In response to a query from a reader, Gu Man has not and will not drop this novel so there will definitely be an ending. This chapter is another small progress in Rabbit God and Jing Jing’s relationship. My my, isn’t our Jing Jing cunning lol? I am starting to grow rather fond of her.
Chapter 12 (translated by peanuts and edited by hoju)
On the computer screen, two professional teams were playing in full swing, but Yu Tu’s mind was wandering.
He recalled, in that very moment when he had said he wanted to give up, the expression in Qiao Jing Jing’s eyes that showed surprise and that it would be such a shame. He did not understand. He was obviously going to walk the path that was widely accepted as having the more promising future, so why would she feel it was a shame?
Except for his teacher, it seemed that she was the only one who had shown this kind of expression.
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“Yu Tu.” Zhai Liang did not even knock on the door before pushing it open and coming in. “When did you come back? I didn’t even know you were back.”
Yu Tu regained his composure and pressed pause. “Not long ago, while you were making a call on the balcony.”
“Oh.” Zhai Liang sat down on Yu Tu’s desk with a crafty look on his face. “You met up with Xia Qing today?”
Yu Tu looked up at him. “How did you know?”
"Heehee, who am I? How are things progressing…..?" With Yu Tu’s probing look fixed on him, he couldn't continue what he was saying and raised up his hand. “It really wasn’t me. Xia Qing went to Hangzhou on a business trip and met up with Bao Bao. Isn’t it very normal to chat about you?”
“Since you’re so free, it would be better to go abroad earlier. Furthermore,” Yu Tu recalled something and warned him, “in the future, talk less rubbish in front of Cotton.”
Zhai Liang was shocked and made a crying shout. “Cotton went so far as to rat on me? How could that girl be like that?”
He felt that it was a huge betrayal and intended to log in to the game later to look for Cotton and settle the score. “Oh, by the way, Qu Ming just called to treat us to a meal. Half past six tomorrow night over at Pudong (Shanghai’s newest district on the eastern side of the Huangpu River, a Special Economic Zone chock full of gleaming skyscrapers). We’ll go together.”
“Tomorrow, I’m……”
Zhai Liang was not happy. “It’s a hard to come by thing for this cheapskate to give me a farewell dinner. You better give face, since all the university classmates in Shanghai will be going.”
Yu Tu nodded. “Okay. I’ll go there by myself tomorrow.”
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Many of Yu Tu and Zhai Liang’s university classmates worked around Lujiazui (a new financial district in Shanghai, opposite the Bund). Naturally, the place for the dinner gathering was in that vicinity. It would only take ten minutes to walk from Qiao Jing Jing’s house.
By the time Yu Tu arrived, almost everyone was there. There was no private dining room in this western restaurant. Seven or eight people sat in a cubicle on the side, and the scene was bustling with noise and excitement.
Qu Ming was the first to spot him and, rising, greeted him with extravagant exuberance. “Our great, talented scholar who dominated in two majors has arrived.”
In fact, Yu Tu did not know this classmate very well. During their university years, he was busy with his studies and practically went to the library daily. Except for Zhai Liang and Bao Bao, his dormitory roommates, his relationships with other classmates would not be considered close ones. Qu Ming had seemed to have strong hostile feelings towards him all along. Initially, he did not understand why, until he graduated from university and broke up with Xia Qing.
Qu Ming used to love using that sentence to jeer mockingly at him, but now as he was all smiles, it was hard to determine for the time being his true intention and sincerity behind that statement.
Yu Tu greeted everyone, then sat down.
Everyone chatted briefly. One of the classmates, Zhao Tian, suddenly asked, “Qu Ming, didn’t you say that Xia Qing will be coming. Why don’t I see her here yet?”
Yu Tu was surprised.
Qu Ming was all smiles and took out his mobile phone. “I’ll call her.”
He phoned her. “Emma, why aren’t you here yet? The place for the dinner gathering is only a few steps away from your hotel.”
It was not known what was said on the other end, but the smile on his face disappeared little by little. In the end he laughed again and said, “Okay, all right, never mind, we’ll arrange to meet next time.”
After he hung up the phone, Zhai Liang said, “Why can’t beautiful maiden Xia come?”
“She said she has something urgent to do in Beijing tonight and she’s just gone to the airport.”
Zhao Tian was baffled. “She didn’t tell you?”
“Haha, she said she was about to call me.”
“I haven’t seen her for a long time.” Someone was disappointed.
Another classmate said: “Xia Qing apologized to us in WeChat group.”
Zhai Liang quickly went to look at WeChat and was just in time to see a message posted by Xia Qing. “Shanghai classmates, I’m sorry. Originally I was supposed to attend the gathering to meet with everyone today. Yesterday, something pressing happened, so I’ve returned to Beijing. I forgot to tell all of you.”
“Sorry, sorry. This meal’s on me. Give the bill to me later. @Qu Ming.”
Which person present here was not experienced and shrewd in how things worked in the world? With this, how could they not realize that Xia Qing stood Qu Ming up? She had returned to Beijing yesterday already and basically had just forgotten to tell him.
Qu Ming was quick to response. "I heard wrong just now on the phone. I thought she was leaving today. Here. Let’s order." He held out a hand to summon the waiter.
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Zhai Liang secretly nudged Yu Tu and said in a low voice, “Did you know that Xia Qing returned to Beijing yesterday?”
Yu Tu looked down and drank tea, not denying this.
“The drunkard’s intention lies not in the cup (a Chinese idiom meaning someone having an ulterior motive). He organized this gathering probably for Xia Qing.” Zhai Liang felt that this logic chain was completely linked up. “If he had asked Xia Qing to come out alone, she’d definitely just ignore him, so he said he was organizing a classmate gathering to give me a farewell dinner. But why did he invite you? Isn’t he afraid of being compared to you and then end up looking as bad as a dog?”
However, he soon learned why Qu Ming dared to ask Yu Tu to come. It was because people obviously did not attach much importance to the current Yu Tu.
Before all the dishes even came out, Qu Ming took aim at Yu Tu and said lightly, “That day, I met someone who had been in the class next door to ours, and I heard that you are going to work at his workplace next month.”
“Who is the someone from the class next door?” A classmate asked curiously.
“That Ren Wang in Zhong X, a state-owned company.”
Zhao Tian was surprised: “Isn’t Yu Tu working in the aerospace institution?”
“You’re planning on resigning from your job, aren’t you?” Qu Ming looked at Yu Tu with a hint of a haughty, removed expression. “But if you come out to work now, you’ve to start from scratch. I heard from Ren Wang that the salary will be the same as a fresh graduate?”
The atmosphere became quiet.
Only Qu Ming could be heard chattering away. “Yu Tu, why don’t you come to our foreign investment bank to try out? The salary is high on our end. Otherwise, how are you going to survive on three to five hundred thousand a year in Shanghai? What’s more, you’d be in the company that Ren Wang is working at. His grades back then were so poor. If you told people that’s where you were, it’d be even embarrassing for us as your classmates.”
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With Yu Tu not around, Qiao Jing Jing happily went to play casual matches on her own using Wang Zhaojun. She deeply felt that after going through such intensive training, she could abuse a handful of newbies. Unexpectedly, she encountered some teammates who were more piglike and useless than her, so she ended up losing two consecutive matches and was beaten like a dog by the enemy team.
She was really angry, and then Xiao Zhu called.
“Jing Jing, guess who I ran into when I went to anne’L to buy salad?” Xiao Zhu deliberately lowered her voice.
“Teacher Yu, the head coach of eighty heroes.”
Xiao Zhu: “… you know?”
“Useless words. It’s only because I knew he went there to have a meal that I suddenly thought of having the salad from there. Oh, by the way, come back right away after you’ve bought the salad. Don’t go looking for Edward or else he’ll refuse to take your payment.”
Edward was the owner of that western restaurant. He and Qiao Jing Jing were acquainted.
“Okay, once I’ve bought it, I will bring it to you immediately.” Xiao Zhu continued, “I was sitting there, waiting for the salad and I also ordered something else to eat. It just so happened that I was next door to Teacher Yu, but there was a green plant in the middle so he didn’t see me.”
“Don’t go and disturb people.”
“Of course not ~~~ But I saw his friends were very unfriendly towards him. One even went so far as to mock him. His words were very unpleasant to hear. I am so mad.”
Qiao Jing Jing frowned.
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In the western restaurant.
Zhai Liang was so angry that he was about to jump up. "Yu Tu’s workplace is one that has to maintain complete confidentiality, and after he’s resigned, there’s a timeframe where he has a confidentiality obligation, so he can’t go and work at a foreign company. If you don't know, don’t just go shooting off sh*t from your mouth. Don’t let your anger of being stood up by Xia Qing……..”
Yu Tu stopped him and looked calmly at Qu Ming: “You’ll only live till thirty?”
Qu Ming was a little annoyed at Zhai Liang’s words: “What do you mean?”
Yu Tu: “So what is the hurry? There is still a long time to go. We’ll see again a year later.”
“Ha.” Qu Ming sneered. “I know that you, the great scientist that you are, turn your nose up at us who do finance. But our field isn’t some place with easy pickings that everyone can do good in.”
Yu Tu said politely, “Your first sentence should drop the ‘us’ and just use ‘me.'”
Qu Ming was extremely angry “You!”
Yu Tu calmly raised his glass at him.
Zhai Liang was still panting with rage. Everyone also thought that Qu Ming had gone overboard and was about to smooth things over. At this time, a waiter carrying a bottle of wine on a tray walked to their table.
He swept a glance around the table at each of them, then landed it accurately on Yu Tu as he smiled and said, “Mr. Yu, I’ve brought over the wine you and Miss Qiao stored here last time.”
Yu Tu stared blankly. The waiter had already placed the wine with an ice bucket on the table and then put down two plates of prosciutto.
“This is a present from our boss to Mr. Yu. Please enjoy yourselves.” He smiled and stepped back.
Everyone was most surprised by the sudden turn of events.
“Yu Tu, you’ve been here before.” Zhao Tian knew more about red wine, and when he picked up the bottle to take a look, he couldn’t help but exclaim, “Domaine de la Romanee-Conti?” (abbreviated to DRC is considered among the world’s most expensive French wine)
Everyone there except Yu Tu mingled in the finance circle, so how could they not know about red wines? Of course they had heard this red wine that was known for being expensive. But knowing is one thing; not many had ever seen it, and they immediately became a little excited.
“Let me see, let me see.”
“Yu Tu, there’s more to you than meets the eye. How much is this bottle of wine?”
“It’s got to be at least six figures.”
Zhai Liang also looked at Yu Tu in surprise.
Yu Tu looked at the bottle. He suddenly smiled and said, “I still have something to do. I’m leaving first. All of you, please take your time and enjoy your conversation.”
Everyone paused blankly for a moment, and then they saw Yu Tu standing up, getting his jacket and calmly putting it on. Then he picked up that bottle of wine, said good-bye to everyone in an unhurried manner, and left.
Wait a minute!
… He actually took away that bottle of wine?
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Less than twenty minutes later, Qiao Jing Jing seamlessly joined in with the cries of Yu Tu’s classmates’ hearts.
“You actually brought the wine back?!”
Yu Tu stood at the doorway, “I can’t bear to let them drink it, so I brought it back.”
Qiao Jing Jing sized up his facial expression and explained a bit. “I knew that you were going there, and then I remember their salad. Thus I got Xiao Zhu to go and buy it. Then ~~ you …. you won’t think that I’m being too meddling?”
Yu Tu raised his eyebrows, “Am I such a person who is unable to tell good from bad?”
Qiao Jing Jing’s eyes immediately sparkled: “I think so. So, did it feel so darn good? You happy or not?
Yu Tu nodded, “Like the successful launching of a rocket.”
What kind of ridiculous description was that? Qiao Jing Jing was nearly spluttering with laughter. And what was more, what was this about feeling so darn good it was like the successful launching of a rocket…..?
“Why do I feel it sounds a little dirty?”
Yu Tu couldn’t help but smile. “What are you imagining?”
“Nothing, nothing,” Qiao Jing Jing quickly changed the topic. “Then ~~ in order to celebrate the successful launching of a rocket, do you want a celebratory drink?”
The six-figures wine? Yu Tu was about to decline when he heard Qiao Jing Jing said, “Although its only a few hundred dollar, you also cannot waste it.”
Yu Tu thought that he had heard wrong. “A few hundred dollar?”
“Of course! You think I’m stupid ah, so casually treating people I don’t even know to such an expensive wine.” Qiao Jing Jing proudly said, “I know the owner of the restaurant because I filmed there before. This is an empty bottle that was used during the filming.”
“…” Yu Tu was left speechless.
“Drink or not? Anyway, I won’t be playing video games today because I noticed calluses on my left thumb.”
Yu Tu’s reply was to walk inside with the wine and then close the door.
Qiao Jing Jing cheered and hurried into the kitchen. “I’ll get the glasses.”
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However, they did not drink the wine straightaway, because Qiao Jing Jing suddenly thought of a problem.
How many calories are in a glass of red wine?
Wine seemed to be very high in calories, right? So she quickly took a moment to search in Baidu. Fortunately, the calories in red wine can be considered low among the different kinds of wine. 70 calories per 100ml was acceptable.
Then Qiao Jing Jing, holding the glass of wine, looked around the house for a place to drink.
The balcony was too cold, the dining room was too empty. In front of the French windows was pretty good, but it needed a bit of ambiance. Thus she took the rose from the dining table and brought out two candles from the drawer…
Pretty good now!
Yu Tu stood at the side, silently looking at his watch. Twenty minutes later, he finally drank his first sip of the wine with the accompaniment of flowers and candlelight.
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They didn't drink until very late that night, and they also didn't say too much. Yu Tu was somewhat glad that Qiao Jing Jing did not ask any questions. She only for a moment criticized the red wine for being unpleasant to drink and not as good as rice wine . Then the next moment, she was talking about the pig teammates in the game. The moment after that, she found amusement in taking selfies with her mobile phone ……
The top-notch nightscape in Shanghai twinkled outside the French windows. Actually, during this period of time, he had never been so relaxed.
His mobile phone was continuously bombarded with Zhai Liang’s WeChat messages. He waited until he was on his way home before looking at them.
“Who is Miss Qiao?”
“Who is Miss Qiao, who is she?”
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Miss Qiao…
Was a superstar who has to calculate out the calories using her kitchen scale just to drink some wine.
An old classmate whom he had just gotten to know.