Chapter 88: Special Extra: Yu Qing

After dinner, back at her place, Yu Qing took a shower, grabbed her laptop, and began sorting through today’s measurements. She opened the client requirements sheet and began sketching.

She had already designed hundreds — maybe even more — houses, so generating a style based on a brief came easily. But tonight, after sketching a few lines, she felt unsatisfied.

This was a wedding home, something that really needed a spark of inspiration.

Yu Qing pushed the laptop away and leaned back helplessly. She slumped in her chair and picked up her phone to message Wen Yang.

Yu Qing: Yangbao, are you asleep?

After typing those few words, she glanced at the time — it was already past 9 PM. Even if Wen Yang wasn’t asleep yet, Fu Xingzhou would be home by now.

She silently retracted the message.

Just then, she saw the bar owner post an update in their Moments about an ongoing event.

Yu Qing had been to that bar many times and still had discount coupons.

She stood up, changed into a dress in the master bedroom, grabbed her car keys, and headed out.

At the bar — as soon as she pushed the door open — the noise hit her. Lively voices, dazzling lights, completely packed.

Much busier than last time. Yu Qing raised her eyebrows. The event must be working — the crowd proved it.

Her usual seat was already taken, and after scanning the room, she noticed there was only one seat left at the bar.

She walked over to sit on the high stool.

Just as she did, the man beside her had just received a drink. He turned — their eyes met.

Yu Qing was briefly stunned. A few seconds later, she smiled and said: “President Lu, what a coincidence.”

Lu Zhan, dressed in a shirt and slacks, smiled too when he saw her. “It really is a coincidence, Yu Qing.”

Yu Qing blinked and smiled as she sat down on the bar stool.

Lu Zhan asked, “What would you like to drink?”

Yu Qing replied with a smile, “Iceland.”

Lu Zhan signaled the bartender and ordered a glass for her.

There were many people at the bar, with others constantly moving around behind them.

Once seated, Yu Qing was quite close to Lu Zhan — close enough to catch the faint scent of cologne on his sleeve.

Yu Qing leaned her head on her hand and turned to ask, “President Lu, when did you arrive in Nancheng?”

Lu Zhan smiled at the corners of his mouth. “This morning. I had a meeting with a friend this afternoon. He gave me a coupon for this place, said there was an event tonight, and since I felt like having a drink, I came.”

Yu Qing chuckled, “I was wondering why you’d come all the way here for a drink.”

Lu Zhan smiled and asked, “And you? Regular here?”

Yu Qing nodded. “Yep. I also had a coupon.”

They both laughed.

Just then, her drink arrived. She picked it up and took a small sip. It had been a while since she drank this particular cocktail — the taste had changed slightly.

A bit sweeter now.

Lu Zhan, meanwhile, had a glass of strong vodka.

Yu Qing glanced at his drink and teased,

“Is President Lu planning to stumble out of this bar tonight?”

Lu Zhan raised an eyebrow and looked at his glass, then smiled at her and said: “You think I have such a low tolerance?”

Yu Qing paused, then grinned: “Oh, no no — I wouldn’t dare underestimate you. You already showed us at Yangbao’s wedding.”

At the mention of “Yangbao,” Lu Zhan rested his face on his hand and looked at Yu Qing.

“Do all you besties call her that?”

Yu Qing matched his posture, so their distance shrank — she could look directly into his eyes.

Lu Zhan had naturally slanted eyes with a charming curve, always smiling when he looked at someone — alluring and flirtatious.

Yu Qing’s heart skipped a beat. She smiled and tapped her glass, saying, “I call her that often. Yangyang gets shy. Sometimes she teasingly calls me Qing-jie.”

Lu Zhan nodded thoughtfully. “Oh? Qing-jie — it suits you.”

Yu Qing dabbed a water droplet from the rim of her glass with her fingertip and looked at him. “What do you mean by that? Are you saying I look old?”

Lu Zhan spoke honestly: “No, it’s not that. It’s an aura thing.”

Yu Qing met his gaze.

At his words, her cheeks grew a little warm.

She said, “Oh, then I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Lu Zhan lifted his glass and downed it in one go, smiling: “It was a compliment.”

His smile was just right — nothing ambiguous — yet Yu Qing still felt her cheeks get warmer.

She looked away slightly and took a sip of her drink. The cold alcohol slid down her throat.

Tonight, the bar had invited a singer who was singing Eason Chan songs. A rendition of “Under Mount Fuji” was low and pleasant.

Someone in the crowd shouted for “Love Transfer.”

That used to be Yu Qing’s favorite song in school.

She looked up at the stage and began to hum along.

Lu Zhan heard her and leaned closer, smiling:

“You like this song?”

Yu Qing looked at him and nodded, “I really liked it back when I was in school.”

“President Lu, do you like this song too?”

Lu Zhan smiled and replied in a low voice: “I like ‘Under Mount Fuji’ a bit more.”

Yu Qing blinked, “Because you’re from Hong Kong, so you prefer Cantonese?”

“That’s not the reason,” Lu Zhan said with a laugh.

Yu Qing looked at him.

Then she remembered the meaning and origin of “Under Mount Fuji” and paused briefly.

She thought to herself: Men… not many of them are good ones.

Lu Zhan seemed to understand her expression and smiled.

Yu Qing looked at his smile — maybe it was the lighting — but she didn’t look away right away.

She stared for a few seconds before shifting her gaze.

Her drink was finished, and she ordered another vodka.

Lu Zhan noticed and said, “Stick with the Iceland.”

Yu Qing was a bit tipsy. She grinned and said, “President Lu, do you know the full name of the ‘Iceland’ here?”

Lu Zhan raised an eyebrow: “What is it?”

Yu Qing blinked and lazily leaned against the table: “Lonely Iceland.”

“Lonely?” Lu Zhan asked.

Yu Qing nodded with a laugh, “Lonely Iceland. The owner likes coming up with ridiculous names. It’s clearly a sweet drink.”

Lu Zhan let out a quiet “oh” and looked at her.

Yu Qing was indeed very beautiful — striking features, and though she used to look sharp with short hair, her current shoulder-length style gave her a more feminine charm.

She leaned slightly against the table, her tipsy eyes soft — there was a hazy kind of beauty.

Lu Zhan said with a smile: “People are born lonely.”

“President Lu feels lonely too?”

“A little,” he replied.

Yu Qing looked at him, wanting to ask:

What does loneliness feel like to you?

Was it the same as what she felt now?

But in the end, she didn’t ask.

A new song started playing on stage —

“Ten Years.”

Yu Qing liked that song too. She leaned closer to Lu Zhan and joked about a meme she had seen online.

Lu Zhan laughed, inching closer to her as they chatted.

The place was crowded. If they didn’t lean in, they couldn’t hear each other.

Yu Qing occasionally looked up, catching glimpses of the laughter in his eyes.

Just then, Lu Zhan’s phone rang on the table.

Yu Qing glanced at it and reminded him with a smile: “Your phone’s ringing.”

Lu Zhan looked at it, picked it up, saw the caller, and declined the call.

In this dim, perfume- and alcohol-laced atmosphere, Yu Qing looked at his side profile and asked: “Was that your girlfriend?”

She suddenly remembered the bouquet Lu Zhan had caught — a sign that he, too, might soon be married.

Lu Zhan smiled, leaned back in his chair, and replied: “No. I’m currently single.”

Yu Qing leaned on the table, her eyes meeting his in the dim lighting.

She smiled, took a sip of her drink, and said:

“Is it better to be single or not?”

“They each have their perks,” Lu Zhan replied with a smile.

Yu Qing let out an “oh” and nodded.

She only knew the feeling of being single —

she hadn’t really experienced the perks of not being single.

Just then, a tray of ice wine she had ordered arrived. It was a specialty of this bar.

Yu Qing was already a little drunk. She and Lu Zhan lifted their glasses and clinked them lightly.

Their eyes met as they drank.

In that moment — hazy, tipsy — her heart beat faster.

That feeling followed her all the way home.

Once the buzz kicked in harder, she stood at the sink in her pretty long dress, enduring the nausea from drinking, and then took a shower.

Even after the shower, she was still a little dizzy.

Back in bed, leaning against the headboard,

she picked up her phone and scrolled past Xu Xu’s profile.

Instead, she tapped into Lu Zhan’s Moments.

Unlike Xu Xu, who barely posted, Lu Zhan updated often — a cup of coffee, a flaming sky, all accompanied with lighthearted captions.

You could tell he posted with a smile.

Under the influence of alcohol, Yu Qing scrolled through his feed for a long time — careful not to like anything.

Eventually, sleepiness crept in.

She fell asleep.

That night’s dream was chaotic — as if she were searching for something.

At dawn, in the dream, she seemed to find a place to belong.

A sudden peace washed over her.

She woke up feeling refreshed.

While brushing her teeth, her phone rang.

It was her mother.

Chen Miaoyun sent her a photo — a young man wearing a polo shirt.

Yu Qing’s heart skipped a beat.

She replied: “Mom?”

Chen Miaoyun replied after a moment: “What do you think of this guy’s looks?”

Yu Qing instantly understood her mother’s intention.

She replied: “Oh. Average.”

Chen Miaoyun: “…..I think he looks pretty good.”

Yu Qing: “Very average.”

Chen Miaoyun could sense her daughter’s resistance.

After a few seconds, she didn’t reply again —

phase one of her matchmaking test had failed.

Yu Qing saw that her mom had quieted down,

and her mood returned to its earlier freshness.

Sansukini: It’s my first time reading this too and I’m starting to think that Yu Qing’s pair would be Lu Zhan and not Xu Xu.

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