Sweet slice-of-life love story: Wife, Let's love again
Chapter 232 - 228: Coincidence or Inevitability

Chapter 232: Chapter 228: Coincidence or Inevitability

Life was always slowly getting better.

Chen Rui’s company, after several months of restructuring, had finally gotten back on track.

Although the staff count had not yet recovered to previous levels, efficiency had significantly improved, and everyone’s salaries saw a considerable increase, making it a cause for universal joy.

"Do you think we should have an annual party?"

After lunch, Chen Rui sprawled at his desk and sought Qin Guanglin’s opinion.

"Annual party?"

Qin Guanglin looked up and glanced around, smacking his lips, "Just the ten of us and throwing a party? We might as well just have a meal together... Hey, right, you could just give out the money you’d spend on the party directly. All those prizes, food, and drinks, if you were to convert it into cash for us, that would definitely make people happier than a party."

"No, no, you can’t say that. It’s about having fun together at the end of the year... Wait, I’ll put it to a vote."

Chen Rui was already on his computer ready to print a voting sheet to hand out but then thought better of it for such a small group of people. He stopped what he was doing, realizing they could simply raise hands at a morning meeting or something—no need to print anything!

"The happiest thing is to stay home, hug my girlfriend, watch TV, and cook. What fun is there in partying with you bunch of guys?" Qin Guanglin curled his lip, showing zero interest in the annual party.

He figured he had already used up his luck for the year—finding He Fang in his personal life, almost becoming the second-in-command at work, and making enough money to buy a car.

The highlights of the annual party were the lucky draw and the feast, but even with the draw, he’d rather go home and have dinner with Teacher He.

"Go on, not everyone has a girlfriend... Look at Hu, you got a girlfriend?"

Chen Rui turned to another colleague and asked.

"Yeah, we’re about to get married," Hu replied.

"..."

Chen Rui, not giving up, turned to yet another colleague, "Zhao, you got a girlfriend?"

"Been together for three years."

"..."

Qin Guanglin couldn’t help but laugh and shook his head, "Better stop asking, I’m afraid if you keep going, you’ll find you’re the only single person in the whole company... Having a girlfriend is really great, I advise you to get one too."

"Get a girlfriend? For what? To spend my money? To cook for two? To wash clothes for two? To sap my energy whenever there’s a chance?" Chen Rui expressed disdain, "So annoying, that’s just for you ordinary folks."

"Alright, alright, you’re the boss, you don’t find one," Qin Guanglin said, unconsciously rubbing his lower back, ending the banter and leaning on the desk to properly recharge.

Because of the climate in Luo City, elementary school winter vacation started super early, a whopping forty-five days. With He Fang idle at home with nothing to do, she spent her days figuring out how to prepare nutritious meals for him.

Clearly ulterior motives.

...

After dropping Teacher He off at home in the afternoon—not on South Fly Road, but at his own home, to have dinner with Qin’s Mom—Qin Guanglin drove alone towards Shengtian Square.

Xiao Yu, having mooched several meals off Sun Wen and Qin Guanglin, felt obliged to invite them for a meal as the year neared its end, as a gesture of reciprocity—

When he saw Qin Guanglin getting out of his car, he was surprised, approaching with exaggerated concern and looked him up and down.

"Man, you bought a car without a peep? When did this happen?"

"Not long ago."

"Look at you... Sun Wen’s quietly pulled together a studio, and here you are, silently making a fortune. Take your buddy along some time. I just quit my job recently and have been considering what to work on next; I might as well follow you."

"Sure, I’ll take you for an interview sometime, see if they want you."

"Yeah right, I’m not cut out for your kind of work. I’ll wait until after the new year to find something for myself." Xiao Yu circled the car, touching here and peering there, "Let me drive a couple of rounds, can I?"

"Drive my ass, let’s go eat."

The group didn’t have a fixed spot for meals. Aside from dining multiple times at Shao’s Home-cooked Restaurant, they rarely visited other places more than once. Qin Guanglin treated these expeditions as trying new dishes, secretly noting down any place with a good environment and taste for a return visit with Teacher He.

Taking a seat after pulling out a chair, Xiao Yu sucked in a breath through his teeth, "Both of you are soaring, and here I am, managing to churn out nothing but work experience over two years, and now I have to start over with job hunting again, sigh—life is tough."

"There you go talking big. What soaring? Just got a bit lucky," Qin Guanglin sipped his tea after pouring a cup, "Where’s Wen? I thought I’d be the last one here, but he’s ended up the latest."

"Still busy, I guess... Shall we order now?"

"Let’s wait. If you’re hungry, go ahead and order. Hey, you quit your job, what about your girlfriend at the company? Did she quit too?"

Xiao Yu shook his head, "She’s staying on for the experience, just joined about half a year ago, frequent job changes aren’t good."

Despite feeling somewhat reluctant to leave his girlfriend, that company wasn’t overly promising, and career advancement necessitated a switch.

It was like that with his job; each jump meant a salary raise. If he stayed at the original company, he might work for five or six years and still not make as much as a new employee.

"You okay with that?"

"If the love is true, time and distance don’t matter... Heh, being jobless lets me relax a bit. Being too close every day makes things too controlling." Smiling, Xiao Yu pulled out a cigarette and flicked one to his lips, but didn’t seem to have a lighter, "Not allowed to smoke, not allowed to drink, I’m nearly forced to quit completely. Just smelling smoke makes me high."

"Do you remember what you told me?" Qin Guanglin asked.

"What?"

"When I get a girlfriend, I’ll still smoke and drink, just as cool as ever! —— Does your face still hurt?"

Qin Guanglin pinched his nose and mimicked Xiao Yu’s initial tone, even managing to imitate his gestures quite accurately.

"...Did I ever say that?" Xiao Yu chose to feign amnesia.

"Hey, I think you’re just scared of getting hit."

"I..."

"Everyone’s here, huh?" Sun Wen pushed open the door, ducking his head as he entered, and plopped down onto a chair. He poured a cup of tea, gulped it down with gusto, and let out a long sigh, "Sorry for being late, so busy, sigh."

"Being a big boss sure has its style, just look... tsk."

Xiao Yu clicked his tongue and shook his head. Though Sun Wen’s attire was tidily arranged and he looked neat and clean, his exhausted face and the bloodshot eyes hinted that he wasn’t having an easy time.

When you think about it, entrepreneurship is never easy, right?

"What happened?" Qin Guanglin asked as he pushed the menu over, "Order some food, let’s start with that."

"You guys order." Sun Wen pushed the menu back, too lazy to bother.

"Okay, I’ll start with two..."

Qin Guanglin scribbled a few items on the menu and pushed it over to Xiao Yu for him to continue, then he thought for a moment and asked, "Where were we just now?"

"What ’where were we’? Forget it," Xiao Yu avoided the previous topic and silently marked his choices on the menu.

"Don’t stop now, tell me, how far has it developed? How many times have you been hit? Have you tried to resist? Who won?"

"It’s all nonsense you’re asking. Even if he got hit he definitely wouldn’t admit it. He’d just stick his neck out and say it never happened." Sun Wen spoke up, nailing the fact of the beating straight away, leaving Xiao Yu with no way to explain.

"I..." Xiao Yu looked aggrieved, opened his mouth, then suddenly deflated and called over the waitress with the menu in hand.

Having a girlfriend with way too much strength is tough to handle. It was just a kiss, an instinctive movement of his hand, and his "pig trotter" nearly got twisted off — and he couldn’t even blame her since she was just instinctively defending herself.

Sun Wen looked at Xiao Yu and then at Qin Guanglin, recalling the scene from a few months ago at Shao’s Home-cooked Restaurant, and he couldn’t help but sigh.

"Lin really is the winner in life."

"It’s too soon to say things like that," Qin Guanglin modestly replied, though he felt the same sentiment in his heart.

Life is full of uncertainties, that’s just how it is.

Qin Guanglin, once a lazy homebody, had his life turned upside down after meeting He Fang.

Sun Wen, who had found a stable job right after graduating and always had a harmonious relationship, ended up with a complicated life... Hard to sum up in a few words.

Xiao Yu, on the other hand, was neither too hot nor too cold about his life changes, even his resignation was planned well in advance, and he found a girlfriend on the side, although she seemed a bit too formidable.

Dish after dish was served on the table. Qin Guanglin, who drove, didn’t drink. Xiao Yu was under his girlfriend’s watch and didn’t touch alcohol either. Only Sun Wen cracked open a few beer bottles and, without using a glass, slowly sipped directly from the bottle.

"Some days ago, my parents came back from out of town, so I took her to dine with them. It was a happy occasion... She mentioned our relationship to my parents, and then her parents were eager to meet me. I’m planning to visit them during the New Year."

Xiao Yu’s parents were usually doing business out of town and only came back around the end of the year. Suddenly hearing about their son’s girlfriend, they insisted on meeting her, so they used a family banquet as a chance to properly get acquainted.

After sharing his good news, Xiao Yu sipped his juice with a sigh, "In the future... Lin has already met her, but Wen, be careful. If you bring a girlfriend home, don’t choose a time when the house is full of people, and don’t let your girlfriend bring a bunch of random classmates. It’s a headache."

"It sounds like something serious happened?"

"It wasn’t that serious; it’s just that my girlfriend was shy about meeting my parents for the first time, so she brought two of her classmates along. And it just so happened there were some close relatives at the family banquet..."

"That’s quite a scene," Qin Guanglin commented with admiration.

"I swear each person had a ’let me guess which one’s your girlfriend’ look on their face. The other two were relaxed at first but ended up just as shy as my girlfriend..." Xiao Yu was helpless, feeling like he had three girlfriends at the same time. The memory still made him uncomfortable.

"Pffhahaha..." Sun Wen couldn’t help but laugh out loud, then squinted his eyes and teased, "Do those two have boyfriends? Introduce me to them?"

"How would I know... Hey, where’s your girlfriend?" Xiao Yu asked.

"I kicked her to the curb," Sun Wen said nonchalantly, "I’m single now."

"Aren’t you heartless... You become a boss and you dump her?"

"Too annoying... Forget it, don’t even bother introducing me, I’ve got a ton of work and no time for dating."

Sun Wen shook his head and laughed, "Once my studio gets stable and I’m making big bucks, what woman won’t I have?"

He mentioned introductions as a joke. He could always call on Xu Wei when he felt lonely. The two kept a kind of companionship where they did not interfere with each other’s lives and helped each other out when needed.

So, what’s the use in having a girlfriend?

For him, none at all.

"How’s the studio doing now?" Qin Guanglin changed the subject, not wanting to dwell on this matter.

"Ah..."

Starting on that topic made Sun Wen’s smile disappear and he frowned, sighing deeply, "It was doing well, but I don’t know what happened this month... forget about it, let’s not talk about that now, cheers."

Clang!

The glasses of juice clinked against the beer bottle, making a crisp sound.