Our Love, A Public Service - Chapter 7
Chapter 7
"Have you been drinking?" Ning Qian could hear the intoxication in Wen Jin's voice.
Another moment of silence.
Wen Jin also realized her abruptness. "Sorry to bother you so late. It's nothing..."
Her tone was tired and helpless; she must be in a bad mood.
"Where are you? I'll come over right away." Ning Qian asked anxiously. Just for Wen Jin's "Can you come keep me company?", even if she were miles away, she would fly over.
Wen Jin hesitated, then gave her address. She didn't have many close friends, and with her bottled-up emotions, she didn't know who to turn to. Ning Qian was the only friend she could think of at the moment.
Jing Rui finished a drink by herself before seeing Ning Qian hurriedly return.
Ning Qian picked up her bag. "I have to go. She called me, she seems to be in a bad mood. I need to go be with her."
"You're really dedicated to your role as a spare tire."
Before leaving, Ning Qian corrected her. "It's 'girlfriend-to-be,' thank you very much."
Like Chi Jia, Jing Rui was also used to drinking alone.
Jing Rui often heard Ning Qian talk about Wen Jin. She admired Ning Qian's persistence; after so many years of unrequited love, she could still maintain her enthusiasm, willingly giving to someone she might never have.
The older she got, the less she seemed to understand this kind of devotion.
Jing Rui couldn't remember how long it had been since she felt joy from someone else's approach.
As midnight approached, the atmosphere in the bar became increasingly lively.
As Jing Rui stood up to leave, she saw Chi Jia at the bar, drinking one glass after another.
Chi Jia had been alone all night.
Instead of heading towards the exit, Jing Rui walked towards Chi Jia.
Sitting down next to Chi Jia, Jing Rui ordered two drinks.
"Alone?" Jing Rui turned towards Chi Jia, initiating conversation.
The bar was filled with dazzling lights and shadows. Chi Jia looked closely; why was she everywhere?
Chi Jia turned away, ignoring her, and continued drinking.
Slightly tipsy, Jing Rui looked at Chi Jia a few more times. Chi Jia tucked her hair behind her ear, revealing the delicate lines of her jaw. She raised her glass and took a sip, a drop of wine spilling from the corner of her lips and sliding down her long, white neck. Jing Rui's gaze inadvertently followed the droplet from her collarbone to the hint of cleavage.
Chi Jia finished a glass in one gulp, her face flushed. She rubbed her neck haphazardly, turned, rested her head on her hand, and stared at Jing Rui, mimicking her tone, "Have you seen enough?"
Jing Rui didn't avert her gaze, her actions answering: not yet.
"You keep staring at me like this, it's easy for me to misunderstand." Chi Jia leaned closer to Jing Rui, looking into her eyes, the scent of alcohol on her breath. "You like women..."
After mimicking Jing Rui, Chi Jia made a disgusted expression, goosebumps rising on her skin. She couldn't help but sigh; how could such a narcissistic person like this vixen exist in this world?
Jing Rui realized Chi Jia was deliberately imitating her.
The drunk Miss Chi was indeed cuter than usual.
Just as Chi Jia was about to pull back, an arm suddenly wrapped around her waist.
It was Jing Rui.
Now, their bodies were almost touching, noses brushing against each other.
She could even feel Jing Rui's warm breath, tinged with the faint scent of alcohol.
"What if it's not a misunderstanding?" Jing Rui whispered against Chi Jia's nose.
This sudden closeness sobered Chi Jia up.
The environment was too noisy; Chi Jia didn't hear what Jing Rui said clearly, but their current intimate position made her face burn even hotter. Her heart raced uncontrollably.
Two seconds later.
"How boring..." Chi Jia turned away, pushing Jing Rui slightly, taking a sip of her drink to cool down.
Jing Rui released Chi Jia, staring at her flushed cheeks, a smile playing on her lips.
Seeing Jing Rui's triumphant smile, Chi Jia felt defeated. She had just been teased! And she had been teased quite easily!
She could never gain the upper hand against surnamed Jing.
One drink wasn't enough to cool down, she needed another.
Jing Rui pushed a drink towards Chi Jia. "This one's on me."
Chi Jia ignored her, rolling her eyes, and continued with her own drink.
Jing Rui picked up the glass and drank it herself. She pursed her lips; she had almost kissed Chi Jia just now.
For a full half hour, neither of them spoke.
Sitting side by side, quietly drinking.
Chi Jia occasionally glanced at Jing Rui. This feeling was quite nice. Even without speaking, it felt like having company, unlike the loneliness of drinking alone.
After sitting for a while, Chi Jia stood up and joined the dancing crowd.
Jing Rui leaned against the bar, watching her, drinking and smiling. Until she saw a man intentionally getting close to Chi Jia, touching her inappropriately. Jing Rui frowned, pushed through the crowd, and walked over...
Chi Jia also realized the man's intentions and pushed him away in disgust. Perhaps her action seemed like playing hard to get, because the man actually tried to hug her.
At the crucial moment, Jing Rui grabbed Chi Jia's hand, pulled her away, and gave the man a cold stare. The man had only dared to make his move because Chi Jia seemed drunk. Seeing the situation, he backed off.
Jing Rui pulled Chi Jia out of the crowd.
"What are you doing..." Chi Jia struggled to free her hand.
Jing Rui looked down at her. "You have such low tolerance, yet you drink so much?"
Chi Jia was not convinced. Although she felt a bit lightheaded, she knew what she was doing; it wasn't her first time out partying. "I can hold my liquor. If you don't believe me, let's keep drinking..."
"You're drunk."
"I'm not!" Chi Jia retorted defiantly, though she was indeed tired, especially in high heels. She squinted, leaning her forehead against Jing Rui's shoulder and rubbing it. "Just a bit dizzy."
Jing Rui sighed and supported Chi Jia.
If it weren't for the alcohol tonight, they wouldn't be this close.
Outside the bar, Jing Rui hailed a cab. Chi Jia insisted she could go home by herself, claiming she wasn't drunk at all, perfectly sober, and even offering to recite the multiplication table.
Jing Rui looked at her with disgust, but in the end, she got into the cab with Chi Jia. She had come to realize that every encounter with Miss Chi brought a string of troublesome events.
In the backseat of the taxi, the cool night breeze blew in through the window, the car swaying slightly.
It was late, and fatigue set in.
Chi Jia closed her eyes. Years of squeezing onto buses had trained her ability to sleep sitting up. She leaned to the side, her head resting on the shoulder of the person beside her.
Jing Rui turned her head slightly. Chi Jia, quite boldly, had wrapped her arms around Jing Rui's.
Moreover, she was a terrible sleeper.
Then, something even more awkward happened.
Chi Jia, clinging to Jing Rui's arm, mumbled all the way:
"Vixen... Think you're all that just because you're pretty..."
Jing Rui didn't know who Chi Jia was talking about, so she didn't react.
Then, Chi Jia continued: "Jing Rui, you vixen, a homewrecking vixen..."
Jing Rui: "..."
"...Think you're so great just because you have money... Always tormenting me... I quit... You're just a cook... Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand..."
"...More revisions... I won't do it... I don't want to revise... What... Redo it again... Don't scare me... I know I was wrong... I'll listen to you... You're always right... Don't deduct my pay... Fire me then..."
Chi Jia was having a dream, a dream filled with Jing Rui, stealing her boyfriend and making her revise her work endlessly.
During the nearly twenty-minute ride, Jing Rui listened to Chi Jia curse her for ten minutes, with "vixen" appearing over thirty times.
As Chi Jia continued to cling to her, Jing Rui, with a cold expression, pulled her arm away and moved aside. Chi Jia slumped over and woke up.
"We're here."
"Oh." Chi Jia rubbed her head. Before getting out of the car, she still managed to say "Thank you" to Jing Rui.
The taxi drove away on the empty road.
Jing Rui, enjoying the breeze, thought of Chi Jia's string of pleas and laughed.
That night, Chi Jia had the same dream again.
She dreamt that after finally getting her design approved, Jing Rui asked her to revise it again, hundreds of times, and it still wasn't accepted. In the end, her 4% commission went down the drain.
The next morning, Chi Jia woke up with a start.
As expected, any dream involving Jing Rui was a nightmare.
Chi Jia breathed a sigh of relief. It was just a dream. The proposal had been approved a few days ago, and she was just waiting to sign the official renovation contract.
Just then, her phone rang: "How can you see a rainbow without experiencing wind and rain, no one can succeed easily..."
Chi Jia instinctively flinched.
That motivational ringtone…
Who else could it be but Jing Rui.
"Miss Jing," Chi Jia spoke first, "I've prepared the contract. Are you free to come over and sign it?"
"The contract can wait." Jing Rui spoke calmly, a smile on her face. "Please come to my place when you're free. We need to discuss some revisions to the proposal."
Jing Rui emphasized the word "revisions."
More revisions, the nightmare was real.
Chi Jia almost roared, "You! Didn't you say it was fine?!"
Even without seeing her, Jing Rui could imagine Chi Jia's expression.
"That was yesterday," Jing Rui said calmly. "Today, I suddenly feel there are still some issues. Come over tonight, Miss Chi. Let's have a good chat."
Hmm
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