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墨書 Inktalez
The day before National Day, Chen Yang naturally arrived in Beijing, and at the same time, Beijing welcomed another unexpected guest with its rare clear weather. The arrival of this uninvited guest had no impact on the vast Beijing City; whether she was there or not, no one noticed. However, for Qinglan, it felt like a bombshell.
In October, before six o'clock, the night began to fall over Beijing. By the time Chen Yang arrived in the city, the streets were already lit up.
As soon as Chen Yang stepped out of the train station, Simple called Qinglan to say that Chen Yang had arrived and suggested they go out for dinner together.
At that moment, Qinglan and Xu Wen were walking out of their community, preparing to eat outside. Qinglan said, "Xu Wen and I have already started eating outside." She didn't want to meet Simple at that moment. As for whether she could avoid her later, she didn't know, but for now, it was best to avoid her altogether. So she told a little lie. In fact, she and Xu Wen had already sat down at a restaurant just outside the community. The Beijing Train Station was still a bit far away; by the time they took the subway over, it would take at least half an hour. They had just started eating; she was simply taking advantage of a time difference.
With Qinglan's response, Simple decided to back off. It had been a while since she had been with Chen Yang, and she was looking forward to their time alone together.
While they were eating, Simple called again to say that she and Chen Yang planned to go to Fragrant Hills tomorrow and asked if Qinglan wanted to join them.
Hearing Simple's tone, it was as if she was glued to Chen Yang; Qinglan really hoped she wouldn't have to tag along as a third wheel. Moreover, she wanted to avoid seeing her altogether. So Qinglan quickly found an excuse without needing to think too hard: "You and Chen Yang enjoy your romantic outing. I don't want to be a third wheel. I'm swamped at work; our unit focuses on research and we have experiments to monitor day and night without fixed holidays. Unlike your company with regular working hours and holiday schedules where you can check on experiments."
"Alright," Simple didn't press further and simply suggested they find another time to hang out later. Qinglan casually agreed, "Sure."
The next day while Chen Yang and Simple were climbing Fragrant Hills, it was then that Qinglan received a call from Xiang Yuanqiu. This unexpected guest truly surprised Qinglan and left her feeling quite troubled.
"What should I do?" she urgently called Xu Wen.
Xu Wen was also somewhat taken aback; everything had been arranged perfectly and was proceeding according to plan when suddenly this unexpected situation arose—he didn't know whether it was a blessing or a curse.
"Didn't she give you any prior notice before coming?" Xu Wen steadied himself and asked.
"No, she said it was a last-minute decision. She wanted to come to Beijing to explore job opportunities. Isn't this the time for everyone to look for jobs after graduation? That Graduate isn't just about taking a break; it's an opportunity for classmates to travel around, see the sights, and meet up with friends—partly for work and partly for fun."
"Did she come alone?" Xu Wen asked while quickly thinking of a strategy.
"It seems so. I didn't ask, but from her tone, it sounded like she was by herself. She has always preferred to be independent. Besides, she's here in Beijing looking for a job; she wouldn't bring anyone else along." Qinglan's judgment and speculation were correct; Xiang Yuanqiu was indeed the kind of person she described, and this time, she had come to Beijing alone.
"Can she be trusted?" Xu Wen suddenly asked while drinking from his cup. He recalled the last time Xiang Yuanqiu visited; that girl seemed to have a good relationship with Qinglan, but she always gave off a vibe of being too shrewd and calculating. He suddenly felt uneasy about her.
"What?" Qinglan stared at Xu Wen with wide eyes, not understanding what he meant. "I was in high school with her." Qinglan blinked, remembering that she had introduced Xiang Yuanqiu to him last time; had he forgotten?
"She's the same classmate who came last time," Qinglan added.
Seeing that Qinglan didn't catch on, Xu Wen didn't bother explaining further. It was pointless to explain things to someone as clueless as her; it would be better to handle it himself.
"I'll go pick her up. I'll take care of her arrangements these days, so you shouldn't meet her. It's better to avoid complications," Xu Wen decisively concluded as he set down his cup and pressed his lips together.
"Isn't that a bit inappropriate?" Qinglan looked at him, feeling troubled.
"Does she know you're in Beijing?" Xu Wen asked again.
"Of course she knows; otherwise, why would she come to Beijing? It wouldn't be right for me not to see her while I'm here." Qinglan didn't want to meet her either but felt conflicted about it, leading to a sense of despair.
"From now on, don't let anyone know you're in Beijing. Just say you've gone home. Both your workplace and school think you've taken leave to go back home. If they find out now that you're still in Beijing and haven't gone for your internship, things will get complicated later."
Qinglan looked at Xu Wen and was surprised to find that he had lost a lot of weight in just a few days.
Due to her own troubled feelings, or perhaps it wasn't exactly that, but rather that she had something on her mind, Qinglan felt somewhat repressed and couldn't be as carefree and happy as before. During this time, she rarely paid attention to the things around her. For instance, Xu Wen was always moving in front of her every day, yet she no longer observed him secretly or pondered over him like she used to, as if he were a beautiful landscape that she couldn't take her eyes off.
Now, whenever she was in front of him, she always kept her head down, afraid to look at him closely. She felt that whether it was due to her emotional debt to him or the troubles she was facing that might burden him, she should be grateful to him. However, the more she wanted to express her gratitude or at least make him smile to show that he had taken good care of her, the more timid she became. The words would rise to her lips but then get swallowed back down, leaving her without even the courage to glance up at him.
The overwhelming feelings of guilt and gratitude sometimes felt suffocating; she didn't know how to start a conversation. In the end, it turned into a decision not to speak at all, not even having the courage to look at him.
Xu Wen noticed her gaze and thought she had something to say. He focused his eyes on her face, looking into her eyes and waiting for her to speak.
But after waiting for a long time, she said nothing and simply nodded. Besides nodding and following his words and arrangements, what else could she ask for? Not listening to him would only cause him trouble.
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