Chapter 036 As for marriage, she felt she probably wouldn't go that far.
*
No matter what Li Chengshi said, Su Xian still came in the afternoon, came in the evening, and came the next day. His fever had completely subsided, and his strength had largely recovered. He was only still coughing a little and was hanging up the laundry on the balcony.
"Let me help you." She immediately walked onto the balcony.
"No, no need." Li Chengshi immediately covered the laundry basket.
Su Xian vaguely saw underwear inside. She said "Oh" and withdrew from the balcony to organize other things, thinking: You have such boundaries now, yet you were so generous when you helped me organize my lingerie.
**
On Monday, Su Xian called in sick for Li Chengshi. Although his symptoms had mostly cleared up, Su Xian told him to rest for two more days to avoid infecting others.
Zhao Nanfeng was his usual cynical self: "His work ability is mediocre, and his physical health isn't great either. He's useless."
"Who can compare to you? You have strong work ability and you're never sick. You're not an ordinary person; perhaps you're Ultraman reincarnated?" Su Xian casually accepted the tea from Honda and respectfully handed it to him. "Boss, your tea."
Zhao Nanfeng knew she was being sarcastic, but her bright smile made it hard to rebuke her. He took a sip of tea, looked up, and said thoughtfully, "Su Xian, I seem to lack basic human emotions."
Su Xian was shocked. "No, no, no. You've started introspection; isn't this the highest level of human emotion?"
"Cut back on the sarcasm. I genuinely want to make a change."
"Really?!"
"I mean it."
"Okay." Su Xian returned to her desk with a look of disdain and started working.
"Hey, I'm serious!"
"Then where are you planning to start?"
"How about I go apologize to Mio?" Although he had given her the house and the money, he had never once said sorry.
Su Xian looked at him, opting not to give any advice. After all, she personally didn't care for apologies.
*
The next day, as soon as she started work, Su Xian saw Honda collecting several empty liquor bottles from the desk. Su Xian immediately shot Zhao Nanfeng a look of concern for the elderly.
He was visibly listless but still proactively reported, "Last night, I went to see Mio and apologized to her."
Su Xian was a little surprised. This must count as personal growth for him. "What did she say?"
"She told me to get lost and informed me that she and Wakui are getting married in November. Also, she's two months pregnant. She never got pregnant before because she had been taking birth control pills, as she didn't want to have my child."
Su Xian remained silent.
"You must be thinking 'serves you right.' Go on, say it."
"Serves you right."
He looked up and said earnestly, "Su Xian, I'm sorry."
"Don't even start," Su Xian was slightly embarrassed. "If I still cared about that, I wouldn't be working with you. Let's not bring this up again. Neither of us is suited for sentimentality."
"Alright. I have two pieces of good news for you. First, the office renovation is complete. We can move back after two or three weeks of ventilation. Second, the Asian regional executive from Heidi Group will be coming from Singapore in November to formally start working with us."
This was fantastic news. Zhao Nanfeng had kept saying they were still doing market research and feasibility studies, and she had started to doubt if the project was still on. Now she was finally relieved. Being able to participate in a project that was highly anticipated in the industry would be a beautiful addition to her modest resume.
**
Today was a rare day without overtime.
Returning to her apartment, she saw Li Chengshi standing on the balcony, waving at her with a smile.
"What are you doing?"
"Getting some fresh air." His voice was still a little hoarse, but he was clearly in good spirits. "I've made dinner for you and put it in 203. Go up and eat."
"Can't we eat together today?"
"Let's start tomorrow."
"Okay. Let's go for a walk together after dinner."
"Sure, but we need to stay 3 meters apart."
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
The only ray of sunset in the narrow alley gently enveloped her, making the smile on her face radiate warm light.
**
On Friday night, Zhao Nanfeng invited everyone to a Candlelight Concert, claiming it was to enhance the employees' aesthetic sensibilities.
The venue was in a plaza outside an auditorium, surrounded by fresh flowers, with thousands of candle flames flickering beautifully. After the melodious chime of a bell, the music began, narrating a story—starting gently, gradually building to a climax, and finally returning to peace.
The beauty of music is that everyone hears a different story.
When the music ended, Honda's eyes were tearful. Zhao Nanfeng was surprised by her understanding of the music, but she quickly explained that it was her first time experiencing such a fancy life, which left him speechless. Seeing Su Xian and Li Chengshi snickering, he felt the money was wasted.
After the concert, there was time to go inside the auditorium for a tour and photos. The building was a famous wedding hall, exuding a sacred and elegant style everywhere.
"Koko de kyoshiki shitai ne. (I really want to have a wedding ceremony here.)" Honda's eyes were twinkling.
Zhao Nanfeng looked at Su Xian. "What do you think?"
"It's great. The space and flow are very rational, and the soft furnishings effectively create the atmosphere. The overhead lighting above the stage gives a feeling of sunshine streaming down..."
Zhao Nanfeng cleared his throat to interrupt her. "Do you want to get married here?"
"No!" Su Xian looked at him warily.
"Don't be so hostile. Actually, I have a small wedding hall project. It feels a bit ominous for a recently divorced person like me to design a wedding hall, so why don't you take it? The client's budget is quite low, but their demands aren't high, so you have creative freedom."
"It might be ominous for me too," Su Xian hesitated. Although she had overcome her psychological barriers and was actively seeking a relationship, her best future fantasy was to have a serious and passionate romance with Li Chengshi. As for marriage, she felt she probably wouldn't go that far.
"What's so ominous about it? If you can't design a wedding hall without being married, should the kindergarten you designed be torn down?" Li Chengshi muttered quietly beside them.
"That actually makes sense. Okay, I'll take the job."
**
Finally, they had their first two-day weekend with "no driving practice, no overtime, and no one sick"—of course, they were going to Kamakura!
Entering early October, the sun was bright and the breeze was cool. The weather was superbly perfect.
Li Chengshi wanted to move the Rukawa Kaede keychain Su Xian gave him from his everyday work backpack to his leisure backpack, but he accidentally broke it. He found glue, applied it to the break, pressed the two pieces together with both hands, and prepared to hold it for one minute to let the shape set.
The doorbell rang.
"Enter the password yourself!"
Su Xian entered the password and came in. He was still holding that strange posture. "What are you doing?"
One minute was up. He squatted down and carefully placed the Rukawa Kaede on the side table so it would be firmly glued by the time they got back in the evening.
Su Xian walked behind him, bent over to look, and saw that it was the ball in Rukawa Kaede's hand that had broken off. "Throw it away. I'll buy you a new one."
"I want the new one, but I'm not throwing this one away either." He turned his head and was face-to-face with Su Xian. He noticed she was wearing lipstick today—it was shiny. He stared blankly for a few seconds, then suddenly realized he was acting improperly. He quickly turned his face away and looked down, meaninglessly moving the Rukawa Kaede figure around.
Su Xian straightened up, secretly pleased. She had deliberately chosen that shiny lip gloss, and it had proven effective.
*
