Chapter 19: There Is Someone I Like

Aunt Rong and Lin Xi’s parents had some old grievances from years past; this was hardly a secret within the compound. Out of respect for the elders of both families, Aunt Rong still maintained a façade of courtesy. Yet in private, she truly couldn’t bring herself to like the Lin family.

She had long been aware that Qin Yu would drop work time and again to care for Lin Xi, and had sensed the intention behind his actions. Aunt Rong had once made a scene over it, resulting in Qin Yu staying away from home for quite some time, until the matter faded without resolution.

After all, she was Qin Yu’s mother; Cheng Si couldn’t say much about it. He was only surprised that after so many years—Lin Xi’s parents were long gone—Aunt Rong still clung to those bygone grudges.

On the other end of the line, Qin Yu remained silent for a long time. Cheng Si sighed, realizing that the rumors from yesterday must have been true.

—

Back at work, Lin Xi had been working overtime all week. Although Feiyun had made some achievements in its early days, it had stagnated over the past two years, allowing many competitors to catch up. Now, the project with Huasheng was Feiyun’s most important collaboration—bar none. Huasheng was in urgent need of a domestically produced mobile phone chip; despite years of research, every major company had come up empty-handed, unable to solve the persistent challenges. Feiyun was currently the company with the most promise.

If this project succeeded, Feiyun could leverage Huasheng’s products to make a groundbreaking entrance into the domestic chip market.

Cheng Si was a competent businessman; in his eyes, Feiyun was just a small company under his name. He had no expectations of it bringing him great prestige in the future; he cared only whether it could make money.

But Lin Xi was different—money didn’t matter to her. What she wanted was for Feiyun to become the leader in domestic chips, simply because she had chosen this path. Always ambitious, she intended to devote all her future efforts to Feiyun.

So, nothing could be allowed to go wrong with the Huasheng project.

On Saturday night, after finishing another round of overtime, Lin Xi and several colleagues left the office, exhausted.

“Engineer Lin, want to grab a bite?” Chen, one of the engineers, invited her. “There’s a great barbecue spot nearby—we always go there after work. It’s our secret hideout. You should come too.”

There were only eight engineers in their R&D department, all balding men in their thirties and forties—except Lin Xi, the youngest by far. At first, some doubted her, but her abilities soon won them over.

Lin Xi was hungry too and had planned to find something to eat anyway. “Sure, let’s go together.”

The barbecue place they mentioned was a nondescript little shop tucked away in a nearby alley. They moved the two small tables outside and pushed them together.

Lin Xi sat at the edge, unsure what to order, so she let the others decide. Since there was no need to work overtime the next day, everyone ordered thirty bottles of beer and two bottles of liquor, planning to relax and sleep in until Monday.

“Can you drink, Engineer Lin?” someone asked, holding up a bottle of liquor, eager to test her.

She glanced at the liquor and shook her head. The group looked a bit disappointed; even though Lin Xi was a woman, they always treated her as one of the guys.

“It’s better for girls not to drink,” Chen interjected, but before he could finish, Lin Xi pulled a cold beer from under the table. “But I can have a few of these.”

Chen looked at her in surprise. “You drink?”

“A little,” Lin Xi admitted, smiling at the memory. “My grandfather liked to drink. When I was very little, he’d always sneak me and my brother a taste whenever he had some.”

“You have a brother, Engineer Lin?”

“What does your brother do?”

The questions came so suddenly that Lin Xi paused, eyes downcast as she opened the beer. Her voice was very soft. “He works in the military district. We haven’t seen each other in a long time.”

—

The gathering ended late. By the time Lin Xi walked back to her apartment, it was nearly ten.

“Lin Xi!” Someone called out just as she was about to enter her building.

Having had a fair amount to drink, Lin Xi’s mind was a little slow as she turned around. She squinted at the approaching figure, struggling to recall his name.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, gripping the door handle, turning to face Lu Bei.

They hadn’t seen each other since their last blind date, so it took her a moment to remember him.

“I called you around seven, but couldn’t get through,” Lu Bei explained. “So I came to wait for you downstairs.”

Lin Xi patted her pocket apologetically. “I was working overtime then—my phone was on silent.”

As he stepped closer, Lu Bei caught the scent of alcohol on her. It was only then that he noticed something was off. “You’ve been drinking?”

“Yeah, a gathering with coworkers.” She frowned. “What did you need?”

Lu Bei gave a small “oh,” then quickly handed over an insulated container. “I heard you’ve been working late, so I thought you’d be home tonight. I made some soup for you.” He held out another item. “And this is a gift my mother brought back from her trip down south last week. She asked me to give it to you. I hope you like it!”

Lin Xi stared at the items for a long moment before replying, “Why are you giving me these?”

At best, she and Lu Bei had only met once. Although he often messaged her, she never responded with much enthusiasm, only replying out of politeness now and then. They weren’t even friends.

“It’s just a little something. My mom thought it’d suit you, that’s all—no other reason!”

The alcohol made Lin Xi slow to understand his intentions. Rubbing her brow, she explained quietly, “I think I mentioned this to you on WeChat before. I went on that blind date in someone else’s place; we’re not really a match. I’m not joking.”

“I remember you saying that.” Lu Bei was persistent. “But it’s fine if we’re not a match—we can still be friends, right? You said you don’t have many friends here since moving back. If you ever want to eat or go out, you can call me! I work and live near here too, so I can come by anytime!”

He seemed determined to pursue some kind of relationship with her.

Though her mind was muddled, Lin Xi understood exactly what he was after.

“Do you like me? We’ve only met once.”

She’d heard from Qin Yu that Lu Bei had told his family he was quite pleased with her. Lin Xi looked him straight in the eyes. Lu Bei froze, then quickly looked away, his voice trembling.

“I—yes, I like you. But I don’t think it matters how many times we’ve met. I…”

The wary look in his eyes reminded Lin Xi of her former self. With a long sigh, she decided not to give him any hope. “I forgot to mention—I already like someone else.”

“And I have for a very long time.”