When Ning Shanshan received a call from Qi Qi, she had just finished a thorough cleaning of her little nest. She was holding a mop in one hand and a mobile phone in the other, with her eyes occasionally wandering towards the bathroom. She gazed at her flushed face in the mirror and sighed inwardly: if it weren't for her little overbite, she would consider herself a beauty, wouldn’t she?
"Shanshan, your brother Qi Litao has returned. There is a class reunion tomorrow night, do you want to come?"
Qi Qi rattled off without considering whether Ning Shanshan had heard her clearly. That’s how she was, fiery and enthusiastic towards people and things.
The mop in Ning Shanshan’s hand lost support and fell onto the ground with a “plop”. The sound was especially piercing in this 60-square-meter house.
The brother Qi Qi was mentioning was Qi Litao, her biological younger brother and also the brother Ning Shanshan had been calling since she was a kid. It was said that he went to Australia because of a broken heart and hadn't returned in eight years.
The two families had known each other since childhood, and the three children grew up together. They went to school together, grew up together. If it were not for the fact that Ning Shanshan's surname was Ning, many people would think they were biological siblings.
Upon hearing these three words, a tight knot formed in Ning Shanshan's heart. Eight years had passed, but she couldn't forget the handsome boy in her memory who, with a sunny face, glistening sweat on his forehead and a basketball in one hand, walked towards her.
Although over these eight years, she had heard a lot about Qi Litao in Australia from Qi Qi, she had all his contact information, but she had never called him, not even a message.
The last text message Qi Litao sent to her before boarding the plane was quite simple - Ning Shanshan, you are ruthless!
Was she ruthless?
She didn't know, she only knew she liked him, from childhood.
No, that's not right, to be precise, she should call it a crush. She had a crush on him since childhood, until now.
She remembered clearly, it was the year before Qi Litao went abroad, she mustered up the courage to send him a message, very simple, only four words - I like you.
Not a minute later, she received his reply, I have a girlfriend.
From that day on, she dared not talk to him, she avoided him, until he went to Australia.
Looking at her pale face reflected in the mirror, once flushed with blush, she realized that even after all these years, she still couldn't forget him saying "I have a girlfriend now."
"Hey, hey, hey... Shan Shan, what are you doing? Did you hear what I just said?"
It wasn't until Qi Qi's voice came through the phone again that Ning Shan Shan came back to her senses, hurriedly picking up her mop before placing it in the bathroom mop box. "Sister Qi Qi, I won't go. It's their class reunion, I don't know them well..."
Before she could finish speaking, Qi Qi laughingly interrupted her, "But you know me and your brother well, we can go together. Good timing too, I can spot any suitable single men and introduce them to you."
Forehead lines crinkled on Ning Shan Shan's forehead. Ever since her mother had complained to Qi Qi about her not having a boyfriend at her age, Qi Qi had enthusiastically taken up the role of matchmaker for her. Whether they were dining, shopping, or at work, Qi Qi would try to introduce her to any single man with acceptable conditions.
Ning Shan Shan sat on the sofa, looking at a group photo of three children placed on the table in front of her. She felt a subtle smile lifting the corners of her lips, and her pale cheeks finally regained a hint of redness. The photo was taken when she, Qi Qi, and Qi Li Tao were in junior high school. Qi Li Tao was a year senior and much taller at the time, and his adolescent voice had started to change, with faint stubble beginning to appear at the corners of his mouth.
"Sister Qi Qi, our department manager has invited us to a dinner party tomorrow night, I really can't go."
"Your department manager?" Qi Qi's voice was unclear, as if she was eating something, "You mean that handsome guy who just joined your department?"
"Yes."
"If that's the case, then I will tell your brother for you tomorrow. You don't need to come, just go and mingle with your colleagues. However, you should seize this opportunity, I heard that your department manager is single, and he's also quite handsome. You should make a careful observation tomorrow night, and if possible, make sure to win him over..."
After ending the call, Ning Shan Shan leaned on the sofa, her eyes tracing the hollow floral patterns on the ceiling. Qi Li Tao was back. He had been gone for eight years. Just when she had decided he was never coming back and was about to erase him from her mind, he returned!
When she was a child, she often played with Qi Qi and Qi Li Tao, but as they grew up, started school, and began to understand the difference between boys and girls, she only played with Qi Qi, but her eyes always involuntarily drifted towards Qi Li Tao.
Back then, she didn't know what handsome meant, she just thought he looked very good. His big eyes, dark eyebrows, and his stubborn nose when he was angry were all incredibly appealing to her.
In junior high, teenagers are prone to fantasy and anticipation. She used to imagine her wedding with Qi Li Tao on countless dark nights, even though many girls liked him back then...
"Ding dong..."
The sudden ring of her cell phone jolted Ning Shanshan awake from her reverie. Glancing at the message on the screen, it was a location from her best friend, Yang Tingting, for the get-together tomorrow night.
Throughout the night, Ning Shanshan was restless, tormented by the return of Qi Litao. She didn't know how she would confront him. If he brought up the matter of the text message, she would lose face terribly, as if she had thrown it all the way to her grandmother's house.
At the company, she brewed a cup of strong instant coffee, but before she could drink it, she was called into the conference room for an emergency meeting.
The new manager, Zhang Kai, looked very young but had good work capabilities. He was quite efficient when it came to assigning tasks. In no time, the young ladies who were originally looking at him with adoring eyes and admiration, all slumped dejectedly in their chairs, with an air of grievance on their faces.
Yang Tingting kicked Ning Shanshan subtly and leaned over to whisper in her ear, “Well, it seems that our manager is handsome alright, but unfortunately has the impartiality of Bao Qingtian. It's a shame for our department, all these young ladies, all dolled up. Look at them, each one more beautiful than the other…”
A pen twirling in her hand, Ning Shanshan finally noticed the young ladies in her department. Indeed, something about today was unlike any other day. Even Xiao Ning, who typically eschews makeup, had smeared on some lipstick.
Observing Zhang Kai, who was in front presenting a case, she couldn't help but notice his appeal. His slim, light-colored trousers, white shirt with rolled up cuffs, revealing his lean, white hands, and his handsome face with reserved eyebrows, shiny, black eyes, high nose bridge, moderately-thin lips, and neat, dark hair. A man like this definitely could turn heads.
"Why, are you getting smitten as well?"
Ning Shanshan turned to look at Yang Tingting who had a grin on her face and she quipped, "Don't you know what's on my mind?"
Yang Tingting widened her jet-black eyes in surprise and said in disbelief, "Really? You're still hung up on your ex-boyfriend?"
Rolling her eyes at Yang Tingting, Ning Shanshan reached over to gently touch her slightly protruding belly, "Watch your words, there's a baby here, you know!"
