Thirty-one

  After returning, although he entangled her for a while, he returned to his room with a huff under her insistence. The next day, the two of them got up early, thinking about going to Liu Qing's travel agency. He went to buy breakfast and they ate it in a playful manner. She called Liu Qing on the phone, but Liu Qing's end was very noisy and only said "you guys come quickly" before hanging up.

  Before leaving, he insisted on kissing her and pushed her back and forth but still kissed her. He said that if he didn't kiss her a hundred times a day, he wouldn't be able to sleep and wouldn't let her sleep either. She looked at him with a helpless gaze in her eyes.

  She was still sitting on the wooden chair when he disappeared for a while and came back with two brown tea eggs wrapped in paper towels: "Ruxue, you don't know, do you? Every weekend, the ship sells very delicious tea eggs. They only sell them on weekends, this flavor is unique to our place." She peeled off the eggshell and took a light bite, indeed it was salty just right, leaving a fragrant aftertaste. Maybe these tea eggs were also extremely ordinary, but after he said that, they became exceptionally fragrant and deliciously flavored.

  Watching her enjoy eating, both of them let her eat. She asked: "Don't you want to eat? I'll go buy some for you." He shook his head: "No, I just want you to eat what I buy for you. I want to always buy food for you." Upon hearing this, her heart moved again.

  After getting off the boat, he took her to the address given by Liu Qing and they arrived. The door looked not very big, but it was crowded with flower baskets, and there were still red papers from firecrackers on the ground. The air seemed to be floating with the fragrance of gunpowder. Walking in, I felt very spacious and the decoration was also refreshing. Liu Qing wore a crimson sleeveless cheongsam and walked out from the inner room after being notified by the secretary. She grabbed Liu Qing's hand and joked: "Liu Qing is not right now, it's President Liu now, you have to make an appointment to see me!"

  Liu Qing didn't show weakness: "Haha, now you're so slick and oily, aren't you a case of 'near ink is black'?" While speaking, he glanced at Ye Yanran beside him. He said with an innocent face: "What does it have to do with me? I just recently found out how fierce she is." She lightly pinched him through his clothes, and he loudly cried out in exaggeration.

  They joked for a while and then took out their gifts to congratulate Liu Qing on finally having his own business. Liu Qing said the opening ceremony was over, and now Ai Qing was taking other guests to a nearby hotel to eat. Knowing that Ru Xue didn't like such gatherings and neither did he, so he let Ru Xue come later. A little while later, the three of them went to eat separately. She smiled gratefully at Liu Qing.

  Then Liu Qing took them in and introduced how many employees the travel agency had now, what business they could undertake, etc. The secretary came over to Liu Qing and said: "There is a Mr. Gao outside looking for President Liu." Liu Qing's face was both happy and worried, and he said to the secretary: "Take him to the reception room first, don't take him to my rest room inside." Then he turned around and said to them: "You go to the side of the Hundred Flavors first, I'll be right over."

  Like frost, she vaguely saw a familiar figure flash by and enter the room. She tried her best to think of who it was, but couldn't remember. Hearing him say "okay", he then led her out for a few steps into a Sichuan restaurant. Liu Qing had already reserved a table. After sitting down, Ye Can Ran asked her: "Ru Xue, did you find the person who came to find Liu Qing earlier familiar or not?"

  She nodded in agreement: "Familiar eyes but can't recall where we met?"

  He nodded silently. She thought it was strange and asked him again. He said he couldn't remember either, just that it seemed familiar and then passed by.

  But no matter how long they waited, Liu Qing didn't show up. Ye Canran loudly exclaimed that she was hungry and since Liu Qing wasn't a stranger, they should just go ahead and eat first. After finishing their meal, the two of them sat drinking tea but still didn't see anyone arrive, so they called the waiter to settle the bill. The waiter said that Manager Liu would take care of it later. They then left and walked back to the travel agency.

  The secretary just now saw them and rushed over to grab Ye Canran's arm, saying: "Great, you've finally arrived. Go and take a look at Director Liu. She locked herself in the inner room and won't open the door no matter how we call her."

  They went in and knocked on the door, which was indeed locked and there was no one inside. She shouted loudly: "Liu Qing, Liu Qing, it's me! I'm Ru Shuang, open the door!" He pulled her aside and said: "This won't do, let me break down the door. You two stand back a bit."

  She anxiously asked the equally panicked secretary: "What happened in such a short time?" The secretary, who had finally found someone to share her burden with, spoke freely and without reserve: "Just now, Mr. Gao came not long after Mr. Ai returned. He asked me where President Liu was, and I told him he was inside meeting guests. He went in, and after a while, I heard the sound of things breaking and quarreling coming from inside. Later, I heard President Liu loudly say 'Get out, all of you!' Then, Mr. Ai came out, looking very angry, and left. After that, Mr. Gao also left. President Liu then slammed the door shut with great force and didn't come out again. As for anything else, I really don't know."