Chapter 72: Apology
[Jiujiu, when I replied to your message last night, something came up. It's all good now.]
Wen Jiu replied instantly: [Don't tell me it had something to do with your boss (dog head emoji)]
Shen Mengxia rubbed her forehead; there was really no need to guess so accurately.
Shen Mengxia changed the subject: [Ah, I'll tell you all about it when we meet tomorrow.]
Wen Jiu sent an OK gesture, and their conversation finally ended.
Not long after, Gu Zehuai messaged her.
[Jiujiu, tomorrow's the weekend. Want to go out on a date?]
Wen Jiu replied with a [pitiful] emoji, then added: [I've already made plans to go shopping with Xiaxia tomorrow.]
Gu Zehuai immediately sent back a sticker of a little cartoon person rolling on the ground and crying, so vivid that Wen Jiu could almost picture Gu Zehuai throwing a tantrum right in her mind.
The scene was almost beautiful—hilarious, in fact.
She sent him a [patting head] sticker and promised to go out with him on Sunday, finally managing to coax him into good spirits.
Gu Zehuai felt bitter; he had to compete with Shen Mengxia for Wen Jiu's affection, yet somehow he always lost.
That night, Wen Jiu was struck by inspiration and kept sketching until the early hours, only stopping to shower and get ready for bed.
The next day, Wen Jiu slept straight through to lunchtime.
After eating, she finally replied to Gu Zehuai.
[I'm full now. Have you eaten?]
Gu Zehuai quickly sent a photo of himself eating alone in the company cafeteria.
[Lunch for one. So pitiful.]
[I’ll come keep you company tomorrow! Kiss kiss!]
Wen Jiu clicked her tongue—so this was Gu Zehuai in love? He was clingier than she’d ever imagined.
After lunch, Wen Jiu went upstairs to change and put on makeup, then headed out.
The moment she walked into the café where she’d arranged to meet Shen Mengxia, she spotted her sitting at a corner table.
"Xiaxia, have you been waiting long?"
Shen Mengxia perked up at the sight of Wen Jiu: "Not at all, I just got here myself. I ordered your usual latte and dessert. See if you want anything else."
She handed Wen Jiu the menu.
"No need for now," Wen Jiu shook her head, then changed the subject. "Xiaxia, tell me honestly—why were you with your boss after work last night?"
Her gaze was teasing as she looked at Shen Mengxia.
Shen Mengxia immediately put on an indignant face and complained: "You have no idea! That unscrupulous boss of mine tempted me with double year-end bonuses, just to get me to ruin his blind date. He told me to improvise, and I did exactly that."
The more she spoke, the quieter her voice became, clearly lacking confidence.
Wen Jiu was curious about her methods: "So what did you do?"
Shen Mengxia recounted in detail what she’d done in the restaurant the previous evening, leaving Wen Jiu dumbfounded. Shen Mengxia was truly impressive.
Unable to hold back, Wen Jiu gave her a thumbs-up, but still asked, "Wouldn't your boss be angry after what you said?"
Shen Mengxia recalled Ye Chen's expression last night—he really did look angry—so she nodded.
Last night, Shen Mengxia had thought it over. Even if she wanted to mess with Ye Chen, it shouldn’t have been in that way. She resolved to find an opportunity to treat Ye Chen to a meal and apologize, even though Ye Chen hadn’t shown any sign of blaming her.
"He asked me to do it because this blind date was different from the others, so he came up with this nasty idea. But I didn’t handle it well, so I plan to invite him to dinner and apologize in a few days—especially for the sake of my double year-end bonus."