Chapter 475 - 473: How about we just make do
Cui Hao was slightly startled, then a look of surprise bloomed into a smile. "Ming Yue, what are you doing here?"
Ming Yue must have been in a hurry, as her pretty face was flushed and her eyes were cast downward. But where Cui Hao couldn’t see, the corners of her mouth curled up involuntarily.
"Cui Hao, what a coincidence. Long time no see."
Cui Hao touched his hair, a little embarrassed. "Yeah, long time no see. I didn’t expect to run into you here. How have you been?"
She seemed different this time. If you could say she was assertive when they first met, then now she carried the subtle bashfulness of a young woman.
A young woman’s bashfulness, huh? The description left Cui Hao stunned for a long moment.
"Not bad. How about you?"
"I’m doing okay, too..."
It would be even better if someone hadn’t been flaunting their public displays of affection in front of me. Cui Hao silently added in his head.
"Care for a drink?"
Cui Hao nodded and followed Ming Yue into the café.
As soon as he stepped inside, the rich aroma of coffee washed over him. The shop was decorated in a vintage style, with vibrant murals on the walls and wooden tables and chairs that exuded a faint, woody scent. The atmosphere calmed Cui Hao’s somewhat restless heart.
Ming Yue ordered a coffee for him, along with some pastries.
"Are you... alone?" Cui Hao asked.
"Yeah, it’s just lunchtime. I came out to eat and decided to sit in the café for a bit. I didn’t expect to run into you. It seems we’re quite fated."
Cui Hao felt a little guilty and didn’t dare to look at her. We really are fated. I came all this way just to get a foot massage, and I still bumped into someone I know. Thankfully, we didn’t meet at the entrance of the foot massage parlor. Otherwise, I would have no idea how to explain myself.
"Have you been... busy lately?"
They had been a couple in the game, after all, and had exchanged some cheesy words. It was just a shame their online chemistry didn’t survive meeting in person. They hadn’t seen each other since. Cui Hao had assumed they would never meet again. But unexpectedly...
"It’s been alright, just busy with company matters. I have to go abroad next month and will probably stay there for half a year."
"Why do you have to go abroad?"
A small smirk touched Ming Yue’s lips. "It’s the company’s decision. I just have to follow orders."
Cui Hao remembered the day they first met in person. He had run into her younger brother, and she had threatened him by saying she would go abroad. Now, she was the one who actually had to leave. Something must have gone wrong. However, Cui Hao couldn’t even be considered a casual friend of hers.
"Let’s not talk about that. How about a match?"
They were gaming buddies to begin with. Rather than make more small talk, playing a game felt much more natural.
"Sure."
They both took out their phones and logged into their game accounts. Cui Hao played support, and Ming Yue played the marksman. The two of them happily duo-queued in the canyon.
"Are you doing well? Your company’s share of the gaming market is almost catching up to League of Legends."
"League of Legends has been available in the domestic market for much longer. We still have a long way to go before we can say we’re catching up."
"Don’t be so modest. You’re all so young and have already achieved so much; it’s quite remarkable. No wonder Xue Yang wouldn’t take my offer when I tried to poach him."
Speaking of Xue Yang, Ming Yue added, "His new alternative energy vehicle supercenter has really broken through in the domestic market."
"Of course. Just look at whose brother he is."
"He..."
"You’re about to ask if the Lin Corporation helped him secure that venture, aren’t you?"
"..."
Her thoughts laid bare, Ming Yue blushed slightly. "Well, didn’t they?"
"Of course not. My brother built that business with his own two hands."
"I suppose that’s true. With the game company supporting him, it’s not surprising he could pull it off."
"Exactly. And the game company has nothing to do with the Lin Corporation, either. I founded it with Xue Yang and another classmate. We still have the original investment agreement." Thank goodness for that piece of paper, or this would be impossible to explain.
"I was just asking. Why are you getting so worked up?"
"This is more than just a simple question. A few careless rumors could destroy all of Xue Yang’s hard work. He might not care, but I won’t stand for it."
"Xue Yang is lucky to have a brother like you."
"Of course. Meeting me was like his ancestral tomb spouting green smoke."
Ming Yue burst out laughing. "What kind of messed-up description is that?"
"Anyway, it’s the right thing to say, especially since he was shoving his PDA in my face this morning."
Taking advantage of a moment when her in-game hero was dead, Ming Yue glanced up at Cui Hao. He was completely focused on the game. He might seem a bit flippant, but his loyalty to his friends is beyond question.
"You should find someone, too. Then you could shove your own PDA back at them."
"Easier said than done. Where am I supposed to find someone for that on such short notice? Besides, with those two, I’m afraid your average PDA wouldn’t be powerful enough."
"How about we just make do with each other?"
As Ming Yue’s words fell, Cui Hao’s hand twitched, and an announcement echoed from the game:
"You have been slain."
"..."
***
After work, Wu Xiaoya went to meet the real estate agent to look at an apartment. It wasn’t far from her company. The agent was just as she’d imagined: a young man who had recently graduated from university and had just started working at the agency. Wu Xiaoya was his first-ever client, so he was exceptionally attentive.
"I won’t be living here often, so I don’t need to rent such a big place. I just need a place to crash when I’m in town," she explained.
"Ma’am, if you’re not going to be living here often, I honestly don’t think you need to rent a place. It would be more convenient to just book a hotel room whenever you come over."
"Really?"
"Of course. In a hotel, you have someone to clean for you. If you rent a place you rarely use, just cleaning up every time you come back would be a huge hassle. You’d be paying for a place you barely live in. Honestly, ma’am, I’d advise against renting."
She used to share a place with Chen Ying, so she’d never considered this issue before. Her only goal had been to have her own space. Even if it was just a rental, as long as she paid the rent and the landlord didn’t kick her out, that was all that mattered. Now that the young agent had pointed it out, she realized he was right. A rented home would never truly be hers. It would feel like a waste to let it sit empty.
"I understand. Thank you for the advice."
The young agent scratched his head. "No problem. It’s just, I only realized how important money is after I started working. You have to save where you can. Otherwise, when you’re out of money, you’re *really* out of money. It’s not like when I was in school, where I could just ask my family for more if I ran out. I’d be too embarrassed to ask them for anything now."
Wu Xiaoya smiled faintly. When other students ran out of money, they could ask their families for more. But when she ran out, she had to figure it out herself, unless her family, on the rare occasion they kindly remembered they hadn’t sent her living expenses in a while, transferred her some. If she ever dared to ask for it, she would absolutely be scolded into oblivion.