The Clash

“Your reserved private room is this way. Please follow me.”

Xu Ya Qing wore a sporty long dress and a wide-brimmed hat as she swayed into the hotel.

“Sorry I’m late.”

Inside, Yu Tiantian had already brewed a pot of tea and was waiting for her. Seeing Xu Ya Qing come in, she quickly stepped forward to greet her.

Xu Ya Qing shoved both hands into her pockets and looked up with a grin. “I had to meet a client this morning, so I wore a suit. It was suffocating. I took some time to change. Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Yu Tiantian smiled warmly. “Not at all. I only just got here too, and the place is lovely. I didn’t even notice the time passing.”

The two exchanged a look, both smiling with perfect courtesy.

Xu Ya Qing rarely saw Yu Tiantian wear such a spring-breeze smile; hers seemed tuned to the most “amiable” angle possible. But it had to be said: with that sweet face, she really did have an advantage when it came to seeming approachable.

“What would you like to eat?” Yu Tiantian handed her the tablet. “The server came by earlier and recommended a few dishes. Tell me what you want, and I’ll explain them to you.”

Xu Ya Qing raised a hand to stop her. “Just order a few of the house specialties.”

This time, she was here on Hua Yu’s behalf. The person Yu Tiantian wanted to see wasn’t her. Xu Ya Qing knew Yu Tiantian must feel awkward, and she was also curious how far she would go with the act.

From the looks of it, Yu Tiantian had already asked about every dish in advance and handled the initial ordering flawlessly. For her to humble herself this much, even Xu Ya Qing was a little surprised.

Looks like Yu Tiantian really was going all in on this startup.

Xu Ya Qing didn’t waste time on small talk. While they waited for the food, she rubbed her smile-stiffened cheeks. “Hua Yu asked me to come hear your plans. I’m just here to pass along the message, so say whatever you want.”

Yu Tiantian was planning to develop a batch of medical devices, mainly for gland care and disease prevention.

She first talked about the inspiration she’d gotten overseas. Many of the products were already widely used abroad, but because of domestic risk controls, nothing similar had ever been launched here.

It had to be said, Yu Tiantian had picked a very good market. Current medical devices were concentrated in gland treatment, while not many people had entered the care and prevention field. The market space and potential were enormous.

“I want some technical support from the provincial hospital,” Yu Tiantian said. “And Sister Hua Yu is an expert in this area. If she could serve as our professional consultant, that would be ideal.”

Xu Ya Qing lowered her head to sip her tea, using the motion to roll her eyes in secret.

“Haha, I’ll pass that along,” Xu Ya Qing said lightly. “But you know she’s a busy person. Her own surgeries are already backed up, so she may not have time.”

Yu Tiantian smiled. “Of course. We can discuss later cooperation separately.”

Xu Ya Qing couldn’t quite figure out what Yu Tiantian was after. By rights, she should have some self-awareness; Hua Yu was impossible to hire, and even less likely to go out of her way to help because of personal ties.

What exactly did Yu Tiantian want with Hua Yu?

“These three folders, please take them back with you,” Yu Tiantian said, taking three document envelopes from her bag. “They’re the three products our company is planning to launch. Please have Sister Hua Yu take a look.”

Xu Ya Qing tapped the envelopes. “Can I have a look?”

Yu Tiantian made an inviting gesture.

Just then, the server began bringing out the dishes. Xu Ya Qing ate while she went through the materials, and the more she read, the more startled she became.

As expected of capital, these were not things Yu Tiantian could have come up with alone. The Yu family must have been researching this in secret for a long time. Any one of the technologies here would be revolutionary on its own.

One was a household gland detector. Products with that name were common enough; they could monitor a gland’s heat state, pheromone capacity, health level, and so on. But what made this one different was that it would simultaneously track various hormone levels in the human body, compare them in real time with the gland’s condition, and then list the correlations.

In short, it could initially tell you which organ and which hormone in your body was connected to your gland.

And it was a home-use device.

Xu Ya Qing clicked her tongue. “Is this still in the research stage, or has it already...”

Yu Tiantian smiled without answering.

Xu Ya Qing went on, “There’s probably been a technical breakthrough, but it hasn’t gone into production yet. Still, is the technology accurate? Even professional doctors wouldn’t dare make a judgment like that lightly, especially since it would be hard to prove. Unless the gland is removed, there’d be no way to verify whether the conclusion is right.”

Yu Tiantian poured herself a cup of tea, her tone full of confidence. “We don’t need to prove it through something that extreme. We’re not doing this for treatment; it’s for prevention. For example, if I discover that my gland affects my liver and kidney health, then I’ll pay more attention to protecting my liver and kidneys in daily life. The reverse works too.”

Xu Ya Qing put the file back into the envelope and, following that lead, finished reading the other two.

The remaining two were both devices meant for hospitals or qualified clinics; one was a heat-relief device, and the other a laser massage device.

“This is way too exaggerated,” Xu Ya Qing said in disbelief. “A device that simulates alpha pheromones to relieve heat symptoms, and then laser massage? What kind of laser frequency is supposed to massage a gland?”

Yu Tiantian smiled faintly but didn’t answer.

Xu Ya Qing looked at her. “You’re not trying to scam people, are you?”

“You can take these to Sister Hua Yu,” Yu Tiantian said. “She’ll give you the answers. The support I need, and the compensation I’m offering, are all written in there.”

Xu Ya Qing didn’t know much about this field. She was here on Hua Yu’s behalf; getting in touch with Yu Tiantian was only the first step. The rest could be handled slowly.

“Fine, then that’s settled,” Xu Ya Qing said, shoveling her favorite dishes into her mouth. After finishing, she set down her chopsticks. “But there’s one more thing I need to warn you about.”

Yu Tiantian nodded with a smile. “Go ahead.”

Xu Ya Qing put on the face of someone who’d just eaten something spoiled. “That good buddy of yours, Li Leran. Can you pass something on to her for me?”

Yu Tiantian looked slightly surprised. She didn’t know what Xu Ya Qing wanted with Li Leran, but she still nodded. “What is it?”

“The next time I run into her, I’m definitely going to hit her,” Xu Ya Qing said, then immediately shook her head. “No, no, not next time. I’ll find a chance; I’ll just beat her up myself.”

“This...” Even though Yu Tiantian was the one asking for a favor, Xu Ya Qing’s attitude still left her at a loss. “Why don’t you tell her yourself?”

Xu Ya Qing said matter-of-factly, “I’ve already blocked her contact info. You’re her best friend; best friends are basically family. You wouldn’t hear it and pretend you didn’t, would you?”

Yu Tiantian really did want to pretend she hadn’t heard that. Whether Xu Ya Qing beat Li Leran up, or when she did it, had nothing to do with her. Did she really have to relay such idiotic words?

And what kind of nonsense was that about best friends being family? If Xu Ya Qing wanted to hit Li Leran, did that mean she had to take the beating too? Even birds in a couple’s marriage forest fly separately when disaster strikes.

But thinking of the favor she had to ask, Yu Tiantian had no choice but to brace herself and agree. “Mm, I’ll pass it on.”

After saying that, Yu Tiantian caught a different flavor in the whole thing.

How exactly were Xu Ya Qing and Li Leran connected? Apart from old grudges that had long since stopped mattering, had something new happened between them when she wasn’t aware?

“Ya Qing,” Yu Tiantian said in a grave, earnest tone. “What did Leran do to upset you? Her personality is a little blunt, and she doesn’t always know how to speak. If she offended you, I’ll apologize on her behalf first.”

Xu Ya Qing looked like she was trying not to laugh.

She’d already agreed, and only now did she remember to ask why.

“Don’t worry about the details. She just deserves a beating,” Xu Ya Qing said, standing up to leave. “Let’s leave it at that for today. I still have work this afternoon, and I need to go.”

Yu Tiantian stood too. “Do you need me to send you off?”

“With your little white lotus car?” Xu Ya Qing couldn’t help poking at her. “Forget it. It doesn’t suit me.”

Yu Tiantian’s mouth twitched before she ground out, “Then take care on the way.”

Before closing the door, Xu Ya Qing glanced at Yu Tiantian’s expression and felt that her “take care” had an oddly similar flavor to “I hope you get into a car accident.”

It wasn’t really Xu Ya Qing’s fault for being sharp-tongued. From the last gathering alone, it was obvious that Yu Tiantian was not easy to deal with; she was best at stirring things up behind people’s backs and smiling poison at them in public.

Xu Ya Qing had been kicked out by her family after her bank card was cut off and had already been working for half a year. After her overseas master’s classmates came back, quite a few of them expressed sympathy for her current situation. During that period, Xu Ya Qing was treated to meals every day and was having the time of her life. Yu Tiantian was the only one who invited her to eat in order to confirm that her life was going badly, then casually mocked her.

“I’ve heard about this car overseas too. It’s got good value for money, and there are lots of styles... but didn’t it leave the Chinese market?”

Xu Ya Qing, who was very satisfied with the Mitsubishi SUV she’d bought after working for only half a year and saving up a hundred thousand yuan, after driving just ten thousand kilometers, replied, “What, can’t bear to let it go back to Japan? Come on, crash into me once. I want a new car.”

Yu Tiantian smiled gently, turned her head, and raised the window.

Back then, she’d disliked the car so much. Now that she needed something from Xu Ya Qing, she’d changed her tune completely. Humming under her breath, Xu Ya Qing got into her Mitsubishi and headed for Hua Yu’s home.

In the private room, Yu Tiantian’s expression vanished completely after Xu Ya Qing left.

With a blank face, she took out her phone and dialed Li Leran’s number.

Li Leran picked up quickly, her tone bright. “Tiantian?”

“Have you seen Xu Ya Qing recently?” Yu Tiantian asked. “What did you talk about?”

Li Leran froze for a moment. “I saw her a few days ago. We didn’t really talk about anything.”

“If you didn’t talk about anything, why would she bring you up?” Yu Tiantian said irritably. “Repeat everything you said when you met.”

Though confused, Li Leran hesitated for a moment, then tried to recall. “We ran into each other at a restaurant. She was eating with her friend, and I went over to say hello..."

Yu Tiantian cut her off, her voice cold and hard. “Which restaurant? The exact address.”

“I don’t remember,” Li Leran said, sounding a little aggrieved. “Wait, I’ll look for the record.”

“Go on.”

Li Leran repeated everything she could remember from her conversation with Xu Ya Qing, then said hesitantly, “Is there a problem, Tiantian?”

Yu Tiantian’s expression eased a little. There was nothing strange about their conversation; it was just Li Leran being mouthy and getting herself remembered by someone else.

Thinking about it another way, if Yu Tiantian were openly provoked like that, she definitely wouldn’t be satisfied with just beating the person up. She’d have made sure to tell someone first.

“No,” Yu Tiantian said in a softened voice. “I had dinner with Ya Qing just now, and she mentioned you. I was afraid she might have misunderstood you. Since it was only a few words in a spat, I’m relieved now.”

Li Leran let out a breath.

Yu Tiantian said again, “I was too worried about you just now, so I sounded a little anxious. You won’t mind, right?”

Li Leran, who’d been feeling a little uneasy, immediately brightened when she heard that. “Of course not, of course not. We don’t need to say things like that between us.”

Yu Tiantian smiled. “Mm, then go on with your work.”

“Okay.” Just as Li Leran was about to hang up, she suddenly thought of something. “Tiantian, I just remembered someone.”

Yu Tiantian paused. “Who?”

“The friend Xu Ya Qing was eating with,” Li Leran said, trying hard to recall, her tone drifting. “I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere.”

Yu Tiantian said, “Does she look familiar? Maybe you’ve seen her before.”

Li Leran frowned in distress. “But I can’t remember.”

Yu Tiantian also frowned, a trace of impatience surfacing on her face. “Then think slowly. No rush. I’ve got work to do here, so I’m hanging up.”

Staring at the ended call, Li Leran thought for a long time, but the more she thought about it, the more familiar that person seemed.

Especially after Yu Tiantian’s call, she kept feeling like she’d seen that person at Yu Tiantian’s place.

It had been too long, and her memory was poor. That person should have been somewhat important, otherwise why would she have remembered her for so long?

But she just couldn’t recall.

Forget it. She’d deal with it next time if she got the chance.

Thinking back to how Yu Tiantian had been worried Xu Ya Qing might misunderstand her and had even called to ask, Li Leran felt a warm little swell in her heart.

Then she thought of her spat with Xu Ya Qing and immediately curled her lip, sending Xu Ya Qing a text to curse her out.

[You damn bastard]

Half a minute later, Xu Ya Qing replied.

[? What’s wrong, you brain-dead idiot, Li Leran? Are you not childish enough, changing your phone number just to swear at people?]

Li Leran was so furious she hurled her phone to the floor and cursed for three minutes straight.