"He promised me that he just wanted to know if you were alright. Actually, I did ask him why he didn't just tell you how he felt. Do you know what he said to me?"
"He was silent, staring at the coffee mug in front of him. He stared for a long, long time before saying that he didn't hope for you to treat him well, but he had to treat you well."
That one line made Ji Yi purse her lips as a hint of red surfaced in her eyes.
Tang Huahua remained silent for a while then she continued with a significantly calmer voice because she was afraid Ji Yi would be mad. "At the beginning, I really never thought about agreeing to He Xuezhang's request. I thought it was too crazy, but in the end, he really persuaded me."
"Xiao Yi, I know that no matter how I explain, I was wrong to tell He Xuezhang about your business. After He Xuezhang left, I've actually always wanted to tell you but I didn't know how. I was afraid you'd ignore me and was afraid you would think that I wasn't a true friend. I was afraid our friendship would be over..."
As Tang Huahua said this, she revealed a slight smile. "But it's good you found out today. Saves my heart from feeling uneasy sometimes at night..."
Ji Yi didn't say anything.
Tang Huahua already said her piece, so she also stayed silent.
The car door opened, blowing in a cold gust of wind into the car and clearing out the warmth.
As the warmth dissipated, Tang Huahua was so cold that she lost all feeling in her ears. That was when Ji Yi blinked and came back to her senses. Then she handed the phone back to Tang Huahua. "It happened already, so leave the past in the past."
Does this mean Xiao Yi isn't mad anymore?
A light flashed across Tang Huahua's eyes. "Xiao Yi, I was wrong..."
Before Tang Huahua could express her words of regret, Ji Yi spoke again: "It's getting late. Don't we have work tomorrow? Hurry up and go back to get some rest."
Tang Huahua understood what Ji Yi meant by interrupting her. She wasn't angry, so she didn't need her to apologize endlessly. Tang Huahua knew well to keep her mouth shut and let it go. After Ji Yi got out of the car and said goodbye to Tang Huahua, Tang Huahua got back into the car and drove off.
Ji Yi stood in front of her apartment building, waiting for Tang Huahua's car to disappear from sight. Then she turned around and glanced at the building behind her. Ji Yi stood in place for a while but didn't go upstairs. Instead, she walked over to the gates of the residential area.
There was still about forty minutes until midnight and the new year.
Ji Yi waited by the sidewalk and hailed a cab to go to YC's office building.
Ji Yi remembered that two years ago today, she was sending new year blessings at home when she found out from Fatty that He Jichen didn't go back home to celebrate. Just like now, she hurriedly ran out and hailed a cab. Back then, when she saw that the lights at his apartment were out, she went to the office.
Two years later, she stopped outside the YC building. She looked through the car window, up at the pitch-black office building.
The taxi driver saw Ji Yi hesitating to get out of the car and couldn't help but prompt her, "Miss? Miss?"
Ji Yi turned her head and looked over at the taxi driver.
"Miss, that's a total of thirty-two yuan," said the taxi driver.
Ji Yi wasn't stupid. She understood that the taxi driver was rushing her out of the car, but she still didn't say anything. She just turned her head and looked out at the YC building again through the window.