Qiao Jingjing's homebound life thus began.
Day one: Living actively—housework, flower arranging, exercise, brewing tea, reading in the sunlight (key point: applied sunscreen), studying cookbooks. Felt her soul elevated. The only failure was cooking an unsightly dinner with a certain someone.
Day two: Still living actively, switched to a seemingly reliable cookbook, yet still ended up making another unsightly dinner with a certain someone.
Day three: Fine, let's try another cookbook—bought plenty anyway ╮(╯▽╰)╭
Day four: Felt discouraged, no longer wanted to live actively. Scrolled through phone, slept, played games... Ate noodles for dinner...
Day five: Teacher Yu actually worked overtime—was he trying to escape reality?... Brought back wraps from their cafeteria when he returned. Delicious!
Day six: Went to Guan Zai's place to mooch a meal. Acquired several cooking tips from Mrs. Guan and secured her promise for remote guidance.
Day six (evening): Finally managed to produce something barely edible! Celebrated by going to see a movie.
Day seven: Online purchases arrived—throw pillows, slippers, fluffy carpet, tablecloth, tableware, teacups, etc. The soft and cute quotient at Teacher Yu's place increased by 100%!
Day eight: The scale bought from Taobao also arrived... ??? How did I gain weight?
"Watch your weight. If you're not careful, you could gain ten pounds after two months at home." Ling Jie admonished earnestly over the phone.
"Impossible. Teacher Yu really has no talent for cooking—his food won't make me fat. His proud confidence has been completely shattered, you know? This is false weight gain—from overeating at his colleague's place the day before yesterday that hasn't digested yet." Qiao Jingjing vowed confidently.
Damn that "overeating from the day before yesterday that hasn't digested yet." Ling Jie couldn't be bothered to argue, then remembered to ask: "You went to his colleague's place? Does his colleague know he's dating you?"
"They know. I visited a few times when he was sick—I told you about it."
"Oh, I remember now. The one you asked me to bring skincare products from Hong Kong for. Do his other colleagues know?"
"Probably not. Nobody asked him, and it's not like he'd volunteer the information."
Ling Jie chuckled, "I remembered a post I forgot to send you last time."
Soon she sent a link via WeChat. Qiao Jingjing clicked it open.
Title: My cousin works at Shanghai Aerospace, so I gossiped a bit. Those in the know, come in.
Content: My cousin graduated from Harbin Institute of Technology and works at Shanghai Aerospace. When I visited Shanghai, my cousin happened to be free and treated me to a meal. We hadn't seen each other for a long time, and since my cousin is thirty with not much to talk about, after some awkward chatting we both started scrolling through our phones. Then I came across gossip about other young actresses' relationships and suddenly remembered QJJ—isn't her boyfriend from Shanghai Aerospace? Got excited immediately and asked if he'd heard anything. But my cousin was shocked, saying he had no idea at all. Then I showed him those candid photos taken by passersby. My cousin said you can't tell anything from those—they're either blurry, or the people are wearing masks, or it's just their backs. I had a brainstorm and found competition videos on Bilibili. My cousin actually recognized him! Said this is so-and-so from the 80x department! But he doesn't know him personally. Still, we finally had something to talk about. Thanks QJJ!
1st comment: Caught the OP! Please share more details. What did you talk about? Your cousin had no idea before? So nobody in their workplace knows?3l: He really doesn’t know. Their organization is huge with many research institutes. Qiao Jingjing’s boyfriend is from 80x, and my cousin isn’t in the same department. Plus, my cousin is a tech geek and doesn’t really pay attention to this stuff.
9l: shrugs I thought everyone in the same organization would’ve heard about it by now.
10l: The Aerospace Institute has a lot of people, like tens of thousands, and if they’re not in the same research institute, it’s totally normal not to know.
17l: Actually, unless you specifically follow celebrity gossip, most people don’t know. My classmates were really surprised when I told them.
This relationship is really low-key… It’s only being discussed on forums; there’s hardly any buzz on Weibo.
31l: Yeah, their organization is super busy. They often have slogans like “work hard for a hundred days,” there are tons of people, frequent business trips, and they don’t seem to care much about gossip. But my cousin does know about him—he can name him just from watching a video lol.
38l: I’m curious, how does your cousin know about her boyfriend if they’re not in the same institute?
3l: Does your cousin know him because he’s handsome?
49l: I asked my cousin the same thing, and he said…
Because he’s handsome.
Hahahaha, I almost choked. But thinking about it, it makes sense. There are a few beauties at our school I don’t know personally but still know of because good looks just draw attention. My cousin said the canteen behind their institute is pretty good, so he goes there often and sees him a lot—he really stands out. But my cousin also said this guy is really capable, and his mentor is an academician! A true genius student, right?
51l: @_@ An academician!
53l: Suddenly, I kind of get why Qiao Jingjing is with him. This is a long-term potential stock.
65l: Superficial as I am, I get it just from his looks.
66l: So, those who criticize QJJ for her boyfriend being poor are really being dishonest. Honestly, she might end up benefiting from him in the future.
Qiao Jingjing was scrolling through the forum when Ling Jie sent another message.
Ling Jie: The key is on page 659.
They managed to discuss this for so many pages? Qiao Jingjing directly jumped to page 659.
659l: OP here with an update! My cousin said he ran into a girl from QJJ’s boyfriend’s institute during lunch today. They’ve worked together before, so they know each other (I suspect my cousin has a secret crush on her), and he brought this up (my cousin is actually pretty clever—he said his cousin is a fan and asked him about it). That girl actually knew about it and said there was a competition video circulating in their organization before, but she also said it might not be true because she heard he was still dating someone last year!
OP is confused now. Starting to wonder if QJJ and this genius student are really just classmates… I mean, isn’t it normal for classmates to meet up, eat, watch movies, or go shopping together? Think about it—they’ve never been caught in any intimate moments, right? No photos of them entering a hotel or going home together, either. So, have we been wrong to blame the paparazzi for not following them? Maybe they did but found out they’re really just classmates with nothing juicy…
Qiao Jingjing: …
She directly screenshotted it and sent it to her classmate.
Yu Tu: …
Yu Tu: Probably a lingering effect of that joke on the basketball court.
Jingjing: No, I don’t believe it. You must’ve gone on a date with someone else!
Jingjing: rolling around crying jpg
Yu Tu: helpless jpgThis helpless expression of leaning against a wall while smoking was probably the most frequently used emoji Yu Tu sent. Qiao Jingjing couldn't help but laugh whenever she saw it. However, Yu Tu had disappeared right after sending the picture.
Jingjing: Where are you?
Yu Tu still didn't reply. Qiao Jingjing guessed he might be busy with work, so she stopped messaging and went about her own business.
After a while, Yu Tu called directly. "Guan Zai has returned to work. A few close colleagues and I plan to welcome him back. We were too busy last month and kept postponing it. I just organized it—we've settled on this Saturday."
"Oh, and I said I'd bring my girlfriend."
The dinner was scheduled for 6 p.m. on Saturday. By 4 p.m., Qiao Jingjing had already started doing her makeup and trying on outfits. It was past 5 p.m., and she still hadn't emerged from the walk-in closet.
Yu Tu glanced at his watch, put down the book in his hand, and reminded her, "Jingjing, we should get going."
"Wait ten more minutes, I'm almost done."
Yu Tu lowered his head to continue reading. "You look most beautiful without makeup."
"Impossible. I've aged from doing housework every day at home."
Yu Tu: "...Wasn't I the one sweeping, mopping, and washing dishes every day?"
"But I have to wash vegetables, cook, do laundry, and dust!"
"We cook together," Yu Tu reminded her.
"Sigh" Qiao Jingjing was struck by a sad memory. "How come you can get into Tsinghua, conduct experiments, achieve five consecutive legendary, yet can't cook a decent meal?"
"That just proves cooking belongs to the realm of art. You should work harder at it."
"No, anyway, I can survive on just leafy greens. Can you?"
...He couldn't.
Yu Tu lost this round completely.
Ten minutes passed quickly. Yu Tu reminded her punctually, "It's 5:15."
"Coming, coming!"
Finally, Qiao Jingjing rushed out of the room. She wore a loose, mid-length sweatshirt paired with jeans and white sneakers, her hair tied in a loose bun. Her lively eyes sparkled, making her look bright and full of energy.
"Is it pretty? Does it look casual and natural, like I'm not wearing makeup? This is called effortless makeup—it takes a lot of effort to do, and you kept rushing me."
Yu Tu's gaze lingered on her for several seconds before he calmly lowered his head and said casually, "You're backlit. Come closer so I can see."
Unaware of his intentions, Qiao Jingjing approached. As soon as she reached the sofa, she was pulled forcefully onto his lap.
"Last time you tricked me into going to your place to fix the purifier, you were wearing this kind of... effortless makeup too, weren't you?"
Smart, straightforward men with good memories who can draw inferences are so annoying. Qiao Jingjing immediately denied it: "No, I just casually applied five pounds of powder."
"Oh? So that adds up to a hundred pounds. Wouldn't Ling Jie scold you?"
Qiao Jingjing: "..."
So annoying, she really wanted to hit someone.
"I wasn't 95 pounds back then!"
Yu Tu couldn't help but chuckle. He bit her lip to soothe his ruffled girlfriend. "I actually like it a lot."
Qiao Jingjing pushed him away. "Don't mess up my lipstick. We're going to be late."
Yu Tu said, "It's too red right now, not effortless enough."
Qiao Jingjing: "...Really?"
"Mhm."
...Well then... better kiss a bit more off...
By the time her lipstick finally looked effortless enough, it was already 5:30 when they set off. Halfway there, Da Meng called, "Old Yu, where are you guys?"
Yu Tu put the call on speakerphone: "We're stuck in traffic. We'll probably be about fifteen minutes late.""Oh, then take your time driving. Lao Guan hasn't arrived yet either. By the way, we just asked about the private room—there's a minimum charge. There are a few tables available in the main hall here, so we changed to the main hall, table number 2."
"Let's switch back to the private room."
"No need to be so particular. Even though you're treating, there's no need to waste money."
"It's like this." Yu Tu thought for a moment and decided to shift the blame to his girlfriend, criticizingly saying, "My girlfriend is a bit delicate."
Qiao Jingjing: "..."
"Alright then." Since Yu Tu had said so, they had to go along with him. Before hanging up, Da Meng couldn't resist criticizing, "Lao Yu, is it really okay for you to say that about her in front of your girlfriend?"
Da Meng went through the hassle of switching back to the private room. Soon, everyone except Yu Tu had arrived one after another. This time, everyone had brought their partners, leaving Da Meng as the only single person. Da Meng felt quite anxious: "Am I the only one who's going to be pressured about marriage when I go home for the New Year? When did all of you start dating? You never said anything before, but as soon as it was mentioned to bring partners, suddenly everyone has one."
Xiao Hu said sheepishly, "We just started dating. Since it's a free meal, I brought her along."
Guan Zai practically wanted to facepalm.
Had all the emotional intelligence in their team been taken by him and Yu Tu? Couldn't he phrase it better? Fortunately, the girl next to Xiao Hu didn't seem to mind at all, smiling cheerfully and looking quite happy.
So it's true that every pot has its lid—someone as overly clever as Yu Tu deserved to be matched with someone as quirky and full of ideas as Qiao Jingjing.
"So when did Lao Yu get a girlfriend? Was it from that blind date last time?"
Guan Zai couldn't help but say, "Probably around the time he tricked you with that WeChat mini-program."
Da Meng was stunned: "That long ago! Wait, how do you know about the mini-program thing?"
The only female colleague present, Xiao Yin, said with a laugh, "You complained about it everywhere—have you forgotten?"
Da Meng muttered, "But I didn't tell Lao Guan.Guan Zai couldn't help but complain: "Could you spare some of your IQ for emotional intelligence? Can't you learn from Yu Tu?"
Da Meng wasn't having it: "Lao Yu isn't that emotionally intelligent either. Just now on the phone, he said in front of his girlfriend that she's delicate and insisted on sitting in the private room."
That's their way of flirting, understand? You single dog.
Guan Zai was speechless. Shen Jing, overhearing, laughed and said, "Don't listen to Yu Tu's nonsense—he's just showing off. They've visited Guan Zai a few times. His girlfriend is really nice. She's the one who chose this restaurant, specifically picking a quiet place with few people for Guan Zai's sake. Before booking, she even asked me about Guan Zai's dietary restrictions."
Guan Zai hadn't known about this detail before and felt particularly comforted upon hearing it. He chimed in, "Cut him some slack. His girlfriend really isn't suitable for sitting in the main hall."
Da Meng was puzzled: "Why not?"
The others seemed to recall something, thoughtful. "Could it be..."
Just as they were speaking, the private room door was pushed open. The waiter's slightly excited voice rang out: "Miss Qiao, your private room is here."
Everyone in the room instantly turned to look at the door, only to see Yu Tu holding hands with a particularly familiar girl appearing at the entrance. Yu Tu said to everyone, "Sorry we're late."Actually, during the meal, everyone remained quite composed, at most criticizing Yu Tu for keeping it from everyone all along, and Da Meng adding several signature dishes after realizing what was going on. Throughout the meal, Qiao Jingjing didn’t say much either, mainly focusing on Guan Zai. It wasn’t until after the meal, when they left, that Yu Tu’s phone started blowing up.
By the time Qiao Jingjing came out of the bathroom, Yu Tu was still replying to WeChat messages. Jingjing climbed right onto his lap and took the phone from him.
The group chat had probably already accumulated hundreds of messages, with Da Meng speaking the most, firing off messages every few seconds.
Da Meng: Old Yu, you two were high school classmates—have you been dating for over a decade already?
Da Meng: I think it’s possible. Today I realized Old Yu is a man of deep cunning.
Qiao Jingjing couldn’t help but laugh. "Look at the image you have in your colleagues’ minds, all because you kept lying."
As she scrolled through the WeChat chat history, her thoughts suddenly drifted. "If we had gotten together back in high school, what would we be like now?"
Before Yu Tu could answer, she backtracked on her own. "Never mind, it’s better we didn’t get together back then. Otherwise, I might not have ended up on the path I’m on now. I definitely wouldn’t be as beautiful or as interesting as I am now. Forget it, forget it."
Yu Tu: "..."
Qiao Jingjing concluded triumphantly, "Hey, even though it’s ten years late, you still ended up with such a beautiful girlfriend. Aren’t you happy? Aren’t you satisfied?"
Yu Tu, who hadn’t managed to get a word in the entire time, could only express his satisfaction through actions.
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