Luo Jingyu received a long message from Zhan Xi, which startled him. He thought something had happened.
After reading it carefully, he finally understood the situation.
Egg Pudding: Little Fish, I’m sorry, but I told Director Dong about your situation without your permission. I thought if I didn’t say anything, the business might not work out. But I didn’t mention your name. Are you angry?
Luo Jingyu wasn’t angry with Zhan Xi at all. However, he was bothered that Fang Xu had never mentioned this to him. True, he couldn’t take phone calls with clients, and Fang Xu’s refusal was understandable, but shouldn’t he have at least told him? If the client hadn’t contacted Zhan Xi, wouldn’t he have been kept in the dark forever?
Luo Jingyu replied to Zhan Xi.
Big Fish: No, it’s fine, I understand.
Egg Pudding: So are you planning to meet with them?
Luo Jingyu thought seriously for a moment.
Big Fish: Huanhuan, what do you think, should I go?
Egg Pudding: If you’re asking me, of course you should! I feel they’re very sincere. Has your boss told you about it? Do you know what Mr. Chi Jiang wants you to make?
Big Fish: Fang Xu told me about a client, I don’t know if it’s the same one. If it is, it’s a big deal.
Egg Pudding: Do you want to ask him?
Egg Pudding: Then how should I respond to Director Dong?
Big Fish: Help me arrange meeting, I’m available any time and place.
Egg Pudding: You’re available anytime, and any location is fine, they can decide everything – is that what you mean?
Egg Pudding: Okay, I’ll arrange it. Do you need a sign language interpreter? Director Dong said they can provide one.
Big Fish: No need, I can find one.
Egg Pudding: You’ll bring your own interpreter?
Egg Pudding: I understand. I’ll contact Director Dong then, wait for my update.
Big Fish: Okay, Huanhuan, thank you.
Zhan Xi helped Luo Jingyu arrange the time with Director Dong. According to Mr. Chi Jiang’s schedule, they finally set it for Wednesday at 2 PM at a Chinese teahouse in the city center.
Thinking of Luo Jingyu’s firm “No,” Zhan Xi specifically reminded Director Dong not to tell Fang Xu about this. Director Dong agreed and expressed understanding.
Zhan Xi didn’t quite understand the relationship between Luo Jingyu and Fang Xu.
Fang Xu had told her that Little Fish was a lowly educated worker in his studio. At that time, Zhan Xi wasn’t close to Little Fish, and this first impression had brainwashed her, leaving her unable to shake the image of Little Fish as just a worker.
Now, after knowing each other for nearly a month, Zhan Xi increasingly felt that given Little Fish’s professional skills, his relationship with Fang Xu didn’t seem like that of superior and subordinate. But what exactly was their relationship? She couldn’t guess, Little Fish hadn’t mentioned it, and she hadn’t had the chance to ask.
Before hanging up with Director Dong, Zhan Xi suddenly remembered she hadn’t told him one important thing.
She said: “Mr. Dong, I forgot to tell you, the pressed flower artist’s surname is Luo – the Luo from ‘camel’. He’s a young male artist.”
Director Dong laughed: “Mr. Luo, I’ll remember that. Thank you, Miss Zhan, you’ve been a great help.”
—
After work, Zhan Xi walked happily toward Qingque Garden, thinking about what to eat for dinner.
Order takeout? Cook frozen dumplings? Buy a boxed meal from the convenience store?
Thinking of her promise to Little Fish, Zhan Xi rejected all these ideas and decided to cook properly. If she got lazy once, she’d keep being lazy. How could her cooking improve without practice?
So she went to the small market to buy some ingredients, planning to make cola chicken wings, stir-fried vegetables, and tomato egg drop soup – a perfect dinner with meat, vegetables, and soup!
However, following the APP recipe for cola chicken wings, she got stuck at the first step — marinating.
Without much thought, Zhan Xi messaged Luo Jingyu.
Egg Pudding: Little Fish, when making cola chicken wings, how much salt, soy sauce, and cooking wine should I use to marinate the chicken?
Big Fish: Don’t marinate cola chicken wings! Just cook them directly after blanching.
Egg Pudding: But the recipe says to marinate for half an hour!
Big Fish: Trust me, no need.
Zhan Xi was very troubled.
Egg Pudding: There are different ways to make this dish? [embarrassed]
Big Fish: Never mind, wait for me.
A few minutes later, there was a knock at Zhan Xi’s door. She opened it to find Luo Jingyu standing outside, looking at her helplessly, holding a small plastic bag.
Zhan Xi felt so embarrassed! She quickly got his slippers – the blue ones he had worn before were now neatly arranged in the shoe cabinet by the door.
“What did you bring?” Zhan Xi asked.
Luo Jingyu opened the bag to show her – inside were some ginger and star anise. He pointed at the items in the bag, then at Zhan Xi, and finally drew a small question mark in the air. Zhan Xi pouted and answered: “No, I don’t have those.”
Luo Jingyu raised his eyebrows with an “I knew it” expression and headed familiarly to the kitchen.
Zhan Xi followed him like a little tail. Luo Jingyu looked at the ingredients on the counter and understood what Zhan Xi wanted to make for dinner. He took out his phone to type: [I’ll help you make cola chicken wings, you want to learn?]
“Yes, yes, yes.” Zhan Xi nodded repeatedly, then tugged his sleeve. When he turned to look, she asked, “Have you eaten dinner?”
Luo Jingyu waved his hand, pointed at the ceiling, and made a chopping motion.
“Ah, you were about to cook?” Zhan Xi felt very embarrassed and clasped her hands together, “I’ve troubled you again, I’m so sorry.”
Luo Jingyu waved his hand again, looking relaxed and happy, without any sign of displeasure. Worried Zhan Xi might misunderstand, he took out his phone to type: [I’m not hungry, let me help you first.]
Seeing him put his phone back in his pocket, Zhan Xi asked: “How do you say that in sign language?”
Luo Jingyu observed her expression, as if trying to determine if she was serious or joking. Zhan Xi kept blinking at him, and after a while, Luo Jingyu slowly raised his right hand, pointing his index finger at himself. Zhan Xi said: “I.”
Luo Jingyu gently shook his right hand, Zhan Xi: “Not.”
He placed his right hand over his stomach, and Zhan Xi asked: “Hungry? Is ‘hungry’ that simple?”
Actually, it wasn’t that simple. Luo Jingyu also needed to lean forward and make a pained expression to represent hunger.
Expressions are an indispensable part of sign language. Many gestures must be accompanied by appropriate expressions, and sometimes even body movements.
When signing “sad,” the expression should be sad; when signing “happy,” the expression should be happy; when signing “question,” the expression should show confusion… That’s why when hearing-impaired people use sign language, their facial expressions are rich and varied, though to hearing people it might look like they’re making faces and being silly.
In this aspect, Luo Jingyu was unusual.
Except when using sign language with his closest family – parents and sister – where he would show some expression, outside, even when chatting with friends like Chen Liang whom he’d known for over a decade, his expressions were very mild, and he usually wore a mask.
Mao Mao loved reading romance novels and once teased Luo Jingyu, saying that novels had a type of male lead with an icy, expressionless face, and applied to Luo Jingyu, he was an expressionless ice king among the deaf, using sign language without emotion.
Luo Jingyu had just smiled it off. Now, facing Zhan Xi, he was even less likely to add matching expressions when signing, afraid she would feel uncomfortable or think he was ridiculous. He thought, he really wasn’t a qualified sign language teacher.
Now, he had signed up to “I’ll help you first.”
“First” and “help” were two gestures that Zhan Xi definitely wouldn’t understand without explanation. Luo Jingyu demonstrated them one by one.
For “first,” the left hand makes a fist with thumb up, while the right hand makes a fist with index finger extended horizontally, back of hand facing out, the pad of the index finger touching the pad of the left thumb.
For “help,” both palms face outward and push gently twice.
Finally, pointing at Zhan Xi was the simplest “you.”
After teaching the whole sentence, Zhan Xi copied it, saying as she signed: “I’m not hungry, I’ll help you first.”
Luo Jingyu nodded but didn’t give Zhan Xi a thumbs up or sign “smart.” Zhan Xi stared at him blankly, gradually feeling uneasy, and asked: “Little Fish, what’s wrong? Are you unhappy?”
Luo Jingyu shook his head and shifted his gaze to start handling the chicken wings on the cutting board.
Zhan Xi stood beside him thinking for a moment, then tugged his sleeve again and asked: “Are you thinking about meeting Mr. Chi Jiang the day after tomorrow?”
Luo Jingyu looked at her face, pondered for a moment, and nodded gently.
“Are you nervous?” Zhan Xi asked.
Luo Jingyu didn’t hide it anymore and nodded gently again.
He had never met with clients before, and had only chatted online with one client – Zhan Xi. At exhibitions, he had witnessed Teacher Xu Qingyan’s interactions with clients. They would chat and laugh, discussing pressed flower works for long periods.
At those times, Luo Jingyu would stand by the works wearing a mask, working. Some pieces were large and needed on-site assembly and adjustment of their shapes. Luo Jingyu only focused on the work, never having the chance to communicate with anyone.
Regarding the meeting with the Japanese clients, although he had agreed, he wasn’t sure if he could handle it well.
Zhan Xi was affected by his mood, and her previous cheerfulness faded as she stood quietly beside him.
Luo Jingyu made several cuts in each chicken wing, brought water to boil in the wok, added cooking wine, ginger slices, star anise, and scallions, then put the chicken wings in to blanch.
Zhan Xi watched his actions but didn’t remember the steps. She observed Little Fish – he was still wearing sportswear, tall and handsome. She thought about his usual attire: down jacket, sweater, sportswear, sneakers…
She tugged his sleeve again. Luo Jingyu turned to look at her, and Zhan Xi asked: “Little Fish, do you have any formal clothes? Like shirts, suits, trench coats?”
Luo Jingyu: “…”
He had never encountered occasions requiring such clothes. Even at Luo Xiaomei’s wedding, since it was summer, he had just worn a T-shirt.
Luo Jingyu shook his head, indicating he had none.
Zhan Xi organized her thoughts, wanted to speak but worried Little Fish might not understand her lip movements, so she took out her phone and typed: [Little Fish, that Mr. Chi Jiang is said to be someone who values etiquette greatly. Japanese people generally emphasize etiquette, appearance, and dress. So when you meet him, you can’t wear your usual down jacket. Of course, you don’t necessarily need a suit and tie, but at least wear a dress shirt inside, maybe with a sweater vest if you’re cold – the kind that looks refined – and dress pants with leather shoes.]
After reading this, Luo Jingyu’s mouth opened slightly, and he froze.
Dress shirt, dress pants, sweater vest, leather shoes – he had none of these.
Zhan Xi patted his arm: “There’s still time, go buy them tomorrow.”
Luo Jingyu: “…”
Seeing his troubled expression, Zhan Xi understood and thought for a moment before boldly asking: “How about… tomorrow evening, I go with you to buy them?”
Luo Jingyu couldn’t believe his eyes. Seeing him looking silly, Zhan Xi thought he hadn’t understood and said it again: “I mean, tomorrow, after I get off work, I’ll accompany you, we’ll go to the mall together, to buy clothes, okay?”
This time, Luo Jingyu nodded quickly, as if afraid she might change her mind. Seeing him agree, Zhan Xi smiled: “Then it’s settled!”
Luo Jingyu’s lips also curled into a smile, his previously anxious mood gradually relaxing.
Soon after, the cola chicken wings were done. Luo Jingyu washed his hands and pointed at the door, indicating he needed to go home.
Zhan Xi’s cooked rice and prepared ingredients weren’t enough for two people, so she didn’t ask him to stay. She gave him a thumbs up in thanks, Luo Jingyu smiled, changed his shoes, waved goodbye, and left her apartment.
Back on the fifteenth floor, Luo Jingyu didn’t feel like cooking anymore. After sitting down in his chair, he opened his phone and found Ji Hongzhe’s WeChat.
He had considered asking his brother-in-law Gao Yuan, but Gao Yuan had a leg condition and needed crutches to walk. Luo Jingyu thought, being deaf himself and bringing an interpreter with crutches – the two of them appearing together would look quite pitiful. He wondered what the clients would think of him.
So he decided to ask Ji Hongzhe instead.
Big Fish: Xiaoze, are you free at 2 PM the day after tomorrow? I need your help.
[Ji Hongzhe]: Video call, reading your typing hurts my eyes.
After video calling with Ji Hongzhe and arranging the meeting time and place, Luo Jingyu leaned back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose.
He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but recently his work and life seemed to have changed dramatically, encountering many things he had never experienced before.
Everything started that night when he received a private message from an ID called “Sugar Poached Egg.”
He had uninstalled that APP but still remembered the emoji he had sent to Sugar Poached Egg.
— Connected online by fate, cherish this destiny.
That netizen called “Sugar Poached Egg,” later “Egg Pudding,” whom he called “Teacher Egg,” whose real name was Zhan Xi, now called Huanhuan, actually lived downstairs from him and was a beautiful girl with long hair and a tall, slim figure.
Tomorrow was Christmas Eve. He originally had no plans, but now he had arranged to go shopping at the mall with Huanhuan, and they would have dinner together before shopping.
It was almost like… a date!
A Christmas Eve date.
Luo Jingyu rubbed his face with both hands, trying to clear his head, but couldn’t chase away the various jumbled thoughts.
Ah! He was going on a date with Huanhuan!!
Luo Jingyu suddenly jumped up from his chair and ran to his bedroom, pulling open his wardrobe to look at his clothes.
What should he wear tomorrow? Should he try to look more handsome?
But looking through everything, all his jackets and pants were black. He touched his chin, thinking for the first time that his aesthetic taste was terrible.
—
Tuesday at 5:30 PM, Luo Jingyu waited outside Zhan Xi’s office building.
It was getting off work time, and Christmas Eve, so people were streaming out of the office building’s elevators, many girls dressed up beautifully.
Blue Jay Gate was in the suburbs, and there were several men waiting for their girlfriends after work, some holding flowers.
Luo Jingyu stood in a corner wearing all black with his mask on, hands in his pockets, curiously watching the couples leave together. The girls intimately held their boyfriends’ arms, carrying flowers, all smiling sweetly.
Ah… so this is how office workers date on holidays!
Luo Jingyu took note, though he thought that no matter how beautifully packaged, fresh flowers would wilt – but pressed flowers wouldn’t! Making a small bouquet of pressed flowers for that girl, she could keep it forever.
He wondered what flowers she liked…
While lost in thought, the elevator doors opened again and a group of people walked out. Luo Jingyu immediately spotted Zhan Xi, wearing a beige wool coat, her long hair falling over her shoulders, light makeup on her face, strikingly beautiful among the crowd.
Zhan Xi saw him too and smiled, waving at him. Luo Jingyu was about to walk over when he saw a tall guy with glasses stop beside Zhan Xi and talk to her.
Zhan Xi had her back to Luo Jingyu, so he couldn’t see her expression.
Only after they finished talking and the man walked out the door did Luo Jingyu approach Zhan Xi.
Zhan Xi looked him over and laughed: “Why are you dressed like this again today? Like some secret agent.”
Lin Yan looked back once more, seeing Zhan Xi standing face to face with the tall man in black, Zhan Xi talking and smiling happily.
Earlier, when Lin Yan saw Zhan Xi waving at that man, he had held back from asking questions, only asking if she had evening plans. Zhan Xi had said she was having dinner with a friend.
“Friend” was a vague term, and though the person was waiting outside the office, Zhan Xi didn’t seem inclined to introduce him.
Lin Yan sighed and walked toward the parking lot.
Zhan Xi and Luo Jingyu took a taxi to the nearest mall.
It was their first time riding in a car together, sitting side by side in the back seat. The roads were somewhat congested on the holiday evening, and the driver complained the whole way while Zhan Xi chatted with him, soothing his mood.
Luo Jingyu remained cool throughout, not removing his mask, his eyes watching the Christmas decorations in the shops outside the window.
Zhan Xi had called the taxi, so she paid online after they got out. Luo Jingyu felt guilty and decided he must call the return taxi himself.
The mall was having promotions and was packed with people. The restaurants on the fourth and fifth floors were all full. Zhan Xi checked several places, but they all required waiting.
Luo Jingyu quietly followed beside her like a bodyguard, and in crowded areas, he would pull Zhan Xi’s arm and keep her behind him for protection.
Finally, they entered a less crowded Thai restaurant and luckily got a corner booth.
Zhan Xi took off her coat and sat across from Luo Jingyu. The server brought menus, and as Zhan Xi looked through them, she looked up and asked the man across from her: “Little Fish, what would you like to eat?”
Luo Jingyu had also removed his coat and mask, still dazed from the stimulus of the huge crowds. He shook his head and pointed at the menu, indicating for Zhan Xi to order.
Zhan Xi didn’t stand on ceremony and ordered several signature dishes: curry crab, tom yum soup, mango rice, and others.
Thai food wasn’t cheap. After ordering, Zhan Xi told Luo Jingyu: “It’s decided – this meal is my treat.”
Luo Jingyu: “?”
He couldn’t understand why Zhan Xi wanted to treat. Shouldn’t the man pay when a man and woman eat together, especially on a holiday? Or was there a rule that whoever orders pays? If he had known, he would have ordered! Though he had no idea what Thai food was about.
Zhan Xi smiled and said: “You’ve treated me to two meals before, so this time it’s my turn.”
Luo Jingyu shook his hands repeatedly, pointing at himself, almost starting to sign, but Zhan Xi’s eyes curved in a smile: “Don’t argue with me! I’ve been wanting to treat you to a meal!”
Luo Jingyu: “…”
He felt a bit unhappy – why was Huanhuan keeping such careful count with him?
While waiting for the food, Zhan Xi asked: “Little Fish, let me ask you, do you have a budget for buying clothes today?”
Luo Jingyu didn’t understand the word “budget,” his thick eyebrows furrowing as he drew a question mark on the table with his right hand.
Zhan Xi typed on her phone and showed him: [Budget means, have you thought about how much money you want to spend on clothes?]
Luo Jingyu thought for a moment, then held up his right hand with all five fingers spread.
Zhan Xi’s eyes widened: “Five hundred? Five hundred won’t be enough. Clothes in the mall are quite expensive. I think we need at least one or two thousand. If necessary, we can check out UNIQLO later, it’s cheaper there.”
Luo Jingyu only vaguely caught the latter part of what she said and didn’t know what UNIQLO was, but he clearly saw the “five hundred” at the beginning. He typed on his phone and showed her: [5000]
Zhan Xi stared at the screen, falling silent: “…”
When she looked up again, her expression toward Luo Jingyu was rather unnatural. She tried to speak slowly and clearly: “Little Fish, I think you don’t need to invest so much. It’s just one meeting with Japanese people – looking neat and proper is enough. How much do you even make in a month? We don’t even know if the deal will work out. It’s not necessary, really not necessary.”
Luo Jingyu: “?”
Sitting face to face made looking at phones inconvenient, so Zhan Xi simply changed seats to sit beside him. Sitting next to Luo Jingyu, she typed on her phone: [I mean you don’t need to spend so much money, it’s wasteful.]
Luo Jingyu typed: [The clothes, I can wear them later.]
Zhan Xi typed: [We can go to fast fashion brands, where items are two or three hundred, four or five hundred is already very good.]
Luo Jingyu typed: [I have money.]
Zhan Xi looked up and glared at him, lightly hitting his arm. She wanted to speak but worried he wouldn’t catch a long sentence, so she typed rapidly: [Your money is all hard-earned, you can’t waste it. Why are you pretending to be rich in front of me!]
Luo Jingyu looked very innocent, even making a typo: [I’m not pretending to be rich.]
Zhan Xi tugged his sleeve, and he watched her lips as she said angrily: “I know you’re not rich!”
Little Fish was the kind of person who would feel pain spending three hundred yuan on a rose for a blind date, wouldn’t give Gu Xinchi pressed flowers because they were expensive, cooked at home every day instead of eating out, and wore the same few pieces of clothing over and over…
He was a very frugal, even stingy young man, though he was quite generous with her!
Zhan Xi’s expression was serious and worried. Suddenly a thought occurred to Luo Jingyu, explaining her strange behavior and words. He had an epiphany and typed: [Huanhuan, do you think I’m poor?]
Zhan Xi: “…”
They sat shoulder to shoulder, almost touching, and both turned to look at each other simultaneously, staring at each other – one asking seriously, one embarrassed to answer.
Zhan Xi hemmed and hawed: “That’s not what I meant…”
Luo Jingyu typed: [I’m not poor.]
Zhan Xi: “?”
She slowly looked up, eyeing him suspiciously, and asked: “How much can you earn in a month?”
Luo Jingyu once again looked at the ceiling, moving his fingers as he calculated, taking a long time without figuring it out.
Finally, he picked up his phone and typed in front of Zhan Xi.
Zhan Xi watched his beautiful long fingers first switch to the number keypad and type a “3”.
She thought: Three thousand a month! And he says he’s not poor?!
Luo Jingyu then typed a “5”.
Zhan Xi thought: Three thousand five… well, at least it’s more than her mom’s retirement pension.
Just as Zhan Xi was waiting for him to type the next two zeros, Luo Jingyu switched to the pinyin keyboard and typed three characters plus punctuation: [wan, this year]1
Zhan Xi: “…”
Oh my, she was shook.
- ? ( wan / wàn ) is ten thousand, so it’s about 30,000 yuan / month or about 4100 USD. Bear in mind the average salary even in your tier 1 cities like Shanghai and Beijing is about 12-15,000 yuan, so he’s doing pretty well for himself more than doubling the average. ↩︎
Leave a Reply