Sweet slice-of-life love story: Wife, Let's love again Chapter 232 - 228: Coincidence or Inevitability

Life was always slowly getting better.

Chen Rui’s company, after several months of restructuring, had finally gotten back on track.

Although the staff count had not yet recovered to previous levels, efficiency had significantly improved, and everyone’s salaries saw a considerable increase, making it a cause for universal joy.

"Do you think we should have an annual party?"

After lunch, Chen Rui sprawled at his desk and sought Qin Guanglin’s opinion.

"Annual party?"

Qin Guanglin looked up and glanced around, smacking his lips, "Just the ten of us and throwing a party? We might as well just have a al together... Hey, right, you could just give out the money you’d spend on the party directly. All those prizes, food, and drinks, if you were to convert it into cash for us, that would definitely make people happier than a party."

"No, no, you can’t say that. It’s about having fun together at the end of the year... Wait, I’ll put it to a vote."

Chen Rui was already on his computer ready to print a voting sheet to hand out but then thought better of it for such a small group of people. He stopped what he was doing, realizing they could simply raise hands at a morning eting or sothing—no need to print anything!

"The happiest thing is to stay ho, hug my girlfriend, watch TV, and cook. What fun is there in partying with you bunch of guys?" Qin Guanglin curled his lip, showing zero interest in the annual party.

He figured he had already used up his luck for the year—finding He Fang in his personal life, almost becoming the second-in-command at work, and making enough money to buy a car.

The highlights of the annual party were the lucky draw and the feast, but even with the draw, he’d rather go ho and have dinner with Teacher He.

"Go on, not everyone has a girlfriend... Look at Hu, you got a girlfriend?"

Chen Rui turned to another colleague and asked.

"Yeah, we’re about to get married," Hu replied.

"..."

Chen Rui, not giving up, turned to yet another colleague, "Zhao, you got a girlfriend?"

"Been together for three years."

"..."

Qin Guanglin couldn’t help but laugh and shook his head, "Better stop asking, I’m afraid if you keep going, you’ll find you’re the only single person in the whole company... Having a girlfriend is really great, I advise you to get one too."

"Get a girlfriend? For what? To spend my money? To cook for two? To wash clothes for two? To sap my energy whenever there’s a chance?" Chen Rui expressed disdain, "So annoying, that’s just for you ordinary folks."

"Alright, alright, you’re the boss, you don’t find one," Qin Guanglin said, unconsciously rubbing his lower back, ending the banter and leaning on the desk to properly recharge.

Because of the climate in Luo City, elentary school winter vacation started super early, a whopping forty-five days. With He Fang idle at ho with nothing to do, she spent her days figuring out how to prepare nutritious als for him.

Clearly ulterior motives.

...

After dropping Teacher He off at ho in the afternoon—not on South Fly Road, but at his own ho, to have dinner with Qin’s Mom—Qin Guanglin drove alone towards Shengtian Square.

Xiao Yu, having mooched several als off Sun Wen and Qin Guanglin, felt obliged to invite them for a al as the year neared its end, as a gesture of reciprocity—

When he saw Qin Guanglin getting out of his car, he was surprised, approaching with exaggerated concern and looked him up and down.

"Man, you bought a car without a peep? When did this happen?"

"Not long ago."

"Look at you... Sun Wen’s quietly pulled together a studio, and here you are, silently making a fortune. Take your buddy along so ti. I just quit my job recently and have been considering what to work on next; I might as well follow you."

"Sure, I’ll take you for an interview soti, see if they want you."

"Yeah right, I’m not cut out for your kind of work. I’ll wait until after the new year to find sothing for myself." Xiao Yu circled the car, touching here and peering there, "Let drive a couple of rounds, can I?"

"Drive my ass, let’s go eat."

The group didn’t have a fixed spot for als. Aside from dining multiple tis at Shao’s Ho-cooked Restaurant, they rarely visited other places more than once. Qin Guanglin treated these expeditions as trying new dishes, secretly noting down any place with a good environnt and taste for a return visit with Teacher He.

Taking a seat after pulling out a chair, Xiao Yu sucked in a breath through his teeth, "Both of you are soaring, and here I am, managing to churn out nothing but work experience over two years, and now I have to start over with job hunting again, sigh—life is tough."

"There you go talking big. What soaring? Just got a bit lucky," Qin Guanglin sipped his tea after pouring a cup, "Where’s Wen? I thought I’d be the last one here, but he’s ended up the latest."

"Still busy, I guess... Shall we order now?"

"Let’s wait. If you’re hungry, go ahead and order. Hey, you quit your job, what about your girlfriend at the company? Did she quit too?"

Xiao Yu shook his head, "She’s staying on for the experience, just joined about half a year ago, frequent job changes aren’t good."

Despite feeling sowhat reluctant to leave his girlfriend, that company wasn’t overly promising, and career advancent necessitated a switch.

It was like that with his job; each jump ant a salary raise. If he stayed at the original company, he might work for five or six years and still not make as much as a new employee.

"You okay with that?"

"If the love is true, ti and distance don’t matter... Heh, being jobless lets relax a bit. Being too close every day makes things too controlling." Smiling, Xiao Yu pulled out a cigarette and flicked one to his lips, but didn’t seem to have a lighter, "Not allowed to smoke, not allowed to drink, I’m nearly forced to quit completely. Just slling smoke makes high."

"Do you rember what you told ?" Qin Guanglin asked.

"What?"

"When I get a girlfriend, I’ll still smoke and drink, just as cool as ever! —— Does your face still hurt?"

Qin Guanglin pinched his nose and mimicked Xiao Yu’s initial tone, even managing to imitate his gestures quite accurately.

"...Did I ever say that?" Xiao Yu chose to feign amnesia.

"Hey, I think you’re just scared of getting hit."

"I..."

"Everyone’s here, huh?" Sun Wen pushed open the door, ducking his head as he entered, and plopped down onto a chair. He poured a cup of tea, gulped it down with gusto, and let out a long sigh, "Sorry for being late, so busy, sigh."

"Being a big boss sure has its style, just look... tsk."

Xiao Yu clicked his tongue and shook his head. Though Sun Wen’s attire was tidily arranged and he looked neat and clean, his exhausted face and the bloodshot eyes hinted that he wasn’t having an easy ti.

When you think about it, entrepreneurship is never easy, right?

"What happened?" Qin Guanglin asked as he pushed the nu over, "Order so food, let’s start with that."

"You guys order." Sun Wen pushed the nu back, too lazy to bother.

"Okay, I’ll start with two..."

Qin Guanglin scribbled a few items on the nu and pushed it over to Xiao Yu for him to continue, then he thought for a mont and asked, "Where were we just now?"

"What ’where were we’? Forget it," Xiao Yu avoided the previous topic and silently marked his choices on the nu.

"Don’t stop now, tell , how far has it developed? How many tis have you been hit? Have you tried to resist? Who won?"

"It’s all nonsense you’re asking. Even if he got hit he definitely wouldn’t admit it. He’d just stick his neck out and say it never happened." Sun Wen spoke up, nailing the fact of the beating straight away, leaving Xiao Yu with no way to explain.

"I..." Xiao Yu looked aggrieved, opened his mouth, then suddenly deflated and called over the waitress with the nu in hand.

Having a girlfriend with way too much strength is tough to handle. It was just a kiss, an instinctive movent of his hand, and his "pig trotter" nearly got twisted off — and he couldn’t even bla her since she was just instinctively defending herself.

Sun Wen looked at Xiao Yu and then at Qin Guanglin, recalling the scene from a few months ago at Shao’s Ho-cooked Restaurant, and he couldn’t help but sigh.

"Lin really is the winner in life."

"It’s too soon to say things like that," Qin Guanglin modestly replied, though he felt the sa sentint in his heart.

Life is full of uncertainties, that’s just how it is.

Qin Guanglin, once a lazy hobody, had his life turned upside down after eting He Fang.

Sun Wen, who had found a stable job right after graduating and always had a harmonious relationship, ended up with a complicated life... Hard to sum up in a few words.

Xiao Yu, on the other hand, was neither too hot nor too cold about his life changes, even his resignation was planned well in advance, and he found a girlfriend on the side, although she seed a bit too formidable.

Dish after dish was served on the table. Qin Guanglin, who drove, didn’t drink. Xiao Yu was under his girlfriend’s watch and didn’t touch alcohol either. Only Sun Wen cracked open a few beer bottles and, without using a glass, slowly sipped directly from the bottle.

"So days ago, my parents ca back from out of town, so I took her to dine with them. It was a happy occasion... She ntioned our relationship to my parents, and then her parents were eager to et . I’m planning to visit them during the New Year."

Xiao Yu’s parents were usually doing business out of town and only ca back around the end of the year. Suddenly hearing about their son’s girlfriend, they insisted on eting her, so they used a family banquet as a chance to properly get acquainted.

After sharing his good news, Xiao Yu sipped his juice with a sigh, "In the future... Lin has already t her, but Wen, be careful. If you bring a girlfriend ho, don’t choose a ti when the house is full of people, and don’t let your girlfriend bring a bunch of random classmates. It’s a headache."

"It sounds like sothing serious happened?"

"It wasn’t that serious; it’s just that my girlfriend was shy about eting my parents for the first ti, so she brought two of her classmates along. And it just so happened there were so close relatives at the family banquet..."

"That’s quite a scene," Qin Guanglin comnted with admiration.

"I swear each person had a ’let guess which one’s your girlfriend’ look on their face. The other two were relaxed at first but ended up just as shy as my girlfriend..." Xiao Yu was helpless, feeling like he had three girlfriends at the sa ti. The mory still made him uncomfortable.

"Pffhahaha..." Sun Wen couldn’t help but laugh out loud, then squinted his eyes and teased, "Do those two have boyfriends? Introduce to them?"

"How would I know... Hey, where’s your girlfriend?" Xiao Yu asked.

"I kicked her to the curb," Sun Wen said nonchalantly, "I’m single now."

"Aren’t you heartless... You beco a boss and you dump her?"

"Too annoying... Forget it, don’t even bother introducing , I’ve got a ton of work and no ti for dating."

Sun Wen shook his head and laughed, "Once my studio gets stable and I’m making big bucks, what woman won’t I have?"

He ntioned introductions as a joke. He could always call on Xu Wei when he felt lonely. The two kept a kind of companionship where they did not interfere with each other’s lives and helped each other out when needed.

So, what’s the use in having a girlfriend?

For him, none at all.

"How’s the studio doing now?" Qin Guanglin changed the subject, not wanting to dwell on this matter.

"Ah..."

Starting on that topic made Sun Wen’s smile disappear and he frowned, sighing deeply, "It was doing well, but I don’t know what happened this month... forget about it, let’s not talk about that now, cheers."

Clang!

The glasses of juice clinked against the beer bottle, making a crisp sound.