The little kitten sulked with embarrassment, while the golden retriever gently stroked her fur.
Lovers’ whispers faded softly into the night’s tender curling clouds.
By mid-April, the flu outbreak rate reached its peak.
More and more classmates were calling in sick, while Tang Yang arrived at the classroom earliest each day with her thermos filled with wolfberry and sterculia lychnophora tea, and left last.
Many people fear having their efforts seen by others, especially in the workplace. If hard work doesn’t yield results, it might be seen as a lack of talent or intelligence.
Some commented on Tang Yang’s diligence, while others defended her: “Once the homework is done, she can rest earlier at the hotel. We’re older and need to eat on time, so we can’t sit in the classroom for too long.”
Tang Yang didn’t mind: “I study until quite late even when I’m back at the hotel.”
Other classmates gave Tang Yang a thumbs up, to which she responded with a gentle smile, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Especially during the last few days of the month, Tang Yang would continue modeling and coding even after returning to her room. Jiang Shiyan was also dealing with documents, so they would video call while working. Occasionally, when tired, they’d glance at each other, and as if energized by a magic pill, they’d stretch their necks and continue working.
————
Jiang Shiyan could have delegated the affairs in the capital to the “Lost Pearl” production team, but given Tang Yang’s intricate connection to “Lost Pearl”, he couldn’t allow for even the slightest error.
Whatever modifications the Central Bureau suggested, he immediately organized the team to implement them. Any recommendations from the Bureau were promptly put into action without hesitation.
Many young internet tycoons focus on image marketing, such as participating in variety shows, interviews, or even occasional live streaming to maintain public interest.
Jiang Shiyan, despite being a marketing expert himself, remained low-key and practical. After half a month of running around in the capital, he left a good impression on many leaders in the Central Bureau. One of them even invited him for lunch.
At the luncheon, the leader brought along several friends in their fifties and sixties, and kindly asked Jiang Shiyan, “Do you have a girlfriend?”
Jiang Shiyan respectfully replied, “Yes, I do.”
The leader raised an eyebrow, “Is she also in media?”
Jiang Shiyan smiled tenderly, “No, she works in a bank.”
“Banking is good. No matter how hot online loans and investments get, banks will always be the foundation…” The leader spoke eloquently while raising his wine glass. Jiang Shiyan listened, nodding from time to time. Finally, the leader patted Jiang Shiyan’s shoulder meaningfully, “Follow the big trends and policies, get the direction right, and the future will belong to young people like you.”
“Carrying forward the past and opening up the future,” Jiang Shiyan replied, the first two words humble, the last two concealing ambition.
After the leaders finished speaking, he smiled and stood up, starting with the representative from the Central Bureau, toasting each person at the table.
As the meal was nearing its end, Jiang Shiyan excused himself to the restroom, and then discreetly went to the lobby to settle the bill.
For consumption over ten thousand, the restaurant would offer a special dessert. The waiter brought Jiang Shiyan a wooden box.
Jiang Shiyan, indifferent to such things, casually opened it and took a bite. The rich cream flavor spread across his tongue, instantly amazing his taste buds.
The waiter, having anticipated this reaction, proudly explained, “The cream we use for our wooden box dessert isn’t artificial, nor is it like the full-fat cream used in other ordinary dessert shops…”
Jiang Shiyan turned back, “Can I have another one?”
The waiter brought out another box, “Please consume within four hours for the best taste…”
Jiang Shiyan thanked the waiter, returned to the private room to briefly explain, and then rushed to the airport to buy the fastest flight ticket from the capital to B City.
————
On Saturday, it was pouring rain.
B City was shrouded in a grey, wet haze, with sky and earth blending indistinguishably.
Tang Yang had a discussion scheduled for the evening, so she decided to stay in the hotel and order takeout for the day.
When Jiang Shiyan called her, she was taking an afternoon nap, humming softly in a drowsy state.
“Did I disturb your sleep?” Jiang Shiyan asked gently.
“It’s okay,” Tang Yang rubbed her eyes and turned over, “Weren’t you supposed to be busy all day? Lunch with so-and-so, meetings in the afternoon…”
The doorbell rang rather sharply. Afraid of startling her, Jiang Shiyan spoke even more softly, “Yang Yang.”
Tang Yang: “Hmm?”
Jiang Shiyan: “Open the door.”
Tang Yang let out an “Oh,” tidied her coat, and shuffled towards the door in her slippers, grumbling softly, “Have you sent so many deliveries that you now know the courier in real-time…”
As the door opened with a “click,” Tang Yang fell silent.
The man before her was in a suit, his tall figure accentuated by the black attire.
He had a faint smell of alcohol mixed with woody notes. As he gazed at her with deep eyes, there was a smile in them.
Tang Yang’s mouth opened and closed, unable to make a sound. She tried again, smiling in disbelief yet certainty at what she saw: “How did you, how…”
Jiang Shiyan brought out the hand he had been hiding behind his back, and an exquisitely packaged gift box appeared before Tang Yang as if by magic.
Jiang Shiyan said softly, “I had a business lunch, and when settling the bill, the restaurant gave me a wooden box dessert. I tried it and thought it was quite good, so I wanted to bring it to you right away…”
Tang Yang’s eyelashes fluttered, and she stood on tiptoe to kiss away the “away” that was about to leave his lips.
He had come through the rain, seeming to carry a layer of moisture, mixed with his familiar scent that enveloped Tang Yang’s senses. It felt like a warm current, slowly seeping into her hands and feet that hadn’t been warmed under the blanket.
Tang Yang hugged Jiang Shiyan’s neck, and Jiang Shiyan lowered his head and bent down. Later, Jiang Shiyan entered the room, the door closed, and Tang Yang pinned Jiang Shiyan against the wall.
It was a deep, long, repeated, and lingering kiss.
They kissed until their hot breaths intertwined. Jiang Shiyan’s breathing became unsteady, and Tang Yang’s little face was flushed as she clutched his collar, panting softly. Jiang Shiyan’s nose touched Tang Yang’s, occasionally pecking her lips, neither willing to move away.
As their lips grazed and rubbed against each other, Tang Yang was gently pushed back against the wall.
The soft, ambiguous sounds of kissing mingled with the thunderous rain outside.
After a while, Tang Yang pushed slightly against his chest, creating a small distance.
“What did you bring me?” She reluctantly spared a glance at the gift box that had somehow ended up on the floor.
“A wooden box dessert,” Jiang Shiyan picked up the box and held it in front of Tang Yang, taking the opportunity to gently pat her soft hair. “Why don’t you open it and try? They said it’s best eaten within four hours.”
“Is it that good to be delivered from so far away?” Tang Yang grumbled as she went to the small living room.
Though she complained, there was a hidden smile at the corner of her mouth as she unwrapped the package and took a bite.
The wooden box dessert from this shop had probably been refrigerated for a day. The bottom layer of crushed Oreo cookies had absorbed enough moisture, providing a solid texture that spread in her mouth along with the rich cream flavor. As her tongue met the perfectly balanced sweetness, Tang Yang’s scalp tingled. She opened her eyes wide and made a happy “mmm” sound.
“Is it delicious? Super delicious?” Jiang Shiyan followed her, holding the little girl in his arms, mimicking her tone as he asked proudly.
Tang Yang didn’t speak but fed Jiang Shiyan a spoonful. He ate it.
Tang Yang took a spoonful for herself, then fed Jiang Shiyan another. Back and forth, they both found the dessert box unbelievably delicious.
In the warm atmosphere, Tang Yang suddenly remembered something and paused with her spoon: “Don’t you have a meeting at four in the afternoon? Aren’t you going?”
Jiang Shiyan glanced at his watch, speaking in a tone of having everything under control: “The hotel for the meeting is ten minutes from the capital’s airport. I bought a return flight ticket for 2:30 PM. It takes at most fifteen minutes from here to the airport. I’ll get in the car downstairs at 1:55 PM, take the elevator down at 1:53 PM, and it’s only 1:51 PM now, so I can still keep you company for two more minutes.”
Tang Yang stood up: “Let’s walk slowly then. I’ll see you to the elevator.”
“You want to eat while walking?” Jiang Shiyan, of course, saw that she liked the dessert box and was reluctant to put it down.
“You can watch the road for me,” Tang Yang blinked as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
The corridor from the hotel room to the elevator was narrow and winding.
Jiang Shiyan walked with one hand in his pocket and the other holding the hood of Tang Yang’s coat. Tang Yang walked with her head down, eating as she went. When Jiang Shiyan pulled her hood to the left, Tang Yang turned left; when he pulled it to the right, she followed him to the right.
Just before getting on the elevator, Jiang Shiyan looked left and right, seeing no one around. He quite boldly twirled his wrist, and as Tang Yang spun with her hood and stopped, Jiang Shiyan leaned down and kissed her.
Having tasted the sweetness, he still teased her: “Baby, your sense of direction is really poor.”
Tang Yang pressed the elevator button and smiled at him: “…”
Jiang Shiyan pinched her cheek: “No wonder you’re so beautiful.”
Tang Yang was a bit more satisfied: “…”
Jiang Shiyan summarized his perfect recovery after teasing his little girlfriend: “Where in this world is there anyone perfect in every way—”
“You are!” Tang Yang looked at him with her large, bright eyes. He was in her eyes as if he were the light itself.
Jiang Shiyan’s heart melted, and the corners of his lips curved into a gentle smile under the warm light.
Tang Yang smiled sweetly at him.
Neither of them spoke, just standing at the elevator, smiling at each other. They didn’t know what they were smiling about, they just wanted to smile.
“Ding dong,” the elevator arrived.
Tang Yang held onto Jiang Shiyan’s arm as they entered the elevator.
They went all the way down to the hotel lobby, where a business car was already waiting outside.
Tang Yang wanted to see him off.
“It’s a bit cold outside, and the rain makes it uncomfortable,” Jiang Shiyan brushed her bangs behind her ear, and in front of the lobby staff, he hugged her restrainedly yet tenderly and kissed her, then let her go.
Tang Yang pressed her lips together.
Jiang Shiyan didn’t take an umbrella, quickly walking to the car. His assistant got out to open the door for him. Jiang Shiyan bent down to get in, his handsome profile flashing by.
The rain was indeed too heavy. Jiang Shiyan’s back was probably a bit wet, and the car window hadn’t been rolled up.
Separated by a glass wall, Tang Yang watched as the black business car slowly drove into the rainy sky and disappeared…
Her fingers tightened slightly on the wooden box dessert, her eyes unknowingly misting over with a layer of hot tears.
He was afraid of her getting wet in the rain, afraid of her getting cold, unwilling to let her even step out of the hotel door, yet he had flown across several provinces into the pouring rain of B City.
Coming in the rain, leaving in the rain.
Did this man think he was a teenager in love? Didn’t he know he had work in the afternoon? Didn’t this silly man know to rest comfortably during lunch break?
Was the wooden box dessert really that delicious?
Tang Yang walked towards the elevator while scraping the edges of the wooden box dessert, bringing it to her mouth.
The sweetness from before was still there, but now it seemed mixed with a slightly bitter taste.
Tang Yang returned to her room and went to the kitchen.
She hated washing dishes, yet she washed this plastic box spotlessly clean and placed it next to her dressing table. Looking at the time, Jiang Shiyan was probably still on his way.
Tang Yang half-closed her eyes and picked up her phone from the coffee table.
[Wife: You lied to me about sleeping at midnight last night, you must have been working overtime again. Your dark circles are so heavy, get some sleep on the plane. I can start applying to return at the end of April, and I can be back in A City by May 1st at the latest. Both the vegetables and I will be good, and we’ll miss you.]
[Jiang! Big! Dog!: Can I throw away the vegetables?]
The white and soft guinea pig is so cute, don’t throw it away.
Tang Yang threw herself onto the sofa where he had just sat, like a stranded fish, twisting this way and that. Her little nose sniffed the remaining scent of him on the sofa, as if she had bitten into an unripe green apple, that sweet and sour feeling permeating from her teeth to her limbs and bones.
[Wife: Alright.]
[Wife: I’ll be good… and miss you.]
————
A hurried parting led to even more longing.
Tang Yang had two instances of miraculous performance in her life.
The first was during the summer vacation when she was streamed for subjects in her first year of high school. Song Jing and Chang Xinyi were assigned to the experimental class, and she secluded herself to solve problems for two full months. In the placement test at the beginning of her second year, her results exploded from above average to first place and never dropped since.
The second time was after Jiang Shiyan flew over to deliver a wooden box of dessert. Tang Yang seemed to have endless motivation for the latter half of her New Thunder studies. She counted the days until May 1st, and then, withstanding various speculations and gazes from others, she was the first to apply for the exam.
Eight subjects were tested in one day, with results released that night.
Tang Yang barely passed Physical Education, lost three points on the objective questions in one subject, and got full marks in the other six subjects. Particularly in an essay question about the general situation of various B City Huishang Bank branches, Tang Yang’s answer was comprehensive yet concise. The clear and orderly presentation wasn’t the main point; what was important was that the New Thunder learning plan included weekly practical projects at various branches. Most classmates were from management and naturally unwilling to run financial planning or credit card businesses at the grassroots level, so proxy sign-ins or leave requests were common. Tang Yang went quietly each time, not saying much about what she did, but the process and details were truly reflected in her exam paper.
Tang Yang was young, beautiful, with professional qualities backed by the “BKB model,” and her business abilities were impeccable… All of this pushed the thoughts of B City’s high-level management toward the same conclusion.
On the night of May 1st, little Tang showed off her scores to big Jiang, who praised her and promised a gift.
Not far away, the lights in the top floor conference room of B City Branch were blazing. Most of B City Branch’s high-level management had interacted with Tang Yang, and if she were to return to A City, they would have let it be. But this time she came to B City for training and submitted such an answer sheet. President Fan had a video conference with the head office, and another video conference with Zhou Zisheng, the president of A City Branch. There were times when they argued heatedly, and times when they sighed in relief.
On the morning of May 2nd, Tang Yang prepared all the materials and rushed to the top floor of Huishang Bank with swift steps.
The president’s office was spacious and bright. President Fan signed his name on her completion certificate.
Tang Yang stood in front of the desk and politely smiled, “Thank you, President Fan.”
However, President Fan didn’t hand over the certificate after signing it.
He put down his pen, covered his face with both hands, and wiped it, then turned to take out a manila envelope file and a document from the drawer beside him, pushing them together with the completion certificate towards Tang Yang.
Tang Yang’s smile gradually faded as he examined the bolded title on the document. President Fan glanced at him and said, “Tang Yang,” he began cautiously, “I understand that this decision for you…”