"Yaqian, these last three days must have been exhausting, right?"

"It wasn't too bad, but I'm worried I didn't do well enough."

"Our beauty salon had to urgently hire a batch of new staff because a few people left due to performance issues recently. I think you have a good chance of staying on, so keep it up."

"Mm-hmm."

"Ring, ring—" The sound of a phone ringing interrupted their conversation.

Li Weiwei answered the call, her voice sweet and sugary, "Hey darling, are you here yet?"

"Mm-hmm, okay, I'm just about to leave. I'll wait for you by the roadside."

"Mua~ Love you!"

After hanging up, Li Weiwei smiled and said, "My boyfriend's here to pick me up. He worries about me getting off work so late."

"Wow, Sister Weiwei, your boyfriend is so good to you," Zhao Yaqian remarked with envy, somehow thinking of Tang Song.

Whenever it rained before, Brother Song would worry about her having trouble getting to work, so he'd send her money for a cab. He'd also bring her food after work and take her home.

Brother Song was indeed very good to her, but after she repeatedly turned down his invitations, he seemed to have grown distant. She counted the days—they hadn't seen each other in 13 days.

As Li Weiwei packed up her things, she casually asked, "By the way, Yaqian, where do you live?"

"Over in Tiankuo Garden, on Yuxin Road in Qiaoxi District."

"Oh, that's a shame. I live in Yuhua District. Otherwise, my boyfriend could give you a ride home," Li Weiwei said, shrugging. "There are no buses at this hour, so you should take a cab. It's safer."

Zhao Yaqian yawned. "Yeah, I’ll definitely take a cab, otherwise I'll get home too late."

She had always been a heavy sleeper, used to going to bed early and waking up late. The current schedule was taking a toll on her.

They continued chatting as they turned off all the lights in the beauty salon and closed the door.

Since she hadn’t eaten much for dinner, Zhao Yaqian was starting to feel hungry. The evening breeze made her pull her pink sun-protective jacket tighter around herself as she felt a bit cold.

They walked down the steps and along the stone path towards the roadside. In front of the entrance, a pure black sedan was parked with its hazard lights on. The glossy paint reflected the orange glow of the streetlights, making it look very elegant.

"Is that your boyfriend's car, Sister Weiwei?" Zhao Yaqian asked, pointing at the car.

Li Weiwei glanced at it and shook her head. "No, my boyfriend drives a white Volkswagen. This one’s a BMW."

"Oh, I see." Zhao Yaqian nodded.

As they approached the roadside, Li Weiwei tiptoed to look towards the intersection but still couldn't see her boyfriend's car.

It was nearing 11 p.m., and the traffic had significantly decreased, with no taxis in sight. Zhao Yaqian pulled out her phone to book a ride online.

"Click—" The door of the BMW next to them opened.

A tall figure stepped out of the car.

Dressed in a clean white shirt, with dignified and handsome features, and a tall, upright posture, he was striking even in the night.

He flashed a warm, handsome smile and waved the thermal bag in his hand at them.

"Waiting for you to get off work wasn’t easy. The fried skewers I brought you are almost cold."

Zhao Yaqian blinked, looked at Tang Song, then at the sleek BMW.

She bit her lip hard, feeling a slight pain—it wasn’t a dream.

She stood there in a daze, unsure of what to do, baffled by how Tang Song seemed so different after just 10 days without seeing him.

Li Weiwei glanced at the stunned Zhao Yaqian, almost thinking that this handsome guy was here for her.

Tang Song stood in front of Zhao Yaqian, calmly observing her.

It had been a while since they last met, but her figure was as striking as ever. Her jeans tightly hugged her long legs, and the curves of her chest under the sun-protective jacket were perfectly accentuated.

"Brother Song, why are you here all of a sudden?" Zhao Yaqian twisted her hands together, sneaking a glance at his face, then pointed at the BMW. "And you changed your car too?"

"I got this car recently. I’ve been here since 10, but I didn’t expect you to be working late tonight." Tang Song opened the thermal bag and handed her a skewer of juice-filled fried tofu. "Eat up, Teacher Zhao. You must be starving after such a long day. There’s milk tea in the car, too."

Zhao Yaqian took the skewer, the familiar aroma confirming it was from the hand-made fried skewer shop on the pedestrian street at Yunsheng Square. She took a big bite—it was delicious!

Suddenly, the night didn’t feel so cold.

But for some reason, her heart was racing.

Li Weiwei stood by, watching the scene unfold, swallowing with envy. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on novelꜰire.net

He’d arrived at 10, bought food and drinks in advance, and waited outside for over 40 minutes to surprise Zhao Yaqian.

Then she thought of her own boyfriend, who was only coming because she asked him to pick her up, and he still hadn’t arrived.

To top it off, this guy was tall, handsome, and drove a BMW.

Li Weiwei felt like she’d been shown up.

She had just been feeling sorry for Zhao Yaqian, working late with no one to pick her up and living far away.

Now it felt like karma had come back to bite her!

"Hi, are you Yaqian’s coworker? Have some skewers too!" Tang Song handed over a few skewers.

Li Weiwei quickly accepted them, thanking him repeatedly.

She couldn’t help but think, This guy has such a nice smile and such nice hands.

Tang Song opened the front passenger door and pulled out another cup of milk tea, handing it to Li Weiwei. "I bought two cups, here, have one."

Li Weiwei’s face felt warm, but she still took it. "Thank you, thank you!"

Such a handsome and gentlemanly guy was impossible to refuse.

Zhao Yaqian was really lucky!

Tang Song looked at Zhao Yaqian, who was still eating skewers, and sincerely said, "You’re welcome. Yaqian is pretty straightforward, so I hope you can look out for her at work."

Li Weiwei nodded quickly. "No problem, don’t worry."

"Come on, let’s get in the car. I’ll take you home first," Tang Song suggested, pointing at the car.

"No, no, my boyfriend will be here soon. You two can go ahead," Li Weiwei declined.

Hearing that someone else was picking her up, Tang Song nodded and smiled at Zhao Yaqian. "It’s getting late. Get in the car and keep eating."

Zhao Yaqian took the thermal bag from Tang Song and waved at her colleague. "See you tomorrow, Sister Weiwei."

"See you tomorrow."

After getting in the car, Zhao Yaqian looked around at the luxurious interior.

It looked very expensive.

When Tang Song got in, she sneaked a glance at his profile.

After 13 days, everything seemed different.

"Why are you staring at me? The milk tea’s in the glove compartment. Help yourself," Tang Song smiled, turning to look at her.

Zhao Yaqian held the thermal bag tightly, her voice soft. "Brother Song, thank you for coming to pick me up, for waiting so long, and for bringing me food."

She knew Tang Song’s routine—he usually went to bed around 10 p.m. and woke up at 6 a.m. sharp. So she felt both surprised and guilty.

"You mentioned yesterday that there aren’t many people on the bus at night and you felt a bit scared. I was really worried about you."

"Is that so…" Zhao Yaqian's eyes seemed to glaze over as she lowered her head.

Tang Song pursed his lips and leaned over towards the front passenger seat.

Feeling him getting closer, Zhao Yaqian quickly lifted her head, her heart about to leap out of her throat. "Brother Song."

"You seemed out of it, so I’m helping you with your seatbelt," Tang Song smiled at her as he pulled out the seatbelt.

He fumbled a bit before finally getting it to click into place.

His hand inevitably brushed against her curvy hip, and even through the denim, he could feel how soft it was.

Zhao Yaqian’s face turned red, but she didn’t say anything.