I Met My Crush At My Sister's Wedding - Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Jiang Shucheng thought for a moment and sang “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” a song used to lull children to sleep.

Her sweet, clear voice drifted through the car, and Shen Qinghe listened raptly.

When the song ended, Shen Qinghe giggled foolishly: “Beautiful! So beautiful!”

Jiang Shucheng felt embarrassed. Why was Shen Qinghe wearing an expression as if she were listening to a love song?

A few seconds before midnight, Shen Qinghe narrowed her intoxicated eyes and smiled purely. She said: “Chengcheng, Happy 520!”

Then she hung up the video call and leaned against the car door, falling asleep.

Jiang Shucheng was bewildered, the video call having ended without any warning.

She smiled helplessly. Besides the interview, she now had a suddenly mischievous Shen Qinghe on her mind. It seemed tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.

…

Shen Qinghe was woken up by the driver, who reminded her that she had arrived home.

She took the elevator up to the fifteenth floor. The elevator opened right into the foyer. She kicked off her shoes and walked into the room, her only thought being to send a message to say she was home safe.

She opened WeChat. The top conversation was a contact with an orange emoji as the display picture.

Shen Qinghe lay on the sofa. The bright lights were somewhat blinding. She half-closed her eyes and tapped on the top contact, having completely forgotten about the video call in the car. She typed on the keyboard: Cheng… Cheng… She tried to find ‘c’, but her eyes were blurry, and her fingers were uncontrollable, hitting ‘b’ instead…

Thus, Jiang Shucheng, who couldn’t sleep in the middle of the night, received this message: Baby, I’m home.

Jiang Shucheng: “…”

Another one followed: Baby, goodnight.

Jiang Shucheng’s heart fluttered. Should I reply? She knew Shen Qinghe was drunk and therefore incoherent, but she wasn’t drunk; she was very sober. She knew she wasn’t her ‘baby.’

I better not reply.

Jiang Shucheng tossed her phone aside, lay in bed, wrapped herself in the quilt with only her head exposed, and looked wistful. Shen Qinghe had made her restless.

…

The morning sun shone into the floor-to-ceiling windows on the fifteenth floor. The person lying on the sofa’s eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes to the light.

Shen Qinghe had slept on the sofa all night. Fortunately, the sofa was soft, or she would have been sore all over.

The lights in the house were still on. Shen Qinghe covered her throbbing head and stood up, turned off the lights, and walked barefoot into the bathroom. She took off the makeup she hadn’t removed last night, then placed a hydrating mask on her face.

She held a cup of warm honey water, sat cross-legged on the sofa, and stared blankly at the unlit TV.

She remembered signing the contract last night, but the events afterward were a blur.

Yet, she had a sweet, important feeling about those subsequent events.

Shen Qinghe pulled out her phone. The battery was only at twenty percent. She didn’t rush to charge it, eager to find clues from her phone to piece together the forgotten incident.

She first opened WeChat and saw the phrase “Baby, goodnight” in the pinned chat.

Shen Qinghe froze for a full ten seconds. The face mask seemed to have absorbed no essence at all and felt dry.

Normally composed, she slowly widened her eyes.

Tapping the chat box, above “Baby, goodnight” was “Baby, I’m home,” and above that was a video call lasting over twenty minutes.

The lost memories flew back into her brain like puzzle pieces, turning from vague to clear.

She remembered calling her ‘Chengcheng’ and even whimpering in front of her…

Oh my god, I’ve embarrassed myself to the Pacific Ocean!

Shen Qinghe fell over like a tumbler, staring at the ceiling with despair. How could I whimper in front of Jiang Shucheng? My mature image is ruined! And what must Jiang Shucheng think of me? She must think I’m crazy!

What broke her heart the most was that Jiang Shucheng hadn’t replied to her messages.

Shen Qinghe sighed. Her business mindset kicked in: Cut your losses immediately!

She quickly drafted a message: I was drunk last night, I’m so sorry for bothering you.

Meanwhile, Jiang Shucheng on the other end had successfully passed the first round of interviews. She emerged from the high-rise building, wearing the khaki dress she had acquired while shopping with Shen Qinghe yesterday, and the nude high heels shone brightly.

She stood under the shade of a tree and replied to the message: It’s fine.

A taxi drove by on the road, but Jiang Shucheng didn’t hail it. Taxis on the meter were more expensive than ride-sharing apps. She obediently booked a car using the app.

The sun was scorching. Even standing under the shade, her exposed skin felt the heatwave.

Jiang Shucheng hadn’t expected to perform so well in the interview despite hardly sleeping all night. She answered the interviewers’ questions fluently. They even gave her a scenario-based test to assess her on-the-spot reactions, and her overall performance was good. The interviewers nodded frequently.

The second round, a written examination, was scheduled for next Monday. Jiang Shucheng had a few days to prepare.

She received another message from Shen Qinghe in the car: When I video-called last night, did I say anything silly?

Shen Qinghe must be quite embarrassed now that she was sober. Jiang Shucheng replied: No.

Seeing the reply, Shen Qinghe immediately thought she sounded very cold. She changed positions on the sofa several times, racking her brain as she typed…

Jiang Shucheng watched her phone. Shen Qinghe’s name showed ‘typing…’, but after a long time of typing, no message was sent.

Jiang Shucheng hesitated for a moment and asked her: Are you feeling okay?

Don’t people who drink often have headaches when they wake up the next day?

Shen Qinghe’s heart hammered: I’m fine.

Jiang Shucheng rolled her eyes, pondered for a moment, and typed a comforting reply: Actually, you were quite cute when you were drunk.

Cute… really?

Shen Qinghe blinked her large eyes. Shouldn’t I be sexy…

At this point, it was good enough that she wasn’t being despised and was even being called cute. Shen Qinghe patted her cheek and replied: Thank you.

Jiang Shucheng smiled and put away her phone.

…

Spring was a rainy season. After Jiang Shucheng returned home, the sky turned from clear to cloudy, and a light drizzle began to fall. Ji Yue downstairs urged her to hurry and collect the laundry.

The whole family’s clothes were drying on the rooftop, along with some dried fish.

Jiang Shucheng ran to the rooftop, collected a few clothes and the dried fish as quickly as possible. The moment she closed the iron door, the rain poured down, accompanied by thunder and lightning.

The thunder rumbled repeatedly. A blinding flash of white light—a dazzling lightning bolt—flashed before Jiang Shucheng’s eyes. A few seconds later, the world-shattering sound of thunder roared. She quickly unplugged all the appliances.

The heavy rain lasted until after five in the afternoon. Jiang Shucheng was squeezing juice in the kitchen when she saw a golden glow through the tall iron railings.

The rain had stopped, and bird calls could be heard outside the house.

Her phone, placed on the shelf, rang. Jiang Shucheng picked it up and saw a photo Shen Qinghe had sent her.

Outside the office building’s floor-to-ceiling windows, a rare and magnificent rainbow arched across the silver, towering skyscrapers.

Jiang Shucheng gasped and opened the kitchen’s iron door. Outside was a small alley. She stood in the alley, which was lined with silk-floss trees, looked up at the sky edged in gold, and truly saw the rainbow.

She happily replied to Shen Qinghe: I see it.

Shen Qinghe stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the message, and smiled faintly.

Someone knocked on the door. Shen Qinghe said, “Come in.” Her female secretary, dressed in professional attire, pushed the door open: “Boss Shen, the Y Company has sent people over to discuss investment.” Because they didn’t have an appointment, she had them wait temporarily at the front desk.

Shen Qinghe nodded, turned off her phone: “Let them in.”

Jiang Shucheng watched the rainbow in the alley for a while, then ran into the store to tell Ji Yue to join her outside to admire it. Ji Yue was in a good mood because her daughter was about to start working. Looking at the rainbow, she smiled and said: “See? When a person strives to improve, even Heaven rewards you with a rainbow.”

Jiang Shucheng was speechless: “Why don’t you mention the heavy rain that just fell? Is that also Heaven’s reward?”

“Ah, the rain cooled down the weather. How is that not a reward?” Ji Yue was the kind of person who could spin black into white.

“If only Heaven could reward you with a partner, too. I hope you can settle down soon, so I can finally rest easy,” Ji Yue suddenly said.

“Mom!” Jiang Shucheng’s mouth twitched slightly. “I don’t want to get married.”

“You young people all say you won’t get married, but you’ll regret it when you’re old,” Ji Yue glanced at her daughter dismissively.

At the mention of finding a partner, Shen Qinghe’s cool face quickly flashed across Jiang Shucheng’s mind.

Ji Yue was still standing beside her, speaking earnestly. Jiang Shucheng didn’t hear any of it. She drooped her head gloomily. How could she harbor fantasies about someone as excellent as Shen Qinghe?

Furthermore, she remembered Jiang Ruoyi saying that Shen Qinghe was particularly arrogant. After the wedding, she even heard Jiang Ruoyi complaining to Xu Zhen about the Shen family looking down on people…

Her brother-in-law only managed to marry Shen Qingyue because he got her pregnant. The Shen family allowed their eldest daughter to marry into a less prominent family, but they would definitely not allow their second daughter, who was set to inherit the family business, to casually date anyone.

Jiang Shucheng could vaguely sense Shen Qinghe’s favorable impression of her. Whether it was a desire for friendship or a deeper connection, she didn’t know. But her feelings about herself were clear: she was afraid of falling for Shen Qinghe’s kindness, which would only lead to her getting hurt.

Moreover, she still owed a lot of money. After her business failure, her parents borrowed money from relatives, sold the family car, and gave her their savings to help her pay off her debt. She didn’t owe any outsiders now, only her relatives. She intended to work hard to repay this money in the future. So, let alone Shen Qinghe, she dared not fantasize about a girl even slightly more ordinary than Shen Qinghe. After all, dating as an adult often costs money.

A faint sense of inferiority surfaced in her heart. Jiang Shucheng lost the mood to admire the rainbow and returned to her room sadly.

…

Y Company had expanded a project abroad, but was facing a shortage of funds and the project couldn’t proceed as planned. Shen Qinghe’s friend, a senior executive at Y Company, introduced the project to Shen Qinghe. After further understanding, Shen Qinghe confirmed the investment plan.

Both parties successfully reached an agreement. Shen Qinghe saw off the Y Company delegation, returned to her office, and sent a message to Jiang Shucheng: You mentioned an interview. When is it?

Jiang Shucheng replied an hour later: I had one round of interviews today and passed. I have a written exam next week.

Shen Qinghe: Once you pass the written exam successfully, I’ll treat you to a meal (smiley face)