After the National Day Golden Week ended, Duan Ye and Zhou Ji began to get busy.
Working overtime and putting in extra effort, they successfully installed the windows for the property they were now handling and passed the inspection. Then, they started preparing for the holiday resort project. After fierce competition, being relatively young and lacking extensive industry experience, the senior executives didn’t dare to entrust them with highly crucial matters. Nevertheless, even so, dealing with aluminum alloy windows and floor tiles would still bring them considerable profits.
The two of them were very busy indeed.
Regarding aluminum alloy windows, they were somewhat knowledgeable, and with Duan Ye’s Uncle assisting and overseeing, this aspect wasn’t a big problem.
The main challenge lay in the floor tiles. Industries with potential for growth were bound to be lucrative. Duan Ye and Zhou Ji both agreed that while safeguarding their interests, they must ensure the quality control of their first project. A tarnished reputation wouldn’t be beneficial for them in the slightest; they needed to look at the bigger picture.
They had only scratched the surface of this industry, yet they were already amazed.
Opinions were polarized. Some believed that real estate in the future would remain similar to the past decade—prices wouldn’t rise significantly but also wouldn’t fall, given the cost considerations. Others, however, keenly sensed that real estate was about to become a major industry for the next two decades.
Originally, both of them were feeling their way through, having spent two months in this field, traveling to various cities to explore materials and meeting many people. From being clueless initially, they were now beginning to see the path they should take in the future.
When the east wind blows, why not rise with it?
While Duan Ye and Zhou Ji were busy as bees, Jiang Yumo and Ning Zhiyu in Yanjing were not idle either. Their freshman courses were numerous, with classes every day from Monday to Friday. Initially, Jiang Yumo thought it would be difficult to find a part-time job this semester, but unexpectedly, a senior from a club introduced her to a job teaching children dance. The classes were held only on weekends, with a total of four sessions, and the compensation was reasonable.
After calculating, she realized that she could earn enough to cover her living expenses each month, so she happily agreed. She enjoyed being called ‘Teacher Jiang’ by the adorable and soft-spoken little girls.
For a top student like Ning Zhiyu, part-time opportunities were easy to find. With the recommendation of a senior from the same major, she started tutoring two high school students. The pay was quite substantial, which made Jiang Yumo quite envious. Truly, as the saying goes, ‘In books, there is a golden house.’
Days passed peacefully. The dynamics of the two couples were interesting—while the two young men were striving and even competing in the adult world for their future, the two young women were savoring university life in their own way.
Soon, mid-November arrived, and Duan Ye’s nineteenth birthday was approaching.
Originally, Jiang Yumo wanted to take advantage of the weekend to ask for leave and celebrate his birthday in advance. However, he had been incredibly busy recently and was on a business trip in Zencheng. She had no way to go there, so she had to give up. The only consolation was that spending their important coming-of-age birthdays together was more significant for them.
Jiang Yumo also received her first paycheck in her life.
Money isn’t abundant, but she still wants to buy a very special birthday gift for Duan Ye.
On this day, Jiang Yumo made an appointment with Ning Zhiyu to go shopping.
The two entered the mall. Jiang Yumo stood in line to buy milk tea, and while she wasn’t paying attention, Ning Zhiyu quickly took out her phone and sent a text message : [Are you there? Did you get Duan Ye’s ring size?]
A reply came almost immediately: [A very sad thing, Lao Duan never even thought about getting himself a ring…]
Ning Zhiyu put her phone away.
Jiang Yumo bought two cups of red bean milk tea and handed one to Ning Zhiyu. She said in distress, “TV dramas really misled me. In the proposals I see on TV, they always suddenly take out a ring, as a surprise! But what should I do now? I don’t even know his ring size, how can I buy a ring to make a surprise?”
What should she do if the ring is too big or too small?
Ning Zhiyu also seemed lost in thought.
Ever since Jiang Yumo revealed her desire to buy matching couple rings as a birthday gift, Ning Zhiyu had anticipated this possibility. As a good friend, of course, she wanted to share the worries and help solve the problems.
Ning Zhiyu shook the phone in her hand. “I’ve entrusted this difficult task to Zhou Ji.”
Jiang Yumo : “…”
Would it be disrespectful to her best friend if she showed a worried expression right now?
“Don’t worry.” Ning Zhiyu said with not-so-much confidence, “I’ve reminded Zhou Ji repeatedly, there shouldn’t be… any problems. I think?”
Jiang Yumo sighed, “I guess we can only rely on Zhou Ji.”
The eighteenth birthday gift is a wristwatch.
What about the nineteenth? After thinking for a while, she thought of matching couple rings.
At the same time, Zhou Ji and Duan Ye, for once, had a rare break. They departed from Zencheng and arrived in Yangcheng. Duan Ye wanted to buy a ring for Jiang Yumo. When they arrived at the mall and had chosen the ring, the salesperson smiled warmly and asked, “Sir, what’s your girlfriend’s ring size?”
Duan Ye was stunned.
Ring size?
What’s a ring size?
Zhou Ji on the side was almost laughing hysterically. He knew that no matter how smart or perceptive Lao Duan was, there would definitely be a moment when things go awry.
Look, isn’t this it?
He could laugh about this forever.
Duan Ye, who rarely confused, amused Zhou Ji until he cleared his throat and said with a slightly irritable tone, “Do you want me to help you? Yuyu and Sister are out shopping. You might not believe me, but you can’t doubt Yuyu’s intelligence. She’ll definitely be able to get the size without that someone noticing.”
And so, Zhou Ji and Ning Zhiyu joined forces to successfully obtain sizes from Duan Ye and Jiang Yumo, giving them a taste of their own medicine.
Ning Zhiyu only told Jiang Yumo that Zhou Ji had acquired Duan Ye’s size, but she didn’t reveal that Duan Ye had also bought a ring for Jiang Yumo.
From Zhou Ji’s perspective, he only mentioned that his incredibly smart, understanding, gentle, and intelligent girlfriend had secured Jiang Yumo’s size. He hadn’t revealed to Duan Ye that Jiang Yumo had also prepared couple rings.
In passing, Zhou Ji gave his own size to Ning Zhiyu, blushing as he said, “This is mine. Keep it. You won’t need to ask anyone about it in the future.”
Ning Zhiyu was speechless.
On Duan Ye’s birthday, Jiang Yumo had morning classes. As usual, she sent a birthday message to Duan Ye in the morning and then headed to the teaching building with her roommates. Before they reached the classroom door, her phone vibrated. It was a message from Duan Ye : [Thank you, Teacher Xiao Jiang.]
Jiang Yumo smiled, pursing her lips.
Addressing seemed to have always been a problem. She could call him by his name quite naturally. Upon careful recollection, he had rarely used her full name. He had mostly used it during their less familiar middle school days. After he confessed his feelings to her, she almost never heard him call her by her name.
Maybe he felt embarrassed?
He didn’t have a special nickname for her. In their dorm, they often had late-night discussions with other students who came from all over the country. They’re strangers to each other but curious. Other than her, her two roommates also had boyfriends, and the other one had just broken up. Talking about relationship-related topics made the conversations lively.
Perhaps due to Duan Ye’s intriguing image, her three roommates were particularly interested in the matters between her and Duan Ye. They wanted to ask about everything.
A roommate asked, “Yumo, what does Brother Duan usually call you? Does he use terms like ‘wife’ or ‘darling’?”
At that moment, Jiang Yumo was so startled on her bed, “How could that be? He would never call me that way!”
And is it really appropriate to call each other husband and wife if they’re not married yet?
Roommate : “Then… ‘baby’? ‘Dear’?”
Jiang Yumo : “…He’s not that type of person.”
Perhaps she was too idle, as she started contemplating this issue. Until not long ago, when she became a dance teacher for a group of kids and he found out, she finally got a name from him—Teacher Xiao Jiang.
When a roommate who was quite comparable to Yan Qing heard about it, she chuckled and said, “Quite the flirt!”
Jiang Yumo : “??”
What are these girls thinking about all the time?
Four people walked into the classroom, found their seats, and Jiang Yumo was still focused on sending a message to Duan Ye. She didn’t pay much attention to the chattering of her roommates beside her.
“Hey, who’s that guy?”
“Which one?”
“The one in the corner, sleeping on the desk with a hat on. I don’t think we have that person in our class.”
“He’s probably from another class. Maybe he just finished class and hasn’t woken up or left yet?”
“He looks quite handsome!”
“How can you tell? He’s lying down, you can’t even see his face. How can you tell he’s handsome like this?”
“This is the experience I’ve gathered over the years of looking at handsome guys. This guy must be good-looking, and it seems like he’s tall too.”
The bell rang, and the teacher arrived, scanning the room and starting roll call.
“Qi Xuefeng.”
“Here!”
“Nie Feiyun.”
“Here!”
…
“Jiang Yumo.”
“Here~”
No one noticed, but the guy in the corner who seemed to be catching up on sleep reacted slightly when he heard this name.
Jiang Yumo listened to the class, occasionally glancing at her phone.
Suddenly, someone poked her. She turned her head to see a classmate from the back seat, discreetly handing her a note. “Someone sent this over, said it’s for you.”
Jiang Yumo was puzzled. Why would someone pass her a note? Just as she was about to read it, the teacher got excited while explaining a certain topic and raised their voice, startling her. She quickly tucked the note away.
Who would pass her a note?
Why wouldn’t they just send a message?
As she wondered, she opened the note, and a very familiar handwriting caught her eye—
[Classmate, would you like to have dinner together after class?]
She was shocked!
Is this Duan Ye’s handwriting? She blinked her eyes, looked again, and her heart started pounding uncontrollably. She couldn’t resist turning her head to look back at the classroom and indeed saw the person who should have been away on a business trip.
Duan Ye was wearing a hoodie. When he saw her looking, he lazily and childishly made a scissor hand gesture.
Then, Jiang Yumo’s phone vibrated again.
She knew it must be a message from him. She lowered her head, unlocked her phone, and saw a text message from him : [Pay attention in class.]
This person!
He suddenly pulled such a move, appearing in the classroom out of nowhere, passing her a note, and still expecting her to pay attention in class!!
Omg, so sweet! Thank you for the chapter 🙂
Thank you for the update.