Chapter 19
The first thing in the next morning, we tried to catch a bus in front of the company. Mainly it was Yin Jie and Yu Hua who were flagging down a bus, whereas I sat on the edge of the flower bed to catch up on my sleep. In my muddle-headed state, I seemed to hear Yin Jie’s pleasantly surprised voice: “Vice President Lin, are you also going to Shanghai?!”
Why was he here?
I was startled, and immediately looked up, but it was already too late.
I’ve already heard Lin Yu Sen’s commendable and kind voice, “Oh, I can drive you there.”
I quickly winked at Yin Jie to tell her to decline but she acted like she did not see it. To my surprise, she even pulled me up and pushed me into the passenger seat, “Thank you Vice President Lin! Xi Guang, you sit in front!”
She said that in a loud voice, then whispered quickly to me: “This is a good opportunity ah. Make good use of it to build up a relationship with Vice President Lin la. After all, it is not working time now, so everyone is more relaxed.”
She dragged Yu Hua and got into the back seat at lightning speed, not allowing me to decline. Then she closed the door with a ‘bang’.
I had to sit in front.
In a confined space, the sense of presence of the next person was strongly felt making me unable to ignore him. I really did not understand why he would be willing to be our driver. When he loosened his grip on the steering wheel, his hand nearly touched my clothes. I silently pulled my clothes and moved a little closer to the side.
His hand stopped in mid air for a while before pressing on the accelerator with an expressionless face.
The car traveled smoothly along its route. Yin Jie reached out to pinch my arm with all her strength to signal to me to say something. I shrank further to the side once again and ignored her.
Lin Yu Sen shot us a glance.
Yin Jie quickly pulled back her hand and gave a fake laugh twice.
Lin Yu Sen asked faintly: “Where do you want to go?”
“We want to go to Jing’an Temple first. Yu Hua loves to pray to Buddha for blessing. The God of Wealth in Jing’an Temple is the most efficacious …… I want to go to Shanghai Bund to take a look. Although it is said only people from outside the city will go, I am precisely an outsider from another province ha ha ~ ~ ”
With Yin Jie around, there was never a dull moment. When Lin Yu Sen asked a question, Yin Jie will chatter continuously.
I started to feel sleepy again. I covered my mouth with my hand and quietly yawned ……
Chit chit chat chat ……
With Yin Jie’s rhythmic noisy chatter, I cannot resist falling asleep. I fell asleep again and vaguely heard Yin Jie was saying: “Hehe, Xi Guang is very tired recently …… I heard she has to climb up and down, take the aerial work platform and so on during the stocktake. Xi Guang even fell down, hurting the hands and legs. She was also hit on the head by a machine part …… ”
When I was shaken awake by Yu Hua, we had arrived in Jing’an Temple. Yin Jie and Yu Hua expressed thanks to Lin Yu Sen together, but I did not say a word before getting down from the car.
Standing at the side of the car, I accidentally met his gaze. I turned my head and walked away to look at the magnificent temple before my eyes.
Lin Yu Sen drove away in his car. Yu Hua looked at the car from a distant and moved by his gesture to say: “Vice President Lin is really nice. I thought once we reached Shanghai, he will let us get off to take a taxi by ourselves.”
Yin Jie said with her poisonous tongue: “People saw Xi Guang was sleeping like a pig, so he didn’t have the heart to ask us to get off!” Then she reproached me, “Such a good opportunity ah. Since it is not working time, you should say a few words to improve your relationship with him.”
I said: “I need not curry favor with him.”
Yin Jie said in annoyance: “Why are you so stubborn ah?!”
Yu Hua quickly smoothed things over: “Okay, don’t quarrel in front of the temple. Let’s go in.”
Yin Jie said furiously: “Who is quarreling with her?”
I said: “Yes ah, who is quarreling, who is a pig.”
Yin Jie nudged me twice and could not help but laughed.
Yu Hua was pushing us into the temple together. When Yin Jie saw the price of the admission ticket is more than ten dollars, she resolutely refused to enter the temple. I was indifferent, so I followed Yu Hua into the temple.
However, when I was kneeling on the praying mat, I felt awkward.
What should I wish for?
The moment I put my palms together in prayer, the answer appeared naturally. The one who appeared in my mind was not my parents, not myself, not that person, but was ——
Lin Yu Sen ……
I put my palms together, closed my eyes and prayed wholeheartedly: Let Vice President Lin Yu Sen disappears quickly, either through promotion, being transferred back to the head office or anything. Being taken away by a space alien will also do. I prayed that he will disappear quickly ……
After finished making my wish, I felt this can be considered a worthwhile trip because my mood has improved a lot. Yu Hua looked like she will get rich tomorrow. We left Jing’an Temple and went together with Yin Jie to Shanghai Bund. There was really nothing interesting to see there. We just strolled around casually until it was time for a meal.
Regarding where to have our meal, Yin Jie and I have a difference of opinion.
Yin Jie was bent on going to the City God Temple: “It can also be regarded as one of the sightseeing site in Shanghai. Eating and sightseeing at the same time, so we won’t waste time!”
I said: “We will go across the river la.”
“Why are we going to Pudong ah? City God Temple is closer. Moreover it happened to have a snack street. Imagine a street full of delicious food and not expensive! Let’s go to the City God Temple la!”
“Food is everywhere. Furthermore if we go over there, I will treat you to a feast.”
Yin Jie instantly felt surprised: “True or not? You are treating a feast?”
I nodded and emphasized: “A feast”
Yin Jie put up a last-ditch struggle: “But I also want to go to the snack street.”
“A lot of handsome guys there. Moreover they are all elite ah.”
Yin Jie immediately turned starry-eyed, “Really?”
“Of course, the financial center is there. It is the most dynamic place in Shanghai with all the securities firms, banks ah ……” I paused, “…… Anyway, handsome guys are everywhere.”
Finally, Yin Jie’s decisive word—- “Go!”
We took a taxi there.
Since I mentioned plenty of handsome guys there, once the taxi came out from the cross river tunnel, Yin Jie’s bright eyes were looking attentively at the streets. After a while, she suddenly have a thought and turned around, “It seems like Sheng Yuan’s head office is over here. Do you think Vice President Lin is in Sheng Yuan now? Then can we get a lift from him to go back?”
I absent-mindedly said, “yes” and said to the taxi driver: “Please go to Sheng Yuan building.”
Yin Jie looked at me in astonishment.
After getting down from the taxi, Yu Hua pulled my sleeve: “Xi Guang, you …… are really going to look for Vice President Lin?”
“…… What?” I have just recovered my composure, “We will have our meal nearby.”
There are a lot of places to eat in the buildings nearby. I picked one to sit down. Yu Hua was a little worried and asked me: “Isn’t it a bit expensive here?”
“It is all from the overtime pay. I’ve worked so much overtime, so it is okay.” I flipped through the menu and decisively ordered a big table of food. Yin Jie kept on winking at me, but I just acted like I did not see it. After the waiter had gone, she immediately exclaimed: “Xi Guang, have you gone crazy ah? So many dishes, must cost about six or seven hundred dollars. Moreover we definitely cannot finish eating them.”
“Then take your time to eat more.”
I lifted up my head to look out the window. From a distant, that round-shaped landmark (Oriental Pearl Tower) was flashing dazzling brilliant rays under the sunshine.
This meal took no less than one and a half hours to finish. As expected, everyone also ate their fill to bursting point. While asking the waiter to pack up the leftover, Yin Jie touched her stomach and said: “I feel like I cannot eat any more, not even a grain of rice!”
Yu Hua asked: “Where are we going next?”
I said: “There is a cafe downstairs, very famous for its afternoon tea. How about we go there?”
Yin Jie was speechless, “I beg you, can we change to another place? Don’t want to eat again, okay?”
“I heard the cakes there are very delicious.”
“No way, No matter how delicious, I also could not eat any more.”
“…… My knee is painful so I can’t walk.”
“Why are you so shameless ah?!”
With cheeks streaming with tears, Yin Jie dragged Yu Hua to follow me to go for afternoon tea.
Although she said she could not eat any more, when the beautiful cakes were served, she immediately became lively once again and ate more heartily than anyone else.
Yu Hua reluctantly reminded her: “Don’t you want to lose weight recently? Even if it is a rare trip out, you also need not eat like this. You wasted your effort in going hungry for the past few days.”
Yin Jie argued with the courage of one’s convictions: “It is because I ate too little in the past so I’ve to eat like this now. Can you understand that kind of feeling of looking on helplessly at your beloved food in front of you but cannot eat them? A few days ago, I restrained myself from eating but my urge to eat was getting stronger in the following few days. Then I cannot control anymore. The harder I try to restrain, the more out of control it becomes! However, I am all right if I continue not to see any delicious looking things …… People like you who don’t have to lose weight will not understand!”
The harder you tried to restrain, the more out of control it became?
“What is there not to understand?” I stirred my milk tea and looked out the window.
“Come on! You don’t have to lose weight, so how can you understand?”
After eating a few pieces of small cakes, Yin Jie really cannot eat any more. Thus both of us looked out the window together: “Xi Guang, you’ve been looking for a long time, so did you see any handsome guy? Why I can’t even see one ah?”
Yu Hua said feebly: “I wanted to ask you before, isn’t today Saturday?…… Even handsome guys also will not go to work ah ……”
I was stumped for words. Suddenly I felt weak all over my body.
Oh yes, today is Saturday ah. If not Saturday, how would I have time to come to Shanghai …… since it is Saturday, people do not go to work ……
I had really worked too much overtime until brain damage, to even forget about this.
Yin Jie said in a very painful voice, “We’ve been duped by Xi Guang! Xi Guang, admit it that you are a foodie who have a craving for the things here.”
“Let’s go back.” After staring blankly for quite a while, I said.
“Okay, since it is almost time to leave.”
We walked out of the cafe together, into the street crowded with pedestrians. I lifted up my head once again to look at the rows of windows on that building. In a daze, I halted my footstep.
So many windows, he normally will look down from which window?
“Xi Guang?”
“Xi Guang? What are you thinking about? Go la!”
What was I thinking about?
I stood on this crowded street. Every minute also got a lot of people walking hurriedly and directly past me. Thus I met countless strangers, just not him.
I knew he would pass by here every day. I knew he was in a certain corner of this city. Perhaps in the next street. Perhaps in the next moment, he will stand on where I was standing now.
However at this very moment, I did not get to meet him.
He will also never know, someone once stood here and imagined meeting him.
Yin Jie pulled at my sleeve, “Xi Guang? Where aren’t you going? What are you thinking about?”
“Ah? I am not thinking about anything, just feel ……” I spoke in a low voice, “meeting in Shanghai, is too difficult.”
Chapter 19
The first thing in the next morning, we tried to catch a bus in front of the company. Mainly it was Yin Jie and Yu Hua who were flagging down a bus, whereas I sat on the edge of the flower bed to catch up on my sleep. In my muddle-headed state, I seemed to hear Yin Jie’s pleasantly surprised voice: “Vice President Lin, are you also going to Shanghai?!”
Why was he here?
I was startled, and immediately looked up, but it was already too late.
I’ve already heard Lin Yu Sen’s commendable and kind voice, “Oh, I can drive you there.”
I quickly winked at Yin Jie to tell her to decline but she acted like she did not see it. To my surprise, she even pulled me up and pushed me into the passenger seat, “Thank you Vice President Lin! Xi Guang, you sit in front!”
She said that in a loud voice, then whispered quickly to me: “This is a good opportunity ah. Make good use of it to build up a relationship with Vice President Lin la. After all, it is not working time now, so everyone is more relaxed.”
She dragged Yu Hua and got into the back seat at lightning speed, not allowing me to decline. Then she closed the door with a ‘bang’.
I had to sit in front.
In a confined space, the sense of presence of the next person was strongly felt making me unable to ignore him. I really did not understand why he would be willing to be our driver. When he loosened his grip on the steering wheel, his hand nearly touched my clothes. I silently pulled my clothes and moved a little closer to the side.
His hand stopped in mid air for a while before pressing on the accelerator with an expressionless face.
The car traveled smoothly along its route. Yin Jie reached out to pinch my arm with all her strength to signal to me to say something. I shrank further to the side once again and ignored her.
Lin Yu Sen shot us a glance.
Yin Jie quickly pulled back her hand and gave a fake laugh twice.
Lin Yu Sen asked faintly: “Where do you want to go?”
“We want to go to Jing’an Temple first. Yu Hua loves to pray to Buddha for blessing. The God of Wealth in Jing’an Temple is the most efficacious …… I want to go to Shanghai Bund to take a look. Although it is said only people from outside the city will go, I am precisely an outsider from another province ha ha ~ ~ ”
With Yin Jie around, there was never a dull moment. When Lin Yu Sen asked a question, Yin Jie will chatter continuously.
I started to feel sleepy again. I covered my mouth with my hand and quietly yawned ……
Chit chit chat chat ……
With Yin Jie’s rhythmic noisy chatter, I cannot resist falling asleep. I fell asleep again and vaguely heard Yin Jie was saying: “Hehe, Xi Guang is very tired recently …… I heard she has to climb up and down, take the aerial work platform and so on during the stocktake. Xi Guang even fell down, hurting the hands and legs. She was also hit on the head by a machine part …… ”
When I was shaken awake by Yu Hua, we had arrived in Jing’an Temple. Yin Jie and Yu Hua expressed thanks to Lin Yu Sen together, but I did not say a word before getting down from the car.
Standing at the side of the car, I accidentally met his gaze. I turned my head and walked away to look at the magnificent temple before my eyes.
Lin Yu Sen drove away in his car. Yu Hua looked at the car from a distant and moved by his gesture to say: “Vice President Lin is really nice. I thought once we reached Shanghai, he will let us get off to take a taxi by ourselves.”
Yin Jie said with her poisonous tongue: “People saw Xi Guang was sleeping like a pig, so he didn’t have the heart to ask us to get off!” Then she reproached me, “Such a good opportunity ah. Since it is not working time, you should say a few words to improve your relationship with him.”
I said: “I need not curry favor with him.”
Yin Jie said in annoyance: “Why are you so stubborn ah?!”
Yu Hua quickly smoothed things over: “Okay, don’t quarrel in front of the temple. Let’s go in.”
Yin Jie said furiously: “Who is quarreling with her?”
I said: “Yes ah, who is quarreling, who is a pig.”
Yin Jie nudged me twice and could not help but laughed.
Yu Hua was pushing us into the temple together. When Yin Jie saw the price of the admission ticket is more than ten dollars, she resolutely refused to enter the temple. I was indifferent, so I followed Yu Hua into the temple.
However, when I was kneeling on the praying mat, I felt awkward.
What should I wish for?
The moment I put my palms together in prayer, the answer appeared naturally. The one who appeared in my mind was not my parents, not myself, not that person, but was ——
Lin Yu Sen ……
I put my palms together, closed my eyes and prayed wholeheartedly: Let Vice President Lin Yu Sen disappears quickly, either through promotion, being transferred back to the head office or anything. Being taken away by a space alien will also do. I prayed that he will disappear quickly ……
After finished making my wish, I felt this can be considered a worthwhile trip because my mood has improved a lot. Yu Hua looked like she will get rich tomorrow. We left Jing’an Temple and went together with Yin Jie to Shanghai Bund. There was really nothing interesting to see there. We just strolled around casually until it was time for a meal.
Regarding where to have our meal, Yin Jie and I have a difference of opinion.
Yin Jie was bent on going to the City God Temple: “It can also be regarded as one of the sightseeing site in Shanghai. Eating and sightseeing at the same time, so we won’t waste time!”
I said: “We will go across the river la.”
“Why are we going to Pudong ah? City God Temple is closer. Moreover it happened to have a snack street. Imagine a street full of delicious food and not expensive! Let’s go to the City God Temple la!”
“Food is everywhere. Furthermore if we go over there, I will treat you to a feast.”
Yin Jie instantly felt surprised: “True or not? You are treating a feast?”
I nodded and emphasized: “A feast”
Yin Jie put up a last-ditch struggle: “But I also want to go to the snack street.”
“A lot of handsome guys there. Moreover they are all elite ah.”
Yin Jie immediately turned starry-eyed, “Really?”
“Of course, the financial center is there. It is the most dynamic place in Shanghai with all the securities firms, banks ah ……” I paused, “…… Anyway, handsome guys are everywhere.”
Finally, Yin Jie’s decisive word—- “Go!”
We took a taxi there.
Since I mentioned plenty of handsome guys there, once the taxi came out from the cross river tunnel, Yin Jie’s bright eyes were looking attentively at the streets. After a while, she suddenly have a thought and turned around, “It seems like Sheng Yuan’s head office is over here. Do you think Vice President Lin is in Sheng Yuan now? Then can we get a lift from him to go back?”
I absent-mindedly said, “yes” and said to the taxi driver: “Please go to Sheng Yuan building.”
Yin Jie looked at me in astonishment.
After getting down from the taxi, Yu Hua pulled my sleeve: “Xi Guang, you …… are really going to look for Vice President Lin?”
“…… What?” I have just recovered my composure, “We will have our meal nearby.”
There are a lot of places to eat in the buildings nearby. I picked one to sit down. Yu Hua was a little worried and asked me: “Isn’t it a bit expensive here?”
“It is all from the overtime pay. I’ve worked so much overtime, so it is okay.” I flipped through the menu and decisively ordered a big table of food. Yin Jie kept on winking at me, but I just acted like I did not see it. After the waiter had gone, she immediately exclaimed: “Xi Guang, have you gone crazy ah? So many dishes, must cost about six or seven hundred dollars. Moreover we definitely cannot finish eating them.”
“Then take your time to eat more.”
I lifted up my head to look out the window. From a distant, that round-shaped landmark (Oriental Pearl Tower) was flashing dazzling brilliant rays under the sunshine.
This meal took no less than one and a half hours to finish. As expected, everyone also ate their fill to bursting point. While asking the waiter to pack up the leftover, Yin Jie touched her stomach and said: “I feel like I cannot eat any more, not even a grain of rice!”
Yu Hua asked: “Where are we going next?”
I said: “There is a cafe downstairs, very famous for its afternoon tea. How about we go there?”
Yin Jie was speechless, “I beg you, can we change to another place? Don’t want to eat again, okay?”
“I heard the cakes there are very delicious.”
“No way, No matter how delicious, I also could not eat any more.”
“…… My knee is painful so I can’t walk.”
“Why are you so shameless ah?!”
With cheeks streaming with tears, Yin Jie dragged Yu Hua to follow me to go for afternoon tea.
Although she said she could not eat any more, when the beautiful cakes were served, she immediately became lively once again and ate more heartily than anyone else.
Yu Hua reluctantly reminded her: “Don’t you want to lose weight recently? Even if it is a rare trip out, you also need not eat like this. You wasted your effort in going hungry for the past few days.”
Yin Jie argued with the courage of one’s convictions: “It is because I ate too little in the past so I’ve to eat like this now. Can you understand that kind of feeling of looking on helplessly at your beloved food in front of you but cannot eat them? A few days ago, I restrained myself from eating but my urge to eat was getting stronger in the following few days. Then I cannot control anymore. The harder I try to restrain, the more out of control it becomes! However, I am all right if I continue not to see any delicious looking things …… People like you who don’t have to lose weight will not understand!”
The harder you tried to restrain, the more out of control it became?
“What is there not to understand?” I stirred my milk tea and looked out the window.
“Come on! You don’t have to lose weight, so how can you understand?”
After eating a few pieces of small cakes, Yin Jie really cannot eat any more. Thus both of us looked out the window together: “Xi Guang, you’ve been looking for a long time, so did you see any handsome guy? Why I can’t even see one ah?”
Yu Hua said feebly: “I wanted to ask you before, isn’t today Saturday?…… Even handsome guys also will not go to work ah ……”
I was stumped for words. Suddenly I felt weak all over my body.
Oh yes, today is Saturday ah. If not Saturday, how would I have time to come to Shanghai …… since it is Saturday, people do not go to work ……
I had really worked too much overtime until brain damage, to even forget about this.
Yin Jie said in a very painful voice, “We’ve been duped by Xi Guang! Xi Guang, admit it that you are a foodie who have a craving for the things here.”
“Let’s go back.” After staring blankly for quite a while, I said.
“Okay, since it is almost time to leave.”
We walked out of the cafe together, into the street crowded with pedestrians. I lifted up my head once again to look at the rows of windows on that building. In a daze, I halted my footstep.
So many windows, he normally will look down from which window?
“Xi Guang?”
“Xi Guang? What are you thinking about? Go la!”
What was I thinking about?
I stood on this crowded street. Every minute also got a lot of people walking hurriedly and directly past me. Thus I met countless strangers, just not him.
I knew he would pass by here every day. I knew he was in a certain corner of this city. Perhaps in the next street. Perhaps in the next moment, he will stand on where I was standing now.
However at this very moment, I did not get to meet him.
He will also never know, someone once stood here and imagined meeting him.
Yin Jie pulled at my sleeve, “Xi Guang? Where aren’t you going? What are you thinking about?”
“Ah? I am not thinking about anything, just feel ……” I spoke in a low voice, “meeting in Shanghai, is too difficult.”
