Chapter 66
When Wei Xiaolu came out of the interview room, she looked miserable. She dragged herself out of the building, feeling as if she had a whole bellyful of words desperate to get out. But when she picked up her phone and was about to call Tang Xiaofen, her whole body stiffened, and her finger hovered over the dial button for a long time.
Still, she really needed to get it out.
In the end, she dumped it all on Shen Siyan.
【Wei Xiaolu: Went along for nothing again】
【Wei Xiaolu: I answered everything they asked at first, but then the interviewer suddenly asked something I’d never even heard of】
【Wei Xiaolu: I really couldn’t do it, I really couldn’t】
【Wei Xiaolu: And then when I said I couldn’t, those interviewers all laughed】
【Wei Xiaolu: What does that mean? Were they laughing at me?】
……
Shen Siyan was busy and usually took a while to reply. Wei Xiaolu got on the bus and leaned against the window, lost in thought. Just as she was spacing out completely, her phone suddenly rang.
Had the older sister finally gotten off work? She happily pulled out her phone, only to see that it was Wei Jialuo. Her face darkened instantly.
She hit mute and flipped the phone over.
Wei Xiaolu took a breath, thinking she’d turn it back over in a bit; if the call still hadn’t ended by then, she’d answer.
She put it off for a long time. When she checked again, Wei Jialuo had already called a second time.
Wei Xiaolu’s heart thudded. Holding her breath, she answered.
“...” she said irritably. “Hello.”
“Hello.” Wei Jialuo didn’t sound any nicer.
And then neither of them wanted to talk to the other.
After a few seconds of deadlock, Wei Xiaolu broke the silence. “If you’re not going to talk, I’m hanging up.”
“Hey, hey,” Wei Jialuo sighed. “I’m just passing on a message. Mom and Dad think you’ve had a really hard time looking for work. If you can’t find anything, you can come home and rest for a while.”
“I’m not going back,” Wei Xiaolu said. “I still need to keep looking. Interviews come up from time to time, and it’s more convenient in the city.”
Wei Jialuo seemed to choke. He swallowed for a while before getting out two words. “Fine.”
And then it got awkward again.
Wei Xiaolu had nothing to say to him. After more than ten seconds, she tossed out, “If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up,” only to be stopped again by her brother: “Hey, hey.”
She was getting impatient. “What?”
“Are you...” Wei Jialuo paused briefly. “Have you always been gay?”
A straight man asking questions had no sense of boundaries. Wei Xiaolu was so startled by that line she even shut her eyes; her brain buzzed, her soul seeming to drift somewhere outside her body. “Can you get lost? I don’t want to talk to you about that.”
“No, I’m just curious—” Wei Jialuo still had no shame.
“Get lost.”
“...” Wei Jialuo fell silent, seeming to gather himself for a few more seconds before saying, “Fine. Then take care of your mental health.”
Wei Xiaolu hung up.
She buried her face in her palm. After a long while, the twisted knot inside her loosened just a little.
Once she felt a bit better, she started bombarding Shen Siyan again, cursing Wei Jialuo’s behavior in the vilest terms she could think of.
But Shen Siyan still didn’t reply.
When Wei Xiaolu got back to the apartment, there were still half an hour left before Shen Siyan got off work. Bored, she wandered around the house twice; then inspiration struck. She took off her suit, changed into casual clothes, and headed out.
She was going to pick Shen Siyan up from work.
After buying the yogurt Shen Siyan liked to drink, she arrived at the familiar workplace and sat in the coffee shop on the first floor of the company. Watching the employees hurrying past in every direction, she suddenly realized it had only just been the start of the year and everyone had only recently returned to work; no wonder Shen Siyan was so busy she didn’t even have time to reply.
She waited and waited. Finally, a little after six, Shen Siyan called.
“Xiaolu, I’ve got a lot going on today. I just got off work.”
“It’s fine,” Wei Xiaolu said with a smile. “I’m waiting for you.”
“You can stop thinking about the interview now. Your impression may not be accurate; maybe you actually did well...” Shen Siyan comforted her.
“Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.” Wei Xiaolu answered absentmindedly, watching Shen Siyan come out of the elevator and walk toward the door with her usual composed, elegant stride. Quietly, she followed behind her.
“CEO Shen, please slow down,” she called out.
Shen Siyan, walking ahead, stopped short.
Then she turned around, looking at Wei Xiaolu in surprise.
“You came?” Shen Siyan seemed to catch her mood. After a two-second daze, she couldn’t help laughing.
“Mm-hmm,” Wei Xiaolu said smugly. “Came to pick up CEO Shen and take her home.”
“I was going to buy you something on the way home and give you a surprise,” Shen Siyan said. “You worked hard today with the interview.”
“Save it,” Wei Xiaolu bumped her shoulder. “It’s not like I only have this one. There are more after this; if you buy me something every time I go to one, the gifts are going to overflow!”
Shen Siyan took the yogurt from her hand. “How could gifts ever overflow? Every time you work up the courage to face something difficult, you deserve a reward.”
“Oh my.” Wei Xiaolu shivered.
“What’s wrong?” Shen Siyan immediately looked concerned.
“As expected of our CEO Shen,” Wei Xiaolu clapped. “You’re really full of flowery words.”
Shen Siyan walked over to the car. “You think I’m being grandiose?”
“No, I just think it sounds exactly like a Chinese exam essay,” Wei Xiaolu said as she got into the car. “You’re really good at talking in a literary way.”
“You’re pretty good at talking nonsense too,” Shen Siyan said.
Wei Xiaolu waited until Shen Siyan had fastened her seat belt, then immediately reached out and pinched her cheeks. “Hmph! Then I’ll pinch your face.”
With her cheeks pulled from both sides, Shen Siyan’s face rounded out; that stern, proper air about her vanished in an instant.
“Is it fun?” Shen Siyan asked.
Wei Xiaolu let go and made up for it with a kiss. “Fun.”
The two of them looked at each other and smiled; before anyone came into the parking lot, they quickly pulled apart and returned to a proper social distance.
Shen Siyan didn’t start the car. After the person nearby had left, she leaned lazily back. “So you came to pick me up, and I’m the one driving?”
“I can’t drive!” Wei Xiaolu exclaimed.
“Don’t you have a driver’s license?” Shen Siyan said.
Picking up on what Shen Siyan was getting at, Wei Xiaolu stared at her warily. “I didn’t bring it.”
“You don’t need to bring it,” Shen Siyan said, tilting her head. “Try it?”
“No way! It’s rush hour now; it’s not safe!” Wei Xiaolu argued fervently.
At last, Shen Siyan let her off. “Fine. Then I’ll drive.”
“Smart of you, sister,” Wei Xiaolu said, glancing left and right before leaning over to smack a kiss on Shen Siyan’s side profile. “Every time you make a smart decision, it deserves a reward.”
“Then I’ve made a lot of smart decisions...”
“Let’s go,” Wei Xiaolu said, pushing Shen Siyan’s face away. “Wash off your makeup before you kiss me. You’ve got powder all over your mouth.”
Wei Xiaolu saw Shen Siyan’s shoulders shaking with laughter.
Of course, she was happy too; she was actually this cheerful after a failed interview, and even she found it unbelievable.
Part of it was the sweetness of being in love, but in fact, that phone call from Wei Jialuo—unpleasant on the surface, but actually loosening some of the knot between them—had played a part too.
“My brother called me,” Wei Xiaolu said suddenly when they were waiting at a red light.
“I saw the message you sent,” Shen Siyan said.
“My parents...” Wei Xiaolu took a breath. “I think they can probably accept it. They didn’t say anything about us; they just said if looking for work is tiring, I can go back and rest for a while.”
“So,” Shen Siyan’s rational side surfaced again to analyze it, “that shows two things. First, they love you very much. You said before that, by their way of thinking, they might not be able to accept it; but their love for you outweighs the shock brought on by their beliefs.”
To Wei Xiaolu’s surprise, she no longer felt that kind of analysis was intrusive. She asked, “And the second?”
“Second,” Shen Siyan said, “they really weren’t prepared to face this topic directly. They need time, and they need an opening.”
Wei Xiaolu gave a thoughtful “Mm.”
“Actually, you’re feeling guilty, aren’t you?”
That sudden question made Wei Xiaolu go numb all over. “Why?”
“Because you can sense their compromise and their suffering, but you don’t know how to respond to that silent kindness. If you go back, it’ll be awkward; if you don’t, it feels like you’re avoiding them.” Shen Siyan said.
Wei Xiaolu jerked her head around to look at her, her eyes a little hot.
The light turned green, and Shen Siyan started the engine, driving on.
Sometimes, Wei Xiaolu envied Shen Siyan deeply; she could see through human nature so clearly, describe with such precision the sticky, tangled emotions even Wei Xiaolu herself couldn’t sort out.
Shen Siyan’s hand reached over and held hers. “You don’t need to force yourself to go back and face it right away.”
“Then am I just... not going back at all?” Wei Xiaolu asked.
“Sometimes distance and breathing room are kinder to both sides,” Shen Siyan said, glancing at her. “But you can also try to comfort them a little.”
“How do I comfort them? Should I call them?” Wei Xiaolu shook her head. “That would be awkward too. I wouldn’t even know what to say.”
Shen Siyan tapped lightly on the steering wheel with her fingertips. “No need. In a couple of days, send them some things they need.”
That unexpectedly brightened Wei Xiaolu’s mood. She thought about it. “My dad likes drinking tea. My mom’s knees hurt easily in winter, so I’ll buy her a knee brace.”
“What about your brother?” Shen Siyan asked.
“Him?” Wei Xiaolu rolled her eyes. “I’ll send him a clock.”
Shen Siyan couldn’t help laughing. “I’ll buy something for Uncle and Auntie too, together with yours, and send it back with them.”
“Ooooooh!” Wei Xiaolu pointed at her. “I know what you mean now. You’re just waiting for a chance to make a good impression, aren’t you?”
Shen Siyan said nothing and concentrated on driving.
“I’m guessing you’re also going to write cards with the things you buy? Letters?” Wei Xiaolu eyed her suspiciously.
“So what if I am.” Shen Siyan pressed a hand to Wei Xiaolu’s head and turned her to the other side.
Shen Siyan’s desire to win over her parents was far too obvious. Wei Xiaolu laughed the whole way home; even after they got back, she kept teasing her. “Are you worried my parents will think you’re the bad woman who kidnapped me away?”
Shen Siyan was both amused and helpless. “Baby, don’t make me sound like some thug.”
“In their eyes, you already are,” Wei Xiaolu said.
“Is that so?” Shen Siyan frowned.
Not expecting to have gotten a rise out of Shen Siyan too, Wei Xiaolu held it in for two seconds before bursting into laughter.
“Wei Xiaolu,” Shen Siyan said, grabbing the back of her shirt collar and hauling her onto the sofa before pressing down over her, “looks like I can’t let you get away with being yourself too much.”
“I won’t tease you anymore, I won’t,” Wei Xiaolu surrendered with both hands raised. “My parents respect you a lot. After all, you’re my superior.”
At that, Shen Siyan raised an eyebrow and tipped Wei Xiaolu’s chin up with her fingers. “Trying that again?”
“What is the leader doing?” Wei Xiaolu continued courting disaster. “You’re not going to use your authority to take advantage of me, are you?”
“That was your idea,” Shen Siyan said suddenly, her face going cold.
Wei Xiaolu immediately caved. “I was joking, I was joking. Sister, I was wrong.”
Shen Siyan couldn’t hold it in either and laughed with her.
By the time they were done laughing, neither of them could tell how they’d ended up kissing.
In the midst of all that cheerful chaos, Wei Xiaolu lifted her arms to wrap around Shen Siyan’s neck, and just like that, in the gradually deepening kiss, they passed the joyful endnote back and forth between them.