I'm Interested In Your Friend - Chapter 17

17

Yu Lili stared at the heavy door in front of her.

Her mind raced.

Now, she had two choices before her.

1.
Push open the door. Walk briskly past Yu Mu, gambling on the 50% chance that Yu Mu wouldn’t recognize her.

If recognized, Yu Mu would follow the clues, uncover the truth, and watch her flounder as she awkwardly tried to act obedient and meek in front of her friends, spinning wild lies.

Then, Yu Mu and her clique would laugh at her to death.

2.
Dive back through the hidden door. Avoid Yu Mu first, then explain why Anna had to hide from Yu Mu. Unless she could come up with a flawless excuse, this would easily make Tan Suran suspicious of her true identity.

But… embarrassing herself in front of Tan Suran versus embarrassing herself directly in front of Yu Mu…

The choice was obvious.

Perhaps because Yu Lili moved too quickly, as she ducked back behind the hidden door, she met Tan Suran’s lifted gaze—eyes still tinged with amusement.

But the smile vanished in an instant.

Tan Suran lowered her eyelids indifferently. “Regretting it?”

Yu Lili, of course, shook her head. She wasn’t regretting anything—just borrowing this place to hide for a moment. She swallowed and adjusted her voice slightly, making it even sweeter and more delicate than usual. “I suddenly feel a bit tired. Can I rest here for a while?”

“No.” -_-!

“……”

“Step aside.”

Tan Suran’s coldness surpassed Yu Lili’s expectations. For a moment, she couldn’t think of a good excuse and simply stood her ground, firmly blocking the door.

With only a door separating them, the sounds from the office behind her were crystal clear.

The click of high heels on the floor was especially sharp.

“No one here?” It was Yu Mu’s voice.

She was probably talking to the secretary.

“I’ll contact President Tan.”

Meanwhile, in front of Yu Lili, Tan Suran—who was just a tad taller—spoke in a businesslike tone. “Since our employment relationship has already been terminated, please leave now, Miss Anna. I have other work to attend to.”

Tan Suran’s hand was already on the door, poised to push it open.

Yu Lili instinctively grabbed her sleeve and whispered, “There’s something… something…”

“It’s just… um…” Yu Lili couldn’t think of what to say and kept repeating herself to stall for time. “Well… how about you count the money? What if I shortchanged you?”

Tan Suran glanced at her, lips quirking slightly. “I could call the police.”

“Hmm… what if you framed me?”

“That’s not a problem I need to consider.”

“Uh…” Yu Lili fidgeted with her lips.

Tan Suran cut her off before she could continue. “If these are all just pointless questions, Miss Anna probably can’t afford to waste my time.”

Without another word, Tan Suran raised her phone to her ear, as if calling her secretary. “Yes… I’m here… I’ll be right…”

“I—I actually… I want to be your driver,” Yu Lili blurted out. “Let’s talk again, okay?”

Tan Suran slowly lowered the phone. “Talk about what?”

“Terms, salary, job responsibilities… so many questions. I think it’ll take at least one, two, three hours…” Her voice trailed off, and Yu Lili’s heart pounded like a drum.

She had no idea what Tan Suran would decide.

Tan Suran’s slender, pale fingers tapped lightly against the metal edge of her phone.

Then, into the phone, she said, “I have something else to attend to. Reschedule. Let her leave first.”

Yu Lili’s tense back relaxed against the door.

Tan Suran’s hand, which had been braced against the door, slowly withdrew. She sat back down at the tea table, lazily saying, “Well? Talk.”

The dazzling strobe lights of BUS flickered over the dance floor. Amid the deafening noise, Du Tanyu held a Long Island Iced Tea and shouted into Yu Lili’s ear, “So, not only did you fail to ditch that driver job, but you renewed it?”

“Yu Lili, are you out of your mind?!” Du Tanyu glared at her in exasperation.

“I—I—I had no choice! Who knew Yu Mu would show up then?”

“Stop acting like a mouse seeing a cat every time you run into Yu Mu. You don’t owe her anything.”

“It’s not that I’m scared of Yu Mu—I just don’t want her to recognize me.”

“So what if she does? What’s she gonna do to you?”

“Make fun of me, duh.” Yu Lili grimaced. “Just imagine—hypothetically—if Old Qi got drunk one night and had a one-night stand with you…”

Du Tanyu’s eyebrows shot up. “Stop right there! What kind of hypothetical is that? That’s terrifying!”

“Fine, what if Old Qi got drunk and had a one-night stand with Tan Suran…”

Du Tanyu sighed. “Forget it, just stick with me. I have fewer limits.”

“Okay, then it’s you. And let’s say you didn’t recognize her, so she pretended to be some poor college student. And because of this and that, you and the ‘college student’ ended up in all sorts of situations. Tell me—would Old Qi want to run into me while she’s playing the role of a college student with you?” Yu Lili asked earnestly.

Du Tanyu blinked, as if pondering the question. After a few seconds, she declared decisively, “How should I know? I’m not Old Qi. And it’s not like you and Tan Suran actually slept together.”

“The point isn’t whether we slept together or not.” Yu Lili covered her face. “Fine, if it’s not Old Qi pretending to be a college student, then you do it. You’re playing the role perfectly—would you want to run into me?”

Du Tanyu squinted. “Hmm… hmm… hmm… Alright, fine. I admit I lack imagination and associative skills. Do whatever you want. If you can handle it, great. If not, we’ll just lay our cards on the table. Who’s afraid of who?”

Yu Lili rested her chin on her hand. “I’ve even started wondering—what if Tan Suran already knows I’m Yu Lili?”

Du Tanyu, busy texting, replied offhandedly, “No point wondering. As long as she doesn’t bring it up, you’ll never know. It’s not like you can read minds.”

When Yu Lili didn’t respond, Du Tanyu looked up and found her staring in admiration. “What’s with that look?”

Yu Lili patted her shoulder approvingly. “Tanyu, now I understand what they mean by ‘still waters run deep.’”

“Huh?”

Du Tanyu’s casual remark had enlightened Yu Lili. There was no point speculating about Tan Suran. The only thing she knew for sure was that Tan Suran had made a deal and signed a contract with Anna. So, as Anna, all she had to do was fulfill her role properly.

After all, she’d already told Tan Suran she needed to practice driving and would only return to being her driver once she was confident.

But mastering driving wasn’t something that could be done in just a year or two.

“Oh, and one more thing,” Yu Lili nudged Du Tanyu’s foot. “I’ve got another job.”

“So soon? Are you joining your dad’s company?”

“No. A friend—that pretty older sister we met at Hidden Spring Pavilion—she hooked me up with a gig as a contracted photographer for a magazine.”

“Hey! Hey! Hey! Gimme that older sister’s WeChat!”

Yu Lili rolled her eyes. “Don’t even think about it. I heard she’s not single.”

“Your mind’s in the gutter! I just want to be friends, not hit on her.”

After sharing a few sips of their drinks, Du Tanyu wanted to hit the dance floor. Before leaving, she suddenly remembered something and turned back. “Oh, does your mom know? About your new job—did she agree to it?”

Yu Lili froze for a few seconds, then gave a thumbs-up. “Excellent question.”