The next morning, An Sese rushed into the studio after returning from chasing her idol.
She was carrying a bag in one hand and a large LEGO box in the other. She entered and placed it on Tao Zhi’s desk with a dull thud.
Tao Zhi held a cup of coffee, smiling at her: “You’re here?”
Xu Suinian stood beside her, also holding coffee, taking a leisurely sip: “You’re here.”
“A gift,” An Sese pointed at the LEGO box, then pulled out a photo from her bag, carefully placing it on top of the box with both hands, “Along with a signed photo of my brother’s gorgeous face. This is a treasure that I painfully parted with just for you.”
“I don’t follow celebrities, why are you giving up this meaningless love,” Tao Zhi added another spoon of sugar to her coffee, “I’ve finished processing the photos and sent them to the email you gave me. Let me know when they pay you so you can transfer my share.”
“‘Tomorrow’s Finance’ said they’ll pay everything together after the lifestyle photos are done,” An Sese said.
Tao Zhi turned her head, looking confused: “What photos?”
“The lifestyle photos,” An Sese said, “Didn’t you convince that big shot to agree to the photoshoot? The magazine praised me a lot and said they’d add more money.”
Tao Zhi nodded calmly: “Then you go shoot them.”
An Sese: “Me?”
“Who else? Me?” Tao Zhi said naturally, “Do you have another flying celebrity brother to meet at the airport?”
“Well, no,” An Sese stuttered, “But didn’t you tell the magazine people your name was An Sese?”
Tao Zhi froze for two seconds.
She corrected: “I didn’t say I was An Sese, they assumed I was An Sese.”
An Sese nodded: “And you didn’t deny it.”
Tao Zhi pouted: “I was too lazy to explain, who knew there would be more to it.”
“How am I supposed to explain if I go today?” An Sese was bewildered, “‘Surprise! I’m the real An Sese’? Won’t they say we’re frauds and refuse to pay?”
Tao Zhi was also bewildered: “They shouldn’t, right? Such a big magazine wouldn’t care about such a small detail?”
Xu Suinian watched the two inexperienced juniors staring at each other with wide eyes and chuckled, looking at Tao Zhi: “Why don’t you just go do the photoshoot? It’s just an hour.”
An Sese: “Exactly!”
Tao Zhi didn’t know how to explain. She puffed her cheeks and frowned, finally mumbling reluctantly: “I don’t want to go.”
“Is the big shot ugly in person?” An Sese leaned in to ask.
“No.”
“Is he inappropriate?” Xu Suinian said.
Tao Zhi quickly denied: “No!”
An Sese: “Did you two fight? Have bad blood? Old enemies?”
“We didn’t fight!”
“Looking at that expression, must be an ex-boyfriend,” Xu Suinian casually guessed.
“…”
“…”
“…”
Silence.
Tao Zhi lowered her head, quietly picking at her hands without saying a word.
An Sese: “Holy shit!”
She widened her eyes: “Really an ex-boyfriend? Did you date in college? No, high school? You dated in high school?”
Tao Zhi raised her head, protesting: “What’s wrong with dating in high school! Everyone was doing it then, I was being trendy!”
An Sese clicked her tongue: “No wonder you didn’t respond when the campus heartthrob chased you for ages in college.”
Xu Suinian stroked his chin: “No wonder you haven’t dated anyone all these years, still hung up on him.”
Tao Zhi sat down at her desk, slumping over it. Her carefully maintained cold, career-woman image crumbled under her college friends’ attacks: “It’s just that I haven’t met…”
“Haven’t met what?” An Sese said, “Those guys from the Art Department at our school were all super handsome.”
Tao Zhi remained silent, staring at the small sticky note on her computer screen for a while before saying quietly: “Haven’t met anyone better than him.”
An Sese waved her hand dismissively: “Then that means you still like him, right? All the more reason to go. Isn’t this a good opportunity?”
As she spoke, suddenly enlightened: “So that’s why he agreed to the lifestyle photos! He clearly still has feelings for you.”
Tao Zhi slowly propped up her head: “He expressed that when we first met after he came back.”
An Sese: “Direct approach, I like it. Then what?”
Tao Zhi: “Then I refused.”
An Sese: “…”
An Sese expressionlessly: “Why? You still like him, he still likes you, he wants to pursue you, why did you refuse?”
“I’m scared,” Tao Zhi said dryly.
Xu Suinian drew in a sharp breath.
An Sese looked at her in shock: “There’s actually something you’re scared of?”
Tao Zhi lay on the desk, fingertips playing with the curled edge of the old sticky note, not saying anything.
Truthfully, among the people she’d met over the years, there were men who could match Jiang Qi Huai in various aspects, but some feelings were inexplicable.
Falling in love was always confusing for those involved, impossible to explain clearly no matter what.
Just like she couldn’t explain why she wanted to talk to him when she first saw those clear, indifferent eyes of that young man, why she wanted to keep watching him forever when she saw him correcting her test papers, why her heart seemed to jump uncontrollably when she heard him calmly and quietly recite those four characters “With your cart coming, with my bribes moving.”
She clearly understood she wasn’t looking for someone who was just good enough.
She just never met another “Your Highness” who could make her heart skip a beat.
An Sese stayed for lunch, and in the afternoon, she received a call from “Tomorrow’s Finance” to arrange the next photoshoot time. Wen Ming Yue sent the address and gave her Jiang Qi Huai’s contact information.
No one knew what Jiang Qi Huai had said to the magazine, but Wen Ming Yue’s attitude was much more relaxed and cheerful than during their initial negotiations. She didn’t mention many requirements, just said to feel free to be creative and send the photos according to the supplementary contract’s timeline.
After receiving this, An Sese held up her phone in front of Tao Zhi.
Tao Zhi had her mouth full of Spanish seafood rice, mumbling: “What?”
“Address and phone number,” An Sese said, “I’ll go by myself on Saturday. You should think about it — what’s there to be scared of? In college, you dared to braid the dean’s beard while he was sleeping, why aren’t you brave enough to pursue love now?”
Tao Zhi swallowed her seafood rice and calmly said: “Back then, I pursued him.”
“Then, he dumped me and left me,” Tao Zhi said concisely.
“Now, he’s back.”
An Sese: “…”
Tao Zhi held up her spoon to interview her: “What do you think?”
An Sese’s eyes blazed with anger: “Let him go to hell, how dare he dump you??”
Tao Zhi nodded, satisfied: “That’s what I think too.”
“But you still like him,” An Sese sighed, troubled, “What to do? On one hand, I want you to be with the person you like, but on the other hand, I feel we can’t let him off so easily.”
Tao Zhi gave her a complicated look: “I feel your inner conflict.”
“Because being able to like someone for so many years is almost impossible, and the fact that you still have feelings for him shows you truly like him. But for most of us, there’s actually no love in life. As time passes and we get older, we care more about compatibility,” An Sese said, “Even if we can have love, we might not be lucky enough to meet that person.”
Tao Zhi blinked blankly.
“You’re so lucky to have met someone you could like for many years, and now you’re going to give up. I don’t care if he suffers or not, but aren’t you torturing yourself too?” An Sese continued, “So don’t act on impulse, and don’t refuse carelessly in a moment of anger. Just calm down and think about whether you resent him leaving you more or want to be with him more.”
On Saturday morning, An Sese found Jiang Qi Huai’s current residential community according to Wen Ming Yue’s address.
Wen Ming Yue didn’t come this time. Since An Sese hadn’t caused any problems last time, and this was just supplementary lifestyle photos, and they were already familiar with Jiang Qi Huai’s side, she just sent a few WeChat messages to confirm her arrival and stayed busy writing the interview article at the magazine.
The community was a newly built property from a few years ago, with complete landscaping and facilities. An Sese walked through the community greenery, searching building by building, and took the elevator up.
She pressed the doorbell according to the unit number.
The doorbell rang for less than ten seconds, and the person inside didn’t even ask who it was before opening the door.
As soon as Jiang Qi Huai pushed open the door, he saw a strange woman standing at the door. He calmly looked at her, obviously pausing.
The woman smiled brightly: “Hello, Mr. Jiang, I’m An Sese, the photographer from ‘Tomorrow’s Finance’ magazine. We arranged in advance to take some supplementary photos for the interview.”
After An Sese finished speaking, she saw Jiang Qi Huai’s gaze discreetly sweep behind her.
The empty stairwell had no one else besides her.
The light in the man’s eyes noticeably dimmed.
An Sese suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of vindication.
“Hello.” Jiang Qi Huai nodded, pressing his lips together, then casually grabbed a gray coat from the entrance coat rack, changed his shoes, and walked out directly, “Let’s go.”
An Sese was stunned: “We’re not shooting inside?”
Jiang Qi Huai walked in front, pressing the elevator button: “There’s a coffee shop next door with a nice environment.”
An Sese: “…”
So you gave your home address thinking it would be Tao Zhi coming!
Changing locations just because it’s the wrong person, isn’t that too obvious!
An Sese silently complained while rolling her eyes and following him.
The coffee shop was indeed close, just in the street-level shops below the same community, a five-minute walk after leaving the community gate.
The environment was tranquil, and this area wasn’t very busy. There were few people in the morning, most just quietly drinking coffee and reading, whiling away their weekend leisure time.
However, as soon as An Sese saw this coffee shop, she began to worry. She stepped forward and forced a smile: “There are too many people here, should we change to another place?”
Jiang Qi Huai had already pushed the door open: “There aren’t many people on the second floor.”
An Sese: “…”
She scanned the first floor quickly before hurriedly following him upstairs. After ordering, she began working.
She only needed to take a few supplementary photos of him outside his work state. An Sese was efficient and quick, and Jiang Qi Huai was cooperative, though somewhat absent-minded. When she wasn’t making requests, he would prop his chin and stare blankly at the floor below.
People came and went on the first floor of the coffee shop. With the New Year approaching, red long ribbons were tied to the vintage bells above the glass door, swaying in the air conditioning breeze.
At one moment, Jiang Qi Huai’s wandering gaze suddenly fixed on something.
At a window table on the first floor sat a person. The woman’s black long hair fell loose, covering half her face. From the side, only an upturned nose tip was visible, and she wore a baseball cap pulled low over her head.
Jiang Qi Huai suddenly stood up. By the time An Sese reacted, he had already left the frame and was heading downstairs toward that table.
He stood beside the table, his long shadow slanting across the dark wooden table.
Tao Zhi didn’t lift her head, as if used to such situations, casually saying: “Waiting for someone.”
“Who?” Jiang Qi Huai said flatly.
Tao Zhi tensed up, with the panic of being caught. She instinctively looked up.
The man looked down at her, his lips curved downward, his eyes appearing lighter than usual in the daylight.
His finger pressed against the edge of the table as he sat down opposite her, his tone flat: “Waiting for someone at a coffee shop below my home?”
Tao Zhi opened her mouth, wanting to say something but couldn’t get it out. After a long while, she said dryly: “That’s quite a coincidence.”
Jiang Qi Huai looked at her and sighed.
His voice lowered, pronouncing softly: “Zhi Zhi.”
When this nickname crossed time and years to clearly sound by her ears again, Tao Zhi’s fingers hidden under the table couldn’t help but curl tightly together.
His speech was slow and patient, with a hint of caution, as if afraid the next words would scare her away, negotiating: “Can we talk?”
Tao Zhi lowered her eyes, long eyelashes covering them: “Talk about what?”
“I’m sorry,” Jiang Qi Huai said.
Tao Zhi’s eyelashes trembled, her fingertips digging deeply into her palm.
Just as he said these three words, her eyes turned red.
Jiang Qi Huai looked at her deeply, calm and serious: “I didn’t mean to frighten you, but I don’t know what to say, I just…”
He seemed to rack his brain but couldn’t find any beautiful words to say to her in his barren mind. He paused, then spoke again with a sigh: “I miss you.”
Tao Zhi’s tears had already fallen on the table.
Jiang Qi Huai couldn’t control himself as he raised his hand, his fingertips lightly touching her wet eyelashes, his voice hoarse and suppressed: “Zhi Zhi, I miss you every single day.”
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