Cohabitation With The Maniacally Gorgeous CEO - Chapter 8
Chapter 8
After moving back, An Yiqing and Xu Lingyin’s way of getting along was like that of most people who share a rental.
Living under one roof, but not bothering each other.
Friday welcomed the first heavy rain of spring. The plants embraced the rain thirstily, but office workers hated the rain.
Everything was damp, and the atmosphere of knocking off work was largely diminished.
An Yiqing walked out of the school gate with an umbrella and a pair of sneakers, splashing water high.
She had been walking to work recently, and the rain made it a bit inconvenient.
When she reached the school gate, it was completely jammed.
An Yiqing preferred to get a little wet than this.
She randomly bought a few dishes at the supermarket. After cooking and eating, An Yiqing returned to her room, closed the door, isolating herself from all the sounds in the living room.
She sat on the balcony and opened her computer to edit videos.
The room had a large balcony. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, the view of Zizai Lake was unobstructed.
She liked to sit here, whether for leisure or video editing.
At six o’clock, the sky was a little dim.
The lights spilled onto the lake. Raindrops hit, combined with the sound of the rain rushing against the glass, making her body feel a chill as if she was getting wet.
With such heavy rain, would Xu Lingyin be able to get home easily?
Delaying the time to go home, she was afraid she might get a stomach ache.
She pondered for a few seconds, logged into WeChat, and opened Xu Lingyin’s chat box.
She typed for a long time, deleting and rewriting, but couldn’t write a single message.
She and Xu Lingyin had not disturbed each other these past few days, and they hadn’t even met face-to-face.
They were no different from strangers.
If she asked so abruptly, would Xu Lingyin misunderstand that she was prying into her privacy?
She hadn’t forgotten the requirement Yu Sirou had mentioned: no prying into privacy.
Closing WeChat, she rubbed her face, opened the video software, and started working.
The spring rain lasted for more than two hours, and the rain did not decrease, but intensified.
At 8:30, An Yiqing posted her video.
She rubbed her shoulder, looking towards the door.
Xu Lingyin usually came back at 8 o’clock these days. Being more than half an hour late was indeed affected by the rain.
Staring at Xu Lingyin’s WeChat, after a moment, An Yiqing decided to send a message.
They were roommates, which was reasonable.
Qing: Ms. Xu, is it convenient for you to come back?
A few minutes later, Xu Lingyin replied with a question mark.
Qing: The rain is a bit heavy today
Xu Lingyin: What does the heavy rain have to do with me, someone who is working overtime
An Yiqing: …
She couldn’t underestimate the resentment of someone working overtime.
An Yiqing walked to the living room, looked at the meals in the warming cabinet, and still decided to ask if she needed to send food.
She waited for five minutes, but the message was like a stone sinking into the sea.
An Yiqing stroked her hair, returned to her room, put down her phone, and sat by the window to calm down.
It was strange. She never paid much attention to anyone, so why did she care about Xu Lingyin’s business?
If she hadn’t come home to eat, she could order takeout.
Looking at the rain outside the window, she thought, perhaps it was the trouble caused by sharing a rental.
She wouldn’t have this kind of worry if she lived alone.
She didn’t reflect for long before a WeChat call came in.
Her heart inexplicably thumped fiercely. She picked up her phone, clearly saw the name on the screen, breathed a sigh of relief, and answered the call.
It was a video call from her mother, Ms. An Wan.
She hadn’t been home since the start of school, and her mother wanted to chat.
On the screen, An Wan’s eyebrows relaxed. She looked at her daughter and smiled, asking about her recent situation.
An Yiqing held the phone further away, placed it on the computer desk, and talked to her.
“Ah Qing, aren’t you at home?” An Wan moved closer to the camera, seemingly observing her background.
An Yiqing explained: “I moved to a different place a few days ago, I haven’t had time to tell you.”
She turned on all the lights in the room, picked up her phone, switched to the rear camera, and showed her mother.
An Wan was more and more surprised: “You rented a whole place? Do you have enough money? If not, Mom has some.”
An Yiqing was helpless: “Mom, don’t worry, I can still support myself.”
“This house looks very nice, the rent must be expensive.”
“Don’t worry, I didn’t spend a penny.”
An Wan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly uttered a shocking sentence: “Ah Qing, our family may be a little poor, but you must not do anything that ruins your reputation.”
An Yiqing: …
Ms. An’s imagination was truly rich.
Putting herself in that position, An Yiqing felt uncomfortable all over.
“What bad thing did Mom do?” A tender child’s voice came from the phone.
An Yiqing recovered. Before she could speak, An Wan said in a low voice: “Xiaoyu, how many times do I have to say, you need to call her little aunt.”
An Tingyu pouted her small mouth, looked at An Yiqing pitifully, and reluctantly called out “little aunt.”
An Yiqing sat back on the balcony and smiled: “Xiaoyu can call me whatever she likes.”
The face that was seven or eight tenths similar to An Yiqing’s smiled sweetly and said: “I love Mom the most.”
The little one had been in kindergarten for a year, her personality had become more lively, and she had more topics to talk about.
She talked non-stop facing the camera.
For half an hour, without a break.
An Yiqing patiently listened to the funny stories.
An Wan brought a water cup and asked the little one to take a break.
After drinking water, An Tingyu asked when she would be home.
Looking at the calendar, An Yiqing said: “When I go on holiday, in another month.”
Children had no concept of a month. Hearing about the holiday, they felt it was far away and were a little unhappy.
“I’ll bring you a gift when I come back,” An Yiqing gently comforted her.
The little girl finally smiled, skipping off to do her own thing.
An Wan took the phone, still asking about the house.
If she didn’t get an answer, Ms. An wouldn’t be able to sleep all night.
An Yiqing could only tell her the truth: “Ms. An has taught well. My cooking skills are not bad, and I can offset a month’s rent.”
Covering her mouth and laughing, An Wan was finally relieved.
They chatted about other trivial matters, asking her to take care of herself and such. The three of them said goodbye and hung up the phone.
The call lasted for more than thirty minutes, and it was already 9:15.
Returning to the message list, Xu Lingyin’s profile picture was marked red.
There were 4 messages and a missed voice call.
An Yiqing quickly clicked open.
20:37 Xu Lingyin: The other party has canceled
20:39 I haven’t eaten dinner, and I’m not very hungry
20:40 You can watch a movie if you have nothing to do, there’s equipment in the living room, you can turn it on yourself
20:42 The rain is too heavy, no need to go out
After reading the messages, An Yiqing called Xu Lingyin back.
It rang three times and was connected.
A clear voice rang out: “An Yiqing?”
“Mhm, send me the address.” This time An Yiqing was very direct.
Xu Lingyin, however, didn’t accept her kindness: “Sending food? I said I don’t need it.”
“Ms. Xu, please send it anyway,” An Yiqing’s tone was very calm. “The smell of the hospital is not very pleasant.”
As the words fell, Xu Lingyin’s breathing noticeably paused for a few seconds.
She might blame her for being nosy again.
An Yiqing lowered her eyes.
Sure enough, Xu Lingyin hung up the phone without a word.
An Yiqing raised her head, looked at the photo on the wall, and sighed softly.
Her gaze returned to the screen. Xu Lingyin had replied with a voice message.
She turned up the volume and clicked it open.
Xu Lingyin: Zhihua Building, Yanhedong Road
An Yiqing had heard the name Zhihua from Ye Qian’ge.
Qingdu Yao was produced by this game company.
An Yiqing packed the meals, walked to the door, and looked at the fairy on the poster.
She went out.
Zhihua Building was not particularly far from here.
It was raining, so she didn’t dare to walk too fast and took twenty minutes.
When she arrived, it was almost ten o’clock.
Zhihua Building was built along the river, with only thirty floors, and its icy blue color was particularly beautiful.
It could be seen at a glance among many buildings.
The words “Zhihua Game” were made into the style of a game special effect.
Bypassing the water fountain at the entrance, An Yiqing messaged Xu Lingyin, asking which floor she was on and if it was convenient to go up.
Xu Lingyin might be busy and didn’t reply immediately.
An Yiqing slowed down her pace, examining the building’s facilities.
She had seen almost all the decorations in the game.
If she hadn’t known beforehand, she would have thought she had stumbled into a fairyland.
No wonder it was a viral game; the atmosphere was perfect.
No wonder Xu Lingyin, who worked in this industry, had posters displayed at home.
She was observing the surroundings when she heard someone call her from behind.
Turning her head, her slightly raised smile dropped.
“Teacher An, to be able to run into you here, who can say we have no destiny,” Teacher Zhang said, holding a large black umbrella, looking at An Yiqing in surprise.
An Yiqing pursed her lips and didn’t speak, forcing a smile and walking inside on her own.
Not understanding her rejection, Teacher Zhang still followed.
He asked who the person with her that day was.
Recalling the situation that day, An Yiqing took a deep breath, gripped the umbrella handle tightly, turned her head and looked at Teacher Zhang: “Her attitude is my attitude. I’m sorry, I really don’t want to waste any more time, and I hope you feel the same way.”
The rain fell relentlessly, making a rushing sound.
Teacher Zhang’s silence was particularly noticeable.
An Yiqing walked away after speaking.
“Teacher An misunderstood,” Teacher Zhang smiled. “After that day, I knew what you meant. Don’t worry, I won’t bother you again.”
That was for the best.
An Yiqing breathed a sigh of relief.
“But I wanted to ask Teacher An, who was the lady with you that day?”
He looked very interested, his tone full of anticipation.
A wave of irritation rose in An Yiqing, and she subconsciously used a forceful tone: “Teacher Zhang, if you bother her, don’t blame me for being impolite.”
Leaving this sentence behind, An Yiqing walked straight inside.
She walked into the building. The receptionist was about to come over and ask who she was looking for when Xu Lingyin walked out of the elevator.
“Good evening, Ms. Xu,” the receptionist smiled and greeted her.
Ms. Xu?
Xu Lingyin?
An Yiqing was full of confusion.
Sure enough, Xu Lingyin nodded in acknowledgment, her gaze falling on An Yiqing.
“Didn’t I tell you to come up yourself? Dawdling, what are you doing? Not replying to messages either.” Xu Lingyin frowned her willow-leaf eyebrows, sizing her up from head to toe.
Her expression only improved when she saw that An Yiqing was not wet.
An Yiqing was still thinking about the phrase “Ms. Xu.”
She didn’t react for a moment.
“Aren’t you going?” Xu Lingyin walked two or three meters away, urging her impatiently.
An Yiqing quickly followed.
The elevator went directly to the top floor.
Xu Lingyin’s office, like her home, was decorated very thoughtfully.
Photos and various posters, as well as game merchandise.
Many items but not cluttered, every item was neatly arranged.
It looked very cozy.
As soon as An Yiqing entered, someone brought coffee.
She glanced around and placed the meals on the casual table.
The food in the insulated containers was no longer very hot. An Yiqing picked up the bag again: “Is there a microwave? I’ll go heat it up.”
“Save the trouble.” Xu Lingyin sat down, took the bag, and started to unpack it.
An Yiqing sat across from her, picked up the hot coffee, and took small sips.
After two spoonfuls, Xu Lingyin looked up, parted her lips, and said, “It’s very delicious, thank you.”