Sweet slice-of-life love story: Wife, Let's love again
Chapter 171 - 169: Being Single is Awesome

Chapter 171: Chapter 169: Being Single is Awesome

Early morning.

"Boss, good morning."

"Morning."

Qin Guanglin sat in his chair and responded while surreptitiously observing Jiang Lingling.

Some things feel normal when you’re not aware, but once you are, they seem different.

There was indeed something fishy.

He had just realized that Jiang Lingling always greeted him first after arriving at work and only occasionally greeted others.

Did He Fang really predict this?

Or was it because he was the head writer?

He would observe a little longer... if it really was as He Fang had said, he would need to think of a way to handle it.

Qin Guanglin surreptitiously pondered his strategies, just as he was about to pick up his pen to start today’s work, his phone pinged with the sound of a message.

The bonus for the Dragon Boat Festival drawing, three thousand yuan, had been deposited.

He looked at the message, his eyebrows raised, a clear joy evident; he had already planned to celebrate by treating Teacher He to a big meal once the money came in, and now the time had finally arrived.

He was about to send a message to He Fang, thought she might still be asleep, and decided against it, opting to keep it as a surprise to tell her later.

"Boss, what’s got you so happy?"

Jiang Lingling had just finished breakfast and turned to throw away the garbage bag when she caught sight of Qin Guanglin looking quite jubilant.

"Um... I just remembered something happy," Qin Guanglin casually brushed her off.

Forget now when he was trying to keep his distance; even before, he wouldn’t have told her the real reason.

Otherwise, should he say, "I just received a three thousand yuan bonus"? Mentioning this to a regular coworker felt a bit like showing off, and in this company, except for Sun Wen, it didn’t seem appropriate to tell anyone else.

"Oh, it must be something very delightful," Jiang Lingling detected his evasion and didn’t continue to inquire about what the happy matter was, as that would be too tactless.

Qin Guanglin put away his phone and nodded, glancing over at Sun Wen’s area. It wasn’t yet the official start time for work, but Sun Wen was already toiling away.

Judging by his performance over the past month, his guess with He Fang yesterday probably wasn’t wrong, diligently practicing his drawing and being frugal in order to save money, and regularly bringing Yu Le to seek advice certainly seemed like he was cooking up something big.

Thinking of this, Qin Guanglin looked around and suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable; this company... didn’t seem like the right place to stay anymore.

On the left, Sun Wen was struggling to lead half the staff in splitting off on their own; on the right, Chen Rui remained oblivious, earnestly planning his dream.

And next to him was Jiang Lingling, excessively enthusiastic.

Ignorance is bliss.

This phrase popped into Qin Guanglin’s mind.

Just a week ago, the atmosphere was harmonious, and he was happy at work. Now, realizing these things, everything seemed different.

His emotions complex, he idly scribbled on his drawing board until noon arrived. Chen Rui had been in and out of the office several times and even came over to spot a few minor errors.

"Let’s go, time for lunch," Sun Wen called out as he got up from his seat.

"Let’s go."

Bringing Yu Le along, the three of them went to the familiar diner, placed their orders, and sat down; Qin Guanglin then grabbed three bottles of cola, "It’s so hot today, let’s cool off a bit."

"Thanks, boss," Sun Wen said with a grin as he took the drink and guzzled down half the bottle.

"Thanks, Brother Lin."

Yu Le, much more refined, sipped slowly through a straw.

Qin Guanglin glanced between Yu Le and Sun Wen, then asked, "Why was it Jiang Lingling who sent me home the day before yesterday?"

He didn’t ask Sun Wen’s intention because if Sun Wen had wanted to say something, he would have spoken up that day. Not talking probably meant it wasn’t much of his concern. And if he did ask, it might be awkward to respond if Sun Wen actually had thoughts of supporting someone else.

However, he needed to clear up the question regarding Jiang Lingling—it might directly clarify her situation.

Seeing Qin Guanglin looking at him, Sun Wen gestured towards Yu Le and said, "Ask him. I originally wanted him to send you home, but he ended up escorting me instead."

"What happened?" Qin Guanglin turned back to Yu Le.

"Well, it was supposed to be me. I put you in the car, and then Lingling asked if there was any way she could help. I mentioned Brother Wen was also drunk..."

Yu Le repeated the events of the other day, suppressing a chuckle as he looked at Qin Guanglin, "What’s wrong, Brother Lin? Did your sister-in-law see her sending you home?"

"Nothing, just asking."

Qin Guanglin felt more certain of something and couldn’t help feeling a bit of a headache. How did such a thing happen?

If things were clear, it would have been fine—just a direct rejection. But dealing with these sneaky moves felt inappropriate no matter how—rejecting would be odd since she didn’t say she liked you. Pretending not to know felt awkward. Accepting? Not a chance.

"Look at you, something’s definitely up," Sun Wen teased, grinning and winking. "I told you yesterday, that mark on your neck must be from your girlfriend, getting jealous on purpose. What happened? Did you fight when you went home?"

"No, how could we possibly fight? You think everyone is like you?"

"Psh, right, like you didn’t fight. If my ex-girlfriend saw another woman sending me home, the roof would have been blown off," Sun Wen clearly didn’t believe him. "Your girlfriend left her mark, and that means she did mind. There must have been a fight, so tell me, how did you make up?"

"She minded, but we didn’t fight. She even made a love-filled dinner, and bought me breakfast this morning. Jealous?"

Qin Guanglin shamelessly shifted his own deeds onto He Fang.

"Jealous," Yu Le nodded sourly.

For no reason at all, he found himself with a mouthful of lemon, feeling the world was filled with oppression towards single folks.

"You believe what he’s saying?" Sun Wen eyed Qin Guanglin skeptically. "For all we know, he could be the one making breakfast and cooking dinner to make up."

"Then..." Yu Le thought for a moment, still sour, "I’d be jealous of that too."

"..."

"..."

"You getting spring fever, kid?" Sun Wen looked baffled. "Weren’t you always proud of being single? Why are you now jealous of people fighting?"

"I didn’t fight," Qin Guanglin corrected. "We’re getting along incredibly well, even going for walks and runs together."

"Enough," Yu Le hurriedly waved his hand, "I’m just jealous of having two women fussing over you and getting jealous. I’ve never experienced that, so I don’t know what it feels like."

"Don’t say that," Sun Wen shook his head. "You make it sound like you’ve had a woman fussing over you before. The reality is you’ve never had a girlfriend."

"..."

"That’s a bit much," Qin Guanglin coughed lightly, comforting Yu Le. "It’s okay, being single is great. You can do whatever you want, no need to be pestered for kisses and hugs every day..."

"Pfft..." Sun Wen looked up, sipping his cola when he couldn’t hold back and some spilled from the corner of his mouth. He quickly grabbed a napkin from the table to wipe it, "Still, Lin has a way with words. Keep talking."

With a look of despair, Yu Le glanced around. All the other seats were taken, or else he would have definitely moved.

These two are too much.