Good times always pass by very quickly. In the blink of an eye, Qiao Jing Jing's vacation was already half over. At first, Yu Tu had promised to come back for dinner today. As a result, Qiao Jing Jing had already marinated the steak. But before he get off work, he called to say that there would be a basketball match at night, so he would not be home for dinner.
"Your institution even has basketball matches? Why didn't you say so earlier? I've already marinated the steak."
"It's the institution's semi-final. Originally, I was not included but a team member has something going on and couldn't participate, so I'm substituting in for him last minute."
"Are your basketball skills so bad? You're only a substitute?" Qiao Jing Jing was very surprised. He had been the absolute main force of the school team when he was in senior high school.
There was a moment of silence on his side, then he sighed and said, "Miss Qiao, I am old already."
Qiao Jing Jing:
"..."
Yes, although Teacher Yu was still handsome, he was, after all, already more than 30 years old. For basketball and the kind of high-intensity exercise it is, he should not be as good as the young people who just graduated.
However, his tone was simply deliberately faking misery to gain sympathy. Qiao Jing Jing laughed out loud into the phone. Was she that kind of gentle and considerate girlfriend? No. Thus she immediately happily stepped on him again. "That's right, Teacher Yu, you are already 32 years old!"
Yu Tu:
"..."
"What about you? Aren't we the same age?" Yu Tu cruelly reminded her.
"No, I am not, I'm not there yet." Teacher Yu was too cruel. How could he say such scary words? Qiao Jing Jing immediately denied it three times in succession. She even brought out an article written by a commercial account used for marketing to prove her claim. "Previously, there was a commercial account saying that I give off a girly feel. And definitely no one paid them to say it!"
"Oh. Actually I had backed out of playing of my own accord. But see, they called me to substitute right away once they were short of people. Doesn't this indicate that my physical strength and skill are stronger than those other young people in the institution?"
"Okay, okay." Qiao Jing Jing wanted to laugh again. Were the two of them now proving that adults can also be very scary when they start to behave like children?
"What are you laughing at?" While saying this, Yu Tu could not help laughing himself. "If you don't believe it, come and verify it with your own eyes. At the same time, you can cheer me on."
"Ah?" Qiao Jing Jing was surprised.
"Didn't you always say that you want to come to my work unit to eat in the canteen? Bring your identity card. I meet you at the entrance."
The basketball match was starting in an hour's time. There was not enough time for Qiao Jing Jing to put on the 'devious' makeup this time. She hurriedly put on some foundation and basic makeup and left.
When she arrived at the door of Yu Tu's work unit, the one who came to meet her was not Yu Tu and instead was a very bright, cheerful girl called Xiao Yin, Yu Tu's female colleague whom she had met at last time's dinner gathering.
Xiao Yin shouted in a loud voice, "Jing Jing!" and ran over, saying, "Yu Tu has been switched into the starting lineup and has to warm up and prepare now, so he got me to come and meet you."
Qiao Jing Jing quickly expressed thanks.
"Have you brought your identity card?"
"Yes."
Qiao Jing Jing took out her identity card from her pocket. The two went to the security guard at the gate to register. When registering, she of course, had to take off her face mask. The security guard took the identity card and looked back and forth between her face and the identity card several times with an interesting expression.
When Xiao Yin was about to say something, the security guard suddenly said, "Is she visiting 80x?"
Xiao Yin:
"… Yes."
"Oh, I know." The security guard's smile was especially wide. "Register her full name. You have to write down your name, too."
The second sentence was directed at Xiao Yin.
After leaving the identity card with the security guard, Xiao Yin took Qiao Jing Jing inside. While walking, she said with amazement, "I thought only the people in our institution knew. I didn't expect that it has already spread all the way to the security guard. Gossip is too powerful. With you coming today, I reckon even more people will know tomorrow. Both of you should be mentally prepared for it."
"I don't need to prepare. I don't go to work here," Qiao Jing Jing said teasingly.
Xiao Yin laughed out loud. "Yu Tu's meal card has been suffering recently due to treating people to meals. I heard that he went to recharge it two times already."
Qiao Jing Jing said, "He's already come back and complained about this predicament."
Xiao Yin burst into laughter again.
It was Qiao Jing Jing's first time at Yu Tu's work unit, so she could not help looking around curiously. Xiao Yin acted as a tour guide and provided information all the way. She also specifically warned her not to take pictures.
They passed the so-called most expensive photovoltaic car park in Shanghai and walked another long way before finally arriving at the open-air basketball court. At this time, the basketball court was already brightly lit and full of voices. Layers of people surrounded the court.
Qiao Jing Jing felt like she had returned to her days on campus. "It feels like university."
Xiao Yin said, "We have a lot of talented graduates in the first place, and we also have sports competition. It's very lively."
Qiao Jing Jing had attracted a lot of attention along the way, and when they arrived at the side of the court, she drew even more eyes. However, she was long accustomed to this kind of attention. While following after Xiao Yin with a smile, her gaze was looking for signs of Yu Tu.
Xiao Yin took her further in, and they ended up standing with a group of girls. Qiao Jing Jing thought, was there even a cheerleading squad? Xiao Yin introduced them. These are all colleagues in the institution."
She also introduced Qiao Jing Jing. "Here, she's Yu Tu's girlfriend."
These girls who had initially been a little uncomfortable when they first gazed at her now immediately laughed out loud and said that they knew. They didn't seem to be surprised at her arrival. On the contrary, the men in the distance made some teasing jeers.
Qiao Jing Jing looked in the direction of the noise. Yu Tu was being teased by several of the players. He turned to look at her, his smile unrestrained and easy.
After a while, he ran over and handed her a glass of corn juice. "There's not enough time to take you to dinner. Have this to keep your stomach happy for now."
"Oh." Qiao Jing Jing took the corn juice and cheered him on: "Strive to just be able to play the whole match. Believe in yourself. You're old but vigorous!"
Yu Tu rubbed her hair with affectionate annoyance and ran off, dribbling the ball.
The girls around burst into loud laughter. There was a girl who took out her mobile phone and wanted to take a photo with her. Of course Qiao Jing Jing had no objection; she was just a little worried. "Isn't it, you can't take pictures?"
"Nothing wrong with taking selfies."
Most of those men in the science and engineering field were rather shy; only a few of them came over to help their friends and relatives to get autograph. However, the girls in the science and engineering field were actually lively and easygoing. They even talked to her about the TV series she acted in. Qiao Jing Jing was a little surprised. "You're so busy, yet you watched my TV series."
"When there is a mission for our models, we're indeed busy. But when we are not that busy, we will watch. Your TV series are very popular."
"In the future, you'll be a family member of our colleague, so we have even more reason to support you."
Qiao Jing Jing was all smiles and said, "Thank you, thank you."
While chatting, they heard the sound of a whistle. The match had begun.
Yu Tu really was in the starting lineup. Once the intense match began, the focus on Qiao Jing Jing became a lot less. People no longer paid attention to her. They all stared fixedly at the court, cheering for each basket that was made.
At the beginning, Qiao Jing Jing was still a little restrained, but later, she could not help jumping and cheer.
"Add oil, Yu Tu!"
"Wow! A three pointer."
"Ah. It went in!"
Qiao Jing Jing's cheeks were red from her excitement and high spirits.
She felt that she was very happy.
It was like she was acting in the most beautiful drama about youth.
Those regrets from her youth that had been at the bottom of her heart seemed to have, at some point in time, been completely filled.
In the end, Yu Tu's research institution defeated the opponent by a small margin. After the competition ended, Yu Tu didn't go back to change clothes and instead immediately went to the side of the court to put on a jacket. After greeting everyone, amid the sounds of kind laughter, he brought Qiao Jing Jing and left the basketball court.
While walking down the road, Qiao Jing Jing still had not recovered from her euphoria.
Yu Tu said, "Was I inferior to the young people?"
This Teacher Yu who kept brooding on her earlier words was so funny, Qiao Jing Jing sniggered secretly. She held his arm and said, "Well, you're still not as good as yourself. When you played basketball in senior high school, you would charge forward a lot. But you've changed to shooting three pointers now. This is obviously showing your physical strength has… Um, you have switched to using technique to win la."
Yu Tu sighed, "Can you say something nice?"
"Oh, you were so awesome." Qiao Jing Jing halted her footsteps, stood on tiptoe, and said in his ear, "I loved it."
The light covered the pavement. As Yu Tu held her hand, his heartbeat suddenly quickened. Yet the girl who had just teased him appeared all innocent, like she had not done anything. She took back her identity card from the security guard at the doorway. She even proudly gave a wave of her identity card in front of his eyes.
"Am I pretty like a fairy in my photo ID?"
Without waiting for his reply, she took out his work ID card from his jacket and compared it side by side with her ID card. "Let me see if the photo on your ID card is as handsome as you said. Whose ID photo looks better?"
This silly behaviour was probably something that only those in love would have.
But right now, the lighting was just right, and everything about her, whose head was lowered to compare the photos with seriousness, was good as well. As Yu Tu looked at her, those flames of desire in him somehow suddenly became tender feelings of love that flowed outward, over his heart and through all his limbs and bones.
He could not help smiling as he reasoned with her, "How can they be compared? To make a fair comparison, don't they need to be under exactly the same conditions? The same light, the same photographer, the same place. Only then can we draw an accurate conclusion."
"Uh, need to be so stringent?" Qiao Jing Jing was surprised by his words.
"Yes," he firmly replied to her, and then he asked, "So, when are we going to take an ID photo together?"