Departure

“I—there was a reason for that day,” Qian Chu said with difficulty. The words came out stiffly, but once she started, they kept flowing. “You have to be reasonable too. In that situation, what else was I supposed to say?”

She reached for Qian Cancan, only to have her hand slapped away.

Qian Cancan said with dripping sarcasm, “Oh, how precious. So people can’t even call your name now? I was just pressing my face warmly against your cold butt, and of course you’d say whatever you wanted.”

Qian Cancan had always been excellent at this kind of yin-yang mockery, but Qian Chu had never been treated like this by her before. For a moment, her head buzzed; it took her quite a while to find her voice again.

“Then tell me. What should I have done?”

Qian Cancan let out a cold laugh. “You didn’t have to do anything. You didn’t need to do anything before, and you don’t need to do anything now!”

Qian Chu’s patience was running out. Suppressing her frustration, she tried to explain, “First of all, you were in that kind of… bad situation. You knew some of the people there were scum, and you still went over to them. What was I supposed to think?”

This time, Qian Cancan didn’t snap back right away. She lifted a brow at Qian Chu. “Weren’t you there too?”

Qian Chu was silent for two seconds. “I was there for work. There was an agent I wanted to talk to; she had some resources she was looking to offload…”

“How do you know I wasn’t there for work?” Qian Cancan suddenly burst out, sharp as a firecracker, sparks flying everywhere. “There was a boss in there I wanted to discuss a collaboration with too!”

Qian Chu pressed a hand to her forehead. “The way you looked then… really didn’t seem like you were there to work…”

Qian Cancan said coldly, “So it’s my fault again?”

Qian Chu said, “No. It’s my fault.”

Qian Cancan, bristling a moment ago, immediately shut her mouth and looked at Qian Chu with suspicion.

At last, she was being looked at properly. Qian Chu said earnestly, “I shouldn’t have assumed you were there fooling around just because you didn’t seem serious. And I shouldn’t have said those things when you called for me and asked for my help. I didn’t handle it well.”

Qian Cancan stared at her as if she’d seen a ghost.

“Were you possessed or something? Why are you being so easy to talk to today?” she asked in a strange tone.

Qian Chu frowned. “I’m not joking.”

Qian Cancan still just stared without reacting.

Then Qian Chu changed tack. “But you were in the wrong too. In that kind of chaotic situation, when you lost a game and had to find someone to kiss, you shouldn’t have come straight to me without saying a word and acted all drunk. If it had been anyone else who came over like that, I’d have called the police.”

Qian Cancan: …

“I didn’t even touch you. I was going to explain the second I got in front of you,” Qian Cancan said furiously. “But why did you start cursing before I could say anything?”

The situation that night had been rather chaotic. Qian Cancan owned quite a few shops herself; she had a flower shop and a pastry shop, and she wanted to find a big shopping mall to work with so she could place her goods on consignment at the mall entrance. One of the people at that gathering was the person in charge of the mall’s first floor, which was why she’d gone there in the first place.

The moment she arrived, she saw Qian Chu and greeted her with great enthusiasm, only to be met with a cold face and not a single pleasant expression.

At first, Qian Cancan didn’t mind. But later, once the games got underway, she sparred in dice-drinking games with the manager and deliberately lost quite a bit of money. She even lost a truth-or-dare round and had to kiss someone.

The private room was dimly lit. Qian Cancan wanted to borrow Qian Chu for the spot and get through it, but who knew that the second she walked over and before she could even speak, Qian Chu would point at her nose and give her a thorough scolding.

“Qian Cancan, what you did tonight was very improper. Truth or dare is not an excuse for you to take advantage of people, and I’m not some nightclub hostess you can use as you please.”

“If all you wanted was someone to toy with, I suggest you change venues.”

“A truly self-respecting woman would never approach others like this.”

“Your behavior will only make people look down on you.”

“Please mind your boundaries, and don’t make things awkward for everyone.”

As expected of a civilized person, she could even scold someone without using a single dirty word. But Qian Cancan would have preferred a whole string of emotional profanity; she didn’t want to hear that icy, expressionless rebuke telling her she was improper and not self-respecting.

“Those words weren’t on purpose. I said them wrong,” Qian Chu lowered her head. “Please don’t take it to heart.”

Qian Cancan really wanted to say, Go to hell. But she also knew it wouldn’t matter what she said. Qian Chu was just that sort of person; she only dealt with the facts, and especially when it came to her, there was still an obvious bias in her outlook.

“I do mind,” Qian Cancan said stubbornly, though she was tired too. “And I’m also hoping you won’t mind that I mind. Let’s just leave it at that. You don’t need to explain anymore, and you don’t need to come looking for me either. I’m not going to stay angry with you, but I can’t not mind it, you understand?”

Qian Chu had never dealt with anything like this. Her personality was disciplined and rule-bound; she rarely strayed, rarely made mistakes, and had never been in a situation where she apologized after doing wrong only to have the apology rejected.

Qian Cancan no longer wanted to talk. She closed her eyes and leaned back into the passenger seat. “I already called a designated driver. You leave.”

Qian Chu didn’t know when Qian Cancan had called the driver, but very soon someone arrived on a little scooter, took the keys from her, got into Qian Cancan’s passenger seat, and drove off with her.

Qian Chu stared at the departing car, her eyes narrowing, her expression caught between confusion and obvious irritation.

She looked for a long time, long enough that a voice suddenly came from behind her.

“What are you doing?” Li Lan asked.

Qian Chu turned around. After a moment of silence, she said blankly, “Qian Cancan and I had a fight.”

Li Lan said, “She can actually argue with you?”

Qian Chu felt there was something off in that statement. “Why couldn’t she?”

“She’s always cared about you, hasn’t she? She’d be too busy indulging you to argue,” Li Lan said as she pushed up her sunglasses and walked into the garage. “Stop standing there like a utility pole. Come here. I’ve got something to tell you.”

Li Lan’s lunch engagement that afternoon seemed to have gone smoothly; she was in a pretty good mood, visibly relaxed.

To the other three couples in the variety show, traveling abroad was just a busy job. But for her, it was time spent with Zhu Qing; it was a honeymoon outside the cameras.

“Why wouldn’t Qian Cancan argue with me?” Qian Chu asked after her.

Li Lan said, “Qian Cancan may seem carefree, but she’s a very good person. She’s generous and loyal to her friends, and she basically doesn’t have much of a temper. She’s not the type who can really get into arguments with friends.”

Qian Chu frowned, thinking hard.

“You,” Li Lan said earnestly, “are very sharp about other things. But the moment it’s your own business, you go completely blind.”

Qian Chu silently reflected that she really was a little too blunt. No, to put it nicely, she was direct and incisive; to put it less nicely, she had a poisonous mouth and could easily hurt people.

“You’re right.”

Seeing her look so remorseful, Li Lan patted her again. “But it’s not all on you. Zhu Qing is different. Her temper is better than Qian Cancan’s; she almost never gets angry. I rarely even get the chance to coax her.”

Qian Chu: …

Why do you sound so proud of yourself, like you’ve got every reason to brag?

Qian Chu complained inwardly. Zhu Qing really didn’t like getting angry over small things; or rather, she didn’t like getting petty about them. But once she really did get angry, it was always a major blowup, the kind that could lead straight to a breakup.

Perhaps Li Lan could see what Qian Chu was thinking, because she coughed lightly and regained her cool, solemn expression.

“Your main job now is tomorrow’s show. Has the production team been contacted? Have you done the strategy? Have you done an on-site survey?”

Qian Chu answered respectfully, “I’m leaving right away.”

That night, the production team arrived with a group of people. They first shot pickup footage of Li Lan’s airport arrival, then moved the camera into the car and asked Li Lan many questions about her recent work.

After they got home, Li Lan walked up to the door and knocked. “Xiao Qing, we’re here.”

She didn’t use her fingerprint to unlock it; instead, she let Zhu Qing open the door. Zhu Qing stood behind the door and saw the dense cluster of four or five people on the smart monitor screen. The nerves she’d barely managed to calm surged back to life.

Zhu Qing took a deep breath and opened the door.

On camera, the metal smart door slowly slid open. Warm orange light spilled out, and a young, delicate-looking girl poked her head out and smiled at them before opening the door wider.

The girl looked very easy on the eyes. Beneath thin double eyelids was a pair of round, lively apricot eyes. It was rare to see such pretty single eyelids, and they immediately drew everyone’s attention.

Zhu Qing seemed a little stiff, her gaze constantly drifting toward the camera equipment. Those beautiful deer-like eyes kept appearing in the frame.

“The footage we shoot tonight will air tomorrow as the teaser,” Li Lan said softly from the side. Her clear, pleasant voice was like a stream of water, instantly soothing Zhu Qing’s anxiety.

Zhu Qing came back to herself and gave the camera an embarrassed smile. She lowered her head to fetch slippers for Li Lan, then took out a box of shoe covers and handed them out to the staff, saying obediently, “Come in.”

Zhu Qing led the way inside, and Li Lan deliberately left the camera space to prepare tea for the staff in the pantry.

The staff paused; the camera captured the full view of the living room. Zhu Qing stood there for two seconds, then said quietly, “Should I introduce it?”

The camera bobbed up and down.

Zhu Qing looked around, thought for two seconds, and honestly said, “This used to be a place I shared with someone else. Later, Manager Lan bought it. It’s our marital home now.”

Li Lan, who was testing the water temperature, snorted.

Zhu Qing turned her head. “Hm?”

Li Lan, with her back to the camera, waved through the coughing fit to indicate they should ignore her.

Zhu Qing turned back and continued her introduction. “The interior style is the cream-colored look I like. This is the master bedroom, the room next to it is Xiao Bao’s children’s room, and this is the guest room.”

“The location is pretty good. There’s a big shopping mall right next door, and it’s in a school district too. The floor height is moderate, it’s quiet at night, and the property management is decent…”

Like a real estate agent, she introduced the entire layout of the apartment from memory, as if she could immediately add, “Sign a lease for one year now and get a 5% reduction in handling fees.”

Li Lan brought the tea over, handed it to the staff in charge of coordination at the back, then came back with a cup of cool tea and cut in.

“Go open your suitcase.”

Zhu Qing felt as if she’d been granted amnesty; she felt like even her vocabulary was about to run out, so she hurried into the bedroom to drag her suitcase out.

When she came back out, the camera was pointed at Li Lan.

She stood by the kitchen with a faint smile, opened the refrigerator, and said, “There’s an island here. When we eat, we usually sit together. Xiao Qing likes cooking, but she’s usually busy with work, so when she’s cooking, she might run into the middle of my business trip; by the time I get back, she’s in the mood for food from outside again, so I actually don’t get to eat her cooking very often.”

“I think this show is a very good opportunity. It gives the two of us a stable space to be together. Being with someone like me, who has to travel often, always means spending more time apart than together, and I always end up wronging her. Come to think of it, it’s been a long time since we last traveled together.”

Zhu Qing listened quietly to Li Lan. On camera, she was completely different from how she was in private. She was still the same person, but once she stood there, her temperament, her gaze, even the feeling behind her smallest movements, all became more captivating; the charm in every gesture was almost overflowing.

And what she was saying was exactly what needed to be said on camera too; not a dry introduction, but something interactive and warm.

At last, the camera turned its attention to Zhu Qing and came to her suitcase.

Zhu Qing looked up at Li Lan, her eyes soft.

Li Lan gave a slight nod. “Go ahead.” She knew Zhu Qing was a little restrained, but she wasn’t afraid; she was just trying hard to learn how to appear on camera.

Zhu Qing looked earnest and adorable, and the way she looked at Li Lan was especially moving.

When she was in an unfamiliar environment, she would instinctively look toward the person who made her feel safest.

Li Lan stood beside Zhu Qing, squeezed her shoulder, and silently encouraged her.

“I prepared two sets of warm shell jackets, suitable for activities in the mountains. I also prepared two sets of lightweight shell jackets, suitable for wearing in Africa, and I bought straps to tie up the trouser cuffs.”

“These nice clothes were bought for me by Manager Lan. I haven’t worn them yet, so they’ll be perfect to take along and try.”

…

“That’s everything. Since we’re carrying our own luggage, and the mountain roads are difficult to walk, I didn’t prepare too much. Half of Manager Lan’s luggage is also with me; she cares about looking good, after all.”

Li Lan coughed lightly and said in a low voice, “You don’t need to say that in front of the camera.”

Zhu Qing glanced at Li Lan, blinked, then looked toward the staff behind the camera and lowered her voice as well. “Can it be edited out?”

The staff laughed. “It’s fine; we’ll handle it in post.”

Zhu Qing naively thought that post-production would cut out some of her more “inappropriate” remarks. It wasn’t until the next day, when the teaser aired, that she discovered the program’s idea of “handling it in post” was to enlarge and bold her words and add all kinds of special effects.

[Manager Lan] became a little bomb flung toward Li Lan’s lonely back at the edge of the frame.

The moment Li Lan choked on water was exaggerated, and the dignified person suddenly looked flustered; the show’s effect came through immediately.

A dense wave of laughing emoji floated across the bullet comments.

【Who came up with this nickname? I’ll bet they definitely don’t call her that in private】

【Manager Lan somehow feels so sexy, hahaha, Li Lan looks like it’s the first time she’s heard it】

【Everyone’s laughter is disturbing me. Didn’t you see that Zhu Qing was already very stiff at the start? If you laugh so much, you’ll scare her, so be quiet with me ha (one hundred hahs) ha】

【If they really called each other wife, baby, darling, then you people would still complain】

Li Lan and Zhu Qing were watching the teaser on the way to the airport. Zhu Qing caught sight of the bullet comments and looked embarrassed.

Li Lan asked curiously, “Why do you follow Qian Chu and call me Manager Lan?”

Zhu Qing scratched her hair. Today she had tied it into a low ponytail; she looked gentle, and when she smiled she was especially endearing. She answered honestly, “Because it’s interesting. Only Qian Chu calls you Manager Lan, everyone else calls you Manager Li, and I was also curious why she calls you that instead of something else.”

“That just means you haven’t met enough people,” Li Lan said, amused. “Calling someone by their surname or given name varies from person to person. Manager Li sounds so ugly; it’s the same pronunciation as Manager Liu. Qian Chu calls people whatever sounds nicest.”

Zhu Qing wasn’t sensitive to written language and hadn’t activated this social skill. “Is that automatic?” she asked, doubtful.

Li Lan nodded as if it were only natural. “Of course. Look at Xiao Bao. She automatically calls you Zhu Zhu, not Qingqing. Kids like to use reduplication when they call people. Qingqing is hard to pronounce; the ‘ing’ is a nasal sound, and it’s also first tone, so if she calls you that, it can easily sound like ‘dear dear.’ She called you that twice and saw others misunderstand, so she changed it herself. Zhu Zhu is fourth tone and ends with a vowel; it rolls off the tongue. Of course you use whatever is easiest to say.”

Zhu Qing felt as if she’d been taught another lesson, and immediately became a little nervous. “Then if I casually call your name, nothing will happen, right?”

Just like the bullet comments said, they didn’t actually use this kind of address in private.

Mainly because their relationship stage was rather awkward right now, and Zhu Qing didn’t have a special way to address Li Lan. What could she even call her?

Wife and baby were definitely out.

And Lanlan sounded too greasy.

In a flash of inspiration, Zhu Qing had only thought of “Manager Lan.”

But she still wanted to call her something else. If it clashed with Qian Chu’s nickname, tsk, that wasn’t special enough.

“What’s there to worry about?” Li Lan said generously. “Call me whatever you want.”

Zhu Qing looked at her.

Li Lan curved her lips. “Want to say something?”

A bit of mischief rose in Zhu Qing’s heart.

“Really?”

Li Lan nodded warmly.

“Then can I call you... Little Lanzi?”

Li Lan: .

————————

Zhu Qing: Little Lanzi is so easy and pleasant to say!

Li Lan: Then I’ll call you Little Zhuzi?

Zhu Qing: Sure!

Li Lan: ...But I don’t want our whole family to be made up of female eunuchs. Thanks.

Little Qing Zhu: (Then if I call you something else, your fans won’t be happy either.)

Little Lan Li: (So you just castrated me??)

(Author: crowdfund an intimate nickname)