Fenglin City had distinct seasons. By November, the weather had already turned very cold. Since Tang Susu caught a cold two days ago, she really wanted to wrap herself into a ball when heading outside.
Compared to her colleagues who were wearing short skirts and beige-coloured stockings, her outfit made her feel like she had come from another planet.
Even Gou Dan, who was usually very active and was unwilling to reveal its head, had either been laying on its soft hand carrier bed or hiding in the coat’s pocket.
As a bowl spirit, it was actually afraid of the cold?! This wasn’t logical at all!
During the lunch break, Tang Susu suddenly received a call from her best friend Bai Mian, who told her that she would return on the 6 pm flight. This made her very happy.
Bai Mian had been gone for more than a year. Furthermore, due to the time difference, their text messages were always incoherent -- a message today saying that the weather was fine, a reply asking whether the other had eaten -- making communication difficult.
She cheerfully bought a bunch of ingredients to bring back home, and noticing it was about time, Tang Susu drove to the airport.
She waited more than two hours. Watching the time tick by, Tang Susu had yet to meet Bai Mian, and even after calling her, there was no response.
With no other choice, Tang Susu drove back home. Even until the next day, there was no response from Bai Mian.
Tang Susu was deeply worried and was in a daze the entire morning.
Bai Mian was a very punctual person. She would never remember the wrong time; even if she did, she would immediately inform Tang Susu as per her habit. Yet, after a night, there were no messages.
In the afternoon, Tang Susu finally got impatient. From the blacklist in her phone, she found an unnamed number. After hesitating for a moment, she pressed the call button.
The call only rang twice before it was picked up. On the other end of the call, the voice sounded slightly surprised. “Susu?”
“It’s me.”
“I haven’t heard your voice in a while. How are you?”
Hearing the gentle male voice from the other end of the phone, Tang Susu looked at her black computer screen. The monitor reflected her indifference. “Bai Le, do you know where Bai Mian is?”
She didn’t respond to his greeting as if she hadn’t heard it.
There was a long silence in the call. Finally, before Tang Susu ran out of patience, the voice came again. “She’s at home.”
“When did she return?”
“Last night. I picked her up.”
“I got it. Bye.” The reply Tang Susu got from the other party did not loosen her brows but instead made her even more worried.
“Susu, do you not have anything to say to me?”
The response was the sound of the phone hanging up, without any hesitation.
Tang Susu then deleted the call record and placed the phone number back to its original spot.
Regarding Bai Le’s question earlier on, she only found it amusing. What was there left to talk about? If it had been a few years ago, she might’ve thought about getting to the bottom of it. However, nowadays, everyone led their own lives and they were only just familiar strangers.
A week passed. Tang Susu would give Bai Mian a call every day. But her calls were neither picked up nor her messages replied to.
She couldn’t even confirm whether Bai Le’s words were true. Yet, she couldn’t go to their house so she had no other means of finding out about Bai Mian’s situation.
After work, she walked slowly on the roads by herself. As the weather had turned cold and the sky had turned dark earlier, the outside was also dark at just slightly past 5 pm.
She shrunk into her cashmere coat. Her neck and mouth were wrapped with a long woolen scarf, to successfully block the cold air from coming inside.
Before she could walk too far, a horn sounded from behind her. Thinking that she was blocking the way, she moved to the side, only to receive a more impatient horn.
Slightly unhappy, Tang Susu turned her head. It was a very familiar Maybach car.
The car stopped next to her, the windows turning down to reveal a familiar face. “CEO.”
“Just finished work?” Shi Chengxuan tilted his head slightly. The faint yellow street lights cast light on the sides of his face, reflecting even the curves of his lips very clearly.
“Hm.” Though she saw her boss every day, it was still different to meet him during work compared to after work.
“Hop on. I’ll drive you back.”
“...” Tang Susu paused, then went around to the other side, opened the car door, and sat inside.
The warmth inside the car surrounded her instantly. She breathed out a sigh of comfort, then put on the seatbelt and removed the layers around her neck.
To be able to tie on the 2m long scarf wasn’t easy.
Shi Chengxuan watched her with great interest for a long while and took the chance to start the car before she could notice.
“Secretary Wu told me that you have been in a daze lately. Did something happen at home?” While waiting for the traffic light to turn green, Shi Chengxuan turned his head to talk to her.
Tang Susu blinked her eyes. Secretary Wu even told such things to his boss? Was he complaining or showing concern about her!
“It’s not a family matter.” Tang Susu felt a little awkward. She looked at Shi Chengxuan hesitantly, not knowing what to say to him.
“Then did you encounter some trouble? Want to talk about it? Perhaps I can be of help.”
At this point, Tang Susu could no longer doubt whether the other party’s enthusiasm bore any ulterior motives. Other than Shi Chengxuan, there was probably no one else who could help her.
She only hesitated a little before speaking. “I have a good friend. Last week, she called me to ask me to pick her up from the airport. But I didn’t pick her up. I couldn’t reach her even until today.”
“She’s missing?”
Tang Susu shook her head. “I’ve contacted her brother. Her brother said that she’s already home but I’m still a little worried.”
“What’s her name?”
“Bai Mian.”
“The Bai family?” Shi Chengxuan raised an eyebrow in surprise.
“Hm. We were middle school friends and have known each other for years.” Not many people knew about her relationship with Bai Mian. Their personalities were very different; Tang Susu was quiet and low-profile while Bai Mian liked the crowd and was lively.
It was actually rather magical that the both of them had become very good friends.
Tang Susu finished speaking and Shi Chengxuan didn’t let out a sound. Nor did he indicate whether he was going to help her or not.
When the car reached the neighborhood where she was living, and she was removing the safety belt, Shi Chenxuan asked suddenly, “Do you know how to cook?”
Tang Susu turned around and looked at him in confusion, and replied subconsciously, “Yeah.”
“Then, treat me to dinner.”
“...” He wasn’t courteous at all.
Yet, Tang Susu didn’t reject him, allowing him to enter her house successfully once again.
There were already ingredients at home. Tang Susu’s culinary skills were average; her foods were palatable to her and weren’t too bad. While she was busy in the kitchen, Shi Chengxuan sat on the sofa, watched television, and also made a call.
When the dishes were done, it was already over an hour later. Because there was another person, she had to stir up three dishes and a pot of soup instead of making a do with a bowl of rice and a dish like she usually did.