Chapter 5

  The summer weather is always unpredictable, with the sun shining brightly in the morning, but suddenly turning cloudy and rainy after lunch, with the rain getting heavier and heavier. The dark clouds rolled in, stacked at the edge of the sky, as if the end of the world had arrived.

  Zhang Qiu came to find me: "Manager Xu, the Lu You I contacted last time has been in touch. This afternoon at 3 o'clock, let's meet first and he wants to ask some questions about our company."

  "Alright then, you two go ahead and talk."

  "Is this suitable? Others would say he's a VP at an investment bank." Zhang Qiu was somewhat embarrassed.

  "It's okay, just verify his basic information with him and ask about his expected salary. If there's anything else, give me a call."

  I didn't move all afternoon, afraid that if I accidentally went out and bumped into Lu You, the two of us would be speechless and feel awkward. This world is really small, sometimes when you don't want to see someone, you end up running into them everywhere.

  As it was approaching the end of work, Zhang Qiu reported to me on the result of the meeting: "Manager Xu, Lu You said he intended to jump ship, what do you think we should arrange for him to meet with Ren Zong from the investment bank?"

  "Alright, you follow up on this."

  "By the way, Manager Xu, those experiences he mentioned today, do you want to know more about them?"

  I turned around and saw that the rain outside had subsided a bit, "Let's talk next time, today the weather is bad, you should also go back early." After finishing speaking, I quickly packed up my things and ran away.

  The water on the ground was very deep, reaching my calves. The pair of wheat-colored sheepskin fish-mouth shoes on my feet were a favorite of mine. After some consideration, I took off my shoes and walked forward barefoot, carrying my shoes in my hand.

  It was just rush hour, and after waiting by the road for half a day, I didn't see any empty taxis. I felt a bit disappointed and decided to go back to the coffee shop downstairs in the office building.

  Hearing a horn behind him, he turned his head to see a golden Honda, the window rolled down, revealing Lu You's face that had not been clear for a long time. "Want a ride?"

  I was taken aback for a moment before I regained my composure, "Uh..."

  He looked at me and repeated: "Where are you going? Do you want me to take you there?"

  People behind started honking impatiently, reminding him to start the car quickly and not block the way.

  "No, I'm going to go buy a cup of coffee, it's just a few steps away."

  He calmly said: "Otherwise, come up first, this rain won't stop for a while, I'll take you to the coffee shop side, and then you can go down."

  Since he was so generous, I didn't need to be polite and humble myself. I took a deep breath, accepted the invitation, opened the car door and got in. "Turn right up ahead, the coffee shop is just inside."

  He started the car and drove at a slow speed, "Do you work on this side?"

  "No, just passing by."

  The distance was indeed not far, after two rounds of conversation, the car stopped. I said "thank you" and opened the door to get off.

  "Xu Shenshen", as if hearing his voice, her body trembled.

  Lu You handed over an umbrella: "Take it and use it."

  I took over and walked two steps before hearing the sound of wheels scraping against the ground. I turned around to see his car tail heading towards the intersection, driving further and further away.

  Sitting in the coffee shop for almost an hour, the rain outside grew heavier and showed no signs of stopping. I glanced at the umbrella beside me, a pale blue one with a floral trim and a bamboo handle, a delicate lady's umbrella.

  With nothing better to do, I suddenly became a bit curious: who is Fu Andong's current girlfriend? I don't know how many times he has changed hands after me.

  The phone rang, it was an unfamiliar number: "Hello."

  "Is it Xu Shenshen?" It was a female voice, and it sounded somewhat familiar.

  "Who am I? Who are you?"

  "Xu - deep - deep! I am Zhang Xiaoyan, how can you return to the country without saying a word? If it wasn't for running into Fu Andong today, I wouldn't have known about this at all. It's really too heartless, it's simply infuriating."

  This is Zhang Xiaoyan, the same Zhang who was my deskmate in junior high school and got rejected by Fu Andong when she confessed her love to him. We were classmates from kindergarten to high school, and among my old friends, she's probably the only one I still keep in touch with. Since she studied at a university in London, when I first arrived in London, Zhang Xiaoyan kindly helped me take care of things like finding an apartment.

  "Xiao Yan, I just got back too, didn't have a chance to let you know."

  "Really hypocritical. I still don't know you, and you didn't even think that I would find out, did you? You value lust over friendship, Xu Shenshen, and now only An Dong knows about this matter?"

  "I've just settled down recently and I really don't have any free time at all. How are you now? Are you in City B?"

  Zhang Xiaoyan laughed twice: "Yeah, otherwise we can get together on the weekend. Old classmate, I really want to see what you're like now."

  "Okay, fine."

  Before hanging up the phone, Zhang Xiaoyan seemed to have thought of something and suddenly stopped me: "By the way, Shenshen, are you married?"

  "Not me, how about you?"

  "Got married last year. I remember you had a boyfriend when you just went to London, and then... ", she paused for a moment, and continued: "Forget it, we can't clarify everything on the phone, let's talk about it when we meet up this weekend."