Chapter 4
Tang Yiling felt that ever since she came to this world, all she thought about every day was survival.
Eating. Sleeping.
She didn’t know if it was a carb coma or sheer exhaustion.
She climbed into bed early and went to sleep.
Her roommates came back one after another in the middle of the night.
Tang Yiling vaguely heard one of them say, “Isn’t she the young lady? Why is she living in the dorm?”
Another roommate cut the rest of the conversation off.
To avoid disturbing Tang Yiling, they even moved on purpose as quietly as they could, and only turned on the small desk lamp.
The next morning, Tang Yiling was woken by her alarm.
She drew back the bed curtains and saw the girl on the opposite bed sitting at her desk and studying.
Qian Xueqing was wearing a light blue nightgown. Hearing the noise, she turned around.
“Are you going out today?”
Tang Yiling nodded.
The time she had agreed on with Li Lan was almost here.
The dorm was a four-person room.
Tang Yiling looked around and didn’t see the other two.
“Oh,” Qian Xueqing explained, “Yuruo and An Qi made plans to watch the sunrise.”
“They left around four. I guess they’ll be out until this afternoon.”
Yuruo?
Chang Yuruo?
Tang Yiling’s mouth fell open slightly. She was roommates with another female lead too?!
Wasn’t this novel world a little too small?
Qian Xueqing looked at her. “What’s wrong?”
Tang Yiling shook her head. “Why didn’t you go?”
“Me?” Qian Xueqing laughed, and two shallow dimples appeared.
“I can’t get up that early.”
That was what she said, but Tang Yiling guessed it might be because a three-person friendship was too crowded.
She found her toiletries and promised, “Then let’s go watch the sunset when we have time!”
This time, Qian Xueqing froze. After a few seconds, she said softly, “Okay.”
Tang Yiling poked her head out of the bathroom with a toothbrush in her mouth. “Sorry, what was your name again?”
The touched expression on Qian Xueqing’s face vanished at once.
She glared at Tang Yiling on purpose and announced her name: “We’ve been classmates and roommates for more than one semester!”
“I know, Xueqing.”
Tang Yiling flashed her a wide, ingratiating smile. “Just kidding!”
Tang Yiling didn’t have many clothes in the dorm. She casually pulled on a T-shirt, then caught Qian Xueqing’s gaze again.
She felt a little guilty. “Don’t be mad. Of course I know your name.”
Qian Xueqing shook her head. “I’m not mad. I just feel like you seem different from before.”
“You used to be more distant. Now you seem, I don’t know, more enthusiastic and lively.”
Tang Yiling froze and let her smile fade. “Maybe it’s because I’ve run into some changes, so I want to try harder to live.”
She almost forgot; she still had to play the part of Tang Yiling.
Fortunately, Qian Xueqing didn’t press further, probably because she thought that explanation was more than reasonable.
After all, people always change when they run into setbacks and difficulties.
Tang Yiling finished getting ready. Just as she was about to leave, Qian Xueqing said, “Um, if you need help with anything, you can come to me.”
So touched!
Tang Yiling stopped mid-step and turned back into the dorm. “Xueqing, could you send me the class schedule?”
Qian Xueqing hadn’t expected help to come so quickly.
She shook her head and took a sheet of paper from the bookshelf. “Here. I’ll print another copy.”
Tang Yiling almost hugged Qian Xueqing on the spot. She was even more moved now!
She casually grabbed a small bread roll from Qian Xueqing’s snack basket and ran back out the door. “Thanks, Xueqing!”
“Why are you in such a hurry?”
Qian Xueqing’s voice followed after her. “I’ve got jerky here too. Don’t you want any?”
As Tang Yiling ran downstairs, she couldn’t help sighing with emotion.
Her roommate was just too nice. This was probably the second good thing that had happened to her after finding her parents.
Sure enough, she was late.
As soon as she stepped out of the dorm building, she saw Li Lan waiting under a tree.
She was wearing a linen suit today, which made her look even taller.
She didn’t look much like a student; she looked more like a CEO.
Tang Yiling ran over, still holding half a piece of bread she hadn’t finished.
“I-I’m here.”
Li Lan put away her phone and looked her over from head to toe, her gaze landing on the bread. “This is what you’re eating for breakfast?”
Tang Yiling took another bite. “My roommate gave it to me.”
Li Lan started walking ahead on her own. “Didn’t I transfer money to you yesterday?”
“I was too hungry last night. I had a bowl of spicy hotpot and still didn’t feel full, so I bought fried chicken too.” Tang Yiling paused. “Then I bought milk tea.”
Thinking about it that way, she really had eaten a little too much.
Actually, she still had a few yuan left, but she had woken up late and didn’t have time to go to the cafeteria.
Li Lan said nothing else. She stopped and pointed to the side of the road.
“Get in.”
Get in?
Li Lan actually had a car.
Tang Yiling let out a long sigh and stuffed the last bite of bread into her mouth.
The wealth gap between the characters in this novel was just too big!
Li Lan drove smoothly. Tang Yiling sat in the passenger seat and watched the scenery pass by outside.
She needed to get familiar with this city as soon as possible, since she’d be living here for a while.
The car stopped in front of an office building.
Tang Yiling looked up. “Sis, your company is this big?”
Li Lan glanced at her, as if she found that hard to believe too.
“I rent a whole floor for the office.”
Tang Yiling said, “Oh.”
She had thought Li Lan’s company was already about to go public. What kind of business genius was this?
The elevator stopped on the sixteenth floor.
As the two of them got out, quite a few employees looked up.
Li Lan gave them a slight nod.
Then she led Tang Yiling all the way into her office.
She handed over a stack of documents. “These are case studies from the company’s projects. Take a look first.”
“I still have some work to handle.”
Tang Yiling nodded.
She watched Li Lan leave the office and stop at a workstation not far away.
There were two employees over there.
One looked to be in her thirties, while the other seemed like she had just graduated.
Li Lan bent slightly to look at one of their computers.
Her pale, slender fingers tapped on the screen; loose strands of hair by her ear fell against her cheek as she moved.
Tang Yiling couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she could tell Li Lan was speaking quickly.
The younger employee kept jotting things down in a notebook from time to time; they should have been discussing something professional.
Tang Yiling realized the novel’s description of the characters was very one-dimensional.
When she had read the book, she’d had a hard time forming Li Lan’s image in her mind, but the Li Lan in front of her was clear and vivid.
So, what exactly did Li Lan’s company do?
She looked away and lowered her head to flip through the documents.
The table of contents at the front listed the project’s start time and address.
She opened to a random page and saw before-and-after renovation photos, along with records of each step of the renovation work.
It was a renovation company.
The documents had some weight to them, which meant the company had already completed quite a few successful cases.
Tang Yiling frowned.
If she remembered correctly, Li Lan wasn’t in this line of work, was she? Why had she chosen this industry?
Li Lan stayed at the company for two hours, and Tang Yiling spent two hours reading.
At first she had felt a little sleepy, but gradually she got drawn in.
Taking an empty room and, through design, hard finishes, and soft furnishings, step by step turning it into what the customer needed was, in itself, a happy and healing thing.
Every time she saw the final photo of a case with the customer, Tang Yiling would inexplicably feel a sense of longing.
The office door was pushed open, and Li Lan walked in.
She stood at the door and looked at Tang Yiling for a few seconds before motioning to her. “Come on, let’s go home.”
Tang Yiling lifted her head from the file.
She was a little blank. “Go where?”
“I’m done with things for now.”
Li Lan repeated herself. “I’ll take you home.”
Home?
Tang Yiling looked at Li Lan.
The Tang family wasn’t home. The dorm wasn’t home.
Would Li Lan’s place be her “home” in this world?
Li Lan’s brow moved almost imperceptibly.
She asked, “Regretting it?”
Tang Yiling didn’t understand. “Regretting what?”
Li Lan folded her arms and leaned against the doorframe, silently watching her.
Tang Yiling finally caught on.
She shot up from the sofa. “Let’s go, let’s go. We can talk about it at home.”
How could she possibly regret it?
She was only afraid that Li Lan would regret it.
Tang Yiling hooked her arm through Li Lan’s and dragged her through the office area toward the exit.
In her heart, Tang Yiling was already complaining silently; the people in novels just didn’t understand this kind of subtle emotion. Couldn’t they say “go home” a few more times and let her feel touched a little longer?
The car soon entered a residential complex.
Compared with the Tang family’s neighborhood, this place felt much more down-to-earth.
Li Lan opened the door and gestured for Tang Yiling to put on the new slippers prepared by the side.
Tang Yiling walked in while taking in the layout.
Two bedrooms, one study; the living room was spacious and bright.
This simple, clean white decor was clearly the kind of style Li Lan liked.
Tang Yiling turned around and saw the balcony off to the side.
Li Lan didn’t keep flowers or plants. Only a few pieces of clothing were drying there.
She recognized one of them as the one Li Lan had worn the day they first met.
Memories she had already started to forget came rushing back again.
Li Lan went to the dining room and poured herself a glass of water.
She took off her linen jacket and draped it over one arm, revealing the wide-strap tank top underneath that fit close to her body.
She exercised regularly.
The lines of muscle on her body were distinct, yet not bulky in the slightest.
Tang Yiling found her gaze drawn to Li Lan.
Just then, Li Lan turned her head and caught her looking.
Their eyes met in the air.
Tang Yiling coughed lightly and hurriedly looked away.
Alone in the same room.
Even though the sun was still bright outside, Tang Yiling still thought of what had happened that night.
Li Lan seemed to be thinking of it too.
She suddenly started walking toward the sofa.
As Li Lan drew closer and closer, Tang Yiling’s face gradually heated up.
Three steps; two steps; one step.
She clearly felt her own heartbeat and instinctively backed up.
Tang Yiling forgot that there was a sofa directly behind her.
She fell backward into the soft cushions, and Li Lan leaned down over her, pressing in.