The Green Tea Supporting Girl Is Still Playing Her Role Today (GL) - Chapter 43

Chapter 43

“Shall we have dinner here tonight?” Wen Pinghan asked.

“Sure!” Xie Zhifei quickly got out of bed and followed her into the kitchen to help. She had just put the vegetables into the basket when her phone rang. She held up the phone and gestured to Wen Pinghan that she needed to take a call.

“Go ahead.”

The sound of running water covered the other person’s voice. After preparing the vegetables, Wen Pinghan walked to the living room, took a sip of water, and heard her talking business.

Xie Zhifei turned around and smiled when she saw her, then continued with the call.

Wen Pinghan put a can of Wangzai milk on the coffee table before returning to the kitchen to start cooking.

It was not until the meal was ready that Xie Zhifei ended the call. She immediately sat down at the table, took the rice bowl, ate a few bites, and then pointed at the dish in front of her in surprise. “This, this garlic spare ribs are so delicious!!”

“Is it that exaggerated?” Wen Pinghan looked at her wide-eyed expression and could not help laughing.

“It really is delicious! Oh my god, I love this flavor so much.” As she spoke, Xie Zhifei quickly picked up two more pieces, and in the end, she devoured the entire plate of spare ribs.

After eating her fill, Xie Zhifei touched her belly and walked a few steps with difficulty, pressing on her stomach. “Done for, I feel a bit too full.”

“Then how about we go downstairs for a walk?” Wen Pinghan suggested.

“Okay.” Xie Zhifei agreed happily.

The two of them went out the door. After Wen Pinghan locked it, Xie Zhifei suddenly said, “Hey, let me try this treasure!”

As she spoke, she pulled a key from her pocket, eagerly inserted it into the keyhole, twisted it half a turn with a click, and the door opened. She pulled the door shut contentedly, locked it again, then grinned and tucked the key back into her pocket. She naturally took Wen Pinghan’s hand and said cheerfully, “Let’s go, let’s go for a walk.”

Night had fallen completely, and autumn was in full swing. Xie Zhifei had forgotten to wear a jacket, and a gust of wind blew over, making her shiver. She leaned her whole body against Wen Pinghan, rubbing against her for warmth while stamping her feet.

“Go back and put on some clothes,” Wen Pinghan said.

“No need, I’m too lazy to go back. Walking a couple of steps to get moving will warm me up.” Xie Zhifei said this as she gripped her hand even tighter.

So Wen Pinghan took off her own jacket and draped it over her.

“No need, Sis, you…”

“I’m not cold.” Wen Pinghan blurted out. “I used to wear very little in winter and got used to it long ago.”

Xie Zhifei fell unusually silent for a moment and asked, “Why did you wear so little in winter?”

Wen Pinghan: “…”

They walked a short distance. Just as Xie Zhifei thought she would not answer and was about to change the subject, she heard her suddenly say, “Because down jackets were expensive.”

She gave a seemingly helpless little laugh and continued, “Back then, I relied entirely on the big sister next door, who gave me her old clothes to wear. But how to put it, even though we were very poor at home, that was the happiest time of my life. Mom and Dad were both by my side…”

After hearing this, Xie Zhifei returned the jacket to her and put it on her, saying, “Sis, wait here for me. I’ll go back and grab my jacket. We both need to stay warm.”

With that, she turned and ran back with big strides.

Wen Pinghan stood rooted to the spot in a daze, staring intently at her retreating figure. She did not know if the topic had reminded her of her childhood days, but her eyes grew a bit moist. When she heard the sound of high heels approaching from afar, she quickly wiped the corner of her eye. As the other approached, she smiled and said, “You run pretty fast.”

“Wasn’t I afraid you’d get impatient waiting?” Xie Zhifei smiled, took her hand again, and rubbed the back of it, as if trying to warm it up a little more.

“I’m not in a hurry, not at all,” Wen Pinghan said.

“Alright, I’m the one in a hurry. I’m afraid if you stand in the cold wind too long, you’ll turn into a silly roe deer.” Xie Zhifei said.

Wen Pinghan burst out laughing. “You’re the silly roe deer.”

When they passed the fitness area, Xie Zhifei saw two swings and immediately ran over to sit on one. “Sis, give me a push.”

Wen Pinghan pushed her a few times, and Xie Zhifei kept laughing nonstop, shouting, “That’s enough, that’s enough. Sis, you try it too.”

They switched turns, but Xie Zhifei pushed her out as hard as if she were pushing a bun.

“Ahhh!” Wen Pinghan cried out. “Slow down, slow down. I’m afraid I’ll fall.”

“It won’t happen. I’ll catch you!”

Hearing this, Wen Pinghan gradually suppressed the fear in her heart and began to enjoy the thrilling sensation again, shouting and laughing loudly.

After playing until they were tired, the two sat on the swings to rest. At that moment, a few children arrived nearby and looked at them eagerly.

Wen Pinghan felt embarrassed to take up the seats, so she stood up. Xie Zhifei waved her hand. “Come squeeze in with me.”

“Can we fit? Maybe we should stop playing now that the kids are here,” Wen Pinghan said awkwardly.

“So what if they come? We grown-ups want to play too.”

Wen Pinghan smiled and sat down beside her. The two squeezed together into a bundle, swinging slowly and chatting idly in fits and starts.

Suddenly, a sharp scream sounded from behind. They both turned their heads at the same time, and their noses just barely missed each other. Xie Zhifei was momentarily stunned. Her peripheral vision fell on Wen Pinghan’s profile, and then she slowly turned her eyes to gaze at her clean face, as if leaning just a bit closer would mean kissing her cheek.

So white, so soft, just like a big steamed bun. She really wanted to take a bite!

Xie Zhifei unconsciously held her breath, afraid of startling her. When the other turned back, she quickly withdrew her gaze and looked straight ahead.

“It’s just a kid screaming for no reason,” Wen Pinghan said.

“Oh… Disobedient, deserves a spanking.” Xie Zhifei said dazedly.

“Kids will be kids.”

“Deserves a spanking.”

“Why are you suddenly so irritable?” Wen Pinghan said with a smile.

“I don’t know.” Xie Zhifei touched her face. It seemed like it was just a momentary thing, but her face felt slightly hot. She suddenly stood up and looked down at Wen Pinghan.

Wen Pinghan looked up in confusion, puzzled in her clear eyes.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

The wind blew their hair up.

Xie Zhifei wanted to say something but did not know what to say.

Gazing at Wen Pinghan’s clean and beautiful face, she was afraid that if she opened her mouth carelessly, she would blurt out everything she should and should not say.

At that moment, Wen Pinghan also stood up, took her hand, and walked to the side. “Are you bothered by the noise here? Let’s find another spot.”

Xie Zhifei looked down at their hands and, on an impulse, spread her fingers to interlock with hers. She smiled faintly. “Okay, whatever you say, Sis.”

Autumn passed quickly. Half a month later, the weather turned completely cool, and people needed to wear three layers when going out.

Wen Pinghan drove straight to pick up Lin Zhimin and the others. It was the weekend, and the three of them had arranged to have dinner with the person in charge of the Gu project, hoping to secure the cooperation with the Gu family.

After the meal, the person in charge said that he still needed to consult with the higher-ups.

“Then we’ll trouble you to put in a good word for us,” Wen Pinghan said with a smile.

“No problem. You three girls have it tough, running around for so long. I’ve seen it all, and I’ll definitely speak up for you when the time comes,” the person in charge said.

After seeing the person in charge off, they each went their separate ways home.

Wen Pinghan had drunk some alcohol and, upon returning home, lay on the sofa intending to rest for a bit, but she accidentally fell asleep. She woke up suddenly in the middle of the night.

She glanced at the time: past two o’clock.

She groggily went to wash up, brushing her teeth while scrolling through WeChat. She noticed a post from Xie Zhifei in her Moments, so she tapped into Moments. The first one was the other’s new update.

Xie Zhifei: [Good afternoon.]

The accompanying photo showed a table of Western food, with the location abroad.

How did she go so far away?

Wen Pinghan zoomed in on the photo and noticed half a hand on the opposite side of the table. From the bone structure, it looked like a man’s hand.

She thought for a moment and commented: [What are you doing abroad?]

Half a minute later, Xie Zhifei messaged her privately: [Sis, you haven’t slept yet? It’s the middle of the night here in China!]

Wen Pinghan: [Mm, why did you suddenly go abroad?]

Xie Zhifei: [Wasn’t it because the boss of that transnational project invited me over to discuss details? Li Hongyan happens to be on a business trip here too, so we had dinner together. He’s going to take me to visit their overseas branch later. I can learn something from it, hehe.]

Wen Pinghan: [Sounds good. It’s late, I’m off to sleep.]

Xie Zhifei: [Okay, good night, Sis [rose]]

Wen Pinghan: [Good night [smile]]

Xie Zhifei saw that emoji and instinctively shivered. But then she thought of how almost every group chat at the company used that emoji, and she could not help laughing.

“Who are you chatting with? You look so happy,” Li Hongyan asked.

“Wen Sis.”

“Wen Pinghan?”

“Yeah.”

Li Hongyan nodded. He did not know what crossed his mind, but he said, “Gu Zhizhang told his family that he likes Wen Pinghan. Do you know about that?”

“What?!” Xie Zhifei looked at him in surprise. “Really? For real?”

“Really. His mother even called me personally yesterday to confirm. I said I wasn’t too clear on their progress. Then his mother probed around about Wen Pinghan’s family background indirectly. I really don’t know about that, so I didn’t tell her.” Li Hongyan slowly cut his steak and said, “His mother has been recuperating abroad these past few years, but she comes back every Chinese New Year. By calculation, she’ll be back soon this year too. She might even approach Wen Pinghan. You should know his mother’s character. She’s very proud.”

Xie Zhifei pressed her philtrum and took a deep breath. She had not expected this vicious mother-in-law to come online so soon.

In the original story, the mother-in-law only appeared later to stop the Cinderella-like Wen Pinghan from marrying into the wealthy family. But now, Gu Zhizhang and Wen Pinghan had not even started dating, and it had still triggered this plot. It was really…

Whatever. Maybe this was the main storyline. What was meant to come would come anyway. She would just deal with soldiers with generals and water with earth.

After handling everything with the client, Xie Zhifei followed Li Hongyan to visit the company and gained a deeper understanding of some overseas-related policies. Only then did she return home full of insights.

As soon as she got back, she naturally went first to the Xie residence to chat with Xie Hongxu about the gains from the past few days, especially spending an entire afternoon discussing the overseas situation. Xie Hongxu looked at her with increasing admiration. “Afei, you’ve really grown up.”

“That’s also thanks to Dad giving me such a great platform,” Xie Zhifei said with a smile.

“Have dinner here tonight. Ever since you started at the company, you don’t stick to me like you used to,” Xie Hongxu said plaintively.

Xie Zhifei: “Alright, I’ll stay here tonight and keep you company chatting. Deal?”

“Deal!”

After dinner, it suddenly started raining outside. Xie Zhifei and Xie Hongxu were chatting in the study when she glanced at the window, then picked up her phone and sent a message to Wen Pinghan.

Xie Zhifei: [It’s raining. What are you up to, Sis?]

Wen Pinghan: [Having dinner with Gu Zhizhang ==]

Xie Zhifei froze, staring at those characters as if she did not recognize the Chinese words.

“Afei… Afei, what are you looking at? I’m talking to you,” Xie Hongxu called.

“Hm?” Xie Zhifei looked up. “Sorry, I didn’t hear you just now. Could you say it again?”

Xie Hongxu had just started speaking when her phone vibrated in her hand. She glanced down and saw it was a follow-up message from Wen Pinghan.

[Lin Zhimin and the others are here too. Talking business.]

Xie Zhifei inexplicably let out a breath of relief but also felt dissatisfied that Gu Zhizhang always found various excuses to have dinner with Wen Pinghan.

…Whatever, whatever. Since it was business talk, let them eat. There were other people there anyway.

“Afei, why are you spacing out again?” Xie Hongxu asked.

“Huh? No, I’m not.”

“Then what did I just say?”

“Uh… Booming business?”

“Forget it. Finish replying to your message first.”

“Oh, okay.”

Xie Zhifei lowered her head and casually typed a line: [Such heavy rain. I’m so scared all alone. Can you come keep me company, Sis?]

Sent.

Tsk, this green tea skill had really reached perfection. Xie Zhifei could not help muttering to herself.

But she realized something else—before, she had said those green tea lines just to complete tasks and maintain her persona.

But this message just now was actually from the heart!

Oh no, really oh no. The green tea was almost pickled into her very being!

As she condemned her own behavior, she received a new message.

[You’re back in the country? At home now? I’ll come right over.]

Xie Zhifei shot to her feet, startling Xie Hongxu. “What are you doing?”

“Dad, I’m heading back.”

“Didn’t you say you’d stay tonight?”

“Next time, definitely next time!” Xie Zhifei turned and ran out of the study with a beaming smile.

Xie Hongxu stroked his chin, pondering her series of odd behaviors just now, and suddenly had a realization. “This girl must be in love!?”