Jin Ling parked the car in front of the hotel, got out, and sat in the car, her usual cool demeanour returning. She watched Feng Yiping and the others come out of the revolving door one after the other.
Under her cold gaze, Jin Bao, who was next to Feng Yiping, couldn't smile either. He whispered, 'Is this your sister?'
Jin Ling opened the door on the passenger side, and Feng Yiping obediently jumped in. Fortunately, before leaving, Jin Ling squeezed out a very professional smile and said to Jin Bao and Han Guiliang, 'Thank you for yesterday!'
'You're welcome!'
As they watched the car speed away, Han Guiliang's two female classmates' eyes were filled with stars. 'This sister has a very strong aura!'
When they arrived at the south gate of the school, they found the car that had been parked there yesterday. Feng Yiping said to Jin Ling, 'Sister Jin, thank you for yesterday!'
Jin Ling was about to get out and open her own car. "Don't thank me, you strange person, just try to cause less trouble like this in the future," she said, not quite knowing where to start. 'Do you think what you did was honest or stupid? You haven't even settled one of them, and you want to go after two?'
'So you seem to have a lot of experience. Can you teach me?'
'Teach you my head, go home immediately, comfort her properly. I can see that Jingping still likes you wholeheartedly, so she definitely also wants you to be wholehearted towards her. She might not be able to make the transition right away, but as long as you put in the time and effort, it won't be a problem.'
'Yes, I know,'
Before getting out of the car, Jin Ling looked at him for a while with a complex expression, and finally patted him on the shoulder – she meant to pat him on the head, but Feng Yiping avoided it, and said something to him without any sense, 'You're still better than those hypocrites, so keep it up!'
After she had left, Feng Yiping realised that she had been praising him, and that Jin Ling must have encountered a hypocrite.
He drove home in a hurry, opened the door with some trepidation, and wondered if Jingping would be having a cold war with him.
There was no one in the living room, so was she still upstairs?
'You're back!' Huang Jingping greeted him as she walked to the kitchen door wearing an apron. 'You haven't had breakfast yet, it's ready.'
Feng Yiping walked over to her and embraced her. 'I'm sorry!'
Huang Jingping froze for a moment, but then she reached out and hugged Feng Yiping back. "It's okay, it's fine, let's eat!'
Feng Yiping buried his head in her hair and breathed in the familiar fragrance. "I can't live without you!'
Apart from the "I love you" from yesterday, these were the first mushy words Feng Yiping had ever said to Huang Jingping.
Huang Jingping felt her heart soften at the words, and she sighed inwardly. 'Aren't I also unable to live without you?'
After breakfast, everything went back to normal, as if yesterday had never happened. Except that when Feng Yiping went upstairs to take a shower, he noticed that the bright red set had been put away and replaced with the original one. He couldn't help but sigh, still having to take a cold shower!
The fridge at home was empty again, so as usual, the two of them went to the commercial centre at the clubhouse and bought a whole bunch of things. Along the way, Huang Jingping chatted away as usual, except that sometimes she would suddenly fall silent.
This was one of the after-effects of yesterday.
Last night, in fact, neither of them had slept well. After lunch, Huang Jingping went to her room first to sleep, while Feng Yiping read for a while in the study, dealt with a few documents, and then couldn't bear it anymore. He quietly went to Huang Jingping's room to take a look. She was sleeping soundly, and he was relieved. As long as he could eat and sleep, he was fine.
He had already fallen asleep, but then he thought about it and got up again to leave the door open, so that if there was any movement on the other side, he would be able to notice it immediately.
So he didn't sleep very well either, and he guessed he didn't sleep for long either, because he woke up and noticed that there was someone else in his arms. Huang Jingping was snuggled up against him as usual, sleeping soundly. When he looked at her closely, her eyes were still a little red.
Feng Yiping lowered his head and kissed her all the way from her forehead to her somewhat dry lips. Huang Jingping, who had not yet come out of her daze, let out a soft moan, then responded by skillfully placing her hands on his waist. With her eyes closed, half asleep, she even took the initiative to stick out her tongue.
Feng Yiping's kiss was very passionate, and it finally woke Huang Jingping up. She opened her eyes and looked at Feng Yiping confusedly. Between the two of their lips, there was still a thread of crystal-clear saliva.
The sight was very seductive, and Feng Yiping leaned in again. Huang Jingping habitually complied, but when Feng Yiping caught her tongue again, she finally woke up and pulled away, 'No, I haven't brushed my teeth yet!'
This was of course an excuse, but Feng Yiping understood. Instead, he hugged her, and Huang Jingping didn't object. 'How about we go out for a few days, to the beach, or to the grasslands on the dam, or to Xi'an?'
'Don't you have to go to school?'
'It's okay if I miss a few days of class, I can make it up,'
'No, I know freshman year is very important, and we usually have a lot of time, we don't have to do it during these few days.'
As usual, she was thinking of Feng Yiping.
Jin Ling had not been back at the office for long when there was a knock on the door. Without looking up, she said, 'Come in,'
'General Manager Jin,' Fang Yingzhi walked in, 'these are some candidate locations for the stores that the marketing department has selected. Please give your instructions.'
'Leave them here for now. I will give you an answer before lunch,' On her desk, there were already a dozen documents waiting to be approved.
'By the way, General Manager Jin, are Yiping and the others doing okay? I saw that you left in a hurry yesterday,'
'No, they just had a little argument,' Jin Ling said without thinking.
'You go ahead!' Fang Yingzhi closed the office door gently. Was this a chance?
On the afternoon of the third day after the incident, Feng Yiping received a call from Wang Jinju as soon as he finished his math class: 'Yiping, I guess there's nothing more going on here, so I think I'll go back in a couple of days. Is that okay?'
'No problem, just wait at the shop and I'll come pick you up and take you home for dinner,'
Huang Jingping was a little reluctant to hear the news. 'You're going back already? Can't it wait a few days? I have to go back at the end of the month for exams too.' Her accounting qualification exams were at the end of the month.
Feng Yiping laughed and said, 'Forget it, don't make it hard for her. Feng Wen is probably already looking longingly at the city. If we wait any longer, we might just become a "stone looking at his wife".'
'That's not what you're saying. I heard that during the month or so I was away, sales in the shop didn't increase much. Won't that mean you won't be able to give me the red envelope at the end of the year?'
'Yes, you're definitely doing it for work, not for Feng Wen,'
After a laugh, Feng Yiping asked her, 'This question may be a bit personal, but as classmates and friends, I still want to ask, what are your plans?'
Wang Jinju thought for a moment, 'Feng Wen's plan is that in the next two years, we save some money and buy a house in the city, as you said.'
'This is a good idea. Buying a house now is definitely a good deal.' It seems that her unreserved advocacy has influenced some people. 'By the way, have you ever thought about buying in the province? Compared to the city, the province is always better,'
'Well, I'll go back and discuss it with him,' Wang Jinju had never really thought about it before, but the housing prices in the provincial capital were a lot higher than those in the city, and far beyond their budget.
'You should also talk to Feng Wen about it. His income at the factory is fixed, so see if he is confident enough to do sales. Our products are currently very competitive, and if sales do well, the income will definitely be higher than working on the production line. However, sales requires a high level of overall quality, and the prerequisite is that he must be able to pass the company's training and tests.'
Feng Yiping would not take the initiative to say things like borrowing money or helping them buy a house in the province. Wang Jinzhu and Feng Wen, in their original memories, had very little contact with each other after graduating from junior high school and did not know much about them. He understood the principle of 'a grudge over a pittance'.
However, within their means, it is still possible to offer a job that is also within their means, but with a higher income.
'This is no problem, I can promise you for him right now,' Wang Jinju was very happy.
'It's not that being a salesperson will definitely lead to a high income, if the performance is not good, the performance-based salary will not be high, and if you are in sales, you will definitely travel a lot, do you not mind?'
'We can do it!' Wang Jinju said decisively.
'It's late, go to bed,' Huang Jingping walked into the study and brought Feng Yiping a glass of milk.
'Okay,' Feng Yiping stretched, "Jinju is asleep?'
'Yes. Yiping, I want to go back with Jinju the day after tomorrow,'
Feng Yiping almost choked on the milk and got up to hold her hand, "Why? Isn't your exam until the end of the month?'
Huang Jingping lowered her head and didn't look at him. 'I want to go back and see my parents. I haven't seen them for most of the year, and I miss them.' She looked up and took the initiative to hug Feng Yiping. 'Don't worry, as soon as the exams are over, I'll come right back.'
There was nothing she could do to stop her. She always had to go back to the province to take her exams, and it was fine to go back with Wang Jinju.
Feng Yiping also knew that she still wanted to be alone for a few days, to think things over quietly. That was fine too. Some things had to be figured out on your own before you can turn a corner.
...
With a long whistle, the train slowly started to move. In the sleeper compartment, Huang Jingping leaned against the window and looked back. She watched as Feng Yiping's figure on the platform grew smaller and smaller until she could no longer see him. She immediately returned to her lower bunk and lay face inwards.
'What, are you already reluctant to part?' Wang Jinju teased her, but she remained indifferent.
Wang Jinzhu sighed, sat down next to her, and patted her hand. 'Sleep well, I'll be right here.'