows, big eyes, a high nose bridge, and was also tall, with an honest and handsome look.

Hearing Chen Wanwan’s last sentence of “men aren’t a good thing”, Zhan Liangting sighed and smiled awkwardly at Xu Xingxing, before walking over helplessly to take hold of his drunk wife.

“Why did you drink so much?” Zhan Liangting asked in a complaining tone to Chen Wanwan.

End of 17.2
TL Notes: Grilled gluten is a Chinese food.