BSS - Chapter 147

Chapter 147

Deng Chuan was at work until noon today. Zhou Zhi and Li Mingtang messaged her on WeChat, saying they were coming to her company to see her.

It was already lunchtime. Most of her colleagues had left their cubicles to eat at the company cafeteria or find a place to eat out. Deng Chuan stood up and headed out as well. She didn't like strange smells in her workspace, but there was nothing she could do. The new male colleague across from her was eating boiled meat slices at his desk, filling the entire room with the smell of hot oil infused with Sichuan peppercorns and dried chilies. Deng Chuan suspected she'd be contaminated if she stayed any longer, so she took the elevator straight down to the ground floor.

The China World Trade Center was nearby. Deng Chuan found a Thai restaurant in the vicinity, went in, and sat down to wait for Zhou Zhi and Li Mingtang.

The surrounding area was filled with very new office buildings. Their glass curtain walls shimmered with a diamond-blue light under the midday sun. Even though it was lunchtime, the crosswalks between the buildings were still deserted.

So, when Zhou Zhi and Li Mingtang appeared a moment later, walking together under an umbrella, they looked particularly conspicuous.

Li Mingtang was wearing a long slip dress, her long hair loose down her back. Zhou Zhi was the same as always: a high ponytail and an all-black pantsuit. She walked slightly behind Li Mingtang, holding a large black umbrella, which made her look like a bodyguard.

The two of them spotted Deng Chuan as soon as they entered. Deng Chuan was in business attire, resting her head on one hand with a neutral expression on her face, managing to give the Thai restaurant the air of an office. When a waitress brought her the boiling tom yum soup base, her eyes curved into crescents. She gave a polite little nod and offered the waitress a gentle smile.

The waitress, who was about the same age, blushed at her smile and stood a short distance away, still looking at her table.

Steam rose into the air, blurring the view. Deng Chuan saw them too and waved. While Zhou Zhi was still folding the umbrella, Li Mingtang had already dashed over and plopped down in the seat across from Deng Chuan.

Deng Chuan handed her the order slip. "Take a look, is there anything else you want to eat?"

Li Mingtang studied it for a while before saying, "Green papaya salad with pork jowl, grilled pork jowl... Why did you order two pork jowl dishes...?"

Deng Chuan said, "I'm starving. I can't make it without some meat."

That sentence immediately closed the distance between them. Li Mingtang suddenly felt that after a year apart, Deng Chuan hadn't changed at all. She was still the same person who could down two packs of Snail Rice Noodles in one go back in the dorm. She smiled brightly. "Alright then. Hmm... I don't want lemonade, I want a young coconut."

Then she turned her head to ask Zhou Zhi, who was sitting down beside her, "Do you want one?"

Zhou Zhi said yes, and Deng Chuan added, "Let's order three. I want one too."

She replied to Xu Wei's message as she spoke, without even looking up. Naturally, she didn't notice the intimacy in the gestures of the two people across from her.

In the chat, Xu Wei said she had already finished lunch and had video-called Tang Lijuan. Now she was getting ready for a nap. She told Deng Chuan to have a good time with her classmates and to remember to take a nap when she got back, if she had time, so she'd have energy for the afternoon.

Xu Wei's wording was still restrained, but Deng Chuan could somehow picture her just from those rambling, restrained lines of text. She must be leaning against her pillow, propped up on one hand as she lay on her side, her waist forming a graceful curve.

With a clink, a large, bright red shrimp was placed in her bowl. Deng Chuan looked up and saw Zhou Zhi smiling at her. "Girlfriend checking in? Let's eat first."

Li Mingtang was excited. "Sister! Is it still the same sister?"

It really wasn't good to keep looking at her phone while eating out. Deng Chuan turned off the screen and set her phone aside, smiling without refuting anything. She started to peel the large shrimp. Just then, the dishes they ordered began to arrive one by one. Li Mingtang was still fixated on the question. "Are you still dating that sister?"

Zhou Zhi clicked her tongue in disapproval. Li Mingtang immediately looked at her. "Don't you say anything." There was a hint of a playful pout in her tone.

Deng Chuan knew she meant no harm and smiled, saying yes. Remembering that they had seen a photo of Xu Wei, she went on to tell them about Xu Wei coming to Beijing to take her doctoral exams. Li Mingtang listened and sighed with emotion. "That sister is so great..."

Zhou Zhi also said, "After she finishes her exams, let's all go out for a meal together."

Deng Chuan didn't feel it was right to agree on Xu Wei's behalf, so she just smiled without saying anything. The three of them quickly moved from the topic of Xu Wei to how they had each changed over the past two years. Li Mingtang said Deng Chuan's bunk had been empty for a year, and at first, it was strange not having her in the dorm. Sometimes when class required group projects, it would just be the three of them.

"But you're back now," she said with a grin.

Zhou Zhi was concerned about other things. "If the courses you took in the UK overlap with our third and fourth-year courses, you should be able to apply for an exemption, right?"

Deng Chuan was carefully dipping a piece of pork jowl into the green sauce. She paused at the question. "I think... so. I'll email a professor later to ask."

Zhou Zhi said, "Does that mean you could graduate earlier than us? Don't they say you can graduate once you've completed all your credits?"

"You have to apply for it." Deng Chuan answered while eating, covering her mouth. "I'll let you know once I find out."

"Okay." Zhou Zhi nodded, then couldn't help but add, "You've changed so much since starting your internship."

"Hmm?"

Li Mingtang said, "You seem more serious than before."

Deng Chuan laughed. "I don't think so."

"It's true," Zhou Zhi said. "Looking at you now, it's like you were born for this line of work. So, you should graduate quickly."

"Have you considered grad school?" she asked.

Academic credentialism was still prevalent in the finance industry. Deng Chuan was hesitant about this. Before, she definitely would have chosen to go to grad school. But now that she had started her internship and understood some of the secrets and beauty of practical application, the thought of going back to school just didn't feel right.

It was just as Zhou Zhi said. She really liked this industry. Although she was just starting out and had only seen the tip of the iceberg, the work she was currently exposed to-the connection between capital markets and industry, the operation of equity and debt-already brought her great joy.

Deng Chuan hesitated. "It's hard to say."

Zhou Zhi could see her indecision and didn't press the topic further.

But in her heart, she knew very well that no matter how much one liked it, you still had to get the necessary degree. Deng Chuan was still young; she didn't understand that work and study were actually complementary.

After finishing their meal, the three of them chatted for a while longer. Zhou Zhi and Li Mingtang remembered that Deng Chuan had to work in the afternoon and told her to go back for a nap, so they left the Thai restaurant and said their goodbyes.

Under the sun, Deng Chuan watched the two of them walk away under their umbrella.

On the elevator ride up, Deng Chuan was still thinking about the grad school question. She understood what Zhou Zhi meant, but their choices were different. Zhou Zhi and Li Mingtang's families were in Beijing, so they didn't have to worry about employment or work experience. But Deng Chuan was different. She had come to feel an urgent sense of the importance of striving.

If she also went to grad school, by the time Xu Wei finished her PhD, neither of them would be young anymore, and they still wouldn't have any foundation in Beijing.

Deng Chuan wanted a better life for Xu Wei. If they couldn't have the best of both worlds, then she was fine with being the one to struggle for it.

Deng Chuan was twenty years old this year. In the past, she had enjoyed many opportunities and preferential treatment from all sides. Things had always gone smoothly for her; as long as she put in the effort, someone would notice it. But these past two weeks of her internship had taught her that real life wasn't like that.

Comparing the tangible opportunity before her with the vague future after grad school, Deng Chuan weighed her options and felt she was willing to choose the more difficult but visible path. To her, the choice wasn't a difficult one.

As Deng Chuan was lost in thought, the elevator dinged, arriving at her department's floor.

The path to the office passed the floor's break room. As Deng Chuan rounded the corner, she ran right into the investment manager coming out of it. The manager was holding a cup of coffee, and her eyes lit up when she saw her.

The manager was in her thirties. She was decisive and efficient, and not yet married. Gender discrimination was severe in the finance world, and overtime was frequent. For a woman to carve out a broader space for herself, she had to sacrifice more of her personal life.

"Deng Chuan." The manager called her name clearly, not using her English name or "Little Deng" like others did. As she spoke, she gestured for Deng Chuan to follow her to her office.

It was currently the lunch break, and the hallway was quiet, the only sound being the click of the manager's high heels. She wore a black pencil skirt, and her steps were even and measured.

Deng Chuan followed the manager into her office and took the project proposal she handed over. Before she could even open it, she heard the manager say, "Go back and prepare this thoroughly. Come sit in on the morning meeting with me tomorrow. Remember to take minutes and then write a summary for me."

Before Deng Chuan could nod, she heard her ask, "When do you graduate?"

Because of the project proposal, Deng Chuan got home even later that night. When she left the company, the office building was mostly dark, and the subway had already stopped running. Fortunately, interns were also eligible for a taxi subsidy. By the time she got home, Xu Wei was already asleep. A light had been left on for her in the entryway.

In the faint light, the air was still and quiet. There was no Zhou Liu or Juzi pouncing to wrap themselves around her pant legs. Deng Chuan quietly changed her shoes and walked toward the bedroom.

Afraid of waking Xu Wei, Deng Chuan didn't turn on the light. As her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, she saw Xu Wei wrapped in the blanket on her side, sleeping lightly with her eyes closed.

Deng Chuan watched her for a long while before preparing to head to the shower. But the moment she moved, Xu Wei woke up. In the darkness, Xu Wei's eyes shimmered with a thin layer of moisture. "...Deng Chuan? You're back?"

"Yeah," Deng Chuan answered softly. Xu Wei, her face resting on the pillow, shifted in the blankets and lifted her head to look at her, making Deng Chuan's heart melt. She leaned down toward Xu Wei, resisted the urge to hug her, and said softly, "I'm still in my outside clothes. I'll come hug you after I shower."

"Okay," Xu Wei murmured in response. She propped herself up, her long hair cascading down like a waterfall, hiding her slender waist. "I got your clothes for you. They're over there..."

"Okay."

Deng Chuan grabbed her clothes from where Xu Wei had pointed and went into the bathroom to shower. Worried about disturbing Xu Wei's rest, she even dried her hair in the living room.

Deng Chuan took a while getting ready, assuming Xu Wei had fallen back asleep. But the moment she got into bed, a warm body quickly pressed against her, reaching out for a hug.

In the darkness, Xu Wei's eyes were open. She looked wide awake, clearly having waited for her. Deng Chuan wrapped an arm around her waist, feeling Xu Wei's light breaths. "I'm sorry, I had to work late tonight. I didn't bring you a late-night snack. Are you hungry now?"

Xu Wei buried her face in Deng Chuan's neck and shook her head, pressing close. After a pause, she said softly, "You worked hard."

Deng Chuan stroked her long hair, brushing against her lips. "It wasn't hard."

Xu Wei cupped her Little Friend's face, feeling that Deng Chuan seemed to have lost some weight.

Deng Chuan was looking down at her, and even in the darkness, Xu Wei could feel her distinct gaze.

"Don't be in a hurry," she couldn't help but say, her fingertips gently stroking Deng Chuan's thin, warm lips. She then wrapped her arm further around, her fingers touching the soft, fine hairs at the nape of Deng Chuan's neck. They tickled her palm softly, like Deng Chuan's breath against her ear, making Xu Wei want to cling to her neck and pull them even closer.

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